This is the final edition to my no HFCS challenge. The thirty days are over, which means that the challenge is also finished. Looking back, it has been an interesting journey with a few unexpected twists along the way.
Before I began my challenge, I planned to write in a journal daily and I planned to control my diet very carefully. Unfortunately, I became too busy to write in my journal, so I gave that up.
On the other hand I had a little more success with what I ate. Some people may be wondering what I actually did eat, and the answer is very simple: I ate almost everything. Except for the items that I mentioned in the first article, such as regular sodas and Oreos, I ate normal food. Even though I ate normally, it was still difficult to make sure I stayed on track. There were times that I knew I was eating HFCS, but I had no other option. For example, during the challenge I went to a wedding that served food with HFCS, but I had to eat what was being served because I was the guest. There were also moments when I did not know if I was eating it, so I did my best to choose food that I hoped did not have it.
This challenge not only affected my eating habits, but it also affected my tastes. Near the end of the challenge, I started noticing that my tastes were changing and I liked foods that were not very sweet. I also realized that I started noticing when foods are over sweetened, and I do not like that taste as much as I used to. So, if my tastes can be changed a little in just thirty days, what could a longer period of time do?
One of the most unexpected twists of this challenge was my article about nutrition in the school’s cafeteria. It was my second article in the series, but it was a completely unplanned addition. I had planned to write an update of the challenge, but the cafeteria’s nutrition became the focus instead. The article discussed the accessibility of nutritional information and offered suggestions for improvement.
Overall, this was a good challenge. It showed me that an unexpected turn of events can lead to an interesting outcome, and that habits and tastes can be changed in thirty days time. I also discovered that it is much harder than one may think to get rid of something like HFCS from one’s diet. I was unable to completely get rid of it, but I know that it is possible.
Moving forward, I am going to try to consume less HFCS than before so that I continue to take steps toward a healthier me. I also encourage others to do the same.