Cracking Down! page

[Theresa92]

Hey everyone! I am a pretty hardcore forum lurker, but I decided to start a public journal for several reasons. I learned about the Primal lifestyle 3 months ago, and ever since I have been trying to follow it. However, I have not met the goals that led me to switch over to this lifestyle. Instead of giving up on living Primally(because I truly do believe this lifestyle is best), I am deciding to start a journal so that I can properly log what I eat, my exercise, etc. I am 100% open to all feedback, so criticism is definitely welcome I am still learning what combination of food works for me, and it's safe to say that I could use some help from you guys.

I will officially start recording my food tomorrow. I will also try to remember to record my exercise and sleep habits. A little about me: I am a 19 year old female who is 5'1 and around 135/140 pounds. My weight always fluctuates, but currently I am in the 135/140 pounds range. Last time I checked, I had about 31% body fat. I measure my weight and body fat with a regular scale I bought at Target. It might not be accurate, but it is consistent and I'll be able to measure changes with it.

My goals

1) Reduce Body Fat- While 135/140 lbs might look good on other women my height, it truly does not look good on me. I do have much muscle which contributes to the weight, but I also have excess body fat. I try not to focus on numbers, but my ideal weight would be 125 pounds. I will be measuring my success more by how my clothes feel and how I look, rather than the number on the scale.

2) Improve Mental Health- I started to develop depression and abnormal anger as a teenager. This has led me into trouble countless times throughout my teenage years. I have been on and off countless medications. The current medication I am on is Zoloft and it is the only one that has helped so far. My emotions are much more manageable with it. I have been on Zoloft for about 3 years, but I would like to stop taking it because of the side effects(and plus it is obviously not primal...) I truly think that living a Primal lifestyle can help improve my emotions.

Also, I think it might be important to include my current living situation. I am living with my parents and two brothers(16, 21). They are all non Primal The only person who sort of "gets it" is my mom. She does try to avoid wheat(she understands that it causes inflammation) and she eats a lot of veggies. But she isn't on board with the meat and fat part. So pretty much, these types of online communities are my only support network when it comes to Primal living.

Well...I'm not sure if anyone will read my journal. But I think it is important to hold myself more accountable by posting this publicly. I really want to finally reach my goals. For 30 days I will be more strict with myself, and I'm sure that I will see progress!

[Theresa92]

Day 1

Breakfast: 4 soft-boiled eggs
Snack: Few slices of homemade beef jerky
Dinner: 6 oz beef short ribs, 2 cups stock, 2 cups broccoli, salad(1 cup spinach, 1 avocado, 1 tomato)
Snack: 1 Apple
Calories: 1400
Fat: 54.2%, Carb: 19.1%, Protein: 26.7%

Exercise: Nothing specific, was just on my feet most of the day and slowly moving around.

Sleep: Went to bed at 12am previous night and woke up at 10:20am.

I was definitely lagging behind mentally today due to the improper sleep I got the night before. Tonight I'm going to be going to bed at 11pm and will be waking up around 9ish tomorrow morning. I need to get a proper sleep schedule! How much sleep do you guys get a night, and is it consistent?

Surprisingly, I was not too hungry today. I didn't intend on having lunch, but I did start to get a bit hungry and so I had a few pieces of beef jerky. I was craving something sweet tonight and so I had the apple.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my doctor in order to discuss getting off of the Zoloft. I will post tomorrow evening again and update.

[lissee]

Sleep wise, I find I've always been a 9 hour girl, and while growing up, sometimes 10. My mom & sisters were all 7-8 hour people and they'd harass me and quote studies at me, and I'd try to sleep less and then I just felt like crap.

Now studies are coming out that say 9-10 hours are more appropriate, especially while younger (teens & late teens). I'd say, try to go to sleep earlier so you're asleep more while it is dark and then listen to your body, eventually, you'll figure out what is right for you. I'm a little older now, and now I fluctuate between 8.5-9.0 hours. This past week I shorted myself twice and only got 7 hours and yesterday i felt awful.

So yeah, get enough sleep, listen to your body, and don't let anyone else tell you how much sleep you need.

[Paleofan]

Looks like you could use some more fat. Helps with hunger and sleep. Don't try to do this too low cal or fat.

[Richardmac]

Yeh if in doubt, up the fat. Drink plenty of water.

Looks like you know what you want, and I think you'll get it!!

Richard

[Theresa92]

Thanks for the comments!

Sleep wise, I find I've always been a 9 hour girl, and while growing up, sometimes 10. My mom & sisters were all 7-8 hour people and they'd harass me and quote studies at me, and I'd try to sleep less and then I just felt like crap.

Now studies are coming out that say 9-10 hours are more appropriate, especially while younger (teens & late teens). I'd say, try to go to sleep earlier so you're asleep more while it is dark and then listen to your body, eventually, you'll figure out what is right for you. I'm a little older now, and now I fluctuate between 8.5-9.0 hours. This past week I shorted myself twice and only got 7 hours and yesterday i felt awful.

So yeah, get enough sleep, listen to your body, and don't let anyone else tell you how much sleep you need.

I've always found that I need a lot of sleep as well! I'm thinking maybe 9-10 hours for me. I'll keep this journal updated as to how my sleep goes.

Looks like you could use some more fat. Helps with hunger and sleep. Don't try to do this too low cal or fat.

Yeh if in doubt, up the fat. Drink plenty of water.

Looks like you know what you want, and I think you'll get it!!

