Primal Journal (Tiger) page

[Tiger]

It's been over a year since I've been on MDA, mainly due to family giving me flak about any sort of actually watching what I eat or exercise program. Yeah, I'm healthy, but I'm nowhere near the shape I should be in at 23. My diet's been atrocious, mainly due to juggling my job, class and looking after my disabled father, but we both need to eat better. That's why I'm back here.

I'm ready to give Primal another go, because after the last two years of almost getting in the groove of things before being thrown off tract, Primal was the best thing that happened to me. The biggest thing to cut this go around is rice, considering I love Chinese food, sushi and curry. But hey, it gives me an excuse to cook for once.

I'm giving myself until the end of June to stick with this (okay, so it's 32 days instead of the usual 30 for the challenge, but I'm always doing things the hard way), just to see how well my body can get used to it again. I'll post before and after pictures on the 33rd day to see if I've made any changes.

I'll start my log with the next post. Goddess be with me.

[Tiger]

5/29 - Day One

WOD
Two seconds down, one second hold, two seconds up
Pushups: 12, 10, 8
Leg Raises: 11, 11, 11
As controlled as possible
Pistols: 5, 5, 4 (These are hard, I can't control my descent. And assisted are out of the question, my knees can't take it.)
Pullups: 5 assisted, 5 assisted/2 unassisted, 6 unassisted (I feel these more in my biceps and forearms than in my back, even on the free-hanging.)

Took a 3 mile walk around Boomer Lake to kill some time and get some sun before dinner. Felt the best I've had in awhile.

Food
Pre-Workout: Nothing
Breakfast: 3 egg spinach omelet cooked in butter, bacon and blueberries
Lunch: Nothing, not hungry
Afternoon snack: 3 fried chicken wings (could've been worse, at that time I could've at the entire bag), bowl of cherries, spinach salad with deli turkey
Dinner: Lean hamburger, spinach salad with green beans and olive oil.

Cal: 1243; Fat: 64g; Carb: 59g; Pro: 96g

Wow, I forgot how much Primal eating fills me up. I don't know if I'm still burning through the crap I ate yesterday or what, but I haven't ate this less and felt so full in quite a long time. Then again, being the small guy I am (5'4"), perhaps maybe this is normal. I'll wait to see how my energy levels are doing before I run tomorrow morning and swim as soon at the university gym opens at noon.

[Tiger]

5/30 - The Empire Strikes Back

I just realized I had a journal from last year that I had completely forgotten about. Whoops. Oh well.

WOD
Sprints: 6x20 seconds @ 75% effort, 20 seconds rest. 6x10 seconds full blown, 60-90 seconds rest. Finish walking around Boomer Lake throwing in 15 second sprints and all out sprints when I got bored.

Food
Pre-Workout: Nothing (Everything went better than expected, actually. I mean, I had a piece of gum to get the taste of sleep out of my mouth, but even then I figured I'd pass out halfway through sprints.)
Breakfast: Hamburger patty with Sriracha sauce (the one thing I may never give up, I could live off of that stuff!), 3 egg omelet with bacon and spinach (cooked in bacon grease), bowl of cherries.
Lunch: Big salad with grilled chicken, a few waffle fries and a little honey mustard.

Cal: 1730; Fat: 104g; Carb: 80g; Pro: 102g

I wasn't hungry during today's workout, not even really hungry afterward either for the hour following where I didn't eat, and yet an hour and 900 calories after I ate, my body's telling me "you may be full, but you need to eat more you stupid f*ck!" Maybe it's my body freaking out to the lack of bread, milk and copious amounts of white rice in the last 36 hours. Maybe it's the fact I ate way too much for one meal, most of which came from the bacon grease. Maybe it's my body hating me for pushing it to the limit. We'll see how I feel throughout today.

Waffle fries, yeah. Were for my dad, but he couldn't eat them, so he pawned them off on me. Figured a few wouldn't hurt but they tore my stomach up something fierce. Threw the majority of them away, haven't ate since. Figured I may eat a little bit later on if I get hungry, otherwise I'm treating dinner as an IF until morning. Cravings are killing me though, curried rice or macaroni and cheese sounds absolutely fan-freakin'-tastic right now.

2 days down, 30 to go.

[Tiger]

5/31 - Oh GAWD Muh Bawls!

Have you ever had those mornings where it takes you an hour to get up because your mind's awake but your body's telling it to piss off? Yeah, had one of those mornings. Got up and I felt like dog crap. Guess this is the "Low Carb Flu" everyone talks about. Also doesn't help either my legs are so shot from sprints yesterday, I couldn't even do bodyweight squats, let alone half-assed pistols.

