Primal 2012 (Mikki) page

[MikkiB]

I let my journal lapse about a year or so ago when I got very busy working on my dissertation, but I'm really tired of being completely out of shape and I've let some non-primal habits slip back in, so I'm resurrecting a journal here for accountability and tracking my success

About me: I'm 45, happily married with 4 kids age 7-16 (!!!! still getting used to that LOL), work full time in a busy job as statistician for a liver & kidney transplant center, and trying to finish a PhD in statistical genomics (using a novel statistical approach to study the genetic changes that occur in liver cancer).

Fitness has completely fallen by the wayside, and I'm sick of how it feels! My goal is to do 15 minutes of primal workouts at least 3 days a week - it doesn't sound like much but that is what Mark recommends and it is completely do-able if I just get my ass in gear and don't collapse on the couch the minute I get home!! I also need to cut back on my whisky and diet ginger ale drinks at night (although I actually am more concerned about the diet soda than the whisky LOL)

So, starting stats:
Weight: 185 (up 7 lbs since Thanksgiving, but food holiday is over
Measurements: 45" - 35" - 42" (height 5'6")
Crunches - 40 not very good ones
pushups - 10 (knee)
Squats - 30
Blood pressure - 143/90
Liver enzymes, creatinine, etc are all within normal limits (checked in October). Vitamin D levels= 75. I'm hypothyroid, taking Levoxyl and Armour Thyroid - I'd hoped to wean off these once I went gluten-free, but apparently the damage is permanent because after almost 2 years primal I still need the meds
My last cholesterol was about 300 Total, triglycerides 75, HDL 125 so my ratio ~ 4.5. My doctor wasn't happy but knows I won't take any cholesterol meds.

Thanks for reading

[MikkiB]

Oh, dear. just read Mark's blog today. OK, I'll have hubby take a 'before' pic this afternoon!

My formal resolutions:
1. Do primal workouts a minimum of 3 times a week for 15 minutes
2. Tweak my diet until I'm losing at least a pound a week (I've been maintaining for a year - until the holidays - which means I have room for improvement!)
3. Do something for stress relief/ play every day

My goals for 2012:
1. Graduate (I know that's not part of primal lifestyle, but it's still my highest priority after 5 years of sacrifice and hard work!)
2. Lose 30 more pounds
3. Improve my fitness level to the point of doing Marks' full workout, NOT the ninny levles )
4. Get my blood pressure back down (this is a combination of stress and inactivity so it should take care of itself)

I will plan on posting my weight every day so I can see how/if I fluctuate with the foods I eat, and my general schedule ... because I need to prove to myself that I *do* have time to work out ... it is way to easy to use the "I'm too busy" excuse!

[MikkiB]

Tuesday January 3

Weight: 185.2. Surprised it didn't go up after pigging out watching football yesterday!

Unless otherwise specified, all my meals are homemade (hubby is a wonderful cook ) using coconut oil, olive oil, organic bacon drippings, and/or ghee. I make my salad dressing with a seasoning package and 1/2 almond oil, 1/2 olive oil.

Menu:
2 cups coffee with Truvia and bit of almond milk
Tbs or so of coconut oil
Ham and split pea soup
salad (greens, cucumber, feta cheese, few raisins, salad dressing)
chicken curry

Exercise:
quick walk from parking deck to office and back (about 1/2 mile each way)
Run at least 10 flights of stairs

Fun/relaxation: watch Va Tech win their bowl game tonight

Schedule:
Up at 6
Work 7:15-4:15. Goals: do monthly reports, revise discussion section of my manscript and send for review, start new analysis project
Home by 5: help boys with homework, get them dinner by 6:15. Get Braedon ready for cub scout meeting, clean up kitchen, do a load of laundry, start taking down decorations.
Va Tech bowl game starts at 8 so I want the chores all done by then so I can kick back

[Beestly]

Good job with those stairs!

[MikkiB]

Thanks Haha I just realized that I said "run" the stairs. It was much, much slower than that I did 12 flights (20 steps/flight) but had to rest after 5 then take it slower. Then when I came down the 3 flights to come home, my legs were shaking! So, my new goal is to do that 12 flights without having to stop and rest!!

