Krisis

I've never heard of the Nordic Diet but I'm thinking I might join you sometime. That would probably work MUCH better for me than paleo. Good luck!

I think you should go for it. Even if you don't get 100% there, what have you got to lose? Weight! I don't think you can go wrong with just trying. And I think you should be able to cosplay no matter what your size. I know that's easier said than done, but I'm planning on cosplaying for Salt Lake Comic Con next August and I don't care what size I'm at. I'm doing SOMETHING! Hang in there, and maybe try and keep an image of yourself rocking at costume in your head when you're working out. It might help.

Toby, age 5 and on the autism spectrum, taught himself to read. Now, it was my goal to teach him how to read this year. And I bought books on how to do it. Turns out, he doesn't want me to teach him. I like it when my kid encourages my laziness He's been reading since May and is currently on a 3rd grade level. And he's in kindergarten. The boy is so smart it's freaking me out a little bit! OH. And on Halloween he dressed as a knight and started reciting the first few minutes of Disney's The Sword in the Stone. Like, perfectly. What the! Video evidence? Don't mind if I do. http://youtu.be/SppeZbOPqQI

I don't track my sleep any more because the FitBit was driving me nuts with it. But I am an extremely restless sleeper. I wake up 5-10 times a night, every time I roll over... which is often... gah. I ended up taking prescription sleeping medication for a while and that was amazing. I've never felt so rested in my life. But obviously it's not something I want to get hooked on or continue doing. So mostly I just suffer through my crappy sleep at night and supplement with a nap during the day. I can pull that off since I don't work, though. If I did work I would probably die :-) Sorry I'm not helpful. I'm just relieved I'm not the only one who wakes up when they roll over! (My husband sleeps like the dead, too. It's ridiculous. He falls asleep within 30 seconds of putting his head on the pillow. It usually takes me 30-60 minutes to fall asleep!)

I didn't read all the replies but I wanted to say that DH and I have a cheat day. Every Saturday. He eats Paleo 98% of the time and I know that for DH having the cheat day is what makes that possible. Otherwise, he would feel sad that he could never have a Dr. Pepper again. It's a mental thing for us, more than it is a physical thing. And we do go all out and eat whatever we want, because it's just a day for relaxing the strict rules we impose on ourselves for the rest of the week. Or he imposes, anyway. I suck at eating Paleo

Pretty much a fail. I've been sick for the last 2 weeks so I dropped off both eating and exercising. I lost 5 lbs total and for me, that's just sad. It's not even progress because it was the same 5 lbs over and over. I did start school so I am waking up consistently every day. That is a plus. I also want to start hitting it hard again with eating good food instead of eating all the bagels ever. Mmm, bagels. Next challenge should be better. I hope.

Yep. Totally got a C-. Lose weight: I lost 3 lbs. D. Exercise 3x a week. I did okay in the beginning, but was sick for two weeks and slacked off. I give myself a C on that one. Lift weights: Nope. Half hearted kettlebell once in a while, but nope. D. Wake up in the mornings: This I did do. I get a B. Not my most triumphant moment ever. But I am going to hit it again next time for sure.

My school does have a gym, but I don't have time to use it (I have to get home to pick up Toby from school right after my last class ends.) I am going to sign up for water aerobics someday though! I've always wanted to try it. I just ordered a recumbent bicycle that should help a little with getting in exercise now that classes are about to start. I told my husband he could either let me buy this bike or let me buy a gym membership that I may or may not use (I need a gym with a babysitting place in it, but it's hard for me to get my butt off the couch once I get home from class, so having something here to use will be much nicer. Actually, this bike thing has a place to put your laptop so I can write papers (okay fine, surf Pinterest) while I'm bicycling! That will be nice. It's not like it's going to burn thousands of calories at a time, but it'll be extra, and that's okay for now. Last week sucked. I didn't stick to paleo at all and I didn't exercise either. I was sick last week. Booger. Tonight I made a bunch of salads in mason jars so when it's time for lunch this week I can just pull one out and chow down. I think that will really help. I also got a bunch of Lunchables and chicken nuggets for Toby so I'm not tempted to take him to Wendy's or something. The only thing he will consistently eat is chicken and fries, and the medication situation is desperate enough that I am willing to take him to get fast food every day if he'll just gain weight. Toby's doctor told him this week that he HAD to eat more or he was going to be in trouble... so that was helpful (really.) Toby has done much better just because we remind him of what the doctor said. Fingers crossed he gains something this month! And fingers crossed I lose this week. I maintained all last week which is pretty great for me. But this week I'd like to drop SOMETHING. I'm worried about the chair situation tomorrow. Ugh. Nothing I can do about it though. Waah. I'M SO EXCITED TO START SCHOOL!!! So not excited to start waking up at 6 a.m. every day again. BUT SCHOOL!! IT'S SO WORTH IT!!!! And I'm BACK on the paleo wagon, by jove!

