Primal Journal of a lifelong seeker... phaselow page 9

[PHaselow]

So, I've got to find some way to be active. It has been 3 weeks since I've done anything more than take the dogs out for a quick walk. I've literally walked one mile total in 3 weeks. This sucks. I am able to do body weight squats and some upper arm exercises. I try to do those multiple times a day.

Had my morning decaf with ghee/heavy cream. I think I will use egg nog soon! That time of year. I'm trying to find a nog that isn't sweetened with corn syrup. That is proving difficult. I suppose I could make my own?

Lunch:

Large bowl beef curry (8oz meat)

Dinner:

Tons of butter cup squash
picked the meat off of a smoked ham hock I'd used for family's split pea soup
small handful (very small) dark chocolate chips

[PHaselow]

Yay yay yay. Halloween. I bought candy I do not like, so I'm safe. Now to resist the Snickers and Almond Joys that come back with the kids.

Decaf with ghee/heavy cream for breakfast.

Lunch 11:30

large salad: mixed greens, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, egg, raisins, red pepper, cottage cheese, tahini dressing

Roasting some soup bones for the dogs (too messy with the marrow if I let them go at it raw and full of goodness). They aren't grass fed, so I'm not sure I'll steal the marrow for myself. I think I'll pass on this one, but it will be tough! I love that marrow.

Snack:

Marrow looked to good. I ate about 1T with salt. I feel kind of nauseous when I eat marrow. Fat content is so dense. Stops my food cravings dead in their tracks, though!

Dinner:

2-3oz raw swiss and extra sharp cheddar
couple pieces turkey meat
Huge blob of pasture butter

Used the turkey slices as 'bread' and made a cheese sandwich. Surprisingly good. It was that, or candy.

[PHaselow]

Hallelujah! I walked 5 miles today in 3 separate walks. It was on the treadmill in case I had to stop. It felt good. Very slow pace... 3.1 mph vs my typical 4mph walk pace but I put the grade up to 5. I had been walking the dogs on the trails the past 3 days (1/2 mile or so) without much trouble so I took the plunge.

Very frustrating to go from running 5 miles to walking slowly for 5 miles, but at least I am being active. I've also started lifting some light weights again; about 1/2-2/3 of what I normally lift. I just can't take this 'injury' or situation backwards.

So, I had my morning cup of decaf and then headed to the food pantry. I had a cinnamon bun because I wanted to eat it.

Lunch:

The cinnamon roll and walnuts/dried cranberries/raisins

Dinner:

Roasted radishes
cheddar cheese

Oh, a handful of dark chocolate finished my day. It was absent protein. I guess some days that just happens. I'll pay attention to that tomorrow.

My husband will be gone fishing on Christmas Island for 10 days. That means a ton of work for me as single mom! I guess it isn't too different than when he has a busy week, but not having him home at all makes a difference.

[PHaselow]

I'm back. Had a few crazy days and I'm not going to bother to admit what I've eaten. Stress just kills me. I wish I lived in a vacuum but I have to deal with it. I am feeling like I can't get enough traction with Primal eating to feel good enough to dump the rest of the garbage when my stress eating strikes. I'd love to replace my comfort foods with Primal comforts. This week I'm stocking up on foods I can make and keep as leftovers for easy access. Beef stews, meat stir fry and such. A 30 day vacation from life would be awesome! The lack of physical activity is killing me. I weighed myself for the first time in over a month. I've gained 5lbs and I know I've lost muscle mass on top of it. I have been walking on an incline (treadmill) which helps my spirits immensely. Feeling sorry for myself isn't getting me anywhere.

Had my morning decaf with ghee/heavy cream

Lunch:

hard boiled egg
carrots
1/2 c home made chicken divan (chicken/broccoli in a cream sauce)

Snack:

1T cashew butter
1T pasture butter

Felt the need for fat!

Dinner:

1 large sweet potato
1T ghee

[PHaselow]

Hallelujah! Had a wonderful nurse practitioner help me tons with my health issue today. I feel like a new person. I am actually going to try jogging tomorrow. First time in 4 weeks.

Decided to do basically Whole30 starting today. Tribal Rob got me going with his cranky old self. I felt as cranky, so I thought I'd join in his NO-Vember diet restrictions.

Typical breakfast of decaf with ghee. No heavy cream for the month of NO-Vember (for now. might cheat on this)

Lunch:

6oz chorizo with sauteed greens
hard boiled egg

Dinner:

1 large sweet potato
2 leeks and 10 mushrooms sauteed in ghee/bacon fat
1T ghee

Still don't have a huge appetite, but I am trying to eat more protein and fat. Once I get active again I will gain that appetite back for sure. Now if I can avoid eating dark chocolate for the 30 days. Big challenge for me!

I did read today that cocoa should be included in your dietary fiber plan. I like that!

My poor foster dog is really sick. People need to care for their animals instead of just dumping them. Roscoe has kennel cough and a secondary infection and tape worms. Poor guy. I thought he was going to die last night. Fever of 103.8 at highest and didn't drink on own for 36 hours. After giving him Pedialyte via syringe for the day he got sick of it and drank from his bowl. I love this dog! He is fantastic. I'm glad I didn't inhale the rest of the leftover Halloween candy from the stress of watching him suffer.

[PHaselow]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum...91844-9880.jpg

My latest love! Roscoe has a nasty case of kennel cough and tape worms but is getting better. A great young couple is interested in him and will meet on Friday. Cross your fingers for me.

Feeling good today. Had a pessary put in which lifted my uterus up to its old location. It immediately alleviated all of the discomfort of the past 30 days. I am going to try to run later today. I hope it works! This was life changing for me. I can't wait to become active again. Surgery on hold as long as this thing works. Kind of gross to think about my uterus wanting to see the outside world, but it is what it is. Now to undo the past 30 days.

