Purge my vices 28 day challenge

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So I see these articles on FB all the time "he gave up alcohol and look at the difference" yada yada and the difference seems amazing.

I've identified 5 vices in my life I'm considering giving up for a month after the superbowl which will be the last day of my vices because I have already made plans including pretty much all vices. And I plan to add in the vices I would like back after but in moderation or even minimal use.

What are people's experiences of giving up a few vices at the same time?

Vices I'm considering giving up for 28 days after the superbowl are:

Vape/nicotine All caffeine Alcohol Junk food (crisps (chips us) chocolate sweets and pop) And bread/flour.
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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Do you want to debate this or have it as a motivation thread? (I'm cool either way, just want to make sure you aren't here in debate accidentally.)

    Depending on how you define "vice" I've had mixed reactions. Sometimes it is useful to focus on entirely renewing my life and giving up/adding in a bunch of stuff rather than taking the chance of bouncing from one to another -- synergistic. Sometimes I feel like it can be overkill and I get stressed about doing everything and miss the focus, especially if there really is one big vice that needs to be addressed.

    Understanding why you consider it a vice and how the things fit together if they do can be helpful. (For me vice has a moral connotation or at least "opposite of virtue.")
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    What are you expecting to get out of this challenge?

    Oh, and what constitutes a vice? Especially as you list bread and flour as one of them.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    purtchiarn wrote: »
    So I see these articles on FB all the time "he gave up alcohol and look at the difference" yada yada and the difference seems amazing.

    I've identified 5 vices in my life I'm considering giving up for a month after the superbowl which will be the last day of my vices because I have already made plans including pretty much all vices. And I plan to add in the vices I would like back after but in moderation or even minimal use.

    What are people's experiences of giving up a few vices at the same time?

    Vices I'm considering giving up for 28 days after the superbowl are:

    Vape/nicotine All caffeine Alcohol Junk food (crisps (chips us) chocolate sweets and pop) And bread/flour.

    Nicotine - Worth eliminating
    Caffeine- No negatives
    Alcohol - Ok in moderation
    Junk food (within your daily calories - No negatives
    Bread/Flour - Absurd

    Not really sure what the point in this needless elimination and restriction except for the nicotine.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Giving up that many things at once would be virtually impossible for me. They're all things that are considered challenging to give up even individually.

    I can see the benefit in giving up nicotine and alcohol (if you're currently drinking to excess or it's causing problems for you), but the others don't seem to have as clear of a benefit. Are they things that are currently keeping you from meeting your goals?
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Giving up that many things at once would be virtually impossible for me. They're all things that are considered challenging to give up even individually.

    I can see the benefit in giving up nicotine and alcohol (if you're currently drinking to excess or it's causing problems for you), but the others don't seem to have as clear of a benefit. Are they things that are currently keeping you from meeting your goals?

    A giant wall formed of loaves bread blocking your front door to your house could keep anyone from getting to work, let alone meeting a goal.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    How is bread/flour a vice?

    IMO, giving up so many things at once is a very drastic change to your lifestyle and will not be sustainable.

    I'm also confused as to whether you're planning to only do it for a month or forever? If you're only doing it for a month, what's the point?
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
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    Things I've given up:

    Vape/nicotine: It was a nightmare. It's was so hard. Hardest thing I've ever done. I don't even know the benefits aside from the known health ones because it took so long just to feel like a normal person again.

    All caffeine: For the first few days, I was sleeping as much as I could. I think I slept about 14 hours a day. I had a headache non stop for a week. A lot of my anxiety went away. I felt relaxed and a lot of muscle tension went away.

    Alcohol: I don't miss it. I miss the feeling of being hungover most but that's probably just me. I used to drink to excess but only on rare occasions. I quit alcohol when I quit smoking because I feared I would give in and smoke if I drank. I just never picked it up again. But, people who drink a lot generally are bloated as a result and they quit drinking, the bloat goes away and they look fantastic. I've definitely noticed that.

    Junk food (crisps (chips us) chocolate sweets and pop) And bread/flour. - I've given up processed carbs completely on several occasions. I am far less hungry overall when I do it. My appetite decreases by half. I don't know what the mechanism is or what is going on but, if I want to lose weight, cutting out processed carbs makes it easy. I takes about 3 or 4 days for me to notice the effect but it's very noticeable. Every time I want to lose some fat, it's the first thing I do.

    I don't even really miss the carbs after the first few days but I will have a strong occasional desire to eat chips when I'm dieting. It isn't a craving, exactly. It's that, when I'm eating chips and watching television together, I completely check out mentally. That's the thing I miss and the thing that I crave when I crave chips. It's not the taste or anything. It's the little mental vacation it affords me.
  • DanielleTake2
    DanielleTake2 Posts: 51 Member
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    nokanjaijo wrote: »
    Things I've given up:

    Alcohol: I don't miss it. I miss the feeling of being hungover most but that's probably just me. I used to drink to excess but only on rare occasions. I quit alcohol when I quit smoking because I feared I would give in and smoke if I drank. I just never picked it up again. But, people who drink a lot generally are bloated as a result and they quit drinking, the bloat goes away and they look fantastic. I've definitely noticed that.

    Say WHAT?! You miss being hungover? Explain, please!!!
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Say WHAT?! You miss being hungover? Explain, please!!!

    Once I've had an Aleve and the headache goes away, it's just this fuzzy feeling in my head. Also, food tastes amazing. I'm calmer because I can't really think clearly. What is even weirder is that I also feel this way about diarrhea so it's probably the dehydration making my head fuzzy. And I just love when my head feels fuzzy like that.

