The why...

When I restarted weight watchers, I vowed to not rely on pasta as my side of choice. This was one of the best decisions I made. J and I make more veggies on the side of our meals and I always use whole wheat wraps/pitas if I'm making tacos (which I started adding beans to and am hooked!)

The other thing I promised myself is to listen to my body. I would eat when hungry, stop when full, rest when needed. Though it sounds like a rule to facilitate excuses, I couldn't be happier with this rule. It keeps me from being deprived, Keeps me from burning out, and (most importantly) keeps me from obsessing over food.

These two goals have brought me to today's attempt at clean eating. I've started to like almonds (I was never a nut girl), beans (kinda), and more vegetables. I was never able to kick my red bull habit, but at 20 calories for a big one, I figured it wasn't that bad.

Last week, however, I had a killer migraine. I attributed it to allergies that had been acting up a lot lately. The next day, I felt fine, but ended the day with a headache. Same thing happened on Wednesday. The only thing that I could think of was that my sugar free red bull may have been to blame! So, on Thursday I had no such red bull. I was fine. Friday? No red bull and no headache. It all clicked. Perhaps the stuff that gives me energy is what's hurting! And that was the end of my red bull addiction.

Sunday night I had been out late playing pub trivia at the British Beer Company and was exhausted yesterday at work. One large iced tea down and I needed more. I decided to have a regular red bull. Guess what? No headache. Then i got it. I understood! It was a side effect of aspartame! I had known that Aspartame converts to formaldahyde at high temperatures (a mere 86 degrees!), but figured I really only ever had it in small doses. This stint of headaches was a slap in the face. A wake up call. These wacky chemicals going into my body are doing more harm than good!

So, today's project of eating clean is my attempt at starting to step away from processed foods. I know I won't be able to change overnight (I'm having cake at my wedding dammit!), but if I can succeed with small changes.. if I can get through ONE day of it... I know I can eventually make this my lifestyle......