Nirvi

Oh man - maybe you can teach me your ways of not biting your nails!  I am an epic nail biter, and have been for over a decade.  Nervous tendency

Glad you had a good fourth from the looks of it.  12,000 steps... holy!  Also glad you are feeling better.  Those bentos look awesome!

Thank you as always, Heidi!

Dinner last night for the 4th (served with an apple cider):

andddddd something we made last night... and I had a piece for breakfast this morning.... 

paleo key-lime pie!

Things haven't been too good here; grandma fell a couple of days ago and broke 4 ribs and is on oxygen now.  And as if that's not bad enough, Hurricane Arthur is heading right where my NC house is (Hatteras Island) right now... the only area with the mandatory evac.  All the housework I completed there two weeks ago may have come in handy, at least (or, may be for nothing).  

When Jim Cantore is right outside your house you know it's not a good thing!  

Hopeful for a better tomorrow and better days ahead.  

You're doing well, totally deserved.  

Good on the alcohol and carbs, too.  Now I have to follow suit!

Moar foodpixxxxxxx coming, I promise.

made a yummy mango/avocado salsa (one of my favorite, easiest meal to make).  serve w/ sweet potato, yucca, or if you're non-paleo/primal regular tortilla chips... easy, healthy meal!

Finally got my fitbit up and running since I am in Alabama now, and will be updating/syncing daily.  Also no more cheat meals, I feel like crap - full paleo/primal now.  

oh noez double post.

Week 2 - Check.

 

I did not strength train this week, however I did yoga twice.  I ran twice, but both runs sucked the big one.  Fun-tivity was my boyfriend and I walking at the Zoo for the Highland Games.  We were there for just over and hour.  I got a bit sunburned on my left shoulder despite using sunscreen.  Ooops.

 

Diet was solid for 2 ^1/2 days, but then all hell broke loose.  I epically failed my diet goals last week.  Besides - it was my birthday and I eat what I want!  That being said, what I "want" is so not the same as a year ago.  After being a gluttonous pig over the weekend, I was reminded why I don't eat that way anymore.  Bloating, pain, miserabiliality, etc.  I was really disgusted.  A treat every now and then is fine, but I went overboard.  I've moved on and got right back on track and am already feeling better. 

 

I should be able to finish the current book I'm reading by the end of the week.  That will give me three weeks to finish the other one.  I really think I can do it!

 

Haha!  Backsides!  I love it. 

 

It was perfect!  Friday, my sister took me out to lunch and gave me my gift (a 6-pack of IPA which I'm sure will last me through the end of the summer as I rarely drink, and a $20 gift card to Target), then my parents took me out to dinner, and afterwards we had homemade cupcakes and Baskin Robbins ice cream at their house.  My parents gift to me was a FitBit!!!  After a year of my health and fitness journey, they totally "get" me now!  This thing is so cool!  I'm most impressed with how it tracks my sleep patterns and efficiency!  It really motivates me to practice a proper sleep regimen.  Which has been pretty iffy for far too long.

 

Saturday, (my actual birthday), my boyfriend took me out to lunch and then we went to the Zoo to attend the annual Highland Games.  Bagpipes, Caledonian dancing, Caber toss, Hammer throw, etc.  It was a blast!  After we watched some competitions, we walked around the zoo to see the new tiger and all the other animals.  Later that afternoon, we took a short drive out of town and spent the evening with some friends.  We took a golf cart and drove around the empty course around sunset and tried catching frogs (but we could only hear them, not see them).  I took a few photos of the beautiful sunset and surrounding scenery.  And then I had a blast collecting golf balls from the course...it was like an Easter Egg hunt (I'm such a dork ).  The owner of the club said that his groundskeeper would be eternally grateful.  Haha

I TOTALLY hear you on how miserable you feel (physically) when you get off track from dieting.  Any little piece of bread I had (or anything in batter) just left bloated for hours.  

Glad you had a wonderful birthday!  IPA's were my beer of choice when I drank them (now just cider).

I added you on FitBit - it's a wonderful little tool!

Thank you all for the congrats

I added you on FitBit, LittleTurtle!

Lunch today:

tomato-avocado vinaigrette brushetta over chicken breast with fresh homemade mozzarella

The only thing bad about fitbit (that I've noticed) is bad and good carbs are all just "carbs."  So you may be ingesting a lot of good carbs that are easy to break down and contain a lot of fiber, and not the processed and refined ones!  Not all carbs are equal.

You're doing well!  Scrubbing bathrooms can be a good workout, that's for sure.

