Sunday, November 2, 2014

No Chocolate November

Occasionally, I will decide not to consume a specific food item for a month, kind of a little reset. This happens when I see myself eating something out of habit, out of emotion, eating it when I'm not even hungry, etcetera.

I did it last year for a month with chips. I realized I was scarfing them down at any available opportunity (I didn't bring them into my house!). But at a social event, friends house, out to a restaurant, whatever, I would eat them a little bit out of control. That month of not eating them really helped me break my habit and they haven't made their way back into my life almost a year later (I have occasionally indulged in pretzels when drinking!). But I've eliminated that automatic, emotional response and can ignore that bowl of chips at a party :)

This month, I'm going to take a break from chocolate. I definitely was eating it every day, after dinner as a little treat with Chris. Averaging about 200 cal a day that were NOT going towards nutritious foods that would benefit me. Not necessary!

A little reset will be good! Remind myself that chocolate is not an everyday food - it's something that should be consumed sparingly.

Also, it will help me devote more calories of my day towards filling, fibrous vegetables or other nutritious foods. Things that will satiate me and fill me up as we go into this holiday season where there are going to be a lot of temptations! If I was already eating chocolate every day, the daily sugar spike would have me all primed and ready to not be able to say no to pies and cakes and candy and other holiday treats. 

This morning was devoted to grocery shopping and housecleaning. I got a great haul from the co-op:


Lots of seasonal veg (squashes, sweet potatoes, onions, beets, cabbage, etc.), apples from local farms, flax milk, canned pumpkin and tons of other stuff. We'll shop for meat later in the week :)

I also did a lot of food prep, like making my pumpkin smoothies for the week, cooking up a nice mix (Mexican spiced chicken with tomatoes, onions and mushies) and generally just getting everything ready so that lunches and dinner are really easy this week.

Still feeling really good in general - making proactive choices to make life better helps me feel good, even if life is a little bit hard right now. Hope is a beautiful thing!

I hope everyone is having a great day and setting themselves up for a great week!!

5 comments:

  1. So glad to hear that you are "still feeling really good in general"

    I don't eat a lot of chocolate but when I do I have the 85% dark chocolate - just two squares, really nice with a cup of coffee.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  2. I got my tuna / veggie salad all ready and prepped for tomorrow. It will be a good week for both of us! It helps I'm off work 2 of the days. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that you do challenges with food. Elimination diet info has been the best. I took chocolate out in Jan 2013 and in April 2013. I figured out I could have it, only 85%, only a couple of squares, like Jan.

    And I do have it most nights, but not all. I could take it out for a month, or for life and not be too upset about it. That's how I knew I would be okay moderating it. It's one of the only foods I can eat in moderation. Kudos for the effort for the elimination.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What an awesome idea, to do food challenges! A great way to show yourself that you don't "need" a certain food, yet you're not giving it power by ignoring it entirely (as in, "I CAN'T eat such-and-such"). I may try this myself; thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree, when something has the potential to lead to other things (chocolate to desserts) it is better to just nip it in the bud.

    I am finding things easier since there is not so much fruit in season. I have a harder time in the summer than the winter.

    ReplyDelete