My Journey from Sugar Burner to Fat Burner - jenn26point2's Primal Journal page 2

[jenn26point2]

Today is Day 8... and I'm feeling sluggish, tired and my digestive system in up in arms today.

This weekend, my first weekend as a Primal Cavemanette, was better than most weekends before Primal, but FAR from Primal by Mark's definition.

Saturday, we had pizza for dinner. Sunday, I allowed myself to drink some "orange juice" with HFCS in it. Drank a lot of it, in fact. I also allowed myself to eat some ice cream with too much pineapple and strawberry topping on it.

Today, I feel like garbage. I also gained 2 lbs. Already, after only a week, my body is revolting against things it once enjoyed - well, was forced to endure, rather.

I feel sleepy. I could easily place my head on my desk and fall asleep. No question. So I feel tired and kind of run down. The biggest thing I noticed though, because who wouldn't, is the intestinal issues. Without going into details, my gut punished me today. And it was definitely uncomfortable in a painful kind of way.

And as a result of the sugar consumption this weekend, I am ravenous today. My mind is NOT satisfied with the healthy foods I brought with me to work. I've already plowed through my lunch box and eaten everything in sight. I'm fearful that I'll have to resort to another handful of almonds. Only other option is a piece of dark chocolate, but I don't really want to stave off a craving for sugar with sugar... kind of keeps the cycle going, ya know?

Book report: I've made it through chapters 1 - 5 of the Primal Blueprint. I finished 5 and started 6 on the bike over lunch where I did 30 minute at a 15.5 mph clip. I traveled 7.7 miles in 30 minutes. Pretty awesome. Heart rate was only at 131 for a majority of the time which is 67% of my max??? did I do that right? My max is 194. Hmmm... interesting.

Anyhow, back to the book. I am enjoying it. I am learning much more about things I didn't even realize where a problem. For instance, lectins... I didn't realize that they damage the intestinal tract or that they contribute to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis... A friend of mine has a thyroid that is no longer functional and her doctor diagnosed her with Hashimoto's, so I'm going to share this info with her. I know she was working on eliminating grains to see how it would help her just from the info she gathered from MDA. I think she'll be interested in this.

Tonight, I have an appointment with the psychiatrist to renew my drug prescriptions. I have eliminated one drug from my list of medications and she's going to probably give me some grief for that, but I don't want to take it anymore. It was Adderall XR and I think it caused more problems than good. My mood was terrible, my depression worsened, my heart rate was higher, thus making running more difficult. So, I stopped taking it. She will learn that this afternoon. I will also bring the Primal Blueprint to her attention and tell her that my intent is to envelope myself in this lifestyle and eliminate the need for the antidepressant she has me taking. There's no doubt that I need the medication now, but I don't plan on that continuing.

Dinner will be Primal Beef and Broccoli. I'm sure my kids will shun it. But, they'll have a deer/pork burger ready for them to eat if that's the case. I grilled up 15 little slider sized burgers for them yesterday. And then I'm going to bed early tonight! I really want a nap, so early to bed it'll be.

have a great afternoon and evening, everyone.

[Sabine]

Jenn, good job just keeping at it.
Some things that have really helped me with my family are that, one, I don't really discuss the diet. I just make the food and put it in front of them. They have no idea if it is primal or not. Two, I keep lots of the things they really love on hand. Each of my family members (besides me) has been going through a carton of blueberries every other day this last week. We have a large sack of chocolate chips (just dark, insteadof semi-sweet) in the freezer. We do dairy, so I always have a variety of cheeses for them to snack on. Three, I serve any non-primal things I haven't weaned them off of, on the side, instead of integrated, and I only make half as much.
For myself, I think I cannot repeat often enough, getting enough sleep EVERY night has worked wonders.
Good luck with your doctor! Don't worry if she thinks you're crazy for thinking diet can impact your mood. How you'll be feeling will be the best proof you're not.

[Candy in Wonderland]

Hi Jen, found you!
Good luck on your journey .

I agree with Sabine, don't push it too hard because it will have the opposite effect. I notice now that I don't push them anymore they are more inclined to eat new things . But then again, my kids love meat and only my youngest son is not so keen on vegetables and fruit. They do love tomatoes and bell peppers, so I have them handy any time (although I'm reading nightshades are not ok for everybody, for the moment we're just keeping them). DH and kids still have bread, pasta, rice,... but I try to cook less of it.

[jenn26point2]

And the doubts are setting in...

Everytime I find a plan that I'm excited about and start to implement, about 2 weeks in I start to doubt it and then fall off track. Primarily I'm doubtful b/c today I feel super super bloated. To primal's defense, I did eat a lot of almonds during my history class this morning in an attempt to stay awake, so the bloat is probably from that. I likely won't eat again until dinner since I ate so many nuts.

Anyhow, I confessed that this weekend I polished off the vanilla ice cream. Since then, I've felt like crap. I'm sooo dang tired! It could be daylight savings time catching up with me though, too. I don't know.

