Be Strong to Be Useful page

[pktrainer]

This motto, which happens to be the motto for parkour, has motivated me to become the best I can be in terms of health and fitness. I wanted to start this journal to keep myself accountable, probably just like everyone else. I also hope to meet some like minded people who can help me become more knowledgeable about Primal eating.

I'm a nurse aid and full time student, which makes affording all the food a little bit of a struggle, though my portions will probably be down from necessity. I've gained about 20 lbs in the past 2 years, mainly going through the death of my mother, a major move, new job, trying to keep my grades up, and work enough to pay my rent. I started at about 113lbs and 17% body fat, which I was comfortable with, but now I'm 127 and 28% body fat. I've lost a few lbs already but I'd wish it was fat! Also I'm a chick, that's why I think 17% is good lol.

I used to run but I do not really do that as much anymore. I'm now doing cross fit about 2xs a week and parkour whenever I can, which ends up being more like play then a serious workout. My job always keeps me moving and on my feet, not to mention the occasional full grown person I lift.

My personal challenge is going to be an initial 30 day total experiment. I haven't gotten the book yet but I ordered it so hopefully I'll know all the little details I'm missing soon when it arrives.

My diet today:
B- protien shake, coffee
S-bacon
L-spinage, mushroom, tomato, and bacon mini quiche.
D- pork stuffed peppers.

I'm in kind of a fog right now but I have been for a couple of months now so that's really nothing new. I'm hoping that this diet really helps improve my mental concentration along with athletic performance.

[pktrainer]

So according to this site, my body fat is really:

You have 18.6% body fat.

You have 23.6 Pounds of fat and 103.4 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water).

Which while it isn't extremely accurate, makes more sense to me than the one above, and its really probably somewhere in between. While by CW I think I'm doing good, there is always room for improvement right?

[pktrainer]

So today was very long and a great test of my dedication to this lifestyle. I worked from 6-3:30pm, then I had to quickly jet over to school until about 8 ad now I'm home.
The day started off great, I weighed myself ad I was the lowest I've been in about a year, which was very inspiring, even though I'm sure t was just an initial reaction to the change in diet, coupled with my cross fit workout.
At work I had to avoid the vending machines, which I did, which is a major accomplishment for me since my sweet tooth is terrible. Strangely that wasn't really too hard.
After work I had to stop and get gas and I avoided the pitfalls of the convenience store, and instead got a large coffee with cream. Normally I would get gummy bears as well, lol.
Went to school and stayed the course even though I was starving cause I haven't gotten the whole portion size thing down yet, but I figure it's better to wait until I get home then cram a candy bar in my face.

Anyway, here is my diet breakdown:
B-2 Bacon, tomato, mushroom, and spinach mini quiches.
L-Pecan crusted chicken strips with homemade tomato and olive oil sauce.
S-almonds, pistachios, and beef jerky
D-Pork stuffed peppers

I wish I would of had more veggies besides just the peppers, I think that would have helped avoid the hunger a little more by adding bulk. I should of turned lunch into a large salad.

Well, I'm about to pull an all nighter for school and go to crossfit at 5:30am so here's hoping I can stick with it!

[shelynne62]

Wow, you sure are handling a lot right now. I admire your determination. I too just started my primal journey and have posted my 1st journal entry. I am an RN, so I can feel your pain about running your arse off and lifting heavy things all day. I work 12 hour shifts and don't sit down for more than 30 minutes (lunch). I wish you luck in school (nursing?) and in your primal journey as well.

[pktrainer]

Hey shelynne62, thanks for the positive feedback, I was beginning to think that no one was reading this, lol. Being an RN is a hard, and sometimes unrewarding career path and I commend anyone who takes that up! Do you work in a nursing home? That's where I work which isn't bad just heavy lifting like I'm sure you know all about!
I'm actually in school for history and am writing my final paper on the history of nursing during WW1, but I think after I graduate this spring I'm going to go back and get my BSN since my work will pay for it and its only two years. A little more job security is always nice and they're always hiring nurses!
And good luck on your journey as well, even though you may have been at it longer than me, I suppose the journey isn't ever truly over.

[pktrainer]

So I've been really good about my diet these past two days. 10/20 started off with a cross fit class than a full day of school followed by meeting up an old friend who was in town for dinner at Bws. I forgot to pack my lunch and just had a few snacks on me, so I ended up eating out for both lunch and dinner. Given my options however, I think I made the best choices possible.
I got about 4 hours sleep last night and went to work early this morning at 6am, and forgot my lunch again.( I left it sitting on my counter!) So I had the choice of either fasting or picking the healthiest thing out of the vending machine. In my experience I know that if I go too long without eating I tend to binge on lots of sweets, so I chose the vending machine option.
After work I left to go to the Indiana Historical Societies library and examine a scrapbook that's over 100 years old and a diary that's about the same from nurses in WW1, which pretty much made my day.
Finally I came home, had a couple glasses of red wine, ate a decent dinner, and am trying to type up a 20 page rough draft. Tomorrow and Sunday I am working 16 hour shifts so I know I need to prepare my meals in advance and not forget them!
I know that next semester I am switching to 2nd shift at my job and for me this means that I can take up crossfit classes 5 days a week before school and not have to be up by 5am every single day including weekends. The idea of sleep and not being on constant caffeine overload sounds amazing and I'm hoping that I'll finally be able to break the addiction!

