Jenny and Optimus Primal's Journal page 3

[Jenny]

Thanks babe! Although hmm... perhaps he's just trying to make sure I let him back into my pants at the 6 week mark... ;)

[batty]

this picture is so awesome that i have lost my ability to type. s;lakhgsad;lkhgsfladkgh

especially the rawr face.

[Jenny]

especially the rawr face.

Me? Love mugging for cameras? Naaah... NEVER...



Okay, maybe a little.

[batty]

sal;kdgh ilu so hard. i do the same.



especially in zombie mode.

[Optimus Primal]

OPTIMUS PRIMAL'S PRIMAL LEAP JOURNAL ENTRY 1

Hi All!

I have begun tracking progress for the Primal Leap.

Week 1:
Diet Action item 1: Baseline Food Log:

Day 1 (Jan 1):
Fage full fat (with fruit stuff) yogurt cups x 4 (I love this stuff)
Banana
Cup of grapes
2 orange soda cans
1 cup of sparkling cider
A 10 oz steak
About 10 crackers
Dinner, included some sweet potato, salad, ham
Some beef jerky (homemade)
Some grape tomatoes
Water

Calories: 2,864 Carbs: 339 grams Fat: 97 grams Protein: 163 grams

Day 2 (Jan 2):
Fried eggs x 3
Bacon x 4
1 cup chocolate milk
Hot tea (mint)
9 oz steak
2 apricots
Tossed salad
Another 6 oz steak
A few Doritos (cool ranch)

Calories: 4,593 Carbs: 81 grams Fat: 327 grams Protein: 321 grams

WOW! Sodas and steaks make serious impacts on the numbers.

Averages:
Calories: 3728 Carbs: 207 grams Fat: 212 grams Protein: 242 grams

Diet Action item 2: Calculations:
Weight Loss: N/A. I weigh 125 lbs. No loss needed.
Protein: 90 grams daily
Carbohydrates: 100-150 grams daily
Fat: 134 grams daily
Total Calories: 1,969

Diet Action item 3: Create a Healthy Environment:

Eliminate Offensive Foods
Major food categories tossed:
Juices, most sodas, lemonade, some teas. We still drink milk.
Grains: cereals, bread products (mostly), pasta (mostly), peanuts,
All oils except olive and coconut.
Processed hot dogs, packaged dinners
Snacks/sweets: Candy, most chips, gold fish, crackers, etc.

Tough to throw out:
Cereal at first
Sodas
Chocolate
High Fructose Corn Syrup-filled yogurt (EVERYTHING seems to have that stuff in it!)

Comments on our effort:
At first, I took a look at the lists of foods to avoid and said a big fat NO! Then I read the book, and began to reconsider, since I was thinking of cutting down on sugars anyway. Then I took on the following attitude: I will not CUT anything out that I don’t want to; I will cut DOWN on many things. This remains true.

Since I LIKE pretty much everything on the good food lists, it was not so hard to cut down. I found a lot of resistance with my Dannon yogurt, but now I don’t even like it. I instead mainline the full fat Fage yogurt (which is unfortunately twice as expensive).

In general, I have found myself not liking some of the things I used to. In some cases, a small hit of something is far more enjoyed, when I do get it (pop corn, chips, chocolate). The things I continue to indulge with are: chips (usually only a very few are enough, and usually with a big salad or other primal snack on the side), pop corn (rarely anyway), rice (rarely anyway), and pasta (usually only at my in-laws’). I keep wanting cereal, but dislike it whenever I have it. I do still drink chocolate milk, sometimes.

The hardest thing to cut down is soda (but only sarsaparilla—and sometimes orange soda or Pepsi) Most soda no longer appeals, and when I do indulge, usually only half a can hits the spot (I used to drink several a day).

I also love ice cream, and consider that a special snack.

My philosophy now (with sodas, sweet drinks, candy, ice cream, and things like donuts) is that I can have them, but only sometimes, and they need to be HIGH quality!

Primal Shopping Spree:
I went on a spree this week, but forgot to check the bill. So I’ll just describe what we have begun to typically do. We shop at several places, and I must admit it’s becoming fun, and our kitchen is now my second favorite room in the house.

Costco: bulk house supplies, big bags of pistachios, dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries, fresh berries if available.

Whole Paycheck (I mean Foods): Almonds (Jen only likes the ones from there), Stonyfield full fat yogurt for our girl, Fage full fat yogurt cups (with fruit included) and plain vats (to mix with preserves or fresh berries). NOTE: Whole Foods is the only place offering full fat yogurt, and full fat IS creamier and more satisfying than 2% or 0% fat.

Trader Joes: Sometimes they have good deals on fresh berries or produce.

