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Flavorless: My Month of Food Boringness

For the month of May, I’ve decided to take my Year of Living Without challenge to a new level: I’m going to go without food reward.

Basically, I’ll be eating the same very bland foods over and over again, with no variety.

That means I’ll eat the same three unseasoned foods every day, and it will be exceptionally flavorless and unvaried. No salt, added fats, frying or stir-frying, spices, mixing foods together.

No fun with food this month. I know, most people will think I’m crazy after reading this.

The rules:

  1. I can pretty much only eat three things: boiled seitan without spices (think of chicken or beef cooked in water, no oil or salt or spices), various boiled potatoes (no salt or fat), and steamed or raw veggies. I’m going to eat each one of these separately, not together (so one meal of just the potatoes, then later just the broccoli in another meal, then finally just the seitan). Every day, all day.
  2. I’ll also drink olive oil separately (straight up, by itself) to get fat in the diet.
  3. I’m going to have black coffee and unsweetened tea. My only exception will be red wine at night.
  4. I’m going to have unflavored plant protein powder. This isn’t necessary for the challenge or for life, but I’ve been trying to hit certain macro targets (protein, carbs, fat) as part of a plan I’ve been doing and I need to protein for the plan.
  5. I am going to allow myself one exception per week, so that I can socialize with my family (we have some birthday plans), but I have to designate that exception at least 2 days in advance. No spur-of-the-moment cheats.

Why I’m Doing This Crazy Experiment

If you remember, the Year of Living Without isn’t about sacrifice or seeing how dedicated I can be … it’s to explore letting go, and the resistance I feel when I let go.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been reading and thinking about food reward — if you’re interested start with this great series on food reward by Stephan Guyenet (part II, part III, part IV, part V, part VI, part VII).

In case you don’t want to read that entire series (it’s very long), the basic gist is that a system in our brain/body that responds to high-reward foods overrides our natural inclinations to stop eating when we’re full or when we’ve had enough calories to maintain the right bodyfat level.

What’s food reward? Things that make the food more palatable (or tasty), like sweetness, saltiness, being fried, good smell, nice presentation or colors, pleasing textures, variety, etc. Basically anything that makes you like food.

The amazing thing is that when you start examining your diet, you’ll find that it’s full of food reward. Which isn’t a bad thing, but if you’re trying to lose weight, it’s good to be aware of how this food reward system will make it harder for you to lose weight.

Wanting to eat high-reward foods is something that’s so ingrained in our culture that removing it seems insane. Imagine eating nothing but boiled potatoes, unsalted, unseasoned, no fat … for a whole month. Or a year. That would sound insane to most people I know. And yet, people have done it and lost weight (not recommended long term).

Anyway, I’m not doing this to lose weight. I’m not doing it because I think it’s incredibly healthy (long-term, variety is a good thing). I’m not doing it because I’m crazy. I’m doing the no-food-reward challenge to see what it’s like to let go of something so important to us. To experiment with my resistance to letting go of it.

I’ve just started, but already I can tell that this is something that’s so strongly embedded in my mind that letting go will be very challenging.

I love challenges.

If you’d like to follow along, I’m going to try to keep a daily journal. It won’t be exciting.

March & April: No Alcohol then No Buying

In March, I went without alcohol, which I thought would be very easy as I did it for more than a month last fall. But it was a lot harder than I’d expected, for the first week. I constantly craved red wine at night, when Eva and I usually have a glass or two. It didn’t help that Eva was drinking a glass of wine and my mouth salivated.

But after a week, the cravings went down. I went to a family party where everyone was drinking, and I just had water. And fruits. It wasn’t a problem.

The hardest time, other than the first week, was when I was alone for a week, and Eva and the kids were at her parents. Every single evening, I craved wine. I broke down one evening and had it, but it didn’t taste as good as I’d imagined.

In early April, I went back to wine, but it didn’t taste as good anymore. I was doing it more for the evening ritual with Eva than wanting the taste. I’m still drinking it now and have developed the taste for it again.

In April, I gave up buying new things (other than groceries). This was very easy, as I don’t really care about buying things most of the time … however, there were a few times when I almost slipped up:

  • I wanted a pocketknife, and went online to buy it. I almost ordered it before I realized I wasn’t buying things for the month.
  • A couple other times I went to Amazon’s website to get something small, and again almost ordered without thinking.
  • I really wanted to buy gifts for friends and family for my birthday, to continue the tradition I’d started last year of getting gifts for people on my birthday. I couldn’t though. I thought of making them presents but I got so caught up in writing my ebook on letting go that I didn’t have the time or energy to make anything.

Looking back on April, I thought the no-buying challenge was good for me. Even though I don’t buy a lot of things, it highlighted my habit of just ordering small things without thinking. It’s good to become aware of these urges, and perhaps put a check on them so buying becomes less unconscious.