Anyway, 10/20
B- 2 bananas, chocolate protein shake
S-almonds
L-BAS with lots of olive oil dressing and no meat, mainly because it made it cost more, lol
S-pistachios, beef jerky
D-side salad with vinegar dressing and plain chicken.
I also drank about 5 cups of coffee with either half and half or almond milk.

10/21
B-2 bananas
L-beef jerky, almonds
S-beef jerky, nuts w/o peanuts
D-red wine, pork stuffed peppers
I had about a pot of coffee on this day as well
The jerky I think is the best choice out of a vending machine or convenience store, if anyone can think of anything better let me know. My goal for this month is to eat completely healthy, and I defiantly do not wanna ruin that by going without so long I eat something completely terrible. I do concede however that this beef jerky isn't the healthiest out there as there are all sorts of terrible additives.

[shelynne62]

No nursing home for me, I am an ER nurse...yeah, don't believe everything you hear about us, we are nice people, just not real sensitive at times. I have been nursing for 7 years, 6 of those in the ER. I am ready for a change, part of my pull to go primal was the hope that I could work into my 70's and still be strong...lol...not sure I can stay in the ER until I am 70 though...thinking about going back to school for something else in nursing and be able to sit at a desk and write all day...my philosophy of nursing...prob need a Phd.

Cool that you are a history major..you know what they say about knowing your history...if you don't your doomed to repeat it...always got a kick out of that saying. Yeah nursing is a great profession and there is a lot of room to move around. The pay is good, but we never get breaks and sometimes don't get lunches...can't have it all. I think you would enjoy it. I was a nursing assistant when I was in nursing school, hardest damm job I ever did. A bad day of being a nurse was still better than a good day of being an aide... I worked my ass off!

And your right...the journey is never over!

[pktrainer]

So this weekend was not as successful as I would have hoped and I slid off track a little bit. Saturday I worked from 6am -10pm. I brought lunch and dinner so that helped. They were serving coffee cake for breakfast however so I splurged on that. For the most part however I did alright. Sunday was another 16 hour day, with only 4 hours of sleep the night before. Saturday night I actually got home to fine the Primal blueprint books I had ordered, so I sat down to read them and fell asleep! lol.

Anyway, I didn't have anything for dinner made up so I was planning on IFing until I got home or possible Monday, but that idea was canceled when I was transferred to our memory care unit. There you are supposed to eat with the residents because it helps their skills and works their brain. I really think this if a fine idea, except for I have to eat what they eat, and this is based on CW. Also in that unit your supposed to act like its a home setting, so snaking is encouraged. Such a weird job. Plus I was super sleepy and it was a full moon so all my people were acting pretty crazy (pulling fire alarms, not letting me clean them up, ect.) so I ended up eating more sweets than I probably should have.

I don't remember exactly what I ate this weekend but here is a rough outline:
Saturday:
B-3 eggs and a banana
S-coffee cake
L-pecan crusted chicken and tomato and olive oil sauce
S-Dessert(Whatever they were having, I forget)
D-Stuffed Green peppers

Sunday:
B-Banana
L-Pecan crusted chicken
D-Ham, green beans, and scalloped potatoes. Crumb butter pie for dessert.
S-more pie...

Monday:
B-coffee
L-pie
S-almonds
D-I'm going to have Mediterranean stuffed pork loin.

I probable drank about a pot of coffee a day and was using a couple of 5 hour energy.
Looking back my diet was awful over the weekend, but I guess it helps that I wrote it down. I'm not sure what I can do about eating dinner in the memory care unit when I work there but I can definitely cut out the snacks. Maybe upping my portions could help satiate me if I get caught without food! I do feel a lot better now that I've been following this diet, and can't wait to see all the results!

[pktrainer]

So this morning I weighed myself and I'm down 10lbs in one week! Crazy! I'm sure it's just an inital fluz or something but I feel pretty awesome, so yay!

My diet was pretty decent today until I got home from school, than I splurged on some gummy bears and now I feel sick. Hopefully I've learned my lesson!

Diet:
B-Coffee, 2 bananas, protein shake
S-almonds
L-Pork stuffed tenderloin, 3 mini quiches
S-gummy bears, dark chocolate with almonds
D-not sure if I'm gonna eat it yet as I still feel sick, but if I do eggs and asparagus

[pktrainer]

So it's been a while since I posted on here. Life has gotten kinda crazy, with lots of papers due and overtime at work. I have not been been completely faithful to the diet, but overall it seems that my mind set has shifted towards following it. I seem to be more inclined toward this lifestyle now, and have broken a lot of my old habits toward healthier choices. I feel a lot better when I do but there is something about a bowl of cereal I still miss, plus all the deserts at work are good

I have been working out on a more regular basis however. More parkour and crossfit. I'm also doing a TRX class at BASE Fitness tomorrow afternoon, and that is only slightly motivated to do it by one of the guys who now works there but whom I've known forever. I'm kinda hoping he still likes me, as he is one of the few guys who could actually match my dedication to pk and who is a really good guy.

Anyway, work in the am, the fitness class, than probably working on homework. I've decided to say no to the double shifts this weekend, as I feel like I'm starting to lose my sanity. Time to finish this moonshine my friend made me and off to bed!