One of the biggest challenges that I’ve been facing lately is my irresponsible food choices whenever we’re out especially weekends & holidays. You know the Oh-my-goodness-I-so-deserve-this-because-I worked-out-for-3-days! feeling? Yeah, we all have that because in reality, we love the idea of rewarding ourselves and most of the time it’s with comfort food.

As we all know, comfort food is basically high in sugar or carbs because it gives us a feeling of consolation among others. So if you’re eating them, might as well enjoy it. HOWEVER, if we consume it too often, it can take a toll on our health, too. Or for my case, it kinda destroys everything that I’ve worked hard for.

Again, we cannot compensate our bad food choices with a workout because if we do, it’s like being in a business where you’ll always be on a breakeven point and not improving. 

And since no one will help us but ourselves, I decided to do this 100 days of No Junk Food Challenge! The purpose of this challenge is to encourage healthier eating habits and potentially make it a lifetime commitment.

THE RULES

I borrowed the majority of the rules from Skinny Ms. & Just Health & Lifestyle and they are:

1. No Fast Food Allowed.

• This includes sandwich shops, pizzerias (you know the ones we are talking about) and yes, even Chinese fast food. For many people, fast food is a subjective term, and admittedly, there is a lot of grey area.

So for the purpose of this challenge, here is what you should avoid:

• The obvious, like Burger King, Mc Donalds, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Jack In The Box, etc…
• Chinese fast food
• Subway and To-Go’s (or any sandwich shop. Processed meats and white-flour bread are not good for your health)
• Any burger joints
• Taco joints
• Pizza joints

fast food (noun)

1. easily prepared processed food served in snack bars and restaurants as a quick meal or to be taken away.

This challenge is pretty much self-explanatory and straightforward but only gets tricky of you’re not sure if the restaurant is considered fast food. For example, Subway. I used to think that it’s the healthier option but then again, it’s considered fast food.

2. No Sweets, Candies & Chips.

3. No Cakes, Pastries, Doughnuts and Muffins.

I’m sorry but even Krispy Kreme is a no-go.

4. No White Bread, Biscuits or Cookies.

HEALTHIER REPLACEMENTS

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables.

2. Get more high-protein food like chicken (sans the skin) & fish.

3. Eat whole grain and whole foods.

4. Choose green tea or water over soda or artificial juices.

The first few weeks may be easy but when you feel a dip in energy, just add more fruits and veggies to your meals. Take this opportunity to learn how to plan & cook your meals. There are so many recipes that you can get from Mr. Google and some don’t even require any stove. Just don’t let the inner laziness win.

Take this opportunity to learn how to plan & cook your meals.

I did some food challenges before (that I failed, heh!) but this one is more structured.  So here I’m more confident this time. I started my challenge last June 1st and so far so good. I hope that you join me and you can always do a 21-day, 30-day or do the full 100 days!

So… will you give an excuse or challenge yourself?