If you are unaware of this months Give Up To Gain challenge, watch the video below before reading this post.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziy1KsopYNM

Twenty seven days in and I can honestly say that giving up mayonnaise has been one of my hardest challenges yet. It’s tough going from eating two sandwiches, loaded with mayo a day, to sandwiches loaded with mustard or other spreads that I’ve experimented with. BBQ sauce has been a great alternative as well as I even tried ketchup on a ham sandwich. Sounds gross but you would be surprised at how good it tastes.

I’ve also missed using mayo as a dip. My pizza is less tasty, french fries are boring, onion rings are dry and lets not even get started on how it’s almost a waste of time eating a grilled cheese sandwich with no mayo to dip it in.

As I write this post, disgruntled about the lack of mayo that is entering my body, I’ve come to realize that not only my intake of mayonnaise has stopped, but my consumption of the foods that I usually pair with mayo has also decreased. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had a plate of greasy french fries and last week I ate onion rings and ONLY dipped them in ketchup. Who am I?

As it turns out, giving up an unhealthy amount of daily mayo has indirectly made me give up the greasy foods that go with it. The best part is that I don’t miss them. I now know I don’t need them in my life.

I am friends with numerous vegan people and have been in situations where they were reading the ingredients of certain food items to see if there was anything in it that they couldn’t eat. I now have a slight introduction to the lifestyle they live and how hard it is. There have been multiple times this month I have read labels to see if there was any mayonnaise in the food. It’s not as easy but they say the most rewarding things in life are the ones you work hardest at.

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” – La Rochefoucauld

My biggest challenge came from May 12 – 19. I was away shooting a wedding in the Dominican for a week and trying to find out ingredients is next to impossible especially when I don’t speak Spanish. “¿Cu les son los ingredients?”. Sounds correct to me, but nobody seemed to understand it. I played it safe and stayed away from anything that looked like it could have some mayo in it.

So there’s only a couple days left in May and I’m still going strong. Huge kudos to everyone who has been joining along with this project. You guys/gals rule!!!!!

Check out Monsters vs Me on Tuesday May 31st as I will be posting a video on this month and what I am giving up for June.

“Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” – Edward Stanley (1826-1893) from The Conduct of Life