Jodi Goes Primal

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!

Monday went well.  Ate according to my planned menu, though I did add another piece of fruit in the evening.  Worked out according to my plan.  First day was uneventful for the most part.  No coffee (probably the hardest thing all day) and I did have some cravings in the evening, but probably more out of boredom than anything else.  The husband’s co-worker sent home a whole ziplock bag of his famous oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies just for me…so said the husband.  I passed…and it really wasn’t that hard.  I made sure to let him know not to do that again.

My fasting blood sugar was elevated (guess who forgot to take Lantus Sunday night), but after I hit it with some fast acting, it was better for the rest of the day (not nearly where it needs to be, but better).

Right on time, “The Primal Blueprint” came in today.  YAY!! So I’ll be reading in between tasks (brought work home since I am off for Mardi Gras).

All of my progress will be posted to the progress page.  At some point (once I’m more brave and a less vain), I’ll post my weight progress as well.

*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)

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.

Currently, I am merging my two blogging lives. I used to only blog Diabetes and then I created this blog to keep track of my primal progress. Now, I am merging the two. I went primal because of my diabetes so the two do go hand in hand. So, I am in the process of moving all of my links to this blog so that I can come to one place and catch up on all blogging favorites at one click.

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

So Saturday was Sprint day.  My oldest son was here, so he timed me.  The sprints (read: jog) that used to take about 60 seconds, I am now doing in 15 and 16 seconds!  6 sprints with about 60 second rests between, except for between #4 and #5, had to take about a 2 minute rest (needed to catch my breath).  My son, who played football, showed me a trick…lift my arms and put my hands behind my head.  It helped…he said it opened up my lungs.  I was bending over with my hands on my knees and he said that was closing my lungs off.  He was right.  After my sprints, he suggested I try to bench press some weight.  I did six reps with the just the bar (45 pounds) and then he added 10 pounds on each side and I did six reps with the 65 pounds.  I got to talk to him about what I was doing.  I told him my goal was to do a pull-up eventually.  He did a few in front of me and said, you’ll never do it if you don’t try.  Well, he didn’t laugh at my attempts…I’ll keep trying!

Breakfast:  Eggs cooked in coconut oil, mixed fruit

Lunch:  Ham, dates, pecans

Dinner:  Toppings off four slices of pizza and one thin crust edge (yeah…)

Sunday, I washed and folded clothes all day and cooked.  Waited for the husband to get home from work so that we could watch the Saints game.  I was supposed to do cardio, but somehow never got around to it.  I realized it after all the celebration once the Saints won.  So I did an arm workout with weights at nearly 11:00 pm so that I didn’t break my challenge.

Breakfast:  Sausage, mixed fruit

Lunch:  Ham, pecan, dates

Snack:  Chips and salsa

Dinner:  Rump roast (seasoned, seared on the stove in coconut oil, then dumped into the crock pot with onions, garlic, a little soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice and some grated ginger root – cooked all day), smothered okra and beets

Snack:  2 margaritas

I think, beginning February 1, I am going to try to give up the alcohol (at least for a while) and lower my fruit intake.  I need to plan better.  I need to up my veggie intake.  I need to get closer to 100%, which is hard when you live with non-primal people.  The chips and salsa call me and I can’t stop them from buying the stuff.  They only buy them for special occasions (like the recent football playoffs) and then no one eats it, it just sits there.  As of right now, there are no chips and salsa in the house.  At least I know, I’ll be good this week.

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.