My Crutch

I've been cleaning eating for a little over 3 weeks now.  Well, that's not true.  I've been on a journey to clean eating for a little over 3 weeks now.  There's a huge difference!  Clean eating is definitely a process!  If you're thinking about getting started or are a newbie like me, it's ok to take it slow!  These habits were learned over years so it's not going to change overnight.

Things are going really well for me.  So well, that I really can't believe it.  As I'm comparing this time to all the other times I've I tried to eat healthy and failed, I've tried to figure out what was different this time.  Why am I successful for over 3 weeks now when I couldn't even make it 3 days before.  I honestly think one component of the answer is soda.  You see, a can of coke has always been my huge stumbling block, my huge crutch of the past.  I talked briefly about this in a previous blog post.  I've done a pretty good job in the past of changing my breakfast. Where I would always fail was at lunch.  I would come in to the kitchen, trying to decide what to have for lunch and knew that whatever it was, I just had to have a soda with it.  The additional factor of this problem was the food I ate when I drank a soda.  I would eat things that "tasted good" with soda.  So, I would have nachos, chips, things like that.

What's amazing for me to say, is that I sit here now with not having had a soda in a week.  Wow!  I have never done that before!  The best thing is, is that I eat so much healthier and I don't even miss it.  What I have to come to realize is that I probably can't ever have soda again.  There will be things that I will allow myself in moderation, probably all will center around dessert.  However, with a soda, it's just not the same.  If I have one, then I want another one the next day and I feel like I have to "quit" all over again.  Some say food can be an addiction, and I can see where that can be the case.  So, soda is gone for me and I'm fine with that.

So, what's your crutch?  What's that one thing, maybe the biggest thing you need to stop eating?  Try getting rid of it first.  If you save it for later than you're really just giving yourself an uphill battle.  Yet if you take that hard thing and get rid of first, well, it's all downhill from there!

Newbie tips;
1. Remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a diet!  It's ok to take it slow.
2. Everybody has that one food they love, whether it be ice cream, chocolate or a sugary drink.  Identify what it is and if you can't make a healthy alternative, then cut it out!  The process of moving to a clean eating lifestyle will be much easier if you do.