WOD
3 mile "hike" around Boomer Lake, jumping over a couple plastic dividers whenever I came to them (took 40 minutes to go 3 miles, yeah, I was gassed. Loved the heat and humidity, this is going to be a FUN summer!)

Pullups: 6/6 this morning, 6/3/6/6 this evening. (Greasing the groove, baby.)
Squats: 7 (Screw that, legs are shot, I'l do these tomorrow.)
Abs - Hanging knee lifts, 1x10; Half-dragon flags, 1x11; laying leg raises, 1x13.

I'll do pushups, squats and maybe crow/handstands tomorrow. Might skip the walk for a good change of pace.

Add 5 chinups w/ knee lift just now. Either my ADHD's kicking in or I've finally got some damn energy after eating dinner.

Food
Breakfast: 3 egg scramble with spinach and a whole bell pepper, bacon and blueberries. (Was supposed to be an omelet, but I guess 3 eggs isn't enough to hold the awesomeness of so much veg.)
Lunch: Big spinach salad with leftover hamburger meat + olive oil + 1 microwaved egg + Sri Racha, bowl of cherries. (Hey, did you know that if you don't break the yolk in an egg before nuking it, it turns into a friggin' IED? Learned that the hard way.)
Snack: Almonds (Had no energy after the hike and before dinner.)
Dinner: Sirloin tip steak, 2 cups frozen asparagus stir fry with olive oil + butter, 1 slice Kraft BIG slice cheddar. (The cheese slice has 0 carbs. Mind = blown.)

Cal: 1776g; Fat: 112g; Carb: 63g; Pro: 135g

I'm having to literally gorge myself just to get that many calories. I know I'm eating below what I should, given my daily walks. Bodyweight exercises probably ain't doing the trick on the muscle end I don't think, but I'm doing the best I can with what I have. I could go to the university fitness center for free, but I'd rather master my own bodyweight before hitting the weight room again.

I'm going to enjoy a well-deserved shower and go watch Workaholics with my friend.

3 days down, 29 to go.

[Ryokumuji]

Good luck getting back on the wagon! Seems like you have a good start already.

I'm surprised to hear you feel gorged on 1700 calories! For me, some days I still feel HUNGRY even after eating that much. Maybe that will change once I've been primal for a bit longer.

[Tiger]

It's super easy for me to get full up, I'm a pretty small guy to begin with (5'4"). I think the majority of it is that my body's not used to so much fat and veg in the system. After a couple weeks, I'll start to get my appetite back.

I understand where you're coming from as far as still being hungry. Like right now, I just downed a big assed 700 calorie omelet an hour ago and could easily devour another one. Then, there'll be times where I can go all day without eating. I guess it's one of those things where you need to listen to your body.

[Tiger]

6/1 - Stand Back, I'm Going To Try Science

Had my first (and last) experiment with coconut milk today. I figured it'd be like what you get out of a fresh-cracked coconut... no. What I got was this watered down-pasty, nasty looking stuff that tasted bland. Tried a little bit with a shake at lunch to curb my sweet tooth... yeah, that idea got thrown of the friggin' window. SRSLY, I've experienced raw coconut before, it's fantastic! Better than the sweetened stuff in the bakery aisle in Wal-Mart. But this... this "milk" was an abomination sent by the most foul ethereal evil.

Also, I've broken my #1 rule when buying meat in bulk: ALWAYS separate all meat and put in smaller containers. This is the third time in two months I've had to scrape the liquid catcher at the bottom of my package of chicken off the frozen meat. It's too much of a hassle, especially when you're craving bacon in the evening!

One good thing to come out of it was I got to work my George Forman grill like it owed me money. One thing I will point out is that the leftover burned stuff on the grill is DAMN amazing! Seriously, it's like dog treats for humans... wait, take that back, candied bacon is dog treats for humans. But, I digress, why doesn't anyone market this stuff? I would kill for a tube of burned-off chicken fat!

WOD
Pushups (2 seconds down, 1 second hold, 2 seconds up): 13, 11, 10
Pistol Squats: 2X6 (Could've done 3X6, but I'm holding back for now. I'll go for 3X6 on Friday).

Decided to skip a 3 mile walk/hike around Boomer Lake today, my legs need a rest.

Food
Breakfast: 3 egg scramble with 1/2 pat butter + spinach + 1 whole bell pepper + bacon + sirloin tip steak, blueberries. (A man's breakfast!)
Lunch: A sip of some nasty coconut milk & Muscle Milk smoothie, Spinach salad with steak and Kraft BIG cheddar cheese slice. (I love capitalizing BIG, I find it oddly amusing o_O...)
Dinner: Stir fry - Double bacon + chicken + asparagus stir fry + 1/2 large sweet potato. (Sweet potato was probably a bit much, but even then I'm still fairly low on carbs.)

