Journal of a Primal CO Girl page 2

[OutdoorAmy]

It's graduation day!

Yesterday I finished all of my remaining assignments and even got two phone calls to schedule interviews for next week while I was working on my last homework. Both are in CO, so I'm hopeful that even one of them will work out - I'd really like to be offered both and have a chance to choose between the two.

Though the ketosis diet was a bad idea during this last week of school. I had no time to cook - all my waking hours were spent finishing homework, at work or tidying the house in preparation for guests.

I will hit the restart button tonight though. I talked my parents into going to Ted's for my graduation dinner - though their first choice was an Italian place (Would you like an appetizer of bread to go with you main course of bread? And for dessert how about some more bread?)

And come tomorrow, with no more homework to worry about or job to go to (but at most a couple observations each week), I should have plenty of time to cook good food for myself, hit the gym, the pavement or the trails every day and start packing up my house to move.

Don't know where I'm moving to yet, but hopefully next week's interviews will help to answer that question . . .

[OutdoorAmy]

So my mom tells me on the way to dinner last night - "You need carbs"

I tell her, "Technically, you don't, but in any case I can get plenty by eating fruits and vegetables and they come with less blood sugar spike and more absorbable nutrients."

Full on ketosis starts tomorrow . . . but more than that, I'm excited to hit the gym tomorrow. With no more homework to worry about I have nothing to keep me from hitting the gym for 1-2 hours every day to lift heavy things, do some slow cardio and go to yoga classes! Also, the gym is air conditioned, and home isn't.

Not to mention taking the pooch for a walk every day too to get some sun and a little more calorie burn.

I have two interviews scheduled for this week, and four more job leads to apply for.

Hoping I'll be settled into a new job and new house soon so I can focus more on this lifestyle change for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Mission hot for training camp continues!

[OutdoorAmy]

I realized today how much I wish I had known about the primal diet BEFORE having my gallbladder removed two years ago . . . I'm not sure it would have made a difference, but it would have been worth a try. Unfortunately I am not gallbladder-less and appendix-less and I think scars from both surgeries have cause occasional minor bowel obstructions.

Anywho, today I resarted ketosis diet plan, trying to stay under 50 carbs daily - the lower the better, but 50 is the upper limit. I walked four miles and lifted heavy things at the gym . . .

Tired and ready to chill out and read with the rest of my time this evening. Tomorrow, will begin packing and apply for some more jobs.

Really enjoying this relaxing post-graduation weekend!

[OutdoorAmy]

This half-Mexican girl loves some primal carne asada . . . I could eat way too much of that for sure.

In other news, had an interview this morning and hit the gym for 2 hours afterwards. Walked 2.5 miles, did some elliptical sprints and lifted heavy things - including 305 lbs. on the squat press machine! That was my goal, so my new goal is to max out the machine and start doing free weight squats with a barbell.

Things going good with ketosis on day 3. Right at 50 carbs, less than 1/3 of total calories and macronutrient profile. (As opposed to about half pre-primal).

Tomorrow I have another interview, this one is up in the mountains and I'm bringing a friend along with so we can do some hiking afterwards. Should be a fun day!

[OutdoorAmy]

Hiked four miles after my interview today . . . which I think went really well. We shall see, but might be moving to the mountains within the next month. Hope so anyway - sounds like it would be a great place to even just start my career, and maybe to stay for a while. *fingers crossed*

[OutdoorAmy]

Got offered a job! Now I'm looking for a place to live along with CSAs, Farmers Markets and Grassfed Beef suppliers in the area. Lots of trails though - looking forward to lots of hiking.

I am also going to find out about volunteering with the rec cheerleading team and/or youth hockey to keep active and also get involved in the community.

If you're the praying type - pray I find a good place to live that will be available by the time my lease is up on my current house. *fingers crossed*

[OutdoorAmy]

Getting settled into the new house. Have a week and a half to unpack and get to know the town better before work starts. Moving out was a good chance to cleanse my pantry of non-primal food stuff. (I kept a few staples with long shelf lives, because in the event of a disaster, I think eating at all will be a higher priority than eating strictly primal).

Thanks to lots of lifting heavy things and sweating in 100+ degree weather here in CO (which has become Mordor - did you know?) I lost 3 lbs. in the last week. Not bad.

Definitely looking forward to getting settled in though and to be bringing home a steady (and good) paycheck to pay for my primal lifestyle. Gonna get me some snow shoes with my wellness benefit from work too!

[Mud Flinger]

Congrats on the job and the move. Where in CO are you now?

[OutdoorAmy]

Congrats on the job and the move. Where in CO are you now?

I'm in Eagle County. So plenty of hiking and biking trails . . . and I live close enough to work (about 1 mile) that I plan to walk there every day at least until it's starts getting dark too early to be safe. (Plus the walking will save me on gas, since it's a good .40 more per gallon up here than it was in Denver)

Made myself some chilli tonight with beef stew chunks, organic roma tomato, spring onion and seasonings. A little cheese sprinkled on top. It was really tasty and now I'm super full.

Working on getting boxes unpacked and some floor space cleared so that I can workout at home. There's not really a gym here. Though there is a rec center with a pool and ice rink where I hope to do some swimming and skating after I get settled in. I'm getting a partial health benefit this year and I plan to get snow shoes with it. Then I'll get a full year's worth in January and hope to buy an elliptical, treadmill or stationary bike with it. There is a CrossFit gym in the next town, but their schedule doesn't really work for me unfortunately. Still might consider getting a punch card and going maybe once a month.

New job starts on Monday, so I'm trying to figure out how to pack some primal friendly lunches. If anyone has any suggestions for something other than cold meat and a piece of fruit I'd sure appreciate it!

[OutdoorAmy]

Walked to the library where I'll be working today, and it turns out that it's actually more like just half a mile. Easy walk. So I'll plan on walking there and back every day and also hiking on weekends to get my 10 miles a week.

Weighed myself too, 25 lbs. lost since December, 3.5 lbs. per month - I'd like to up that to more like 3.5 lbs. per week (at least until I can bust off another 25 lbs.) . . . and I think I can do that with my new workout plan and keeping a closer eye on my food. So far I'm doing good and I expect that I'll be able to keep it up with a more regular schedule than I had while in school. And again, it helps that there are limited options for going out to eat here.

It'll be nice to make some more room in my cram packed dresser and closet by getting rid of all my "fat" clothes. LOL. And maybe I can actually wear some of the cute shorts I have now that are size too small by the end of this month. *fingers crossed*