Day 7...23 to go

A week.  Seven days.  I did it.  I'm still alive and I'm a little lighter.  We weren't supposed to weigh ourselves during the challenge, but I can't resist.  It gives me that little push to keep going (as long as the number is going in the right direction).  This morning I got on the scale to find that I had lost 4.7 lbs since last Wednesday.  Yes, the .7 is very important.  I could round up, but then I feel like I'm lying.  So 4.7 it is.  I'm pretty pleased with that.  I'm trying to contain myself because I know that most of the weight you lose when you're on a diet is in the first couple of weeks.  So I'm not going to try and project my total weight loss by multiplying this by 4.  It won't happen.  I wish it would, but it won't.  That's ok.  I was feeling pretty good about my 4.7 lbs for about an hour until my sister from another mister (sister-in-law) Tracy texted Wendy and I to let us know that she had lost 10 lbs since Thursday.  10 lbs!!!!  Really?  Good Lord.  My 4.7 seemed kind of puny now.  Tracy says that either she is truly a caveman and her body has been craving this diet or she has a parasite.  I asked her if I could kiss her on the mouth to possibly catch the parasite.  I think I can handle a little vomiting to reach my goal.  So, with a little jealously, I congratulated Tracy on her accomplishments and plodded through another day of bland food.

Breakfast was the usual - eggs.  However, I indulged in my new guilty pleasure....unsweetened almond milk!! I chugged it like I just ate chocolate chip cookies.  Marcus told me that my almond milk mustache was not as impressive as a cow milk mustache.  He said it's because the almonds have smaller "teets".  I had a nice snack of berries and kiwi mid-morning.  When you haven't had sugar in awhile, fruits really become a treat.  My favorite thing so far is to put the strawberries in the freezer and then thaw them the next day.  They are kind of mushy, but they are sooooooo sweet and there is no sugar added.  It's lovely.  Lunch was uneventful.  More Boar's Head turkey slices with guacamole.  I also threw in some butternut squash that I made the night before but didn't eat.  Honestly, the squash is bland and doesn't taste like much, but I swear I had the hardest time eating it.  I reverted to my 6 year old being and crammed big bites in my mouth and chugged water to get it down.  It really wasn't that bad but my gag reflex was really rejected the whole idea of it.  I think the problem is that it is the color of sweet potatoes.  I love sweet potatoes and I expect the squash to taste like them.  When it doesn't, I repel it.  Kind of like when you think you are about to take a big sip of Sprite and you find out it's water.  You drink water all the time but after expecting Sprite it's repulsive.  Around 4:00 I had a cashew cookie Lara Bar.  These bars are truly amazing.  While not on the level of a strawberry Pop Tart, they are surprisingly decent considering they only have 2 ingredients - cashews and dates.

After work, I went straight to Cross Fit.  I was hungry when I got there but didn't have any options.  The WOD (workout of the day) was not too bad tonight.  After class, the Amys and Whitney wanted to try band assisted handstand push-ups.  When I started going to Cross Fit, one of the first classes we were told we had to practice our handstands.  Now, as someone who is 5'10'', handstands were never in my athletic routine.  I have a surprising fear of being upside down.  Since I couldn't do a handstand, they told me to practice against the wall.  I was supposed to lunge toward the wall head first and kick my feet in the air so they would rest against the wall.  I couldn't do it.  I thought I was going to bust my head open.  The last variation they offered me was to walk my feet up the wall while in push-up position while walking my hands closer to the wall to try and get as close to vertical as possible.  I thought I was about to die and I was still at a 45 degree angle.  After the Amys and Whitney successfully completed the band assisted handstand push-ups they talked me into trying it.  Two of them actually had to lift my legs up and hold them.  I did approximately 3 push-ups before I freaked out for fear my brain was about to explode out of my head.  Handstands are not for me.  God made me 5'10'' for a reason and the reason is so I would not do gymnastics or gymnastics type activities.

I got home from Cross Fit around 7:30 which is remarkably early for me to be home and to be able to start dinner.  I decided to try and make almond flour breaded chicken.  I have never fried chicken in my life so I didn't even know where to start.  It turned out to be pretty simple.  Kind of like french toast, but with chicken.  For the first time after trying something new, it was actually good.  Marcus even had seconds!  I have some leftover for lunch tomorrow and I am kind of excited about it.  Tonight I added the chicken to some mixed greens and dressed it with a homemade concoction of olive oil, garlic, horseradish, toasted sesame oil, and white vinegar.  I also had half of a sweet potato to complete my meal.  I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.

So, one week down, three to go.  I have some momentum and I think I can keep the train moving.  Thank God for everyone who is doing this with me.  It's so helpful to have accountability and encouragement.  Also thank you to Kara and Mom who read my post yesterday and gave me great ideas to make my meat eating more successful in the future.  Every little bit helps.  Until tomorrow...