Jodi Goes Primal

Ratios:

1604 calories

56% fat

23% protein

14% carbs

Ate breakfast (3 eggs), Salad with Chicken Breast for lunch, Spicy Pork Stuffed Bell Pepper for dinner.  Fat intake was from eggs, chicken, heavy cream, pecans, ground pork, dark chocolate almond spread and avocado.  Working to eliminate the need for heavy cream in my coffee or at least reduce to only one cup.  Will be ordering different coconut products (oil, vinegar, aminos), which will give me me some variety.

990 calories

51.1 g Fat (48%)

54.3 g Carbs (22%)

35.9 g Protein (15%)

Trying to get back on solid ground again.  Menu made, groceries bought…house/pantry/family still not primal/paleo, but going to hold myself to at least 80% primal for this week.  Only alcohol will be red wine, no more than twice this week.  As usual, biggest challenge will be to get enough calories and the right ratios and eating breakfast.

B – coffee only

L – 3 oz. deli chicken breast, 1/2 cucumber, 10 Organic banana chips (dried bananas and coconut oil)

D – Homemade chili, 8 oz Pinot Noir, 1 teaspoon Dark Chocolate Almond Spread

Numbers were too low so added a snack:

8 small frozen strawberries, 2 oz. Coconut Milk, Whipped Cream

So it looks like I will be able to handle the P90X workout…though I am trying to decide if I want to do the whole 90 days as prescribed first and then modify it to a more PB workout or if I want to modify right away. Right now I am going to continue using the borrowed dvds until I get a little stronger. Then I’ll buy the entire set and make a decision about how I’ll handle it.

The last 30 days I have eaten 80% primal. My exercise and desire to do so is really falling into place. Last Saturday was a great day (we have 26 acres of property (about 20 of it heavily wooded) and a few years back my husband and sons made a trail all through the woods. I’ve never taken the time to explore it…until today. The weather was beautiful and I walked throughout the woods and spent most of the day at our pond, fishing with my husband, son and some friends. It was a very Primal day…well until we rode all the trails on the 4-wheeler I even walked back to the house toting the full ice chest (there are 2 wheels and a handle) and I kept changing the arm carrying (to get an even resistance workout). It is funny how I now try to incorporate some type of exercise in every day, whereas I used to avoid it like the plague. Now, I just do something…anything wherever I can. Like lifts when I am pumping gas, on my heels and on my toes, planks on the floor at work, planks in my bed before I get out of bed, arm circles at the copier, etc. Just whatever I can to keep my body moving and getting stronger.

As of last week, I was about a month in now and officially down 16.5 pounds. Slow and steady. I lost about 8 pounds the first week and I’m averaging about 2.5 pounds a week now, which is right where I want to be. I have a feeling that I’ll lose a little more than that when I do start the P90x full time and that is ok too. I could lose a little faster if I reduce the amount of nuts and fruit that I am eating.  While losing weight is important to me, the bigger goal for me is to reverse my insulin dependent Type II Diabetes. It pisses me off that I didn’t do everything I could not to get to this point, but I won’t sit on that pity pot cause it does no good.

I’ve hit a plateau.  I keep losing and gaining 2 pounds.  So on to a new 30 day challenge….beginning Monday, April 5th, I will do the following:

1. 80% primal eating (or better);
2. Alcohol only two times in 30 days (no sugary drinks like margaritas);
3. P90X resistance workouts 3 x week (1 each – Shoulders & Arms, Chest & Back, Legs & Back);
4. P90X cardio and stretch workouts 2 x week (1 each – X Stretch, Cardio X);
5. Reduce fruit intake (small amounts of berries and melon only – no bananas, dates, etc. once per day) and reduce nut intake (only one nut snack per day);
6. Weigh and measure ONLY on Day 1 and Day 30 (will have to have my daughter hide the scale);
7. Play outside at least twice a week, work in garden at least three times per week;
8. Tighter control on insulin intake, glucose monitoring;
9. Record all food in FitDay;
10. See doctor at end of 30 days for new blood work.

