sarcasticgirl

I'm going it alone also. My husband is supportive and compliments me when he knows I've been working hard... but, aside from the occasional bike ride or walk, he doesn't really join me in my efforts. I firmly believe that it would be so much easier if he'd join me... but I can and will do this on my own! I have a secret home that my progress will inspire him. I just want him to be a bit healthier, same as what I want for myself. I use sparkpeople.com for some motivation and support. I have found local and not so local friends there that have helped me out in my journey. Other than that... it's ALL ME!

Vian: looking over your food and workout, i used to be so similar to you. I thought the exact same thing. I ate "healthy" got my calories down and balanced my food according to the recommended portions. Low-fat and whole grains. attempted to keep fueled with low calorie foods, i struggled with being hungry, eating 3 meals and 2 snacks. I worked my butt off for MONTHS. 6 months and i lost 15 pounds total. I started at 218 and got to 203... I'm 5'5" so i still had lots to lose. A few months ago, i started with the primal diet. it's like paleo, just with dairy and such. I love me some bread, potatoes, pasta. LOVE. but i found out that I was insulin resistant, so it didn't matter what my calories were... i could gain wait just by NOT eating low carb. even eating under 1700 calories while working out. I changed to meat, veggies, fruit, nuts and some dairy and OMG after a week or two, not only did i feel AMAZING, i craved MEAT not starchy carbs. i wanted a giant bunless turkey burger. with bacon! with an egg! with a slice of pineapple! YUM! (man, i want it now! LOL) I no longer needed mid day and mid afternoon snacks. a couple of eggs and some meat for breakfast and i was good until lunch. lunch of meat and veggies and some fruit kept me until dinner. If i got hungry, or more often, just WANTED something... i'd have some nut butter. I actually found myself completely satisfied on 1100-1200 calories! something that NEVER would have happened before when I had a slice of whole grain bread or some low fat greek yogurt. I had to look for ways to up my calories without feeling way too full. (heathy fats! and BACON! lol) Saturday, I had a breakfast at 9am of a couple of scrambled eggs with a little cheese/jalapeno and salsa and some bacon. my day was crazy and busy and didn't get to sit down for dinner until about 7. Before, i would have passed out. I would have gotten "HANGRY" which is what my husband dubbed it when i got so hungry, i'd literally shake, get dizzy and become a complete b*tch! but saturday, i was fine. sure... i did get hungry and felt a bit weak as dinner approached, but since my carbs come from plants and nuts... My blood sugar stays so stable, that even a 10 hour gap between meals doesn't make me feel so horrible! It is positively amazing. Now, I'm not 100% primal. I do eat red potatoes about once a week. and i have a bread product or pasta maybe once a week... but i keep my carbs under 100g... keep my protein and fat up and it makes the hugest difference!

I have the same problem. I hate most veg. I can eat legumes all day long and am super annoyed that they aren't paleo/primal. I still have them occasionally in smaller quantities. But I struggle to get in 3 servings of veggies. I can eat raw cucumbers and carrots all day long. lettuce and raw spinach is fine. but these get BORING. I still eat red potatoes about once a week... but try and do a combo mash of cauliflower and potato. or throw in green beans with the roasted potatoes. If a veggie is in a soup, I can generally eat it. if the soup is mostly pureed... even better. I've spent the last few months experimenting with veggies and 1. spaghetti squash will take on the flavor of whatever you put on it. roast it with a great olive oil and some garlic and YUM! 2. zucchini/yellow squash cooked with bacon and cheese is a decent sub for a mac n cheese craving. 3. anything picked from the vine is way better than what's in the store!

mini challenge #5 +1 CON point

challenge #4 completed for +1 CHA

Challenge #3 completed. no award point listed in challenge. But done none-the less. Totally slacking on my running goal. 100+ degree temps in chicago haven't helped. but plank and veggies going strong!

DONE! went off the regular paved walking trail onto the gravel trail around a lake near my house. Climbed a few 100ft hills. my dog loved every second of it, except for when we headed back home.

The equation (calories in<calories out for weight loss) is true. Calories out, though, is pretty complex. If you haven't been losing weight over 2 months, then your calories in have not been less than your calories out. The science really isn't always so simple for everyone. I busted my behind for months. Tracked every morsel and use HRMs for all workouts etc. my calories out were always higher than my calories in. I either stayed the same or sometimes gained. for some people the quality of the calories in makes a HUGE difference. For me, in order to see any adjustment in weight, I have to keep my carbs below 100g a day for the most part. Changing this variable and ONLY this variable (keeping workouts the same, and calories in the same) I lose weight. It's entirely possible that the OP has some insulin resistance or an issue like that which will cause weight loss to stall simply by having more carbs. and since the OP loses when going paleo, where the carbs are low and come from veggies and fruits, it seems that that might be a pretty good possibility. In my research I found a pretty good book: Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes. It totally made sense to me and I could relate so much!

HA, if only this were the challenge for last week! I did a diry girl 5k on the 30th in a place I'd never been before. I also did last week's challenge and forgot to post in the challenge thread. Does it still count?

+1 STR for challenge #2 It's been sooooo hot out, i haven't been running. BOO on me. but come sunday things will cool down a bit and it is ON! My plank work is going good! I'm already seeing quite a bit of improvement! New veggie... Eggplant. Sauteed it with garlic and shrimp, added a pasta sauce (Trader Joe's 3 cheese pasta sauce... no added sugar!) and topped it off with some mozzarella and parmesan. YUM! I've tried the recipe with zucchini as well. also YUM! who needs pasta?!?!

+1 wisdom from the mental challenge this week.

Another experiment with veggies. Yellow squash and Zucchini cut julienne style. sauteed with bacon, added cheese. Like a substitute for cheesy pasta. So yummy! Is it possible I've already found 3 new veggie recipes in less than a week?!? Partial challenge goal met! now to keep looking!!!

great goals! it is my first challenge too!

Hey hey hey! to my fellow chicagoans! Yes my a/c is working quite nicely, thank goodness!!! I plan to use C25K, I've done it in the past... and quit. HA! but i know so many people that have had success... I just have to get off my booty and DO IT!

awesome goals! you know what you need to do and you'll be rocking in no time!