Local Asian market: BEST prices for produce! I tend to get a FULL shopping cart of veggies and fruit for less than fifty bucks! I also get cheap sliced meats for making jerky with our dehydrator)

Shoppers: Everyday needs, milk, meats, other products.

Giant/Safeway: Anything we want that Shoppers does not have, sometimes very good deals on meats.

Money: I think we’re spending a lot on food now, but less on going out and less on junk food. Buying a bunch of steaks for cooking is a lot better than spending $25.00 at Fudruckers or some other joint. Also of note: Before Christmas I spent $185.00 at Giant getting about six bags of junk food and snacks for a party that would include a bunch of non-primals. I then spent $150.00 total at Safeway and the Asian market, FILLING my fridge with steaks, stir fry meat, fruit, and a TON of veggies. So, shopping primally is rewarding.

We’re also getting smarter about it. Veggies we get at the market, and we also have a freezer now for meat and frozen veggie deals. We go to sales now, and so far have loaded it with three turkeys, twelve hens, ten steaks, a lot of chicken (which we fix according to Bane’s recipe—THANKS, BANE!), and jerky meat. The only real expensive snack we get is the Fage yogurt. I clean the store out when I go. I’m willing to put up with that, since yogurt has always been a favorite.

Establishing Healthy Habits

We typically eat when we’re hungry (although I need to be careful not to forget to stop and eat when I am working). I tend to really enjoy eating, and eat pretty much whenever I want to. Jen does too, I think. We tend to feed our older child around the same time each day as part of her routine, but she has some freedom, and stops when she is not hungry. No TV while she eats. We try to reduce distractions. The only things I want to make sure we do are 1) ENJOY fixing and eating food; and 2) maybe sit together for at least one meal. But if we don’t do that, we can do other things together.

I think that’s good for now. More to come later!

[Saoirse]

agree with the others-- you don't look your weight. i love your facial expression, though i interpreted it as "take the damn picture, already!" (which might be projecting, because that's what i'm usually thinking). lucky you for having a supportive husband, mine isn't really so. good luck to him as well.

[Tawny]

Hmmm...I was one of those ravenous, stark-raving mad breastfeeding moms who could not stuff enough food (all highly processed carbs, I'm ashamed to admit) into my face. It will be interesting to see how eating primal affects your appetite while nursing.

I love all the calculations to come up with just the right balance of everything. Maybe I should consider the kit - I'll anxiously wait to hear more from you, but you have definitely planted the seed...

[Jenny]

batty -- you always have the best zombie makeup. I need to pull together some of your pics from your journal to show Optimus. He's been on a major zombie kick lately.

Saoirse -- Yeah, that's projecting. That expression was meant to be a sort of "OH yeah I am so badass already, this is all so easy!" even though I know it will be tougher now. And yeah, I'm very lucky he's into this; especially since he's skinny, the obvious "ZOMGFAT" motivator isn't there. Yet he's interested anyway. Yay!

Tawny -- I'm definitely curious to see how it all goes with the breastfeeding this time around. I certainly didn't lose any last time (but again, like you... lots of processed carbs.) And the last two days I ate a LOT. But now that I've done these calculations and I'm paying attention today to A) not eating till hungry and B) how the totals are going, today seems to be on target. Hmm, I should post about that...

So, today's food report!

Fage full fat yogurt with fruit topping, 5.3 oz
Jen's Tuna Salad w/Olives, 1 cup
Mozzarella Cheese, whole milk, 3 oz
Almonds, 20 almond
Mozzarella Cheese, whole milk, 5 oz
Dairy, Milk - Whole - 1 cup
Coconut Milk, 0.5 cup
Primal Fuel shake mix (2 scoops per serving), 0.5 serving

Daily Totals: 1,734 calories, 55 carb, 130 fat, 98 protein
Daily PB Goal: 1,700 calories, 80 carb, 121 fat, 72 protein

Sooo as you can see... lotta dairy here with all that cheese. Hrm.

Those last three items are basically my attempt to make a shake to up my fat for the day and to tide me over through the various baby-maintenance shifts tonight. (I haven't drank it yet.)

And, food pics!




The steak I totally didn't eat, but Optimus did. I <3 our weirdly-colored knives.



My nummy tuna salad with lotsa olives, celery, onion, and garlic.

[rocknroll]

g[/IMG]

especially in zombie mode.

You people are obviously insane.

I'm glad I've come to the right place!

[Mog]

OMG Jenny - awesome before and after. You rock!! and you do look very pleased with yourself in the after pic - as you should. You really do carry it well, prob for all the reasons you have identified. Cant wait to see how 'the leap' works and more pics.

and hello hello Optimus. Good deal on the primal food so far. +1,000 re focus on enjoying the food - its so easy to get distracted and then just feel like eating. Oh, btw, Jenny has your intentions figured out re the 6 wk mark. LOL!