Primal Blueprint Journal DCarr10760 (David) page 17

[Judg]

So sorry about the phones. That sounds so much like something I would do.

We all have our little lapses. And we don't even enjoy them, it makes it that much easier not to do it again. Keep soldiering on.

[DCarr10760]

Thanks Judg! It was mostly just humiliating (and expensive-even with insurance). I mean I know better, except that apparently I don't.

I've now received the replacement iPhone, which I have now owned for more than a full day, hours longer than the first one lasted...

We go on!

Food has been pretty good since the weekend. I went to a business association function last night and managed to avoid the non-primal foods, with the exception of some breaded chicken breasts that I didn't get all of the breading off of. My bad. The rest was pretty good.

Today has been great! So far!

[campanella]

I always find that if I slip up and eat just a little bit of carbs/sugar/grains, it's a slope, and I immediately want more! It's a hard cycle to break. Come to think of it, before primal I was always in that cycle of wanting/needing more sugar and depleting carbs and I didn't realize there was an alternative. I think it's not a bad thing to change the way you eat drastically every once in a while, it makes you more adaptable.

[DCarr10760]

Hi Campanella! Yeah, I was caught up in that last week, and it resulted in several days of less than ideal food choices. I don't really seem to crave things in any identifiable way, but when stuff is around, I am more apt to eat it (I suppose it amounts to the same thing really).

[Judg]

It's very difficult to resist food when it's stuck right in front of you, ready to eat, especially in a social situation. I sometimes blow this rather badly, but I have a couple of tricks that help me the rest of the time.

If it's a buffet type of meal, I try to be last in line. The later I can start eating, the better. I also predetermine that I am not going to try everything. Let's face it, I'm in my mid-50s. There isn't much out there I haven't already tried, no need to try it again. I focus on the best choices, and if there are a lot of those (rare), I decide what I'm in the mood for and ignore the other options. Desserts I hold off on preferably until just before leaving. I tell myself, "Sure you can have some. Later." And I have a small helping at the last minute. Or preferably "forget" to have it, although I don't oblige myself to skip it. If I do that, the "later" trick won't work the next time.

The other major trick is just plain pride. I know, it's a vice, but seeing as I can't entirely eliminate it, I might as well use it to my advantage. Although I try not to get preachy about it, the entire extended family is aware that I've taken a rather radical step. They don't hassle me about it in any way, which is nice, although they generally do expect me to bring my own specialty foods. But the point is, I don't want to be seen caving in front of them (and most of my social eating is with family). My FIL will tease me good-naturedly if he sees me eating something a bit indulgent, but it's a friendly game and we both know it. "Careful, you're going to get fat if you eat that" to someone who has lost 70 pounds and is keeping it off is not a serious criticism. But I make darn sure that we can laugh about it because I haven't started moving in the other direction. Peer pressure can work to our good when it presses in the right direction. And with my husband watching in particular, there is no way I am going to cave! He compromises so much already for himself, I've got to show him that these battles can be won. A wee bit of oneupmanship combined with a sincere concern for his health: potent stuff.

[DCarr10760]

I'll have to try the buffet strategy. I'll have ample opportunity next week, as I travel to a conference in Minneapolis. There will undoubtedly be a lot of buffets there.

Not much to report this week. Weight is unchanged. Too much debauchery, but at least no weight gain! So I rested on my oars a week. This week will be better (it already has been).

[DCarr10760]

So I ended up fasting yesterday, the whole day. Just water and coffee. It was only partly intentional. I planned to skip breakfast. Lunch just sorta happened. I hadn't packed anything, nobody had plans to go out, and it was a gorgeous day so I took a walk along the beach road instead.

After work I went to my cousins to help with a renovation project prior to selling their house and they had invited me to dinner, but dinner is usually a big meal, with lots of beer, wine and liquor, and a very late night at that. So I begged off, not wanting to deal with the overindulgence on the one hand and having to explain it on the other.

I got home in time to read boy his bedtime stories :-) SWMBO had not made anything for dinner but had browsed through the refrigerator to feed and I didn't feel like making a big meal or picking away like she did, so after several glasses of water I went to bed.

During the day I was never hungry, though it was a pretty high stress day, so that may account for some of that. One thing that has changed about me is that I used to be a stress eater (and drinker), and neither is the case anymore.

I figured that I would be starving in the morning but I'm not hungry now either.

[Sabine]

Did you read the links about 5/2 fasting on the Research thread? Very interesting, and it seems like it is something you may be naturally slipping into.

[Siobhan]

So funny, I have had the same thing happen to me - stress eating was a major problem, especially with work, and staying on a "diet" always seemed impossible. Now I have the same reaction - when I have a lot of stress I don't feel like eating, which should be the natural reaction if you think about it hard enough. Back in the day, when you had to run away from cave lions you didn't stop for a snack! And you don't have to be a Grok to believe in that - the fight or flight reaction is well-known in CW, in fact most of our modern medications are based on it, i.e. they speed you up or slow you down. Okay, enough geek stuff - isn't it nice to not react in a negative way to stress?

[DCarr10760]

Thanks Sabine! I'll check out the 5/2 fasting thread!

I am currently on day two, now it's sorta intentional. I'll break the fast tomorrow morning. The last meal I ate was Wednesday night so it was all of Thursday and will be all of today. I'm not really hungry the way I would expect. I have had a minor headache, but nothing bad.

It's been a very stressful day I got into an argument with a coworker over something stupid and she flew off the handle. We've been dealing with lots of tension between us and should have walked a wide circle around each other and didn't. That plus a huge presentation I've been preparing, that I fly out to Minneapolis next week to present and just general crazy work going on and I'm about as stressed as Ive ever been. Oddly enough I have a fair sense of peace about it all. Just not much of an appetite.

Siobahn, you're right about the fight or flight thing. I used to self medicate with food and alcohol and now I'm doing neither. It somehow all feels more manageable. I just have a vague sense of sadness, about the coworker and about spending so much time and energy at work when autumn (my favorite season) is just around the corner.

In the meantime I'll need to figure out what to break my fast with. Some meat maybe? Eggs? Nothing really sounds that good.