Primal journal : Coll page 15

[Coll]

Breakfast: black tea with cream and stevia
Lunch: 1/3 cup macadamias while I cooked the fritata ( with onion, garlic, broccoli, a little cheese melted on top, and chopped up hamburger patty)
Dinner: 2 small pork chops, kale and onion, raw red cabbage, grape tomatoes (just 3) cauliflower - one large floret. Dessert was a popsicle made from coconut water with strawberries blended in - really tasty and refreshing! The kids and DH loved them so that was cool (lol) I have been wanting to try some healthier versions for the kids.

Did less on my feet today as I am trying to rest my heel a bit. It is less painful this evening - will ice it at bed time and try to keep my standing time less tomorrow again. I hear what you are saying Sabine ... interesting thought. Not planning on fighting a virus anytime soon - but that never stopped one from dropping in uninvited huh!?

Thanks for the tips Siobhan. By the way I have always loved the name Siobhan - had a friend at school with the name and always admired it.

We have one section of the backyard all filled in and seeded and covered with hay. Now it is just a matter of lots of watering and praying that the wind doesn't get going until the seeds have taken root. The wind here can be atrocious and I don't have any way to hold the hay down over such a large area. SO here's hoping that it holds off for a couple of weeks.

Need to hit the sack. Will be interested to see what my weight does tomorrow. I have been using fitday.com to keep an eye on my intake and percentages of fat, protein and carbs. I feel it is really helping me to get an idea of how much I am eating and whether the balance is good. Keeping an eye on when I gain a little and when I lose a little. Obviously hormonal swings have their place too... very interesting though!

[Shamia]

Hi Coll! It's been a while, but I've read up on your journal.

No wonder your weight is not going down so quickly! You are building muscle! They are way heavier than fat
Can you get a big net to pin over your hay? We call them bird nets and they are intended to put over your cherry trees as they are growing. They are big and really cheap. I think with a couple of pins / big rocks they would do the job.

I'm all sore from my gardening, but I've got the first results! Tiny pinkish-red radishes! Too small to pick - yet, but so darn cute! And the lettuces are getting there and I've got the cutest tiniest chicory plants ever! I wish I could send you pictures.
(But I'm too stupid to figure out how to upload pictures from my phone )

[Shamia]

My brain is as foggy as the weather today, I meant to make your kids happy!

Take a couple of really ripe bananas, mash them up, add berries (I did raspberries, blue berries and a couple of pitted cherries), smash up with the bananas. Add cream and a dollop of yoghurt. Stirr, then freeze for half an hour, stirr again, freeze.

Voila, Primal Icecream! It's yum!

(you can make it in the blender too)

Other variations could be mint leaves added to cream, maybe with a bit of shaved dark chocolate?, bananas and mango are really good too!

[Coll]

Hi Shamia, makes my day to hear from you! I agree that I have been gaining muscle... I can feel it all over, some spots more than others of course. Right now I don't look much different when I look in the mirror though. But my clothes are definitely 'getting bigger' and I assume that means I am getting smaller. I am going to try some of your ideas for the kids - I'll tell them to thank you I have a nice icecream recipe too that is just cream and fruit, sometimes a little lemon juice and a little maple syrup. However I am sure I can change things around and experiment so that I am not even using the maple syrup. I want to try it with stevia too. YUM!

Today I weighed in at 201.5 - so nice to see a drop again. I can't wait to be below 200lbs! One of my short term goals. I have decided that my fat intake is a bit high, and my protein a bit low, and my carbs tend to be really low unless I make an effort to get them up near 50gms. So I am tweaking my macros to try and get about 100 gms of protein, around 50 gms carbs and then the rest in fat. Those fats add up quickly I am seeing - I have always had a soft spot for fats so I need to be a little more conservative in those amounts for a while - after all, I want my body to burn the fat that is so comfortably residing in my butt and belly and not the delicious fats that I keep shoving down my throat!

Breakfast: Black tea with cream and stevia, 4 oz meatloaf, 2 fried eggs (I was short on time this morning - I lost track of the days of the week and missed our chiropractor appointment yesterday and had to scramble to get there today)
Lunch: kippered herrings, BAS with a TBSP of salad dressing, cod liver oil and supplements.
Dinner: Decided at the last minute to skip dinner as we were supposed to have another one of our delightful family meetings and we were running way late. I had a mug of turmeric tea (coconut milk etc) instead and it was surprisingly delicious.

