Because I have an addiction to love Pinterest, I’m always on the look out for pins and ideas to keep me motivated in my journey towards health and fitness.
When I came across The No Junk Food Challenge, I was instantly intrigued. A challenge focusing on foods that are more or less all my weaknesses?
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Um…holy hard, right? It’s so easy for me to reach for my candy jar because it’s there or grab Qdoba for lunch because it’s close to my office. I’m generally not a fan of challenges/diets that completely require cutting something out, but I also believe that mindless eating is an easy trap to fall into. Foods are there, so I eat them even when I’m not necessarily hungry or because I think I “need” that doughnut in the office break room.
So, starting this Wednesday, I’m starting Junk Food Free February. Based on what works in my own life, I do have a few exceptions/alterations to the challenge that was pinned.
Peanut/nut butters are okay. In moderation, I don’t see anything wrong with them.
Although coffee drinks aren’t listed, I’m sure they might be classified as junk food to some. Despite that, I’m still having Fancy Coffee Friday. It’s my end of the week treat I’m not ready to give up.
No white bread, for me, means no bagels, no bread at restaurants, etc. I’m still using my Aunt Millie’s Ancient Grains bread. Whole grains = good. Overly processed grains = bad.
The most important thing I have to remember during this challenge is that I’m not perfect and if I slip up, that’s okay. I’m not going to beat myself up over it because the world won’t end if I have a cookie. The purpose of this challenge is to help me become increasingly aware of eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and whole grains. I want to continue to work on bulking my plates up with foods from Mother Nature and limit the foods from factories.
My hope is that by considerably cutting back on these processed foods, I’ll be feeling healthier and more energetic by the end of the month. I hope that it will help me in my weight loss goals. I hope that my skin will be a bit clearer. I hope that I’ll sleep better. I hope that I’ll have more endurance for my workouts, particularly my long runs.
I’d love to have you join in! Make the challenge what works for you and what you want to focus on in your own journey. Whether it’s one thing from the list or adding even more to it, make it work for YOU! Leave a comment to let me know if you’re game! Share your progress on your blog (if you’re a blogger) or on Twitter with the hashtag #junkfoodfree!
You can use the following code to add the badge to your site:
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Are you in? Let me know!
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Sarah recently posted..When a Woman Let’s go of her Fears
FUN! I’ll do it later this week!
I wish I could commit to this, but I just can’t. Maybe sometime, but def not in Feb
Good luck to you though!
Briana recently posted..Race Recap: Planet Adventure Winter Trail Quarter Marathon
Good for you — especially in February! I recently read The Beauty Detox and so as I read the list of junk foods, I realized I haven’t really been eating that stuff for a couple of weeks now! Yay for me — and trust me, if this sweet tooth can do it, so you can you! Good luck!
Andrea @ Vegvacious recently posted..Romantic Pasta Dinner for Two
I just requested that book from the library! Excited to read it!
Woowww, i really don’t know if I could do this! I am following Weight Watchers and while I have learned a completely new way to eat, I will freely admit I DO enjoy a few indulgences here and there: Sunday Pizza, Tuesday ice cream, and some goldfish cheddar crackers like every other day! This IS inspiring though. Maybe i could start smaller and just pull three or four things from that list and work on THAT for the month… Thanks!
Starting small is a GREAT idea!
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