DaniRiekwel

wow 1 hour of meditation a day?! how will you do it? I struggle with making 5 mins for myself...

good goals! I'm glad you're doing a cleanse. keep with it! Think of how great you'll feel! with the fitness, if I were you I would pick one a week! why not try them all out and see which one you like best napping during the day is actually ! if it's just 20 mins. it takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a great habit.

Hi all! last challenge I felt so motivated at the end! even though I didn't accomplish all my goals, it helped me further on my path to super mum. I'll fill in my measurement details on Monday when I have my husband here to help me out with photos (eek! stretch marks!) and the measuring tape. Starting weight -Chest (under bust) 88 cm -Bicep 27 cm -Waist 92.5 cm -Hips 101.5 cm -Thigh 54.5 My fitness goal is based on the fact that I FAILED at yoga last time. I went too big, which goes against my goal changing rule number one - small wins are more important than big dreams. 1. One yoga pose a day - I plan on repeating the exercises at some point to see improvement. I want to see how many I can do a day, but one is still a win. Small wins and baby steps and all that. After chatting with mindytx99, I've decided to work on my backwards walkover skills. So my yoga stretches will focus on this! + 3 STR + 3 DEX The cleanse went awesome last 6 weeks, but I did cheat with chocolate. way too much than I'd like to admit. At least breastfeeding helped with the weight loss, so I justified a bit every other day. Not this challenge! 2. Paleo 6 days a week, 1 day a week cheat day with NO GLUTEN FOREVER MORE. I've done this during my week off. well not strictly paleo - no dairy but I did have buckwheat flour in my pancakes. +2 CON I've been so thirsty lately. I've noticed that if I don't drink enough, my milk supply drops. 3. Drink a whole lot of water. I'm aiming for before and/or after every feed, with a minimum of 10 glasses a day. My daughter feeds about 7 times a day, sometimes more! She's a very very hungry baby (and doubled in size in her first three months of life… crazy!) + 2 CON 4. Learn tarot again I was getting good at this… then I stopped practicing. I want to get better at it again. I plan on studying one card a day, and do a reading when I can. If you would like me to do a reading, I would be glad to! +1 WIS +1 CHA 5. Work on blog regularly 2 posts a week - Which means I'll be sewing some new items too yay! +2 CHA +1 WIS I know it's 5 instead of 4, but I think I got the paleo thing down. I had my first cheat day today. It was amazing and terrible. I actually want some vegetables right now. I had chocolate icecream, lollies, chocolate, a banana and some bacon. I will make pancakes for dinner and have some vegetables with it - I also took a multivitamin so at least I have those. haha.

WOW congratulations!

My report back! Lost 4kg. WIN walked everyday except 4 because of weather or illness. WIN +2 STA +1 CON Yoga daily. FAIL. I did it 5 times total. Paleo cleanse. WIN. I had chocolate a few times though. +3 CON Launch blog. WIN. +3 CHA +3 WIS Mini Challenge 2 + 3 +1 DEX +1 WIS I feel more motivated than ever. Onto the next challenge!

This this this! Please before you do anything crazy like remove your gallbladder, consider that the first medicine is always food! Your body has more bacteria in it than cells of its own, and is balanced by hormones, enzymes, yeast and a bunch of other things that can easily get out of balance if you don't fuel it right, creating all kinds of issues. I know you're a hypochondriac so you feel you have to have a name for it, so I would just say you have celiac. If you need more convincing, read this. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/19/paleo-diet-solution/ The blog is titled "how to keep feces out of your blood stream (or lose 10 pounds in 14 days)." Yes it is that gross and you will never want to eat pizza again.

I can do a back bend from the ground, before I got pregnant I could go from standing into back bend and pull myself back up. I used to face the wall, back bend, then walk my legs up the wall to flip myself over. I tried to get my legs over without the wall but never could I don't think my stomach muscles are quite there yet to accomplish this, but I will definitely work on those exercises with you!

ooo that's brilliant! bananas go sooo fast around here. And I live in the netherlands so they're not that cheap but I'm definitely gonna try that! thanks! sprinkling cocoa on fruit. good idea. glad you liked my tips stelmer. good luck!

