Hello friends! I’m so excited to finally announce details about my free healthy eating challenge I’ve been working on for the last couple of months. After sticky note shuffling, white-boarding, Google doc drafting, testing new software, editing content on planes/in airports/etc in different states around the country, and even recruiting a small group to go through a trial run, my free healthy eating challenge is ready for you!
But first, for those who are newer to The Chic Life, I want to take you back several years.
My Healthy Eating Struggle
I didn’t always eat like I do now. I used to thrive on pizza and fast food, and I hated to work out. If you’ve followed my blog for a long time, then you’d know that I shared my healthy living journey back in 2009, right here on this blog. Prior to that, I struggled quite a bit with healthy living, especially on the eating front. After gaining well over the usual Freshman 15 in college, my weight fluctuated for the next few years as I went between periods of overly restrictive eating and giving into eating the fast food and sweets when I “lost my will power”.
It’s a terrible feeling when you literally have nothing to wear because you’ve outgrown your wardrobe.
When my weight was high, I was so frustrated with myself. I knew I could do better, but I didn’t know how. I felt like I was weak for not being able to continue my (unrealistically) restrictive eating habits. At my smallest size, I was still miserable. I felt deprived of all the foods I really wanted to eat. Worst of all – I was hungry all the time (#hangry). It felt like I just couldn’t win. The yoyo’ing continued until I couldn’t restrict my eating any more. But I didn’t know what to eat, so I indulged and gained so much weight, I could only fit into a fraction of my clothes. If you’ve ever stood in your closet looking at all the clothes that no longer fit you, then you know the struggle. It’s a terrible feeling when you literally have nothing to wear because you’ve outgrown your wardrobe.
A New, Happier Approach to Healthy Eating
I’ll never forget the day I’d had enough. Since I primarily wore pants to work and my tops were pretty forgiving, I tried on every single pair of pants I owned to see just what actually fit. Of the 16 pairs I had, only 2 did. I folded the ones that didn’t and stacked them out of the way with the goal of being able to wear them again soon. But I wasn’t just done with the frustration I had with my closet. I was beyond-over the restrictive eating that helped me reach my weight loss goals (temporarily, at least) but made me so unhappy. I realized restrictive eating was not only unsustainable but not really healthy either. I had an epiphany. Instead of focusing on what not to eat, I’d focus on what I could!
Instead of focusing on what not to eat, I’d focus on what I could!
Instead of taking the negative approach of focusing on what not to eat (and eating less), I’d take the positive approach and focus on how food could benefit me and what I should eat more of. And I would do these changes bit by bit. I discovered clean eating, and as I incorporated clean eats into my diet, the weight fell off. Not only that, but I had newfound energy and felt great. And the best part? I was loving all the food I ate and having a blast! Gone were the days of going hungry. I was satiated and really looking forward to my meals and snacks. It was a wonderful new world, and I want to share it with you.
Healthy Shouldn’t Mean Hungry
Many of my friends and readers have been asking me for tips on eating healthy. Many of you have no idea where to start. Some tell me, “I don’t have time to eat healthy.” Some even complain that, “healthy eating is so hard because I’m hungry all the time.” Because of my background with restrictive eating, the hunger statement makes me the most sad. I used to think I had to be hungry to be healthy. But not anymore! Since I focused on what I could add to my diet versus what to take away, I’ve lost weight without ever feeling hungry or deprived.
I used to think I had to be hungry to be healthy. But not anymore!
So, how did I do it? I could talk your ear off about what I did. You could even read about it in my SCBR archives on the blog. But, I thought it would be more useful if I put my approach into something actionable. A challenge! Yes, I’ve created a free 14 day challenge to teach you what I consider healthy…the easy, enjoyable, and fun way.
And I’m going to do this challenge with you!
Introducing the Free Cleanish Challenge
Introducing the free Cleanish Challenge! It’s clean eating…sort of.
While there are plenty of great programs that take you from wherever you are straight into 100% clean eating, this is the type of thing that would scare me away from healthy eating if I was doing things all over again.If you’re anything like me, a clean eating meal plan that goes from 0 to 60 can be too much. Clean eating meal plans can be too restrictive, expensive, and labor intensive. Not only do I not want to spend a bunch of money on a whole new set of foods at once, I prefer to ease into lifestyle changes. While the complete switch-over is a very effective method for some people, it isn’t for me. And if it isn’t for you, then I’d love for you to join Team Cleanish.
Cleanish is about making simple, small changes that add up to something great. Forget worrying about what you shouldn’t eat. Focus on what you can. We’ll talk about how food can benefit you to help you feel and look better.
What You’ll Get with Cleanish
- 14 of my personal tips on healthy eating that I still use today sent in a daily email
- Access to a secret Facebook group where you can post your upgrades for accountability and to cheer each other on
How the Cleanish Challenge Works
- Eat everything you normally do with one small change – pick one thing a day and “upgrade” it
- “Upgrade” means to eat a healthier version of something, and it can be as simple or complex as you’d like (and I’ll teach you ways to upgrade your eats)
- I like to say “upgrade” because this challenge is about taking a positive approach to healthy eating and learning to have fun with it
Let’s have some fun!
🙂 Diana
PS You can use the share buttons at the end of this post to recruit your friends, family, and co-workers to take the challenge with you!