Starting 2011 Personal PB Challenge page

[slacker]

This thread is for "big tent" new year challengers. Sounds like the other one wants to be super strict. Come here if you want mutual encouragement for your personal new year's challenge, whatever that is for you.

My New Year's Eve dinner was steak with green onions, a hunk of cauliflower and two glasses of red wine. It was delicious. What was yours?

[FairyRae]

Thanks for starting this thread slacker! My whole30 will be done on Jan 5th (I believe) and then I will be joining in here--planning to make my own customized plan (not sure what it will include as of yet) but excited to have this thread for ideas/support!

Happy new year!

Oh, and dinner was steak (yay! its been a while!) with mashed cauli (blended with coconut milk and garlic mmmmm) and a salad. Sliced bananas and frozen blueberries in coconut cream for dessert. Mmmmmm...

[LessofMimi]

I had a grass-fed burger, some sirloin, veg (cauliflower/broccoli/carrots) and spaghetti squash.

My personal goal is to get to goal this year, but even more than that I want to get fit - so I'm devoting myself to adding bodyweight activity every day this year. My eating is where I want it for content for the most part. I'm sure smaller portions would be a good idea, but I'm only going to worry about that if and when it becomes obvious that I need to.

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm not ready for the super strict stuff. I already feel like I'm doing enough.

[it1958]

I'm in since I was allowing butter on the Whole30 thing. Butter is not dairy and should not be excluded.

So I'm with the addition of butter: no grains, no sugar, no dairy, no fruits, no starches - for 30 days - and beyond!

my dinner was chicken and broccoli and bone broth.

[WalkingInTheWoods]

I'll join in! I've been reading MDA for a year or two and have made a few half-hearted attempts to go primal.

My goal is to be grain free for January. Baby steps.

My dinner tonight: orange chicken and a salad.

[jennf]

I'll be committing fully come Monday. Not that I'm not already committed, but won't have complete control over my food until then (out of town guests=lots of eating out). At that point I'll be doing 30 days of no grains, dairy, sweeteners, eggs or almonds. See you on the 3rd!

[TornadoGirl]

My biggest goal is just to stick with this. I've tried other "diets" that were too strict and fussy for me. I love this one because it fits my personality and lifestyle so much better. I don't want to get caught up in the numbers game. I just want to feel and look my best and have the energy to live a vital, active life. It's easy to get impatient with the process and want it all NOW. I am trying to be patient and see where this leads me. I have a feeling that it will take me to a place, health-wise, that I've never been before.

As for my New Year's Eve meal, I split a rib-eye with my sweet doggie. I had sweet potato fries and Brussels sprouts on the side and a little merlot. I skipped the champagne and dessert because I just didn't want them. How cool is that? I love this!

[Annika]

I started my challenge December 27th, after a couple weeks of terrible cheating. My rules are pretty basic:

1. No refined sugar (small amounts of honey or maple syrup are OK, since 99% of available sweets/desserts are made with refined sugar).
2. No grains.

I realize this is much less restrictive, and thus lamer, than a Whole 30 or many other people's personal challenges, but when combined with all my other normal eating habits, it still brings me through steps 1 - 10 of the PaNu steps. Step 11 is eliminating legumes, and I still eat peanut butter sometimes. Step 12 is eliminating dairy, which I did for two grueling weeks and didn't notice any changes when I reintroduced it. I think my Scandinavian heritage is cutting me some slack on the dairy front, thankfully. I don't eat large amounts of dairy, but I really missed it. I'm not overweight or celiac, and don't seem to have metabolic or auto-immune issues, so being strict isn't as critical for me as it is for others.

Last night we planned poorly and had no meat defrosted for dinner, so we had eggs with onions, peppers, cheese, salsa, and avocado. Veggies were broccoli roasted in olive oil and sweet potatoes roasted in bacon grease with chili powder. I made a fancy dessert for New Year's Eve: chocolate coconut custard from the PB cookbook, which we had with whipped cream.

[tfarny]

I'm in starting Jan 4 when I return from vacation. Super strict paleo eating with the following exceptions: 1 bottle of wine per week equivalent and no more (ie couple of drinks couple times a week), cream, butter, and fermented natural dairy but no milk or cheese (minimal lactose), I'll allow white potatoes in a small serving if I'm out and there are limited options. One bar of dark chocolate per week maximum. I know this is not real strict, but it's stricter than I've been and I'm not really that interested in exploring the limits of paleo, to be honest. I just want to live a better life.

For the year - this year I AM making resolutions related to health, which I normally would scoff at. Measurable objectives include:
1. Deadlift 300 for 5 reps. Squat 250.
2. Run a 5k at a good clip TBD.
3. Muscle up.
4. Full handstand pushups.
5. Weigh under 200 with bf% closer to 10 than to 15.

These goals are probably achievable by midsummer if I really push it, but I have never been this fit before so it's hard for me to estimate how long it'll reallly take.

[TigerLily]

Put me down for no nuts or chocolate for 30 days. This will be a doable stretch for me.

I am having a bit of cream in my morning chai. That is the only dairy (other than butter, which I don't use that often anyway -- maybe 2x a month) remaining. But it doesn't qualify for Whole30.

Mainly I am looking to take my movement up a notch.