Primal Journal (Elle Yang) page

[ElleYang]

I've been primal on and off since March of this year. I keep thinking I can be bad for one day on a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, Thanksgiving) and then continue with primal after the one day. But I every time I do that, I get sucked into SAD eating and am instantly back to my sugar addiction. Then I have to re-commit to primal, go through the low carb flu and cravings to get back on track. Why do I do this to myself??!! I feel so good when I'm primal. Why can't I just let go of the SAD eating? Well, actually I do know why. I'm an emotional eater. Nothing compares to the pleasure of a carb-induced food coma.
I was doing pretty good with primal until Thanksgiving. I went hog wild and have been pigging out on SAD food ever since. Actually, worse than just regular SAD food. I've been pigging out on junk food non-stop.
But I'm ready to rejoin the primal team! I'm back to my meat and plants today and beyond. I want to beat sugar once and for all.
I hope this journal will help me stay focused and help me to sort out any issues that come up. I plan to write an entry at least once a day.

Primal laws I've followed so far today:
Played - went to the beach, read, walked my dog, took a swim
Got sunshine - soaked it in at the beach
Ate meat and plants - kind of. ate cheese and beef patty for breakfast
Lift heavy things - doing a dumbbell workout as soon as I'm finished writing this

Looking forward to being my best me again soon!

[Hedonist2]

Welcome Elle! I think it just takes time. I really don't crave anything non-primal anymore. And when I have marginally primal or not terrible 20% stuff, I enjoy it, don't have serious problems, and don't want to binge on it.

At Thanksgiving, I had a courtesy serving of gluten-free cornbread stuffing because the hostess had specifically made it gluten-free for me, a serving of mashed potatoes (I do eat some potatoes and consider them ancestral food not 20%), a little bit of homemade cranberry sauce, and some pumpkin pie (with whipped cream). Also, of course, turkey, roasted root veggies, green beans and maybe other primal stuff I can't remember. I could have stuck to the primal items with ease but it was Thanksgiving and it decided to enjoy everything.

Grok would have considered tribal rituals more important than his own wants and needs, IMHO.

Good luck on beating the sugar monster!

[ElleYang]

Thank you for the encouragement!

Yesterday was a good primal day. Breakfast was coffee+almond milk, roast chicken, and pumpkin+butter. Lunch was two sausages, 1/2 avocado, and scoop of coconut butter. Snacked on some salami. Dinner was ribs+nonprimal BBQ sauce, mashed cauliflower, and 1/4 avocado. I came pretty close to making dessert while watching Love Actually. But I just drank some herbal tea instead

My family-in-law is on Week 3 of a primal challenge. MIL is doing great - losing weight, feeling energized, and off diet coke after 40 years! She is very inspirational to me right now. If she can do it, I can do it!
FIL and SIL are being more health-oriented than normal - moving more, eating less. But haven't quite seen the light yet.

Tonight I plan to do HIIT. Probably do as many burpees as I can in 10 minutes. Won't be walking the pup today because she got a bee sting on her paw yesterday and will probably still be a little limpy today.

Primal laws:
Eat meat and plants: Done
Move slowly: Walked, did housework
Lift heavy: Rest day
Sprint: Rest day
Sleep well: Done
Play: Played hunt and kill zebra-dog with my dog
Get sunshine: Spent plenty of time outdoors in the sun (dog walking, playing, sitting)
Avoid accidents: Done
Avoid poisonous things: Kinda. BBQ sauce had sugar. Ate processed meat
Use your brain: Worked on my personal statement for grad school application, read, had interesting conversations with the hub

[Hedonist2]

Great! Glad it's going well.

[ElleYang]

Had a good day today primal-wise.

Breakfast: 2 chicken sausages
Lunch: Leftover mashed cauliflower, home-made turkey-ham-vegetable soup
Snack: Packet of Costco trail mix (not planned, darn those coworkers!)
Snack: Chunk of salami
Dinner: Roasted chicken thighs with pre-made enchilada sauce, steamed broccoli
To drink: Water, green tea, herbal tea, club soda

Took a walk on my 10am and 2pm breaks at work.
Played fetch with the pup.
Did as many burpees as I could in 10 minutes.
Sprinted across the yard 6 times.
Stretched.

About to watch It's a Wonderful Life!