Sorry for the delay!  Back in NJ... we had so much work to do on our little beach cottage that the time flew by (the renters we had the last few months really did a lot of damage    Realized a few days in that I brought my fitbit dongle, but didn't bring the computer with the program to update it... do'h.  Used my boyfriend's (broken) iphone5 to update and sync a few times but it was easy to forget

Been 80/20 paleo, and my grade has improved to a 95   Will be wearing my fitbit more this week and getting back into the swing of things / normal behavior.

Hope everyone's been well!  I'll start updating more frequently now!

Cool goals!  I work with HTML/PHP/CSS too - it's my favorite hobby and is so much fun (and at times, frustrating... especially when something is a pixel off...)

jQuery though... *shudders*

I attend the University of New England.

Doing pretty well  Most of my schoolwork is complete (minus the last paper) and I am averaging a 93.4... so it's steadily rising and should be a 94 after my last assignment is graded.

Swimming a lot.  Today I can say I am exhausted.

Totally blew paleo today and last night but I have an OK reason I think: I'm engaged!

Also forgot to wear my fitbit Failz.

Dedwyddwch - sign up at geocaching.com, find some coordinates, and go hike!  It's so awesome and enjoyable.  It's cool to see a place you've been to thousands of times had a little geocache hidden there all along.

Thanks all

Daily Challenge (6/10): Finish 'Public Health & Navajo Nation' paper.

Hello there, from a dirty happy hippie

We have similar goals (yoga, water, + food)... so I am going to sub and encourage ya.

Best of luck!

Arguments with family are no fun - been there done that too many times.  You are one step ahead if you stop participating, you're right!

Hey, am i allowed to crow a bit? My weekly steps averaged over 9k this week!

You've been killing it!  I have my fitbit back finally and am taking it with me all over the States.  Only regret I have is it's not waterproof (so no swimming in the ocean with it, boo)!

You enjoyed your night with your friends, and it was a boost to mental health... doesn't sound like a failure here!  Best of luck on the job front.  I am searching too

Hello guys!

Sweet, simple, and to the point - I want to continue with my overall goal of being healthy.

-----------------

MAIN QUEST

• Lose 70lbs.

Starting weight (Jan. 15th): 208.6lbs

Current weight (May 12th):   190.1lbs

-------------------------------------

                    18.5lbs lost  (27% of goal)

I will do this by eating paleo/primal (some dairy) and exercising.  I am away for the next 4 weeks so I will only have access to a scale a few days (probably for the best) the next 6 weeks.  I am going to allow myself two cheat meals per week that doesn't follow strict paleo/primal, since I am on an island and it's hardddddd to get certain supplies (no coconut milk here, no nitrate-free bacon, but lots of fresh produce) and I am on vacation after all.   

THREE GOALS

CLARITY: Practice yoga or meditation at least an hour per week / +1 STA, +1 STR, +1 WIS, +1 DEX

​This may be challenging as my access to privacy will be close to none, but I am going to try.  Beach yoga sounds amazing!

NOURISHMENT: Consume at least 72oz of water each day (tracked by FitBit), and maintain 90/10 primal (max two cheat meals) / +2 CON

​Really need to keep track of this one, as I've slipped doing this during the off-challenge weeks.

STRENGTH: Continue with exercising (geocaching, gym visits, walking, swimming), and begin push-up training / +2 STR, +2 CHA

I'm at my beach house in the Outer Banks of NC for the next two weeks, so I will be swimming daily.  Then heading to Auburn, AL for moral support as my boyfriend proposes his dissertation, where I will have access to swimming & tons of trails.  Then to Tennessee to spend time with his family... all that until the mid/end of July   and the end of this challenge... 

LIFE QUEST(S)

• Get an A in first MPH course: I'm averaging a 92, need to get a 94 with the overall goal of being accepted into Î”Ω (honor society of Public Health) next May / +1 WIS, +1 CON, +1 WIS, +1 STA
• Limit alcohol intake: when my boyfriend and I are able to get together (we're in a LDR) we tend to celebrate... too much. 3 glasses of wine a week is enough, and I'll be tracking it / +1 CON
• Job Search / Application: no points, but added bonus of less stress.

-----------------

I will try to post daily updates here (food I am eating, my water consumption, yoga sessions, etc).  I will also have a "daily challenge" that I will post, because every single day something can be completed or worked on, and I need to start holding myself accountable!

Best of luck to all the druids this challenge!  I will be popping online and updating this thread as much as possible, and cheering you all on along the way, too   Thanks for all the support!

