Licarrit"s Primal Journal
(28 posts) (5 voices)-
Licarrit
MemberI have been eating primal for about 2 months now so I am over the weepy, tissue-papery feeling of not having that blast of carbs everytime you get hungry. I am diabetic, type II but I may have converted or become so screwed up that I can only use insulin now. I take 46 units of long acting and 1 unit for every 3 grams of carbs of the short acting -that is a lot of insulin, trust me. At present I eat about 40-80 grams of carb a day. I need to do more exercise but I am starting to get a grip on that too. This is where I am going to journal my food and exercise so comments are thoroughly encouraged. My immediate goal is to take off some weight, I am 5'1" and weight in at a whooping 205.2. I am also a 45 yr old woman so I am not expecting anything rapid here. Beyond the weight loss I am also looking to decrease the amount of insulin I use daily.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Welcome!
Mark mentioned another 30 day Primal Challenge and while I didn't quite make it onto the 1st one, maybe you'd be interested in joining me on the second 'iteration'!
He has yet to make a full announcement, but it's due to start on August 3rd and there might be prizes, etc, this time!
I am also looking to lose weight. I have about 20 lbs to go (ie junk in the trunk) and will probably start a Primal Journal in here starting on 1st day of the challenge.
I hope that you reach your goals (and then some)!
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberOoh, visitors already!
Actually, I haven't lost anything though this is in no way a reflection on Mark's ideas or PB. I am taking so much insulin and had complicating factors that further reduced my insulin sensitivity that it would be nearly impossible for me to lose from the start.
In the time that I have been eating PB I have seen my fasting sugars go from the mid 180's to 100, for the non-diabetic, that is the difference between eventually needing dialysis or going blind and living to a ripe old age, 100 is normal. I had gotten it down to @ 140 with just the change in diet. Getting off my birth control pills and getting off my diuretic for high BP along with taking Mark's vitamins pushed it even lower. I don't work for Mark BTW, so that is my unpaid opinion. I need to keep it down long enough that my A1c starts to drop. That test is done every 3 months.
As for exercise, I tend to have exercise ADD. I have a home gym with a Bulgarian bag and some other stuff as well as an Incline trainer.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberAhh, you've found the chink in the plan! I work @ 60 hours a week in a brain draining job (academic medical research)(my husband has worked at least 6 days a week for the last 15 years!) and between that and having a demanding 9 yr old daughter I don't have the energy and brain capacity to actually DO anything. I am trying to limit my computer time while at home and find ways to have FUN (ah, fun, remember fun). So to that end I ordered a Trikke today that I can drag my daughter along on her rollerblades. I am doing weight training a couple of days a week with a TRX, the Bulgarian Bag, and bodyweight exercises. I was doing better with the exercise before starting PB and the energy hasn't been there since starting but I am still working on it. My hope is to lose enough weight that I can get back to doing the martial arts that I love.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberJuly 16 09
Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled/ soft goat cheese/ sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
Lunch: Cobb Salad with lettuce, tomato, avocado, shredded cheese, turkey breast, bacon, hard boiled egg, blue cheese dressing (I have this almost every day and I get it at a restaurant- not organic!)
Mid Aft Snack: handful of mixed unsalted nuts
Dinner: don't know yet, maybe some fish
Exercise: 15 minutes strength training on my TRX
Full body routinePosted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberArgh! you can't edit posts?
Didn't have the goat cheese and tomatoes just had the eggs scrambled in butter.
Arthur, since you are determined to keep me on the straight and narrow (and thank you for that!) I will tell you that since eating PB I have taken 2" off my hips
1" off my waist and 1" off my chest measurements which is probably the other reason that I am not nuts that the scale isn't moving. Also, and this falls into the realm of way to much info, the fat I carry on my stomach is softer and my stretch marks are much more pronounced which means that the fat is leaving (squishy fat is mobile fat!) and there is less of it (less tension on the skin means more pronounced stretch marks -gross but true!)Posted 8 months ago # -
arthurb999
MemberA couple of things come to mind.
You guys are working way too much. Why are you working sooooo many hours? Is if a money issue, love for the job, etc? When do you have time to raise your daughter? Enjoy life, etc?
