Going Wild (Drssgchic) page

[drssgchic]

Hi.

I've been lurking here since April of 2010, and I have learned a whole lot. However, I think I've learned about as much as I can without actually interacting. It's also time to start giving back, considering how much I've gotten from you folks. So let me start by saying "Thanks!"

I don't know exactly what will be covered in this journal. Probably random ramblings, mostly. However, I've fallen off the wagon, hard, a couple of times, and I think actually interacting with people who understand the pain of finding a quick lunch that also qualifies as edible will help me get back on and stay on.

In the meantime- initial thoughts running through my head right now:

I just got back from my first horsepacking trip ever- two weeks in Wyoming. Loved it. But one of the instructors said something that didn't quite sit right. When discussing the wildlife, she said that we are guests in the land, and that we don't belong there. I agree that we were guests in the Wind River Range, and therefore should treat the residents with respect. However, we are guests because we have chosen to remove ourselves from that place. It's not that we can't live there. It's that we have chosen not to. Hence the name of the journal. Being Primal is one step in the journey I have chosen to undertake to deliberatly go wild.

Thoughts, musings, and suggestions are welcome!

[drssgchic]

A little more about me:

I started PB and did great. I lost 30 pounds in 6 months. My mood was remarkably stable considering how busy we were at work and my incompatibility with my then boss. My acne was clearing up, I had lots of energy- I even felt like running. I hate to run. I bought VFFs (I grew up practically barefoot- going back to that made sense) and love them- even if I didn't get the size quite right.

This lasted until around September or October of last year and then I started falling off the wagon. My seasonal affective disorder accompanied by an absurdly long "busy season" at work and a boss that drove me batty (and not in a good way, like MDA's Batty) conspired to keep me on sugar and coffee just "to get me through." Add 10#.

I (finally) moved to Colorado in mid-June and loved the sun and walking available to me. Keeping in mind the eating guidelines, I lost 6#. However, between going back on the phones for customer service (it was the only way to move and keep my employer- even though I hate it) and the general "new city, no friends" issues, I have regained that weight.

I have dysthemia and SAD and they're getting the best of me right now. However, I'm back in a (more or less) writing department, and I'm no longer stressing out about the pack trip, so it's time to tackle those issues. I intend to get my hands on The Mood Cure (12 says you're low seratonin. I scored 36. Does that mean I won?) and other books to see what I can do about tackling this myself. I am also not going to do what I did last night which is look at the wagon, look at the hard ground off of it, and decide to step off anyway. I will be reading through these forums since I know there's a lot of good information out here. I would be very grateful for any feedback that you all might be willing to give.

Yesterday:
B- bacon and cheese omelette, coffee, half and half, coconut oil (in the coffee)
L- Salted Caramel Latte from Starbucks. Meh- not impressed.
S- chocolate Almond Butter, Tanka bites
D- Half a bag of Parmisan potato chips (the good kind, just potatos, parmisan and sunflower oil), berries and keifer, two slices of cheesecake, two (pretty awful) wine coolers, rumplemintz and sparkling water.

On the up side- I got in about 3 miles of moving slowly when I walked to the grocery store to buy the off-plan foods. Also- from a SAD (Standard American Diet) point of view- that wasn't a terrible dinner. Not good- but it could have been worse. I'm still tickled that I now consider sweet gerkins to be a "cheat." After all, doesn't McDonalds consider them a vegetable?

Today-
B- Bacon and cheese omelette, coffee, half and half, a little coconut oil.
At least I seem to start well . . .

[drssgchic]

I was talking to my mom last night and she mentioned that one of her co-workers was impressed with how well she "nourished herself" with her lunch. A salad, plus meaty leftovers, would look pretty impressive. She's been off wheat for a few months now (Yep, totally taking credit for that) so it wasn't just a sandwich- and she's a gardener, so I bet at least parts of the salad are right out of the ground.

That got me thinking. Maybe part of the problem with getting back on this horse is that I'm not celebrating the food any more. A grass-fed burger and kale is good- but it can get monotonous after a few . . . months. So I need to get back to celebrating and exploring everything I can eat- since there is so much to choose from!

B- Bacon and cheese omelette, coffee, half and half, coconut oil
L- grande latte
D- Herb-rubbed steak, sweet potato fried in coconut oil and cinnamon, glass of red wine, glass of Italian soda (heavy cream, sparkling water, vanilla)

[drssgchic]

B- Bacon and Gouda sans cibatta, grande latte, coconut oil
L- Half a Double Pork Wrapped Chicken Breast, tea, half and half, coconut oil
D- 3-egg scramble, bacon
S- Tall Hot cocoa- ok, not primal, but I needed it so I wouldn't be yawning through the local search and rescue meeting. Great people- definate possibility!

