10/12/2013 - 9 days before I start the Naked Challenge

At this time, I'm trying to get a head start on The Naked Challenge that I'm starting on Oct 21, 2013.  I was told not to eat processed wheat, processed sugar, caffeine, alcohol, meat, or dairy. Baby steps.  Doesn't help that my daughter had a few people over the other night and there are oreos on the house.  I have avoided them though and when I have been reaching for them I've been reaching for grapes and peaches instead.  1 point for me. I love coffee, espresso really.  But I've been avoiding it the last 2 days.  I don't eat a ton of meat and was a vegetarian for 7 years and a vegan for 3 of those.  Avoiding meat and dairy isn't too difficult, although I do love cheddar cheese. 

I found this today - it's a good mantra 

I will try to keep this in mind when reaching for food.

I have a weird relationship with food.  I'm sure I'm not the only one, but my issue seems to be a rebellious one. That's the best way to describe it.  I won't go into my mommy issues, but guilt about food has turned into a - so what if I eat it?  It's my body.  Maybe it's a control thing.  But I'm honestly not willing to pay a therapist to figure it out.  Bottom line, reading The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell,  Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Furhman convinced me 3 years ago that eating a plant based diet is the way to go. It's just a matter of that inner fight I have telling me that I Deserve a cupcake.  Honestly, I don't know what anyone could do in their life to "deserve" a cupcake, even a Vegan one.  There are no limits to the triggers that make my brain want stupid things like cake, candy bars.  I turned them off for a good 1.5 years when I went vegan.  Eating vegan completely took the emotional factor out of my eating choices, wants, needs.  The problem is that what drove me back was the all the processed junk food that has been made available to the vegan/vegetarian world.  I'm convinced that eating processed Soy made me sicker than any sugar, dairy or meat could ever.  To get away from soy, I started eating meat again.  And so we are back here.

The Naked Challenge seems to be a great way to not just go vegan (possibly raw) but to not do it on my own this time.  We shall see.  I'm glad I have over a week to prepare.  I have a lot to do and I really have to psych myself up to cook, cut, shop.  I hate my kitchen in the place we rent. It's awful.  But that's that.  It's only 10 days, but I'm hoping it will be 10 days that will kick off my wanting to eat like this all the time.