Bex's Primal Journal page

[Bex]

Day One!

Okay, so I've been reading the daily apple for a while and was doing an 80/20 primal lifestyle over the winter just by the virtue of living on the beach in Mexico for three months. Since returning to SW Ontario (Canada), however, the bread and pasta has slowly crept back into my diet.

Today is day one trying to actively implement a primal lifestyle back here in the "real world". I'm working with what we have in the house right now, so not all the foods are exactly primal, but we have to start somewhere, right?


Wake up 11:30am - slept in way late this morning, which isn't like me, but it was totally worth it

Workout 2:30pm - sprints (or the best I could do) - stretch followed by 2 x 50m sprints at 100% with walking for warn up & cool down, total 1km of movement. About 10 minutes total. Boy am I out of shape!

Breakfast 3pm - nectarine, 1/4cup homemade granola, 1.5cup raw milk, 1 cup coffee, 1/4 cup whipped heavy cream, 1tsp raw cane sugar

Lunch 5pm - large romaine salad w/ capicola, cheddar, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, buttermilk dressing

<edited after dinner update>

Dinner 8pm - cream of mushroom, broccoli and leek soup (with raw milk, venison broth and liquid sweet whey), lettuce with mayo, capicola and cherry tomatoes, raw baby carrots.

Dessert 9pm - 2 cream cheese & coconut cream macaroons (with 1tbsp of honey in 12 pieces)

Snack 11pm - oil popped red popcorn

Breakdown for the day:

Calories: 2104
Fats 54.3% (128g)
Carbohydrates 28.6% (152g)
Proteins 17.1% (91g)

Low on the protein today and a bit high on the fat, but it's a work in progress. Tips, feedback and encouragement welcome!

[Bex]

Breakfast: coffee with 1oz light whipping cream

Lunch: large romaine salad with carrots, mushrooms, 1/2 hard boiled egg, Parmesan cheese and buttermilk dressing

Workout: "Lift Heavy Things" day, went pretty easy on myself. We walked to the gas station (a few blocks away, up and back down 2 flights of stairs) carrying our empty propane tank, expecting to carry a full one home. Instead they told us the tank was expire, seized it, and we walked home without weights or BBQ! Boohoo. Planning a hard "Deck of Cards" workout tomorrow on my HIIT day, so I'll be sure to make up for it.

Dinner: large roasted chicken leg, skin on with coconut & tom yum crust; baked purple yam with strained yogurt and buttermilk sauce, parmesan topping; grilled zucchini, green pepper, onion and garlic.

Dessert: coconut "macaroon" leftover crumbles, thawed unsweetened strawberries, light whipped cream


Calories: 2016
Carbs: 108g- 21.5%
Protein: 110g - 22.0%
Fat: 126g - 56.5%

[Bex]

Well as may be blatantly clear by the lack of updates here, I haven't been sticking to the Primal life. I'm back living in Mexico, but the sweet breads in the market here are just so tempting! I'm sick of slowly watching my weight creep back up though, so I'm making the commitment. No more sweets, no more other grains, no more pasteurized milk. I will probably give myself a Sunday market day break for fresh fried potato chips and homemade lime popsicles. I'll get back to ya!

[Hedonist]

Welcome back! Hang in there. You don't have to do it perfectly. Just keep improving.

[Bex]

And I'm back! Just in time for this year's challenge. I've been doing great for almost two weeks now and am already seeing vast improvements in my 5 Essential Movements!

Today was a rest/play/move slow day for me. I did a Kundalini Yoga video that I really love, with about 15 minutes of stretching, 30 minutes of vigorous movement and 10 minutes of meditation.

Food for the Day:


I've also uploaded a couple "before" photos. This is not me at my heaviest, which was about 4 years ago at 320 pounds. I haven't had access to a scale for about five months, but I estimate I'm somewhere around 250 pounds at 5'8" and probably in the realm of 50-60% body fat? Dunno. Am looking forward to a nice surprise when I get home to Canada and have access to a scale again! For now, enjoying my performance as a measurement.

[Bex]

Food for today:

Going well, took a nice walk to the market and back (2km total over hilly terrain). Really looking forward to the challenge!

[Bex]

Another good day! Did my Five Essential Movements, my progress there is going really well too....

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-q...2011-09-10.jpg

1. Knee pushups
2. 1-Leg Pull-Ups
3. Wall Squats
4. Jack Knife Presses
5. Hand/Knee Planks --> Arm/Knee Planks on Sep10
b. Right Hand/Knee Side Planks --> Arm/Knee Planks
c. Left Hand/Knee Side Planks --> Arm/Knee Planks

Aug31 Sep3 Sep7 Sep10
1. 10/8 12/10 16/12 16/16
2. 6/5 8/6 8/8 10/8
3. 10/10 19/13 24/17 31/26
4. 8/6 10/10 12/12 18/11
5. 15s/15s 30s/30 48/35 35/20 (switch to arms)
b. 10s/6s 20/10 25/30 20/15 (switch to arms)
c. 10s/6s 20/10 22/18 20/15 (switch to arms)

Yay for visible progress! (I don't have access to a scale LOL!)

[Bex]

I haven't stopped tracking, just haven't had time to post things here. Went a bit "off the wagon" at the Sunday market and have been struggling to keep the carbs low this week since, but haven't buckled and bought any bread or anything. Yay! Still very committed, still moving.

Sept11:

Walked about 3.5km.

Sept12:

Walked 2km, including some steep climbing and sprints (4, aprox. 30sec each?).

Sept13:

Walked 2.5km with some gentle cross-country climbing.

[Bex]

Changing up the format of reporting for today.



Went for a walk to the market, about 2km up and down rocky hills. Also dive my 5 Essential Movements and still seeing progress!

1. Knee pushups
2. 1-Leg Pull-Ups
3. Wall Squats
4. Jack Knife Presses
5. Arm/Knee Planks
b. Right Arm/Knee Planks
c. Left Arm/Knee Planks

Sep10/Sep14
1. 16/16 18/14
2. 10/8 11/9
3. 31/26 34/30
4. 18/11 16/14
5. 35/20 30/25
b. 20/15 25/15
c. 20/15 25/15

[Bex]

Went for another 2+km walk today and did pretty good!



Cals: 2,026
Carbs: 87
Fat: 116
Protein: 130