Richard

I'm always having to remind myself not to restrict too many calories. Unfortunately, I come from a background of the typical "low fat low calorie" method of dieting. I'm having somewhat of a hard time balancing too little with too much. Using CW as diet advice has completely screwed up my ability to tell when I am truly hungry and tell when I am truly full. I know that eating Primal will naturally fix this. It'll just take time!

Thanks again for everyone's advice. I will post again this evening.

[Theresa92]

Day 2

Breakfast: 6 oz beef short ribs, 2 cups stock, 2 cups broccoli(same as last night, except this stock had much more fat in it)
Snack: 2 oz beef jerky and several sheets of Nori Seaweed
Dinner: Pork tongue "tacos"(3 oz pork tongue, 1 avocado, 1/4 cup coconut milk, lettuce leaves)
Snack: 2 cups of mixed berries
Calories: 1750
Fat: 64.4% Carb: 16.3% Protein:19.3%

Sleep: Went to bed at 11am previous night and woke up at 9:45am this morning.

Exercise: Mostly moving around slowly, with a few body weight exercises

Today went pretty smoothly. I already had my breakfast pre-made for me(it was last night's leftovers). Who knew that beef stew first thing in the morning could taste so good?? Today's stock seemed to have a considerable amount of fat in it, so I wasn't too hungry until dinner time. I snacked on a little beef jerky and seaweed. I found these little snack packs of seaweed at the store. All it contains is dried seaweed, olive oil, and salt. It's the perfect chip replacement!! Both crunchy and salty

For dinner I had some pork tongue that I had left over from a pigs head that I got last week. I already cooked and shredded the tongue yesterday, so all I had to do was assemble the "tacos". I never tried using romaine lettuce leaves as taco shells, but they work really really well!! I enjoyed the tacos, but I think I like cow tongue better... The pork tongue just has a porky flavor that I personally do not like. For those who have tried tongue, what are your favorite ways of preparing it?

[Theresa92]

Day 3

Breakfast: 6oz chicken breast fried in 1 TBSP ghee, and 1 avocado
Dinner: Salmon fried in 1 TBSP ghee with 1/2 cup onions, and 2 eggs fried in ghee with broccoli
Snack: 1 cup blueberries
Calories: 1400
Fat: 64% Carb: 16.3% Protein 19.3%

Sleep: Went to bed at around 11:30 last night and woke up at around 10 this morning

Exercise: Not much, just slow moving

Two things stand out to me as I am writing this blog. #1: I need to eat more vegetables. The only green things I had today were the avocado, broccoli, and a tiny bit of onion. So I definitely need to make a note to self to eat more vegetables! #2: I need a consistent exercise routine. Or at least get more LHT in. I did do some bodyweight exercises yesterday at the park, and I'm a bit sore today. So maybe it is good that I gave myself a rest day. But in general I think I need to put in a greater effort to exercise. For weight loss, what does the primal community typical recommend in terms of weight loss?

Also, its awesome that I don't have to be eating 24/7 in order to be full. Before going Primal, I literally ate 6 times a day. Sometimes even more. Now, I can eat twice a day and stay relatively satisfied. I'm also eating way less calories. Around 1400-1800 calories seems to be ideal for me, depending on the day.

A new thing that I've been trying to do is cut out caffeine. I've been drinking coffee almost everyday for a couple years now. Today was my first coffee free day. It's not as bad as I though. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as good!

[Theresa92]

Day 4

Breakfast: 6 oz canned salmon w/ skin and bones
Lunch: Handful of pork rinds with some bone marrow and roasted peppers
Dinner: Two chicken fajita lettuce wraps with roasted peppers
Snack: 2 cups berries with a splash of coconut milk
Calories: 1600
Fat: 65.3% Carb: 16% Protein: 18.8%

Sleep: Went to bed at 12:30am and woke up at 10:00 this morning.

Exercise: Nothing specifically, just slow moving

Today was a pretty good day. After reading on MDA about how canned fish with the skin and bones has more O3 than without, I was very happy to see that my local store carries canned salmon with all the bones and skin. Needless to say, I chomped down on that this morning. It was yummy! Lunch was a little bitter sweet. I was planning on cooking up some homemade pork rinds and dipping them in some marrow. I've made my own pork rinds before, so it was really unexpected when they completely burned when I fried them!!! they didn't puff up or anything. Good thing I had some pork rinds that I had previously bought from the store. So I was still able to have my planned lunch There's not much to say about dinner. Basic chicken fajitas=yum. I was feeling a bit snacky after dinner, so I had berries with coconut milk.

I had a slight headache all today, and I still have it. It's probably a combination of not getting adequate sleep, giving up caffeine(today was my second day), and weaning off of my Zoloft. I didn't take any ibuprofen though. I seriously think my gut is damaged from all the ibuprofen I used to take when I was younger. I'm off to bed right now. I'll post again in the morning

[Theresa92]

Day 5

Breakfast: 7 oz beef shank, 3 eggs, and 1.5 TBSP ghee
Dinner: 6 oz chicken breast, 1 cup carrots, 1 small onion, 1.5 TBSP ghee
Snack: 1 cup peaches w/ splash of coconut milk
Calories: 1500
Fat: 51.8% Carb: 12.9% Protein: 35.3%

Sleep: Went to bed at 10:30pm and woke up at 9:30am

Exercise: Slow moving and some body weight exercises

I actually ate breakfast around noon this morning. It took me about 2.5 hours to cook the bone in shank that I had. Once it was FINALLY done at noon, it was good! I ate 3 eggs with it as well because I was starving! I didn't do much for the rest of the day in terms of food. I just thew together some chicken and roasted veggies at the last minute for dinner. I was craving something sweet after dinner, so I ate a cut up peach with coconut milk. It was yum. I'll post again tomorrow!