My (skinny) Primal Journey page

[tabithatoes]

I'm starting a journal mainly to track my progress, recieve support, and keep an accurate record of my daily doings.

I'm 24 years of age, 108lbs, and my current body fat percentage is 18%. If my math is correct, this means my skinny butt is carrying nearly 20lbs of body fat. My main goal with going Primal is to build a stronger, healthier body. The BMI charts have me on the border of being underweight. Eh, what's up with that?

I have been mostly vegetarian for over 2 years, and the change resulted in increased consumption of whole grains and soy based meat replacement products. I've drank a lot of fruit juice, eaten a TON of quick carbs (topping 300g carbs per day). Since going veg I've also been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, which I'm now learning could be a product of all those damn grains!

Lastly, I hope that this lifestyle change will help build more self confidence and alleviate my anxiety disorder. Panic attacks, stress-related diarrhea, social phobias, and irrational fears have plagued my mind since my pre-teen years. Three pilates sessions and daily half-hour walks have helped immensely, and I am confident that going Primal will get me back on track.

Instead of logging my individual foods (I do that on NutriMirror) I'll simply log my daily intake of carbs, protein, fats, and calories. I'm trying to stay between 100-150g carbs and around 70g protein... hopefully consuming 1g fat per each 1g protein. I'm seriously upping my consumption of eggs and fish, and not eating more than a palmful of grain per day. I will have very small amounts of greek yogurt and cheese as well. Lots of fruits, veggies, and some nuts. I realize this isn't totally primal, but this is my skinny 80/20 version!

I currently do pilates apparatus classes 3x/week (1 hour each) and I walk nearly 2 miles 6 days per week. I plan to add some bodyweight strentgh training and occasional sprinting to the mix. Here goes!

[tabithatoes]

Day 1
71g Protein
67g Fat
115g Carbs
21g Fiber
Calories: 1328

Day 2
43g Protein
45g Fat
129g Carbs
14g Fiber
Calories: 1069
1 Hour Pilates Class
2 Mile Brisk Walk

[slesca]

Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I suffered from really bad anxiety for about 4 years and it completely went away last year when I eliminated sugar and grains from my diet. I had a bad anxiety/insomnia/junk food cycle going and the diet change worked wonders. I also found that just the teeniest amount of weight lifting makes me sleep like a freakin' rock. This also contributed to breaking the cycle. Seriously, my anxiety would get crippling and self-destructive at times. Now, the same things that used to make me freeze up with anxiety propel me to just dig in and get s!@# done. It was really a miracle for me. So, good luck!

[tabithatoes]

That's awesome!! It's exactly what I need. How long after eliminating grains did you start to feel different? I'm already feeling better, but I think it's the placebo effect of doing something "good" for myself

[tabithatoes]

Day 3
35g Protein
71g Fat
111g Carbs
21g Fiber
Calories: 1183
Wall squats, pull ups, step ups, push ups
2 Mile Brisk Walk

The past three days I'm feeling great in the morning, but by the afternoon I'm getting really tired and headache-y. By bedtime I'm downright exhausted. I could attribute this to allergies (we've had some strong winds stirring up all that pollen), but I am starting to wonder if my body is going through carb and sugar withdrawal!

[ChristineCrain]

I dunno, are you sure you're eating enough? I find if I get low on fuel I tend to get tired and cranky at people. 1200 calories doesn't seem like much to me...

[slesca]

I actually felt different almost immediately, but it took me a while to believe that my diet was the reason why. After a full month, I realized that it had to be my diet and I started giving credit where it was due.

[tabithatoes]

Day 4
63g Protein
63g Fat
98 Carbs
15g Fiber
Calories: 1182
1 Hour Pilates Class

I definitely feel different! This morning was slow and groggy, but by afternoon I was energized. I'm noticing that I no longer feel super full or super hungry, and I'm not having heartburn after dinner every night.

Christine, I'm definitely consuming fewer calories (maybe 500 less per day) that before I went primal. This isn't intentional... I'm just eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm satisfied

[tabithatoes]

Day 5
65g Protein
76g Fat
84 Carbs
16g Fiber
Calories: 1248
Pushups
Pullups
Wall Squats

Feeling even better today. No slow-mo brain this morning, although my tummy was a little upset and my stool was different (too much info!). I worked an 11 hour day and I kept my energy up until now!

[tabithatoes]

Day 6
59g Protein
86g Fat
122 Carbs
18g Fiber
Calories: 1453
2 Mile walk
1.5 Hour Pilates Class

Day 6 was a good day and a bad day... I felt really anxious in the morning but by lunchtime I was feeling excellent. I didn't eat a good dinner (I overcooked my fish and couldn't stand to eat it). My mother brought CAKE over before our walk, and I had a very small piece which totally skewed my carb and sugar count for the day. Oh well... 80/20!
About an hour and half after eating the cake I felt SO crappy. Indigestion, bloating, and that unmistakable sugar crash. Bleh. Won't be doing that again.
Calories: 1248