However, I do believe that balance is important too. You’ve got to live, enjoy yourself, indulge a little and have some fun, right? So yes, that sometimes involves having some chocolate, I’ll have a couple of drinks most weekends (I can’t handle more than a couple these days) and I’ll have a little treat if we go for a coffee sometimes too. I also refuse to be the person that says no to the birthday cake (despite cake not really agreeing with me) because, well, it’s someones celebration… eat the cake!

Last week though, I decided to try a more consistently ‘clean’ way of eating. After buying The Happy Health Plan by the Flynn brothers, mainly to broaden my plant-based recipe options, I thought I’d actually give their plan a go to see how it made me feel. The idea is to stick to plant-based wholefood and avoid animal products (no problem), stay away from processed or refined food and any oils… and no calorie counting or portion control! I was definitely up for the last one – as I mentioned in a previous post, using calorie counting apps have definitely proved useful and interesting for me but my goodness, it’s laborious and time consuming!! So, the theory is that if you stick to the rules, you can eat as much as you like. Hmm, is this really such a good idea??

I started on a Monday (because, obviously – that’s when all ‘diets’ start) and quite honestly, by Tuesday I felt amazing!! I think this was partly due to feeling rather smug about only putting healthy, super nourishing stuff in my body but I genuinely felt more energised and ‘well’ straight away. As the days ticked by, the feeling good continued but I also realised that I wasn’t eating loads despite being allowed to and I was only craving healthy food. I wasn’t actually interested in refined foods, I didn’t even crave my evening chocolate treat – just a banana and some moon milk for me thank you very much! Not only that, last week was the week before my period was due, a week when normally chocolate is a staple and sugary treat foods are just part of getting me through the week. To top it off, I had virtually no PMT symptoms or cramps and hardly felt any of the wiped out sluggishness I usually have this time of the month. It also turns out that it’s really easy to cook without oil and, in turn, the lack of oil in my food definitely left me feeling much better and not at all bloated after meals. Bonus – I actually lost a few pounds in weight too.

So, to summarise, my ‘clean eating’ experiment was a resounding success! Feeling this energised, healthy and generally well gave me such a buzz that although I will still have days when treats are included, I fully intend to stick to this way of eating. Surely anything that makes you feel this good is going to be pretty easy to stick to. Thanks Happy Pear – you are legends!