Musings from the 100 Acre Woods page

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Ash Wednesday is coming up in two days. Seems like the perfect time for a swift kick to officially get back on the wagon.
I officially started PB on January 1, 2012, because you can only start new things at the New Year. I was 200lbs. (which isn't horrible on a 5'10", but still . . .) and miserable. Everything hurt. I had gas, heartburn, bloating, moodiness, fat, hunger pains, cravings, acne, swollen ankles, lousy sleep, and the list goes on and on. Like everyone else has discovered, CW was not only NOT working, it was making things worse! I would finish a big dinner and be hungry already while still cleaning up the kitchen. I described it to my hubby as, "My stomach is full (stuffed), but my mouth is still hungry." It's a shame that chewing on ice is so bad for you!
I finally stumbled upon the Drs. Eades' website and took their carb addict quiz. Now I considered myself quite CW healthy, so it was very humbling to fail it miserably. In fact the only question I didn't answer with a resounding YES, was the one about waking up at night to eat. So off to any other website I could find for carb addict information, and I ended up at Primal Blueprint. Reading through Mark's posts, as well as those by others, made me feel like an awful lot of people had been looking over my shoulder for a very long time. My same symptoms were being reported left and right. And much to my delight, people were also posting successes!
From January to November I lost 25lbs. and 99% of my icky symptoms disappeared. Then came the holidays. I didn't mind the backsliding on the scale (10lbs) as much as the amount of stupid CW excuses that were coming out of my mouth. "Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust is better for me than a slice of cake." Yes, I suppose that is true, but rat poison is still rat poison. I'd make PB meatloaf and then drizzle with SAD BBQ sauce because it was just a dribble. I'd eat Skittles instead of Twix because they didn't have any grains. I cut out the noodles, but still ate potatoes or rice. I'll grant you that I was still making the-lesser-of-the-two-evils choices with most of them, but how can I possibly justify that Skittles are better than Twix?
So here I am, almost at Ash Wednesday. Time to get back where I was in October!
I had two PB goals for 2012, cut out grains and IF one day a week. Both I have kept 80/20 or better. I am still fat burning therefore the IF has not become a problem.
My overall Lent goal is 15 pounds and a better frame of mind. In order to achieve that goal, the first step is to start off right with a fast for Ash Wednesday -- supper Tuesday night to breakfast Thursday morning.

2/11/13
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Well, Ash Wednesday was yesterday, and my fast went well. I was able to make it about 36 hours, from dinner Tuesday night to breakfast on Thursday morning. I'm a bit frustrated because I did find myself hungrier yesterday than I normally am during my fasts. But, I have a feeling it's because I indulged a bit too much in the days leading up to Lent. Why do we always load up on the bad things before we start? And the really dumb part is Primal is supposed to be a lifestyle change, not a six-week diet. So my mind set going in shouldn't be, "I can give this up for six weeks, and then I'll go back to my old eating patterns."
I should also mention that I know there will be one planned non-primal outing. We will have to make it to my in-laws for one of their church's fish fries. The best in the land! I can easily skip the spaghetti, bread, and most of the dessert choices. The rest of the meal is breaded fish, cole slaw, and potato salad. And they usually have fruit pies (eat around the crust), puddings, tapioca, and sometimes even a fruit cocktail choice (out of a can, I'm sure, but "better" than the cake choices.)
Breakfast -- 2 eggs fried in coconut oil with tumeric, bacon, and a glass of kefir.

Exercise -- 45 minutes of yoga with the ladies at church.

Supper tonight will be an exercise in self-discipline. We're going to Chili's for our anniversary.
Good choices
fajitas, without the tortillas, extra guacamole
glass of wine instead of a mixed drink
ice cream instead of chocolate decadence cake
water instead of tea, lemonade, or soda
salads -- check ingredients for croutons, dressings, cheeses, etc.
double veggies instead of potato, noodle, or rice side
Put the bread basket on Tom's side of the table!
Skip the appetizer, probably nothing that could even remotely pass for Primal! Maybe the celery garnish on the sampler?

Starting weight: 185 2-12-13
Today's weight: 182.8 2-14-13
Goal 170 Easter

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We ended up having such a nice anniversary yesterday! Erin's basketball game was an early one, so we were able to get reservations at Chili's for 6:30. I give myself a C+ to B- for the meal: 2 margaritas, 1 southwest eggroll, and a few chips. On the plus side, fajitas with no tortillas, extra guacamole, and my appetizer choice for the sampler was the potato skins. Not too bad for an anniversary indulgence! Oh, and there were also 4 delicious chocolate-covered strawberries. Well worth it!

This weekend is Alex' tournament in Concordia, so that means 4 meals in hotels and restaurants. Luckily I can start Satudray off right with breakfast at home. Lunch will be the food the families bring at the hotel -- sub sandwiches. If no one notices I can just eat the meat and cheese off the bread. I'm bringing fresh fruit, and I saw that someone else had signed up for the veggies and dip type stuff. I might just throw in my own pack of lunchmeat and cheese for an afternoon snack. We're eating out Saturday for supper, so a regular restaurant menu should have plenty of doable choices. They always have salads, if nothing else. Sunday we're eating the continental one provided by the hotel. I'm sure it will be doughnut/pastry heavy as we're not staying at the Ritz, but I will have the leftover fruit still in our room. Sunday late lunch/early supper will be at a pizza joint in Columbia. Looks like that will definitely be a salad meal. Fortunately, pizza doesn't even look good anymore, so that one will not even be an inner battle. It will probably be a good thing that I'm not eating pizza as i'm the one who will still have a 2 hour drive ahead of me. A meal of pizza and I'll be sound asleep in no time. Better hope Alex feels like talking all the way home!

On the good side, Monday is no school for any of us. Either a good day for a fast, or a good day to cook something Primal from scratch -maybe even big enough to have another meal of planned leftovers. That would be a great way to start the week a little ahead of myself.