Primal Journal-deMuralist page 168

[RMS123]

Just a little note to let you know that I'm keeping up with your progress everyday

[demuralist]

Thanks!, how are you doing?

My N=1 experiment. 1. Cut way back on dairy and nightshades and -obviously- grains 2. take a flavorless shot of calories in the form of coconut oil middle of a 2 hour flavorless time span 3. take a 1 hour nap

Yesterday...not a successful day, I only managed the EVCO shot, no nap, and I had a small homemade pretzel (grain). Today is a new day.

We were supposed to have company last night, but they thought it was tonight, so they didn't show. But I had skipped my nap so I could clean and cook. I made small homemade soft pretzels for them to have with the homemade beer, and had one of those. And now they are coming tonight. Of course now I have no need to "taste" the finished pretzel (I don't really drink beer, so no problem there). I will take the nap today, the house is already clean.

I will continue reprinting these goals until they are ingrained in my head! I believe that following my n=1 tasks will make these much more likely.

VLC (net), moderate protein, high fat
No added sugars or flour
No restrictions, goals or limits on veggies
Eat only when physically hungry (tummy growling)
Eat mindfully


Sleep yesterday:
overnight 4:24
nap :00
total 4:24
Still shooting for a total of 6


STATS:

Calories: 1285
Carbs:38
Fat:100
Protein: 60
Fiber: 5 NET CARBS: 33
Sugar:20

Result:261.0 down another .2 but technically still maintenance. Still hopeful. Actually, if I could just lose .2 every single day that would be like 6 pounds a month, I would be thrilled with a loss every month!

Thankfulness: We live across from a small University. Last night (and every year the night before the 4th) they did a fireworks display, a very good one. We walked down the street and sat in the grass and watched. Before the show they do a concert with their student orchestra and singers (VERY GOOD). With the fireworks they play a montage of Freedom themed music. I cannot watch that and not be extremely thankful for living where I live...small town (within a city) in USA, and think of all of the sacrifices made by so many so that I can live here in Freedom. Very thankful indeed!

[demuralist]

My N=1 experiment. 1. Cut way back on dairy and nightshades and -obviously- grains 2. take a flavorless shot of calories in the form of coconut oil middle of a 2 hour flavorless time span 3. take a 1 hour nap/listen to meditation

Yesterday...not a successful day, While I managed the EVCO shot, and nap, my WTH attitude coupled with company and easily available junky food means that I did likely actually eat enough extra calories for the pound that I gained to be fat and not water weight. Today is a new day.

I will continue reprinting these goals until they are ingrained in my head! I believe that following my n=1 tasks will make these much more likely.

LC (net), moderate protein, high fat
No added sugars or flour
No restrictions, goals or limits on veggies
Eat only when physically hungry (tummy growling)
Eat mindfully


Sleep yesterday:
overnight 5:09
nap 1:04
total 6:13
Got the 6 hours, obviously did not help.


STATS: as best I can tell from what I remember and how I could figure out how to track it, most of it was homemade, not primal, not sugar free, not grain free, but totally yummy.

Calories: 2816
Carbs: 267
Fat: 170
Protein: 69
Fiber: 17
Sugar:127

Result:262.2 up 2.2

So after I ate all that I ate in the course of about 5 hours of nibbling, I felt physically like crap. Mentally I still was in a "WTH I deserve to let go every once in a while no one else is worried about it and they are all skinny, why should I worry" attitude. But physically my stomach was full, and it doesn't feel good like that, especially when I am trying to fall asleep. But no guilt or anything like that. Then this morning, even before I saw the scale, I just kept trying to figure out why I would do that to my self when it feels so crappy. Unfortunately, I didn't come up with an answer. The only thing that kept coming back to is that quote about 'if you always do what you have always done you will always get what you always got'. I know that dieting doesn't work, and yet I keep coming back to it. Why, FEAR that's why. I am afraid if I stop I will be even bigger. SH*T.

