rebuilding the temple: complete overhaul. (Minimize Yo' Butt)

Anxiety attacks truly suck.

I know because I've had them.  Recently.  In the middle of the night.  When I really should've been asleep and dreaming of my husband or my pretend boyfriend Gerard Butler.  Or cheesecake.

No big surprise though.  I've not been taking care of myself.  You see, I've been much too busy.  The "I haven't had time to go to the bathroom and put it off so long I actually forgot I had to go" type of busy.

You know.  You read my last post, right?

Then, when I take on too much, I get stressed.  When I get stressed, I fall back on old familiar patterns and coping mechanisms.

And unfortunately, my coping mechanisms include...
- the sugar-, cream-, and caffeine-charged Timmie's iced capps (which are definitely my weapon of choice in the 36C heat of late) -- yummy, but OMG, SO UNHEALTHY!
- Starbuck's mocha coconut frappucino -- which I can at least order decaf... with, um, extra whip.  Stop laughing.
- going to bed at 11 with my laptop trying to "catchup", instead of going to bed at 9 with a deliciously smutty romance novel and drifting off to sleep with images of hot bodice-ripping dudes dancing in my brain.
- pandesal, cheese pizza, rye toast with grape jam, too much rich and RICE... lots and lots of rice... because, you know, filipina.
- and so on, and so on, and so on... ahem...

Stress, crappy food, no rest, and the no-time-to-vent-via-blog thing all make Nenette something something.

Yes, "go crazy".  My old symptoms of short-tempered-ness, exhaustion, brain-fog, weight gain, insomnia, bad skin, and menstrual problems ARE. STILL. HERE.  Now with added anxiety attacks!  Don't I sound HAWT?!

My naturopath Dr. C is going to give me the gears next week because she made me promise to eat right, exercise, decrease stressors and relax more in order for my adrenals to heal.  And clearly I haven't been doing any of that... 

Until now...

I'll be working on decreasing stressors shortly, and until I do, I won't be relaxing much.  So, that leaves, eating right and exercising.  And that I can do.

Oh look!  I have been!

For the past week, I've joined Faith, Jenny, Rachel, Travis, and the whole life-improvement gang to kick our asses into shape and get healthy through Faith's Minimize Yo' Butt 6-week Fitness Challenge.

Goal: Lose 10 pounds.  I want to lose 20 in total, but 10 is good for 6 weeks.

How: Starting July 18, I have been eating as Paleo/Primal as I can by cutting out:
  • grains... bread, pasta, etc.  (I had 1 bowl of Chocolate Cheerios on Monday.  Too sweet!)
  • all sweeteners, except some honey.
  • carby veggies like potatoes.
  • legumes.
  • dairy... cheese, milk, etc.  (I had greek yogurt once this past week though.)
I've been focusing on eating beef, pork, fish, poultry, and lots of vegetable matterWater and green tea only as beverages... and lots of it!

For exercise, I'll be doing intervals and body weight workouts... which I hope to start doing soon... you know, time permitting.

Yes, I've done this before... so many, many, manymanymany times before, but this time I'm thinking of it as a complete lifestyle change, something I can continue through all seasons and not just during the summer.  I can do it with my family, by just making bread/rice/pasta available for the non-primals.

Oh, and this time, I've got a BEFORE shot!  AAACK!!!

I can do this.  Totally.  I can.  Really.

I'll update often.  Stay tuned.

5 comments:

  1. I like your drive girl.. I've told myself many of the same things. It's just so hard to selfishly hold that hour for yourself to exercise or weight lift or do those exercises the physiotherapist gave you. I CONSTANTLY tell myself those hollywood actresses and singers etc. are just selfish Bit***s for being able to just focus on their looks/health without any guilt or misgivings. I hate them! Maybe if I could afford a personal trainer to yell in my face then I'd actually push all that guilt away. Don't sweat the anxiety attacks too much N. Your body is sending you the message and you are hearing it. It's the act of selflove thats so hard to live with. Nancy

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  2. From the moment I found your blog via Facebook, I was hooked. After reading today's post, it's finally hit me why. Nevermind how funny and witing you are, the REAL reason I love you so much (not in a stalker way) is because you remind me so much of myself. Yep, ME! Today's post = ME. I go through the same things you do with the jumping on and falling off the fitness, healthy eating bandwagon. I over do it. I get stressed. Sound familiar? Anyways, Nenette, I believe in you! You can do anything. I am here to cheer you on because I just like you. GO Nenette go!

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  3. I'm so excited that you're on board for the MYB challenge Nenette!

    Just be easy on yourself and make sure that you focus on cutting down on the anxiety before uprooting your entire lifestyle. I get stuck in the anxious, panicky rut quite a bit too. : /

    You're totally going to rock it!

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  4. Hi Nenette! I'm so glad to have you Minimizing Yo Butt with the rest of us. I have so enjoyed sharing the public support with everyone. It's been fun!

    I'm working on switching over to Paleo as well and I really feel like I'm making a healthy lifestyle transition I can live with instead of just some short-term diet.

    Best of luck on the challenge and thanks for sharing about it!

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  5. Sue Murdock30 July, 2011

    I can totally relate Nenette! You are certainly not alone in this struggle! :/ I know you can do this! You are a strong, capable woman! Looking forward to hearing good things!! :D

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