primal journal_ mama bear page

[mama bear]

Hello! I'm jumping into this forum to document my easing into a more primal lifestyle. I'm still breastfeeding my daughter in the afternoons, evenings, early morning, so I'm not trying to cut calories too sharply. After her birth, I was steadily taking walks and losing weight and then recently entered a fitness/nutrition rut. I consider this post my official notice to self that The Rut Is Over. I need to stop associating "a loving mama" with "pudgy and homely". I want to be an active, trim wife/mother role model and believe primal will get me there.

I weigh 160 currently and at 5'7" would like to weigh 135lbs (a weight I haven't been at for about 7 years). I am not willing to drop dairy, but I will stay 100% gluten free, and 90% grain free, slowly reducing my sugar intake and reducing consumption of beans/oats/lentils/rice/peanuts. I will participate in fitness activities per the primal recommendations weekly. I have a lot of reading to do still on Primal Living, but this journal will help me be more aware and accountable of what I put in my mouth and what/if any daily fitness activities I do. Great peeps here! Thanks to all for your contributions and support.


TODAY
9AM: 4oz coffee/4oz whole organic milk, 1 packet sugar , 2 hard boiled eggs with dash o salt, 1 red plum

1PM: salmon loaf with wasabi sauce (salmon, gluten free breadcrumbs, egg, wasabi, mayo), 6oz green tea, 2oz whole organic milk, 1 packet honey

Scheduled snack 4PM: handful of almonds

Scheduled dinner: hmm.. either fish that my husband speared yesterday (calico?) OR rack of lamb with grilled zucchini. He's going to want rice, which I will prepare, but avoid eating. strength be with me!!

scheduled snack: glass of red wine and mozzarella cheese

Wow... just eating 2 eggs + plum instead of oatmeal/cereal in the morning seemed to make a difference already today. Halfway through lunch I didn't even feel hungry and I stopped eating. Maybe I won't need my scheduled snacks and can eat a light dinner OR maybe I just ate too big of a breakfast. Will report back tomorrow.

[Shijin13]

As you move from sugar burning to fat burning...you may notice your milk supply increases!!! I took 3mths to wean completely off sugar... now honey is an occasional treat w/yogurt and nuts... I'm pretty much 100% primal.... take your time... eventually you'll discover you don't want the oats at all....

[mama bear]

Honey with yogurt and nuts... I can live with that as occasional treat. mmm. Thank you for your words of encouragement Shijin13. Increased milk supply sounds good for the little one and her demanding appetite. Another mommy of two with GW of 135... lets do this!

[mama bear]

Okay so last night I kept up with my scheduled plan rather well.

The wild salmon loaf lunch held me over all the way until dinner.
For dinner we ate a calico (kelp bass) speared by none other than my manly man while free diving near Clemente island. It was AMAZING as we prepared it on the bbq wrapped in foil with parsley, olive oil, and salt served alongside some grilled zucchini and onions. I do not usually eat fish twice in a day, but it was all delicious. I snacked later on some raw pistachios (laborious to open but delicious) and a tangerine instead of my scheduled snack of wine/cheese. After the calico I got a little nervous about eating too much mercury especially while breastfeeding. I found the following website for checking local California fish mercury levels: http://oehha.ca.gov/fish/so_cal/pdf_...soryl61809.pdf which stated the following making me feel a lot better:

Calico (Kelp bass):
A total of 69 kelp bass were collected from 10 segments in Los Angeles and Orange counties. DDT concentrations were consistently low, with a mean concentration of 227 ppb. PCBs levels varied considerably, however, ranging from 10 ppb in northern Santa Monica Bay (segment 2) to 126 ppb in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor area (segment 17), with a mean of 63 ppb. Mercury levels did not vary significantly among sites, ranging from 118 to 323 ppb (mean: 198 ppb). Although a PCB concentration of 126 ppb would result in more restrictive consumption advice compared to any other segment, only one fish was collected from segment 17. As such, it was determined that a grand mean of all sites would be used to develop consumption advice for kelp bass. Based on PCB levels for all populations and, additionally, mercury concentrations for women 18-45 years and children 1-17 years, OEHHA concluded that it is safe for all population groups to eat one serving per week of kelp bass.

10/25/11
B: 4oz coffee/4oz whole organic milk/1 packet sugar/1 hard boiled egg/ 1 red plum
Scheduled L: Remainder of salmon loaf with wasabi mayo
Scheduled S: handful almonds
Scheduled D: Rack of Lamb with Summer squash and onions
Scheduled S: wine and cheese

Feeling more in control of my cravings....yay!

[mama bear]

Last night I had an awesome meal that kept the carbs down without sacrificing flavor.

D: Shirataki white yam noodles (ZERO calories!), canned chicken, sesame oil, coconut aminos, 2 shredded baby carrots <---YUM
S: frozen blueberries, whole milk, cream <----DOUBLE YUM SHAKE

This morning I got up early and did a mini session of sprinting, jumping (only had 5-10 min)

B: 2 hard boiled eggs (but ditched one yolk), coffee and cream with 1 sugar packet
L: canned chicken, gluten free piece of bread (12 carbs), 2 pats butter, red plum
S: 85% cacoa THEO dark chocolate (running out of carbs for the day....eek)

scheduled dinner: finally gonna eat that lamb...mmm with summer squash.

