I foretold that I would regret eating the pizza. Well, I did. I don’t know if it is the simple carbs and the wine last night, the cloudy, chilly weather, the lack of sleep last night, or what, but I am insatiable today. And we have TWO different kinds of cookies in the house. This is not good. I feel like sitting on the couch, eating 10 cookies, drinking tequila, and watching the rest of the Bones season. Hopefully I do not succumb…
Category: Health & Fitness
The 21-Day Challenge, 16 Weeks Later
Yesterday I bought my first pair of size 6 pants. Ever. Ever since I can remember, I have never, ever been able to fit into a size 6. So I figured it was time for an update as to how I’m doing on the primal diet. In a nutshell, I’m doing great. My energy is good. My allergies have moderated – I still have them, but they aren’t as bad as they once were. I am no longer churning through copious amounts of tissues each eve and morn. I have abs now! They aren’t crazy defined or anything, but they are there. At least I can see them. 🙂
Overall, I’ve just been following the 21-day Blueprint over and over again, with a few mods. I haven’t been religious about the sprint workouts. I DO want to do them, but I just don’t remember to, in general. My exercise plan looks something like this – run every other day and do the PEM exercises on my non-running days (pushups, pullups, squats, and planks). If I don’t feel like running, I walk speedily on the grass alongside the bike path (whilst listening to the Paleo Solution podcast). I find that walking in the grass really works out my legs and butt – almost more so than running. Tim and I have recently starting biking too. My coworker and I are going to start doing Hatha yoga on Monday nights as well, so hopefully that will help me build up flexibility and core strength.
I’m up to running 2.5 miles. I can do 15 modified (knee) pushups. I still can in no way do a pull up, but I can do a flexed arm hang for 30 seconds and lower myself to the ground in a controlled fashion. I can do an elbow plank and side elbow planks for 60 seconds. I’m still far behind where I hoped I would be based on the guidance in the 21-Day challenge, but I’m not disappointed because I am definitely improving. I could probably push myself harder and get better results, but I’m in for the slow, long sustainable haul. I’m actually considering joining the local Crossfit gym. I don’t have anyone to go with me though, and I’m scared to go alone because I’m an intimidated baby. Maybe I’ll work up the courage.
I’ve been eating at least 80% primal, I would say. Tonight I’m going to eat pizza, but I don’t eat it often – maybe once every other week. For cheats I eat A LOT of dates and A LOT of pistachios. I need to find a cheaper pistachio source. I also still drink pretty regularly. However, I’ve noticed my body DOES NOT like beer, which is sad. I feel best on red wine, second best on whiskey and club soda, which has become my go-to drink at bars that don’t serve good red wine.
I’ve found that I really don’t miss bread or desserts in general. I know that I’ll feel bad if I eat them, so that helps me stay away from them. I still crave ice cream about once per month (hmm, wonder what that could be). I got some Ben & Jerry’s Greek frozen yogurt last week. It tasted pretty good until I read the ingredients and saw corn syrup on the list. Blast. Being able to eat as much healthy fat as I want really helps curve the cravings. I put at least 1/2 a teaspoon of coconut oil in my coffee each morning, and I’m very generous with the avocado, coconut and olive oil when cooking.
So, down to the details. Here is my starting and current stats:
Starting: Weight 149.3 Bust 36 Waist 31 Hips 43
Current: Weight 132.9 Bust 34 Waist 28.75 Hips 40.75
Thus, the size 6 pants. Admittedly, they are a little snug, but they have that dumb two-way stretch, so I think they’ll be alright. Also, in the interests of full disclosure, while my starting weight was officially 149.3, I was typically hovering around 147 when I started the primal blueprint.
I’m going to sign off and go eat my Mama Bossos pizza, which I’m sure to heartily regret tomorrow, but which will taste ultra-tasty tonight. Good night everyone, and if you have any questions or curiosities about the primal diet/lifestyle, hit me up in the comments.