Enjoy your vacation, and end the challenge with a bang

Last day of the challenge!  Didn't finish as strong as I would have liked (went to dinner twice this week with family and couldn't order 100% paleo) but looking in the mirror I know I lost weight and bulked up a bit... so I am definitely happy and consider this a success!

I've been out and about minus the last few days where it was just pouring day in and day out... still doing my yoga, still geocaching... gave my mom my fitbit for a few days this week since her wristband one broke and she really wanted to track her steps, so my report is all messed up now, minus the one I posted in the previous post

I am going to head out with my beau and find some geocaches today - it's sooooo beautiful out!  Have a great memorial day weekend everybody, and a great end to the challenge

Thanks guys!

Been doing "ok," the last few days - had a graduation party yesterday and had to stick to the menu choices served at the buffet, so I can't guarantee everything was paleo.  One bad day won't kill me though.

Went geocaching today on a geotrail - got a geocoin!  Did a TON of walking outside today so I am very happy.  I feel great.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Thank you guys for the support!  Yoga outside ftw (doing it today)!

Finished making a paleo cheesecake for Jeremy, to celebrate (it's currently chillin' in the fridge):

(don't mind the crappy food in the background... courtesy of my father)

Modified this paleo cheesecake recipe.  Added more sweetener (mix of honey/agave) and also added ~1/2c coconut milk (full fat, mixed thoroughly) to the filling because I have a very tiny blender and I had to split the filling in 4ths!!  This was a total adventure and a "on-a-whim" thing.  I love the dark chocolate words, and didn't know how easy they were to do (just melted chocolate in a ziplock bag, wrote on parchment paper and frozen for 2min).  

I can't even lie though... I had ~1c left for the filling and my father and I were taking big spoonfuls and enjoying it, so it must have been good.  Can't wait to taste the finished product!

For the longest time I was a volunteer EMT for a few squads around the Newark, NJ area - one was closed due to the FD taking over EMS responsibilities [my town]... so for my town of 50,000 near the NYC-metro, where we also take calls for the next town over [4th largest city in the state of NJ by population] we went from 8 ambulances down to... 1.  A few months after they took control they added another rig.  I volunteered for 3 years.

The calls were beginning to get to me and I decided I really needed a break for my own mental health.  The past year I have been working an as occupational health technician for a company called Medcor, so I am basically a clinic-medic - patients come to me.  I work at farthest north oil refinery on the east coast of the US.  It pays very well (an hourly wage I could never get as a paid EMT in NJ), so if you're ever looking for a per-diem or part-time job... we're nationwide.

(also... LVNs or EMTs can be occupational health tech's with Medcor )

Very awesome on the flight lessons!  And nice on exploring your neighborhood.  I've lived in the same city all my life, but it would be nice to branch out and explore other neighborhoods nearby

2-Week Check-In (Weeks 3-4)

Main Points:

- 24 -> 27% of goal (18.5lbs total lost, 1.8lbs since last weigh-in)!

- 100% primal

- improving yoga, doing more difficult asanas + increasing flexibility, but didn't do yoga as much as I wanted past two weeks.

- weightlifting going very well.  25 bw squats/day for remaining two weeks.

MAIN QUEST

• Lose 70lbs.
  

★ Lost almost 2lbs since my last weigh-in (May 7th)!  Went with my gut and decided to step on the scale, glad I did.  Been maintaining primal 100%.  

 

THREE GOALS

1. Practice yoga or meditation at least 3x per week
   

★ Did yoga 2x last week and 2x this week, but improving and doing more complex asanas and noticing increased flexibility.

1. Consume 72oz of water each day (tracked by fitbit)
   

★ Good!

1. Continue with my exercises (bodyweight squats, overhead press, deadlifts, bench press) and gym visits
   

★ OHPs going well, aiming for 25 bw squats a day for the remainder of the challenge.

 

LIFE QUEST(S)

• Spend a lot more time outside: now that it's getting warmer I wish to spend more time outside.  It can be hiking, geocaching, doing yoga, or just relaxing outside enjoying the sunshine
  

★ Been outside way too much!

• Save as much as I can: from now until the end of May I am only scheduled to work 3 shifts (that can change, but I doubt it) as I have applied to Master's programs that start mid-May.  I need to save as much as I can for the summer, and spend what I have wisely
  

★ Good here.  Had expenses I didn't know I would (engagement ring + boyfriend's computer I bought him for his birthday) but still remaining in the green.

--------------

05/12/14 Daily Challenge: Organize, organize, organize + clean for Jeremy's arrival tomorrow.