Friday, October 19, 2012

Posted by: gina

Chad and I just got back from a fantastic vacation in St. Louis and for once, we don't feel gross coming back from vacation where we usually justify a lot of cheats. We both agree that being on the Whole Life Challenge was the glue that kept us on track. But I must admit. I did have a few cheats. And guess what? I know it slowed down my leaning out a little. That's why Fernando's write up in our newsletter was perfect for me. So it's 100% no cheating for me here on out. And, to avoid my tendency for mindless face stuffing on WLC-food, I'm cutting out nuts and reining in fruit for the rest of the challenge. Anyway, I wanted to repost Fernando's message on cheating because it's worth the read.

A WORD ABOUT CHEATING, by Fernando.

Most Paleo challenges are typically only 30 days long and ask participants to forego all foods that are grains, sugar, dairy and processed.

For 30 days you will not eat those things and the desired result is to lose the desire for such foods and heal your body.

How many of you have been 100% strict during the Whole Life Challenge? How many of you have had small "cheats" here and there? How many of you have routinely cheated or even had a whole cheat day during the last four weeks?

The point of this Challenge has been to show each participant the benefits of a clean living existence when practiced for not just one month, but two. And if you're still choosing to eat the foods that are WLC non-compliant, you may not be allowing yourself the full benefits that this challenge could bring you.

"If you cheat every couple of days, you cannot expect amazing results," Jason Seib of Everyday Paleo.com said in a blog post last year.

Unfortunately many of us believe that so long as you are strict 90 percent of the time, the remaining 10 percent won't be bad for you. And many of us buy into the 80/20 principle which is a whole other demon onto itself.

Think of the things you consume (grains, dairy and sugar) like smoking. If you were trying to quit smoking, you wouldn't spend your week NOT smoking and then go off on a smoking binge one day a week, would you? That one day of smoking would completely derail and negate that whole week!

Food is the same way and our bodies respond to food like a drug. So long as it's in our system, it will crave it. And if you always give in to the cravings, your body will never learn to adjust without it.

Click the image of the Whole 9 Life's Flow Chart for Nutritional Off-Roading above and use it the next time you find yourself at a crossroads of choosing bad foods over good foods.

There is still lots of time left in this Challenge to get back into the game!