Contest: Share Your Struggle
The Prize:
Hunks of grass-fed meat, raw nuts and dried berries all conveniently packaged together: If your struggle during the first week of the 30-Day Challenge was finding healthy snacks or Primal meals while on-the-go, Steve’s got you covered. The lucky winner of today’s contest will receive two Steve’s Club Samplers ($32 each) and five Grass-Fed PaleoStix ($30).
Bonus #1: Use promo code paleokitmda for a 10% discount through the month of September.
Bonus #2: 15% of the proceeds go to support Steve’s Club National Program to bring CrossFit and nutrition education to at-risk teens in cities across the country.
The Contest:
It’s been one week since the 2011 30-Day Challenge began. How are things going? Well, I hope. While I know many of you are already seeing and feeling the benefits of going Primal, I imagine there are those of you out there that are finding the transition to be less than a walk in the park. And why not? Decades of bad habits and poor eating don’t get reversed overnight. So today I’m asking you to share any struggle you’ve had in the last seven days of this challenge. Did you have a tough time kicking your usual bowl of morning cereal? Was the sandwich platter at your company meeting speaking to you? Were you unable to muster up the energy or willpower needed to attempt a Primal Blueprint Fitness workout? Big or small leave a comment below expressing your struggle AND how you plan to go about overcoming said struggle, and you’ll be entered to win the prize above.
Check back tomorrow when I’ll be attempting to address many of the common stumbling blocks you list in today’s comment board.
The Deadline:
September 19, 6:00 p.m. PST. Only 9 hours to participate in this one. (I need a little time to put tomorrow’s promised article together!)
Who is Eligible:
Any U.S. resident that faced some sort of hurdle or stumbling block in the first week of this challenge. Sorry worldwide readers. Most countries prohibit import of meat products.
How a Winner is Chosen:
A random drawing will be held among all entrants.
To track all the contests visit the 2011 Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge Contest Page for daily updates.
Subscribe to the Mark’s Daily Apple Newsletter and Get Challenge Updates All Month Long
Posted By: Mark Sisson
My struggle this week was actually the kindness of my family. My aunt had a dinner party for me, my fiance, and some other close family members. The dinner was totally primal! swordfish, leeks, brussel sprout salad… but, she made a berry ginger cobbler for dessert, and out of her love for me, she made a “gluten-free” one specially for me. So I ate it. It was delicious, but had sugar and white rice flour in it. Not the worst paleo sin ever, but there was no way to refuse such a kind and thoughtful act.
My struggle is the fact that I learned to cook from my grandma, And while Bacon and Eggs for breakfast were great, its the homemade apple pies, and Chicken and dumplings that are hard to give up!
My struggle has been the sweet cravings! I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but it’s been a lot worse this week since finally giving up the grains completely!
Breakfast! I’m doing great with all of my other meals and snacks. I’m doing good with my movement (exercise and play) as well as with sun exposure. I’m even starting to see an improvement in my sleep, which has been a lifelong issue for me — my insomnia started when I was 13 or so.
But breakfast, man. I’m still having trouble getting myself up early enough to cook breakfast, and I often don’t take the time to eat until I’m at my office (I leave the house around 6:15 every morning, and arrive at work around 7:15). My habit for breakfast at work has been quick oatmeal with dried fruit & peanut butter mixed in.
Desperate for something I didn’t have to cook in the morning, last night I put together a spinach salad with hardboiled eggs and crumbled bacon. I’m missing the morning oatmeal — it’s become something of a comfort food — but I’m hoping I’ll find more time this week for experimentation with breakfast foods.
Maggi, I really like to mix up a smoothy when cooking doesn’t do it. I love using 100% whey pwdr, unsweetened almond milk, a dollop of heavy cream, cinamon and freshly grated nutmeg along with 1/4 large avocado…oh, and crushed ice. Wow, I make it right up to lunch time with that tasty, smooth drink.
I had a minor stumble this weekend….a wedding that was out of town. I stayed in a cabin with 8 other people and making a primal menu with other people that did not eat this way was difficult. BUT now I am back home and re-setting!