I decided to start taking Evening Primrose oil in the hopes of it helping my skin and overall health. Hormones don't seem to be a problem at the moment - haven't hit the menopause yet and am hoping it will stay away for a while yet! I had hoped for some time that I could maybe have another child - I think my obesity was the cause of my miscarriages etc. I have this crazy thought every now and again that maybe I could get pregnant one more time ... turning 47 this year.... maybe I should just let go and wait for the grandkids. I had always wanted lots of kids but got married late and then lost two babies between the two we have. I would love to adopt some kids - but it is SO expensive. I have always hoped I could adopt some of the AIDS orphans in South Africa that are so desperately needing love and a home. Part of why I retained my South African citizenship when I became a US citizen. Oh well, best thing I can do is get as healthy as possible and leave the rest up to God. Truthfully, I have my hands full with two kids anyway ... just doesn't stop me from wishing though. And one of the hardest things is seeing others having babies that really don't want or particularly value the little ones. I want to tell them, hey, I'll have that precious little person and love on them and nurture them. You don't have to be inconvenienced at all - send them my way ...

Oh well, I am pretty tired so going to head for bed. Haven't read anyone's journals for a couple of days as we had internet trouble and then a storm last night made us shut the computer down early.

[Shamia]

I know Coll! Just hand 'm over, I'll love them!
I've always known I'm less fertile and now with no man in my life and my physical age progressing faster than my mental age..

Oh well, I'll just be the sugar autie to my sisters kids, I guess.

First replanting my seedlings, then I'm off to my veggie patch. I hope you sleep well tonight!

[Coll]

Thanks Shamia, I did sleep really well! It always makes me so sad to see kids that don't receive that love that they thrive on, just wish I could rescue them all.... but I am sorry you can't be the sugar auntie to your sister's kids anymore girl! You are going to be the primal auntie! (I know the expression, but you are going to have to change it - you are going to have to treat them with all kinds of primal goodies like slices of butter and steak LOL)

Today, really busy.

Breakfast: Meatloaf - 4oz, 2 fried eggs, big bowl of salad with 1 tbsp salad dressing. Black tea with cream and stevia
Lunch: (late after getting back from the park with the kids) Half a leftover artichoke, 3/4 cup carrots, homemade lemonade, kippers, 1 oz welsh cheddar.
Snack: Black tea with milk and cream and stevia
Dinner: Bacon and scrambled eggs. Had two long phone conversations today - got to chat to a really good friend that I left behind in SC - 117 minutes!! LOVELY. And then I was late getting started on dinner and then my SIL called and we had another lovely talk (keep missing each other so I had to take the call or miss her again) DH just helped out and cooked up a boat load of bacon and all I had to do was a quick pan of scrambled eggs!

Another complication to dinner time was the kids decided to try having dust baths like the chickens do. Needless to say, by the time I saw them they looked incredible! I wish I had thought of trying to get a photo of them! They were supposed to be putting the chickens in the shed for the night and instead they had brought a couple of their favourite hens out and were joining them in a dusty patch down at the bottom of the yard!! Honestly sometimes I think my kids are more chicken than people! When DD was younger and she was having some kind of altercation on the playground or at a friends house, she would pretend she was a broody chicken and puff herself up and squawk like an angry hen!! Hilarious! Or she would paw the ground like a horse and then charge the offending party! I often wonder what the other kids thought LOL

Didn't do much exercise today, just walking around the house, stood at the computer a little, sat and talked with other homeschool moms at the park, lay on my bed, walked the dog a number of times, laundry and dishes and chicken chores... just a normal day. However I am itching to get going on the more strenuous activities tomorrow early before it gets too hot. Supposed to be up in the mid 80's again tomorrow so I will need to get out early ... just too warm for my liking! Especially for this early in the season in Colorado! Usually the lilacs haven't even started to bloom and they are already almost finished!

I am loving how loose some of my clothes are getting. The t-shirts that used to be just right and actually sit too tightly over my bum and hips are now hanging loosely over my butt and hips without starting to ride up at all! I am starting to look a little different to my eyes. I just have to keep hoping and walking and trying and getting up again and again and trust that one day I will be one of the success stories... and you other lovely ladies too! Sleep well!

[longing2bfit]

Your kids sound so cute!!! We need more 'moms' in the world like you!!! Your going to be a great grandma too I can tell.. we are on our 14th grandchild!! And we love it!! we were blessed with 6 kids and 1 semi-adopted one..

Let me know how the pre-planning and tracking go for you.. have you tried the paleo tracker instead of the more CW ones?? It fits how we eat so much better and the sign up is just your email and a password!!

Food journal for the Paleo Diet - PaleoTrack

[Siobhan]

What a laugh I got about your kids and the dust baths! If you want some pictures, they will probably oblige you another time.