I'm on Day 3 of my kinda-sorta Whole30. Decaf with 1t ghee for breakfast.

Lunch:

10oz beef shortribs with carrots/porcini
1T melted ghee on top

YUM!

snack:

2/3c chorizo with greens
3T coconut butter

Fat fix!

Ran 3 miles, walked 1. Felt pretty good, but certainly deconditioned after a month of nothing. Best news is no pelvic floor pain.

Dinner:

1/2 carnival squash.

Absolutely no appetite. I think it was the huge bolus of coconut butter at 3PM that killed it. I think I ate plenty of protein today, so I have no trouble skipping dinner.

[PHaselow]

Ick. Woke up in middle of night with chills, dizziness, cramps. I took 200% RDA of magnesium citrate in 2 doses during the day. Some of my problems were GI last night, so could that amount of mag citrate cause such problems? It went on for about 2 hours along with some reflux (which I NEVER experience outside of pregnancy).

So, today I feel strange still. I was hungry after my BP decaf, and started eating white/milk chocolate left over from baking, so I decided to pull out the short ribs.

(early) lunch:

2 boneless short ribs with carrots and gravy
Probably 2oz chocolate

I am hopefully going to be able to walk/run on the treadmill today. Feeling a bit jittery.

Ran maybe 2 miles. Walked maybe 1 mile.

Dinner:

chicken breast

Walked again for 35 minutes; 2 miles.

[PHaselow]

Doctor's visit today. They tried to talk me into some vaccines, but I declined. Not a fan. Not a fan at all. I have a sore throat and runny nose, so I was able to dance my way out of there without a huge lecture based on that pending illness. I wish they would just listen to you when you say you don't want a vaccine.

So, BP was 80/45. That, even for me, is low. I think I can feel the effects. I was hungry from just having a BP coffee this morning, so I came home and at a lot. A LOT.

Lunch:

1/2 c chorizo/greens saute
2c broccoli/cauliflower/onion/bacon/mayo salad
1/2c coconut white rice
1/4 Paleo brownie
2T cashew butter
2T honey
1oz chocolate

Yes, not all primal. The broccoli salad has mayo and sugar in it. Not a ton, but still not primal. Overall, a lot of calories but not too bad. This is about as much as I typically eat in a day. I haven't had white rice in a while. I just felt like having some good old fashioned simple carbs.

I was hoping to get another walk/run in today. I am still doing that on the treadmill in case I start feeling pain. If I do, then I am not 3 miles from home.

Was able to walk 3 miles at a high grade on the treadmill. It took almost an hour, so the pace was slow for me. Damn pelvic floor.

[PHaselow]

Decided to dump the IF for a bit to see if eating breakfast helps my low BP. So, along with my now-standard BP decaf, I had:

1 med avocado drizzled with bacon grease (kids at all of the bacon) and celtic sea salt.

REALLY good. I could have eaten 3 of them. Next time I'll try to save a piece of bacon for myself and crumble it on top with some cilantro.

Lunch:

3 boneless beef spare ribs (8oz?)with carrots and porcini gravy
6oz chicken breast with BBQ sauce (HFCS-free)

Big lump of protein for lunch. I have a weekend of family Jamboree due to everyone flying back to town for my MIL's life celebration party on Sunday. Of course, Friday/Saturday/Sunday are revolving around family gatherings and food. The only thing I will have trouble resisting is the chocolate cake I ordered from my favorite bakery for Saturday night (50th bday of sister). I thought I'd fill up on meat during the day. I'm often not hungry until morning when I do this at lunch time.

Snack:

Lots of crap and food, too. I was feeling what I think is the effects of low BP and got a bit anxious. The eating made me feel better. So I did. I'm off to do some running or walking to boost my mood and hopefully the BP for a bit.

I ran/walked for 2 hours. Felt good. I think the total was 7.5 miles. Mostly walking at high grade on the treadmill at a moderate-fast pace. My butt got a work out.

Started a fire in the house today! Well, in the fire place. Unbeknownst to me, the flue had been closed. Between that and one of the boxes I was burning containing plastic, it was quite a noisy mess. All of the detectors work! I singed my bangs and got several small plastic burns when i dumped water on the fire to put it out quickly. Looking good now. The excitement raised my BP, so for that I am happy.

[PHaselow]

Had some 1/2 caffeinated BP coffee this morning and my BP symptoms have lessened. I think I'll stick with a little jolt in the AM for the foreseeable future. I didn't even get jittery. That's good. It has been maybe 3 yrs since I've had caffeine in my coffee. Simple solution? I hope so! I think I deserve simple right now.

Eating breakfast at 10AM:

1/2 c plain organic full fat greek yogurt
small handful raisins
small handful raw pinenuts
sprinkle of sea salt

Decided to put some greek yogurt back into my life. I missed it! I don't think dairy is going to derail much of anything since I'm not needing to lose a boatload of weight or handle a milk protein sensitivity. I just can't have my yogurt without some raisins, though!

Lunch:

4oz or so of salted beef from soup bones
3/4c salted white rice and pine nuts made with canned coconut milk

Dinner:

Nice large spinach salad with avocado, onion, cucumber, pistachios, tomato and vinaigrette
1/4 c mashed potatoes with butter and garlic
I fork of 50th birthday cake

I walked/trotted on the treadmill for an hour. Wondering what constitutes sprinting for me these days? I was able to avoid the conversation about why I didn't want to eat any cake tonight. I'm glad. I'm not in the mood to explain things. I am pretty sure my blood pressure is low tonight because I feel crappy and exhausted.