My struggle has been dinner time. I make it all day steering clear of grains and then comes dinner. We are a family of four and I try and get us sitting down at the dinner table together most days of the week. I think growing up in the midwest has ingrained (ha ha) my brain with the thought that our dinner meal is incomplete without bread or potato. Last week potatoes, corn, and legumes found their way into the meals. This week I have sat down and went searching for new recipes, I am going to stop making our old recipes sans grains and go with something completely new. Meals not centered around what I am trying to avoid.
My struggle(s) the past 7 days were: my daughter’s 16th birthday and a night out with friends. The birthday celebration involved a couple of meals out (I did avoid the bun on my hamburger but had to eat the fries!) and a chocolate mousse cake (made from scratch and I will NEVER have the willpower to say no to that!). On our night out with friends, I somehow ended up with bread on my plate and ate it without much thought … then we went back to their house and had cheesecake (didn’t want to offend by saying no). My plan for the future is to be more committed to my primal ways and stay away from fries, bread & cheesecake (should be easy if I remember how I felt after eating them -ugh!
One of my goals for the 30-day challenge was to get 8 hrs of sleep at night. I’ve always had it as one of my top priorities to get enough sleep every day, but lately it’s been so busy with work, family, garden, etc.
Ironically enough, this past week has been absolutely crazy at work and I’ve taken up some additional responsibilities within my community. I’m spreading myself thin and can’t seem to get even 6 hrs of solid slip in a 24-hr. Because of additional stress, it seems like by the time I do get to bed, I’m so wound up that I can’t relax and stop my mind from wondering.
My struggle this past week has been being very hungry and finding that I hadn’t brought enough food to work for the day. I want to avoid snacking out of the office junk food store downstairs. I did avoid the junk this past week but was uncomfortable. However, I spent the weekend preparing filling goat stew to bring for lunch and homemade grassfed beef jerky for a snack! This week should be better.
My challenge is staying active this week… I damaged my achilles tendon last weekend and walking and biking have become very difficult (wheelchair or boot & crutches), which means I have to swim and stand.
Action plan is to go to the YMCA in the morning AND evening to go swim and to stand more at the office. So easy to use injury as an excuse to do nothing….. but sitting ALL day is NOT primal
My struggle this week was my sister’s birthday. Avoiding the cake was a no-brainer, but I would usually allow myself ice cream on a special day. This time, I just got an extra cup of coffee with cream. I guess that would be failure to some of you, but I felt like I made a positive change, and it was a real struggle, because we were near the ice cream all day.
While I’ve been Primal for quite a while, I’m learning how to do some things over now that I’m both working full time and attending school full time. That means learning what foods I can get FAST and how to really pre-plan and make foods that are easily reheated in an oven (as I have no microwave.)
I’m tempted to snack more and it can be difficult having on-the-go food for those few minutes between work and school and I can’t go home, where it’s not enough time to eat a meal, and going another 3 hours without food is almost unbearable.
So far I’ve been leaning on pickled eggs and whey protein shakes. I’m thinking some pemmican would come in handy right about now.
My struggle this past week (and with more to come) has been the days when I have to tote the boys around from soccer practices, games and school events during the dinner hour without a moment to spare (plus I have some evening meetings as well).
I have to prepare things to eat on the fly and although I personally am eating okay, I am trying to get the boys more primal (esp. snacks) and it is tough, they are a little picky! Nuts are not their fave, but we are working on it, oh and locally I have yet to find dried berries w/o sugar!
my struggle has been losing weight. ive been stuck at the same weight and the same measurements for over 2 months now. the thing is my body fat percentages have gone down 15-20% in that time. is that even possible??? if i were getting thinner i would be very ok with this but im staying the same size. i know that my muscles are getting larger and thicker, and i can tell that i am getting stronger. its just frustrating my waist size is the same size with such a difference in body fat percentage. where is it coming from?
I’m a physical therapist, if a client brought this problem to me I would check for 2 things;
1) What is the quality of the soft tissue at the stomach? soft and flabby, or firm and muscular?
The answer to that would prompt the second. In your case, I’m guessing firm and muscular. That would mean the muscles are holding that form. Since your form isn’t changing, I’ll assume it’s an “improper” form (posture). (I am meaning improper in the sense that it falls outside expected form for a fit person). Improper posture is caused by muscle imbalance; in this case, the rectus abdominus (six pack) and obliques are dominating the transverse abdominals.
