My Journey from Sugar Burner to Fat Burner - jenn26point2's Primal Journal page 4

[jenn26point2]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I play to reattempt the Mongolian Beef because, like I said, it had good flavor, just a really bad texture with the coconut flour.

I love love LOVE coconut. It's probably my favorite smell and taste in the world... do you suppose it would be safe to buy a jar of coconut oil and place it in my car as an air freshener?? That stuff smells SOOOOO divine! LOVE IT!

Today, I have already gone overboard, but will likely not be hungry for quite a while.

Breakfast:
2 boiled eggs
3 Primal Energy Bar Redux (except mine are cut into 16s instead of 12s like called for in the recipe)

Lunch:
Garden greens
3 oz chicken breast
lemon juice

Snack:
2 boiled eggs
apple

Dinner:
Ham steak
and something else... don't know yet.

Fitness: 4 functional movements and 20 minutes on the bike, plus walk to and from the gym

Sun: will receive 16 minutes of sun exposure on way to and from gym - provided it doesn't cloud up.

Play: Ham steak is a quick meal so I'll be playing outside with my kiddos I think. Love chasing my kiddos around the yard.


Last night, we ended up having pizza for dinner and I ate the crust. Bad deal. My gut has been VERY unhappy since. That's really all I've got for today. My gut is very unhappy, so it's time to drink some extra water to flush the garbage. I feel very crappy today. Lots of pressure in the gut. Ugh...

Oh, and I downloaded a bunch of samples to my Kindle of Primal/Paleo books. I downloaded Everyday Paleo, The Paloe Solution, The Paleo Diet, and Wheat Belly. lol Got lots of reading ahead of me.

[jenn26point2]

Wow... how quickly we can revert to poor behaviors! Last night I discovered I was out of potatoes. I was planning on grilling a ham steak and having a side of mashed potatoes with it. I discovered I was out of potatoes and knew DH wasn't going to be home for a while (he was wrapping a race car), so I browsed through our pantry. I found some Knorr Lipton Pasta Sides that I absolutely love and decided I would make them for dinner as well. It was either that or give them away and I really really love that dish, so I figured we could eat it. And that began the slide...

After dinner, like at 9:30, I was having a sugar attack... I committed the ultimate sin - peanut butter cookies. I ate 3.

This morning, I ate two cookies from Casey's.

This afternoon, I'm donating blood and they always have cookies and juice/soda for after the donation. Presently, I'm planning on having a sugar free cookie and some apple juice... but I KNOW I'm going to battle myself when it comes to that point b/c I'll want the oatmeal raisin cookies and the Dew. I'm 12 days Dew Free.

I'm feeling really weak today - mentally weak, not physically.

Last night I spent a lot of time outside with my kids. They played in the sandboxes and I sat and watched. So relaxing! I'm hoping to do the same tonight.

Dinner tonight will be burgers on the grill. I will probably stop at Walmart on my way home this afternoon and pick up a few groceries. Better yet, HyVee. I'll grab some of those frozen sweet potato fries... are they in the frozen potato section?? i've never seen them before so I don't know where to look. I also need to cook up my squash this weekend. I have a yellow squash (cost me 3 cents... I was so excited about that) and a zucchini. I'm not sure how to prepare them. I envision the beauty of having them sliced and grilled, but don't know how to do it. Pointers anyone?

My husband has always had fried zucchini, so I even thought about breading them in coconut flour or almond meal and sauteeing them in some olive oil or something. I'll also grab some white potatoes to slice up and make into fries for the fam.

I think I might toss some pork ribs in the crockpot for Sunday. Not sure yet about Saturday. Saturday we have a car show at the mall. We'll take the race car down, show off DH's beautiful wrap job and maybe drum up some more sponsors or clients. I'll take the kids down for a short period to walk around and see the cars. I promised DS that we'd go to the park at some point this weekend. Maybe Saturday afternoon? Saturday night we have a fundraiser party to go to for one of our racing friends. He'll sell raffle tickets, serve sandwiches and what not to raise money. I think I'll be able to control myself without much problem there if I eat before we go - or if I order a burger from the bar.

Sunday I'd like to take the kids to the state park to do some hiking. I picture us out there for about 2-3 hours walking the trails. Not sure though b/c I see that it's supposed to rain. No fun! If it rains, I don't know what we'll do for activity. I'm sure I can find PLENTY of housework to do since my house has been trashed by the Toys R Us goblins, but for them... I don't know.

