Failure

So, I failed at both of my challenges to myself.

This weekend was a very difficult and busy one. On Friday, Levi and I found out that the house we have been hoping to buy was not going to be available to us by no fault of our own. Needless to say, I was more than a little upset. After a good cry, I ate and drank some things that I shouldn't have. This trend continued through the weekend - on Saturday I and a few friends celebrated Jenny's twenty-third with her which included alcoholic beverages and ice cream consumed by all. Sunday was my "godson's" (I give him this name because I don't know what else to call him) second birthday celebration and I was in charge of baking the cake. I didn't make it through this experience squeaky clean, either...

...but here's the thing...

...I'm totally alright with screwing up this time. I have seen such enormous mental and physical health benefits from implementing these challenges that I'm excited about getting back on track tomorrow and about continuing this eating plan indefinitely. There are more changes to be made to my starch challenge, though, if it can still be called a challenge.

I will allow myself baked good - whole or sprouted wheat are alright. Honestly, if I can read every ingredient and know exactly what they are without using a desktop reference, then I pretty much think it's fair game. In order to guarantee that I am staying true to myself, I will actually begin doing what a promised before - typing out the ingredient lists to my prepackaged food. I'll still not consume extra sugar and desserts like pudding and cake and brownies and chocolate and all of this in excess. Instead, I will evaluate whether I really need a sugar fix and whether it can be satiated reasonably wholesomely.

The biggest change, though, is that this is going to be permanent. And I'm totally stoked :D

Addendum

Sorry for the typographical errors from time to time, y'all. I must have water on the brain.

HAAAHA!

I'm taking the plunge.

Today is the fifteenth day of my water fast, and I must say that it is getting easier every day; so easy, in fact, that I'm going to add to my challenge.

I have spoken to several people about what my next step would be in this quest to better myself - maybe giving up sweets, maybe starches, maybe something else. I was going to wait for Daniel to be my accountability, but I think I'm going to have to do this one on my own to prove to myself that I can indeed do it by myself.

I have the tendency to turn to sweet foods when I'm emotionally charged. Unfortunately, I grew up in a house where we both dealt with problems and celebrated by eating. and eating. and eating. My husband and I are slowly changing this trend by eating a little from each 'food group' at each meal in moderation and using lots of whole ingredients in smart ways.

I work in a place where there is constantly 'fake' food everywhere - processed, packaged, and boxed - kid food. Needless to say, this isn't so good for the ol' gut. So, drumroll please, I'm totally giving up crappy foods for thirty-one days as of midnight tonight. Whew, that took some courage to type.

What does this mean? Well, here are a couple of lists:

NO

Prepackaged foods

Baked goods, including all breads

White rice

Potatoes and root vegetables

Fried foods

Flour

Pasta

Sugar

Desserts

Foods labeled "low-carb;" this seems like a cop-out

Chips

etc.

YES

Beans

Nuts

Non-root veggies, especially crisp and green ones

Barley

Quinoa

Amaranth

High-fiber cereals

Brown Rice

Oatmeal

Fruits

Legumes

Meat

etc.

I think the root of all of this is to eat as humans were designed to eat. When we were first hanging out on our planet, there were no Oreos, Doritos, or cakes. I really believe that we were meant to eat lots of stuff straight from the earth, just as it comes with little manipulation. I'm not quite ready to do a raw diet (in fact, I don't think I ever will be), but I can get close. Of course, this goes on top of my water fast.

Sigh.

SEXY

For real, this is the best water that's ever graced my tongue with its presence. Worth every penny. Plus, I feel cool when I drink it. VOSS. Check it out.

Levi and I, since our friendship started, have loved to try new things; expensive chocolate and water seem to be the most regularly occuring obscurities (oxymoron?) in our grocery palate. Years ago, we had Voss for the first time and it totally changed the way we think about water. It is so smooth and slipperier than other waters. It comes in a glass bottle, so it brings its flavor straight from its source. Totally worth the four bucks a bottle, plus you can turn this beautiful container into another container or art or something like that. This. Is. Sexy.

OHMYGSHH

I sliced fresh jalapenos and touched my face afterward. Terrible.