Bad week. My doctor said she doesn't think my knee is going to get better any time soon, and that I just have to keep taking Naproxen and doing physical therapy, but that I'll always have a bad knee. So that sucks. I know if I lose weight that will help immensely, but it's getting to that point that seems impossible. Still, at least the scale FINALLY moved. This morning I was at 270! Started the week off at 275 and haven't been at 270 since April so I'm relieved that the scale is moving in the right direction. Still, I hope I can kick some serious butt in the next week because school starts on September 3 and I would really like to not have to worry about fitting into the desks. Stupid skinny college desks. I really need to learn how to make a delicious salad to have on hand every day for lunch rather than taking Toby to Wendy's and ordering a half size baja chili salad. Even though it's technically "on plan" as far as eating goes, it's money down the drain. Bah, humbug. Gotta start waking up at 7 a.m. starting on Monday. I want to be awake to send Toby off to school every day with a hug and a kiss and a little devotional, if you will. A pep talk. And I want to be making him a nice breakfast rather than throwing a Costco muffin at him. Lest you think my kid eats crap all the time, he does. We're desperately trying to keep his weight up, which thus far has translated to letting him eat all the carbs, chicken and fries he wants. And he's still lost 3 lbs this month. Bad, bad news. I wish I had his metabolism! since I finally FINALLY hit 270, I get a mini-reward. My mini-reward for this 10 lbs is a new set of Fitbit wristbands. When I hit 260, I will get to have a hair cut. I try to alternate every 10 pounds with non-food rewards that are cheap, and some that are mid-range. The farther off a goal is, the bigger the reward is for it. For example, my reward for hitting 150 is a trip to Europe. I have pleeeenty of time to plan and save up for that in the meantime but it's a fun thing to work toward.

What! I am so excited for the movie I can't stand it. my husband, on the other hand, is not thrilled at all. He thinks Asa Butterfield is waaay too old to play Ender. I agree (kind of) but I also don't think it's feasible to have a kid age 6 years over the course of a movie using the same actor. I do think Asa Butterfield is a phenomenal actor and has the range to play Ender, but we'll see I guess. I will DEFINITELY see :-) And I'll report back to you when I do :-) DH just read Card's newest series, which is about the first Formic War. He said it was really good but I had no interest in reading it.

Oh Gyro, I absolutely adore that song. It's one of my very favorites. There's a version by Mercy River (I'm sure it's on YouTube somewhere) that's just beautiful. Le sigh. When we move into our new house, I'm going to make a painting/picture thing of a few lines from Come Thou Fount and hang it near my piano.

Thanks! The desk is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraby/9565562491/

