Viceless Day 12: "So you're giving up fun?"

I went to dinner last night at Trio. The eating out is getting much easier. I'm just not a person who eats the bread. Ok, I can accept that about myself. I now have special requests like no cheese. Ok. I don't get deserts. This is not the end of the world.

I'm getting my biggest shocks and giggles from the fact that people keep saying that I'm giving up all pleasure and fun by not consuming sugar, gluten, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and TV when alone. Like these are the only joys in life. People actually say, "So, you're giving up fun?"

No! I'm not giving up laughter, dancing, humor, fulfilling work or love. I'm not giving up fun. I'm giving up some habits that make me feel bad in the morning either mentally or physically. Is something that is fun in the moment but causes guilt or a crash later really fun? Is it the only fun? I don't think so.

I had a beautiful wood oven roasted beets salad with baby kale and aged balsamic. Then, I had a grilled New york steak with roasted red potatoes, shallots and green beans. It was fun.

I'm kinda starting to wonder, does no one else feel bad about themselves in this world? Now, I'm basically a happy and confident person. I have no big problems with the way I look but I have problems with the way I abuse my body in an effort to feel better in the short term. Stressed- have four cocktails. That will reset your mind by making it unable to function for two days. Bored- eat a bag of candy. That will kill some time. Not sure about what you're doing with your life- call a friend and complain about feeling lost until the feeling blurs. Don't other people have things that they think, "Hey, I'm better than that! This is not how I'm going to spend my life." This project isn't torture. I'm treating myself to a better life though purposefully changing my actions.

At the end of your life, don't you want to look back and think, "Damn, I really did something with that life of mine. What a thrilling adventure that was." I do. I think of giving up these past vices opening a window to bigger and better fun. Fun with no negative side effects.

The strange thing about this experiment is that so far it's not that I feel incredibly good, but I just don't feel bad in so many of the times that I used to feel guilt over my actions or the bloated effects of over consuming. I don't crash from caffeine or sugar. No meal has been ruined by eating too much bread before hand. I wake with less phlegm because I haven't had dairy. Every day is productive because I'm not in front of a TV. Am I so happy and glowing that I give off glitter? No. I'm about the same with less of the bad.

People say I look better but it's hard to tell. I'm breaking out which must be a symptom of detox because it's rare for me. My only breakouts for the past few years have been from stress or detox. This could be a mix of both. I've lost six pounds in under two weeks which just makes me wonder what the hell I was eating before that was holding onto weight that could be lost that easily. I'm not starving. I even monitored my calories for the first week so that I knew I was consuming enough. Things are subtly changing but right now it's hard to say what exactly. What the hell is three months going to bring?

No, I haven't given up fun. For a good time, you can still call me.