KaitSith

@hoosiercheetah Thank you so much!!

Your duck looks like my duck! We have a working car now, so we're okay on that front. With nothing else in my control, I ended up getting really angry with work and basically taking time away from the project to go to the gym. They expect me to put in unpaid overtime and come in on the weekends? They can deal with those 45 minutes at the gym happening during work hours while the gym is open. The rest was figuring out where to go from cutting down my sugar intake. I haven't been perfect and I still want to eat all the thing. Someone was baking brownies at 10pm the other night and it woke me up and I was unreasonably angry. lol BUT! I have this one thing that I am doing for myself right now, and that feels awesome. Thank you for the encouragement!

WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! At my 2 week weigh in I have officially lost 11lbs! After meeting my goals for cutting out added sugar I started a transition to a ketogenic diet. I only started tracking my food + fitness in MFP 2 weeks ago, and I used the online Keto Calculator Forecast and I am on track, with in ~ 1lb! I am not strictly keto, yet, so I assume that accounts for my numbers being slightly off, and I went to a bday party last Friday and had a lot to drink. I'm taking this victory, no matter what, it looks like I will be losing 1.5 - 2lbs a week and more if I don't over do it on Birthday celebrations. (The drinking was excessive, there were chugging contests and games upon games of flip cup - I'm not unrealistic to think that a drink is going to screw up my entire week.) I have stepped down on my carbs too but now I need to actually research and/or test where I need to be. 50 carbs? 20 carbs? I don't know what is going to work for me yet. Also - I had my gall bladder removed when I was 20 so I need to look into if Keto is going to be a feasible long term option, as without my gall bladder I do not digest fats correctly. I've also been to the gym 3 times this week, doing both cardio and strength training so my personal records for walking/jogging speed and mileage will be beat often enough for celebration, as well as my strength goals. I'm using machines until I get myself some weights. GUYS GUYS! 11lbs! BAI FELICIA!

Thank yooooou! It sounds like I have it together but I feel very out of control. I have had to consciously fight the urge to binge on junk for the past few days because I turn to food as a habit to handle stress. I threw food away so I wouldn't eat it and I've been trying to get into the gym and see those numbers lower on the scale to keep myself aware of all the good that I am doing. The struggle is real.

Wins this week: I've been doing really well with my transition to a Keto diet and exercise goals. 1700 kcals with a transition down to 20 carbs. Have a goal of 75%f, 20%p, 5%c by next week. Just saying no to bread and added sugar all day everyday. Exercising at least 30 minutes 3x a week, with a goal of more however I can fit it in. 15 minutes of cardio then 15-20 minutes of strength training alternating Legs, Arms, and then body weight workout with squats. BOOOO SQUATS. Also, the gym has machines so I'm using those, but we have one of those huge rubber balance balls so that's what I'm going to be using for squats. I am deathly afraid that I am going to pop it. Irrational? Nope. Yesterday was leg day and I powered through my reps but I tried to take the stairs today, in heels, which is already a challenge, but after leg day? Lawdamercy, somebody carry me. Challenges this week: My project at work is giving me white hair. The client has to send me 6TB of info via an external harddrive so I can finish this project by Monday... They transferred 2TB and overnighted the drive so I would have it first thing this morning. I got the drive and it was EMPTY So far I have completed the 39 provided tasks... of 733 tasks to complete and this drive should have had 200 more. Now I miss an entire day of work waiting for the overnighted package. Which means nothing to the client and a huge inconvenience and working the weekend for me. How do they expect this work to be completed by Monday???

Minecraft time was family time but it was right before bed...and honestly at that point I was more than done. I just zombied through it. KidSith was more than excited about playing multiplayer with everyone, though, so it was worth it in the end. We have a major project with a very tight deadline so I am working weekend and bringing work home so I won't get anything else done until the project is over.

Accomplishments This weekend! Cut extra sugar: Had a bite from 3 cake pops at my sister's birthday and they all tasted sickeningly sweet and I didn't feel like eating all the cake afterwards. I made a lot of good choices for meals and snacks that didn't include bread. I only drank water while we were out and about. Creativity: Played group Minecraft with the family on Sunday... I need to stop counting this time as creative time. It is definitely family time but it isn't meeting Self care: Slept in on Sunday instead of waking up super early to take Mr.Sith into work and use the car for errands. This was sorely needed after staying out late for a birthday party on Friday and waking up early to go into work on Saturday then immediately going on a long drive to Orlando and back. I fell into bed late late late and didn't get back out until 11am on Sunday. AND I TOOK A NAP THAT AFTERNOON HOW SCANDALOUS! Challenges: I grabbed groceries but didn't meal prep because this weekend was full of travelling, then sleeping, then grocery shopping, then Minecraft, then sleep. I did buy premade salads for lunches so I'm not stuck... I just hate feeling like I need to do all the things and I can't do all the things.

