From New Zealand to Portland Oregon, and back… [Challenge Entry]

Nicole showed awesome dedication and managed to mostly stick to a Wellness Lifestyle despite traveling around the world during the challenge. She also braved Burning Man with Paleo foods, and updated and encouraged others on the forum whenever she was able to get to a computer. She blogs at Mermaid Tracks.

Enter Nicole…

You asked for us to write to you in the last week of the challenge summarizing how we feel we did, and honestly, I feel I did pretty great. I know that I created my own rules because I’m on vacation, and that I was eating things that other challengers weren’t, but the way I had chosen to challenge myself was to do what I could where I could while facing the challenges of this vacation, which included my best friend’s wedding, family gatherings, and a week long camping trip in the desert for Burning Man.

I feel like I learned a lot about myself and I am proud of the way I have chosen health when I could. Sometimes I was naughty, but not a lot and I was conscious of it and I feel like I have learned from it. It certainly forced me to say “ok, I am in this situation where I have no options for my diet. What CAN I do to make it a little less awful for me.” It was fun and I feel like I will be able to build on what I have learned from the experience.

Since I was on vacation, I have not had much opportunity to participate in the forums, but I have read and commented when I could. And often I felt pretty sure that I wouldn’t win since I was the one still eating grains… In fact I was eating less before I went on vacation… But I knew that I didn’t want to force everyone to conform to my new life style, and so I challenged myself to work with what I had, and I am happy with the results. I will go back to being fully paleo the moment I can, and I feel successful.

I secretly feel like I could still win, because I would eat up all the guidance you could give me. My heart is in the right place and after starting my paleo diet and following your blog, my life has literally changed. If you were accepting new clients I would certainly join in because my knowledge is still basic and I would do best with personal guidance, but I know you are not accepting new clients (darn). This is me crossing my fingers, but still patting myself on the back for a good month.

Nicole is still braving the desert during Burning Man, but when she wasn’t traveling internationally, she was creating delicious looking foods like this: