Day 7, 93 to go and one day until the start of my 90 day 'Look Great Naked' Challenge

Well, what a weekend!

I started the day well yesterday despite horrid cold and did the family thing ok.

I had started the day with some gluten free cereal, goat's yogurt and some quality butcher's bacon, eggs and his home-made (ultra lean) sausages to stock myself up for a family get together where force feeding was likely to have been on the agenda......

Took my 'nut case' with me and an apple and left after a herbal tea audit (yes, it is true!!! Having had a quick peek at the naked/90 day plan emailed by Dax I noted that all tea and coffee are going to be off limits, at least for 21 days....and set about scavenging through the cupboard, chucking any out of date ones in the compost bin, recycling the boxes and coming up with a tub of mixed delights including nettle, ginger, ayurvedic, detox, peppermint and loganberry teas for home and another for work, which I actually put in my work bag, ready.....talk about reticular activating system kicking in!!!) and a lovely scrubby shower. I dressed nice in accordance with my goals and braced myself for an afternoon with the outlaws (!).

When I got there I was asked why I didn't want lunch and tried to explain the following: lactose/wheat intolerance, having tried everything, the need to avoid all processed foods, plateau....etc. You would think I know what I am talking about, given that I have already lost 4 stones over the past 2 years....but I got a bit of a rebound.....'another fad?', 'don't you just think you should cut out fat?' (growwwwwwl!!!), 'what pleasure do you have left in your life??!!'.

As it happens, my considerate MIL had prepared nude salad and some lean ham and pastrami for me anyway with a boiled egg and some fruit salad to follow. This was nice of her and I ate with the family (just a little- was not that hungry given the breakfast I had had) and shut up about my goals and 'fads'.

I got home and cleaned the upstairs of the stricken ship that my house had become, given that I was away all last weekend and had a tough working week. I cleaned everything well, washed windows, buffed mirrors, dusted behind things and changed the bed. This was to make mental and physical space for Sunday (which I will come onto later) and I delegated the cleaning of downstairs to my husband, who would perform this task then. I have decided that I will clean one floor really well every week and the other will get a dusting and a hoovering, except the kitchen and bathrooms which are always well maintained and disinfected anyway. I have to make space for other goals.....oh, and this cleaning ritual is another one of those goals.

So, onto dinner, which was a chicken, king prawn and chick pea stew served with home made egg fried brown rice and followed with some peaches topped with goat's yog and toasted almonds. Yummy.

Off to bed at a reasonable hour, given that I still feel rubbish and loaded with cold.

Onto today.....Mind and Body Sunday!!!

I started with fruit, gluten free muesli, spirulina and sugar free apple juice and a cup of nettle tea before attending a 3-hour Pilates workshop. It was great, though I know it is something that will take time and energy to master. Let's just say I had a giggle whilst trying to isolate some of the muscles in the, errrrrrr, pelvic floor. I found that I am really stiff and tight around the shoulders too, possibly due to being over endowed in the boob department. I will do some door stretched between now and my first weekly class on Weds. evening.

It was a good experience and I came home, cooked a lunch of leftover lean bacon, king prawns, veg and butter beans served on raw spinach and followed up with fruit, nuts and yogurt.

I then had a sleep because I was feeling really poorly and rose at 6.30 to give some serious though to those goals and the start of my 90 day 'Look Great Naked' challenge tomorrow.

I don't' have any cupboards to clean out as my diet has been quite good recently and the only offending items are some fresh pad Thai noodles and bags of pasta which my husband will eat. Sugar and sugary foods do not live here, and I have not eaten bread regularly for years. So that was easy.

Based on Dax' advice, I looked at my shopping list due for delivery Tuesday and changed it to this:

