We did it! It is officially Day 28 of the HH28 Challenge! At the start of the month, many Herbies joined me in a community pledge with a simple mission: to keep it simple and eat and drink only whole foods. I left the specifics up to each participant and we each set our own realistic guidelines, but the goal was really to take whatever small steps we could with one goal — to live better. It seems like the halfway mark of the challenge was just yesterday but today, the end has come — andI swear I've never felt or looked so awesome!
Herbies have been sharing their thoughts and successes along the way on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter — alongside so many gorgeous pics of plant-proud food we enjoyed during the challenge. Check out the Facebook album full of photos of our #HH28 meals and be inspired!(And you can search hashtag #HH28 on social media to find all of the wonderful posts.) I hope all of the #HH28 daily winners wear their HH buttons with plant pride — you earned it!
HH28 Blogger Highlights
"The most successful part of this challenge for me is finding that commitment to follow a class-based diet exclusively. Now that I know that I can do it, I can continue to do it. But when it's all said and done, we all like numbers: I lost 8.6 pounds in the past month and my blood sugar readings have been excellent. I am well on my way to eliminating insulin altogether." — Becky’s Blog
"After living without oil at home and then eating a processed greasy food, food tastes oily and unflavorful. In my opinion, oil serves no purpose and you can taste the true flavors of your food when you do without it. Prior to this challenge, Steve and mine’s go-to vegan-outing food was a big veggie burger with some fries, but now post-challenge, we sometimes opt for a salad topped with veggies and nuts or a big wrap. We don’t feel that addiction and craving for oily processed foods, for the most part. There’s always going to be those days where you can’t shake the craving, but I like that now, our taste buds are more open to healthy, whole foods. — Lotus Loving (Allie)
"I’ve been sticking to this plant based meal plan and loving it! It’s really teaching me more about cooking, and food in general. I feel like as a society we are kind of uneducated on the food that we consume. We are all busy with our lives, whether it be school or work, or other priorities (like kids). Putting a homemade meal is tough enough as it is. As a working mom, I wouldn’t be able to whip up a good meal unless I planned it beforehand. I’ve realized that planning is essential to making good, wholesome, homemade meals. I’ve been sticking to a meal plan and sticking to it. The weird thing is that I enjoy and look forward to making these meals. I like trying out different combinations of spices, veggies, etc. It’s fun to me!" — Random Food Cravings [Editorial Note: Susan succeeded on HH28 with many meal plan recipes!]
"I jumped into this with both feet for several reasons; I love cooking, I love documenting and sharing my cooking, and most importantly, it was free. There were several other four week cleanses and healthy eating challenges going on at the same time, but they all involved having to buy product or pay a fee. I was tickled that the Happy Herbivore was being “loosy goosey” and creative with her challenge. It didn’t require buying her cookbooks or ordering meal replacement powders, etc, etc. All she asked was that each person eat cleaner than they currently were. Maybe for some that meant eliminating processed food, maybe for another it meant just giving up meat for the month. For me it meant no more caffeine free diet coke, lots more water and trying out dozens of plant based recipes I hadn’t yet tried." — Multifarious Mama [Editorial Note: Multifarious Mama took so many amazingphotos! We enjoyed them so much at HH HQ!]
"Weight loss wasn’t my primary motivator for undertaking the challenge — I just wanted to be generally healthier, and stimulate my immune system after a prolonged illness — but I did gain some weight following the big break-up of 2012, and I’m very pleased to find that going plant-based has helped to address that issue.If I were to be completely honest, I don’t think I expected much from the challenge in terms of weight loss, since most of the people who experience substantial weight loss from going plant-based are former omnivores, and I’ve already been vegan for over 15 years. It’s been quite a pleasant surprise!" — Trees, Bees, and Chickpeas [Editorial Note: Congrats on 10 lbs. lost! (shared on Twitter)]
And Rugrat Chow proved that you can succeed on a 7-day business road trip! "I've tried to stick with the plan, to the extent possible. And that is the first rule of WFPBNO travelling — 'There is no need to aim for perfection; do the best you can; that is all you can do; and you'll do better than most people around you.'"
Other Participating Bloggers:
[Editorial Note: If we missed your participating blog, please send an email to nichelle(at)happyherbivore(dot)com!]
#HH28 Wrap-Up Tweets
"#HH28 whole food pledge is truly 24 hours. I had a dream about how juice is veggies/fruit missing the fiber!" — Kimberly J. (via Twitter)
"I went 2 Sweet Tomatoes 4 dinner tonight & all I had was the salad bar (all veggies) & 1/2 cup plain brown rice. Didn't eat any junk! #HH28" — A Healthy Finish (via Twitter)
"I loved the #hh28 challenge! I tried new recipes and amped up my veggie intake :) the community and pics were great!" — Sarah M. (via Twitter)
The best thing about the HH28 Challenge is that is doesn't ever have to reallyend! Let's keep making plant-proud choices each day!
You can still do a version of the HH28 Challenge on your own anytime, by using the meal plans, the 3-day Reboot and 10-day Cleanse & Immersion, or your own plan! Check out our previous HH28 posts (see links above) and the photo album on Facebook (see link above) for inspiration.
Many thanks to every Herbie that participated and made this a great community challenge! I hope you found this month to be as fun and inspiring as I did :)
Did you participate in HH28? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