Links referenced above:
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=hlo06-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0982207778“>The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation
Eating Buffalo
I picked up some frozen buffalo patties (the ground up meat kind, not the flat, poop kind) at HyVee a few weeks back on a whim. I finally remembered to take them out of the freezer this week, and Tim grilled them up. They were FANTASTIC. I ate the left-overs for breakfast – sauteed with veggies in coconut oil, with a side of fried eggs. Deeeeelicious. We just picked up another pack from HyVee today.
Here is a link to the farm that raises the bison. They are beautiful creatures. I would feel bad eating them if they weren’t so damn tasty.
http://www.winterbison.com/
My concrete blood
My parents are having a craft show at the end of this month. When I say “craft show,” I’m sure you think of crocheted doilies, handmade pottery, home-made wooden birdhouses, fudge, beaded bracelets, etc., etc. Oh, if only my parents’ craft show consisted of those things. Their craft show consists primarily of concrete. Concrete lawn ornaments. As in really heavy, dusty, solid, concrete lawn ornaments. Lawn ornaments that need to be moved around, repositioned, cleaned and organized before said craft show. Don’t get me wrong – the show will have many of the aforementioned items, but we were not enlisted to help with those. We were enlisted to move what had to be 4 tons of concrete.
The task actually aligned well with the primal directive to “lift heavy things.” I did use the exercise as an excuse to indulge a bit this weekend – a few pork rinds here, a few chocolate covered prunes there, some milk in my coffee, and to cap it all off – NACHOS. I’m probably actually going to be up a couple of pounds this weekend, despite actually working hard.
And here’s an interesting fact/observation for all of you out there trying this whole primal thing – I’ve noticed that my digestion is affected by my hormonal cycle. About 10 days before that time of the month (sorry boys), I gain about 2 pounds, and about 2 days after, I drop 4. During the weight gain period, my stomach gets easily upset, and almost everything I eat (except my eggs & avocado) makes it feel wonky. I need to look this up on the MarksDailyApple forums to see if this is unique to me or to be expected. Anyway, sorry if that is TMI. For many woman who are interested in the primal diet, however, I think it will be JTRAOI (just the right amount of information).
Anyway, it actually felt pretty good to work up a sweat and to get dirty. My life is spent 40 hours a week in a cubicle, so it’s absolutely lovely to be outside all day, in the sun, the wind, and the rain. The birds were out in full force, and between the wind in the Whispering Pines and the birds in said pines, it was a full-on nature orchestra out there. So beautiful. I want to move out to the country, convert an old barn into a house (completely open first floor – no walls except for the bathroom and a 2nd floor loft bedroom), plant a garden, buy a gun and prepare for the impending anarchy. Oh, and I need to learn how to can veggies. Hopefully before the anarchy strikes.
Ah, as I always say, tomorrow is another day. I’ll be back on the primal wagon – got some excellent meals planned (primal Italian wedding soup, pork with radish hash, heavenly meatloaf, salmon, sausage and sauteed sauerkraut and primal hot cereal), and hopefully we can get our weight bench set up, so I can start doing some more upper body weights. My tri-ceps are getting all wobbly and disgusting. At least my biceps are perking up a bit. I’ve also started focusing on pull-ups more. I’m doing a flexed arm hang for 15+ seconds and lowering myself slowly to the ground (a reverse pull-up). I can do TWO of those. I’m amazing, I know. I have been toying with the idea of doing Crossfit for a month, to learn good form, but it’s wicked expensive. My older bro keeps trying to convince me it’s worth it, but at this point I should really be spending the money on clothes that actually fit me! I’ll see how I feel at the beginning of April. My weight loss/fitness has started to plateau – I have a sneaking suspicion it’s because of the copious amount of cheating I have been doing. If I can’t get myself straightened out, I might bite the bullet. Or I just might buy The Paleo Solution. Maybe that will get me back on track. I’ve been listing to Robb Wolf’s podcast, and it’s really good. I’m sure the book is good too.
Well, that’s it for today folks. Hope your Sunday was awesome. Here is a picture of the cutest dog ever (who just got a double-scrub and blow-dry this afternoon) to send you off with a smile on your face.
