Jodi Goes Primal

Yes, I did say my FIRST whole 30, because I’ll probably do it at least two more times after that.  I’m thinking after a whole 90, I’ll be in a really good place.  I’ve been visiting many paleo/primal/fitness blogs for a while now (as you can see by my ever growing list on the right).  One of those is where I found the Whole 30…go to Whole9 and follow the links.  This is what I am starting tomorrow.  I’ve been “dabbling” with clean eating for a while, but never fully committed because I continued to have “cheat” days and planned non-primal days.  But for the next 30 days, at least, I’ll be fully committed.

For me to be successful with that, I needed to plan.  So plan I did.  We shopped Friday night.  My meals and workouts are planned for the next 30 days.

Yes, even my workouts.  I’ve also been “dabbling” with working out.  In January, I committed to working out every single day for 31 days.  It was hard for me, but I did it.  Since then, I have been researching fitness blogs and sites, trying to find something that will work for me.  As much as I’d love to be able to do CrossFit workouts, I have to be realistic.  An obese 44 year old, full time working, mother of three teenagers can’t just jump in and start doing CrossFit workouts, not this one at least.  But I can learn and modify a plan that will work for me and that is what I have done.

Failure is not an option.  There will be no cheating (in spite of the fact that my home is not Paleo as my husband and children have not come over to my way of thinking, so there are still dairy and grains in my cabinets and pantry).  There will be no excuses for not working out.  This is going to happen and when, not if, but when I get through the first 30, there will be a next 30 and a next.

So things I won’t be doing:  No grains, No dairy, No legumes, No sugar, No processed foods, No alcohol and No coffee (since I can’t bear to drink it black).  Things I’ll be eating:  meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits and Oils (like Coconut Oil or EVOO).  Some of the things I’ll be tracking:  weight, of course, my blood sugars and the amount of insulin I need to take.  Tomorrow I’ll post the plan for the next 7 days.

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

I’ve been reading about fitness options. For the month of January, I’ve committed to doing some type of workout every day so that I could establish a habit of making time to workout. It was necessary since I always found an excuse not to work out. I can get my food intake right, but it won’t do a whole lot of good if I don’t get the fitness/activity part right. So, I’m nearly done with my challenge to myself and I need to now find a reasonable fitness plan that will work for me. I’ve been reading alot about Crossfit, but I’m not sure if I am capable of doing most of that because of my current size. I’m sure there is some type of beginning level. I’ll keep looking.

Thursday
Breakfast:  Ham, 1/2 banana
Snack: tomatoes/carrots
Lunch:  Chili with 1/2 avocado, pecans, very small tangerine
Dinner: Steak with onions and mushrooms, asparagus (so good)
Snack: “Almond Joy” (shared it with my non-primal husband, he loved it!)

Exercise: Push-ups (female style, cause I am no where near able to do the regular ones) and sit-ups

Friday
Breakfast: 1/2 banana (woke up very nauseated and couldn’t really eat anything until after 10am)
Lunch: Seafood soup, tomatoes, pecans
Dinner: Ham, banana
Then, I decided to snack on some chips and salsa with my son (that sucks!)

Exercise: Arms with weights

Today I will probably cheat (next month, I may challenge myself to no alcohol, but I am not there yet – one bad habit at a time !) and I may try IF tomorrow if I do. I just need to manage my blood sugar. I know that I am still not eating enough food. I am finally ordering “The Primal Blueprint” next week so that I can get completely on board.

I can’t tell about my weight because my scale went kaput, but I can see that my body is changing.