iamwoman

You can also try Trader Joe's.

January 2nd...good to know. Looking forward to "seeing" you all then. Guess it's time to revive an old log. I need some kind of accountability during the holidays.

Way to go on the challenge!!!! And nice 1st parkour video - that last part at the end where you jumped from one ramp wall to the next looks impressive. Good luck getting that question in during the last class. Not an easy thing to do, but if you can accomplish all your other goals, then you can do this.

Life has gotten the best of me and my goals have gotten off track. Starting last week, we had a problem with epoxy not setting on our basement walls. Fumes got really bad and we stayed at my mom's house for a few days. Got the epoxy removed and replaced with poly urethane yesterday, but noticed a small patch of epoxy was still there. Fumes are still bad, so we've been living with the windows open (which is just peachy with our below freezing weather ). Waiting for the company to get back with us about it. And the epoxy company just called and said to use mineral spirits on the walls to get rid of the residual epoxy. Not exactly looking forward to having another stinky product on the basement walls, especially when the ventilation's poor down there. Right before all this crap I was in the midst of a writing spurt. When inspiration strikes, it happens fast and I find myself working on several ideas at once. But now that the creativity's been interrupted for a week, I don't know how soon I'll be able to get that mojo back. And my diet has been horrendous because of the living situation, with lots of takeout and frozen meals. And exercise? What's that? I'd be surprised if I didn't gain inches on my waist, much less lose any. So...it looks like this challenge has been a bust for me. All is not lost, though. I have learned some things along the way and plan to go forward with the next challenge. I'm actually rather excited to come up with more goals, especially since I sort of know what needs to be focused on.

Had to look up Dreya Rolls (love that I learn new exercises every time I read your journal ). Looks like a good move for challenging the entire body.

Today marks day 5 of this whole fasting/semi-fasting thing. Yesterday started the eating of the bacon. Ended up having 2 slices along with a T of coconut butter and half a spud's worth of sweet potato fries. Under 500 calories for the day and that was enough to satisfy hunger. I don't know if I should be eating more or what. I always hear about how 1,200 calories a day is the minimum to get in enough nutrition while dieting, but don't people do religious and ethical fasts for weeks without doing bodily harm? I suppose at my weight, the less calories the better. I might as well enjoy this break from regular eating habits. I even scooped out ice cream for my family and sat with them as they ate and didn't feel any cravings for it. Let's keep this new phenomenon going! Arm burning sensation is gone. Whew! I was Ms. Positivity all yesterday, telling myself my body would heal itself soon and the antibiotic side effect wasn't worth getting worked up over yet. Been taking probiotics and MSM, along with my usual vitamins. Planning on drinking more of the blood pressure tea, since it's supposed to be good for the liver and kidneys, and that antibiotic can do bad things to these organs. Did another 50 minutes on the elliptical yesterday. Will aim to get in a strength training session today. Totally been slacking on that.

JenS, I just recently discovered I Used to Be Fat. It's a nice contrast to The Biggest Loser, with how they have the entering college students losing weight while still dealing with their home life. My husband shakes his head whenever I watch The Biggest Loser. He's like, "How many seasons of that show have you watched? And did it help you get to your goal weight?" LOL, so true, but I do exercise while watching, so I still consider it a positive. It does suck a little, though, as the show progresses and the contestants get smaller than me. That's never my plan.

The fasting has felt good these past 3 days. I am going to start incorporating other foods into my diet now to see if my body reacts badly. First up is bacon. Had 2 slices this morning. Will only add in bacon for the next couple of days (maybe 3?), then move on to the next food choice. I stopped taking the antibiotic meds last night. After taking 4 of those Clindamycin pills, I am experiencing bad side effects. Skin on lips peeling and face was flushed, but both are fading fast. Also experiencing dry eyes. The major upset is that my right arm feels like it's on fire (but a cold fire, if that makes sense) and my shoulder joint is sore. Going out in cold weather makes the arm feel worse. Looking up this antibiotic online and reading all the bad long-term effects Clindamycin has had on people, I am pissed that it was prescribed to me for a maybe chance of having a tooth or gum infection. Just when I was feeling good for the first time in years from the fasting, now I have to deal with new pain. I am going to flood my mind with positive thoughts and hope for the best. LOL, that's got to be better for me than what these doctors prescribe. (But of course, if the burning pain doesn't subside by tomorrow, I will make an appt with a doctor. And the dentist is certainly getting a call from me today.) On a good note, my tooth and side of face feel back to normal. And I got in 50 minutes on the elliptical yesterday. Oh, and I am down to 199.5 lbs. Am going to ease back into eating to hopefully not gain any weight back. No inches lost at the waist, however each thigh is down an inch. Next challenge, I'm going to set a goal of losing total inches instead of just for one particular area - never thought my thighs would go down before the waist did and it looks like I may not reach that 3"-off-waist goal. Oh well, live and learn.

