Primal Journal - Siobhan page 73

[Siobhan]

That is my hope - probably too much to hope that his heart problem will be cured, but hey, less inflammation is always better. I am very hopeful that I will be able to make the change if I am careful and put my mind to it.

Just got to thinking about exercise and my lack of it - lots of walking, lots of slow movement at work and around the house, but nothing organized. So I ran up the stairs three times and hung on a fire escape for as long as I could. One of the housekeepers saw me, but they already think I am crazy so it is okay. I was actually able to pull myself up a little bit on the fire escape. Sure feels good on my back to hang like that. Must start doing this all the time at work.

[Siobhan]

Just listened to Matt Stone at the http://realfoodsummit.com/. Really good information about weight loss. Makes me think about how to go forward as I grow nearer to my goal weight. Also made me feel good about getting there, the reality that weight loss slows the closer you get to your goal, the importance of not losing too quickly and losing lean body mass, which is really counterproductive. Stuff I know intuitively and from experience, but he validates and articulates everything.

[artyscat]

wow Siobhan great that the cats are trying out the new food ! one trick that helped us a bit was crumbling some of the 100% meat freeze dried treats on top of their food - they come in tuna , chicken and I think beef - anyhow the cats did love those and esp the one who was dedicated to biscuits ...

the exercise thing , just love the picture of you hanging off the fire escape with housekeeper looking on - brilliant ! anyhow I have plans for the gym next week so you are inspiring me to get on with that !

[Siobhan]

Yeah, who needs a gym when I have stairs and a fire escape? Maybe if I can make a little progress I will get inspired to actually go join the gym, something I can now afford to do. It sounds a lot more appealing since I don't have to do chronic cardio anymore. Mark says so! I even have a crazy idea of hiring some professional help in the short term if I can find someone on board with HIIT and lifting heavy things. Maybe kettlebells.

Back feels good! No whispers today.

Very hot but a nice cooling breeze off the water so it feels wonderful. I'm up very early after having a very trying night at work. The actual work was okay, but the air conditioning was ridiculous - it was 57 degrees in my office, that's 14 C I think. It was absurdly uncomfortable. We were all freezing. I had to keep going outside to get warm. That really wears out a body, being really, really cold. I was extremely cranky by the end of it.

My skin has gotten really nice again after a short period of wanting to break out. It was the milk, I'm pretty sure. There seems to be a threshold that I can't go over. A splash in my tea is okay, but drinking it or putting it in a smoothie is out. I have some goat milk now. Also the kefir was okay. And the coconut oil is skin-tastic. I can safely say my skin has never been so smooth, no trace of dryness and no breakouts. I haven't been wearing any makeup, just mascara and lipstick once in a while. This is really a great thing since it is too hot to put anything on anyway, it would just melt off.

Not stinky despite the heat. But I have been showering every day, it feels too nice not to. Bloody waste of water though.

The cat food experiment is coming along well! They both ate this morning, Slim Cat very enthusiastically and Tubby Cat after a little while. Slim seems to really like the food, and he has never been much for kibble. I am envisioning a slim Tub, and taking him to the vet and weighing him, and the vet asking me, "What did you do? He looks great!" I am getting as happy about him losing weight as I am about my own weight loss. And he hasn't even lost any yet...I'm projecting. Thanks for the tip about the freeze dried stuff - the guy in the store recommended it but I hesitated because I'm leery about spending lots of $$$$$. I don't mind spending if it is for the good, though. I will go get some today.

If I am counting correctly, this is my 15-week anniversary. It is no exaggeration to say these past weeks have been some of the happiest I have had in years. Not that much has changed, yet everything has changed. How odd to look forward to the future instead of just plodding through the days, held down by nameless worries. I feel I can face just about anything now. For one thing, I have. I've taken control of my finances, I have moved into an upgraded home, I have faced a physical problem and overcome it, I have improved my health and energy levels and lost a significant amount of weight. Hey, when I see it written out, it seems pretty cool!

During the night (at work) I ate some smoked salmon and raspberries (inspired by Mark's recipe) and some green olives. Anyone else find that eating a bit of bitter something with your meal increases satiation? I struggled to finish the salmon as I got full very quickly, but I wanted to be sure I ate enough to not be hungry again for a long while. Of course the bitterness comes with a nice dose of fat as well. Fat....mmmmm.....good stuff.

Well, I really should shove off to the pet food store. What am I doing up and lively at 2 PM? Biphasic sleeping - love it.