I checked the Paul McKenna book (I Can Make You Thin) from the library. When I listened to his meditation every afternoon, I was losing weight. I stopped listening to it because iTunes deleted it from my library for some reason when I was updating one of my very old iPods. I loaned the book and cd to someone, cannot remember who, so I checked it out of the library so I can reload it into iTunes, and make myself a copy (I will only loan out copies from now on). Hoping it will help me mentally again.

Thankfulness: I am thankful for my persistence and eternal hope and belief that I will figure this out, I will in the very near future be at my ideal weight.

[demuralist]

My N=1 experiment. 1. Cut way back on dairy and nightshades and -obviously- grains 2. take a flavorless shot of calories in the form of coconut oil middle of a 2 hour flavorless time span twice a day 3. take a 1 hour nap or listen to meditation

Yesterday...Well, I am not sure what to say about yesterday. I added a second shot of oil (Extra Light Olive Oil=ELOO) to my regimen. So ElOO in the morning and EVCO in the afternoon. I didn't do any other snacking during the day, and didn't want to. I made a lovely "milkshake/smoothie" type thing for lunch. Had a chicken breast with a homemade pineapple salsa on it, with a salad, and some cucumbers in a homemade sour cream/mayo sauce for dinner. Then, I had a 1/2 C of homemade ice cream, I sprinkled with cinnamon and a T of dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds.

So I had a bit of dairy, though way less than I was doing even a week ago. I had some nightshades, a few tomatoes pieces in the salsa, I had sugar, in a controlled portion of the ice cream.

I felt good. Had enough energy to do what I wanted, was able to stay out of the pantry, did not wipe my dinner plate clean, thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream, and did not focus on food all day. Pretty much the way I would like to live my life.

STATS:

Calories: 1794
Carbs: 73
Fat: 135
Protein: 100
Fiber: 15 Net Carbs: 58
Sugar:40


Result: 260.6 down 1.6 today.

Not sure what to do about the other goals I had set? What I really want to do is to live by the 4 Golden Rules of the McKenna Book...

1. Eat only when physically hungry
2. Eat only what I really want
3. Eat slowly, mindfully, consciously
4. Stop when I am no longer hungry

This represents to me a very healthy way to live with food. This worked when I worked it. I am thinking that by adding the tasteless oil regimen I can actually do it with less effort than I did last time.

And so, this is my something I have never done before, a personally worked out plan that is a combination of two other plans.

I will continue to eat real foods, and mostly primal. But full on Primal was not a magic bullet for me. It didn't make me feel amazingly better, and it didn't help me to lose weight, so it will not be the main emphasis of my lifestyle. Neither did counting calories, or VLC, or exercising, or any of the other hundreds of things I have tried. Only the McKenna system let me lose weight and feel great and well-normal. Let me take the emphasis off of food and diet and move it onto life. I am hoping that the addition of the oils will make it something I can sustain for life.


Sleep yesterday:
overnight 4:49
nap :45
total 5:34
close to 6, but not quite there yet.

Thankfulness: I am so very thankful for my BFF, it is a very rare occurrence in life to get to have a friend like my BFF, but that she is also married to a wonderful guy and that the 4 of us get along so well and have such a great time together is truly a blessing.

[demuralist]

I just saw this in a forum I was reading and it is just so clear headed I had to copy it....

"Appetite Lever ............ Strategy
Carbs................. Change amounts and/or composition (i.e. High G.I. to lower G.I.)

Protein ................. Change amounts and/or composition (i.e. avoid those that provoke an insulin response, like dairy for some people)

Fat ........................... Change amounts and/or composition(i.e. adding coconut oil decreases appetite for at least some people)

Flavor .............................. Decondition or reduce exposure using SLD, noseclipping, crazy-spicing or Todd's newly introduced Deconditioning Diet (I see FFC and CFF, avoiding ditto foods and crazy-spicing all as a form of deconditioning the brain from flavor)

Other sensory & social situations .................... Probably only something like Todd's Deconditioning Diet will help.

