Three Week Challenges 101

The Lab

This starting point could be seen as a sort of a laboratory to quit old habits and embrace new ones. The approach of challenging myself into quitting things, or doing things differently from my routine, allows me to experiment and learn more about myself and see how my body functions under different circumstances. The idea is to embrace or quit a habit for at least three weeks. The most important part for me is to approach the challenge period as a game and try to have fun in the process. In this post you’ll find the stories of two challenges which started as three week ones, but the enjoyment I got out of them was such that they ended up lasting a longer period of time. After the stories, I have listed the things I was able to quit temporarily, and the things I was able to quit for good.

Walking Everywhere for Two Years

I actually started with the challenge of not using any means of transportation before embracing a change in my lifestyle in April 2016. The actual challenge started during the year 2014. I decided to walk everywhere and did not use any means of transportation. ( note: I did take the plane and means of transportation while traveling abroad several times during that period.) It all started as a three week challenge, and it ended up lasting for over a two year period. It would take me 30 minutes to go to work and 30 minutes to get back home. Just with the habit of walking to work I was able to secure at the very least five hours of weekly walking. There were weeks when I would be walking for a total of 15 to 20 hours. Other than introducing a daily exercising routine to my life, this challenge allowed me, on my way to work, to think about the tasks ahead and organize my day mentally before starting the actual workday. On my way back home, the routine of walking was allowing me to get the work related stress out of my system before returning to my home environment for the rest of the night.

To carry my produce, I was able to recuperate an unused grocery cart. At times, I had to go to places which were relatively far away from where I lived. It would take me between an hour to two hours to get to those places. I was always able to manage it fine by planning ahead. I also realized that in a small city like Geneva Switzerland, walking or using public transportation did not make that much of a difference in terms of time efficiency. The biggest challenges I was confronted with occurred during the winter months. With the cold weather the sidewalks would occasionally get icy. I had a pair of wearable ice cleats, and an umbrella on me at all times.

Although I think that I have benefited from the two year walking everywhere challenge, as I mentioned it in the beginning, I did the actual challenge before embracing change and having a cleaner lifestyle. When I look back, although it was a good thing to walk everywhere;  during that entire period, I suspect my system to be overall pretty backed up. I remember my legs being soared because of walking all the time. Since I would be walking a lot and everyday, some of the pain on certain parts of my body started to become chronic. Walking certainly must of help to move my lymphatic fluid around, but since I wasn’t detoxifying and eliminating properly, I don’t think that I was able to get the very best out of the challenge. I believe, it would have been more ideal to embrace a challenge like this one while cleansing the body at the same time. Today I still walk a lot, and since I was able detox and eliminate for almost two years now, I don’t experience anything related to muscular pain, or muscular injury. As I’ve been cleansing my system, progressively I’ve been witnessing my body becoming more flexible, more resilient and free of pain. This is one of the best and most amazing gifts that the change in lifestyle has given me so far.

No English, No GPS

When I first moved to South America, I wanted to improve my Spanish as fast as I could. I also wanted to get to know the city of Buenos Aires as good as a local. I named my challenge “No English, No GPS”. The Idea consisted of not pronouncing one word of English, French, or Turkish to communicate with people, and not use the GPS from my phone to navigate through the city. At one point I was living with housemates from Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. Even with them I would only communicate in Spanish. I was able to stick to the challenge for about four entire months. The interesting part resides in the fact that, even today I still don’t use my phone to navigate in Buenos Aires, and although I am a bit more flexible with allowing myself to use of American English, I mostly speak in Spanish when I am out in the city.  This experience showed me that even when the challenge was over after a four month period, something was learned from the experience and stayed with me for a longer period of time.  Usually with these types of challanges the most difficult part for me, is to get to the three week mark. After that, it becomes a new habit, and it represents less of an effort to stick to it.

Challenge Ideas

It is really up to our creativity to come up with such challenges. It could be something as simple as not using the elevator for three weeks, or get off the bus or the subway one stop earlier and walk every morning. The idea is to chose something that will have a positive impact on our lives.

Other than the two challenges I shared with you in the above paragraphs, I was able to experiment with a fairly large number of other challenges mostly related to food. I’ve created two lists out of them. The first one contains things I was only able to quit temporarily, and the second one is made of habits I was able to kick out for good after the challenge period was over.

Things I was able to quit temporarily

Here’s the list of things that I was able to quit for a period of time, but not completely. I’ve been going back and forth consuming and not consuming the below listed items. At each iteration, I tend to consume less of the product that I eventually intent to quit.