Um... what else... I think that's all. I hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday. My work day ends in an hour and I can't freaking wait!

[jenn26point2]

Oh Em Gee... I feel like crap today. Tired, sluggish, headache. Danged sugar and grains! Why did I allow myself to do that?!?!

Definitely HUNGOVER today. Sorry, dear sweet body. I'll do better. I promise.

[theprimalcajun]

poor jenn...we feel your pain!! My mom ate some rice yesterday at lunch (she's not the cajun side) & that was the first time since she started primal...she called me later in the afternoon & said she was having stomach pains. Not nauseated or anything just stomach cramps. So she said no more slipping for her!!

On the squash...one way I do my yellow & zucchini is to fry a few pieces of bacon till crispy...pour off some of the bacon fat but leave a little. Then throw in some onions to saute a little...then add about 3 T of butter & your squash's (which have been sliced on the thick side)...stir it all up & put a lid on the pot & let them cook down a little. Oh sooooo yummy.

Today at Target I bought a special wire basket that you can use to roast vegi's on the grill...I bought some squash today (hurry up garden!!) to try, & some mushrooms, onions, carrots, bell pepper & whatever else I find. I want to do some in the oven too...but I bet they are much better on the grill.

And if you haven't found them yet the sweet potato fries are in the frozen section where the french fries are!

Hope you have a great weekend!!

[Sabine]

Jenn, I hope you made it through your blood-letting without grabbing the sugar. I felt so sad when I read about your slide. Isn't it scary when we can see ourselves doing something we don't want to...and yet we keep doing it!
I have found ascorbic acid (1tsp in a shot glass of water) to stop sugar cravings in their tracks. But, you have to remember to take it. Once I was pacing my kitchen, trying to fight off the urges, and it still didn't occur to me to take it. When I realized it afterwards, I felt like an idiot. So, a mental trick I figured out, is to say out loud to myself, 'I am having a sugar craving, but I am not hungry'. Somehow, vocalizing, helps engage the thinking part of my brain, and I can figure out what to do, instead of just reacting.
Hope your journaling yesterday had the same effect, and you had a good evening

[Candy in Wonderland]

Hi Jen, hope you had a nice weekend! So sorry to read about your sugar cravings...isn't it great though that you can feel it in your body that you've eaten things you shouldn't? I mean, we used to eat all that 'crap' before and didn't listen to our bodies feeling bad about it, but now you can tell immediately.
Well, just jump back on the wagon and we'll continue our journey .
Big hug!

[Sabine]

What Candy said is so true.
When I think about how I abused my body before, and yet the effects were masked by my youth, and the 'druggy' side-effects of what I was eating, I can only be grateful that now I know when I am hurting myself. And that I have wised up enough to do something about it besides popping pills or shooting up.
Now, if I can just keep a little 'there but for the grace of God' in my attitude, I just might be able to heal myself.

[jenn26point2]

My weekend as a whole was really good. Lots of movement. Saturday I wandered around the car show with my kids. Didn't rest much while I was there b/c I have a 2 year old who loves to explore. So, we walked and walked and walked for a few hours. Saturday evening, DH and I went out for dinner. Not Primal. Well, most of it was, but the copious amounts of rolls and cinnamon "butter" were far from it. Then we went to Wally World and wandered around for a bit, picked up some things we needed and went home.

Sunday, my sister and I took the kids (4 of them) to the state park and we hiked for an hour. For half of it, I hiked with a 35 lb pack that I call Daughter. She's 2. I knew she wouldn't be able to walk the whole 1.2 miles around the park, so it's all good. We had lunch (burger and sugary sauce - yes, I ate the bun) and then went to my dad's where the kids continued to play until they were so whiney that we wanted to knock them out, at which time we took them home and put them down for naps. Dinner was chicken legs on the grill, zucchini and squash in a butter bath on the grill, and a potato recipe I ran across on the forums - can't remember what they're called. Something like Crash Hot Potatoes, or something like that. It was good.

Dinner was stressful though b/c neither of my kids wanted to eat what I had made. My daughter didn't eat anything for dinner last night. My son finally gave in and ate a piece of chicken. Then bedtime was stressful b/c everyone was crabby after a long day outside. I gave in to my emotional eating and drove to the store, bought some ice cream and a can of Mt. Dew. So much for my 15 day Dew Free streak. Oh well. Today is sugar hangover day. And I find it to be more than coincidental that all evening last night I felt like I was having cramps. I felt like TOM was setting to appear and that's not likely, so it must have been my poor diet.

