Primal journal : Coll page 11

[Sabine]

Thanks for the hugs on my journal. Your post made me happy.

[Coll]

You are welcome Sabine!

I have had a few hard days. Not too sure why, just feeling a bit down and unmotivated and hopeless. I have been trying to regain my perspective and remember that I have already lost a bunch of weight, and I am feeling better (even on a bad day) than I ever did on SAD.

Yesterday I had brusselsprouts again for dinner. I made a point of taking an even smaller helping, chewing really well, and it wasn't as bad but I still got stomach ache and bloating. Now, however, I am not 100% sure that it was the brusselsprouts as I had a lot of nuts (again) and even quite a bit of cheese - raw but not particularly aged. So, I really don't know if it was the sprouts or the overindulging in the other things that caused my stomach to feel upset. I guess the next time I have them I need to be sure that I have not been overdoing other stuff first. I want to know if they need to be avoided. Not doing too well on my research there huh!?

Today, didn't do much. Nasty weather - very windy, rain, snow, hail all mixed up together! Felt tired - up late again last night. I am doing SO badly with getting to bed on time. I have fallen off the sleep wagon quite thoroughly! I wonder if that is what has me feeling tired and low, mmmm, kind of silly if I look at it like that huh? I have been feeling like I am missing some nutrient, maybe it is the sleep one! I have been cruising for food, fortunately there is only primal food here so I haven't been eating crap (correction - the kids have Easter chocolate around but I don't want it, not what I am looking for!) I really think that the sleep is part of the missing link for me! Only as I have been writing this does it seem clearer. I am going to really try and make an effort to be in bed before 10:30 tonight and then work the time back a bit at a time until I am going to sleep much earlier. As a kid I used to be in bed by 8 pm and then up with the dawn and I felt great. Even before I got married I would wake up at about 5 am everyday, and to sleep by 9pm every night. I had loads of energy even though I had a bad diet. I know I am a person who needs more sleep, always have. However, I do find that if I go to bed before DH (most of the time) I will fall asleep immediately. BUT, when he comes to bed I almost always startle awake and then can't get back to sleep! Drives me crazy! And he is not noisy at all - I am just hyper sensitive to the slightest noise or movement or glimpse of light. Sometimes I wonder if it is all the years of night duty that has affected me and then of course the kids. But I think that if I just make an effort to get to bed about the same time every night hopefully my body will settle into a better rhythm. I do find that taking a melatonin helps me when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. But, I don't like to have to take them so much.

I want to try and track every amount of everything I eat tomorrow and get a feel for whether I am doing ok for macronutrients etc. I don't have a great example to model how much of each I should be getting and how much I am actually getting. This is for me to try and get a realistic picture of how much I am taking in and where I need to tweak my portions. Be interesting to see.

I need to head for bed, sleep well all, sweet dreams!

[Candy in Wonderland]

Hi Coll, I hope you're having a good night of sleep and feel rested and energized today! I know that sleep deprivation made me crave (sweet and greasy junk) foods, so not getting enough sleep might indeed be causing your cravings.

[Coll]

Hi Candy, thanks for dropping in I did sleep better last night - not early enough, but I slept the whole way through with no interruptions and woke up as the sun was rising. Am aiming for an even earlier night tonight.

I said I was going to measure and weigh everything I ate today but it was a rather crazy day with no time for anything like that. So just ate normally and will try to do the food journal tomorrow. I ended up running up to the mountains to buy a used dog run (for our chickens) My daughter and I went and our son went with Daddy today. It was so much easier just having one kid to deal with. And they missed each other and are playing beautifully now Such stunning scenery today - the lake looked like a fairyland this morning! DD was in raptures over the scenes we passed.

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs and 2/3 can sardines, 2 squares of dark chocolate, black tea with cream and stevia.
Lunch: Leftover salmon, 1/2 cup applesauce with cream, 1 square dark chocolate
Snack: nuts, delicious aged Welsh cheddar.
Dinner: Meatloaf, salad, berries and cream.

DS, who is a SUPER picky eater devoured 1 1/2 slices of the meatloaf and declared that it was the best thing I have ever made! Please make it again mom! I nearly had to pick myself up off the floor I was so shocked! Thrilled too! I have been just about tearing my hair out trying to figure out what to feed the boy! The nice thing is that I can get various veggies into him without any fuss either! WOW, that was a breakthrough! Many times he will start to cry at dinner time because he hates the food... he would have happily eaten toasted Ezekiel bread for every meal if I had allowed it. But, he is starting to change. He had a boiled egg and some sardines for breakfast! He is eating a lot more protein than he did before and really enjoys a slice of butter with his salad.

Poor DD, has had an issue with constipation since I introduced her to solid foods! It was really bad today again and I find myself desperate to try and figure out what the cause and cure are. I have a hard time getting her to drink enough water - one of those areas that have turned into a minefield, but she drinks more than a lot of kids do nonetheless. She likes veggies and loves the primal way of eating. Just wondering what I can do to help the BM to settle down for her...

