My Journey from Sugar Burner to Fat Burner - jenn26point2's Primal Journal page 3

[theprimalcajun]

hi Jenn!! we've all "been there done that bought the t-shirt!" lol Don't give up! You're doing good!

We are alot alike in many ways! I also grew up "in three's!" We always had a meat, vegi & some kind of startch, either potatoes, rice or macaroni. Mostly rice. Its a cajun thing! lol Its a very hard conditioning to break. I have always cooked the same way for us (altho not as much rice as its not hubby's favorite), & its just the hubby & I now. He is not primal so I still fix him a side & its very hard for me to not have any. I do like Sabine & either make an extra vegi or else I will make a side salad. Gotta have 3 things!

As you continue to read Mark's book more things will make sense & you can begin to incorporate them. Try sweet potato fries & see if the kiddo's like them. I bought some frozen & fried them in some coconut oil & they were really good. And I don't like sweet potatoes!! Next on my list of things to try is roasted vegi's...broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sw. potatoes all mixed together & tossed with either olive oil or coconut oil. I don't like balsamic anything either...so you might try just a little EVOO & Red Wine Vinegar on your salads. I have a recipe for making a ranch dressing seasoning mix that you can mix with homemade mayo & some buttermilk. When I find the recipe I'll post it to my blog or my journal.

This is a continuous learning experience for all of us. I have only been primal since the first of January & I have hit a plateau. But I'm determined to stick with it as I've done enough reading to know I can never go back to eating the 'old ways'.

I'd also like to mention one more thing the other's touched on...sleep is crucial in this lifestyle. And sleep in a dark room. I tried to eliminate as much as possible the things that give off light in the bedroom...especially my clock radio on my night stand, since I don't have to get up at a certain time. Before I decided to get rid it of it I just covered it since it was pretty bright. I also got rid of the night light in the bathroom. Can't do anything about hubby's clock on his side of the bed since he has to get up with it but I try to keep it turned away from the bed...but of course he keeps turning it back! lol I also try to remember to turn off the nightlight in the kitchen. He also turns it back on if I go to bed before he does! Its a vicious circle! Anyways...one of the things I noticed just a couple of weeks into going primal was my sleep improved drastically. But only after I started going to bed at a decent hour (I can stay up for hours reading journals!!). Its hard but I have made myself a bedtime that I try to stick to.

Keep up the good work & remember we're here to support each other!

[jenn26point2]

I am working on the bedtime. Last night, I was lights out at 10:10. My kids go to bed between 8:30 and 9:00. I typically don't get home from work until 5:30, so by the time dinner is done and baths are done, it's 7:30 or 8:00. That last half hour is used for all of us to chill a bit before we head for bed.

Last night, I was in bed by 10, and read a bit of PB until I felt drowsy, then I turned out the light and went to sleep, despite DH still being up in the living room (right outside our bedroom) with the TV on and lights on. I fell asleep just fine and didn't wake when he came to bed.

However, I have two young kids and my 5 year old STILL does not sleep through the night. He found his way to our bed last night about 1. I barely noticed him until my alarm went off and I started the snooze button cycle. Last night I was just too tired to get up and put him back in his bed so I left him with us.

Tonight, since DS was nearly impossible to get ready for school and was moping around, he'll likely be in bed by 8:30 instead of 9. DD does pretty good at sleeping through the night even at the age of 2. Sometimes she wakes up and I'm the one that takes care of her b/c I wake up either way - either to do it myself or to send DH... even when I send DH, I remain awake for whatever reason.

I will do my best to crawl into bed by 9:30 tonight.

PrimalCajun, i have made homemade sweet potato fries, and no one liked them (except me and it was borderline with me). I will try the frozen ones with coconut oil and see what happens.

[theprimalcajun]

Jenn...the ones I bought were like shoestring style & really crispy. I hope ya'll like them ok. I've even had them at a restaurant & they were sprinkled with a kind of seasoning & some parmesan cheese...very tasty. (This was pre-primal)

When you have little kids the sleep thing gets tough. A nap in the afternoon if possible is good too according to some of the primal things I've read.

hope you have a great afternoon & evening!

[jenn26point2]

A nap??? During the week? Are you kidding me? Hahaha Not happenin. I work full time so there's no chance for a nap on any day that doesn't start with S.

Made chicken strips coated in almond flour, sauteed in coconut oil and then finished them off in the oven. DS says he liked them. He didn't eat much of them - said he was full. Usually if he doesn't like something, he flat out tells me. He kept telling me he liked these, so I guess I'll believe him. DH even liked them!

Dinner was butterfly pork chops on the grill and a california blend veggie. Good meal.

[jenn26point2]

So today is my 10th day without Mt. Dew. Starting to miss the lil' feller. But I won't invite him back into my life yet. I don't think I could control myself around his sugary delishiousness. I'll wait a bit longer so I can guarantee my first sip will have my head buzzing and my teeth hurting so that I don't go back.

FINALLY, today, that last of the two lbs I gained over the weekend seems to be gone. I don't know. My scale is confused, I think. When I stepped on it said 214, then jumped to 215. So I stepped off and tried again. This time it stayed in the 214 range. Can't help but wonder if the battery is having some issues. It's had the same battery since I bought it over 2 years ago... was it two years ago or four??? I can't remember. Maybe I should change out the batt.er.y...

I am enjoying the new lifestyle. It's a bit to get adjusted to - especially when your brain is used to seeing three food items on your plate each night. It's hard to see only 2 (meat and veggie). Every day since starting I have been right on the mark with my calories - but MyFitnessPal yells at me because my fat is high and my protein is high. Exactly the way Primal wants it to be! Carbs have been consistenly below 100 g daily. I like that.

