food on friday :: introducing the original food diet

Source: tastykitchen.com via Mandy on Pinterest

I'm excited to bring you a brand new series for {food on friday}! You might've heard a little bit about it over here... ;)

I'm finishing up the details this week for a crazy experiment I will start in April. I'll be following a strict whole foods diet, and will be sharing about it here on Fridays!

I'm going to cut out refined and processed foods {and phase out artificial sweeteners too, hopefully} over the next 6-8 weeks, which I'm hoping will be long enough to create a life-long habit.

The idea behind this project is that I want to eat natural, real food in the form in which God made it. For example, instead of eating bread, I'm going to eat only whole wheat grains boiled. Instead of cereal, I'll eat just natural oatmeal.

I think it's going to be hard... {bye, bye, sweet pre-packaged chocolate chip fiber granola bars...! I'll miss you!}, but it won't about tracking calories as much as it will be about tracking actual intake. I want to consider what's really going in, and how does it affect my body and mind?

I'll be tracking any differences I notice in the way I feel {physically and mentally}, exercise, and look {skin, nails, hair, body composition}. I'm so excited! Slowly but surely I hope to carry it on to the whole family. :D

I love a good challenge, and though I eat well it's hard for me not to eat something junk food related like a bite of cookie or a handful of chips or cereal at least a couple times a day. I also love Splenda, but I would be thrilled to eliminate it from my diet. I'm not a fan of ingesting large amounts of chemicals! {though I do it! sheesh!}

Oh, and I completely love desserts. Sweets are my downfall! {are they for you, too?} I've never gone without them completely. Wow.

goodbye sweets, hello sweet potatoes!

I'm both nervous and excited. I won't be crazy obsessive about not eating something not on the plan if it's presented to me, but I will try my best to avoid it when I can to see how I really feel when I only eat the food God has provided in it's natural form.

I'm hoping this project will be like a spring cleaning for my body, so to speak. :) I'll be setting up the rules for my own experiment right here next Friday, and you're welcome to join me in the challenge if you want to! I'd love to hear about your progress!

I will be posting lots of real food resources and recipes along the way {as well as spilling the beans about what it's like to suddenly change your diet ;)}. Oh, and for fun we can have a little Twitter support group called #foodsGodmade throughout the week if you want to ask questions or post your thoughts! :D

One quick question for you though: have you ever strictly followed a real food diet? I'd love to hear your experience! Any recipes or resources you'd recommend? {there were some awesome ones you guys posted over on facebook!}