The cure, pull in your belly, over and over and over (don’t hold your breath). The transverse abdominals are postural muscles and should always be active. If you want to be “skinny”, practice skinny. This will also add considerable support to your low back.
Let me know how it goes.
My biggest struggle has been and is always primal eating while at work. I don’t have a desk job and I’m never 100% sure of my assignment until roll call. Even if I bring food with me to work there is a chance I could be detailed out and have no way to carry and reheat the food I’ve brought with me to work. As an extreme example, last weekend I was sent out and I was on post from 1500 (3pm) Saturday till 1845 (6:45pm) Sunday. That’s 27hrs and 45mins at work, on my feet, with zero true primal choices to eat. It’s these situations where I have to employ intermittent fasting (which is no joy when you need to remain vigilant and possibly go from inactive to active in moments) or try to find a primal alternative in the food service industry. This (since I work in NYC) can be expensive if I want to go organic. Usually I keep one or two of Steve’s Original kits in my cargo pockets for just such an occasion. I currently have a good amount of the grass fed, and the coconut kits in the large size. Sometimes, I get creative and just get some Fage yogurt, some nuts and fruit. Sometimes I just tell myself a grilled chicken breast from the deli with some fresh veggies is better than nothing. I can bet it’s probably better than fast food, but I can’t tell for sure what’s in it or where it’s come from. The more I research this dilemma the more I find shelf stable, portable recipes to keep in my pockets for when I need something that doesn’t need to be refrigerated and suits my lifestyle.
My struggle is special meals or treats from coworkers and family members. It’s one thing to avoid the candy box in the office kitchen; it’s another thing to have to turn down mom’s baked-with-love apple pie.
With four young kids struggling with colds right now my biggest struggle has been getting quality sleep. It seems as if every night there is another reason to either be up late with a kid or up multiple times with crying kids.
The lack of sleep then makes it hard to get in the workouts that I have planned
CRAP! I ate a bagel in a moment of weakness this morning! I was late for work, didn’t have time to cook, and needed to eat something/anything before I turned into a Crank-O-Saurus Rex!!! Otherwise been totally committed to the 30 day challenge!!!
I also struggle with the crank-o-saurus rex problem. I’m wondering if that problem will fade as my body gets more used to converting to fat burning between meals.
Any thoughts on this?
My biggest struggle this week is that my family keeps buying non-Primal foods, especially ice cream! This reflects a more long term problem I have with food, namely ‘waste’. Whenever I avoid unhealthy food, especially if it’s something that no one else in my family eats, I feel like I’m being incredibly wasteful. Even now, I’m thinking about how that ice cream is going to sit there in the freezer uneaten and I can hear my mom’s voice scolding me about starving children who would be grateful to have it. This is the same feeling that makes me always eat everything on my plate or finish a bag of whatever.
I guess no matter what I do (eat or avoid) I’m going to feel guilty at first.
To overcome this, I guess I need to be more involved in the decision-making regarding what to buy from the grocery store. Luckily, I’m going back to school soon, where I’m definitely going to stick to smaller portions and just go up for more if I’m hungry instead of piling stuff on my plate and feeling bad about not eating it all.
I’ve got the food thing down but just eat too much. I have cut my meals to two for the day. So far have been doing well with that and have knocked off a pound or so. (my scale lies so I am not sure)
My other goal is to get stronger. I like to do weight training at the local playground after walking there.
Usually it is occupied by children, oddly, so I walk back home and jump rope on the porch, do pushups against the stairs, desk, or kitchen counter. Squats where ever.
Ten pound weights get lifted when I think about it plus I do lifts with the liquid detergent bottle when I do the wash.
I have to rig up a bar to do pullups so don’t always get to it. Mostly I have been trying to get creative with incorporating weight lifting into my daily life with readily available objects in my home.
My own body weight is the most readily available. Turns out my not so strong muscles think I am very heavy.
My struggle has been trying to move through some serious muscle stiffness in the days after my last weight-lifting session. It felt great at the time though! I think I’ll do some walking for a few days until I heal.