Timing................................. Try IF, changing the times you eat or spacing between meals (some people happier on less frequent meals, others on more frequent meals).

Food Allergies/sensitivities........................... Eliminate foods one by one to find the problem, add back those that don't cause problems; avoid artificial ingredients. Especially pay attention to this if you have other chronic problems like environmental allergies, asthma, acne, GI distress.

Adequate Nutrition .......................... Make sure you are getting what you need, including healthy bacteria. Deficiencies in macro nutrients (probably fat) or micro nutrients could increase appetite. (I have nothing to back up that statement, except that it seems logical to me.)

Sleep ........................................ Getting adequate sleep can reduce appetite and especially carb cravings.

Exercise .............................. Understand how different types and amounts of exercise can affect your appetite.

Stress ..................................... Find non-food ways to ameliorate problematic stress.


I think everyone needs to experiment with these levers until they find the combination that is right for them as an individual. For me, flavor and smells do not have much effect on my appetite, I eat less in social situations and less frequent meals reduces appetite, but food allergies and carbs are big triggers for me. I have learned this by experimenting with different ideas and diets. I have also learned that the strategy must address the correct problem. Weight watchers was not effective for me because they focus on total calorie reduction, standard dietary advice and behavior modification - not what I needed. In fact, I think that whole grain foods may even make me sicker than highly processed grains. This is obviously not the case for everyone. SLD (Shangri-La Diet) methods didn't work for me because I do not have a strong flavor-appetite association. Low carb Paleo does work for me because it reduces exposure to food allergens, gets the macro combination right for me (fat cal 70%, protein 20%, carb 10%) and easily fits into my lifestyle.

Patience and being attentive to how various foods/strategies make you feel will eventually pay off. Feeling down on yourself for slipping up is not necessary. I have come to believe that overwhelming cravings are not due to lack of "will power" - but physiological responses to food and environment that must be identified and dealt with. For years I felt like a diet failure when it was really the diet that was failing me. "

This puts very concisely why some strategies work for some and not for others, and how to work at figuring out your own strategy. Interesting.

[demuralist]

My N=1 experiment. 1. Cut way back on dairy and nightshades and -obviously- grains 2. take a flavorless shot of calories in the form of coconut oil or Olive oil in the middle of a 2 hour flavorless time span twice a day 3. take a 1 hour nap or listen to meditation

Yesterday...Again, I am not sure what to say about the day. I had the shot of ELOO in the morning, and the shot of EVCO in the afternoon. I listened to a 30 minute meditation (cd from the McKenna book) instead of taking a nap. I had a wonderful shake/smoothie for lunch, greek yogurt (just had a hankerin) sprinkled with dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds as a snack, dinner was a salad with homemade strawberry vinaigrette, and had a small bowl of icecream sprinkled with chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Not exactly anything to write home about as far as following a "diet plan", except I did only eat when I was hungry and what I was really hungry for.

Again...I felt good. Had enough energy to do what I wanted, was able to stay out of the pantry, did not wipe my dinner plate clean, thoroughly enjoyed the ice cream, and did not focus on food all day. Pretty much the way I would like to live my life.

I think that as I look as the quote in the previous post, the reason that the "fat shots" may be working for me is that they are giving me a bit of energy, and I do seem to have a strong flavor-appetite association. I often become hungry because I think of something yummy (rarely healthy) that is sitting in the pantry. So I am interested to see how this is going to work. With the icecream last night, I was not really hungry, but I wanted the icecream. I scooped out, literally, the 1/2C that is considered a serving, sprinkled it, and savored every bite. Did not go back for more, or feel deprived because I had such a small amount.

I am cautiously optimistic.

STATS:

Calories: 2115
Carbs: 113
Fat: 157
Protein: 78
Fiber: 24 Net Carbs: 89
Sugar:75


Result: 259.8 that is down .8, interesting.