• Meat: I am able to have long periods of time when I don’t eat any meat. This can range from one week up to a two month period. If I compare my approach to meat as of now (Feb 18) with the period before April 2016, I can easily say that I’ve been able to reduce my consumption of meat by at least 90%. That said, at one point during the periods when I am not eating meat, I have the feeling to slowing down mentally. Eating meat helps me to get my mental functions to a better level. What I suspect to be happening in the background, is that my body isn’t good enough at the moment to produce neurotransmitters with solely plant based food. I think it’s only a matter of time before it will be able to do so. I am already extremely happy that I was able to reduce my consumption of meat drastically. Going back and forth between periods when I do eat meat and periods when I don’t, I am thinking that I’ll be able to reduce my meat consumption even more in the near future.
• Eggs: I usually eat them during the periods when I allow myself to have cooked traditional food. I have to admit that they are very fulfilling, I love the taste, and they give me a lot of energy. Along with all products of animal origin, I have also reduced my consumption of eggs significantly.
• Dairy Products: This one could almost be on the list of things I permanently quit. I think that dairy products in general are really bad for me. I don’t buy them anymore, I think that I am still consuming some indirectly when I am eating out and I order dishes made with butter, a bit of cheese, or yogurt.
• Cereals: I was able to clear my diet from cereals for the most parts. I am still not completely convinced that cereals are 100% bad for me. I still need to do more research on the topic and keep experimenting on my own. Once in a while I still eat some rice,  and I will occasionally eat some wholegrain good quality bread, when I am eating out and the actual restaurant has the sensitivity and good taste to provide quality bread. I haven’t been buying cereals nor bread as a part of my groceries since I’ve started my journey in April 2016.
• Watching Televised Soccer Games: Since I moved to South America in January 2017, I haven’t been watching complete Turkish football games. I still follow the Turkish Super League, but solely through highlights and post game commentaries from the web. I occasionally watch big Champions League games here in Argentina. It’s easier for me to watch internationally renowned teams that I am actually not supporting. I feel more distant emotionally since it’s not my team which is playing, therefore it’s easier for me to watch those types of matches.  I went from watching over 10 complete soccer games a week, to one game every six months or so. The reason why I put my habit of watching soccer on the list of things I did not completely quit, is because I don’t see myself never watching Turkish football again. Hopefully at one point I’ll get back to watching games with moderation. I have to mention that watching soccer games in the stadium is a completely different experience. As opposed to game binging from the internet, I believe that going to the stadium to watch games is actually good for me.
• Cooked Food: This one I don’t see it as a disempowering habit, as long as my diet is made of a higher percentage of raw food. I try to have a raw, plant based diet for the most part, but I also think that cooked food can be beneficial to feel good and maintain body weight. Cooked food allows me to enjoy crops such as potatoes, quinoa, sweet potatoes etc… During wintertime it feels extremely comforting to have some warmth along with the food intake. If you are interested in finding out how I manage to switch from dry-fasting to eating raw, to have periods when I cooked food, feel free to check out my journal entries. The way I switch from one practice to an other is based on the fact that I have slowly learned how to listen to my body. Although it could seem like I am all over the place, going back and forth in diet. I think that if I zoom out a bit, and observe my personal progress since April 2016, I can see that my journey is going towards a direction that is allowing me to have a healthier and a more sustainable lifestyle.
• Water: This one may sound a bit strange, but during the periods when I am fully eating raw. I don’t directly drink any water. I only drink water when I eat out, and  indirectly from plant based milk, and the smoothies I make at home. When I eat out and the only adequate option is water, I tend to order some. I usually don’t drink when I eat. I just know that restaurants rely on selling beverages to make money. I mostly order water to support the business. Ideally I prefer not to drink with my meals.
• Raw Sugar Free Desserts: For this little vice I also do have periods when I do eat some sugar-free raw chocolate, or raw desserts. Although I enjoy the taste a lot, and cacao gives me a lot of energy, I know I am better off having some extended time without consuming any to allow my body to cleanse deeper. I recently watched a video of Rob Stuart on cacao (Feb 24th 18). Until watching the actual video, I did not know that cacao had caffeine in it, and could be considered as a trigger food.  His video absolutely convinced me to reduce even more the amount of cacao from my diet.
• Nuts: Quitting nuts is only a month old experience for me (Feb 18). Since I had started my lifestyle change adventure in April 2016, I have been eating tons of nuts, thinking that since they are raw they must be healthy for me. Over a month ago I initiated a three week challenge of quitting nuts. It has now been about five weeks since last time I had nuts. So far the experience has been fantastic. It almost feels like this was one of the last habits that was keeping me back from feeling absolutely great. I’ve been sleeping better, and waking up more rested since I quit eating nuts. Time will tell if I come back at consuming any or not. I still do think that nuts have a lot to offer, but for me personally I think I was basing my diet way too much on them. Now I realize that they are not the easiest food to digest.
• Oils: This one is extremely new for me. After watching an other video of Rob Stuart who was able to overcome extreme skin related issues with change in diet, I decided to give it try and quit consuming oils for a while. Being of Mediterranean origin I always naturally welcomed olive oil in my diet without even questioning it much. Even after my lifestyle change in April 2016 I would still put a good amount of olive oil in my raw plant based salads. It has now been only 10 days that I am having a oil free diet. I think I need to experiment a while longer before I can have a distinct opinion on whether oils are good or bad for me. At this point Rob’s approach makes a lot of sense to me, since oils are processed. Even for someone who is not experiencing skin issues, I think it can be beneficial to take a break from consuming oils.
• Cell Phone Plan: This one I am particularly proud of. Since I moved to South America I don’t have a cell phone plan. I was able to get a rechargeable SIM card, that I don’t put any money on. That way I still have an Argentinian phone number that I also use for WhatsApp. Not having a cell phone plan is one of the most liberating things that occurred to me since I’ve left Europe. This allows me to not use my phone much and only rely on WIFI. I am able to save money this way. I also think that since my phone is mostly on flight mode, I am protecting my body a bit more against harmful waves than if my phone was permanently connected. Time will tell if I’ll be able to keep a cell phone plan free lifestyle. I really hope to live this way as long as possible.