Buying a new car, stupid mascara, and intermittent fasting
I probably should break up all these topics into separate posts. But, well, I’m lazy for starters. Secondly, I really don’t have enough to say about any one of these topics to justify a whole post. Thirdly, I just really want to post this all together. So there.
So, topic #1 – buying a new car.
Tim and I have never purchased a brand-new car. We’ve toyed with the idea but always erred on the side of fiscal responsibility and bought used. Well, our Civic has 145K+ miles on it, and it’s starting to experience some mechanical issues. And then there’s the Escort. The Escort has been with us for a long time, over a decade. We’ve put over 100k miles on it, and it shows. She’s rusty, she’s loud, she’s dented. But she’s ours, and she’s totally paid for. But, Tim is at risk of getting asphyxiated whilst driving her, due to the aforementioned rust and exhaust issues. So, it’s probably time to let her go.
We test drove a few cars – Honda Fit (too teen-agey), Honda CRV (too ubiquitous), and then we hit the Subaru lot. We drove the Outback, Forester, Legacy and the Impreza. We loved them all, especially the Impreza. It’s an awesome little car for the money.
For the money. Hmm. The Impreza is “cheap” at $21,000 +, but oh my goodness. TWENTY-THOUSAND DOLLARS!! That is so much money. And then today, I researched insurance. It would cost us $500 more dollars per year just to INSURE the thing. For some reason, the Impreza is more expensive to insure than the Outback even though the Outback is a more expensive vehicle. I bet it’s because the Impreza looks and feels sportier and thus more dangerous.
So while my impractical, consumer-oriented side really, really, really wants a brand new, cute little Impreza, my practical side is thinking, “I think the Civic will get us by for a while yet, and save us $400 per month in the process.”
Why oh why must I love expensive things?
Speaking of which, you know what non-expensive thing I do NOT love? Cover Girl Natural Luxe mascara. It is so lame. It actually STRAIGHTENS my eye lashes. AND it’s clumpy. And the brush is huge. I have again reverted to my old standby – Maybelline Define-A-Lash. It doesn’t give a ton of body, but it defines every lash (as promised) and leaves my painstakingly curled lashes curly.
So, on to the last topic of conversation, intermittent fasting (or IF). In case you are unfamiliar with what IFing is, it’s periodically fasting. It’s supposed to be good for you – help you get in tune with your body, lose weight, improve overall health and longevity, etc. Well, today I fasted until lunch time. Not eating until lunch time wasn’t a big deal. Sure, I was hungry, but I wasn’t passing out or anything. But AFTER I ate, wow. I was super snacky. I couldn’t STOP eating once I started. And now it’s a Monday night at 4:58 and I’m drinking wine and eating chocolate. Hmm… I don’t doubt that fasting is good for you. I just think I shouldn’t discount the mental effects – I know I skipped breakfast so my brain thinks it’s OK to eat whatever I want when the fast is over. Hopefully the more I do this, the more I will see the good effects instead of the bad ones.
So, that’s all that’s on my mind for tonight. Have a pleasant evening!
Double-edged sword
We went out for supper tonight at 11th Street Precinct. I got their famous tenderloin – no bun of course, with coleslaw instead of fries, along with a Coors Light. While it tasted good, my stomach immediately felt off. This is the problem with becoming primal – you make such tasty, delicious food at home that eating out is a let down! It’s rare to eat something at a restaurant that tastes as good as what you make at home.
Look at these fantastic recipes I made this week:
Avocado Boats These things were super delicious. Essentially you make chicken salad with bacon, red onion, grape tomatoes, mayo (I used full fat Hellmans because last time I made homemade with olive oil it turned out a little janky. I need to try it with avocado oil), garlic, salt and pepper. The recipe also called for “2 Tbs. Peace and Love.” That confused me. I thought maybe it was a spice mix I hadn’t heard of, so I Googled it to no avail. Eventually, by going back to the the recipe site, I realized that “peace and love” are in all her recipes. They are but FIGURATIVE ingredients. I added a bunch of love but no peace, and it still turned out good. Then you make guacamole, scoop it into the avocado shells, and cover it with the chicken salad. The guacamole instructions in the recipe were a little sparse, so I used this tried and true recipe, and it turned out fantastic. I scooped the leftover guac and chicken salad into a small container, covered it with plastic wrap, smooshing out all the air and then ate the leftovers 2 days later. They still tasted fantastic. Next time I might leave out the avocado shell part – the presentation is pretty, but inconvenient. I got guac everywhere, trying to scoop out the last delicious tidbits.