Hey stelmer - welcome! I think you're gonna do just fine My tip for cravings is - find the trigger, the action and the reward. Eg - I love chocolate. I also eat gluten free. Which means when I'm hungry and out and about, there is not much I can get for a snack. So I buy chocolate Trigger - shopping hungry Action -mmm chocolate Reward - delicious So I have to change it up. What is it about chocolate that I love? I love the texture and the sweetness. I have found through experimentation that dates are a cheap healthy substitute snack for me. So it change it up this way. Trigger - eat before going out Action - eat a date Reward -still delicious What are your cravings? Notice how you feel and what you're feeling when you reach for them. Find a healthy alternative. The trigger could be tv, social situation, boredom ... Anything! And the reward isn't necessarily the taste of the treat. Let me know if you need ideas

Nice plan! Never underestimate the power of small wins. How do you plan on learning the back walkover? I want to learn one too

also - http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/ace-tough-job-interviews/ this guy's blog is pretty great.

I have this too. all tests point to no allergy. But trust me, I feel like crap if I have even a tiny bit. My tip, even though it would be absolute best to cut dairy and gluten out completely, since you are just starting out, doing it alone etc etc - I would try doing the "4 hour body" diet to begin with. Which means eating gluten and dairy on saturdays only, and the rest of the days eating only meat, vegetables, fruit, eggs, nuts and seeds. If that sounds way too hard, it would be ok to use rice, corn and potatoes the first time you try - but only when desperate. While it's best for your body to go all out healthy - it's REALLY difficult! Especially if you're at the place you're at. I've been there. Doing it this way also accomplishes quite a few things. 1. Even though it takes 10 days to get gluten out of your system, you will feel a noticeable improvement after 6 days. 2. You WILL lose weight eating like this. especially if you can avoid rice, corn and potatoes. 3. You will feel strong by avoiding cravings during the week 4. you get a reward day for being so good during the week 5. you will feel like crap after cheat day. making you want to stick to it the rest of the week. Here are the rules 1. throw out EVERYTHING in your house that is not paleo. or donate it. seriously, don't think - oh I'll save it for cheat day. YOU WON'T. You will eat it in a moment of weakness. get rid of it! 2. Sunday to Friday - eat only Meat, vege, fruit, eggs, nuts and seeds (except peanuts) If you have to cheat, do it with brown rice, corn or potatoes (cooked healthy. baked is always good. in fact, try sweet potatoes. that is paleo and is also nice baked.) 3. You may eat as MUCH AS YOU WANT of the meat, vege, fruit and eggs. seriously. STUFF YOURSELF with eggs and bacon. snack on bananas all day long. nuts are ok as long as you don't eat too many (they're expensive anyway) 4. On cheat day... EAT SO MUCH THAT YOU FEEL SICK. ok that's not a rule, but seriously, cheat the hell out of cheat day. that way when you feel tempted during the week, write it on a list and eat it on Saturday. There are a tonne of websites that have really nice paleo recipes - http://paleomg.com/bacon-and-spinach-stuffed-chicken/ is a good place to start. http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/category/recipes/ has some nice ones. too google paleo recipe and the ingredient you want to cook with and you'll find a tonne of stuff to cook.\ also - DON'T BUY GLUTEN FREE AND DAIRY FREE PROCESSED FOODS. that stuff is super expensive and is often WORSE for you than the gluten alternative. Rice cakes are ok, peanut butter is not ok. If you're like me and never make salads even though you intend to, try making a soup. Or boil a bunch of eggs and keep them in the fridge. fry ups are great too - just add a bunch of different vegetables to a pan with coconut oil (carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions (if they don't make you acidic) and some chopped chicken. and some frozen spinach if you like). tip into a bowl. rinse both bowl and pan straight away and then you can use it again later. saves on dishes. also smoothies are great - coconut milk is your friend. spinach goes well in smoothies too. and if you add water and detergent to the blender, it cleans itself with a press of the button! Another tip that I have, is about mindfulness. If you find yourself cheating during the week - take a note of how you feel. What were you doing when you reached for that cheeto? were you actually hungry? or just watching tv? Did you crave something salty? something crunchy? something to do with your hands? what could you eat instead that would satisfy that craving? actually write it down. Often we think we're not eating too bad, until we see it written down. I have an overweight friend who said "I don't know why I keep putting on weight, I eat healthy!" WHILE she was holding a tub of ben and jerry's. seriously. Changing habits is about finding out the trigger, the action, and the reward. eg: you're watching tv, you grab a cheeto, it is delicious. how can we satisfy this habit, without the cheeto? maybe have some sunflower seeds on hand to satisfy the crunching? or if you like sweets try grapes or dates. I found that dates were an acquired taste though. so your new habit looks like: tv, grapes, delicious. or you could try getting crafty to busy your hands, and cut out the eating habit all together. try knitting a scarf. (I do this right now, it's very relaxing and means I don't feel guilty watching tv. I'm knitting stuff for my little girl!) new habit: tv, knit, accomplished feeling. or since you said you want a clean house, try watching tv while cleaning. That's what I do. I watch soooo much tv during the day but my house is clean and I use cloth diapers for my newborn (folding laundry while watching tv. win) ... ok I think that's enough tips for now. I'll keep following you and asking how you're going if you like. feel free to ask me any questions.