We’ll see how it goes!

Wednesday, March 17th

Whew I feel good!
Breakfast – Coffee w/coconut milk creamer & Xylitol
Lunch – Leftover steak, 2 tablespoons mild salsa, 1 avocado, 1 cucumber, 1/4 cup coleslaw (made with EVOO and vinegar), Lemon-Ginger Tea
Dinner – Leftover Mediterranean Beef Roast w/baby carrots, mushrooms, Olives and a little cucumber-yogurt dip
Snack – dark chocolate chips, dessicated coconut flakes and pecans

Didn’t have time to enter all into FitDay, but I think I’m pretty good.

Workout!!!
First P90x workout: Chest & Back
I set reasonable goals for myself, used the bands, used smaller weights for now (5lb and 10 lbs) and COMPLETED the whole workout. I did the pushups on my knees, on a chest and eventually against the wall, but I did every workout. My arms are basically noodles right now but I feel really good!

I borrowed a few of the workouts from a friend before I decided to purchase the whole thing for myself because I wasn’t sure I could do them. But, after tonight, I am encouraged. We’ll see!

So I busted it on my first attempt at Whole 30. I am weak, but determined so I’ll keep doing it until I complete a Whole 30, then I’ll do it again.

The positives:
No alcohol
No sugar
No processed foods
Long lasting insulin intake cut by about 30%, no more Metformin
I rarely eat out of boredom anymore (no more constant visits to the fridge or cabinets, looking for something to graze on)

The negatives:
Coffee
Splenda (1 a day in my one cup of coffee)
Heavy cream (1 oz a day in my one cup of coffee, until I bought the Coconut Milk Creamer Melissa suggested)
Small amounts of honey
More and more cheats allowing grains and legumes in

I see why I need to do 30 days of absolute Whole 30, because when you let something in, you eventually begin to let more and more in. First it was 4 tortilla chips. Then, I let the honey in, next thing you know, I had a few peanuts. Then yesterday some crunchy peanut butter on my celery. Last night, I ate a piece of fish with some breading.

I sometimes get discouraged, especially when I read forum posts where others complain or comment about people who just don’t get it. It seems like it so easy for some people. Grains and processed food are bad for you so you just don’t do it. I guess I am not to that point. I kinda stopped posting in my journal in the main forum I visit because of that. My journal contains comments about how hard it is to walk away from the oreos in my cabinet. Kinda makes me feel not worthy to be on that forum yet.

But, I am not focusing on the negatives. I am focusing on the fact that I’m eating more than 90% primal, that I continue to exercise (enough to the point that I am on the verge of buying the P90X program.) I started talking to my brother about it and he is going to get it and we are going to start at the same time and motivate each other. I’m getting stronger. I started with wall push-ups and can now do 30 girl push-ups on the floor. I am up to 6 planks (holding for 20 seconds each). I could barely lift my body for one before I started exercising. I still can’t do a pull-up, but I will.

The changes I am making are life changes and I know my food intake and cravings will get in line soon, so I am not stressing.

My body is changing. I see it a little in my face. Most of the weight I am losing now is from my butt, boobs and back. The fat on my belly is kind of shifting all to the front, which means I’m getting narrower. I haven’t re-measured yet, but I can see it anyway. It is visible in the way my clothes fit and other people are noticing too.

I’m just going to keep on keeping on. Now, I need to get off this computer so that I can go out and sit in the gorgeous sunshine we got going on! Hopefully that will help clear up this sore throat and sinusy stuff I got going on right now!

So all is good in my world. I’m sticking to the changes I’ve made in my life, with few exceptions. I’ve basically caved on the coffee front. I have one cup with one stevia and a dash of heavy cream (which is the only artificial sweetener and dairy I am taking in). I’ll try again after I get some more time under my belt…already considering some chai tea with a bit of honey and some heavy cream. I’ll work towards that after some of the other changes stick.