Also, it’s just a matter of getting dressed and doing it. IF it is important, you can find 20-30 min a day to workout. I worked 10 hours with no break yesterday… (which is rare) but went home and put on my shorts and headed out… I didn’t feel like it but fitness is important to me.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberUnfortunately, those kinds of hours are actually pretty standard in academic medical research which is what my husband and I do. My primarily blue collar family thinks it is hysterical -3 degrees (DH is an M.D Ph.D.) and we work more than they do. Weren't you supposed to go to college to get the cushy jobs!? Anyway, you are right about the exercise and that was what pushed me to get out of bed a little earlier and get some in.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberUnfortunately, if you want to stay employed in doing neuro-immunology research, yes it is necessary. We have published papers in really good science journals (you can google me, Lisette Carrithers) The stuff we do is fascinating even if this isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life. In truth, I'm more of an artist than a scientist. I am salary so is DH, we make the same $ if we work 40 or 80 hours. The thing is that if we want to stay funded and we want to get promoted, and write the papers and you get the idea, you do this. We took a 10 day vacation this year which was a very big deal because usually we have cells and mice that need to be taken care on a near daily basis. The money we make which is pretty good, goes to really good food, good books, good wine and the occasional splurge toy like the Trikke I just ordered. All in all we have a great life and because the job is not physically demanding we can work into our 70's without breaking down our bodies. Something that the rest of my family runs into.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
Memberokay, still trying to get the hang of journaling without an edit feature.
Yesterday I ate pretty much as planned, had eggs but not the goat cheese and tomatoes, ate my salad like always and had wood roasted pork shoulder aka. bar-b-que without the sauce, well just a dab of sauce and peach with greek yogurt for dessert, oh, and some nuts.
We even took the dogs out for @ an hour walk after dinner.
Fasting sugar this morning was 139. not great but not bad. I took 23 units of long acting last night and not the usual 25 guess I don't get to reduce that one yet. I have reduced the short acting by going from 1 unit for every 3 grams of carb to 1 unit for every 4. doesn't seem like much but every little bit helps. Got to get it down further but I didn't sleep well sore and ache-y from the lifting yesterday morning. which obviously means I need to do more!
Mark is going to be doing his 30 day challenge in the beginning of Aug. and I am definitely in but I think I want to try for a noticeable transformation so I am going to set up some pictures of the oh so scary before and try to do some video and stuff on a regular blog and try to put the link here. At the beginning of the summer my goal was to lose 15 lbs of body fat and frankly I am not even close though I have lost some. So my goals for the rest of the summer are to find more ways to move my body, the eating has been solid, no real cravings for carbs that I felt powerless about. The movement comes harder. So we can walk the long way to the bar where I have my big salad. We can walk after dinner, and I can lift in the mornings. I don't feel safe sprinting yet but I can add in a HIIT incline workout once in a while and then maybe by this fall I can have taken off some weight and my ankles and knees will feel up to sprinting. I also want to add some fun in so the Trikke will be here next week and I'll get to make a fool of myself trying to learn that too but hopefully it will help move some of this trunk fat. Ew, that sounds gross!
Breakfast: blueberries with Greek yogurt, 3 scrambled eggs
Posted 8 months ago # -
Trinkwasser
MemberThis might be worth a read
the How To's are written by a GP with a Type 1 son, who is very opposed to conventional treatment. She covers reduing insulin along with the carbs.
According to Michael Eades a normal pancreatic output is around 30 units/day, a figure confirmed by a Type 1 friend who maintains an A1c in the high fours on about twenty units, using a low carb diet.
This suggests you have considerable insulin resistance (your lipids may prove this). The good news is, so did I on a high carb low fat diet, and now I don't.
Probably a combination of low intensity exercise and short bursts of high intensity is the best plan, IR responds well to growing and using muscle. Lifting grows it and even walking is sufficient to use it. Metformin also helps (not totally Primal but it is derived from a herb). Getting and keeping your BG down, as you're already doing by no longer abusing your body with all those carbs, also works well, and that and the weight loss (which work synergistically) will undoubtedly have results, but not overnight.
I look forward to reading of your success.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberSorry, kinda dropped out of sight but I am back now! Trinkwasser, that site looks awesome! I'll have to check it out further at home.
I am setting some goals for myself for the challenge>
TRX 3x a week to build muscle.
Trikke 4x a week to have fun and work my body at a steady pace.
Get the carbs down to 70 or less grams a day.
Write it all down so I can see what the hell I am doing.I want to try to get rid of some of the dairy, namely cheese, in my diet so that it is the occasion treat and not the crutch it is now.
I've still been eating well and my fuzziness is cleared up now I have started getting my energy back too! Thank god! There have been lots of little positive things about the switch that I've seen but the big thing I'd like to see is some weightloss and that just hasn't happened yet. I am confident it will but damn, it is taking a long time.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberGot an excellent Trikke session in yesterday, @ an hour! Now I really know how to carve and so does the kid. This is so much more fun than riding a bike and soooo much better on my knees than even walking. Can't wait to get out there again tonight. I want to make an exercise video for the contest, much as I love it Trikking is kind of out because of the specialized equipment. What ever I do has to be believable for my body -the wheels are spinning!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberOkay, now I am really confused! I measured my body fat percentage at the beginning of the summer and got 41% yes, it is a really ugly number! Well, I just measured my bodyfat percentage again after being primal all summer and not having any great change on the scale (actually it went up a few pounds!), with a more accurate calculator and I am now at 28.6%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that even possible? I am gobsmacked! I feel so much stronger and look better but could I have dropped that much fat and put on that much muscle? I am starting to see the vaguest definition in my arms and legs but the trunk is still sloppy looking.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberDCKMA, I used an estimator to calculate my body fat based on a set of measurements (hips, calf, thigh, wrist) and my personal info (weight, age, sex) The first time I did it I used a different model and it only used hips and waist I think. The one I used yesterday would take into account frame size etc. so I am assuming it would be more accurate. The only way to know for sure is to do a water displacement test and they are killer expensive.
