I've signed on for a month-long diet, exercise, and no-alcohol regimen. It starts today, because yesterday I had to eat a shit-ton of blackeyed peas and rice. Anyway, it's called For the Glow Resolution Challenge and I did it last year with great success and amazing results. It took almost ten months to gain it all back, haha, sadface. I think that's a good way to describe diet success. Not in terms of being able to keep the weight off - but in how *long* one can keep it off. Ten months as opposed to two? Well then, I dub thee Victorious!

This diet is mostly raw food - salads and smoothies, and almost vegan with few exceptions. Poached eggs, some broiled salmon. Very rarely, a little sheep's milk cheese. I'm ok with all of this, it just requires so much work - shopping for fresh produce and washing and chopping veggies. My Nutribullet is my friend. I like smoothies more so than salads, so I drink my salads. Just as well since I cannot drink my wine. Bye, wine. Wine, I dub thee Felicia. Frankly I am so sick of sweets, meats, and distilled treats that this ought to be easy, at least at first. The guidelines allow for a "reward" glass of red wine on Saturday nights, but they don't know me. Once the bottle is open I will drink it all, so, I can't have any. It isn't going to be impossible, just probably awkward (depressing) at social events.

As far as workouts go, I am notoriously bad at doing planned regimens - i.e., 5000 reps of squats and toe-touches or bent-backward-butt-lifts -whatever. I usually just do my own thing. There is a very set plan to follow that I fully ignored last year - I had good results even with just the dietary restrictions. So I plan to stick to my bike rides, walks, and yoga. Using the treadmill in bad weather or the stationary bike. I'll be burning calories - maybe I won't be *toned* and *defined* but I will hopefully be less *bulbous.*

Progress today: one smoothie consumed. I put in 6 oz. coconut water, 6 oz regular water, two big handfuls of arugula and romaine leaves, a small handful of raspberries, and a serrano pepper. I should have added coconut milk for fat and satiety but it didn't seem appetizing so early in the day. Maybe for lunch a coconut milk and almond butter smoothie with a banana. Then for dinner a meal I am super excited about - roasted portabella mushroom-cap pizza. Envy me, envy my wild life! Or how about a taco made with a collard green for the shell? This sounds disgusting but after a few days of it you're just glad to eat, period.