Moxie's Primal Journal page

[moxie]

I started the Primal lifestyle about 7 weeks ago. I’m 24 years old and I'm 5’8” and was 266lbs.

I went to get on a roller coaster at a theme park, and I could just barely fit in the seat, it only clicked once. It sounds like a weird situation, but it really made me realize that I was a lot further down the path of being a tub of lard than I wanted to admit.

When I started I threw myself into this lifestyle 100% and since then I have dropped 20 pounds and I’m already feeling more better about myself and more energized throughout the day.

I ordered the Primal Blueprint and after reading it I hopped online and bought fish oil, probiotics and vitamin d supplements. I also bought a pair of Vibram Five Finger classics that I wear every day instead of sandals. I’m looking into buying a pair of KSO Trek’s that look a bit fancier to wear to work since I am on my feet all day.

Below are my goals and what I expect to gain from going primal.

GOALS:
I made a $500 bet with a friend as to who could lose the most weight. We are of similar height and build so we aren't getting too fancy. I was losing by 2lbs at our last weigh in, but at this point I don't even really care about winning the bet.

I figure I could have spent about the same amount, if not more on a trainer. And $500 is a small price to pay to get my life together.

Short Term Goals (By Christmas 2011):
Weight - I started on July 26th at 266.6lbs. I would like to be down to 226lbs by Christmas - a 40 pound drop and the lightest I will have been since 2007.

Clothing - Currently I squeeze into most 2XL shirts and wear size 38 pants. I am hoping to fit comfortably into most XL shirts and size 36 pants by Christmas.

Mid-Term Goals (By July 2012)
Weight - I would like to be under 200lbs by July 1st, 2012 - losing 66.6lbs total.

Clothing - At this point I would like to be wearing just Large shirts and fit into size 34 jeans. I have not worn clothes this size since 2005, my senior year of high school.

Build
At this point I would like my build to be much more trim. My main goal is to develop enough muscle definition to develop actual pectoral muscles and to lose my man-boobs. I've had practically no pectoral definition as long as I can remember, even back to middle school.

Long-Term Goals (By Christmas 2012)
Weight - 175lbs for total loss of just under 100lbs.

I have no idea how realistic this goal is in terms of actual fat loss. If it would be too skinny for my height, etc. I have not been this skinny since my freshman year of high school, however I plan to have much more muscle at this point.

[moxie]

July 26th - Present

Food:
I started out by throwing away everything that wasn’t considered primal in my pantry and fridge. This was hard because I had just gone grocery shopping but I still tossed out all the popcorn and granola bars, beans, etc.

I then went shopping and cooked up a crockpot recipe (pulled pork) from the MDA site and when it was done I prepped out all of my meals for the week individual containers.

I also cooked up some eggs and veggies to eat in the morning. I do this every night before bed so I can just pop it in the microwave in the morning.

Fitness:
I dropped 20 pounds and plateaued for a week or two so now I am doing the Primal Fitness plan as well and I’ve noticed my weight loss slowly pick back up.

My new goal is to life heavy things in the gym at least 3 times a week and play basketball at least 3 times a week as well.

Lifting is tough because I am nursing a sub-luxated shoulder. I did the physical therapy for two months and noticed no improvement, and I did the MRI which came back clean. It is just weak and I don’t know why - so unfortunately I can’t do as much as I would like.

[moxie]

So here is what I had today to eat. I've been trying to keep better track of this...

Breakfast:
Two Eggs w/ diced veggies (onions, green peppers, tomatoes)
Two Slices of Bacon
Two Sausage Links

Lunch:
Pulled Pork w/ Primal BBQ sauce
Apple

Dinner:
Protein Shake (post- gym)
Buffalo Chicken Cutlets (crockpotted)
Apple
Almonds
1 whole carrot
1 serving of organic 85% dark chocolate

I know I need to add more veggies to my diet. Normally on days I work out I have a sweet potato, but I have a project deadline for work that I had to push through and didn't have time to make one.

Also, for lunch I usually will have some celery with almond butter with my lunch but I forgot to bring it today. I need to figure out an effective way to prep and bring salads to work.

I was weak over the weekend and I ate 3 slices of pizza on Saturday. After 7 weeks of primal/paleo, I felt sick almost immediately afterwards (like 30 minutes) - I definitely won't be doing that again, though I'm not going to lie - it tasted delicious.

Fitness:
I've been trying to get to the gym more and I've gone twice this week (Sunday and today, Monday). Just doing basic lifts and a lot of lightweight rehab for my shoulder.

I considered today more of a play day, I only did some bicep exercises and then I played about a half hour of full court basketball. At one point I had actually gotten pretty good but haven't played in 6 months and my game has definitely diminished.

I really want to get in the pool and do some swimming to give my shoulder a break - but the pool in the gym has been under repair for weeks. It was supposed to be done last Friday, and I went in on Sunday to find out it would be ready today. Went in today to find that it had been delayed until the end of the week. Guess I'll just keep playing bball until then.

