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Lent Challenge 2013 – The Detailed Plan

Looks like there’s been a change of plans…

Oh, Lent hasn’t been cancelled; far from there… in fact, it just got tougher for me.

You see, I’ve been considering taking the Whole 30 challenge for quite some time now but never could work up the courage to actually do it. This is one challenge that I would definitely call scary!

Well, I finally decided to give it all I’ve got and pretty much follow the plan, with some very slight modifications.

If I was scared before, I’m even more scared now…

This plan basically strips my diet of all the things I love so much: my precious dairy, for one, my beloved whey protein powder, AND my almost vital Greek yogurt… OMG, how am I going to survive FOUR WEEKS without my precious dairy?

And then, there’s all the rest… the grains AND pseudo-grains, the sugars and sweeteners, the legumes… Of course, alcohol as well as any and all junk, packaged and processed food, it all has to go!

Removing all of the food items that belong to the  “I might be slightly addicted” category and knowing that I won’t be able to consume them, if only temporarily, throws me in a state of total panic.

I’m so nervous, my stomach is all tied up in a knot…

Now I feel even more unprepared and I have no idea what or how I’m going to eat over the next couple of weeks. Especially since the Whole 30 is against having Sex With Your Pants On (in other words, making “treats” out of approved ingredients, such as cauliflower pizza, coconut flour pancakes or avocado chocolate pudding)

That’s the part I really don’t think I’ll be able to follow. I like to mash up my avocado and mix it with cocoa powder to turn it into some sort of a pudding… and I see nothing wrong with that.

And I fail to see the difference between a salmon patty, which is approved, and coconut flour pancake, which isn’t. 

So in my case, there is a chance that the Sex With Your Pants On rule will get transgressed quite a few times. Still, I will try to comply as best I can. And I plan on respecting the list of “approved” ingredients to the “T”.

I am planning on reading It Starts with Food though… maybe it’ll help me change my mind and see things differently. But for now, I want to be able to look forward to my raspberry smoothie or [dairy free!] soft serve after my morning workout.

Plus, I have to be able to come up with interesting recipes over the course of this Lent Challenge.  I would hate having to let you guys down!

I’m sure I’ll pull through and I’ll make it happen once again. I shall come out victorious!

And I can’t wait to see how my body reacts to all this and what comes out of this new challenge…

Time will tell, I guess!

Here’s how and what I plan to eat (and NOT to eat) for the next 6 weeks.

Phase I - Lent Challenge 2013

Phase II - Lent Challenge 2013

Phase III - Lent Challenge 2013

*Note that the above tables are personal checklists that I put together to help me stay on track and quickly refresh my memory as to what I wish to include and exclude from my diet during this challenge, as well as a summary of how I intend to continue this challenge to take me all the way to Easter. These tables DO NOT reflect the actual Whole 30 program.

To review the actual program, please refer to the Whole 9 website.