Jodi Goes Primal

So having pneumonia and not being able to exercise gave me an excuse to have a three week lapse in judgment (which means I was primal maybe 50% of the time).  But, I’ve slowly introduced exercise back into the mix…only strolls around our property.  I intend to go back to full time exercising on Monday and I already have my menu planned for next week (three of the meals are courtesy of recipes found at FlyNavyWife’s site, Joyful Abode!  (Thanks for the inspiration!)  So here is the Menu for next week and I’ll reiterate my challenge (that I was supposed to start 3 weeks ago, but will begin this week instead.

Monday, April 26th, 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.

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!

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