[Siobhan]

Did a 14-hour IF. Very easy to do, except when I drove into town to buy pet food and the smell of grilling meat was wafting everywhere. I actually put my hand up to make sure I wasn't drooling. Came home and had tomato/goat cheese/olive mixture and a huge sirloin steak with mushrooms cooked in butter. I meant to only eat half the steak, but it was lying there...perfectly cooked...seemed like such a shame to put it away. Now that I have eaten it, I am glad, because I would have still been hungry and I don't want to walk away hungry from a major meal. Debating having a glass of wine. I know it will probably make me sleepy, which is not entirely a bad thing as I want to watch a TV program on at 9 PM tonight and a little sleep now will facilitate that. Okay, I talked myself into it.

[Siobhan]

Had wine and also a fabulous dessert that probably everyone knows about. Fry banana in butter, add honey and a little chocolate - this could be served to a head of state with no fear. Now I am done eating!

[Siobhan]

Having pretty good luck with the cat food transition. I have progressed to putting the new food on top of the old food, and they are eating it and leaving the old stuff behind. I picked up a rather large free sample of quality kibble and mixed that in with their old stuff, and they are pretty much leaving that alone. I plan to phase out the kibble altogether. Of course it is beastly hot and I am sure that is affecting their appetites, making this more complicated. One problem I have is that Slim usually walks away from his food after a few bites and then comes back to it. Meanwhile Tub wolfs his down and moves over to Slim's, so I have to do some juggling to avoid that. Add in Slim's natural reticence and dislike of any disruption around his mealtime and this whole thing becomes more complicated than feeding two cats should be.

Scale said 144.5 this morning. Bit scary, this weight loss thing.

Today I'm going to get some kind of organized exercise, not sure what yet. I think I will go outside and try to do some HIIT. It will be pitiful at first as I am bad shape running-wise, but there is no other way than just to start. There should be some lifting of heavy things later as I tackle the boxes again.

[Siobhan]

I did it! It was fun and suspiciously easy. (Don't think it is supposed to be easy.) But the best place to start is just to start. I went out my front door and walked for 5 minutes, then I alternated running (well...jogging) for 30 seconds with walking for 60 seconds. Did six intervals. So that is 5 min. warm-up, 9 minutes for actual intervals, then as I was at the end of the road, it took me 10 minutes to walk home. Very hot and humid, very sweaty, got a monster mosquito bite on my elbow. My elbows must be delicious, I seem to get bitten there more than anywhere. It was very fun and I am looking forward to doing it again. I will be interested to see how I feel tomorrow, especially my glass feet. I wore my Merrill trail running shoes with my superfeet orthotics. So no super-ultra-running shoes.

I'm proud of myself for getting out there. I credit Mark's new journal, which I received last week. I was going to wait to start filling it in - you know, until everything is perfect - and then a voice said to me - JUST PICK UP THAT PEN. Just start writing stuff in. With that blank exercise page staring me in the face every day, something might just happen.

Also, I made the happy discovery that my old sport bras fit again. I had fitted them all with extenders, which I can now remove! WOOT!

[June68]

Had wine and also a fabulous dessert that probably everyone knows about. Fry banana in butter, add honey and a little chocolate - this could be served to a head of state with no fear. Now I am done eating!

This sounds freaking awesome.

And I hear you on the bra thing. I was thinking I needed new ones just before I started the PB and now my bras are loose, so I'm glad I didn't buy more chub-o-bras. Am going to wait a while...and maybe even a bra or two I've outgrown, but still have will fit until I get down to what I hope will be a low, stable weight. Probably next year sometime.

[Siobhan]

I guarantee you will not be disappointed with that dessert. The only way to improve it would possibly be to add a little rum or cognac. I don't have those things around, so I will not be trying that. I'll just stick with the original - on occasion. Yes, I am a sugar addict and I could live on it. But I won't.

I've been holding off on buying new bras because I'm not really there yet and bras are one item I do not skimp on. They cost what they cost. If I can get them on sale, wonderful. If not, I just pay what I have to. I'm a D-cup woman and I require a good fitting supportive bra. I know a lot of women like to go without but I am not one of those women, more power to you.

I have emptied SIX boxes today! Six! WOOT! Real progress. My kitchen/living room is now free of boxes!

AND I got a call from work, someone wants to trade their Friday night for my Saturday night, YAHOO!!!!! Which means Saturday night off and church on Sunday, and this Sunday is Jazz Sunday, a very special service. I am so happy.

My back is talking to me a little, so I will rest it and do some stretches.