Food & Drink Challenge – What I am giving up and why

So I’ve been asked what I am giving up for the Food & Drink Challenge. This blog post I will list what I’m giving up and why.

As the challenge is taking part over September, October and November, it is a great opportunity to cook some lovely autumn and winter homemade food. We’ve already ordered a larger cooking pot to help! Expect plenty of recipes appearing on the blog.

Also I’m going to target sleep and energy as I did during the February challenge. That challenge produced amazing results, yet I failed to carry many of the benefits forward. It is time to revisit, hopefully reap the same rewards and explore more fully.

I’m also going to target weight loss. Back in 2009 I lost a serious amount of weight and whilst 2010 has been okay, but I want to see if another stone can be shifted during this challenge. A realistic target, especially when accompanied by walks etc.

Lastly I want to do this within our current shopping budget. Not actually part of the challenge, but something I want to keep in mind during.  Too many people think lifestyle change, especially food & drink means spending lots of money on so called healthy products.

I’m already a vegetarian who doesn’t eat eggs either, so no meat, fish or eggs already. So with that all in mind here is what I’m giving up….

No alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, chips, crisps, condiments, fizzy drinks (with the exception of soda water), biscuits, ice cream and cream. I am also considering reducing my bread intake during the challenge also. Plus I may add other items before the challenge.

Now a few of those items I don’t actually consume currently, but I want to clearly avoid during the challenge. Soda water (seltzer water or club soda as known elsewhere) I currently rarely buy, but will replace ale, wine and caffeine when out.

Some would look at my list and think it’s going to be dull and where are the treats etc. From past experience it could actually prove to be the opposite.  A huge part of my challenge is improving the quality of what I eat via home cooking. I am a busy chap, but I know home cooking doesn’t have to mean hours in the kitchen.

I can’t wait for the challenge to begin.

4 Comments

  1. I too wish you a great challange!!

    Bet its going to be challenging but exciting as well as you see the progress soon! I dont know if I will jump in but i will tell you soon! Have a good start into this upcoming week! Cheers*Linn*

  2. Best of luck with the challenge!!

    I lack any sort of willpower when it comes to avoiding chocolate, wine and coffee … especially the coffee … it has pretty much become a much needed part of my working day.

    I can’t wait to hear about your awesome progress! 🙂

  3. Hi Tracey,

    Cheers. Willpower can be a royal pain the ****!

    I used to be the same with coffee years back, until a trip to the doctor to discover a blood pressure issue. eek Though I drink far too much tea right now, which can’t be good for me at all.

    I appreciate a decent drop of wine also, with cheese, roast, italian etc. So it’s going to be interesting to see what replaces the wine.

    Thanks again for dropping by the leave the reply and I hope my progress is awesome also. 🙂

    All the best

  4. Thanks Linn.

    Cheers for wishing me a great challenge. Three months!! I’m hugely looking forward to the challenge.

    No pressure for you to join the challenge, though if you do it would be great. Have you seen Rachel’s blog post about the challenge? Worth checking that out also.

    All the best

    Andrew

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