From the week we had lots of leftover meat – hamburger, pork chops, chicken, so I made this Chipotle Slaw to add the meat smörgåsbord. It was, to quote the annoying movie star/secret agent chick on Archer, AMAZING! It was very simple – cabbage, chipotle pepper, lime, apple cider vinegar, honey, cilantro and salt. I topped mine with some avocado and grape tomatoes and ate it with a cold leftover grass-fed hamburger. It was so tasty.
So, now you begin to understand my difficulty. We are spoiled from too much good food at home to appreciate eating out. Of course, eating at home is way better for you and less expensive, but eating out used to be so much fun. You get to go out and see and be seen and mingle and socialize. I guess we’re going to have to widen our comfort zone and start bringing people into our house and make them eat our delicious food. And we’ll make them play cards with us.
Really off the wagon
So…what I meant to do tonight: come home from work, go for a jog, make some grass-fed steak with steamed broccoli, watch some TV, do some reading, go to bed, etc., etc., etc.
What I actually did tonight? Went out for beers with some friends, purchased and ate $3 burger basket and fries (with bun – eek!), stopped at HyVee and bought (and then subsequently ate) a Whitey’s Moose Tracks malt, and then satiated my salt tooth with some pistachios.
And now I am sitting on the couch, watching X-Files, waiting for the inevitable stomachache. The headache has already started.
I blame my fall off the wagon on a picture of delicious Mexican food posted by a friend of mine on Instagram. The cheesy deliciousness could not be resisted. It could only be satisfied by ingesting copious amounts of wheat, sugar, and dairy.
Ah, alas, tomorrow is another day. I will be good tomorrow, I swears.
Primal 21-Day Challenge: A Retrospective
So, the challenge is over. Results?
Starting weight 149.3, Chest 36, Waist 31, Hips 43
Ending weight 145.5, Chest 34.5, Waist 29, Hips 42
I would call that success. I would have liked to end the challenge at least at 142, but I will take it.
Outside of the challenge, I’m still adhering to it. I’ve been eating primally and trying to exercise more. I did have a little bit of an energy crash this afternoon. I choose to blame damn hormones. Overall, I feel so much better and usually have so much more energy, that it’s totally worth it to stay on. I don’t really miss rice or bread or corn chips. I do crave sugar a bit, however. I ate a date when I got home, but I really wanted to eat a Snickers. But, feeling my pants be a little loose is all I need to just say no.
So, now that the challenge is over, what will I write about every day? Well, I’ve decided that writing daily is too much – it’s too much to keep up with and too much for people to read. It gets to be overwhelming, and overwhelming gets to be daunting, and daunting gets to be Heather Doesn’t Do It Anymore. I do enjoy writing more regularly, however, so I will try to write at least once a week, on any one of the random topics my random blog covers – makeup, painting, conversation, hiking, biking, books, movies, recipes – anything is fair game.
Thanks for following me through this “journey.” Man, do I ever hate it when people refer to things such as this as “journeys, ” but I’m going to do it be ironic. It’s been a good trip, and this is but the beginning.
Primal Day 21 – The Finale
Today draws the 21 Day TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION!!! to a close. Reflections?
Most clearly, I noticed two things.
1. My energy levels were much, much better. Except for a day here and there, I didn’t have the post-lunch energy lull, where you feel as if you just want to crawl under your desk and take a massive nap.
2. My allergies have been so much better. I still have that persistent feeling of needing to itch the back of the roof of my mouth with my tongue, but the head-fog and pressure behind my eyes has all but receded. I only took Allegra 1 day out of the 21, after taking it almost daily for the past 12 months. Amazing. I wish I knew exactly what caused that. Am I sensitive to gluten? Dairy? Carbs?? As noted in previous posts, if I drink more than 2 drinks in a sitting, my allergies tend to act up. I start sneezing and will wake up in the night with a drippy nose. Weird.
