First Challenge: Hit the Ground Running...

[connally7]

10.07.2012-10.12.2012

DAY FOURTEEN-NINETEEN

Life sucks right now. Manager had a family emergency, so I've been working doubles and stressing out beyond what is reasonable. Work has sucked royally of late. Everybody seems angry about something, which makes for a poor environment. And out of nowhere, everyone (besides a few close friends and my amazing boyfriend) has stopped being understanding of my food choices. I had a guy at work straight up tell me that I was dumb for giving up sugar. I was shocked. Bread, I could maybe understand, since most people don't understand why I believe it to be unhealthy. But sugar? Seriously?! Like anyone could argue it has any redeeming qualities besides tasting good. Another guy told me that bread was a staple of life and that I was slowly destroying my body. It was a very discouraging week. Stress (and continued construction next door) has been affecting my sleeping; I've been suffering from horrible nightmares that make the sleep I do get unsatisfactory. This has resulted in no energy or motivation to go to work, nor less run or work out.

SUMMARY

This week was awful. Like seven levels of hell, awful. The only bright spot was food. I managed to stick to no-bread-pasta-sugar (and surprisingly, I gave up potatoes without even realizing it) and I love it. I love real food. My newest obsession? Avocado "ice cream"-blend ice, coconut milk and one avocado. Uh-freakin-mazing!

10.13.2012

DAY TWENTY

Work was a little better. I stood up to my manager about taking on too much responsibility (i.e. doing two people's jobs and getting paid jack) and he owned up and worked it out. Bills still have me stressed a bit, but I'm working on a game plan for them tomorrow. Sunday is my day off, so I'm tracking my progress, going on a long relaxing walk, and sleeping in. Lovely. Dinner was spinach&mushroom eggs, sautéed zucchini and squash, and bacon. With avocado ice cream, of course:) And coconut-almond milk as well.

SUMMARY

Recovering from a horrific, discouraging week. Getting some good sleep and lowering stress levels are my priority for tomorrow. Yeah, avocados!

[connally7]

Sorry to hear about you being sick. I just got over a cold myself. On the good side, since you are getting toward a fat burning metabolism, you should recover quicker. If you don't currently take vitamin D, you might want to try up to 8,000mg a day while sick to help you get over it. I don't get out in the sun a lot so started taking about 4,000mg a day when not sick and my incidence of illness went down a factor of three or four. I still occasionally get sick, but not for long. Good luck!

One other thing to think about is alcohol. When changing to a low-carb diet, alcohol has a larger effect than normal on you. You get drunk way faster. While I would not recommend beer, other than as an occasional indulgence (too many carbs), a glass of red wine a day is good for you. When you get further along, you might want to reintroduce it slowly.

You've made a lot of progress so far. Don't let being sick get you down. It's just temporary. You can do it!

Hmmm, I didn't consider that about beer. Good to know.

Thanks for the encouragement! I know I've been AWOL lately, but this week has been all sorts of nightmarish:( Hopefully, tomorrow will be a refresher and I can jump back in with renewed strength. Ever onward!

[jimmie65]

10.07.2012-10.12.2012

DAY FOURTEEN-NINETEEN

Life sucks right now. Manager had a family emergency, so I've been working doubles and stressing out beyond what is reasonable. Work has sucked royally of late. Everybody seems angry about something, which makes for a poor environment. And out of nowhere, everyone (besides a few close friends and my amazing boyfriend) has stopped being understanding of my food choices. I had a guy at work straight up tell me that I was dumb for giving up sugar. I was shocked. Bread, I could maybe understand, since most people don't understand why I believe it to be unhealthy. But sugar? Seriously?! Like anyone could argue it has any redeeming qualities besides tasting good. Another guy told me that bread was a staple of life and that I was slowly destroying my body. It was a very discouraging week. Stress (and continued construction next door) has been affecting my sleeping; I've been suffering from horrible nightmares that make the sleep I do get unsatisfactory. This has resulted in no energy or motivation to go to work, nor less run or work out.

SUMMARY

This week was awful. Like seven levels of hell, awful. The only bright spot was food. I managed to stick to no-bread-pasta-sugar (and surprisingly, I gave up potatoes without even realizing it) and I love it. I love real food. My newest obsession? Avocado "ice cream"-blend ice, coconut milk and one avocado. Uh-freakin-mazing!