On a brighter note... I'm reading Wheat Belly and agree with everything the author says about wheat and how it affects our systems. I'm saddened that he doesn't discuss other grains with the same detail, but wheat is a bigger culprit because it's everywhere, I think. I'll keep reading and see how it goes. I have a lot of books on deck. Time to get reading!

Have a good one everyone. I'll check back later to enter my food consumption and activities for today.

[jenn26point2]

Is it normal that every time I see someone eating bread, or a donut or sugar or anything non-primal that I want to bust into my best Mr. Garrison voice and say "Wheat is bad, mmkay?" lol

Today has been a good day. Probably 80% primal. I didn't realize when I bought it, but my bag of frozen veggie had a sauce on it... and there was corn starch and maltodextrin in the ingredients. Looking at the bag, it said Sugar Snap Peas, red peppers, potatoes and herbs... no mention of sauce. I know, I know, peas are legumes, but I was going to something quick and easy with the least amount of damage to my Primal lifestyle. It was mighty tasty, though...

I made some primal protein bars... they don't taste the same if you forget the protein powder... but they're still overly addicting. Sooo sooo addicting. Binge producing, in fact... nuff said.

I'm over my calorie goal for today, but like I was told in the Serving Size forum topic, I have been told to pay little attention to calories in the beginning until I get the food choices under wraps.

exercise today was a nice 2.4 mile walk and functional strength. Things are going well there too. My knees hurt a bit... so not squatting as deeply until they feel better again.

Made mashed cauliflower last night... there was no fooling my family. They knew it wasn't potatoes. That might be a dish that is only made for me from here on out. It didn't go over well at all. Husband ate it, but wasn't overly impressed. Son and daughter didn't touch it.

with that, I'm off to class. Won't make it to bed at a decent time tonight. Class til 10. Night all!

[jenn26point2]

So, it's kind of depressing to see no one has responded to your journal.

Did really well yesterday. Stayed primal the entire day. Had class last night from 6 til 10. One of my classmates brought Girl Scout Cookies... my favorites were there. Samoas... mmmmmmmm... But I didn't eat any. I easily avoided them, actually. The sugar and wheat content was enough to keep me away. NSV for sure! I can sit and eat an entire box of those danged things at once!

Last night after class, I come home to find my husband and 5 year old son on the couch. Son looks all sad and stuff like he's sick, so I ask what's wrong. DH tells me to look at his finger, which had gotten infected. About a week ago he broke the skin on a wheel rim at the neighbor's house. I didn't think much of it at the time and put a bandaid on it since it was bleeding a tiny bit. A couple days later I looked at it and it looked fine. Scabbed over like it should be and looking good. Monday he complained that it hurt a bit, but my son is always finding these old "owies" and telling me he needs a bandaid. He's always showing me old owies saying "Look mom! I have an owie." He's kind of a drama queen like that, so I didn't think much of it when he complained about it Monday. Glanced at it and it looked fine. Last night it was swollen, red and warm, and had a dime sized white circle around the puncture mark. Fearing sepsis and tetanus and strep pyogenes, I took him to the ER. We got there at 10:30 and checked in. They weren't worried about tetanus because he had been vaccinated for school, and they weren't worried about sepsis because it was too early. They said likely MRSA, which, in case you don't know, is an antibiotic resistant staph. At about 12:45 am they lanced open his finger, drained off the fluid, took a sample to be tested, gave us an antibiotic and sent us home. We should know in a couple of days what the infection is and whether or not we need any follow up appointments. So, I'm low on sleep. I slept an hour later today and came to work late. I texted my boss last night to let her know what was going on so they were aware that I wouldn't be there til late.

I took the advice of some fellow posters and added some fatty meat to my breakfast... maybe have added too much though b/c now my tummy is unhappy. I had 6 hormel sausage links b/c we have 3 packages of them in the freezer. My tummy feels a touch yucky now. I hope it passes. I had one egg with it b/c I was not hungry anymore (partly because my stomach was starting to hurt). Planning to eat the remaining eggs for lunch with a greek yogurt. Dinner is going to be burgers on the grill and probably grilled potatoes with butter, onions and spices. Supposed to take the kids to the park tonight too if it doesn't rain.

All in all, if I can stay awake, it should be a good day!

Edited to add that I am back in the 214 range for weight. I am really going to strive for a wheat free weekend so that I don't have to spend half the week relosing the water weight.