I love paleotracker, it is fun and easy and does, in fact, keep me on track. Can't believe stuff like this is free -

[Coll]

Hi gues! I have had a busy few days indeed. Yesterday I worked in the yard from about 6:45 am until about 9:30 am when I stopped to make the kids breakfast. I wasn't hungry yet so lay down for about 20 minutes and then headed out to work some more outside. I was expecting to feel lightheaded and yuk because I was doing really heavy work, but to my amazement I felt just fine. I shoveled soil for hours and pushed a heavily loaded wheelbarrow around (and previously I had only managed 2 wheelbarrow loads and yesterday I did at least 6!) And some of the loads were definitely a bigger load. I was putting 40 shovels full of soil in (it helps to count for some reason) and some of them had 50+ yesterday. And I am not sore today! I was tired last night - pooped actually, but no muscle stiffness today!! I am getting in shape and it showed yesterday! I ended up having a glass of raw whole milk and some macadamia nuts and about a cup of carrots for lunch as I just wasn't hungry, but knew that I needed something after my 'workout'. Felt great on that I must say.

ANother VERY exciting thing showed up yesterday!!! As you may have realised I have very sensitive and generally unhappy skin. I burn really easily which really aggravates my skin lesions and makes them red and angry looking. I also refuse to wear regular sunscreen as that is even worse for my skin. I have sun blocking clothing and a huge hat for times when I feel I have had enough sun. Well, yesterday I was outside for the main part of the day and was very focused on my work as it was requiring a lot of energy. As a result I forgot about the sun issue until later in the afternoon I noticed my skin was feeling a bit sensitive to the sun's rays! I kind of freaked I must admit as I REALLY don't want to burn!! I got my hat on and stood in the shade for the short time I stayed outside after that. My skin did look a little pink and usually if I am already pink I would be like a lobster by that evening - by the time I went to bed last night my arms weren't even slightly pink anymore!!!!!!! I am just a little browner today!!!! I am so excited as I feel this is a sign that my skin and system are getting healthier!! I have also noticed that my feet are looking MUCH better. I still have cracks that I am trying to get healed up but my callouses and peeling skin under my big toes are pretty much gone. I have been using a new pumice stone every night in the shower - but nonetheless I was NOT using it under my toes because I absolutely hate it when my skin there peels and usually using a stone on it would get it going... I feel like there is a change in my skin health and this is a huge deal for me. I still can't believe I didn't burn - what a thrill. I did notice that my vitamin A levels are high with my food and I know this really helps with sunburn. Whatever the reason I am just happy.

I have also heard that once you are sugar free mosquitoes are not particularly interested in biting you. I will be able to test that out here at this new rental as the pasture below our house is full of marshy spots and shallow ponds where the frogs are singing their hearts out. The previous renters warned us that the place is absolutely miserable with mozzies come summer time - I really hope that it helps that we are sugar free!

I am going to have to look at paleotracker - I had looked at paleotrack but found that I like fitday better. Fitday gives me a good breakdown of how much I am getting and I already have a bunch of custom foods added which is helpful. Mark recommended fitday in his book which was how I found it.

I have at last finished the garden out front! It looks all nice and ready for some flowers DH took me plant shopping this afternoon - one of my favourite things to do!! Found all kinds of fun and beautiful plants. And now this evening we have the first real precipitation in months - helping my grass seed to get a good start. It has been so dry and warm that I have been unable to keep up with the watering needs now that I have freshly seeded grass to try and get going - this rain is a Godsend and I am very grateful.

Going to try for an early night and tomorrow I am going to be taking better note of what I eat ... here is what I can remember for today
Breakfast: salmon, a handful of baby carrots, black tea with milk, cream and stevia
Lunch: 1/3 cup macadamia nuts, 'healthy' deli meat (nitrate etc free but not organic), apple sauce and black tea with cream and milk and stevia
Dinner: Sausage and little bit of cauliflower and carrots. (easiest things I could grab) and a bowl of berries and cream. 2 squares of dark chocolate. Yum

Hopefully it is going to be a bit less hectic again so that I can keep on track here - I weighed this morning and I was down to 201 lbs. We'll see after eating more than I needed today - probably up a little tomorrow. I have not prepared what I was going to eat the last two days and I find I feel a little lost on amounts and what to eat. I really do still need help on my macros until I get a better feel for what works for me.

Well, I am close to my first short term goal - once I am below 200 lbs I am going to buy myself some Huaraches I have a real problem with buying shoes _ I grew up barefoot most of the time and as a result I have wide feet with a pretty high arch. I can never find shoes that are comfortable and it is even worse here in the USA as the styles are much longer and narrower than in SAfrica. And then once I have lost more weight I want to get some vibrams! I go barefoot inside all the time and only part of the time outside as there are nasty cactuses that lurk quietly in the grass for some unwary sole that wanders by! (ask our dog about them - she is constantly getting spiked!)

Good night ladies! I have some catching up to do with my reading of your journals. I just don't have enough time in my day to keep up with you all!

[Coll]

What is the web address for paleotracker? I can't get on for some reason...