A "clean slate" mentality doesn't serve me well at all.

So I'm just smudging off the nonsense and starting from whatever's left. How's that?

Still convinced that sugar is a bad idea (for me). Artificial sweeteners are no better, but I still need to be vigilantly aware of things that trigger wanting more and more of the same, for no good reason. Cupcakes be damned. Endocannabinoids are produced by fat and lead to the "munchies" and wanting more... well, cupcakes. Gotta watch that, too - although I'm not cutting out fat, because God knows, my brain needs it.

I've come to the conclusion that coconut milk (the kind in cans and cartons - not the stuff tapped straight from a coconut) is just nasty. I love Pure Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk, though, and at 35 calories a cup, it's a nice substitute for milk. It also seems to work just fine in baking - used it to make Pouding Chômeur http://www.food.com/recipe/poo
r-mans-pudding-cake-poudin
g-chomeur-55324 over the holidays, and it was lovely. (I did use real cream for the cream, though.)

I haven't cut out cheese completely (except for "pasteurized, processed cheese" and "cheese foods"), but it's no longer a go-to snack, and I have few headaches these days.

I need to give up chocolate for the next 50 lbs. Period. No negotiating. No cookies, either. Especially NO COOKIES. Larabars are ... a gateway food. I think I need to avoid them, too.



So I guess I'm not really doing the Paleo thing, anymore. I don't like feeling as though I'm "cheating" by having a piece of bread, and I need more fiber than I can easily get without the All Bran. Back to the old "sensible diet," but I've always done better by bumping up the protein and limiting carbs, and continue to do so.

Dishes, pots, and pans are still easier to clean without sauces and starches.

I cannot believe I wrote that last entry in AUGUST. That's how long I've had the tennis shoes I just started using THIS WEEK? That's pathetic. But at least I'm back to hitting the gym.

And this time, I wore brass knuckles.

Oh - one funny thing - I had to Google my own anatomy this week. Apparently, my triceps need serious work. I woke up after my first "real workout" of the year, fairly panicked because I tried to scratch my ear and couldn't bend my elbows. I mean OUCH. At first, the pain was pretty much localized to ONLY my elbows. After a while, I could manage it, but it brought tears to my eyes. No - it's not age and arthritis. It's puny, weak-a** triceps. Yesterday, my arms ached all over and felt like hot lead. But I could move them, at least. They're still working, and I made 'em work again last night. They're starting to give up the protest, too. The trainer laughed at me, but just said "Keep at it."