Monday 7 March 2011

Farewell Doritos!

Whilst not actually being a Christian, like many others I'll happily enjoy all the goodies of Christmas, Easter and Shrove Tuesday. And whilst I don't really have a problem with this it does seem somewhat hypocritical to enjoy all the benefits of these Christian traditions without giving something up for Lent, especially if you're going all out on the pancakes and Easter eggs!!

Besides I think that, in its own right as a period of self-denial, Lent is a very worthwhile experience. Alot of us don't credit ourselves with as much will power as we really have, so proving to yourself that you can give up something up for a meaningful period of time is very worthwhile. Once you realise that you have the necessary will power to give up one unhealthy habit you'll find it easy to ditch lots of other unhealthy habits that you'd resigned yourself to.

It takes 30 days to make a habit so giving anything up for 40 days should break any naughty habitual eating habits you have for good. In the past I've given up all of the following (not at the same time!), all of which are foods that I never went back to eating remotely as much:
Chocolate biscuits
Chocolate
Crisps
Sugar
Caffeine
Alcohol
TV (ok so it's not a food, but it's not a healthy habit and is a tough one to give up)

So if there's any naughty foods in your diet that have ended up being a regular habit rather than an occasional treat then these are great candidates for Lent. And if you're stuck for ideas Lent traditionally involves giving up all animal products which is a very healthy exercise in itself.

I've actually pretty much run out of unhealthy foods to give up (apologies if that sounds smug, it isn't meant to be!!) but I still have a few unhealthy habits so here's what I'm giving up for lent:

- tortilla chips (my favourite gluten-free slob out in front of the TV snack food!)
- eating in front of the TV (pretty much goes hand in hand with eating Tortilla chips - I can easily graze through a whole bag during a film without realising)
- snacking when I'm bored but not hungry (not something I do too much, but I do like to eat and find myself picking at food if I'm having a slow day).

No comments:

Post a Comment