I have dialed in my food choices and workouts, and am having trouble kicking artificial sweetners. My plan is to throw away the sweetners that I have, and keep it simple. I also will add a pinch of real sugar if needed instead of artificial sweetners (like in coffee)
I had great success this week with the mentality that I was “taking it one day at a time”. My struggle was the weekend when my schedule isn’t as rigid and I am tempted by (alcohol) at social gatherings. I recently moved to a new city and really need to partake it any social event I can! I am going to work on sticking to a glass of red wine on weekend outings. Although this isn’t “perfectly” primal, it is a definite improvement from a few beers.
I’m going 100% gluten free during this challenge. I’ve been out with friends and starving, two times I had to pass on a calamari (breadcrumbs) and the bread basket. Oh, did I mention everyone else is drinking beer, one of my favorite things in the world?
I overcome this by primalizing something from the menu, so I had a rare burger minus bun with a salad.. and a glass of wine. I’m used to being a bit different or the “odd one” amongst my friends. The good natured teasing from them has turned into “You’re looking fit these days”. Knowing that makes the struggle easier to overcome.
Still struggling to get my sleep pegged down. Would much rather get 8 to 8.5 as opposed to the 7 or 7.5 I’m getting…
My goal was keeping the refined sugar out of my diet. Went to the orchard and picked apples, very primal right? Had fun, did it with the wife and kids. It was a great afternoon. Problem is my wife keeps making this apple crisp to keep around the house and to give to everyone we know. Flour, sugar, oats, more sugar. She’s the devil!
Sneaky antidote:
Slice an apple, place on a microwavable plate, sprinkle liberally with pumpkin pie spice and/or cinnamon.
30 sec in microwave
Aroma, taste and texture will be better than apple crisp/ pie filling!
I think my main struggle has been alcohol consumption. I’m 22 and a student, my friends have parties and like going out a lot and there’s always alcohol. I always end up having a few beers – even this past week when I’ve known I shouldn’t. I also know how bad it is for me and really need to kick the habit if I want to take this seriously.
My plan is to drink other things, maybe red wine, maybe spirits without mixers, and to drink less. After all, if you have to drink a load of beer to have fun then perhaps your friends aren’t as fun as you think they are! I have nothing planned for the next couple of days so will put my plan into action at home and then try it out and about.
(I’m in the UK so can’t win stuff but thought this was a good thing to comment on.)
My struggle was the grocery store! I love fall and all the terrible stuff that’s there–candy corn, chocolate, peanut butter cups, pumpkin pie, apple muffins, cookies. This time of year the smell is overwhelming. The seasonal aisle smells like a fresh bag of candy.
I do a pretty good job with temptation at home. Even though my kids and husband aren’t totally primal, the stuff they like aren’t the things that tempt me. (Goldfish crackers, pasta and bread–yuck.)But the store is always a struggle.
I just got back from a massive grocery trip with my 2-year-old, and as much as I like to shop without the distractions he brings, little guy was my savior this morning! I NEVER go down the candy/cookie/cereal aisles with him because it just leads to a case of the gimmies and related tantrum. So we hit the organic section, veggies, meat and a bit of dairy and were out the door with a station wagon full of lovely primal food. Thanks little guy for keeping mommy on track!
My occasional desire for chocolate sometimes slips into eating sweets that aren’t very good for me.
I never eat anything with wheat, but I occasionally eat chocolate that has too much sugar.
Usually, I stick to occasional dark chocolate. Since the challenge has begun, I hadn’t had any chocolate whatsoever.
Going to the movies last night, I decided to allow myself a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup (2 pb cups, shared with gf). Unless I’m mistaken, these were not around during the paleolithic age.
The result of eating the sweet late at night was tooth grinding all night. I don’t know why, but eating high sugar foods does this to me.
My struggle this week has been the “goodies” available at work. It is insane how much junk food they bring in. I was actually able to make it thru this time. (This happens once a month here) I’m trying to shift how I think about the “goodies”. Planning ahead and bringing plenty of good stuff, so I’m full, helped.
Oops forgot the second part! My plan is to be used to this way of eating this time next month so maybe the cravings (mmmmm chocolate0 won’t be as bad.