10.13.2012

DAY TWENTY

Work was a little better. I stood up to my manager about taking on too much responsibility (i.e. doing two people's jobs and getting paid jack) and he owned up and worked it out. Bills still have me stressed a bit, but I'm working on a game plan for them tomorrow. Sunday is my day off, so I'm tracking my progress, going on a long relaxing walk, and sleeping in. Lovely. Dinner was spinach&mushroom eggs, sautéed zucchini and squash, and bacon. With avocado ice cream, of course:) And coconut-almond milk as well.

SUMMARY

Recovering from a horrific, discouraging week. Getting some good sleep and lowering stress levels are my priority for tomorrow. Yeah, avocados!

Damn, definitely a rough week. But you made it through.

Never understood how anyone can argue sugar is good for you.

[connally7]

Damn, definitely a rough week. But you made it through.

Never understood how anyone can argue sugar is good for you.

Yes, I did! And this week was sooooo much better!

I know right! It's crazy to me. I can usually keep my soapbox tucked safely away unless someone directly asks me questions concerning my weight loss, health, eating choices, etc. But when ignorance and arrogance start flying my way hand in hand, it takes all my willpower to bite my tongue.

[connally7]

**APOLOGY: I suck at updating lately! I really really do. And it makes my heart sad cause I miss so much encouragement when I skip updating:( I will try harder to do them more often. Onward!

10.14.2012-10.18.2012

DAY TWENTY ONE-DAY TWENTY FIVE

I've decided that I get a pretty decent workout between my two jobs. Waiting tables 4-5 days a week for 5 hours is all running around and just staying on my feet. Catering is basically lifting mountains of heavy things. (Hundreds of plates, trays of food, milk cartons full of glasses, tables, chairs, etc). Lots of lifting! My car needed fixing so all the money I managed to save for barefoot shoes is gone:( Back to square one. And I live in the Midwest so it's wayyyyy too cold to actually run barefoot anymore (as much as I enjoy it). But on the plus side, my diet is awesome! PaleOMG is the best thing I've stumbled across on the internet lately (besides NF of course!) and I've been trying out a ton of her recipes! I am a foodporn nut, so you can follow me on Instagram (connally7) for almost daily photos of all the delicious food I get to eat:) Her no-sugar 5-ingredient chocolate avocado pudding is heaven!!!

SUMMARY

No running. Sad:( Lots of exercise! Cheers:) Still not sleeping well. Ugh:( FOOD! Awesome:)

10.19.2012

DAY TWENTY SIX

Work was crazy busy! Run ragged but made some good money. Had to squeeze in a two hour power nap this afternoon since I have to be at my second job at 11 PM-yuck! And of course, we have an early meeting tomorrow. Sigh. Stupid jobs, trying to steal my precious sleep. Cheated a bit with some broccoli cheddar soup and fuji chicken salad (minus the dressing) from Panera for lunch. First time I've eaten out in about a week though. Dinner was a three egg omelette with portobello mushroom, spinach and a slice of provolone. Gonna make myself a smoothie to stay energized at work. No caffeine, I need good sleep! Also, even though my sleep has been restless and unsatisfactory from nightmares, I have noticed that my energy levels have been way up lately. And my hair and skin look awesome! I would attribute this to the incorporation of healthy fats (avocado & coconut) to my diet.

SUMMARY

Work hours are kinda screwing with my sleep schedule. Not cool. But once again, food wins! More energy and feeling really motivated about life. Happier:)

[jimmie65]

Just bookmarked PaleOMG - I need resources like this.

Definitely sounds like your job is a workout. It's amazing you can do so well with your diet being around food all the time. Nice job.

[connally7]

Just bookmarked PaleOMG - I need resources like this.

Definitely sounds like your job is a workout. It's amazing you can do so well with your diet being around food all the time. Nice job.

She's amazing! And her recipes are freakin' spot on. Definitely rescues me some nights when I'm feeling uncreative and lazy concerning food. Enjoy!

Thanks! It definitely is. No joke, I think my biceps are showing more definition purely from dragging massive tables and heaps of metal chairs all over our venue and up & down basement stairs.