Over the past week, I have been cheating more than I did the first week – some Nestle dark chocolate chips here (lots o’ sugar), a low carb beer there, a bite of a breaded pork tenderloin there (but just a bite). I did feel better – cleaner, almost – when I was more strict with myself. My stomach was flatter too, which felt awesome.
So, how to proceed? I plan on following the 80/20 rule. At least 80% of the time, I will eat primally. I will indulge in pizza or a microbrew here or there and not feel guilty about it. It’s all about balance and moderation.
I like how my life has changed over the past few weeks. I spend more time cooking, so we are eating food that tastes better than restaurant food, and food that is way healthier for us. I know what I am putting into my body. I’m experimenting with different cooking techniques and kitchen equipment. Tim and I have eaten way more meals at the kitchen table, talking, instead of in front of the TV watching dumb mind-numbing television. I don’t even mind washing up afterwards. It’s kind of a relaxing ritual. Plus, it keeps my on my feet instead of my arse.
I enjoy spending 20 minutes on a Sunday morning looking through recipes and picking out tasty, healthy meals for the week. It’s so nice having everything planned out for the week, so we don’t end up getting Taco John’s because we don’t have anything in the house.
So, thank you, Mark Sisson, for making so much information available on the internet and introducing me to to his concept. I look forward to what the next few months will bring. Hopefully I will be in swimsuit shape by June for our trip to Ocracoke Island!
I will try to remember to take measurements tomorrow morning. I have a feeling that I didn’t loose anything from last week (due to the aforementioned cheating), but that’s alright. My health is definitely better, and that’s what’s really important.
Primal Days 19 and 20
Disclaimer: I am writing this post whilst watching Start Trek: The Next Generation, so this post may not be as sharp and entertaining as usual.
I neglected to make a post yesterday. Hmm… yesterday was so long ago. What happened yesterday? I had lunch at Exotic Thai – red curry with pork, to be exact. It was delicious but gave me brief, sharp, shooting pains in my stomach. I cannot account for it, since the curry was comprised of all the same types of ingredients I’ve been eating steadily for the past 2.5 week. Since I didn’t eat the accompanying rice, the lunch was rather small – just the small bowl of curry. Consequently, I was hungry all afternoon. The only primal snacks I had were pecans, walnuts, and almonds, so I ate a bunch of them. I probably consumed way too many calories.
For supper we went to Azteca. Actually, we went to Los Agaves first, but the hostess sat us by the kitchen entrance, in the north-facing section of the restaurant. We looked at each other, looked at the kitchen entrance, replete with wash buckets and mops, and got up and walked out. We went to Azteca instead. Our table was much better, albeit louder, as there was a mariachi band playing a few feet away. I ordered the fajita taco salad. It was pretty good, but the steak was a little gristly.
Today I was supposed to do more IF (intermittent fasting). I lasted until about 10AM when I made another delicious shake of blueberries, coconut milk, shredded coconut, pecans, dark cocoa powder, a date and ice cubes.
For lunch we went to 11th Street Precinct. I had one of their delicious grilled tenderloins (bunless, of course), topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mustard. I got cole slaw instead of fries. It was very tasty.
We ate supper at home, and it was delicious. Based on a recipe I found here, I boiled a chicken neck and back in the leftover chicken stock from Thursday night’s dinner, adding carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and parsley to the stock. We brought it to an almost boil and then simmered it for 2 hours. Once the stock was close to being finished, I sautéed the onions and garlic in butter, then added chopped up carrots and celery, sautéing for a few minutes more. Then we added the strained chicken stock, some chopped cabbage and thyme and basil, simmering the soup for 25 minutes, at which point we added the leftover chicken from Thursday’s supper. We let the whole batch cook for 10 minutes more.
It turned out super good – one of the best batches of chicken soup I’ve ever made. Yum.
For exercise, I did a modified PEM workout today and also walked to the QCBC bulletin board on the bike path and updated the board.
Tomorrow is my last official day of the diet, but I plan on keeping up with the primal principles.