    Anxiety is a real problem for me is the take away here, I suppose.
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
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    purtchiarn wrote: »

    Vape/nicotine All caffeine Alcohol Junk food (crisps (chips us) chocolate sweets and pop) And bread/flour.
    I've given up alcohol completely and don't miss it. Then again I'm an alky, so moderation is out of the question for me lol.

    Smokes - I do partake now and then. I'm planning on putting those down soon.

    The rest - I used to think the same way about giving them up, but experience here over a year has taught me I don't have to. I had my "football food" watching GB vs Dallas the other day and stayed within my restrictions, thoroughly enjoyed the food. :)
  • DanielleTake2
    DanielleTake2 Posts: 51 Member
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    nokanjaijo wrote: »

    Once I've had an Aleve and the headache goes away, it's just this fuzzy feeling in my head. Also, food tastes amazing. I'm calmer because I can't really think clearly. What is even weirder is that I also feel this way about diarrhea so it's probably the dehydration making my head fuzzy. And I just love when my head feels fuzzy like that.

    Anxiety is a real problem for me is the take away here, I suppose.

    Interesting. I have another vice you could try that would give you all of those same feelings... fuzzy, food tastes better... without the other side effects. It also gives you dry mouth so that might make you feel dehydrated? Do you see what I'm getting at?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    nokanjaijo wrote: »

    Say WHAT?! You miss being hungover? Explain, please!!!

    Once I've had an Aleve and the headache goes away, it's just this fuzzy feeling in my head. Also, food tastes amazing. I'm calmer because I can't really think clearly. What is even weirder is that I also feel this way about diarrhea so it's probably the dehydration making my head fuzzy. And I just love when my head feels fuzzy like that.

    Anxiety is a real problem for me is the take away here, I suppose.

    well that is a first, the one person who actually enjoys a hangover...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    OP - why would bread and flour be a vice????
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
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    Vices are what makes life worth living. One reason I work out is so that I can enjoy my vices.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    nokanjaijo wrote: »

    Say WHAT?! You miss being hungover? Explain, please!!!

    Once I've had an Aleve and the headache goes away, it's just this fuzzy feeling in my head. Also, food tastes amazing. I'm calmer because I can't really think clearly. What is even weirder is that I also feel this way about diarrhea so it's probably the dehydration making my head fuzzy. And I just love when my head feels fuzzy like that.

    Anxiety is a real problem for me is the take away here, I suppose.

    well that is a first, the one person who actually enjoys a hangover...

    I have never been hungover but this makes me want to try it. (no, it doesn't)

    I limited certain foods at the start of my weight loss because I did a poor job of eating them in moderation but I've never actually totally given any up.
  • purtchiarn
    purtchiarn Posts: 12 Member
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    So I see a lot of people asking me about bread and flour. It's more the refined flours etc bread isn't that healthy and contains a lot of sugars and salts. The theory is to cut out something that clogs you up, more salads and a fresh diet. I would try vegan for 28 days to experiment but I feel that would be going to far, I'm likely to be agitated already with lack of caffeine and nicotine.

    Alcohol, I'm not an every day drinker or massive ginger, but I do have alcohol regularly, I feel cutting out alcohol and junk food may need to a better quality of sleep.
  • purtchiarn
    purtchiarn Posts: 12 Member
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    Ginger : binger
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    purtchiarn wrote: »
    So I see a lot of people asking me about bread and flour. It's more the refined flours etc bread isn't that healthy and contains a lot of sugars and salts. The theory is to cut out something that clogs you up, more salads and a fresh diet. I would try vegan for 28 days to experiment but I feel that would be going to far, I'm likely to be agitated already with lack of caffeine and nicotine.

    Alcohol, I'm not an every day drinker or massive ginger, but I do have alcohol regularly, I feel cutting out alcohol and junk food may need to a better quality of sleep.

    This is just me, but if I want to eat more of something it's psychologically much easier for me to say "I'm going to have a salad with dinner every night" than to eliminate bread and somehow hope that works out to eating more salad.

    Your experience may be different. Have you had good success with eliminating things before?

    Refined flour, sugar, and salt can all be part of a healthful diet. If you're eating enough of them that they're crowding out other things you need or causing you to go over your calorie goals, I can see wanting to manage that. But lots of people have found that an "all or nothing" approach is actually counter-productive for them.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    purtchiarn wrote: »
    Ginger : binger

    That typo made me giggle harder than it should have. I agree with Jane on focusing on adding things, rather than restricting them. It just reframes in a more positive light.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    purtchiarn wrote: »
    So I see a lot of people asking me about bread and flour. It's more the refined flours etc bread isn't that healthy and contains a lot of sugars and salts. The theory is to cut out something that clogs you up, more salads and a fresh diet. I would try vegan for 28 days to experiment but I feel that would be going to far, I'm likely to be agitated already with lack of caffeine and nicotine.

    Alcohol, I'm not an every day drinker or massive ginger, but I do have alcohol regularly, I feel cutting out alcohol and junk food may need to a better quality of sleep.

    why is bread not healthy?

    you can eat bread, be in your calorie count, and hit micros and macros and that is a healthy diet..

    how exactly does bread "clog" you up?

    I would suggest doing some actual homework on these things, and not just googling it and reading all of the "bread is the debil" posts out there.

    Absent a medical condition there is really no reason that one cannot eat bread, unless you don't like the taste...