Econ's Primal Journal page

[econ]

Motivation: For the past year, I've lived in a half-ass primal way. Some days I was strictly primal, while others I ate horribly. I actually had some success living this way, but not to the extent that I want. About a week ago, I decided to try and give this a more serious go; so I figure it'd be good to track my progress with a journal.

Background: I'm a 27 year old male, who weighs somewhere between 165 and 175 pounds (I'm about 6 feet tall), and my body fat percentage is right around 20%. I was an athlete from childhood all the way through high school, and kept myself in pretty good shape back then. At some point in college though, my body composition went south, and I've been skinny-fat ever since.

Goals: My short-term goal is to be really serious for 3-4 weeks (no alcohol, no sugar, etc.). Eventually, I'd like to get down to about 10% body fat, and add some lean muscle mass. Ideally, I'd also find a way to keep my body in that shape, while still deviating from a strictly primal lifestyle. Meaning, I'd like to enjoy a dessert once every week or two and have a couple (alcoholic) drinks once or twice a week. Who knows though, maybe my craving/enjoyment of these will go down over time (as many of you have suggested).

Progress: Starting on Monday, May 21st (one week ago), I've been pretty strict. I've been eating ham, steak, chicken, wild caught fish, bacon, bison, pineapple, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus, onions, peppers, etc. Also, I've been active every single day (I've played basketball, been sprinting, thrown a frisbee around with my girlfriend, went rock-climbing, and walked a lot more). I also just finished reading De Vany's book "The New Evolution Diet" and plan on picking up Mark's "The Primal Blueprint" today. Last night, I also had an incredible craving for pizza, but I didn't give in. To be honest, it hasn't been incredibly difficult (that's not to say it's been easy). Trying to go 3-4 weeks without alcohol is probably the biggest challenge for me (I'm used to drinking a few times a week, usually 3-5 drinks when I do, sometimes much more). After alcohol, the biggest challenge is not giving in to my occasional cravings for bad food (like last night, I really craved pizza; at some point, I'll probably crave a hamburger, french fries, creme brulee, a cheesecake, or ice cream).

[Hedonist2]

Welcome!

You have quite a few fruits on your list and not much veg. Some fruit is ok but be careful.

One alcoholic drink even daily is not a problem if you can limit to that. Beer is not good though since it is made from grains.

Hamburger without the bun is great. Roasted potatoes are fine for someone active like you too but not fast food fries. But if you want to get to 10% fat, you probably can't do them.

you might try meatza recipes. Good but not pizza if that's what you are craving.

Good luck!

[econ]

Update: I've continued eating very primal and exercising frequently. Today, I did have a few bites of cheesecake after dinner. I'm still alcohol-free, and will hit the two week mark on Monday.

[econ]

I've had a little bit of a sore throat for the past 2 days. Not sure if it's coincidence or the cheesecake...

[econ]

Officially 2 weeks primal. I did have those few bites of cheesecake the other day, but other than that I've been pretty good. It was a little hard making it through the weekend without drinking, but I managed. Within the next week or two, I'll probably start drinking again, but I'm going to try to lay off the beer and sweet mixers and just stick with wine or liquor with club soda.

[econ]

It's officially been 3 weeks since I had any alcohol (Monday will be 3 weeks eating primal meals). I don't remember the last time I went this long without drinking. I'll probably allow myself to have a couple drinks tonight while I watch playoff basketball. Going forward, I'll try drinking more moderately and relying more on primal friendly drinks (like wine and liquor + club soda, instead of always drinking beer or rum/whiskey/vodka/gin + coke/tonic). Maybe even more importantly, I'm going to try eating healthy even when I drink (instead of always eating horrible food, like burgers, fries, chicken tenders, pizza, etc.).

[econ]

Today marks 4 weeks. I haven't been 100% primal over that time, but I think I've done pretty well. I had a few beers here-and-there, as well as a few desserts. Other than that though, I've been pretty good and seen some results (slimmed up a little and dropped a notch on my belt). I'll probably cut myself a little more slack going forward by allowing myself a non-primal meal or two during the week, and gauge the results. If I keep improving, great. If not, I'll consider getting more strict. At this point, I'm still kind of experimenting and seeing what will work for me. With that said though, this definitely works -- and with the 80/20 principle I think I can more-or-less do this for life!