Noticed today that I looked slimmer in my shirt despite the lack of movement on the scale. I might measure but I'm afraid that my eyes could be tricking me into seeing something that's not really there, so maybe I'll wait.

There are days when the "old me" (is it too early to say that) would feel slighted by the new workouts, but I enjoy doing all the walking, tossing in a few push-ups here and there, maybe a pull-up or 20, and riding the bike for 30 minutes while reading. I enjoy going outside and playing with my kidlets and knowing that it's enough to create a calorie burn b/c it's about frequent movement, not an hour on a treadmill. Don't get me wrong, I still run - just not as much as I used to and not as far.

Which brings me to racing... I'm not driven to train for a half marathon right now. I'm not even driven to train for a 5k. I'm just enjoying what I'm doing and waiting for the fat to fall off my body. I don't know if I'll do a half marathon at all this year. We will have to see. I don't feel like my body is run down anymore - like the batteries are depleated from excessive use. I feel good.

I've tried a few new recipes that have been a hit. Last night I made chicken strips using almond meal flour and coconut oil. They were goooood. Even BRADY liked them! The night before I made meatloaf using carrots and celery instead of a carby grain to hold it all together. FAMILY HIT! Everyone loved it!!

Brad is enjoying all the meat he gets to eat. Beef jerky, chicken legs/wings, pork chops, burgers (homemade and on the grill, of course, with no bun). He complained last night that not eating carbs is making him more hungry. I didn't have the patience to tell him the reason he still feels hungry is because his body still thinks it's dependent on carbs since he won't stop eating bread. I didn't want the argument so I told him that maybe he's actually thirsty instead.

I learned that Mondays are my hungry day - at least they have been the last two weeks - because my weekends are usually loaded with grainy carbs or starchy carbs. I'm going to attempt to keep this weekend grain free and see how I feel on Monday. I think when the body lacks something it's used to, even if it's bad for you, it feels like it's missing out on a nutrient, and thus tells you you're hungry when you're really not in order to satisfy the void created by eliminating that something. If I don't eat grains, I don't feel hungry all the time. This is the first time in my weight loss history where I haven't been constantly plagued by thoughts of food or planning my next meal or playing with the numbers to see if I can get something "sinful" to fit. I always seem to have PLENTY of room left over at the end of the day for that something extra if I feel I need it.

My new snack passion is raspberries, coconut and whipped cream. Yum.

[jenn26point2]

I just discovered that I never actually formally introduced myself.

I'm Jenn. I am 32 years old. I'm a wife of 6 years and a mother (5 yo son, 2 yo daughter). I'm here to lose weight and get healthy. I'm tired of fighting my genes and jeans. I'm a runner who has been running from her diet for almost 5 years now. I always believed that if i was running, i could eat whatever I wanted. Learned the hard what that doesn't work. So here I am, taking a different approach and focusing on diet and adding a bit of fitness here and there.

Ok. that's done.

Now, on to today.

Foods:
3 boiled eggs and Chobani yogurt
28 lightly salted almonds
4 oz butterflied pork chops, "California" blend veggies
3 boiled eggs, small apple
Primal Mongolian Beef
20 oz Gatorade - need to locate and purchase some coconut water to avoid the post run headaches.

Movement:
Sprint/walk intervals for 23 minutes. Covered 2 miles
walk to and from gym in 16 minutes. Covered 0.9 miles

Sun:
Yes. Lots of it. Ran outside. Sun was beautiful!

Sleep (last night):
Went to bed at 10. Read for a while (The PB). Son woke me up at 11:30. Took him back to his bed. Slept til alarm went off at 5:20. Snooze buttoned til 5:45.

I took my measurements today. Minimal change, but for the most part, things changed for the better.

Final thought: I wish I was outside today. It's a beautiful 73 degree day - scratch that - 75 degree day. I wish I could be outside enjoying it instead of stuck in my office. boooo At least I have windows. YAY!

[jenn26point2]

Note to all who are interested... coconut flour does NOT replace cornstarch. Tried it tonight and it created a gritty non-creamy texture in the sauce for the Mongolian Beef. Anyone know of a good replacement for cornstarch? Potato starch, maybe? Need to know for more than just this recipe b/c I like to make gravy when we have pot roast.

[theprimalcajun]

Jenn...its not really primal but I've been using a little bit of tapioca flour in some things. even battered a couple of chicken strips the other night & fried in coconut oil to see how it worked. Worked just like regular flour & was yummy! Not something I would use all the time of course but its the best I've come up with so far. Rice flour may also work...but I haven't tried that yet. Again not something I would use very often.

I have also made I think its called Brazillian cheese bread? with the flour...also called manioc flour which is from the cassaba root. There is evidence that the Mayans cultivated the roots 1400 years ago. Anyways..the bread was very tasty & I made them like hamburger buns. The mix I used only makes 4 & I put them in the freezer & just take one out every now & then when I have a hankering for a sandwich. It is still a starch, so I don't have it often of course.

I have decided I don't much like coconut flour. I don't like coconut anyways, but I just don't like the texture of the flour. Coconut oil is ok tho.

hope that helps!

[andyTHFC]

Anyone know of a good replacement for cornstarch? Potato starch, maybe? Need to know for more than just this recipe b/c I like to make gravy when we have pot roast.

Arrowroot

[Sabine]

Jenn- a good substitute for Gatorade is make-your-own electrolyte water.
8C water
juice of one lemon or lime
1t salt (I use 1/2 regular iodized, 1/2 himalayan)
1t sweetener(optional)
It has just enugh of a taste to feel like you are drinking something besides water, but not overpowering.

Good job on relaxing your physical activity. Seems like a lot of people can NOT give that up, even as an experiment. I'm such a sloth it seems funny to me that you could be addicted to exercise, but it is possible.