Food did used to be a huge battle at work. But now, everyone at both jobs know I don't do bread or sugar. They'll still throw some temptation my way, but it's become such a reflex to say "no, thank you" that it hasn't really been a struggle anymore. Mostly, they just playfully mock my self-control.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[connally7]

10.20.2012

DAY TWENTY SEVEN

Work was not as busy as expected. (Also, I despise bossy, picky, spoiled, obnoxious, controlling children. Seriously. Parents do your effing job and parent. Sorry. Rant, over.) I did take a much-needed four hour nap to catch up on my lack of my sleep from the past few nights. Wasn't very hungry all day, a beef&onion fry with some Terra chips for lunch and avocado ice cream as a snack was more than enough for me. Weird. But I decided to roll with it. I think the low amount of activity and extended sleeping time meant my body didn't need much food. Hmmm, makes sense I guess. Went out to a bar with some of my boyfriend's coworker and managed not to eat any wings or drink anything. Yeah, willpower!

SUMMARY

Alright day. Definitely felt better with some good sleep under my belt.

10.21.2012

DAY TWENTY EIGHT

Slept in. Tracked my measurements (lost 1.2 lb and 2.5" this week!). Had a massive spinach&mushroom egg scramble with bacon and coffee with a splash of half&half. Worked on my website and blog. Did 10 push-ups just to see if I could. Took an hour nap. Made a creamy broccoli-cauliflower-mushroom-chicken casserole from PaleOMG for dinner. Yummm:) And some chocolate zucchini bread as a treat. Paleo is awesome:) And today was a great restful relaxing day.

SUMMARY

Sundays are my favorite. Sleep and laziness and experimental baking are the order of the day. Always need to have one day like this a week:)

[connally7]

10.22.2012

DAY TWENTY NINE

Work has been better. Consistent hours and the manager is back so my stress load has lessened. I did have to kick out this rude b**** who stayed 45 minutes past closing though. She kept telling me "I'm just gonna take my time." And I was like "Here's a box. We closed over 40 minutes ago. Eat slow somewhere else." Seriously, some people just suck. Sorry. Anyways, I had a burger (no bun of course) with two slices of bacon and sautéed mushrooms with sweet potato fries. Yummm:) Dinner was late night with a cup of chocolate kefir (fermented milk, live cultures-bring it!) and a spinach-blueberry-strawberry-almond salad with Caesar yogurt dressing (no sugar!) Took an hour nap before dinner. Not really sure where all this sleepiness is coming from.

SUMMARY

Work is getting better, slowly. Good food. Need to investigate what is causing these weird sleep attacks.

10.23.2012

DAY THIRTY

Day off. Breakfast was simple: scrambled eggs and strong coffee with Stevia. Job hunted for a while, then decided to have date night since we haven't in a while:) We had a gift card so Red Lobster it was. Avoiding carbs and sugar was really really difficult, but not impossible. I had the garlic-grilled shrimp and the wood-grilled salmon with roasted veggie medley. I also stole some of my boyfriend's asparagus and green beans:) I will admit though, I gave in and had 1 and 1/4 cheddar biscuits. Considering how addicted I used to be to those, I was pretty proud of myself. Then we went to see "Brave" (hilarious!) and were headed home when I was hit with nostalgia. See, we always used to go to Andy's frozen custard after movie nights. And we haven't been in probably a good two months. So I said "What the heck? It's date night. Let's do it!" And it was delicious. We walked all over campus enjoying our frozen treats and once I was done, I felt horrible. My stomach and limbs felt heavy, my stomach was churning, my feet were filled with lead and I was exhausted and foggy. Did I enjoy the biscuit and custard? Hell, yeah. Was it worth it? Hell, no! I don't feel guilty for eating either since I consciously made the decision to eat them. It wasn't mindless snacking or a burning need to have carbs or sugar that drove my decision. But I also know that I'm really excited to go back to eating what I've been eating all along: squash, zucchini, bacon, chicken, eggs, mushrooms, etc. and NOT feeling like I did tonight. Feeling this crabby from just a lonely biscuit and a small custard? I can't imagine how I felt before when I was devouring sugar and pasta and sandwiches all day, every day! Crazy. Just crazy.

SUMMARY

Date night:) "Cheated" a bit, but it taught me that my body really honestly despises sweets and carbs. I mean, really hates them.

[papacoyote]

Great job on the food! Sounds familiar. I've allowed my self more food cheats than I have actually taken. I'm amazed, it seems like when you clean out the grains, your body knows what to do. Keep up the great work!

