As I mentioned yesterday, I successfully completed October Unprocessed. I went 31 days without a single processed food. Sometimes, it was difficult. Sometimes, it was frustrating. But it was also probably the healthiest thing I have ever done for my body.
Mid-month, I complained about being busy, overworked, and not having energy to cook. I wished I could fall back on frozen or fast food to get me through a rough week. But then a few days after I wrote that post, I realized that being stressed and tired should give me more incentive to cook unprocessed food for myself. It’s when I’m busiest that my body needs the most nourishment. This month has been about constantly nourishing myself, because I deserve that kind of nourishment, most of all when I’m burning the candle at both ends. I’m willing to bet that my decision to only eat unprocessed food is part of why I didn’t have an immune system crash when Austin Rocks happened and I didn’t sleep for about 3 nights.
Because this went relatively well for me, I plan to continue being unprocessed five or six days a week. Preferably six, but some weeks (like when I’m traveling for dance competitions), five will be more feasible. This will allow me to eat very healthy food, but also get to indulge in restaurant food every now and then. It was kind of a drag to be at trivia on Saturday and not be able to order any fries. The occasional indulgence is nice.
I’m really glad I tried this challenge, and even happier that it worked out so well. It gave me back my passion for cooking and has made me more innovative in what I make. So thanks to Andrew of Eating Rules for organizing this. It changed my life.