Cal: 1426; Fat: 67g; Carbs: 62g; Pro: 144g

Something has to be off. Either thick-cut bacon doesn't have the copious amounts of fat that everyone says it does or the serving size is much less than 2 full slices. I should NOT be this full on just over 1400 calories. Am I not pushing myself hard enough on my workouts, or do I really have that much energy packed in my small (albeit soft) body? Meh, screw it. I'll give it until the end of the month to see if anything's working out.

4 days down, 28 to go.

[Tiger]

6/2 - Damage Control

Today was mi padre's birthday, so he woke me up at 8 to go to a casino. He wanted something to drink on the way out of town, so I opted to go to a gas station so I could grab some breakfast. They had NOTHING in choices: no string cheese, no nuts, not even trail mix or something that resembled beef jerky. So, I settled for some chicken strips. It was either that or stale donuts. Meh, when life gives you lemons, you make juice, throw vodka in it anyway and make a manly screwdriver, I reccon.

I also had a Diet Dr. Pepper. Drank crap tons of water, so I'm not even sweating it.

WOD
Didn't work out because of the casino and rushing back because I realized I had to work today, and WAY earlier than expected. By the time I got off, I was too drained from staring at a computer screen listening to college softball that my brain was fried. Did get 5 chapters in to a kickass book, however: The Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman.

Food
Breakfast: Three gas station chicken strips.
Lunch: Leftover chicken breasts and a couple Kraft BIG (lol) cheese slices (and a rotten cherry. What I get for buying fresh fruit.)
Dinner: 3 egg omelet cooked in bacon grease with spinach + chicken + bacon, prunes. (I was craving prune cake today, so this killed the craving).
Nightcap (As soon as I get this journal done): 3oz vodka

Cal: 1392; Fat: 58g; Carbs:52g; Pro:118g

Had the "You're eating too much fat and not enough carbs, your body's going to cannibalize itself if you don't get any fuel in your system!" talk with padre just now. Nevermind the fact he thinks I'm a devil-worshipping Satanist since I'm pagan, he now thinks I'm going to give myself a heart attack and die. Well, I might be in some trouble if I don't get some calories in me; I've gone from 2000-2500 down to an average of 1450. I may be a small guy, but even I can't survive on 1400-1500 calories a day, being as active as I am. I'm going to really ramp up the food starting tomorrow. Should I add a little more carbs or more fat, do y'all think?

5 days down, 27 to go.

[Tiger]

6/3 - It's Friday! Frida- G**DAMN REBECCA BLACK!

Dad's gone out of town for his birthday, I'm stuck here until the Cowgirls lose a second game in the Women's College World Series. At least I can open up the windows and doors and let the amazing 90 degree heat in the house, feels a hell of a lot better than the 74 degree A/C.

Figured out part of my calorie situation: obscure serving sizes. I figured a "pan fried slice" was one full strip of bacon. No, it's half a strip. I've been calculating 1/2 of my actual bacon intake. Solves that problem.

On a related note, I've finally done it: I'm finally going to surpass 1800 calories today and NOT feel completely stuffed! Granted, I ate a crap ton of fruit today as compared to normal, but I'm still below 100 carbs and busted through my workout today no sweat. The only thing I feel is a tad hungry, so I'ma make dinner as soon as I get done with this. May go to Aspen Coffee later on, indulge in a peach iced tea (unsweetened, of course) and continue reading my book.

WOD
(OH, pardon, got sidetracked with Rob & Big)
Pushups: 13, 13, 10.5 (cheated on the last rep)
Leg Raises: 13, 14, 11
Pullups: 8, 5, 6
Pistols: 7, 6, 6
Handstand: 1 X 30 seconds

Food
Breakfast: 3 Egg omelet with bacon + chicken + spinach, 1/2 fried banana (OMG, SO GOOD!)
Lunch: 2 cheddar slices, 1 small apple, 2 tbsp natural peanut butter (Can't afford almond butter, let alone even 1 lb of almonds from Wal-Mart. Besides, I think I'd be splitting hairs by freaking out about 100% peanut-0% bullshit peanut butter)
Snack: 2 scoops Cookies & Cream Muscle Milk, 1 cup blueberries (Muscle Milk is the only powder I can afford that it easy on the stomach. I'm lactose intolerant, so straight whey's out of the question.)
Dinner: Chicken, asparagus stir fry + green beans with olive oil, bacon

Cal: 1849; Fat: 105g; Carbs: 95g; Pro: 131g

Nothing more to say, going to be an easy-going Friday night.

6 days down, 26 to go.