Zen Habits

Leo Babuata
Chapters
Neither Averting Nor Craving in Each Moment How Taking Care of My Finances Changed My Life Tips for Traveling with Kids My Grand Travel Experiment The Parent I Aspire to Be The Best & Less-than-Best Motivations for Learning The Miracle of Suspending Mis-Belief 7 Strategies for Dealing with Toxic People Finding Motivation on Important But Non-Urgent Tasks Learning Tips for the Top 8 Learning Challenges The 30-Day Learning Challenge The Place Where You Are Feeling Determined to Change Practicing Non-Judgment Hold Your Own Feet to the Fire Don’t Waste Your Opportunity How to Beat Procrastination with Daily Training The Time When We’ll Be Present & Content A Simple, Powerful Self-Compassion Method When Others Frustrate You Your Internet Habits Create Your Reality The Case for Replacing Exercise with Play Leave Yourself Wanting More Fail Faster at Habits The Anti-Bucket List Getting Started with the Discipline Habit The Case for Caring About Your Work Questions of Priority The Futility of Always Pushing Myself to Be More Pare Down with the Declutter Habit You’re Not Doing Life Wrong Getting Lost in Just Doing An Addict’s Guide to Overcoming the Distraction Habit The Source of Contentment Savor Discipline: Merge the Interests of Your Future & Present Selves What You Can Say Instead of “I Don’t Feel Like It” The Things That Get in the Way of Doing The Girl Who Saw Through the Illusions A Gradual Approach to Healthy Eating Unconditional Acceptance of Yourself My Typical Day: How I Get People to Think I’m Productive The Contentment Habit The Delightfully Short Guide to Reading More Books In Praise of Limits The Art of Being My Dad 5 Ideas to Create an Amazing 2015 Essential Zen Habits of 2014 Karate Chop Practicing Slowness & Being Present Overwhelmed by All the Changes You Want to Make My 2014 Successes and Failures Finding the Motivation to Change Your Entire Life When You’re Lonely The Brain’s Fast Mode 5 Questions to Simplify Your Life During the Holidays The Zen Habits Holiday Gift Guide The Four Hidden Habit Skills The Power of Delay Overwhelmed & Rushed? Do a Stress Assess Writer as Coder: The Iterative Way to Write a Book Please Support the Zen Habits Book Are You a Lift or Drag Force? When Resistance Smacks You in the Face When Your Plate is Too Full The Quickstart Guide to Quitting a Bad Habit The Zen Habits Book is Almost Done A Quick Guide to Gaining Confidence When You Socialize The Empty Container The Realization A Guide to Changing Self-Destructive Behaviors Pushing Past the Terrifying Dip in Motivation It’s Not Too Late to Change Bad Habits The Smart Way to Stick to Habits My Most Effective Learning Tools What I Do When I Fail How to Put Your Writing in Public The Productive Sprint The Biggest Reasons You Haven’t Changed Your Habits Seized by the Thunderhold of Fear What to Eat for Fat Loss The Heartbreaking Cruelty of Comparing Yourself to Others A Brief Guide to Overcoming Instant Gratification How to Get Motivated After a Vacation 7 Strategies for Facing Your Internet/TV Addiction How to Breathe 7 Discipline-Mastering Practices 7 Rules That Keep My Life Simple An Education in the Majestic Sierra Nevada The Lies Your Mind Tells You to Prevent Life Changes How to Believe in Yourself Don’t Waste a Moment How to Find Your Life Purpose: An Unconventional Approach How to Be Great Making Yourself Work Inhabit the Moment How to Master the Art of Living The Delusional Fantasies We Live With Each Day Living the Simple Life How to Be Prepared for Anything Turn Toward the Problem The End of the Day Philosophy The Painful Beauty of Impermanence How to Change Other People Pursuing Happiness When It’s Already Within You The Quickstart Guide to a Decluttered Home Parental Zen: How to Keep Your Cool as a Parent Looking for Love How to Stop Your Habit Changes From Getting Derailed Why We Have Regret The Essence of Fatherhood: 6 Simple Lessons A Call for Revolt: Advertising is the Anti-Minimalism The Frustratingly Slow Pace of Making Changes My Struggles with Eating Boring Food The No Procrastination Challenge Creating a Lovely Morning A Father’s Manifesto: Raising Young Men Who Respect Women Turn Inspiration Into Action Coming Back From a Setback The Gift A Guide for Young People: What to Do With Your Life No Excuses: Minimalism with Kids How to Make a Marriage Work Love Notes Flavorless: My Month of Food Boringness The Letting Go Ebook, Free The Miracle of the Self-Compassion Habit How I Tackle a Big Writing Project The Habit Action List The Reality of This Moment Confidence in Your Business 10 Ways to Do What You Don’t Want to Do On Making It Through Tough Journeys The Hard Stuff Often Matters Most What to Think About During Exercise You’ll Be OK The Most Important Two Minutes of Your Life A Call for Compassion for the Defenseless The Cure for Your Distraction Syndrome You’re Not Worse Than Other People Being Mindful of Your Stress What if You Didn’t Have to Worry About Yourself? The Universe of a Single Task Simplifying Is Painful Becoming Emotionally Self-Reliant How