Primal Primate's Journey to find his inner Grok page 6

[Primal Primate]

Day 1:

Current Short-term Goals met:
1. Get in some form of physical activity each day for the next 7 days.
- shoveled the walk this morning
2. Complete the Primal Fitness Assessment
Push ups - 27
Squats - 42
Pull Up/Chin Up - 0
Planks: 45 sec.

Assessment:
Starting at:
Knee Push Ups
Chair Assisted (2 leg) Pull Ups - decided not to do these until the body weight drops and I find an area where I can do this or obtain the needed materials to safely do this at home.
Bench Squats
Hand/Knee + Side Knee Planks

I'm not happy with my initial assessment but I figure happy has nothing to do with it - this is the cold hard truth. When I was in high school I was so much more fit than I am now. I really didn't notice just how unfit I have become over the last 15 years!

[Primal Primate]

Reinventing one's self is not an easy task. I think I have done more back sliding than anything - it seems to me that I take one small step forward and several large steps backwards. I have found myself back where I began. Almost at the start weight where I was back in June and worse without clothes that fit as I got rid of them all! I am very dejected at this point but doing my best to start climbing that hill again. I'm hoping that I can get back on the right track as easy as I did the last time but I worry that the backsliding is a sign of a bigger issue on my part. Especially when I read about how many people on here had such an easy time of it. Today's word is frustration!

We are going to cook cod tonight with a side of veggies - perhaps roasted broccoli or steamed asparagus. I'm also going to get on the bike for the first time in a long time. Here we go again back at day one...

[Primal Primate]

001 since Carb Meltdown

I went to bed last night at a reasonable hour and managed to get a full 7 hours of sleep. Its not quite the 8 I was shooting for but its better than the 3 to 5 hours a night I was getting during the carb meltdown week. I woke feeling well rested and ready to take on the first day of Primal living...again.

I made breakfast this morning - nothing too fancy but still good primal fare. I had a glass of 1% milk, a three egg omelet with a cup of raw spinach, feta cheese and fresh chopped cilantro in it, and 4 pieces of bacon. It was delicious and filling but not overfilling. I was going to take some tuna mixed with a little mayo, a tomato and 4 slices of cheddar cheese for lunch but was running short on time so instead grabbed a couple bananas which I enjoyed with a cup of mint tea. Surprisingly I was not overly hungry throughout the afternoon but I am beginning to feel the need for food now. Supper tonight will consist of the cod I did not make last night as I did not get home until almost 9pm.

I am looking forward to the cod and steamed asparagus tonight with water to drink. I'll top it all off with some herbal tea tonight before bed. As I type this I am not planning to workout tonight as my energy levels are still low and I am still feeling pretty tired from the lack of sleep last week, but that might change after supper and a chance to relax for a bit. I am looking forward to getting the energy back and the weight off again. I am not looking forward to going through the carb flu again as it was a grumpy couple of days with a headache the first time through. It amazes me how fast my body can switch back to being a sugar burner!

So day one is almost in the books - onward to day two. I'm not looking back nor am I going to dwell on the backslides that have happened. I will acknowledge them, accept them and be stronger for the ability to move past them! I will reach my goal or go down trying but I will not stop the forward movement until I am Primal to the core! Bring on the meat and the veggies its all I want and need!

Game on - Grok on!

[Primal Primate]

002

Day two and feeling well. Although I am still tired and did not want to get up this morning I am feeling much better than last week. When I got home from work yesterday I enjoyed a small slice of cheese to take the edge off and then cooked an amazing supper of coconut crusted cod and steamed asparagus. After supper I was feeling satisfied but not overstuffed which was a nice change from the last couple weeks. I enjoyed a couple lemons shortly after supper - not sure why but I was really craving them.

This morning I got up and made bacon and eggs for breakfast with a glass of cold milk. I enjoyed a midmorning snack - a banana and a cup of tea. I am feeling great! Lunch was left over cod and asparagus and tonight we will be enjoying slow cooked ribs in a primal spicy sauce with a salad with homemade caesar dressing. I am looking forward to this supper. As of now my energy levels are starting to climb and I feel better all the way around. I may jump on the bike tonight to get a little exercise in.

So far so good - day two and I'm feeling better and better.
Friday is weigh in day...

Game on - Grok on!

