The Engine 2 Challenge Week 4: It's Over and I am a Little Afraid

Last night marked the end of the 28 day Engine 2 Challenge. I was the only participant still standing after the first week, but I powered on, with the support and encouragement of people who were following along with me here on the blog, on Instagram, and on Facebook.  So now what?  Do I start another 28 day challenge?  Do I go back to the way things were before I took the challenge?  I'm not quite sure yet.

I become obsessed when it comes to stuff like this.  If I decided I wanted to eat this way for the rest of my life, I could.  But do I?  Not really.  The thought of never having deep fried Toffalo Wings drenched in melted buttery buffalo sauce dipped in creamy ranch really freaks me out.  Much in the same way an alcoholic must feel when they decide to give up alcohol, I have an obsessive and unhealthy relationship with food.  (Which makes my career choice as a food blogger and cookbook author a pretty difficult one.)

The Engine 2 Challenge Week 3: Making Lasting Lifestyle Changes

Let's just start this post off with a huge thanks to Rip Esselstyn himself.  He is touring the country and making lots of stops.  I was lucky enough to catch his appearance at the Whole Foods Market in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, earlier this week.

I have to admit, the crowd that was there, was pretty difficult.  I mean, like hecklers at a comedy show, there were people arguing every point he made.  "But what about raw milk?" "What's wrong with lean meat?" "What about the specific vitamins you can get from bison and not anywhere else?"  I mean, seriously?  Why would anyone come to a lecture and appearance by a VEGAN, PLANT STRONG, lifestyle promoter and ruin it for the rest of us trying to get and stay inspired on what is a very difficult journey for many.

Week 2 of Engine 2: I think I'm getting the hang of this

Time to get real. I honestly thought I would have given up on this challenge by now.  I mean, seriously, it just about goes against everything I ever talk about, and the new followers I have on instagram are all of the "healthy" variety.  Ha!  It's definitely not like I am anti-healthy or anything.  I mean not really.

Maybe it's that I never was able to put that much focus on healthy eating because I was always focused on "yummy" vegan eats.  Vegan eats are my main form of activism.  I feed people delicious vegan food. And people see that vegan food is "normal" food with flavors they are familiar with. And then people say things like, "Oh my god, you can still eat this? Maybe I will go vegan!"  (Well that's how I hope they respond, anyway.)  So, cooking for health, and eating my medicine were never very high on my priority list. 

Surviving (and Thriving!) on the Engine 2 Challenge

Yes, you read that title right. Me, Joni Marie Newman, am on the Engine 2 Diet...for 28 days, at least. You see, when you are a cookbook author, you cook a lot of food.  Way more food than should ever be cooked in a household of two. Especially when one of those two has the dietary habits of a six year old and won't touch anything with onions or mushrooms in it, and God forbid if it's spicy.  So yeah, I cook way too much food, and therefore eat way too much food.  And while I like to think I cook somewhat healthfully, the truth is, I cook to make it taste good first and foremost.