Final stats! lost 4kg. WIN walked everyday except 4 because of weather or illness. WIN +2 STA +1 CON Yoga daily. FAIL. I did it 5 times total. Paleo cleanse. WIN. I had chocolate a few times though. +3 CON Launch blog. WIN. +3 CHA +3 WIS Mini Challenge 2 + 3 +2 WIS I feel more motivated than ever. Onto the next challenge!

Hey Unikram, you sound a bit like me before I started Paleo for reals. It was winter 2011, I had SAD, was gassy and bloated all the time, lazy lazy lazy just watching tv shows all day and doing NOTHING. i would go to bed at midnight and get up at 12 some days. One day my husband and I looked at each other and said "you're fat and it's a bit unattractive. DO SOMETHING" I'm so glad you got started! It took me a year to get the hang of it, and I still consider myself a lazy ass. It's so good that you have a list of your strengths and weaknesses! Build on the strengths and slowly eliminate weaknesses and you'll be good to go! Let me know if you want some tips that I've learnt along the way

maybe too late to join in on this topic, but I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was a teen. I didn't have any tests done to figure out what caused it, but I read that kicking gluten could help. I went a month without gluten, had a bowl of oatmeal and felt sick as a dog. I stayed gluten free (mostly) for a few years - my periods got more regular, I lost a bit of weight (I wasn't too overweight to begin with, I was always quite active) I figured I was insulin resistant mainly because of this reaction, and also how I react on sugar. At the beginning of last year I went Paleo. I lost 6kg in 4 weeks, and after trying for two years to get pregnant, I suddenly got pregnant. so I definitely recommend that!

AH I DID IT! http://forlorelei.wordpress.com/ The post will come up later when my husband has finished working on our main computer... the pictures are on the hard drive there. I can't wait to show off the cute things I make for her.

well eggs are working out for me now. I wonder if it was just ultra sensitivity due to no eggs for three weeks? anywho - not a problem now. Yoga has been going well. Not every day - I think I took on too big a goal with the yoga everyday. It's hard to find 30 mins a day for yoga. All at once anyway. I think next challenge I will aim to do one stretch a day. I plan on making a calendar with the stretch for the day, and then mark how many times I managed to do it that day. And plan on 30 mins every 3 days or something. I've also made a point of walking ALMOST everyday. A couple of days I didn't make it out, because of weather. Sleet, rain, hail and snow. I don't go out with Lorelei in that weather unless I have to for work/food shopping. But I've been for a couple of long walks - to my appointments out of the city centre. I live in the Netherlands and if you live in a centre of a small city, it is pretty expensive to own and park a car, and also a bit pointless. It would be nice to get to other cities more often (the trains are very efficient here, but still a hassle), but everything I need is within walking/biking distance. Can't bike with a 3 month old though, so some walks were longer than 1km there and back! good work out in the snow with a stroller! So far I've lost 4kg! I have cheated a bit this week with valentines chocolate. And easter eggs. I think I need to buy me some dates to help with that craving. After going to the dentist for 2 fillings, they damaged some of the gum area and I have mouth ulcers again. :S the chocolate definitely aggravates it so I have to give it up to be a saturday treat. I did the four hour body diet before I got pregnant, and having a cheat day helped to keep me on track. tomorrow is Saturday, so that makes it my cheat day and then on we go with Paleo 6 days and 1 day cheat (but NEVER EVER EATING GLUTEN EVER AGAIN) My blog - well... TOMORROW it will be launched! YAY! I love this. Nerd fitness is by far been the best motivator for me to improve my life. I've really enjoyed this challenge and next challenge I plan on making it a goal to get more involved with the community. I've loved that people have commented on my posts - thank you peeps! but I haven't really made time to check out other people's challenges. Next time I will!