I find myself sprinting down the office corridor to the elevator if no is around hehe just to get a little sprint in here and there. Loving the control I feel lately over cravings. YAY! I highly recommend FitDay.com for tracking calories--- only wish they had more popular foods saved in search.

I'm feeling more and more confident with this eating plan

[Shijin13]

I love lamb... its so tasty...sounds like you're settling in...

[jay_fm]

I felt the same way you did when I dropped the oatmeal in the morning,. I ate it almost every single morning for 7 years. I was always hungry by 10am but thought that was ok because we "needed" to snack to keep that metabolism going. Now I eat eggs for breakfast most mornings and a few days a week I don't even eat until noon. I love not being hungry and constantly thinking about snacks and being paranoid about being stuck somewhere with no food.

[mama bear]

Thanks Ladies for keeping me accountable and for stopping by this journal!

Shijin13 - grilled Lamb is my life long favorite food! baa baa mmmm... For dinner last night we finally got to eat it along some grilled summer squash and baby carrots....delish.

jay_fm Yes, totally agree... a protein breakfast and its ability to curb hunger is amazing!

Last night the hubby and I took our two little ones to the mall and to my delight upon becoming hungry I looked down in my purse and saw that I had placed a baggie of almonds in there earlier in the day. What a perfect little snack to hold me over till dinner!! The hubby unfortunately got a pretzel dog and ice cream. well at the very least at least he is lean and is not contributing to a weight problem. Once I conquer this PB and perfect my physique I WILL convert him muaaahhaa

Its hard to judge how much of my mood and weight is due to my diet right now as my husband and I are in the middle of purchasing a home (read: STRESS!). I feel drained today compared to yesterday. Three things are different today from yesterday. Last night I had a glass of wine. This morning I did NOT do a mini sprint session like yesterday. This morning I am way more stressed over house (home inspection) than yesterday. hmmm guess I'm going to have to just keep trekking and stay on track to gauge results. I felt like I kept eating and eating today and never felt calm and satiated.

B: 1 fried egg, 1 egg white, 4oz coffee with cream and one packet sugar
L: large romaine salad with about 3oz angus steak, black beans, white wine vinegar/olive oil, decaf green tea, cream and honey packet, slice of gluten free bread, 1 packet butter, big piece of 85% cacoa Black and Green bar.

Feeling down in energy today. loving my carbs today and need to resist for the rest of the evening. BE STRONG!

[mama bear]

Happy Halloween All:

Okay I'm been staying pretty primal, but still think I could indulge a little less in the carbs (dark chocolate/potatoes/sugar/wine). This weekend was exhausting, but I never completely abandoned the PB plan despite all the chaos. I tracked my food on fitday but didn't have time to post here every day. Our house purchase is still going through (fingers crossed until loan approval time). All I can think about is having a big vegetable/fruit garden in the big back yard if we do end up getting the house. I am SO excited to have fresh organic free (obviously not completely free) yummy hand grown nutrient filled food readily available. I want to get out of my dark apartment and into this little old sunny house with big yard asap.

I gave myself a rest from eggs this weekend, but honestly eating chicken at breakfast felt weird. Need to read some more exciting egg free breakfast options. Any favorites you guys want to recommend? If I wasn't breastfeeding I would probably have done IF one day instead of eggs, but I have experienced a direct correlation between calorie restriction and low milk supply.

Today so far:
B: two hard-boiled eggs/ coffee with half and half and sugar/2 small squares dark chocolate
L: Big Salad with tuna, olive oil, vinegar, 2 more square dark chocolate
D: maybe lamb again- my hubby stocked up on rack of lamb from costco last month...YUM

I felt so good the one day I did sprints and I need to get my butt up more often to do this. I need to take advantage of mornings when I wake up feeling like I got a good nights sleep. I need to jump up get in work out clothes run out the door and spend 15min. So worth it... 15 minutes equals HOURS of feeling better.

[mama bear]

I know that yesterday was Halloween, but that is no excuse for me to keep overeating my carbs. I didn't touch the crappy candy in my son's bucket, but I just in general over indulged in dark chocolate, banana, sugar (in coffee), grapes, etc. I may be able to eat that way in maintenance mode, but not in "cutting" mode. The morning after any day I eat over 125 carbs I just feel chubbier. On mornings after days I eat under 100g of carbs I just feel leaner. I need to get to the next step in my weight loss, 155lbs. The scale is stagnate and I see a direct correlation between eating over 125g of carbs and the scale creeping up/staying stagnate vs under 100g and it moving down.

Okay this epiphany came AFTER I ate my dark chocolate/potatoes for the day:

B: two hard boiled eggs, green tea with whole milk and honey (12g carbs), dark chocolate (16g carbs)
L: chicken with skin, potatoes (31g carbs)
D: need to eat something with 15g or less of carbs....

Hmmm maybe one glass of wine and a GIANT fatty steak....