Primal Journal (Docsteed) page

[Docsteed]

This is day 5 for me going almost completely Primal. The only thing I have yet to do is switch to all organic meats/fruits/veggies. I feel really good today after getting a massive headache in the afternoon of day 3 which carried into the morning of day 4. I chalk it up to sugar withdrawls.

I have tried every diet imaginable and I am a very gung-ho individual so I would always have success with dieting, however, I would always put the weight back on because all I was really doing was starving my body of calories and killing myself exercising.

Anyways I went to the doctor last weekend and he said my blood pressure was high and he wanted me to lose 10 pounds to hopefully get it down, so that is another reason I am doing this, other than just to get into better shape and feel better.

I am not going to be keeping track in this journal my daily diet or my daily exercise. I want this process to become the "norm" for me, and I feel like if I start cataloging everything I eat, then it might become more like a diet than changing my way of life. I will however comment on certain things I eat or do that I find enjoyable or not so enjoyable.

Today was the first time I went max effort or close to it for 30 minutes at the gym. My muscles felt tired afterwards, but I still feel good. My favorite excercise so far has been walking outside shirtless. I figure I can get some good sun that way as well.

My starting weight on Monday 6-4-12 was 290, and this morning it was 280. I feel like that is too much too fast. I do not want to be burning muscle here, but I am doing everything according to the way Mark says in his book....eating only Primal foods, and I would guess my carb intake is either right at 50g/day or lower. I eat a LOT of meat...and I eat whenever I am hungry and drink plenty of water. As a side note I have virtually cut out all dairy as well. I have eaten a couple little chunks of extra sharp chedder, but nothing else. Next week I think I am going to incorporate a couple glasses of vitamin-d milk into my weekly diet, I do miss milk.

This week my favorite foods have been the chicken thighs I smoked....they were even good cold...and I have really found olives to be a tasty treat.

[Docsteed]

I have completed a full wekk of Primal living. I didn't get as much rest as I would have liked this weekend as I had a lot to get done around the house. My wife is nine months pregnant and isnt able to do as much as she would like, which means I have to pick up the slack. Anyways with that being said, I was a bit concerned at my last entry that I was dropping weight too rapidly (roughly 10 pounds in 4 days), well I havent lost a single pound since. It is funny that I can't stop myself from being fixated on numbers on a scale. I know I said I dont want to look at this process as just dropping weight but rather as a lifestyle change...easier said than done. I would say it is the thing I am struggling with the most.

I am still pretty sore from my intense workout on friday...and this morning I feel more tired than usual. I think I just need to rest. The hardest part about this whole process has been casting aside conventional wisdom. I thought not eating carbs would be the toughest thing (and it isnt always easy), but I struggle to convince myself that it is ok to rest and not run myself into the ground.

Regardless, cheers to me for 1 full week living the Primal Lifestyle...looking forward to seeing what challenges I can overcome during week 2.

[Docsteed]

Well I am half way through week 2 and I feel great...I haven't had any more headaches since the 2 I had in the first 3 days, in fact I have felt a lot more energetic at times, and my brain is now telling me that I am "full" now when I eat only meat and fruit and veggies. At first I could eat a lot of meat at dinner, but I would still feel hungry because I hadn't had any carbs (or so I assume), not anymore though. I took some pictures last week that I will get around to posting soon...I am going to try and do that every Sunday...I think it is nice to visually see your progress.

Anyways I am now down to 275 pounds from 290, and I got my blood work back from the doctor yesterday. The analysis was done before I started my new Primal Lifestyle...and it was good news....everything read normal, so I was very excited about that.

Anyways I noticed I had more strength today when I did my "intense" workout, which was encouraging considering I have lost 15 pounds. There is not too much new to report other than that. I'll post my progress again in a few days. Take care!

[Docsteed]

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This is the best picture I could find of me 2 days before I started Primal Blueprint....not great, but it is a decent side profile, plus im eating a giant piece of birthday cake which certainly adds effect....one week photos coming up in a few minutes.

[Docsteed]

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And these lovely photos are after 7 days of living the Primal Life. I am 280 pounds in these pictures....even at this high weight I still felt much better after only one week. I'll have my 2 week "progress pictures" up next week. Thanks for stopping by.

[Docsteed]

Hey guys! I know it has been a couple weeks since I last posted, so I wanted to give everyone a quick update. I am down from 290 to 267 as of this morning. I went my entire 21 days following the Primal BluePrint to the letter (hell I even bought organic veggies!) and I am thrilled with the results so far. I am obviously in much better shape due to the fact that ive lost 23 pounds, but beyond that I just feel great, I have a great tan going, and my endurance is the best it has been in years. I will definiteley continue my journey and can't imagine how good I am going to feel in another month.

One other thing I have noticed is that I used to get a lot of migraines in the summer time. I am not sure why they were so prevailent in the summer, but anyways, I have not had a headache of any kind since day 3 of going Primal (and I am certain that headache was my body going through sugar withdrawls) and it is nice not to be popping Motrin and Suddafed like they are M&M's.

My wife will be giving birth to our baby girl in the next week or so, (July 6th duedate) and I couldn't be happier that I am on a much healthier path and will have more energy to enjoy my wife and daughter. I will keep you guys posted and add some fresh photos this weekend. Thanks Mark Sisson for writting your books.

Justin

[Paleobird]

Well done. That is great progress.

Those headaches you got were a classic symptom of what is called the carb flu. It is a temporary transition as your body switches over from burning sugar to burning fat.

It's also really common to drop a LOT right at the start and then have the weight loss slow down a bit. When you are eating a lot of grains your body often has systemic inflammation. This is just excess water that all leaves your tissues. Don't be surprised if the rate of your weight loss slows down and think it's stopped working.

And congratulations on the impending fatherhood. Adding new Groklings to the tribe is always nice.

Keep us posted if you can but we will understand if you are far to busy to even think about MDA in the next few weeks.

[Docsteed]

Thanks for dropping by Paleobird! You are exactly right about the weight loss slowing down. I lost about 10 of the 23 pounds the first week, and it gets less and less every week. With that said I am doing more and more reps of push ups and assisted pull ups at the gym each week, which likely means I am not losing my muscle mass. In the past I when I would diet or basically starve my body I would lose substantial strength and that is not the case while eating Grok style!

Thanks again for taking the time to throw some support and advice my way!

[Paleobird]

Thanks for dropping by Paleobird! You are exactly right about the weight loss slowing down. I lost about 10 of the 23 pounds the first week, and it gets less and less every week. With that said I am doing more and more reps of push ups and assisted pull ups at the gym each week, which likely means I am not losing my muscle mass. In the past I when I would diet or basically starve my body I would lose substantial strength and that is not the case while eating Grok style!

Thanks again for taking the time to throw some support and advice my way!

When your body is in sugar burning mode, you do start to break down muscle tissue when you deprive yourself too much. When you have trained it to be an efficient fat burner, it will go through all the fat first before going for the muscle tissue. You would have to be down to competition body builder levels of leanness before this would be a problem.