Jasmia

MIrror's Edge!! For those who love survival games, I really recommend NEO Scavenger. It's really brutal but super fun after you learn the basic things you need to do to survive.

I quit sugar about 4 weeks ago and the first week was probably the hardest - now I rarely even care if other people eat it in front of me So hang in there because it will get easier with time. I could never have succeeded if I felt deprived, so instead of having sugar I found replacements like almond butter, avocados, or natural yoghurt with a few cubes of mango and a sprinkling of a quinoa seed based muesli. That way I wasn't 'denying' myself anything but rather just chosing to 'fill up' on something else instead. Fats are fantastic for making you feel full and uninterested in eating. I ate a lot more than I normally would in that first week while trying to manage the side efffects of sugar withdrawal. After the first 2 weeks (when my insulin and leptin started improving?), I noticed I was getting full pretty quickly and no longer had the need for my 'replacement' foods. Now 4 weeks on and I'm still going strong - yesterday was Valentines Day and because I hadn't made desserts (which I was famous for before I quit sugar) I made creme brulee for my husband and had a small bite. And seriously, that was enough. I'm super proud because in the past, I probably would have eaten it all without any hesitation So my advice would be: Find a healthy, filling food you can turn to when you're craving sugar - do anything to break the habit and you'll soon be in control of your cravings

Thanks so much It's hard today, some days are so easy, but Saturdays is 'Candy Day' for our kids and the chocolate smells sooo good. But I'm tougher than a craving and I really want a healthy body that I'm proud of.. and I don't need or want the chocolate ENOUGH for me to say ok to it Feeling the pain from doing push-ups but it also feels amazing, like I actually have muscles somewhere.. it's great!

Oooh another reply! I can't believe I didn't see this. Thanks for the greet, lulu! I totally understand about cutting down on grains.. HOWEVER I also know that the nutritional quality of flour is significantly boosted when you allow yeast to ferment (essentially starting to digest the enyzmes to make it easier for your body to absorb)... so I believe that if you're going to eat bread, then sourdough made from wild yeasts in your local area is definitely one of the best kinds of bread to have And since you're from Australia, you also know how much crap is in the popular white quick-rise 'breads' that are actually nothing more than balls of barely cooked dough (scrunch up a slice of wonder bread and you'll see it's exactly that - dough). No wonder people feel heavy when they eat a lot of that crap! I grew up on it and I'm so grateful for moving to Sweden where I'm surrounded by some incredible quality breads. White pasta.. now that's something definitely in the past as well... except if on a rare occasion, I was to make my own fresh pasta for entertaining (like an egg-yolk ravioli or something) but that would definitely be a treat. I am checking back in because I'm very proud to announce that... upon following the 30 day hard-hat challenge found on this website... I decided to tackle my health opportunities by quitting sugar (since that was my biggest addiction) and... I am totally happily 'sugar-free' now, excusing the 1-2 serves of real fruit per day. So that means I no longer feel compelled to indulge in all the wonderful chocolates and sweet breads (freshly baked cinnamon buns anyone?) that I used to love... and I feel happier for it! Since I did so well with eliminating sugar (my hardest challenge), I stepped it up and added in daily planks. Tonight, I just started introducing a few push-ups and tricep dips (just using a dining chair). It's not much but.. for me it's not about intensity because I know I will challenge myself to do more each time. For me, it's about regularity and consistency and just -doing- something to get started. I feel really confident that I'm heading in the right direction and that this will start new opportunities for me in every other aspect of my life. I'm also accepting other challenges now that I would have been too shy to take before.. like speaking at the European Game Developers Conference and a few other events like that - I figured that it's better to sign up and get involved rather than let fear hold me back. We will see how it goes!

Thanks SilverRapier - I also want to add that I've noticed how you reply to everyone in this forum and thank you for that, it's very nice to see a post when you're new here and unsure of yourself and I'm sure that others appreciate it as much as I do

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums, though I've been reading articles from NF for a few months and now I'm super excited to be finally getting involved. I am really looking forward to starting my first challenge. I'm a 29 year old Australian that moved to Sweden last year to live with my Viking husband and because I was offered my dream job at DICE (I'll give you one guess as to what game I'm working on!). I love playing games (and making them - I've even worked on a Star Wars one!) and being a Tracker (I have just completed a Tactical Course and am looking forward to the Advanced one in summer!). My goal here is to find the education and support that I need to help me continue to take my life to the next level. I'm going to focus on eliminating sugar and refined grains (a little bit hard for me as I love baking), as well as increasing my strength and flexibility through body-weight training and yoga. Mostly though, I'd love to make some new friends that are positive and who also aspire to being the best, kick-ass versions of themselves that they can be. Warm wishes to you all