Barefootmama's primal journey to happiness page 2

[Aila]

Hi Barefootmama!

Just popping in to say, Congrats! I definitely think your pics show a difference!

And absolutely, playing fast tag = sprinting, and roughhousing with your boys = LHT!

Isn't it amazing, all the additional benefits (smoother skin, etc) that come with this way of life?

[barefootmama]

Thanks for stopping in Aila!

More roughhousing this weekend. The boys love it when I chase them around the house, and my 3yo wants me to carry him while I chase his big brother. Talk about a workout!

I'm thinking of taking a bellydance class that starts next week. I love the music and it looks like a lot of fun.

This week has been incredibly stressful, but I've kept mostly on track with eating. I think I've had a bit too much chocolate, and carbs have been a bit higher than I'd like but I'm having no trouble staying completely grain-free. My mood has definitely tanked a bit but I'm not sure if it's more diet, stress or a combination of the two. I'm determined to get back on track ASAP. Oh I've also been sick the past couple of days. That sure didn't help my mood!

I'm supposed to run a 5k next week. Since I had so much fun sprinting/walking the other day I think that will be my strategy for the 5k. I have no intention of doing anything but finishing, and I signed up for this months ago with a few friends so I think it will be a lot of fun.

I had to shop for new capri pants and found that I'm a full size smaller than I was about a month ago. I even went ahead and bought a pair of shorts I had to pass on last month because they were just too small at the time. Now they fit perfectly!

[barefootmama]

I've been sick for days with a nasty head cold that settled in my throat, leaving it swollen and raw and unable to swallow much of anything. So... I broke out my new blender and have been living on delicious ice-cold smoothies. A banana (cut up and frozen), coconut milk, an egg yolk, bit of crushed pineapple and a splash of heavy cream, plus a bit of yogurt if I'm in the mood. My 5yo is in love with these and he actually seems to be staying full (versus begging for food every 5 min all day no matter what else I feed him most days!) My 3yo says they're disgusting and won't even taste them. Hehe. So they're a bit high in carbs and probably too much dairy, but oh so wonderful and perfect for my current ailment.

I haven't owned a scale in about a year. My last weigh-in was at a doctor's appt in September, where I was right at 200lbs. I went ahead and bought a scale yesterday so I can have a concrete measure of progress, and I was a little disheartened to read 196ish (cheapo rotary scale haha.) But because of the way some of my clothes were fitting (and my exceptional indulgences in ice cream over the past few months before going primal, along with all sorts of carby and sugary goodness) I suspect that I got up well over 200 again, possibly up to 210. If that's the case (and I have no way of knowing) then I've had a fairly significant weight loss. If not, then I'm still seeing progress in inches, and any weight loss is good, so I'll take it.

Oh wait... I'm remembering a day late in winter... maybe mid-Feb... when I weighed myself on the scale at my MIL's after a run. I was shocked to see 208, and dismissed it as a fluke. After all, I'd been running for 6 weeks so there's no way I could be that heavy! It was probably more accurate than I was willing to admit at the time.

[barefootmama]

Today my exercise was a 1.5mi walk through town with my 36lb 3yo on my back in a wrap. Barefoot. Exhausting, and my feet were SORE, but we got lots of sun and kiddo was so happy to be in a carrier. It's been a while since he got that luxury.

Then we walked the mall for a bit, just a nice slow and easy pace. After which I came home and collapsed. Ha!

[barefootmama]

Long hiatus. I was really sick for a couple weeks and then had a sore throat that lingered for nearly a month. I ate way too much sugar while I was sick because only ice cream and milkshakes felt good on my sore throat.

I finally had my thyroid tested and I officially have Hashimoto's Disease, meaning my immune system is attacking my thyroid. The recommendations for this disorder include eliminating gluten, dairy and sugar, so I'm definitely on the right track. I've since also eliminated dairy and eggs because of allergy issues (probably also related to my thyroid/immune function.)

