Shipwrecked & Comatose

Gained a tiny amout of weight this week, but it probably has something to do with eating Chinese food last night (water weight city).  My measurements are back on the downward trend.  I'm happy about that. I am still reaping the benefits of the lessons I learned during the fast day as well as during the self-experiment days.  I can live with hunger if it means waiting until I can eat a proper, nutritious meal or snack.  I can also go back to eating without bingeing.  I can spend a day without animal products.  I can even spend a day without fat (joyless as it may be).  I feel encouraged.  Even though I learned to accept I probably won't make my goals by the time the program is over, I am not going to stop trying. This week the team is revisiting the habit of eating the right types of carbohydrates.  This time around we're on our own about which carbohydrates are the "right" type.  We had an ancestral diet day already, so we know what it's like to be grain

I didn't lose much in the way of pounds this week.  We're talking about four ounces, but at least the trend is staying downward. As I have mentioned in previous posts, these past few weeks have been full of "self-experimentation days."  At Precision Nutrition they do not believe in a "perfect diets."  The emphasis is on healthy habits and nutritious whole foods.  Which foods you choose depend on your preferences and your body's unique needs.  Some of us don't really know what that diet is, so we spent days experimenting with different ways of eating to see how they work for us.  We had a plant-based day, an ancestral day, and a fat-free (or as close as we can get) day. Our of all of the different dietary experiments, the fat-free day was the hardest. I thought the plant-based day would be the tough one, but on that day I ate a salad topped with guacamole then I fried my chickpea-spinach-coconut-flour cutlets in oil (I can't remember if it was

I am down to my pre-vacation weight this week.  I am actually 2 ounces below my pre-vacation weight.  Once again I am at the lowest weight I have been since I started this program.  My measurements are still all over the place.  My waist, which is my worst feature, shrank three inches in the early days of this program, but it stubbornly staying at one size for the past few months.  I am finally seeing some shrinkage in my calves and arms though.  There is even a bit of muscle definition in my arms now.  They look less slab-like. Right now I am in a pickle.  Even though being fit and athletic has always been a struggle for me, I have always liked climbing on rocks and jungle gyms and swingsets.  I have always liked jumping over things. I have always liked obstacle courses.  As this year and this program has brought me new challenges, I decided this year I should challenge myself to a mud run.  I am strong enough to do a big girl's obstacle course, right? I had really wanted to d

Earlier this year I started my first Pinterest board .   I started it mostly to keep track of clothes I have wanted (or hoped) to add to my wardrobe this year and get some inspiration to build new looks.   While I was at it, I decided it was a smart idea to use it to archive interesting recipes I found online, so I started a board for that.   Finally, I decided to start a board with archives of my favorite common-sense health and fitness advice, including the occasional “fitspiration” photo.   (Yes, I realize that these two boards can sometimes be at cross purposes.) I lost the momentum for keeping up those boards after just a couple months, so I forget what’s on them sometimes.   The recent wave of criticism against fistpiration made me revisit them.   I find myself asking myself, “What does fitspiration mean to you, and why do you need it?   Is it helping or hurting?”   “Thinspiration” or “thinspo” has long been a staple of pro-anorexia sites (or women like this who swear they

I really didn't have any time to make a post last week to discuss how I survived vacation.  I always go away with the best of intentions, but somehow things do tend to fall apart when I'm away. The bad news is I gained five pounds last week.  It's no surprise.  While I was in Chincoteague I ate all of the following: Belgian waffle Turkey and brie sandwich Roast beef, Gruyere, and caramelized onion sandwich Chicken fried steak Fried chicken Pulled Pork and corn fritters Ice cream Hot fudge sundae Cheeseburger Caramel cream puff (split with husband, so not so bad) Giant piece of chocolate layer cake (Husband ordered with the intention of not sharing.  It was so huge he had no choice but to give me - and everyone else at the table - a few bites.) So yes, it's no surprise that I would gain weight.  I did do many things right though.  I ordered all of the food on the list, but I am much better at knowing when to stop eating it.  I took all of my supplements e