Clean Eating Boot Camp: Step 10

Note: You can sign up for the Clean Eating Boot Camp here, completely free!

Fried egg on a bed of fresh tomatoes and avocado

I’ve been getting a lot of messages from fellow boot campers that they’ve been struggling with following all the steps, and it’s causing a lot of anxiety. I completely understand that, and don’t worry. It’s totally natural.

Life throws curve balls, and you’re still a newbie. You’re just now being asked, for the first time, to forgo the fast food – it would totally make sense if you forgot to accommodate Lil’ Jamie’s birthday party with all the cake pops. You’re going to slip up. In fact, I’m banking on it.

That doesn’t mean I’m rooting for anyone’s downfall; in fact, quite the opposite. Those mistakes are how you learn. You forget about the birthday party, you realize the importance of keeping a calendar and being able to plan. You drink the sodapop, you realize you agreed to not drink it, it causes you to really think about why you drank it in the first place and question, genuinely, whether or not you may be an emotional eater, drinking it because you’re stressed out and need a “pick me up.”

I’m sympathetic to the plight of the person struggling – this is why I started it off so slowly in the beginning. I knew – I already saw it coming. Remember, I’m the one who cheered for myself when I stopped eating leftover 7-layer dip for breakfast. I know all about making mistakes.

This week, I’m going to try to focus on a few things that I think might be contributing to the struggles of your fellow boot campers, from some of my favorite books that I’ve read along the way.

Your steps, for this week, are to not only tighten up on previous weeks’ steps, but to pick a book on the following list. Any book. Go buy it. Get it from the library if you must, but you need to own it, so save up those coins so you can get your own copy. You may even need to mark it up with highlighter and post-it notes.

• Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler
• Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
• Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
• (You might also want to check out this post here.)

To be fair – and to be clear – these links are my own personal referral links, and purchasing from them benefits the blog. But don’t feel like you have to use these links if you know of a better deal elsewhere. And, if you’re tight on dough, don’t worry. I’ll be sharing excerpts from the books all week that I think are the most germane to what we’re doing, here.

If you’re having difficulty with giving up anything we’ve discussed thus far, it’s time to also get you comfortable with learning and understanding the science behind why. For some reason, understanding that science makes it easier to identify when you’re being taken advantage of, and helps when it’s time to make better decisions.

Also, I’m going to stop being so lazy forgetful and take part more in the #CEBootCamp hashtag both on my Instagram (@bgg2wl) and my twitter (@bgg2wl) accounts. I’ll also be sharing quotes from the latest book I’m reading – currently Pandora’s Lunchbox by Melanie Warner – to help shed some light on why we’re dumping the junk in favor of clean eating on the hashtag, so be sure that you’re both following me and checking the hashtag. I’m all down for offering tips, words of encouragement, all of it, and you should feel encouraged to do the same. I’m always looking out, and I love when you girls share what you’re cooking with me! Don’t forget – #CEBootCamp. Snap shots of those breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners. I wanna see!

What’s going on, y’all? How’s it going?

Looking for previous boot camp steps? You’ll always find them here!