The scale has been mean to me - again, too much sugar this weekend, not enough water, etc, etc, etc. I gained 2 lbs over the weekend, lost one between yesterday and today. It drives me nuts that my weekends always derail my progress. It's a viscious cycle of lose, gain, relose, regain, relose, regain... blah blah blah. I need to get my weekends under control.

Made the meatloaf that was posted by Mark as a freezer meal. Everyone LOVED it! I was so shocked. My son was just chowing it down like you wouldn't believe! I made the recipe as written, but instead of putting it in a loaf pan, I used an 8x8 pan. I cut it into 6 pieces. My son ate one entire piece. He freaking loved it! I'm telling you... ground meats are his thing! Baby girl liked it too, but she's not picky yet.

The test came with my husband. I can sneak things like carrots and celery and onions into ground meats and get them by my son. My husband is a different game though b/c he can see and recognize the items. Turns out he was impressed by the meatloaf too! He said it's definitely a keeper! YAY!! I pleased EVERYONE in the family with dinner last night.

I paired the meatloaf with baked potatoes that I cubed up and fried in butter and Mrs. Dash, and added some peas. I know... peas are a legume, but they're frozen and I have a TON of them in the freezer, so I figure we'll eat them periodically instead of pitching them. The book says they're ok occasionally, so I plan to work through them slowly til they're gone. It sucks that they're a legume too b/c they're my favorite freaking veggie! I even planted some this weekend before I read that section of the book. Only planted 6 seeds though, so I won't get much for peas from there.

That being said... I need something OTHER than potatoes to serve my family. It feels weird having only a meat and a mixed veggie or something with dinner. I grew up with 3 things on my plate, went to college following the same rule, and have served my family the same way. Meat, veggie, starch. It's so hard to break that cycle and feel like I'm providing enough food. Maybe if I don't do mixed veggies it won't seem so odd to me. Like if I serve carrots and broccoli instead. Or pair every meal with a salad. I also need meal ideas that are quick and don't take an hour and a half to prepare. We couldn't eat dinner last night until after 7:30!!!

Speaking of salad... anyone have any good salad dressing recipes? I'm not a fan of balsamic vinegrette. It tastes rank or rotten to me so I don't like it. And if I don't like it, I can guarantee no one in my family will like it. I'm the one with the most open tastes when it comes to new foods. I'm looking for maybe a primal version of ranch dressing or italian dressing.

I am going to sneak out for my walk and maybe some push-ups and pull-ups now. It's beautiful outside today. Can't waste it in the gym!!

[andyTHFC]

Great read...keep up the good work! I can definitely relate to the difficulties of being the only person in the family doing the primal thing. It can be very frustrating at times.

[Candy in Wonderland]

You're doing great, don't give up now! So good your family liked the meatloaf. I know you can feel like a "bad mom" or like you're really rejected when they reject a certain food (been there, done that, could write a book about it ), but you have to learn to accept that most kids (and husbands for that matter ) are reluctant to change. don't get too frustrated, just keep something you know they'll eat handy if you're concerned they won't eat (enough of) something. My kids have come to an age where I know they won't starve if they miss (part of) a meal .

We had a paleo version of chili con carne tonight, we called it: Sin Chili con carne, it's basically without beans, but I added celery and carrots instead. I served it with guacamole and greek yogurt (instead of sour cream) and DH and kiddo's had taco-shells with them. And it was soooooooooooo good! Everybody just loved it (even youngest son who initially didn't want to eat it, I allowed him to leave out the celery but he did eat the carrots).
I think if you replace your potatoes with another vegetable maybe you feel better about it? I also make more than one kind of vegetable (although I still cook potatoes for hubby and kids).

[andyTHFC]

..... but you have to learn to accept that most kids (and husbands for that matter ) are reluctant to change.

hey now

[Candy in Wonderland]

hey now

there's always the exception to the rule

[Sabine]

Jenn, I usually have two vegetables at every dinner. This gives me a good choice of leftovers for my breakfasts and lunches, as a bonus. Cauli-rice is a good starch substitute, and my family happily eats it once a week. Plus, it looks like a starch! Baked sweet potatoes are another great side that most kids love. Oh, and coleslaw!

[jenn26point2]

Funny you mentioned that, Sabine. My son did NOT like sweet potatoes! Weird kid. He's seriously going to drive me nuts.

Candy, I batch cooked a whole bunch of mini burgers made with deer and pork the other day for when the kids refuse to eat what I made. I found some chicken nugget recipes I plan to try too. But, I wonder if I'm going to have to food process the chicken and form it into the shape of dinosaurs for that 5 year old turd of mine to touch them... ARGH! He frustrates me sometimes!

I think tonight I might swing into walmart and get a frozen bag of chicken tenders (the real ones, not the chicken strip type) and bread them up and see if he'll eat them. I'll bread them with coconut flour and maybe some ground coconut... idk. The ground cocunut might be too much to start. He's been asking for chicken strips, so maybe it's time to make them Primal for him.

I also found a ranch dressing recipe that I think can be made primal by using primal mayo. The person who posted it to pinterest said to use raw buttermilk, but I don't know where I'd find that at, so thinking regular buttermilk will be fine to start. I will attempt that recipe this weekend when I have time to goof it up and try again.