Thanks, DustMite!

That parkour video you're planning sounds like fun. Can't wait to see that diving roll over a bush - sounds impressive! I think chicken is the way to go for more protein as it has more protein per calorie than eggs. (Though, gotta say, I'd personally go for getting a leaner cut of beef. I just like the taste better.)

SuperXM1ke, I am going to listen to my body and make sure to not overdo the exercising while fasting. I was thinking about this yesterday - my oldest child is sick and putting too much stress on myself could put me at risk for catching her cold. A big 'no, thank you' to that. Looks like this fasting thing is going to last a few more days because of tooth pain. A happy accident, maybe? The good news is that the dentist says there's no decay and blames the pain on trauma from eating tortilla chips. Of all things, huh? On Sunday I had decided to measure out a serving of my kids' chips for a special treat, but nope it turned into a trick. Serves me right for eating a non-paleo food. I'm on antibiotics now and avoiding pain medication (for now - after 3 nights of little sleep, pain meds are looking so good...). Got in 50 minutes on the elliptical yesterday at just a steady moderate pace. Totally bugged me that Biggest Loser and I Used to Be Fat were on last night and I couldn't exercise while watching them. Seems like an oxymoron for a fat person to sit on the couch while watching weight loss shows, so I read a book instead.

Yesterday's fast went as planned. Had about 2 tablespoons of coconut butter in addition to the water and tea. My jaw felt a little looser today so I tried to eat some sweet potato fries this morning, but it was still too painful. I'm making an appointment with the dentist later to rule out a tooth infection. Looks like it's another day of fasting. Odd thing is, I don't mind. I thought my hunger would be through the roof after a day of fasting, but my appetite is scarce. One good thing, right? Got in 30 minutes on the elliptical yesterday. Had to take a break in the middle of it because the face pain worsens with movement. Ah, the joys of going backwards with the fitness. Will try to push past the pain to get a better workout in today. Got a sick kid at home who was projectile vomiting this morning, so we'll see how the rest of the day pans out.

You're making it happen! Way to go! I was watching this parkour video earlier. The fluid-like and sure-footed movement of this kid is scary awesome.

@SuperXM1ke: Yup, my diet is more paleo than ever and I've been getting in more exercise. The exercising gets me drinking lots of water. I've been down this wonky dieting road before and it is, indeed, strange. After a month or two of not losing, I usually go back to my old bad habits, but I am determined to keep fighting this time. I WILL get my body to behave, lol! And yes, I am fasting today. Seems now that my headache is fixed, up pops a new problem: pain on the left side of my face. I've gotten this pain before, but not nearly as bad. Eating spinach bread last night flared up the pain big-time, so food is out of the question for now. Since my facial muscles need a day off from chewing, today will be a water, tea, and coconut butter fast. (Going easy on the coconut, though.) @DustMite: Clothes don't fit any differently. I wish! As much I weigh myself, looking better in clothes is the real goal. And regarding the spinach bread, it is surprisingly good. Now if I could only get my husband and kids to try it.

Got some good news and some not-so-good news. The good news is I ate well yesterday. Eggs in coconut oil, sweet potato fries, cauliflower, spinach bread, and a little beef, zucchini, and carrots. The spinach bread was something new to try, from that Mark's Daily Apple site. It came out a little too moist from me not draining the spinach enough, but the nuts (only had walnuts on hand, not pine nuts) added a really nice flavor. Had a piece with a slice of salami for breakfast this morning. Delicious! However, I looked at the ingredient list for the salami and it included natural flavoring, flavoring, seasoning, and spices. I took it for granted that an uncured product would be free of mystery ingredients. Could be harmless, could be full of MSG and other crap. My body will tell me, one way or the other. On to the bad news: I stepped on the scale today and am up to 206. That's 2 lbs more than when I joined NF 4 weeks ago. Will try not to get too bummed. I know the 2 bad eating days contributed to this gain, but dang, I didn't go over in calories by much (and was still under what I used to eat pre-dieting). I'm thinking the lack of exercise must've put the nail in the coffin on this gain. I've only been doing 30 min a day on the elliptical the past 3 days and every time I've tried to do strength training it's been interrupted by my family. I keep reading how exercise is not necessary for weight loss and how too much can have detrimental effects, but my body seems to need it just to maintain weight. So I don't know what to believe. On a nicer note, that blood pressure tea is still helping my head stuffiness/ache/pressure. I only had that one cup 2 nights ago. I still get some minor pains around the face, but it's small potatoes compared to what I was experiencing. I am a lovelier person to be around now without all the pain distraction.