[Primal Primate]

005
Day five and just a quick check in to report that I am still on the primal lifestyle. I did enjoy a subway sub the other day but other than that I have not deviated from the plan. I am ok with the sub and I am happy to keep pursuing my goal. I'll write more when I am able.
Game on - Grok on!

[Primal Primate]

007

Wow over 1000 views! Thanks to anyone out there that is actually reading this journal. Please feel free to drop a comment every once in a while.

With the week winding down (yes I know it is only Tuesday but I have a 4 day work week this week) and winter break coming soon I am able to devote a little more time to the fun things in life and getting my lifestyle on the right track to survive Christmas. I'm still going strong with the primal lifestyle although the occasional cheat here and there does happen but it is nothing near as bad as the last meltdown 7 days ago.

As I reflect on the last 7 days I am happy to report that I am getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night. I'd like to increase that to 8 or 9 but I can live with 7. I've started to take my omega 3's and my vitamin C & D again - in the winter months in Alberta no one gets enough sun!

I'm feeling fantastic again and starting to really get the energy back too! The other nice thing is the weight is starting to drop off again. That is always a nice feeling. I'm sure it is just water weight at the moment as it seem so fluctuate a lot right now but I'll take any weight off and celebrate it!

This morning I was up early to cook breakfast - 2 egg omelet filled with spinach, feta and two pieces of bacon. Cooked in coconut oil. 1 glass of milk to drink with it, an orange and a cup of Mojito mint green tea. After breakfast I jumped on the stationary bike for the first time in ages and banged out 17km in 30 minutes. It felt good to get back into the groove.

Lunch today will be a can of tuna with some spinach and mayo mixed in, four slices of cheddar cheese, 1 sliced tomato and half a sliced cucumber with water or tea (licorice spice herbal) to drink. I find this is a nice quick snack that is very filling although I'm not quite sure just how primal cheese is... Still I enjoy putting a little pepper on the tomato slices, a slice of cheese on top of each and then the mixed tuna/spinach on top of the cheese. I suppose I could cut the cheese out if I had to.
Supper tonight will be my fav! Moose steak medium rare with three large bay scallops wrapped in bacon and a ton of roasted broccoli. Water to drink. I'll be cooking up a second steak and extra broccoli so that we have left overs for lunch tomorrow.

After work I am going to try and get a second half hour in on the bike but first I need to go to the doctor for my regular 3 month check up - damn high blood pressure. Here is hoping it is good news!

Day 7 and starting to feel a little primal again!
Game on - Grok on!

[Primal Primate]

I've signed up for a weight tracker - I think this will help me keep motivated as a visual representation of what I have lost and what I need to still lose. It even averages your weekly weight loss and provides estimations to when you will reach your goal. I am hopeful it will help me keep on track. What I really need however (and I know this) is pure old fashion self control - I've never been very good at it but I'm going to try.

Next weigh in day is Friday...

[Primal Primate]

The numbers:
I recently (and by recently I mean today) discovered Food journal for the Paleo Diet - PaleoTrack so between it and the weight tracker site I signed up for I have a good deal of numbers to make sense of. So here goes:

Food:
Today's intake: 2143 total calories consumed

52% of my total intake today was protein
34% of my total intake today was fat
14% of my total intake today was carbs (74 grams)
I know there is a break down of what my percentages should be in Mark's book but I can't seem to find it again so I'm not sure how these measure up to his percentages.

1.5:1 Omega 6/3 ratio - in the green
1.5:1 Potassium/Sodium ratio - in the red <- I need to up my potassium and drop my sodium a little it would seem.

I had a strictly primal no sugar, no legume and no grain day according to paleotrack.com!

Workout:
Low intensity cardio day
1 hour on the stationary bike in two 30 minute periods one this morning and one this evening
Total distance covered: 33.3km
Total calories burned: 699

Weight Tracker:
Current weight: 297 lb.
Goal Weight: 180 lbs
Total to lose: 117 lbs
BMI: 40.3

Next weigh in day is Friday - not expecting too much change between now and then as it is only a few days away. Still feeling good and hoping to see the weight start dropping again. I am also curious to see if the blood pressure drops as the potassium and sodium imbalance gets worked out. I had no idea I was not eating enough potassium until today.

Grok on - another small step in the right direction I think!

