Failure or New Reality?
The Clean Eating Challenge did not come without its own challenges. Learning what and how to eat clean in a fast paced society where everything revolves around convenience is not an easy task. Add on all of the issues that have been facing the world economy the past 6 months and it makes it that much harder to find the items as a family that we have started to like to eat. Small picky eaters make it fun too. Our family faced our own set of challenges with one of our children going through her own health issues that we were not sure if caused by some of our dietary changes to eat cleaner. Something as simple as sodium can really play havoc on the body whether it is in excess or insufficient levels. While I did not get anywhere near my weight loss goal from when I started the challenge, I still consider the overall experience a success and not a failure. Six months is not enough time for everyone to see drastic changes in weight or health, but it is definitely enough time to begin breaking old habits and building new ones that will create the foundation for long term health success through eating a more clean diet. I learned how to cook some old favorites new ways, new vegetables that I hadn’t tried before and end up loving, seeing the need to move more in my daily life, and showing my family how we can make positive changes together. This challenge has allowed me to see that there are areas of stress that I can get rid of and take up both old and new hobbies as form of exercise and stress management to replace food as a form of stress management. Seeing that there really are healthy options for long distance travel and how to manage hunger with foods that fill you up and not take up your entire calorie budget in one serving. I’m excited about the foundation that this challenge has allowed me to build and to see where I am at as my kids demand more of my time hauling them to all of their activities as they get into their high school years. I don’t want to be the parent that can’t go strap on some shoes and shoot some hoops or some other activity that my athletic kids want to do. Thank you Viva Fresh for allowing us to become better versions of ourselves than what we were 6 months ago. This challenge has been a success and brought on a new reality for the future of my health, and hopefully my family’s health.