RESULTS:
I have been trying to find some before shots of me shirtless, I know I took them I just can figure out where I put them. I have such a weird build - I've never really seen anyone my height/weight lose fat successfully. I'm 5'8" and started at 266.6lbs - now I'm down to 246.6lbs. Unfortunately most of it was water weight so my physical appearance hasn't changed too much.

I did measure myself with a tape measure though and I have lost...
*Two inches around my navel
*One inch around my actual waist/hips.
*One inch around bicep

I was squeezing into size 38 pants before, but now I'm they are fitting a little bit looser. Still want to get back down to the 34's I wore in high school. I'm hoping to fit comfortably into most XL shirts and size 36 pants by Christmas.

[Hedonist]

Welcome Moxie. Your plan seems reasonable to me. I want to see you in Mark's Success Stories series!

[moxie]

Hedonist - Thank you for taking the time to respond to me!

I'm glad to know my plan sounds reasonable - I figured I would just set the bar high if it comes down to it I end up losing a bunch of weight but don't hit my goal - I still can't complain about being healthy.

--------

Today was rough at work. I worked a solid 16 hours today and came home exhausted.

Here is the food breakdown:

Breakfast:
-Three Eggs (I forgot to add the veggies, was in a rush!)
-3 Bacon Strips
-2 Sausage Links

Lunch:
-Pulled Pork w/ Homemade BBQ Sauce
-Apple

Dinner:
-PB&J Burger - 1/2lb Angus Burger w/ almond butter and orange marmalade (not exactly primal I know)
-Bowl of Primal Beanless Chili
- Coleslaw

Wanted to play some basketball today - but I definitely didn't get as much as I would have liked accomplished. Work is killing me, but on Thursday I will be back to my normal schedule.

I will tune in tomorrow!

[moxie]

I had quite an interesting day today, full of ups and downs.

Sleep:
I had trouble sleeping for the first time since I started Primal. I think it might be because I snacked on some fruit (strawberries and blueberries) about a half hour before I went to bed.

I went to sleep at 10pm and woke up at 2:15am FREAKING OUT thinking I was late for work. I finally calmed down and fell back asleep and then I dreamed about being late for work and how I was going to deal with it until I woke up again at 4:30am FREAKING OUT thinking I was late.

I finally fell back asleep and woke up at my normal time, but I definitely haven't tossed and turned that much in a while. Maybe it is like Mark mentions in the primal blueprint, where our ancestors had different sleep patterns.

Food:
Today was my worst food day in a while.

Breakfast:
I woke up this morning and I felt satisfied, I wasn't very hungry at all. I had a few berries and took my breakfast to work to eat for lunch.

Big Mistake.

Lunch:
By the time lunch rolled around I was starving. To top it off I had to supervise lunch duty today which delayed my lunch even longer. I ended up breaking and having a few pieces of candy (3 now and laters and 2 packs of smarties). Not my proudest moment, but at least I didn't eat a whole bag.

For lunch I was going to eat my breakfast I had packed but ended up being given a Taco Salad from the cafeteria that I ended up eating - Lettuce, Tomatoes, Sour Cream, and Ground Beef.

Dinner:
For dinner, I went out with some friends to an all you can eat Hibachi Buffet.

It was awesome. You picked out whatever you wanted and they grilled it up on the flat top right in front of you. I had two large plates with...

Chicken, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, Some Green Leaf (Kale?), Onions, Green Peppers, and Zucchini.

It was incredibly primal and incredibly delicious - there was only one downfall. I am pretty sure they used some sort of vegetable/canola oil to cook it up.

For dessert I had a large plate of fresh fruit that included...

Pineapple, Banana's, Strawberries, Peaches, Kiwi, Canteloupe, Melon, Watermelon, and Grapes.

It tasted incredible. I also took a bite of a brownie and then spit it out just to show it who's boss. Suck it brownie.

Snack:

My dinner was a little early and I went to the gym afterwards to play basketball and do some shoulder rehab exercises, so when I got home I had a protein shake and a leftover pork chop.

Until next time

[moxie]

I woke up again this morning and I just wasn't hungry again. Is this normal? Maybe just my appetite finally readjusting after years of shoveling food down my throat?

Food:

Breakfast:
Organic Apple

Lunch:
This was my breakfast from the other day I never ate
3 Eggs
3 strips of bacon
2 sausage links

Snack:
Organic Peach

Dinner:
For dinner I made Turkey Kabob's using a recipe from the Primal Blueprint Cookbook, they are on the grill right now!

-Turkey Kabobs
-Sweet Potato

----------------------------------------------
Fitness:

Relaxing day today! I am planning on going to my first yoga class tonight at 7pm at my gym.

If the pool is finally open I plan on swimming some laps, otherwise I might just play basketball.

[catholicchick]

Hi Moxie,

I like that you put down your goals. They look realistic. It makes me realize that this is something that I need to do too to be held accountable - if to no one else but myself. Keep up the good work!

[moxie]

catholicchick,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my journal!

I look forward to checking out your own journal and reading through your goals - that way you'll be somewhat accountable to me as well =)

[moxie]

Incredibly busy today and extremely tired so this post will be quick!

Breakfast: Organic Banana

Lunch: Left over carrots and broccoli

Dinner: brisket, collard greens, green beans, bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese.