Am I cheating??

I had this thought the other day; am I cheating? Have I bought something against the rules without even thinking about it? Have I fallen into old habits? I must have, because this seems too easy. But I honestly can’t think of how I might have cheated. Not that I’ve had to, the first few weeks (or less!) haven’t been that bad. For one, I was on the road for work a few days which afforded me a break on the food front as I didn’t have access to a kitchen and therefore had to eat out. Also, I still a few green items in the fridge that I bought right before we started. Those should be gone any day now. And I’ve been out lots at social things which feels like a guilty pleasure! It almost feels too guilty….

When we started out I thought this would be much like doing a cleanse; that I’d have to consider everything that goes in my mouth at all times. Instead it’s like the best part of a cleanse: mindful healthy-ish eating with treats in moderation and less of the socially limiting and awkward “I’m sorry, I can’t eat that”. So, compared to no alcohol for 12 days, this is a piece of cake! Which brings me back to feeling guilty. Should we make this tougher? Is eating out too big of a cheat? Is this meant to be a real challenge or does it say something about the whole process that it actually isn’t that difficult? Or will I learn in a few months how difficult this really is once the honeymoon phase wears off? Perhaps, as a few people have reminded me, the “cheats” we agreed on will help us get through a whole year of this! What do you think? Do our rules seem strict enough?