I started taking Naturethroid (dessicated thyroid hormone) a week ago, and I'm already seeing positive changes in addition to those I saw when I first began eating primally.

As of today I've lost 27 lbs, and gone from a tight XXL/18-20 to a loose L/12-14. My mom pointed out to me yesterday that I look like I did when I was 20, which really made me realize how much I've changed for the better. Hearing things like this, seeing the way my clothes fit, feeling so good, all combine to keep me on track.

I never got to run my 5k because I got sick but I'm doing a 2mi "pub run" with friends next weekend and I'm really looking forward to it.

[barefootmama]

Wow. I'm getting ready to go for a walk so I pulled out my old running skirts. They're definitely looser than they've ever been, but when I look in the mirror I still see a LOT of flab. So I took a picture and compared it to way back when. All I can say is a picture really speaks a thousand words. Fantastic.

[barefootmama]

I walked to the grocery store, just under half a mile each way. I put most of my groceries in a backpack (including a half gallon of milk for DH and 5-6 cans of fruit and coconut milk) and carried the meat and eggs in a grocery bag. On the way home, I wore the backpack and did bicep curls with the bag of groceries. The milk in the backpack kept me nice and cool. I weighed the bags when I got home - roughly 20lbs on my back and 8lbs in the bag.

[barefootmama]

New pics!
I just can't believe the change in only 3 months. Amazing.

[barefootmama]

So the scale has been stuck at about 180+ for 3 weeks or so, and I've been getting frustrated. So this week I finally made an effort to actually do some exercise for the first time since I stopped running a few months ago. I also realized my morning smoothie was close to 50g carbs, so I cut that in half, and cut out most additional nuts or fruit.

Exercise: Wednesday we had our first rainfall in months. I got outside just before sunset and it was in the 70's (instead of the usual high 90's) and I was rewarded with a beautiful sunset. I also got a nice blister on the bottom of one toe. Guess my soles are getting soft from having to wear shoes on the blistering concrete.

The next day I did a bunch of bodyweight exercises... pushups, squats, wall pushups, a bit of improvised yoga, some arm stuff with 2lb weights.

I tried to run on Friday, but I opened up the blister I got Wednesday, so I cut the run short to avoid the risk of an infection. I came home and soaked my feet in a warm bath with some epsom salts and coconut oil, and the blister seems to have healed up nicely.

Today more bodyweight stuff, and my 5yo asked to do yoga so we found a video and did a short Vinyasa routine.

Lo and behold, the scale is finally moving in a downward direction again! It looks like I've dropped about 2lbs* this week!

Confession time...

The kids have fallen in absolute love with the primal muffins I've been making, and I've let myself indulge in 1-2 of these per day. I broke it down in a recipe calculator and figured out that they're usually only about 3-8g carbs each, so I'm feeling like this is an indulgence I can satisfy once in a while.

I started with Rivvin's Angry Sandwich Bread, and improvised from there to make slightly sweeter muffins, and enough for the whole family. I'm also venturing out into coconut flour and almond butter and adding bananas from time to time.

*My scale sucks. It's not remotely accurate and can fluctuate a couple pounds from one weigh to another 2 minutes later. But I'm ok with it as long as it's tracking a general downward trend.

[barefootmama]

I took the family for a walk to the grocery store this afternoon, and had several very fun sprints with the kids. Goodness my 3yo is a fast runner!

Let's see... food today, way too carby:
Breakfast was 2 coconut almond muffins (my recipe) and 3 slices of bacon, plus coffee with coconut milk.
Lunch was a smoothie with blackberries, blueberries, a small banana and coconut milk - split with the kids of course.
Dinner was taco stew with coconut milk and avocado.
Late night snack I shouldn't have had was an egg muffin with 80% chocolate chips. Not as yum as I expected, but very filling. Protein and fat balance the low carbs pretty well.