Tuesday I skipped breakfast, had leftover Mediterranean Eggplant and cucumber slices for lunch.  Then we picked up Mexican. Asked for Carne Asada, cooked without vegetable oil, but with real butter. So had about 5 oz. of skirt steak with 1/2 cup of onions and bell pepper and 1/4 cup of salsa. I went through the trouble of asking them to cook it so that I could eat it and then I snuck about 4 tortilla chips from the bag. I’ll count it as a success since I actually stopped at 4 and no margaritas (can’t go to the Mexican restaurant and not have margaritas…but I did).

I did an accidental IF Wednesday, nearly 23 hours. Wasn’t hungry for breakfast, got busy and never stopped to eat lunch.  My husband made a turkey meatloaf.  I had cucumber and mixed berries with a couple of pieces of meatloaf.

Today started out with two eggs cooked in coconut oil. Lunch was about 6 oz of gyro and salad (pushed aside the feta) and I split a baklava with my daughter (the good: almonds, honey and the bad: filo dough). Tonight I came home and found two huge ziplock bags of goodness. My husband made homemade jerky in our smoker today! It turned out great! He made burgers for dinner…made sure to tell me, no additives (no breadcrumbs or sauces with sugar added) to my patties. I had a burger patty with tomatoes and pickles and I’ve probably had about 4 oz of beef jerky already. I told him how much weight I’ve lost so far today and he said “you’re going to force me to go on that diet with you, aren’t you?” I just said…nope, but if you read the book I was reading and visited the sites I was visiting I wouldn’t have to force you It was nice coming home to the homemade jerky (he even called me before to ask what kind of marinade was acceptable) instead of the chocolate covered graham cookies that he bought the other day. He sees that I am serious so I think the recent sabotage efforts might be waning. Maybe they were just testing me to see if it was going to stick…we’ll see. I’m feeling good and an added benefit: down 11.5 pounds on day 11…not too shabby. Oh, and more importantly…have dropped my one remaining dose of fast acting down from 20 to 15 units; have dropped my evening dose of Lantus from 40 to 30 units and my morning dose of Lantus from 20 to 10 units. My fasting blood sugar this morning was 158…a new low for me in a while. It can only get better

Edited to correct my food once I had my food diary in front of me…tried to do it from memory initially, just switched up my Tuesday and Wednesday, but all is accurate now.

Well the good news is that the sicky flu feeling is passing now.  The bad news is that I caved on the coffee issue.  I’m trying to drink it black.  Food wise I am doing well.  I am sticking to the changes I’ve made even though I’ve eaten out a couple of times.  I requested that they prepare my food in a way that I can eat it.  Surprisingly, they are willing to do that.  I hate having attention drawn to me, so I’ve always avoided making waves, but now I ask.  The worse that can happen is that they say no.  There is no need for me to be embarrassed if they say no.  It is what it is.  I can always order a salad with no dressing and a protein cooked in olive oil or with nothing if necessary any where I go.

The coffee thing is a kicker.  I only used to drink what amounted to about a cup and a half a day, with one splenda and some half and half.  It is amazing how much I feel like I NEED that coffee every day.  I know its mental, so it is worth working at.  The cravings have been bad the last few days, especially with the birthday cake at the office and the biscuits made this morning for breakfast for my family…things like that are going to be in my life forever.  I just have to deal.

I skipped two workouts this week because of headaches and nausea, so there will be no rest today.  Already did quite a bit of housework, including cleaning all the shelves in my fridge so activity level today will be good.  I’ll also be making up one of my circuit workouts today.

All in all I feel pretty good.  I am fighting a little bout of depression…I swear I grieve for the loss of the carbs, but I’m handling it.   I am down 7 pounds this morning since my weight Sunday night.  I know most of it is fluid because I did drink quite a bit the weekend before I started the Whole 30.  The real test is this weekend.  I had been doing well all week and then going crazy on the weekend.  So whatever weight loss I would see during the week would come right back so that I was losing and gaining the same 5 pounds.  That should NOT happen this weekend because I am staying true to the Whole 30!

