Cravings Gone, Diet Cleaned Up, and Fasting [Challenge Entry]

Allison has also been a very active forum participant who was an inspiration to many. She already lost 100 lbs in the past 18 months eating this way, and used the Wellness Challenge as a way to hone in on small changes she could make to improve her diet.

Enter Allison…

First of all – thank you so much for putting on this challenge. Your passion and responsiveness have certainly made it fun for me and I’m guessing for everyone else. I’m afraid I don’t have a spiffy video or photos but here is my store for the last month:

When I started the challenge I had already been eating pretty well for the past year or so and therefore my challenge was more about making some of the final changes to get over the line. The one I would say I was most successful with was giving up diet soda. Since August 2 I have not had a single diet soda and I no longer crave them.

I also have been very careful to make sure I’m avoiding carb creep. I have been trying to mainly eat meat and veggies. You have exposed me to the joys of coconut butter and to making sure I eat enough fat. I am also trying to eat more grass fed beef and organic eggs, chicken and veggies.

Tracking all my foot on fitday did end up being a challenge that I failed at. I just don’t have the patience to do that every day but I did do it for several days which really helps you to get an understanding of what you are consuming. I DO however track everything daily in a notebook and have started tracking down to the sweeteners. That’s another thing – I’ve tried to reduce my use of artificial sweeteners in my tea and ice tea and when I do use them to make sure they are stevia.

I tried some probiotic drinks and wasn’t crazy about them but I did start taking probiotics.

I did a 24 hour fast and a few 18 hour fasts. I think I will try to incorporate one 18 hour fast in to my weekly routine.

Sleep – who would have ever thought that it would be hard to sleep yourself thin but that remains one of my biggest challenges. I’m working hard to get 7 hours most nights, got 8 hours a few nights but it is usually more like 6 hours. I will keep working on that one!

Exercise - I have signed up for a half marathon and ran a 10K last Sunday. But trying hard not to over do it and so am being sure to take at least 1 day per week of rest.

When I first started this challenge I didn’t really plan to do anything about my cleaning supplies – that seemed over the top to me. But you have convinced me to pay attention to what I am using in my house and on my body and to try to reduce the chemicals so that was a surprise result of this challenge.

Finally my biggest struggle has been with my scale addiction. You’ve given me some great advice and while I still weigh myself every day, I’ve tried to be more “zen” about it. As long as I’m within a few pounds of my goal i don’t let it affect my mood. I still hope to move down to only 2x per week but I’m a work in progress!

THANKS again for everything!

- Allison

Oh I forgot – one more thing (sorry – you’re probably sick of me by now!) You asked for recipies. I made this after my run this morning. I’ve been reading that it is important to refuel within 30 minutes if possible and have a combination of protein and some carbs. So I made a smoothie with 1 cup of sugar free coconut milk, 1 T coconut butter, 2T sunflower butter, 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein for US Wellness Meats, 1T of flaxseed and about 1/2 to 3/4 of a frozen banana and then threw in few ice cubes. It was super delicious and very filling. YUMMMMY!