September/October weight loss challenge

[Veronica]

We're on the once a month pizza plan. I buy a Newman's thin crust pizza the first weekend of the month - love, love , love pizza! I don't have a specific ice cream plan. Mostly, I just don't buy any.

Pizza and ice cream were what made me "fat" last year. I'm down 14 pounds overall from this time last year and I've gained 4 pounds of muscle. And I love what I'm doing for workouts. I do wish it would cool off so I could run after work - 97 degrees at my house right at the moment.

Veronica

[Crankin]

I, too am turned off by the "obsessiveness" of the paleo/crossfit people. A close friend's son went to a cross fit gym this summer, went on the diet (he was not really heavy) and became a "trainer." He is in college, extremely bright, but it seems like he's been "taken in" by this gym. Now my friend (she's the one who is the newer cyclist I've been enabling for about 2 years) is going to try out a class there today. I wonder what she will say when I talk to her tonight.
I too, don't eat a ton of grains, but I can't live without them.
I know this diet would work for me, but when I've needed to lose weight, it's always been a diet/exercise plan of my own creation. Generally, cutting carbs and changing my exercise up works.

[GLC1968]

The scale is finally moving in the right direction, so I'm hopeful for seeing a little 'motivation' by Friday.

The most difficult part about being paleo is not giving up bread or grains. It's removing sugar, corn and soy from one's diet. Oh, and vegetable oils. Seriously, this stuff is in EVERYTHING. I cleared out our pantry in week one and that was pretty easy to do (most of it is boxed up for food donations). Week 2, I cleaned out the fridge - giving all yogurt to the chickens, saving all beer for the slugs next spring, and tossing a lot of half-finished bottles of salad dressing, condiments and asian sauces. ALL of these thing have either soy oil or sugar as their first ingredient. It's insane.

This week, I finally cleared out our 'spice' cabinet. Basically, I removed all the bad oils (corn, safflower, canola, etc) and every single asian sauce (fish sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, tamari, soy sauce, etc). as they ALL contain either soy or sugar or gluten. I had no idea!

I always thought that we ate pretty home-made foods, but we do use a lot of prepared sauces and spices and flavorings and I'm amazed how much these things are processed. This way of eating is opening my eyes to all kinds of things that I'd never thought of before.

[skhill]

120.4! Moving in the right direction at last...

[oxysback]

233.0

Hey, at least it's something!

[limewave]

153 this morning. Up a bit, but the good news is my "skinny" jeans fit just fine this morning.

[Veronica]

I'm not actually a part of the challenge, but I saw a number on the scale today that I don't think I've seen since I was 19 and swimming 5,000 - 6,000 yards a day.

I wish I had taken my training more seriously then. I don't know if I could have been a great swimmer - but I know I could have been better than I was. Oh well... the folly of youth.

Veronica