My Golden Rules:

1. Eat only when physically hungry
2. Eat only what I really want
3. Eat slowly, mindfully, consciously
4. Stop when I am no longer hungry
5. shots of tasteless oil in the middle of 2 hour flavorless time window

Sleep yesterday:
overnight 5:40
meditation :30
total 6:10

Thankfulness: It is the weekend, and I have the supplies I need to work on my 1950's patio set, I am sooooo excited!

[RMS123]

I'm going to check out the McKenna book again myself. What you described is how I want to live. It's how I see naturally thin people approach food...and I plan to be a "naturally thin" person

[demuralist]

My thoughts exactly. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel confident I will become a naturally thin person, sooner rather than later even.

I am going to make a copy of the cd (I lent out my copy and iTunes swallowed the one I had on there from when I bought the book). I actually like doing the meditation better than taking a nap, I don't wake up as groggy and it takes way less time.

[demuralist]

My N=1 experiment. 1. Cut way back on dairy and nightshades and -obviously- grains 2. take a flavorless shot of calories in the form of coconut oil or Olive oil in the middle of a 2 hour flavorless time span twice a day 3. take a 1 hour nap or listen to meditation

Yesterday...This is interesting, yesterday I did manage to stay away from any snacking either before or after dinner. But, I got up after I had eaten my dinner and had seconds. I never do that, and unfortunately I did it although I was not hungry, I just wanted to eat it. I had eggs and broccoli slaw for my dinner, but made Trader Joes Mandarin Chicken and Sweet Potato fries for the rest of the family. Maybe a part of me felt deprived? My second plate was a very small version of their plates.

Again...I felt good. Had enough energy to do what I wanted, was able to stay out of the pantry, and did not focus on food all day. Pretty much the way I would like to live my life.

One of the things I believe is that weight loss is about calories in vs. calories out. But not in the conventional sense. I think that the fluctuation is much larger than we think it is and I don't think the calorie number is knowable. I believe that is why we have physical hunger and physical satiety. I think that when you listen to the body and don't let the brain and emotions take over that your body will take you to the weight that is the best for your survival.

Of course, that is way easier said than done, for a huge variety of reasons that we fight with on a regular basis.

I am cautiously optimistic, that using the flavorless windows will help me to get there.

Today I will still do the ELOO and EVCO followed with 1 liter of water, but I will add 1tsp xylitol (I saw that this is supposed to help with osteopenea so it is worth adding).

STATS:

Calories: 1529
Carbs: 41
Fat: 126
Protein: 64
Fiber: 8 Net Carbs: 33
Sugar: 8


Result: 260.0 up .2, maintenance really

My Golden Rules:

1. Eat only when physically hungry
2. Eat only what I really want
3. Eat slowly, mindfully, consciously
4. Stop when I am no longer hungry
5. shots of tasteless oil in the middle of 2 hour flavorless time window

Sleep yesterday:
overnight 5:51
meditation :10 (my battery died)
total 6:01

Thankfulness: friends! This afternoon I have a buddy coming over so we can work on our DDs's t-shirt quilts. I am pretty sure if she wasn't pushing me along, I would never get it done!

[RMS123]

"But, I got up after I had eaten my dinner and had seconds. I never do that, and unfortunately I did it although I was not hungry, I just wanted to eat it. I had eggs and broccoli slaw for my dinner, but made Trader Joes Mandarin Chicken and Sweet Potato fries for the rest of the family. Maybe a part of me felt deprived?" I'm generally very satisfied with what I make/eat. Sometimes, though, I make things for the family I don't choose to eat (e.g., yesterday I made the family banana protein pancakes). Sometimes, even if I know it's my choice, I feel deprived. If that goes on long enough, then I dive into things that are less optimal. Gotta figure out that balance.

I totally agree with you on the calorie thing!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful day today!