Not much exercise at all today. Lots of driving with a few minutes break to load the dog run and a couple of stops on the way home. Tomorrow am hoping to get finished with that rebellious 'rock' garden! I also have to get going on filling in the bare patches in the backyard.

[Sabine]

Have you tried the old classic of prunes? All my kids loved them. Oh, also (homemade) coconut macaroons are supposed to be great for constipation- two nightly.

[Coll]

We did prunes today, she loves them, guess I will just keep increasing how many she has until the problem is improved. She doesn't like macaroons!

[Coll]

Busy day, not all that sure what I ate, it was all on the run, nothing non primal but may have been more than I should have - not sure... Tired and need bed, talk to you all tomorrow!

[Shamia]

Hi Coll,

I hope you get a good night sleep this night. Are the chickens happy with their new home? I think that maybe you are overdoing the chocolate a bit. It's mentioned as a couple of squares per week. Same with cheese. I know.. it's the easiest food around for a quick snack, but maybe you can boil some eggs and have them boiled in the fridge, ready to eat?

Too much protein can cause constipation, maybe your DD suffers from that? I've got that too, sometimes.. And always if I eat chicken - too lean and because of that, I eat too much of it because is does not satisfy.

Gotta fly (I'm at work.. blegh! CW is back.. ), take care! x

[Coll]

Well, I wrote a long post last night and then our internet connection went out and I couldn't get it back? What is that all about? So, I ate well yesterday. Tracked everything and felt like I was more on track with my portions. Shamia, you are so right about the chocolate and cheese! I was getting into a habit of eating the chocolate and actually the last few times I had it my body complained and told me that it was too much - just didn't taste as good as it usually does. Sometimes it really helps to have an outside perspective to what you are eating and where you may be imbalanced.
Yesterday's food:
Breakfast: Black tea with cream and stevia, 4 strips bacon, two eggs scrambled, 1/2 cup raw baby carrots.
Lunch: 3 slices bacon, 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, 1/2 cup strawberries
Dinner: 2 sausages, 1 cup homemade sauerkraut, 1/2 an artichoke with garlic butter, 1 1/4 cup strawberries with cream

I am thrilled as I have converted my home office space to a standing station. The monitor cords were just barely long enough. I spend way too much time sitting at the computer with research and school work and then communicating with my family who are all overseas as well as many of my friends. This way I can't sit for too long. And when my legs get tired I just do a few squats. I hope I will be more focused in my time online now too as I will get tired of standing all day staring at a screen. Maybe I will get some of my other stuff done too now

I don't think DD problem is too much protein as this has been a problem since she started eating solids and in those days I did more conventional baby food (not totally but too many grains and tofu etc) I am giving her prunes every day and we'll see how that works out for now.

I noticed that I was feeling unsatisfied with my meals for a while there. I think I need plenty red meat - nothing else feels quite substantial enough. I also think I need more salt than I have been getting, the bacon yesterday was lovely. I am going to try making chili 'poppers' for lack of a better word - stuffed with sausage and wrapped in bacon. Mmm, just sounds divine! I have cut right back on my cheese intake for now... I love cheese, but I am finding that it doesn't satisfy me when I am hungry. It does work great as a condiment or with something else like salad.

I have started doing my stretches again - I have been seeing a chiropractor for almost a year now with some nasty back and neck issues. I have found that with all the moving and changes in the last few months I have let my stretches fall by the wayside and now I want to get them going properly again. I am pleased to say though that my low grade constant back pain that I have had for years is totally gone! There is still tightness and stuff to work on, but cutting out the grains, sugar and legumes certainly has made a huge difference in my comfort levels!

[Coll]

Not a bad day overall, tired though as I have stood pretty much all day! It sure helps having the computer set up for standing! My legs and feet got tired but I feel better in myself than when I sit all day. I also got a lot more done today and I think that part of the reason was not sitting down and getting lazy and feeling a bit drugged.

I went on fitday this evening and checked my last couple of days of calories of fat, protein and carbs. What are those numbers supposed to look like on a primal 'diet'? How much fat versus protein and carbs? Does the overall calorie count matter much? What should I be aiming for?

Breakfast: cold sausage, 2 fried eggs, baby carrots 2/3 cup, black tea with cream and stevia
Lunch: 2/3 tin of sardines, carrots, mushrooms -2, black tea with cream and milk and stevia
dinner: omelet with left over minced beef and sprinkled with cheese, fried onion, garlic and bok choy cabbage, 1 cup strawberries with cream.

Fun thing - I finished DH's jersey /sweater that I have been working on occasionally for over a year! Except I didn't have the right size circular needle for the neck and thought I might be able to make it work with one size bigger needles - no way! So I have to order the right size and redo the neck, the hardest part and I have to pick it undone! I hate having to pick up all those stitches and figure out how to spread them out over the whole neck. Maybe I can just pull most of it out and leave the last row or so so I don't have to redo that part.

I carted one wheelbarrow load of soil today, however I discovered that the pneumatic tires are very low in air and this made it a lot more of a workout! Not doing anymore until those get reinflated! Got to go and sit down - have been on my feet pretty much all day, I am done! Sleep well all!