[MikkiB]

Deviations from the plan for today:
YAY - threw in a set of 40 crunches and 15 biceps curls (10 lb wts)
did NOT buy a Pepsi this afternoon when I got hungry. Had a tsp of coconut oil instead.
I'm back in mild-moderate ketosis already
BOO - ate a hershey's kiss, 2 slices of cheddar, and a marshmallow

I still have wheat-belly, but I guess that'll take a few days of clean eating to clear!

[MikkiB]

Wednesday, January 4

Weight: 184.0 (-1)
Sleep: 6 hrs

Menu plan:
2 cups coffee w/Truvia and almond milk
Breakfast - 6 oz ground beef w/bbq sauce (17g carbs)
Lunch - chicken curry, no rice
Dinner - london broil, salad

Exercise:
walk from/to parking deck (1 mile)
lots of slow movement - I have my heart rate monitor and pedometer on and will try to get up at least every hour for a burst of activity
8:00 - 30 wall pushups
9:15 - 30 bench squats
11:00 - 5 flights of stairs (HR=150)
12:30 - 30 wall pushups
3:00 - quick walk back to parking deck (HR 145)

Fun/relaxation: not sure. I'm not used to planning fun into my days LOL. I know, I'll finish the book I got for Christmas after the kids go to bed

Schedule:
Up at 6
Work 7:30-3:30 Goals: work on project, start end-of-year data validations, re-do figures for manuscript, meet with my advisor at 3.
Haircut 4-4:45
Home by 5: put away laundry, take down more decorations, help boys with homework and start dinner
7:00 - conference call for consulting job

[MikkiB]

This is crazy - I've been wearing my heart rate monitor for 14 hours just going about my business, and it says I've burned 3300 calories! That seems high ... I wonder how accurate these things are??

[MikkiB]

Thursday, January 5

Weight: 183 (-2)
sleep: 11-6 not good sleep. Hubby fell asleep on couch and I couldn't wake him up - then he came up at 1:30 and shook the bed getting his slippers and pants off, and after that I just tossed and turned and had annoying dreams about piles of laundry and unwelcome house guests. grr. *yawn*

Menu plan:
2 cups coffee with almond milk and truvia
peanut butter on celery sticks
hamburgers
beef stew, salad

Exercise plan: it's sprint day. Since I'll be at work all day, I'll do stair drills at some point, and throw in random strength exercises, just 'cuz.
7:30 - quick walk from parking deck (.5 mi)
8:30 - 25 full squats
10:00 - 30 wall pushups

Fun/relaxation - I suppose I need to think of something. I didn't sleep well last night, had annoying dreams, woke up stressed about my life/workload, and had a grumpy husband to boot. There are 2 greasy pans hiding in the oven that I need to deal with when I get home after working all day. Plus, I'm feeling a bit PMS'ish, thanks to my foolish carb feast last weekend. Frankly right now I'm not in the mood to think about fun.

Schedule:
Up at 6.
Work 7:30-4. Goals: work on project, meet with collaborator, work on my manuscript, research proteomics for meeting at 3.
Errands: stop at store and bank
Home by 5: wash dirty pots that lazy me didn't do last night, put away laundry, help boys w/homework, take decorations off xmas tree.
Going to try to get to bed by 10:30.

[MikkiB]

Hmmm... I don't don't do so well when I'm tired I didn't drink enough water, then when I went to my off-campus meeting I was thirsty so when I passed a coke machine .... I bought one At least I only drank half of it.
Then I came home and had a huge salad and a half glass of orange juice.

Hubby didn't get dinner in the crock pot this morning, so I'm making taco meat ... which I will probably have with melted cheese and sour cream, but, hey, I've already met my weight loss goal for the week and I'll take an enzyme pill and all will be well

Also, I didn't do my stair drills, but I did get my heart rate up to 150 a couple times on the walk back to the parking deck. Which is pretty sad, and makes me feel like apologizing to my heart for letting it get so out of shape!

Tonight I really need to get to bed earlier, I deal with life so much better when rested!

Edit: according to my heart rate monitor, I was in the 55-75% range for 3 hours between 6:30am-9:30pm. So it's officially a "lots of slow movement" day...