[connally7]

Great job on the food! Sounds familiar. I've allowed my self more food cheats than I have actually taken. I'm amazed, it seems like when you clean out the grains, your body knows what to do. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the encouragement:)

[connally7]

10.24.2012

DAY THIRTY ONE

Slept awful, and the construction crew next door woke me up at 7 AM:( Gross! Work was much longer than usual; mostly consisting of lifting lots of chairs and moving tables for a few hours. Lunch was a caesar with no croutons and homemade dressing with broccoli cheddar soup. I've been having weirdly emotional outbursts lately, and today's sent me into a dark spiraling need for sweets. I look up a microwave single serving gluten-free sugar-free chocolate cake. And it bombed! So I did something bad. I ate some cherry cobbler that my boyfriend had in the fridge. Only a few bites but it was enough to make me feel woozy and sick. So I took a nap. Dinner was delicious: grilled chicken with mushrooms and sharp cheddar with chunky fresh salsa, and baked pears with cinnamon & honey for dessert. Now to hopefully get some better sleep tonight!

SUMMARY

Focus of getting more sleep. Maybe that's what is messing with my emotional levels. And triggering my sugar cravings. Priority: sleep!

[MadScientist]

You are noticing when you body does not like something and you are listening. Sounds like progress to me. An occasional indulgence won't really hurt your health, though you may feel like &*$% afterwards. I certainly like my desserts, but they really do not like me.

If you are tired a lot, you may be low on potassium, a common initial side effect of low-carb dieting. Dr. Eades recommends taking a couple of 99mg tablets a couple of times a day to find out. They are cheap and its hard to overdo, since your body just excretes it if there is too much. The other major electrolytes - sodium and calcium, could also be a problem, but they usually are not.

For depression, you may have a vitamin B or iodine deficiency. Either will cause it. My wife takes Optivite, a multivitamin designed for women, to cure said issue. I can tell when she is not taking it.

Keep up the good work. Don't let the occasional slip stop you. You can do it!

[jimmie65]

Just some suggestions, if you want them:

1. Make sleep a priority. Set a bedtime and stick to it as much as possible so your body gets used to sleeping at that time.

2. I second MadScientist's suggestion about potassium and Vitamin B. A god multi-vitamin will help cover lapses in your diet as well.

3. Omega 3! If you're feeling down, Omega 3 is the best thing to try. My wife and I both struggled with depression; she was even on Prozac for years. But daily Omega 3 has made a huge difference and neither of us are on any mood meds.

[connally7]

Kinda dropped off the map during the last bit (I got a third job!) But decided to still do a summary and grading for this challenge. I didn't do as well as I was hoping, but that's okay. It was definitely a learning experience and I still made some definite life changes! Which will only make the next challenge even better and more challenging!

GOAL ONE

25 PUSH-UPS

[+2 STR, +1 CON]

GRADE: D

[+0.5 STR, +0.25 CON]

Worked up to about 10 consecutive push-ups, then my consistent workouts vanished into a vortex of a crazy new job. No excuse, but it happened. I can still do a good-form push-up and ten of them in a row, so I think a D is worth it.

GOAL TWO

RUN A 5K BAREFOOT

[+1 DEX, +3 STA]

GRADE: C

[+0.5 DEX, +1.5 STA]

Loved running barefoot! Loved it! However, I cannot afford minimalist shoes at this time and midwest weather got wayyy too cold to actually run barefoot past week 4 of C25K. But will be picking it back up soon.

GOAL THREE

GIVE UP SUGAR

[+1 CON, +2 WIS]

GRADE: B

[+0.75 CON, +1.5 WIS]

Did awesome on this! Slipped up a time here or there, but I was really dedicated to eliminating it from my diet. And I was proud at how many times I said "no" to small things, especially considering how intense my sugar addiction is/was:) Yeah!

LIFE GOAL FOUR

KEEP MY APARTMENT CLEAN

[+1 WIS, +2 CHA]

GRADE: F

[+ 0 WIS, + 0 CHA]

I failed at this, guys. Failed. Miserably. Next time, I am picking a life goal that is not so "extreme life makeover!" intense (translation: I never clean. Like, ever. So cleaning daily was just too big of a step to tackle.)

All in all, not amazing. But not too shabby. On to the next!

Ever onward.