*Circuit Training = Warm-up (10 minutes), 40 fast stepups, 12 dumbbell curls (alternating arms), 40 fast stepups, 20 lunges (10 each side), 40 fast stepups, 12 overhead press, 40 fast stepups, 20 dumbbell squats, repeat circuit, cool down (10 minutes)

So my goal for January was to do some sort of workout every day of the month of January.  In a few minutes I will do a stepping/yoga workout to complete that goal!  I literally did some type of activity for 31 days straight.  This is huge for me.  I actually took time for me, something I haven’t done in over 20 years.  I’ve been too busy mothering, wifing and working and have completely ignored Jodi…no more.  So now that the month is done and I’ve done my research, I will plan 3-4 workouts and one sprinting session per week.

My goal for February is to continue to do healthy workouts consistently.  I need to make sure the habit sticks.  It is one thing to tell myself I need to work out every day and be accountable for it to my family and Facebook friends, but another to plan and stick to workouts on a regular basis “on my own”.

The food business is still a struggle.  Especially this past weekend.  I did not eat clean.  I did not go way overboard, but did eat grain.  On date night with my husband, it was hummus and pita.  Of course the actual meal was a wonderful greek salad and gyro and completely primal, but I chose not to forego the hummus/pita.  I’ll keep striving for clean eating, but I’m not going to beat myself up for it either.  Right now my main focus is physical activity since it was where I was most lacking.  I think by the end of March, I’ll be in an excellent place as far as activity goes and then I can begin committing better on clean eating.

Thursday

B – IF

L – Eggplant/italian sausage mixture, avocado

S – Small tangerine, pecans

D – was a complete primal failure (burger and onion rings with my son)

Exercise:  Situps/pushups

Friday

B – IF

L – Chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and cheese with mushrooms

D – Eggplant/italian sausage

Exercise:  Arms with weights

Saturday

B – IF

L – Eggplant/italian sausage (a lot leftover and no one else is eating it!!)

S – pecans

D – Gyro plate with salad and meat and hummus with pita

S – Pistachios

Exercise:  Stretching/abs

Sunday

B – Eggs, 1/2 banana

S – Pistachios

L – Eggplant/italian sausage (the end of it), orange

D – Pork/Beef stirfry (fresh broccoli, celery, onions, garlic, green beans)

S – “Almond Joy” (coconut milk, almonds, unsweetened coconut flakes, dark chocolate mixed together and eaten with a spoon)…my non-primal husband loves this stuff.  I’m going to play with it a little more and make some bars.  He wants to bring them to work.  I’m going to drag him to primal (like in that picture above), if I have to!

Exercise:  Stepping/yoga

Monday

Breakfast:  Fast

Lunch:  Fast

Dinner:  Mexican (Ground beef/chicken, onions, tomatoes, black olives, guacamole – ALL PALEO and cheese NOT PALEO)

Exercise:  Stretching/Yoga

Tuesday

Breakfast:  Fast

Lunch:  Deer sausage, grilled asparagus, grilled squash

Dinner:  Smoked sausage (homemade), tomatoes, pecans

Exercise:  Ab/Torso workout

Wednesday

Breakfast:  Fast

Lunch:  Cucumber wraps with snowcrab, asparagus, guacamole, 2 crab rangoons (skipped most of the outside non-paleo part)

Dinner:  Husband made a primal meal for me.  He called it Italian Eggplant Sausage Bake.  He took some homemade fresh sausage (removed the casing), seasoned it and put it in a pan with some chunks of eggplant, onions, celery, green pepper, baked in the oven, then a little parmesan cheese and back in the oven.  Yummy, spicy goodness!

Snack:  Protein shake (coconut milk, banana, chocolate whey protein, ice)

Exercise:  Cardio