Reimer Family Challenge - April

I've been saying for years that I needed to give up my beloved Diet Cokes. One friend has told me for years that Cokes (and most soda pop in general) are the "cigarette of the future". One day all will be known and Coca-Cola will have to admit (after revealing documents are found) that they knew how bad all the chemicals were for you and huge settlements will ensue. While we can't be certain that will happen, I do know that the host of chemicals and myriad of grody things in these drinks cannot possibly good for you. So, at the start of Lent this year, some of my work friends asked me to join them in giving up something in honor of Christ during Lent. Even today, I'm not certain what made me take up this challenge but I did and ultimately I'm glad. As of tomorrow, I will have gone approximately six weeks without Diet Cokes (or any sodas) and my other crutch, artificial sweeteners. I've come to believe through my own research that artificial sweeteners can't be good for you either. I must give kudos to my Boo who gave these up with me to be supportive! Sweet hubby...

Spurned on by my apparent ability to get past my Diet Coke and artificial sweetener addictions, I decided to try a few more things and see how they go. Don't get me wrong, my Diet Coke addiction is a day to day thing. I can't believe how much I can still crave them but it has gotten somewhat better.

So, after this recent success and watching the documentary "Food Inc." I've been inspired to challenge our little family of two to several small, monthly changes centered around eating and food to see if we truly can overhaul our eating habits and lifestyles. For once in my life, this is NOT, I repeat NOT going to be about losing a certain amount of weight or fitting in to a certain size. That is nothing more than perpetuating the cycle of weight loss/weight gain/self hatred and buying into the societal nonsense that says we all have to be stick thin and a size 2 to be accepted. Accept me or don't, I will never be a size 2. (That is a a whole other blog post!).

The April challenge is very simple. We are going to see if we can eat at home for every meal for the entire 30 days of April. For now, I don't care what we eat as long as we eat it at home. If my Boo wants a Totino's pizza during this challenge, have at it!

There are certain variables that I will allow for in the challenge such as:

1. A meal out with family members as Sunday after church lunches do sometimes happen.

2. Certain events (usually work related) where eating out is part of the deal.

The April challenge is meant to answer a few questions:

1. Can we really eat at home for 30 days straight?

2. Can we really save money by eating at home?

3. Do we notice any health differences by simply eating at home? (Good or Bad).

I will be blogging during this process so check back during the month to see how it's going! So, The challenge starts Thursday! Wish us luck!