Accomplishments This week! Cut extra sugar: Transitioning into a reasonable low carb meal plan - had one day of vodka and cookies without incident, but have stepped down total carbs from 200 to 100 to 80. We are at around 62 right now. Made smart decisions with eating out and have been tracking what I eat to the point that I know what the carbs/sugar will look like for my go-to meals. Creativity: My dice rolls on family game night (also vodka and cookies night) were horrible and I wanted to kill everyone. As the DM this is within my power. MWAHAHA. Bought a used copy of Minecraft and a 2nd Xbox controller because KidSith wants to play Minecraft Pictionary. This counts as creativity, right? RIGHT??? I'M GOING CRAZY BECAUSE I CAN'T PAINT. Self care: I bought new flats, new second-hand heels, a new sports bra, new lotion, new eyeliner and some things that were overdue for a long long time. I packed my gym bag and have been bringing it into work so I can fit in a work out whenever. Challenges: I did not meal prep so I have been eating out but I have been able to stay within my calorie goals and macro goals. I'M GOING CRAZY BECAUSE I CAN'T PAINT.

I, personally, get grumpy when paying bills, balancing the budget, and creating meal plans/grocery lists are given equal 'chore weight' as taking out the trash etc. I feel you on the favors! My family is notorious for need a painting for a gift...two or less days before the gift is due. >_< They do not take no for an answer and I have been to the point of doing the work because the fight is more difficult to deal with than the painting.

OMG this is all the yes! Painting is my meditation, though, so I need to do it - but I totally get that it's not that for everyone. I'm more than willing to give up the laundry, dishes, oil changes, grocery shopping, budgeting... Just kidding, I have issues when other people do the laundry and budgeting. Other adulting chores, though, can gladly be taken off of my plate.

I used to teach beginner art stuff if you want to jump into some very old and outdated PDF lessons: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZq-HhtP_fHflFoZU5iUzd4MDJBN01WRWVQNUg0c2RkZnYxRGdCYUluWUNVQlhiNHoxeWs It can be fun and there is a lot of math involved. My 8 year old plays along which is great, plus he is better behaved than the adults. There are tons of free resources out there to play, you should look into it! Just get a premade adventure and read the books and you can run a short game to see how you like it. Bright red is Mr. Sith's favorite and I had dyed it for years and stopped when I was pregnant with Kid Sith, so when I met Mr. Sith he hadn't seen me with anything but natural hair. I can't even remember why I started coloring it again but there is no going back now lol! I don't impulse shop and I don't have to bring KidSith or Mr. Sith along so they can't talk me into icecream

Parts of it are duct taped together and the driver's side door does not open. >_> We are in a position to replace it with another used car, thankfully. One with air conditioning!

Accomplishments for Days 3 & 4: Cut extra sugar: Meal planned & prepped for success this week. I also bought groceries online and had them delivered to save time & energy. Creativity: Finished revamping all of the encounters for upcoming game nights. BOOYAH! Now I have to find my painting stuff, wherever it is located, so that I can finish some commissions and mail them out. Self care: I'm scheduling cuddling & Youtube videos with KidSith after I force him to do homework. MWahahaha Then I am reading and going to bed early. Challenges: Ate delicious patra, sweet&savory Indian snacks, at work and I have no clue what the carbs & calories are for them besides trusting my Google searching, which varies wildly. >_> I assume that jaggery acts just like sugar (because it is made with sugar cane) but I have no way of knowing exactly how much is in each and I don't want to be rude and ask The ladies in my office know that I am dieting and are considerate so they brought me a healthy snack but this may be an issue in the future as well because it is seen as very offensive to no accept / at least try gifts of food & snacks. Also, patra is my favorite and I wanted to eat them all, but I'm not looking forward to the day that I have to turn down samosas :/ Our car is officially done. One of the fans went out again and the NEW radiator is leaking. I'm ready to take a sledgehammer to our car. We're getting a used car asap before I lose my mind. This severely limits our funds this month and I can't care anymore. KidSith is out of school for the summer and the broken car situation already has caused so many problems. Now our limited funds destroy our plans for Field Trips on the weekends. I see a lot of playground-time in our future.

I'M GOING TO WRITE YOU A BOOK IN REPLY MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I have 4 sisters + Mr. Sith has 3 brothers and a sister, plus all their kids, and several very close family friends....so I totally get the 4 page Christmas gifts list. My budget/groceries/gifts etc lists are one book with several sheets in excel, but only after I have written it down. I can't imagine trying to buy gifts for everyone at home and in the office O_o We do a gift exchange for both! Just pick a name out of the hat (adults only, the kids still get gifts) then only buy one gift for whichever adult in the office and family member. Although, I end up painting a lot of gifts in December because the family comes to me, last minute, for their gifting needs. (It never fails. I let them know in SEPTEMBER, but the week before Christmas is always a rush of painting.) This is my first time roleplaying/doing D&D/and being the DM. The entire group strong-armed me into it. Every D&D meme is true. It is a very inexpensive but time-consuming (for the DM) hobby but it is great to have a family dinner then play games and be nerdy together. As for my hair? This red though!! OMG I LURVE IT. It is a bit too much for the office. I should have waited to have my older sister do it professionally but our car won't make it to her house nor her salon and I was very tired of seeing my roots. Eh. No one will say anything. It was definitely the sugar. I made all of my meals in advance for this week and now I can tell the difference when I am having too much sugar. For the record, no one should eat 3 cookies and wash 'em down with a beer and tropical punch. It is a bad mix all around >_<

ehrmergerd!!! THIS MAKES ME WANT TO ILLUSTRATE ALL THE THINGS!