Things I was able to quit permanently

Here’s the list of things I was able to quit permanently after completing three week challenges for each.

• Coffee: After heavily consuming coffee on a daily basis for over 19 years, as of November 2017, I can proudly say that I don’t drink coffee or black tea anymore. If you want to read more about my experience of quitting coffee, feel free to read my post titled “Coffee Quit Me”.
• Alcohol: I actually decided to take a break from consuming alcoholic beverages as a part of my lifestyle change in April 2016. As opposed to cooked meals and meat products, I haven’t consumed a drop of alcohol since then. As if at the very moment I quit drinking alcohol, my body thanked me to do so and asked me to never have alcohol again. It’s a very strange feeling, because I really don’t miss it, and also because I can not directly correlate the positive effects of me quitting alcohol to me feeling better since I’ve embrace more change in my life than just quitting alcohol. Today the way I feel towards alcohol, is a bit as if I never had consumed any during my entire life.  It almost feels like alcohol isn’t  a part of this world anymore. The only downside I’ve been experiencing , is on the social level. I used to go to bars order a drink and socialize. This is definitely not happening anymore. I find it way more difficult to meet new people without going to places where things revolve around alcohol or coffee. I am fine with it. I am sure that at one point I am going to find alike minded people in terms of lifestyle in different types of social settings, and I’ll be able to socialize more this way.
• Shampoo: Along with many other cosmetics, I was able to quit washing my hair with shampoo. If you want to know more about this actual experience in great detail, feel free to read my post titled “Shampoo Quit Me”.
• Facial Creams: The initial reason to quit using pricey cosmetics was at first for financial reasons. Then I moved to South America which made those types of products even more expensive and difficult to find. With a healthier diet, regular exposure to sunlight, my skin is doing better than ever. It does not feel dry anymore, and it’s perfectly balanced. I don’t even wash my face with soap. I only dry-brush it and use plain water to wash it.
• Hair Lotions: This bourgeois addiction of mine was also a very a pricey one for me. It did serve me well to slow down hair loss, but I am glad I was able to quit the use of hair lotions. You can also find more details on this one by reading my “Shampoo Quit Me” post”
• Medicinal Drugs: I wasn’t a big fan of western medicine even before my lifestyle change in April 2016. That said, I had a bad habit of swallowing some tylenol or panadol pills when I’d be about to catch a cold. By taking those pills early on at the appearance of the cold symptoms, I was able to not get sick or recover very fast from a cold. Since January 2017, I permanently quit all medicinal drugs. Not only I am feeling better without them, I still quasi never get sick.
• Processed Sugars: During the summer 2011, I made the decision to not put sugar in my coffee anymore. In April 2016 I decided to quit white processed sugar altogether. I don’t buy any and I try to only consume sugar free products. When I go to eat out, it is possible that there is some sugar hidden in sauces. This is one of the reasons why lately I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of times I eat out. Eating at home gives me a total control of what I am putting inside my body.

Virtuous Cycle

One thing I have noticed by putting the the two lists together, is that I was able to quit permanently things that seemed more difficult to quit initially. I do believe that all the disempowering habits I was able to quit are some consequences of me changing my lifestyle. I am convinced that a healthier lifestyle encourages my body to quit bad habits, and quitting bad habits reinforces the change towards a healthier living. Bringing my lifestyle in virtuous place like this one, allows me to gain momentum moving towards where I eventually want to be.

Adding Before Subtracting

With the experience I have accumulated until today since April 2016, I can suggest that it would almost be easier to add positive practices into a lifestyle, before quitting the less empowering ones. If I take my own case as an example, I would have thought that quitting coffee would be the most difficult habit to kick out. The reality ended up being that I was able to quit it effortlessly. When I try to understand how things played themselves out, I can see that before the moment I quit drinking coffee, I had been juicing and eating a high percentage of raw food for about a year and a half already. In a way, I had constructed a support system that would provide me with sustainable energy before getting to the point of quitting drinking coffee. I think this is why it was effortless to quit coffee for me.

If you want to quit something and you are struggling each time you try to quit it, maybe think of replacing the bad habit with a sustainable one that promotes healing first. That way there won’t be a void when you actually quit the disempowering habit. I believe that there are deep rooted reasons why we as modern human beings are developing addictions. I also believe that we first need to understand those deeply rooted causes, then find  healthier and sustainable replacements for our addictions. Once we are able to do that, there is a strong possibility that the addiction will disappear on its own.

I AM NOT A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. I would like to make it very clear that I am only sharing my own experience on this website, and have no intention to give any specific advice on health. Please read the disclaimer section for more information.