Pamby's Primal Journal - 30 Day Challenge 2011 page

[Pamby]

Hi, I'm Pamby. I live in Houston, I just turned 44, and have been practicing Paleo for about 5 months or so. Except for the last couple of months. I've really been eating garbage at work - donuts, cupcakes, cake, cookies...see a common theme there?

I am very much like a drug addict when it comes to sweet baked/fried goods. One day before Paleo, I ate four donuts. I would have had five if it was just me and the donuts. I wasn't hungry and didn't feel too good after the third one but I craved that taste and texture in my mouth no matter how I felt. I imagine my craving for sugar and highly refined carbs like that is very similar to a drug addict looking for that "one great high" that never is that "great" or "high".

When I first started Paleo, I really cut back on all of the sweets and now "limit" myself to two donuts. (ha! I KNOW how crazy that sounds!) But I don't beat myself up for indulging in crap from time to time and remind myself that Mark advises that you shoot for 100% Paleo knowing that you won't always make it. Just be mindful of eating clean the next day.

The last couple of months have been pretty stressful for me so I let things slack, even after dropping two pants sizes!!! I haven't quite gained any full pants size back yet but I will if I don't get serious about feeding my body sensibly again.

I LOVE eating Paleo! I never feel deprived or hungry or anything like it. Instead, I feel like I'm eating like royalty. A bowl of berries with some almonds over the top for dessert feels like complete luxury and decadence. Decadence that doesn't make you feel like a bloated slug afterwards.

The other great thing is that I can actually tell when I'm done eating before I'm stuffed full like when I ate/eat conventional foods. For years I've read how you need to stop eating before you're completely full. I had no idea what that felt like. I don't seem to feel satiety from the modern diet. I do feel completely bloated or over stuffed after eating that food but not until I've eaten more than one serving. I thought "feeling satisfied before full" was some sort of skill you had to learn.

I was successful one year losing about 30 pounds or so by tracking every calorie in and every calorie out. I felt pretty good, looked really good, and once I changed jobs, couldn't keep up with the minutia of logging everything and slowly put all the weight back on.

With Paleo, my body shed 5 pounds in about 10 days and I ended up getting nearly to my goal weight after losing 15 pounds. I dropped two pants sizes.

But that wasn't the most amazing thing. The most amazing stuff was how much more I was enjoying food, how great I felt, and the amazing focus I had at work!!

So my plan for getting back on track this next month is to start reading the Primal Blueprint book every day to stay inspired and relearn some of the scientific facts, get adequate sleep every night, and start exercising regularly again.

It's interesting how I had already decided to rededicate myself to this superior way of life just this morning well before I saw Mark's 30-Day Challenge. Great timing!

So far today, I slipped with a stupid mini reece's peanut butter cup. But I did resist cupcakes and fudge in the break room - so big win there! Both breakfast and lunch were pure paleo. Dinner is almost always Paleo so I don't expect anything different there.

Good luck to all on this challenge AND for succeeding well beyond the next 30-days.

Thanks, Mark for bringing this way of life to so many people! It has completely changed me!

pamby

Day One
bfast - Primal
lunch - Primal
dinner - Primal
- candy

[LexxyV86]

Yikes your break room sounds like a disaster! You should see if you can post the 30 day challenge poster in there or maybe introduce a plan at work for having healthy snacks in the break room??? Or maybe you can put Grok everywhere! Make it a primal conspiracy against those cakes and such!!! lol! I wish you luck and success

[Pamby]

Yikes your break room sounds like a disaster! You should see if you can post the 30 day challenge poster in there or maybe introduce a plan at work for having healthy snacks in the break room??? Or maybe you can put Grok everywhere! Make it a primal conspiracy against those cakes and such!!! lol! I wish you luck and success

Yeah, the amount of home baked goodies that get brought here is quite large. No way am I bringing in any plans or suggestions like the ones you suggest (although I think they are great ideas) into my office. I'm the office manager and sent out an email once about replacing one of the three artificial sweetners with a stevia substitute instead and explained what stevia was. Five minutes later I have the head of HR having a serious talk to me about how I need to be more "sensitive" about emails like that, that people felt like I thought I was the "food police". (I seriously doubted that anyone who read the email actually thought that or got up and went to her office to mention that). Her suggestion was just to switch it out without saying anything. uh.....whatever. Anyway, I'm letting the pudgies carry on. Not my job.

[Pamby]

Day Two:

I've been eating clean all day! yay! I've also upped my water intake, which I really need.

Still struggling to make myself go to bed on time. I think it's mostly because I want to spend more time with me rather than care how I'll feel the next day at work. Work is not my best friend lately. Not getting enough sleep is completely counter productive to myself and what I want to accomplish each day but even knowing that hasn't really changed my behavior. ugh.

Stuck my eBook in my bag so I can take a break and read some Blueprint motivation all day.

[A Pink Lady]

It sounds like we have a quite a bit in common. We're the same age. I've strayed from primal eating but I've gained weight. I'm working on getting off. I decided to get back on track and found out about the 30 Day Challege a few days later.

Wishing you lots of success on your challenge.

[Pamby]

Hi A Pink Lady,

I slipped this morning with three homemade cookies. Almond Spice - It's sad how easily I just grab and eat things like that. But there you go. When I lost weight the last time I was "primalling" the majority of the time and lost 15lbs. I still ate cookies and stuff when they showed up in the office. If I'd been able to resist those things even more, I probably would have made my goal weight (5 or so more pounds). Good thing I'll be looking for a new job soon! I don't bring/make stuff like that in my house even before I started PB. But I sure am a sucker them.

last night, I'm proud to say, I resisted making popcorn for dinner. My cupboard is bare and I didn't go to the grocery store. I had a snack of some plain greek yogurt instead. That was enough. So not the best but not the worst either. Definitely going to the grocery store tonight!!

Keep in touch, I'll favorite your journal. We can help each other stay accountable.

pamby

[Pamby]

Goals:

1. Lose fat
2. Get toned
3. Ride my bike a lot more
4. Try out road and mountain bike racing next spring
5. Get a fabulous boyfriend - I think looking better and feeling better both because of being more comfortable in my body and all the mental benefits of eating primally will definitely boost my confidence and interest in meeting new people.