Sweet! did Mini challenge number 2 and got me an attribute point... I pick... DEX. since I won't be getting much for that. I added Eggs into my diet today and yesterday. I was REALLY sick. I'm not sure if I had a bad egg or if it was the eggs at all. possibly not since my husband felt sick too - maybe one of the ingredients in our breakfast smoothie was funny? I'll try again tomorrow and see what the reaction is.

Great tip! thanks Robert!

My cleanse is almost OVER THANK GOD. haha. It's actually been pretty good! It's difficult to find food in the netherlands that doesn't contain bread... and generally when it doesn't, it has potatoes. so I've been to shopping at the local produce market and eating a LOT of pears and mandarins and courgettes. Those seem to be what I eat the most of. and Sweet potato. I've also discovered dried dates are the best to cure chocolate cravings! I did do a bit of Yoga, though I must admit my diet is the priority so I don't bother too much if I run out of time during the day (part time job and little baby and papa studying for his drivers license = no time for mummy) Website? It's almost ready! woooooo.

Alright.. I meant to update weekly, but I forgot how long it had been. Here follows the update. It felt so good to empty my pantry of all the horrible food that was making me sick. I started the cleanse four days after this post, so I could start at the same time as my husband and a good friend. So far I've done 1.5 weeks and lost 2 kg! I'm down to my pre-pregnancy weight. YEAH BO. What most amazes me about this diet - i don't feel hungry. I'm eating plenty, my milk supply is high, I feel energetic and not hungry. I have to make myself eat dinner. Walking everyday? CHECK. One day I walked for 3 hours for bonus me-points. Yoga? what is this? fail. I bought my mat today and right after this post I plan on doing a workout. Website? Well - I had this plan to do a blog on a certain topic... turns out that is far too much effort when I have a little one. That idea is going on the back burner until she is no longer a baby. too bad. But - my new idea is going just swell and on schedule for launch day. so far.... 75% win.

Hey ya! I was going to put knitting as a goal too. Funny I've almost finished a little jumpsuit for my little girl. Baby clothes are the best... small and cute.

Hi! Thanks for the reply! Actually, it's really just launching it... because I already have a bunch of blog posts written! Ugh I'm just a chicken/perfectionist. I want it to look good, be perfect, have the perfect direction plan etc... now I'm giving myself a deadline and a bunch of goals leading up to "launch" so that it gets out there.. I'll keep you posted. Accountability etc.

I tried to sign up last year... but for some reason the forum wasn't working for me. So just remembered that another 6 week challenge has begun. I'm a week late.. but all good! I'm a level 1 Halfling Druid. STR: 2 DEX: 2 STA: 2 CON: 3 WIS: 3 CHA: 3 I'm actually doing pretty well after giving birth in November. I don't have the body back that I had a few years ago, but I'm working on it. I'm currently 72 kg and 157cm tall. yikes. But this is just 1kg off my pre-pregnancy weight so I call that a WIN. 1. Yoga daily following beginner app. +3 DEX 2. Walk for 30 mins everyday with my daughter. aw +2 STA +1 CON 3. 21 day paleo cleanse (extreme paleo - no nightshades, eggs etc). slowly add in extra ingredients to fix my constitution. (no mouth ulcers please please please.) +3 CON 4. Launch blog +3 CHA +3 WIS Let's DO THIS