[Primal Primate]

008

Feeling pretty tired this morning. I did not want to get out of bed! I am looking forward to the holiday break and maybe getting more than 8 hours of sleep for a couple nights. Breakfast this morning was better than I expected considering I just threw together what I had on hand - need to get some groceries tonight!

Breakfast: 1 cup fresh spinach chopped & 1 large tomato diced - both were cooked with 3 large eggs (scrambled) fresh pepper and spice de provence added for taste. Half a ripe avocado with pepper and a little hot sauce on it. 1 medium sized banana and a glass of milk to drink. I have also had 1 cup of Stash blend Mojito mint green tea - I am trying to limit coffee and caffeine and find my morning and afternoon herbal teas have become very enjoyable.

Lunch today will be leftovers from last night - 8.9oz moose steak grilled with epicure montreal steak spice and fresh cracked black pepper, 2 cups roasted broccoli and half of a cucumber, raw with peel. Water to drink.

Supper - not sure yet but I am leaning towards shrimp cooked in butter and garlic with a simple lettuce salad - balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil dressing. Water to drink.

I was surprised to track my food this morning on the paleotrack site and see just how many calories and carbs I had already consumed today. It looks like my carbs will be slightly above the 100g mark - without supper the tracker indicates it will be 109g! But both my Omega 6/3 and Potassium/Sodium ratios are in the green (so far). It amazes me to see how this tool really is forcing me to take a hard look at the food I am consuming and really make better choices as to what I am going to put in my body.

Workout routine today - TABATA SPRINTS on the bike - I have been wanting to try these for a while now and today will be the day. I'm hoping to get in two 4 minute cycles but will be happy with whatever I can muster.

Grok on!

[Primal Primate]

010

So 10 days since the last carb melt down, and weigh in day. I'm down 3 pounds which makes me pretty happy! When I stepped onto the scale it didn't seem like that much, especially considering the amount of weight I was dropping before my backslide into carb hell, but when I charted it on the tracker and watched the "to go" weight drop from 117 to 114 it made me feel great and want to lose the next three pounds!

Yesterday was a tough day as it was the last day of classes and the children brought tons of chocolate, baked goods and sugar! I fought the good fight but in the end caved and enjoyed a little bit of the baked goods but I managed to give most of the chocolate away to the other teachers. So although it was not a truly primal day it was still a great one! Last night I went out geocaching with a few good buddies and we managed to get a really good workout in - slogging through knee and waist deep snow for over 2km up hill on the way out and down hill on the way back. 2km is not much but add the hill and the snow drifts and suddenly it was a bit of a workout. Needless to say we were all sweating pretty good when we got back to the truck.

This morning our staff had our traditional Staff breakfast for the last day of work before our winter break. We went out to a local restaurant where I was able to enjoy a 3 egg Santa Fe omelet with chicken, olives, tomato and lettuce and a little cheddar cheese, topped with salsa and sour cream. They were very accommodating allowing me to hold the corn and replace the toast and hash browns with a side of fresh organic sliced tomatoes. It was fantastic!

I have not been very open about my primal lifestyle at work but some of the staff noticed my requests and what transpired was a conversation about my eating habits. Many of the staff seemed to have a detached curiosity (interested but only because it was different) one or two seemed really genuinely interested and as always there was one who felt the need to make fun of it and try to poke holes in it. The conversation ended with me asking why my food choices were any of his concern? Although I was not able to answer all his pointed questions I feel I held my own and more importantly established to myself that I don't really care what others think this seems to be working for me and that is really all that matters.

I also discovered another new staff member enjoys playing squash and as I used to play and only quit because I had no one to play against I think I may have to pick it up again. It will be nice to add another sport back into my life. The big challenge now - continue to eat right, live right and drop weight as I move through the holiday break and the copious amounts of snacks, treats, and feasts that go along with it.

Meals today:
Breakfast: Santa Fe Omelet with checking, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado and olives in it, salsa and sour cream on the top. 1 fresh organic sliced tomato, two cups coffee with cream and a glass of water.
Lunch: Not sure yet - either nothing or bacon with a simple salad
Supper: Not planned yet. I know this is dangerous and often leads to non-primal meals but maybe a taco salad is in order tonight.

Starting weight: 297 lb
Current weight: 294 lb
Loss of 3 lb, 114 lb to go!

Grok on!