My family "converts" meaning at some point in their type II course they stop making insulin. Its on my mother's side and probably an inbred French-Canadian thing. The docs aren't sure if that is the point I am at yet but while primal I have been able to increase the grams of carb per unit of insulin I take but I have not been able to alter my long-acting in the least and I take a LOT of long acting (46 units split morning and night) I also suspect that the first body fat estimate was way off. I'm heavier than I should be but 41% body fat is Jabba the Hut fat, and I was never that kind of sloppy. I may have been closer to the low 30's and have lost fat from there which is more likely. I'll still take it!
I didn't fail my oral meds till this year. I was on insulin when I was pregnant with my daughter but they put every diabetic on insulin for pregnancy.
This morning after an hour and 1/2 of Trikking last night my sugar was 102! a very beautiful thing! I am going to go take measurements with a real measuring tape, not a paper printed one and plug that in to the formula and see what I get. I was planning to TRX this morning but I am wiped out so I will do it when I get home from work.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberOkay, re did all the numbers with a real tape measure and a fresh weigh in and got 33.5% which is still better than I started with.
I'll do it again at the end of the challenge to see if it changes. It will give me a quantifiable result to my process oriented goals.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberPlugged my old numbers into the new program and got 35.5% BF so I have dropped 2% body fat in less than 3 months not to shabby! And! I hadn't really kicked the exercise piece into gear so now that I (hopefully!) have that working too maybe I'll see some big differences!
Posted 7 months ago # -
DiabetesCanKissMyButt
MemberSounds like you are doing great, licarrit. I think calipers would be more accurate and not that expensive to measure body fat. I need to get some myself. Did your doctors do any kind of tests to determine how much insulin you produce? Sorry for the questions- I am just interested. I am thinking of requesting a C peptides and GAD antibody testing next I go.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberI have an Endocrine appt. coming up soon so I want to ask her about how much insulin I am actually making among other things.
I actually have calipers and I agree, calipers are more accurate in trained hands, the problem is that there aren't alot of trained hands around. My DH is an M.D. and he's no help! The estimator works to show trends and that is fine with me for now.
The real (lifetime) goal is to eliminate or greatly reduce the insulin I am taking. I may not ever be able to get off the long acting but I should be able to control the diet and exercise to eliminate the short acting.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberOkay, I Trikked again last night, less than previously but I had a time crunch and only got it @1/2 an hour still better than the usual attempts at cardio. This morning I got up and did my TRX routine which seemed not so hard so maybe they are more complimentary than I originally thought.
For the record: 3 Trikke sessions this week and only 1 TRX so far but my week is going to go Mon. to Sun so I still have time.I want to enter the workout and recipe contests so my brain has been buzzing with ideas. I'm going to have to do the filming myself. Everyone else is too freakin' opinionated!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
MemberOkay, I am no good at journaling on the weekends and evidently no good at actually working out either. It rained on and off all weekend so no trikking -I didn't feel too bad about it as I had gotten in 2 very long sessions and one of @ 1/2 an hour. The problem was I didn't get in any more TRX sessions and that is indoors!
So to recap: 3 Trikke sessions, 1 TRX session, close but no cigar as far as goals go. I did find a classic French dessert that I am going to make Primal and shoot a video recipe of so I was at least thinking Primal even if I failed at my exercise goals. Sleeping has eluded me lately which can lead to me not working out so that is something else I need to keep an eye on. My goal for today is to get in a TRX session this afternoon when I get home and since it is supposed to rain most of the week I am allowing myself to sub 1/2 an hour on the treadmill for a Trikke session when needed.So Goal for this week: 3x TRX sessions, 4 Trikke/treadmill sessions.
I may even make on of the treadmill sessions a HIIT. Hmmm, that could be an interesting exercise vid, how to do "sprinting" when your knees and ankles can't really handle it!
Posted 7 months ago # -
Licarrit
Memberokay, the tiredness did not get better and I went to bed at @7:30pm. Woke up just as tired which tells me this is not about staying up late to read. Missed Trikking yesterday. Downloaded a bodyweight workout program (that actually features Mark in the food guides, a good sign! I'm going to look it over today and start tonight. I need to shake this overwhelming exhaustion. The biggest surprise today was that I was telling my DH that he WAS going to start exercising with me and I was prepared for a big showdown and nothing! just a simple okay! That has never happened before!
Posted 7 months ago #
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