Bah.

Had an instant coffee earlier tonight (with white death -sugar- in it, even!) and now I can't sleep. I don't remember when I last drank a coffee, never mind one with white sugar in it. Booooooo.

After 8 Full Months...

...my weight is still hovering between 150 and 152 (has been since early July) and this must be because I've been lazy (lack of exercise) and it's birthday season and I just can't resist a piece of homemade birthday cake made from scratch by my step-mom. There are more birthdays to come (mine as well), so we'll have to see what happens.

This week I decided to join the Mark's Daily Apple forum since there is so much support on there from other people who are on the same journey to health as I. Reading everyone's success stories and especially seeing their progress photos really gets me motivated. So much so that I attempted a burpee blitz the other night. Silly me, I thought I'd see how long it took me to complete 50 burpees. L.O.L. I managed 22 of them before having to stop. This was at the 2-minute mark.

Shame on me, my form wasn't perfect, either, but I did what I could without throwing my back out. There was minimal pain the next day and I could feel the presence of some muscles I'd never felt before. which felt really good. On the second day, however, my stomach and back muscles reminded me that I'd worked them a little too hard. They'll get over it. ;)

I meant to try a few more burpees today before my MIL came over for dinner, but the timing just wasn't right. I don't think my muscles were ready for another go at it, either, so I'll do it tomorrow.

I'm really not one to post pictures of myself on the net, but here are the first photos showing my progress so far (click the pic for a higher-resolution version):



I tried to recreate the scene/pose as close as possible because I couldn't find a better pic where a) my chunkiness was visible and b) I could find the same clothing to wear. Next time there will be progress pics of me wearing my for-private-home-use-only bikini. Now aren't you excited about that! HAHAHAHA!

Another improvement I noticed, which is likely from being soap-free, is that I no longer get a nasty rash after shaving my bikini area. It was a guaranteed annoyance prior to this summer, and now it just doesn't happen. Nice. :)

Oh-So-Close! 150.5!!!

Last night we entertained an old high school friend for dinner (the delicious fare included bbq'd steaks, pork kebabs, and zucchini strips along with butter-steamed potatoes and onions I cooked in the oven). I had a few rum and cokes (Coke Zero) and was happy to see 150.5 on the scale this morning! And this is before any bowel movement (TMI, but relevant lol)!

I really need to get some new clothes now because the shorts and pants I bought before our trip in March are now falling off me. I have a belt that I can wear with them but I really hate belts and I get a nasty rash on my stomach from any metal bits that touch.

The Sister and the Long Hair

As you've read, I attended my nephew's 8th birthday party this past Sunday, and that was the first time in a few months that my sister and I saw each other. (She had really pissed me off by treating our mentally-ill mother badly.)

She really noticed how long my hair had gotten and tonight on the phone she asked me how my hair got so long so fast; was I taking any supplements?? I then proceeded to tell her that it's probably related to our diet improvements and the fact that I haven't used shampoo or conditioner (save for a couple of times) since January 1 of this year.

Her reaction was common: "What?? What do you wash your hair with? No conditioner? I couldn't do that. My hair gets too tangled."

I explained the baking soda and ACV regimen and I'm sure she'd heard of it before (at least my mom had, when I told her awhile back), but she actually sounded interested. When she mentioned her tangle-prone hair again I mentioned that it's because of what she's been using. The shampoo strips way too much of the natural oils away, making you depend on using conditioner, which in turn makes your hair feel really dirty soon after, making you depend on more shampoo! "They've got you by the balls," I said. She agreed.

I forgot to mention the coconut oil as a treatment. Oh well, next time.

151.2!!!

This morning when I weighed myself the scale read 151.2. *happy dance*

Then I had breakfast and headed over to my sister's place to attend my nephew's 8th birthday party. I had a few potato chips and some cake, but that's to be expected. It's not an every day thing.

*happy dance*

An Evening Snack

Although the blueberry Activia yogurt would have been awesome on it's own, I decided to dress it up a little, as I often do. I added some raw almonds, dried (unsweetened) cranberries, flax seeds and (for my sweet tooth) a few chocolate chips.

Yum.

(Click the pic for a higher-resolution version.)

"Orthorexia Nervosa"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/16/orthorexia-mental-health-eating-disorder

I definitely don't have it. I'm sitting here eating a bowl of ice cream (two flavours, thank you; chocolate velvet and vanilla) topped with homemade raspberry/rhubarb sauce (thanks to step-mom) and organic blueberries (because they're plumper and less rotten than the others at the store). Mmmm, delicious. No obsessing over healthy foods going on over here.

Odour-Free Pits! It works!

Instead of using deodorant after a shower, I've been trying a smidgen of coconut oil followed by a very light dusting of baking soda. After a full day at work with wet pits, NO SMELL. Yeehaw! :D

13 Pounds and Counting

After all the "diet cheating" I'd been doing over the past few weeks (a small piece of cake here, some homemade bread there), I was pleasantly surprised yesterday morning when I stepped on the scale. 152.8! Holy crap, I'm almost into the 140s again! I don't remember the last time I was in the 140s, it was so long ago! Yeehaw!

Just over a week ago I started doing small amounts of crunches and lady push-ups during my evening stretch session on the bedroom floor. I did 5 of each for a couple days, then raised it to 10, and then 20 each. I can now do all 20 of each straight without needing any rest time.

Today is Canada Day so I have the day off and I slept til 10am. The stupid cat woke me up at that point - how annoying. I hope she isn't one of those ones that will live til 28 years old...she's already at 19 and I love her but I need a break from cats for awhile.

On another note, an update on the poo-free life! The skin on my face has never been smoother and I haven't had a huge monthly zit in a couple of months (I think I've had one since returning from our vacation). My scalp was a bit smelly (at least to me) last weekend so I did a good cleaning with diluted baking soda with the ACV rinse. Aaaaaah, much better.

Otherwise, it's going pretty well. Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple posted about this "way of life" and his post has a ka-jillion comments on it (it's a fascinating topic for the masses!). Someone mentioned making a deodorant from coconut oil and baking soda so I'm trying that sporadically for now. Once my deodorant stick is finished I'll re-fill it with this new mixture.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I haven't felt much like blogging but I'll try to post more often now that I'm getting some positive results!

Been Thinking Too Much Lately

Lots of things have been going through my head lately, some very cynical things as well. I lay in bed at night at wonder how to fix this world or this or that...tonight we ate dinner on the back deck and as I looked up at the white fluffy clouds I wondered how to prolong that feeling of happiness.

I need to change something in my life and I think (ok, I'm 90% sure) it's my job. The only problem is the fear of interviews and getting into something that either I won't like, or something that doesn't quite pay enough.

Hmmm.