Primal Journal (Anova) page

[anova01]

I am currently keeping the 90-day journal but have been needing a way to reflect on my thought process in a more detailed way. What I hope to accomplish with the help of this forum-journal: enhanced accountability for my food choices and getting myself to cognitively process more of my transformation.

A little bit of a bio:

I'm a 22-year-old graduate student in psychology, working predominantly from an evolutionary perspective. I have started my journey to Paleo/Primal in April 2011 but have had 2 falls (both longer than the time I actually spent eating Primal). No more. I love the effects of leading this lifestyle and understand that there is no going back to CW.

My biggest challenge right now is kicking my sugar addiction, which has developed into a monster since my early childhood.

I'm about 95% primal, being strict mostly because aside from dessert cravings I'm completely satisfied with my primal recipes. I do drink milk, coffee, and tea. However, I now make my own lattes because that's the only coffee I can have without sugar.

I have been eating primal since June 28th (90-day journal started July 20th). Weight pre-primal was 181.4. Weight this morning was 173. I had gone to a 172 last week but had a weekend of bad food decisions.


The plan for this blog: Give a brief overview of my food choices and then reflect on the day's accomplishment or realization.

[anova01]

Food today:
2 strips of bacon, 2 eggs, half of an avocado
Blueberries
Cashews and raisins
Latte
Kale chips (coconut oil, non-refined)

It's been an unusually light day for me. However, I realized that I have spent years eating more than my body needs. If I don't feel like eating on a particular day, no need to eat!

Accomplishment: I tried Kale for the first time and it was delicious!

[scarabnight]

Aren't you in love with kale chips??? They are amazing!!!! I make mine spicy, but I know how you feel about that

[anova01]

Food today:
2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, cucumber
Celery with a tablespoon of almond butter
Handful of pistachios (roasted, unsalted) and 3 dates
1/2 frozen banana
Eggplant parmesan (eggplant slice dipped in egg, almond flour with spices, tomato sauce - unfortunately store bought, and a wee bit goat cheese crumble) and zuchini&squash
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt with maybe 2 tea spoons of honey

Realization 1: PCOS (which I have) is an autoimmune condition apparently

Recommendation: If you are having an ice cream/frozen yogurt/desert craving what you need to do is eat a frozen banana. Take a ripe banana, peel it, and cut it in half. Wrap each piece in foil and freeze. Take out and eat with a spoon.

[anova01]

Food today:
3 strips of bacon, kale, mushrooms, and 2 eggs (plus some olive oil because the bacon grease wasn't enough)
Leftover eggplant parmesan
Latte
Cashews, almonds, and raisins

Accomplishment: I went to a friend's house for movie night and everyone ate pizza, cupcakes, and soda. I stuck to the trail mix I had stashed in my purse.

Weight today was 171.4 --- 10lbs from my start time!

[anova01]

Food today:
Syrniki* with honey
Homemade latte
Grapes
Raspberry Kombucha with Chia Seeds
Mustard&Honey chicken with honey glazed carrots (Roommate cooked)
Grass-fed milk with 2 teaspoons of unsweetend cocoa

Syrniki is a Russian dish. It's a farmers cheese pancake (think somewhere between cottage cheese and greek yogurt) which is fried. I substituted almond meal for flour, used grass-fed butter and coconut oil, and didn't sweeten.

Accomplishment: I went grocery shopping and stuck to a mental list of things I needed. Got 2 dried fruits, sans sugar or preservative chemicals (Trader Joe's!), full fat Greek yogurt (2 small containers - on sale), EGGS, BACON, unsweetened cocoa, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, a plantain, ground beef, and chicken thighs. Enough meat and veggies to last me the week (there's also stuff in the fridge!).

[scarabnight]

Why didn't I ever get Syrniki?? I see how it is....grrrr

...and hate you for having Trader Joe's


Good job on the shopping though

[anova01]

Food today:
Leftover syrniki for breakfast
Panda Express lunch (mixed veggies, broccoli beef, beijing beef -- Orientation started today and this was the only Primal-esque meal I could find on campus. Chick-Fil-A and Subway were the other 2 options, so I was good).
Latte
Naked turkey burger with a side of squash and carrots from last night
1/2 Frozen banana

Food for thought: I feel better when I do an IF (stop my eating for the day early, so window until 6pm). I am trying not to actively experiment because I want to do 90 days clean primal and only start messing with the settings, if you will, after my body has adapted.

Accomplishment: Finally did something in the "play" category! During the lunch break of orientation my friend and I played pool and ping pong.

[anova01]

So while I ate 100% primal yesterday, I feel very blahhhh today. First of all, I skipped breakfast because I had crappy time management skills. I decided that after walking the dog, I'd just do the dishes real quick. Then I barely had time to get dressed. So I had some fruit, veggies, and nuts through the day but overall that just lead me to having a bigger dinner than I would have and snacking afterwards. Weight goes up. Also, sleep was off so that's another reason.

Today: Eggs and bacon to get me started on a good note!

[anova01]

So that worked, yesterday's food:

Eggs & Bacon and a homemade latte -- at about 9:30am
Arugula salad with goat cheese, avocado, and olive oil -- at about 5pm
as well as some leftover ground lamb with zucchini and mushrooms
Grapes -- at about 10:30pm

I felt great last night, I feel great today. So if I can stick to that schedule, I'm really excited. I had the same breakfast today so we shall see!