[Richardmac]

Hey EllanYang

Welcome to the boards. Its great to see someone eating. I know there are recomendations to only eat breakfast, lunch and T but I encourage people to fuel their bodies. Its good to see you eating your 3 meals, and not being afraid of a healthy snack as well.

I loved your daily checklist and might have to use that with clients myself (if you dont mind), very cool.

It is soooo cool that you are getting your family on board, especially at this time of year. Dont be disheartened if some come off it over christmas, it is not your fault. Just allow them to try it, allow them to wonder back to eat how they like, allow them to feel the negative side effects and allow them to return to you.

Keep at it.

Richard

What kind of pup have you got?

[ElleYang]

Thanks for your reply Richardmac! Any time I've tried to eat less often (skipping meals, IFing) it makes me cranky and obsessive. And I always binge. I've learned I do better if I eat three meals. My pup is a Jack Russell-Chihuahua. She is a silly little thing.

Yesterday was not my best primal day. Let's break this down...
1. Eat plants and animals:
Breakfast: 1 chicken sausage, 1 leftover spare rib
Lunch: Turkey-ham-vegetable soup, steamed broccoli
Snack: Coconut butter, roasted almonds
Snack: Chunk of salami
Dinner: Roast chicken
Dessert: Home-made grain-free chocolate cookie
To drink: Water, green tea, herbal tea, club soda
2. Move slowly, frequently: Walked on by 10am and 2pm breaks; It was raining so didn't walk the pup
3. Lift heavy: Nope
4. Sprint: Nope
5. Sleep well: Slept okay; Cramps kept me up some of the night
6. Play: Nope
7. Get sunlight: Got some on my walks
8. Avoid trauma: Done
9. Avoid poison: Nope, ate chocolate cake at work; AAAHH!! It' so hard to resist treats at work! I don't even like store bought cake
10. Use your brain: Did some writing for work; Finished My Antonia

Today should be a better day. There is no chocolate cake sitting on the breakroom table. I'll walk the pup if it isn't raining. And am planning on doing a strength work out.

[Richardmac]

Keep at it. dont get down. As I tell clients 3 steps forwards and 2 backwards stills adds up to alot of steps forwards over time.

Do you mind if I use your 1-10 daily assessment?

Your snacks looks yummy.

Richard

[ElleYang]

Keep at it. dont get down. As I tell clients 3 steps forwards and 2 backwards stills adds up to alot of steps forwards over time.

Do you mind if I use your 1-10 daily assessment?

Your snacks looks yummy.

Richard

Don't mind at all. I'm a list person. I'm constantly making lists!

[ElleYang]

I dreamed of Blueberry Morning cereal last night. I dreamed that I was very guiltily eating some Blueberry Morning. That was my favorite cereal when I was a kid, but I don't think I've actually had any in at least 15 years. I still remember the exact tast and texture. The chewy little blueberries, the crunchy granola clusters, the soggy flakes...
So with that on the tip of my mind this morning, I made myself some blueberry paleo porridge. Basically, it's blueberry paleo pancakes that are scrambled in the pan instead of delicately handled to prevent crumbling.

Work yesterday was so boring and stressful that I took a mental health day today. Thank goodness there were no sugary goodies in the breakroom yesterday or I would have gone buck wild! No amount of walking breaks could bring me out from under my dark cloud. Is it me or is it the job? Am I just being a spoiled brat?

When I arrived home, there was a box full of Trader Joes goodies sitting on the kitchen counter that my mom sent me. Normally, especially if I'm stressed, I'd tear open the box and gorge until I couldn't fit anything more in my stomach. Then I would do some combination of the following: cry, vomit, sleep, hate myself, curl up in a ball of guilt, and/or get rid of any evidence before my husband got home. But I didn't! I left the box unopened and headed straight to the yard to work out. I only did 2/3 of my workout because my husband came home early and I wanted to hang out with him.

Dinner was salmon with vegetables. I used a store-bought sauce on them and it was gross - tasted like canola oil and sugar. I should have just used butter and salt and pepper. Lesson learned! That was the last of any store-bought sauce I have in the house so it's all home-made from now on. Trader Joes goodies were dessert. I definitely ate more than I needed to but that was because everything is so delicious, not because of an emotional need to. Compulsive eaters know there is a very distinct difference between eating too much because something is delicious and eating too much because the bingemonster has infiltrated your brain.

Runnning errands today. Christmas shopping, stop at the tailor, get tires rotated, etc. It's so nice having a weekday to get stuff done and not have to waste a Saturday on it!