I Cleaned House & Simplified My Work Life The Busy Person’s Guide to Reducing Stress My Month Without a Smartphone What I’ve Learned as a Writer What the Exercise Habit Did For Me Fear is the Root of Your Problems This Moment 36 Lessons I’ve Learned About Habits The 3 Do-What-You-Love Conundrums How I Conduct My Business Constant Task Switching The Habits of Five Amazing Founders The Incredible Importance of Sleep for Habits & Motivation What Really Motivates Us to Stick to a Project? I Tried to Quit & It’s Too Hard! Unwired: A Month With Limited Internet, & Now No Cell Phone Procrastination is a Mindfulness Problem Letting Go of Judging People Don’t Scratch the Itch Become Happy in the Face of Physical Misery How Repetition Can Kickstart a Habit Zen Productivity When You’re Feeling Self-Doubt & a Lack of Motivation The Child That Holds Us Back Stateless Mindset My Month of (Almost) No Internet 12 Changes for 2014 Essential Zen Habits of 2013 The Fear of Being Alone The Calm Approach Things Every Man Should Own Family Gatherings: The Ultimate Mindfulness Training Ground Letter to an 18-year-old on the Career Path Less Traveled A Method to Find Balance 16 Surprising Lessons from My First 50-Mile Ultramarathon The Simple Fitness Habit Holiday Challenge Struggles with My Morning Internet Fast Surrender, Mindfulness & Entrepreneurship How I Learned to Stop Procrastinating, & Love Letting Go Finding Focus When You Run Out of Ideas The Necessary Art of Subtraction Jealousy & Suffering How Creativity Works, & How to Do It Self-Discipline in 5 Sentences Make It Your Job Developing Selfless Compassion Lyrical Learning, & Why We Learn Habits Wrong A Month Without Sugar Why I Read (+ a Dozen Book Recommendations) 12 Indispensable Mindful Living Tools Burn Down the Farm My Most Minimal Travel Setup Yet The Exquisite Habits of the Founder of Blue Bottle Coffee 3 Little Tricks to Deal With People Who Offend You My Healthiest Travel Routine Yet Startup Founder Megan Casey’s Habits of Priorities My Pursuit of the Art of Living A Month Without TV or Video The Way of No Debt Letting Go: How to Live With the Loss of a Loved One The Way to Be Ramit Sethi’s Entrepreneurial Habits The Time to Shut Down The Pain & Beauty of Life Changes 8 Creativity Lessons from a Pixar Animator Zen Mountain: Leave It All Behind Overcoming the Social Costs of Being Different Finding Quiet and Mindfulness Through Food My Failed Month of ‘No Sitting’ The Thinking Habit That Changed My Life Liking Healthy Foods is a Choice Unschoolery: My New Blog on Unschooling My Advice for Starting a Business Creating Your Habit Environment Travel Lessons with My Family Easier Decision-Making: Conduct Experiments Simplify: Let Go of Your Crutches The Fear of Being Found a Fraud The Flexible Mind Declutter Your Life A Month Without Coffee The Healthful Vegan Diet Living the Quiet Life The Art of Tasting Chocolate Mindfully Why Fear of Discomfort Might Be Ruining Your Life The Habits of Happiness How to Keep Habits Going During Travel A Year of Living Without The Key Habits of Organization I Failed Vegan Guide to San Francisco The Futility of Comparing Yourself to Others A Secret to Dad Greatness Habits: A Simple Change in Mindset Changes Everything The Worry That You’re Doing the Wrong Thing Right Now 6 Steps To Being More Creative How I Finally Faced My Weight & Debt Problems Working with the Obstacles in Your Path 9 Rules for a Simpler Day The Little Book of Contentment The Obstacle is the Path 5 Lessons in Contentment from Billionaires Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger Smile in Each Moment A Guide to Practical Compassion 6 Steps To Healing Yourself The 7-Day Vegan Challenge Why You Should Write Daily Achieving Without Goals Flowing with the Stresses of Kids (or anyone else) Habit Mastery: Creating the New Normal Defeat Distraction: Refocusing with Purpose Expanding the Envelope: A Method for Beating Anger A Guide to Practical Contentment The Practice of Work Mind & Vacation Mind, Simultaneously How to Eat Real Food Without Spending Hours in the Kitchen Quitting Your Habits The 38 Best Methods of Successful Exercisers How To Make It Impossible To Fail The Not Knowing Path of Being an Entrepreneur How to Change Your Life: A User’s Guide Getting Your Family On Board with Life Changes How to Stick to a Habit When Life Falls Apart Zen Mind in the Middle of Chaos & Stress Create a Sacred Space in Your Heart Meditation: The Most Fundamental Habit Creating the Genuine Connections We Long For 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Whether Goals Suck The Work You Love is Waiting For You The 7-Step Method to Find Focus for Writing The Buy-Nothing Holiday Survival Guide Challenge: Buy Nothing Until 2013 How to Learn Anything Shaken By Life’s Beauty, Shaken Untrack: Letting Go of the Stress of Measuring 15 Great Excuses Not to Form the Fitness Habit How to Make Health Insurance a Bad Bet Why the Fitness Habit is More Important Than the Plan The Willingness to Think Differently Create a Superhealth Community A Vegan Tour of NYC