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Friday, October 31, 2014

Day 60

I wasn't sure that I could do the Whole 30, but I just cruised into day SIXTY!

Yes, I dramatically changed the way I eat, and the sugar hangover was tough - but for more than six weeks now, I'm just eating stuff I like! THAT ROCKS!

I've been pretty good about hitting Aqua Fit 3 times per week, and I can feel a tremendous difference in what I can do during class. I need to add more walking, but I was afraid of hurting my knees. I had knee pain until recently, but now it's time to, literally, step that up!

For the past month I've been able to something silly, but I've made it sort of a routine: when I go up the stairs in my house, I RUN!

I RUN STAIRS! DAILY!!!

I just feel so good & energetic! I'm down almost 4 pant sizes, and I've had to add six holes to my belt, and I no longer need my Jeep's stupid seat belt extender, and I sleep like a log - all of this is GREAT, but it's my energy level that feels so positive & rock steady!

So, yes, it's Day 60 - and I'm gonna keep rolling!

I figure I'm 'halfway' to a Whole 120, which would end on my Birthday, just in time for New Year's.

Wouldn't that be a GREAT way to ring in the New Year?!?!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Week Eight

I have been able to measure myself on my home scale for exactly 3 weeks now, and in that time I'm down more than 11 pounds.

Eleven pounds in three weeks!

Also during that time, my knee pain has almost vanished, my energy level & sleep have continued to be fantastic, and my performance at Aqua Fit feels like it's doubled.

I. FEEL. GREAT.

I cannot stress that enough! It's not a super-happy-giddy feeling, it's the simple joy of multiple bad inputs being removed.

Like my Dad used to say, 'it feels so good when you stop beating your head against the wall'.

I hit my 60 day mark on Friday, and I have ZERO intention of stopping! I'm gonna surf this wave in all the way to the beach.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Week Seven

In the three weeks since I completed my Whole 30, I'm down 6.4 lbs. That's 2.13 lbs lost each week - a wonderfully perfect rate of weight loss!

I'm out of available belt holes, after adding 3 new ones at my W30 completion.

This is a good problem to have :)

My right knee isn't hardly hurting at all! I'm continuing to eat 'on plan', and my energy level & sleep continue to be fantastic!

Just nine days to go, until I hit my Whole 60!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Week Six

Whole 45 complete! Going for 60!

...and damn, but it's going well!

Most notably, between last week and this week, my scale can now measure my fatness, now that I've lost a bit! That's roughly 4lbs down last week! That's actually too much, but as long as I'm eating correctly, and doing reasonable exercise, I'm not going to get wound up over it. I know that sooner or later I'll hit a plateau, and at that point I'll mix up what I'm doing. In the meantime - WINNING!!!

The weekly breakfast prep REALLY helps, as does the daily salad bar at work. Aqua Fit is awesome, and as long as I don't walk too much & I ice my knee, the pain is hardly noticeable!

Staying the course, heading towards a Whole 60 ... and if it keeps going so well, I see no need to stop!!!

Thursday, October 09, 2014

Week Five

As you can see from my belt - I'm down roughly 6 inches in my waist - which is THREE pant sizes!

As of Tuesday of this week, my weight is down enough to actually register on my scale! Now I can REALLY begin to gauge my weight loss trajectory!

I'm continuing to push my boundaries for W30 'compliance' with homemade salad dressing, eating fresh fish when eating out, adding spinach & sauerkraut to my weekday breakfasts, and vastly improved breakfast meats.

My missing link continues to be my workouts. I've had to back off the walking & ice the knee, but my attendance at Aqua Fit still isn't enough either. It's just too hard to leave the office early.

However, all in all, I could not be more thrilled! I'm eating well, sleeping better, and feeling fantastic. Downsizing my pants & shirts is great, and punching new belt-holes is an awesome problem to have!

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Thoughts at Day 30


The Fantastic

Prep work in the beginning & each Sunday made everything else…possible.  This was the lynch-pin of my success!

Once past the "Sugar Crash Hangries", my hunger pangs were…almost pleasant-ish!

-In fact, this feels like my absolute BIGGEST win!  Feeling the correct 'hungry signals' for the 1st time in 20+ years was weird, and not having to be fearful of the old "Sugar Crash Hangries" feels like a new & unexpected freedom.  Seriously.  Amazing.

By focusing on what I wanted to eat, the cravings simply got crowded out

This gave me ZERO food stress – I never felt deprived, never felt the 'old' type of "loose-my-shit-hungry"

The "Kill All The Things" phase wasn't REALLY too bad. 

Pants that were previously too tight, are now a bit loose

 

NOW.  SLEEP.  LIKE.  THE.  DEAD.  !!!!

 

Energy is rock solid throughout the day

Constant headache during Week One, turned into ZERO daily headaches since! (There was one-ish, but easily resolved)

Brain fog cleared

At the end of week one, no more mid morning snacks; by end of week four, no more 'need' for mid afternoon snacks.  This feels like a HUGE win!

I was able to do this during an incredibly stressful work month.

 

The Good

Daily food logs went well

Tapered off Paleo Packs & RxBars

Organic Veg Box ROCKS!  (Need to be better about logging on during the weekend to modify it)

Veg Box reduced need for multiple grocery store runs – big win!

Eczema & Psoriasis seem … not as bad, but certainly not 'cured'

Had an A-Fib scare in Week One, but have felt fantastic since, with lower & lower resting pulse rates each successive week

Tapered off of nuts & olives, white potatoes & bananas to bring calorie counts down a bit

 

 

The Bad

Need more sleep, in particular, an earlier bedtime

Need to drink more water, less tea, less caffeine in afternoon

Need to bring own salad dressing "just to be sure"

Need more fermented veggies (need guts to try the Kimchi I bought)(pun intended)

(Eventually) avoided fruit as a sugar substitute

First two weeks I was too dependent on Paleo Packs & RxBars, but weaned off them

Veggie spiralizer got used ONCE.  After that, veggies were just diced & cooked, low-maintenance style

Wanted to do all 30 days w/out a single restaurant, failed at that on DAY FOUR – but remained fully complaint eating out all month

I was shocked at the volume of dishes & kitchen clean up (DUH)

 

The Ugly

Did not cook a single "recipe"

Gym time, and daily walks were poorly attended

Daily work salad's Grilled Chicken may be processed

Did not swap to fully compliant bacon & sausage until Week Two

 

Goals

Seamlessly continue into a W60

Push for absolute 100% compliance (bacon, sausage, salad dressing, butter)

Push for 3 straight meals each day – with no snacks.

Earlier dinner

Earlier bedtime (need 9 hours!)

Push to learn recipes, do crock pot meals, and breakfast muffins (as I promised myself in August)

Push to a solid 3 workouts per week

Non-gym days need adequate movement (aiming for 10k steps)



Day 29: Re- cap

Breakfast: 3 HB eggs, 3 sausage patties with Cholulla, sauerkraut, green tea

Lunch: bed of spinach, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, grilled chicken, balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Apple, banana, iced green tea

Dinner: grilled salmon, broccoli, sweet potato

Notes: the good mood, good sleep, and rock steady energy are now almost so normal as to be unremarkable ;-)