I think I'll be going down to the gym to see if they can put together a lifting routine. I need more incentive than "look good naked" to get fit- but keeping up with the guys on a search and rescue team- good incentive!

[drssgchic]

Well, I might not be getting any direct feedback from you guys, but knowing I'd have to post it here stopped me from getting fries and a sundae with dinner last night. Didn't stop the wine and chocolate- but at least that was red and dark. The accountability is good.

B- Bacon and Cheese omelette, coffee, half and half, coconut oil
L- Vanilla Roobios Tea Latte sans syrup- very good!
S- Tanka Bites
D- Red Robin Royal Burger in lettuce with a (sad) side salad instead of fries
S- Italian soda, red wine, dark chocolate chips

What is it with me surprising people yesterday? At Starbucks the barista asked what kind of milk I wanted or if 2% was ok. "Whole, please." "Really? Ok." (note to self- specify whole milk in the future) At the gym, the guy was clarifying what I was looking for in the weight-lifting routine- "Fat loss, muscle gain?" "Muscle gain." "So you want to tone up some?" "No- I want to build muscle." "Oh? Ok!" Yes, the chick in the skirt and heels with extra insulation wants to have muscles, too. I specified a short, multi-joint, heavy-weighted routine. Curious to see what he'll have for me today . . .

[drssgchic]

Just came back from my first effort at lifting weights. I got a simple program and I think I understand all of the moves (more research to be done now that I know the names of the moves). What I don't understand is why I kind of floored one of the other staff members- not the one that gave me the program- by lifting heavy weights and low reps.

I couldn't find the guy that wrote it, so I stuck my head in the office of the woman on duty, since I figured she would know whether I ought to be doing the sets together or in a circut.
"Why are you doing low reps and heavy weight?" Polite, but perplexed.
"I want to build muscle and I get bored easily." So, can you answer my question?
"But most women . . ." Trails off
"I know I'm working out like a guy."
Genuinely perplexed expression. "You'll want to do the sets together, not as a circut. You know, most women build muscle and tone up, um, differently . . ."
I'm not doing this to "tone up." I want to be able to throw a western saddle onto a horse that may be nearly as tall as I am and then mount said horse without undue discomfort for either of us. Barbie dumbells ain't gonna make that happen. What I don't get is that men and women are not so very different that what works for one wouldn't work for the other. I mean, could I really be the only woman in the gym that lifts heavy? Oh- wait . . . *shrug*

B- Bacon and cheese omelette, coffee, half and half, coconut oil
L- Fresh fruit cup and cottage cheese- cause, you know, I'd worked out- and cheese and salami

[drssgchic]

D- Fruit, keifer, and cream, the last of the chips, the last two wine coolers
S- Hot cocoa (cream, hot water, chocolate) and Rumplemintz

It was a bad allergy day- but i did manage to get some time in sunning and more reading. I hate taking daily pills- but I'm about to start taking a small pharmacy's worth every day. Here's hoping the Mood Cure works- that many supplements ain't cheap.

Throughout the day- 2 eggs and bacon, tea with coconut creamer, several tall chocolate italian sodas, kombucha, orange soda (real sugar, not HFCS), hamburger, super smoothie (probiotic), bison shank steak.

[winencandy]

Well, I might not be getting any direct feedback from you guys, but knowing I'd have to post it here stopped me from getting fries and a sundae with dinner last night. Didn't stop the wine and chocolate- but at least that was red and dark. The accountability is good.

Knowing I had to post has stopped me multiple times...not every time...but most times...

Wine & Chocolate is PB

[Hedonist]

Welcome. Happy you joined the conversation.

[drssgchic]

Holy cow, ohmigod, and how has the FDA not banned this stuff? I've been on enough anti-depressants in the past to say that nothing has worked like a simple little supplement! Ok- a small pharmaceutical regeime at the moment- but it's just supplements! I was checking my doses yesterday and when I got them right- the sky was blue! the sun was out! (I live in Colorado- do you know how gray you have to be to miss those little details?) I have never had anything work that fast on me- or that well! So, yeah, I'm keeping this up for a while before I mail the book to my family to make sure it's not a fluke. However, the fact that I'm not unhappy that I don't have coffee this morning is . . . encouraging. Even though I have to still adjust the doses for sleep.

Thank you for the hellos! And winencandy- I'm not gonna lie- being able to keep wine, and bacon, and cream, and having an excuse to buy the good chocolate is a big part of why I tried this in the first place. When it turned out that it worked- well, that's why I'm trying it again!

B- eggs in bacon fat
L- Carl's Jr Western burger sans bun and onion rings, cottage cheese
D- half a crustless quiche recipe as a scramble with cheese and spinach (leftovers from cooking my work team breakfast for Tuesday.)