Ice saved the day.

Eight days in

and I've lost two and a half pounds just by switching to water. This is starting to seem miraculous to me. Benefits I have noticed thus far:

1) Increased energy - I'm no scientist, but maybe this is because I'm ingesting less sugar and not 'crashing' anymore, plus the energy is real and not the manufactured rush given by coffee.
2) Increased productivity - a direct result of the benefit listed above
3) Better sleep - Coupled with the sleep self-hypnosis I've been doing (Hold your tongues! This may sound absolutely insane, but it works.), I've been getting solid rest and have been waking up refreshed thanks to water.
4) Less sugar cravings
5) Elevated mood - this one is the weirdest to me. Don't think water will affect your mood? Wrong-o, buddy. It has a surprising effect (or lack thereof) on how I think and feel. I am more patient and calm than i have been in years. Bizarre.
6) Better and clearer decision-making
7) More focused self-awareness

...and many more. I could go on and on. You might have noticed that most of these changes or benefits are psychological, which is something i didn't expect from the offset. This is turning out to change my life much more that i thought it would.

Thanks for listening, take care of yourself and each other.

Anniversary

I know that everyone is just as excited as I am that today marks two momentous occasions for me: three months of marriage to my wonderful husband and a week on my water fast!

sha-ZAM.

Cheat?

Alright y'all, I might have known someone who went out last night for her cousin's birthday. She may have explained to her cousin's boyfriend that she was drinking only water for a month. He could have bought her a Jell-O shot and explained to her that she would be eating the alcohol. Loophole? I think so! Er - rather, she might have thought so.

And she took blatant advantage of this opportunity to bend the rules. The end.

Sad

Three days in and I'm already forgetting my objectives.

I rolled up into Golden Chick - the hiphoppinist chicken joint in central Plano - and immediately knew what I wanted:

1) chicken

2) a roll

3) sweet tea

Levi wanted something similar, so I summoned the drive-through person and said the following:

"Two number ones, sweet tea on both."

To which my darling darling replied (with a pat on my knee):

"Water for you."

Liquid

...with the exception of good ol' HtwoO.

I've got a friend named Daniel who once went thirty days without bread and cookies and all of that. Then he went thirty without meat. then he just went back to normal. He said it was an "exercise in self-discipline," and that was that. No other reason. Swell fella, that Daniel.

So I was sitting my bathroom exfoliating my feet (something that people don't do often enough) and feeling thirsty. Sometimes i get REALLY thirsty - just ask my husband; he suffers from the same affliction. Anyway, exfoliating, feeling thirsty, blah blah, and I realized that we didn't have anything to drink except (please restrain your gag reflexes) water. Now, don't get me wrong, I like to eat well - I cook most of my meals from scratch and I use all organic ingredients. No bleached flour, no simple carbs, lots of fresh veggies and as much grass-fed meat as I can get my little grubbies on. I don't drink soda except on the rarest of occasions. I have water a couple of times a day, maybe as I'm running out the door or pouring some for my dog and realizing how thirsty I am. Let me tell you something, though - I love me some milk and juice. I always have both with my coffee for breakfast. If I had to choose between eating or drinking for the rest of my life, I would choose drinking, hands down, no questions. Not to mention I love beer.

I decided as I was scraping off the last of my dead skin from my feet and feeling ever more parched that I could do it - thirty days, nothing but water to drink. Sounds easy enough, and healthier, too. I came into our office where Daniel and my husband Levi were sitting playing Half-Life (a favorite Sunday night pastime) and shared my huge life-altering, bodacious plan. Daniel jumped right on board. Not Levi, though, he's far too thirsty for this task.

But your blog is called Thirty-ONE Days Without you say? Well, after toiling over the blog name, everything involving 'thirty days' was taken, so we upped the challenge for the sake of trendy technology.

Starting tomorrow when I wake up, I can't have coffee. Or juice. Or Milk. No Crystal Lite, iced tea, or flavored water. No milkshakes or beers on Friday nights. Only water - with citrus sqeezed into it if we so desire. Rules may need to be updated and I might get into a few battles with my tastebuds, but I can do this - right? Right.

Ready, aim, drink.