If you are in the States did Memorial day completely mess up your week? Monday was my Sunday, so I did all my meal prep and chores ...and now Tuesday feels like a Monday. I'll catch up eventually, then it will be the weekend? One can only hope. Accomplishments from the 3-day Weekend: Cut extra sugar: Dedicated a yellow legal pad of Doooooom for all of my menus, meal plans, shopping lists, notes, goals, and goals broken into smaller, more manageable goals. Created the Master Low Carb Menu and Meal plan... and Shopping List ... of doom. (There is a theme here.) Bought groceries that were strictly on the Shopping List for the Menu and Meal Plan. Bulk cooked and packed breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for 2 - 3 days Creativity: I dedicated our extra day off time to prepping for our Family game night. The group is still blowing through all these bad guys, so I need to up their health and attack or change the encounters entirely. It didn't feel creative, it felt like work. (It was a lot of work, that's why!) Self care: I did all of our laundry, ever. It is hanging out in laundry baskets all nicely folded, clean, and lovely smelling because the closet is filled with boxes, but it is clean! I dyed my hair a fantastic red! I used the yummiest smelling coconut oil to deep condition! Yay self care! Challenges: It was a holiday weekend, which means that I had holiday weekend food in the form of 3 cookies, 1.5 beers, and juice on Saturday night. After cutting sugar on the trial week it made me feel really sick later after eating all of that, like a sugar hang over. I was in bed all of Sunday morning feeling like I had the flu and didn't immediately connect the dots until later in the day. Could be the beer, or the cookies, or all the juice -- could be that my blood sugar was crazy after all of that. It could be something completely unrelated, like not getting enough sleep. I don't feel sick from the sugar from fruits/vegetables: I had watermelon, strawberries, and sugar snap peas without any adverse reactions on Monday. So I am going to go with my gut (ha! punny!) and trust that that amount of sugar isn't doable from here on out. My low sugar / sugar free snacks involved a lot of hard boiled eggs, cheese, nuts, and beef jerky and the family was excited about seeing a lot of these in the house which means they are now almost all gone. I will need to test a sugar substitute so that I can bring my own baked goods/ sweets to holiday parties instead of relying on 'willpower' to get me through. We are just starting to get settled into our temporary house and despite careful packing and labelling of boxes I cannot find a thing. I am not sleeping well because it is hot and unfamiliar in the new place. tl;dr If you have sugar substitute, tried-and-true dessert options for holidays and parties, or snack suggestions I would love to hear them.

ALL THE FRUIT, yesssssss - the kids love watermelon, blueberries and strawberries way more than candy. I try to make the excuse that we have such a large family, but now I just bring it into the office for the candy dish or toss it all! Thanks for the encouragement!! The kids would love a candy jar, but then it would be nonstop candy time. Our 4 year old used to sneak/steal/hide the candy so that temptation had to go. She's crazy for chocolate, too so a lot of her 'treats are chocolate. We're trying to change everyone from a food-as-a-reward system to a sticker-as-a-reward, then the stickers add up to an allowance at the end of the week. It is sort of working? Ooooh no, not in Florida. It would attract all of the bugs ever. I used to feel sorry about throwing it out because of the waste... but no longer!

I have 4 sisters and both KidSith and the Diva receive candy for EVERY SINGLE OCCASION EVAR. We've requested less, but... so we throw it out or hide it. Mr. Sith just found a bucket of candy from Christmas while we were packing to move. Why would you give a four year old a BUCKET full of candy? because some people like to watch the world burn?

Happy Nerdversary! Following because I am excited to see/hear...read? your progress!

Fries are totally veggies ;p

I get bit by all the things, ever, and I have the craziest reactions. Mr. Sith and I ended up dusting our house with DE, so that might be an option for you, too?

Thanks for the encouragement! Mr. Sith and KidSith would sneak off to the store for snacks if we ixnayed the entire idea of them, so for now we are going to have other options readily available, which is always the obvious answer. Reaching for an apple to snack on is just as easy as reaching for a cupcake... but if you only have cupcakes in the house >_>

Not dissuaded! A little dose of perspective never hurt anyone - it was a pretty gentle reality check as far as they go. TBH I am going for the baby steps all the way - I cut out soda a couple of challenges ago, and for the past two I reduced my coffee down to a cup a day. Now I just have to manage the sugar in that one cup, then be more aware of the sugary snacks. I grabbed two stevia packets for my coffee this morning but I am not a fan of the taste.

Pretty much the best feeling ever! Congrats!

Let's say added white/refined sugar, for now. I will cut back on the sugar in my coffee first and won't add sugar to any other beverages for the first week. Cut out candy etc too. The goal is that by the end of the challenge I will not purchase anything that has white/refined sugar added to it. Sounds more feasible?