1 x Sainsbury's Caribbean Home Ripen Bananas x6
Sainsbury's Sugar Snap Peas 200g -
St Helen's Farm Goat's Butter, Slightly Salted 250g
Citrus - Total Price
x Sainsbury's Pine Nuts 100g -
Crazy Jacks Flaked Almonds, Organic 75g -
Dove's Farm Gluten Free Flour 1kg
1.881 x Clearspring Tamari Manson, Organic Wheat Free Soy Sauce 150ml - Total Price
Sainsbury's Limes x1 -
Sainsbury's Lemons, Unwaxed x6
Granovita Organic Flaxseed Oil 260ml
Sainsbury's Avocado Hass - Total Price GBP
Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder 150g -
Birt & Tang Detox Herbal Tea 20's 78g -
Sainsbury's Nut Selection, Unsalted 200g -
Sainsbury's Macadamia Nuts 100g -
Sainsbury's Pecans 200g -
Quinoa Real Graine de Quinoa 500g -
Merchant Gourmet Puy Lentils 500g -
Sainsbury's Dried Red Lentils 500g
Sainsbury's Free From Corn Pasta Penne 500g -
Bartolini Umbrian Lentils 500g -
El Artesano Judion Butter Beans, Large 580g -
Ismael Black Olive Pate 120g -
Sainsbury's Red Dessert Apples x6 -
Sainsbury's Courgettes, Basics 1kg -
Sainsbury's Carrots 1kg - Total Price
Sainsbury's White Closed Cup Mushrooms 500g -
Sainsbury's Mixed Peppers x3 -
Sainsbury's Cherry Tomatoes 350g -
Sainsbury's Celery, Hearts -
Sainsbury's Cucumber, Whole -
Sainsbury's Chillies, Mixed 50g -
Sainsbury's Turkey Breast Fillets (approx. 500g) -
Sainsbury's Eggs Mixed Weight,
St Helens Farm Natural Goats Milk Yogurt 450g
Belazu Harrissa,
Sainsbury's Italian Passatta Sauce
Sainsbury's Chopped Tomatoes
Natures Finest Peach Slices In Juice
Sainsbury's Jumbo King Prawns, Taste the Difference 180g -
Sainsbury's Frozen Black Forest Fruits Mix 500g
Summer Fruit Berries, Be Good To Yourself 500g -
Morliny Oak Smoked Ham 120g - Total Price GBP
Sainsbury's Garlic Puree in Oil 90g
Sacla' Coriander Pesto 190g -
Sainsbury's Satsumas x8 -
Sainsbury's Pumpkin Seeds 100g -
Sainsbury's Washed Young Spinach 225g -
Sainsbury's Sunflower Seeds
Sainsbury's Onions Loose
Sainsbury's Aduki Beans 410g (235g*) -
Birds Eye Soya Beans 480g -
Sainsbury's Sweet Potatoes 1kg -
Clearspring Umeboshi Puree
Sainsbury's Baking Potatoes (loose) -
Sacla Pesto, Char grilled Aubergine 190g -

Well, I think it is looking pretty good. Though will cost a bomb, but I don't plan on eating out much in the near future anyway. On this subject though, I have narrowed down eating out options to a couple of good places. One is a gastro pub in the next village that do a load of fresh, protein based goodies like blackened tuna with sweet potato chips (baked) and scallops by the bowl full. The other is a flat bread cafe that do all natural foods such as chick pea, sweet potato and coconut things, though served with flat bread so I suppose I will have to think that one through. Might be worth asking them is they can do me some gluten free breads.....

So, I looked at my 90 day look great naked challenge, watched some inspirational video and audio footage posted by Dax Moy and started to think again about those goals.

Over the next few days I will be re-aligning my Magic 100 goals ( I have been making a running list as I have been studying/reading) and some big questions for me centre around what I really want, why I want it (deep soul searching needed!!), what the costs will be and whether I am willing to pay.

Answers so far are:

I want to lose 26 pounds in 90 days
I want to lose this because I feel fat, ugly and unattractive....unlovable I suppose
I will have to pay in terms of time, financial costs, sacrificing some easy food options, as well as foods I like, a certain degree of discomfort, tough times, tiredness, scheduling issues, persuasion of friends and family etc....
I willing to pay.....oh, yes I am

I liked the thing Dax said about standing close to the beams of the headlights and trying to see ahead as far as I can. Everyone always tells me I look fab because I have gone from a size 24 to a 16, but I am not happy. I don't feel fab. I suspect that some people are actually threatened by the chances of me succeeding....it would certainly seem that way.

I looked in the mirror in the Pilates studio today and saw this lumpen, middle aged woman looking back at me. I barely recognised her. And then I thought 'Shit!!!!! That's me!!!'

Believe me, I am ready.

Anyway, ended my day with dinner made from things I scrabbled round for in the freezer.....a minced turkey and vegetable Pilaf. It was yummy. Great food day. No wheat, caffeine, milk, booze (a given with me anyway) or sugars.

Rock on.......see you tomorrow. Posting will be a challenge as I start at 7, finish at 7, bellydance at 7.30 and need to have dinner and a bit of a break sometime around 9. Bedtime at 10!!! Lordy xxxxx Jo