Hey guys, this has absolutely nothing to do with my physical health at all. But I wrote a personal essay for this contest (the topic was "what is your passion and why?") and I WON! I won a beautiful, handmade desk. It's going to be perfect for my new house and for all the homework I'm going to have soon. I thought I'd share my essay here for fun. Enjoy! Narrowing down my passions to just one thing was more difficult than I thought it would be. I mean, after Pinterest, cute pictures of kittens, and British television, what else could I possibly be passionate about? My name is Kris and I am a full time student at Brigham Young University. (I get this little shiver of glee every time I get to tell someone that.) I'm a student! My road to student hood is long and convoluted. I graduated with my Associate's Degree when I was 17. The stress from completing two years of college during my senior year of high school burned me out and I ended up dropping out of school later that year. It was the biggest mistake I have ever made. Don't get me wrong - I did some amazing things while I wasn't in school. I married my amazing husband, gave birth to a beautiful and brilliant little boy and opted to stay home with him until he was ready to start kindergarten. To keep my mind sharp, I read everything I could get my hands on and I started taking violin lessons. But it wasn't enough for me. I felt like I was losing brain cells daily (and trust me - I need every single one that I have left!) In January, my time finally arrived. Toby, my son, was accepted into a preschool that allowed me just enough time to get a full 12 credits from BYU into my schedule. I was very nervous to start school again - it's been 8 years since I was any sort of real student, would I remember how to do it all? Would I survive my autistic 5 year old and 12 credits worth of homework and being in charge of making dinner, too? Starting school has been the most incredible experience for me. For the first time in 8 years, I feel like I am doing something awesome just for me. Raising Toby has been rewarding too, but it was a joint venture with my husband. School is something I get to experience. Every day I arrive on campus and I breathe in the scent of books, learning, and collegiate stress. I watch the little freshmen scurry off to their classes and smile at the opportunities they have ahead of them - playing the dating games, living with roommates, bonding over chocolate and boys and exams. I go to my classes and I sit there in awe as my professors share their knowledge. I try to soak up as much of it as I can. And while I'm learning about Spanish, I'm learning about myself. I'm learning that I love languages, that the sound of Spanish is beautiful and that I want to share it with my son. While I'm in my religion courses I marvel at the incredible world I live in and I want to share it with my husband. In my linguistics class I wonder at how our language came to be and why it is used the way it is and I want to share it with anyone who will listen! My passion is learning. You don't have to be a student to learn. You don't have to have attended 4 years of higher education. You can keep learning throughout your life, just by making time for it. Consider a topic you're interested in, go to the library and pick up a book on it. Do a Google search and start a blog teaching your topic (they say that teaching others helps you cement your knowledge further.) Anyone can learn, and anyone can learn anything they want. Isn't that amazing?! To know that even though you may never be the world's most advanced expert in ornithology, you have all this knowledge in your head for you to enjoy and to share with whoever cares to listen. How cool is that? I haven't chosen a major yet. I tell my husband that I want to be a professional student, but our bank account doesn't think that's very funny. I'll have to decide my path soon, but it's comforting for me to know that if I ever have the desire to learn about math (shudder), I finally realize that I have methods of learning at my constant disposal, even though I may not be in school forever. My favorite thing about being a student is the example I am setting for my son. My husband has a great job, although he's not a college graduate. But me being a college student has already impacted Toby - he tells everyone that "Mommy goes to school just like me!" (He asks me all the time if I get to play with toys like he gets to, or what I had for snack time.) It melts my heart when he says "When I turn 18, I am going to BYU just like my mommy." Because I am a student, because I have found my true passion for learning, I am a better person. I feel like the things I teach my son have more impact on him. I feel closer to my husband, who has supported me through the semester and even finals week without hiding from the Stress Monster I turned into. I feel like I am more myself, now that I am exercising my brain and learning and growing daily. I love school. I love learning. I love Pinterest and Downton Abbey and I wish I could somehow major in those. But until I figure out how to do that, I'm going to keep on taking as many classes as I can fit into my schedule, and I'm going to keep jumping for joy whenever Toby says "Mom, you rock at school!" -Kris

I cannot go without a scale. My husband does - he weighs himself on Saturday morning. Every time I try to go without a scale, I gain. And I gain HUGE. It's baaad news. I wish I wasn't so dependent on it and I think that as I get better at maintaining my weight (you know, at the end of my losing journey) I will be able to lose it. Just not now. Anyway, last week was an experiment. DH wanted to see how he did without paleo and I am a literal fail if my family doesn't eat the same as me, so I went off too. We both kept our calories on strict counts and I exercised 3 times for an hour a time. And he gained 2 lbs and I gained 5 lbs. SO! This week we are back on Paleo! Yay!!! I've been doing much better about waking up at 8 a.m. and now for this week will start moving it to 7:30, and then 7 a.m. By the end of next week I need to be getting up daily at 6:15. My new alarm clock is really helping with this (I got a different one called CARROT. It's like GlaDos and it's hilarious.) Luckily, after two days of Paleo I'm already back to my starting weight from the challenge, so that's good. I was too lazy to hit the gym today but am definitely going to go for it tomorrow. And! Instead of eating out tonight like I wanted to, I made an incredible salmon dinner instead. Woo hoo!!

I've been wondering the same thing. I even bought the Miami episodes on iTunes so I could see if he was on the G4 part that I miss every week (pisses me off that they do that, btw.) Gah. I was also bummed - the Utah guy fell tonight so no more REPRESENT from my state. Sad.

Wow. That is so awesome. Definitely get her the paints! And I'm definitely checking out that book :-) Here's the picture Toby's preschool program took of him on Wednesday dressed as Toby-Wan Kenobi. I love this preschool - I love that they emphasize character values and behavior rather than academic stuff. Toby needs the character building right now, he's got the academia down. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraby/9475097951/

That is pretty awesome of you. I have my own little boy (age 5) but I'm trying to also take an interest in my little siblings. My one sister is age 16 and super struggling with boys and lameness and I'm trying to help her see BEYOND boys, you know? :-) Anyway, you have a great idea here and I'm glad you posted this. In any case, keep playing with your little 'bro.' He will remember it for the rest of his life and probably appreciate it more than you will ever know.