Lately I've been reading Gary Taube's "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and I'm about 1/4 of the way through, and I love it. It explains everything about this diet, and it even goes in to explain why CW (Conventional Wisdom) got the way that it is. It's very interesting, and I encourage all nay-sayers of the Primal diet to humor me and read it. I bet their opinions will change.
A lot of people I tell about the diet always react with "WHAT?!? No grains? How can you live your life?" I admit at first it was hard cutting carbs and all processed foods. However, now that I'm over the "carb flu" I'm seeing improvements in my well-being, stamina, mood, and physique. The changes I've experienced these last three weeks have been for the better (for me) and I'm loving every minute of it. I got the Primal Blueprint in the mail the other day, so that's next on my reading list.
Shoulder is still being a pain in the ass...but I'm noticing it's actually getting a little better each day. I think at this rate I'm going to wait until the end of February to do any kind of resistence training. Feb 15th I'll start a yoga regimen targeting the shoulder area.
This morning I made up a Strawberry, Blueberry, and coconut milk smoothie for breakfast. Man was it good. I don't feel hungry at all (a little tired, however. I'll need to do some research on why this is. I got 8+ hours of sleep last night.)
Over the next few days I'll be compiling a list of why the Primal diet is working for me, and also why it may not be working for me. Be on the look out.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Toys, toys, toys
Over the weekend I picked up some Vibram Five Fingers. I love them! I've been wearing them around the house and walking thru town getting used to them before I start running with them. To those who don't know, they're a minimilast shoe, which makes it seem like you're walking/running barefoot. I don't need to explain the health benefits to this unorthodox approach. I'll report how it feels tomorrow, as I'm going on my first run with them tonight.
Breakfast: Blueberry-strawberry smoothie (coconut milk, ice, fresh strawberries and blueberries
Lunch: Outback Steakhouse salad with blue cheese dressing. 3/4 cup cottage cheese.
Dinner: Home-made Primal pizza. First time making it, so if it's amazing, I'll post recipe tomorrow.
Sleep last night was around 7:30 hours. My shoulder is still aching, and it doesn't feel like it's getting any better at all. Makes me wonder if it's a tear or something, so I'll be planning on a dr's visit in probably 2 weeks. I'm going to cease all lifting completely, and hope for the best.
Breakfast: Blueberry-strawberry smoothie (coconut milk, ice, fresh strawberries and blueberries
Lunch: Outback Steakhouse salad with blue cheese dressing. 3/4 cup cottage cheese.
Dinner: Home-made Primal pizza. First time making it, so if it's amazing, I'll post recipe tomorrow.
Sleep last night was around 7:30 hours. My shoulder is still aching, and it doesn't feel like it's getting any better at all. Makes me wonder if it's a tear or something, so I'll be planning on a dr's visit in probably 2 weeks. I'm going to cease all lifting completely, and hope for the best.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Cake and Ice Cream?
My shoulder is still hurting. I'm not sure what in the hell it can be...I've given it a few days and it's not felt any better, and I'm getting real antsy on beginning my training regimine for the Army. I guess I'm just going to have to end up excersising my patience as my shoulder takes its sweet time to heal. In the mean time, it's running, biking, and playing! My favorite!
In other news, I celebrated my week-and-a-half-going-Paleo with a low-carb brownie treat thing. I'd never baked before, so I followed the recipe closely, and it was amazing! It wasn't much a browney as it is cake. I just found the same recipe, but with only two eggs as opposed to five, so I'll make it again only using two eggs and see if that doesn't make it more "brownie-y". Here's the recipe:
16oz almond butter
2 eggs
1 cup honey
1 tbsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
Blend almond butter until smooth (microwave a little bit).
Add eggs, honey and vanilla. Blend cocoa, salt, and baking soda.
Grease a 9×13 pan
Bake @325 for 30-40 minutes.
I found a recipe for Paleo Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream. My gosh...I'll be trying this soon.
Today's plate:
Grass fed sausage with two eggs and a handful of cheese
1/2 cup cashews (morning and afternoon snack)
1/3 pound grass fed ground beef with sauteed (in coconut oil) various peppers and pepperoni
Brownie dessert
Fried chicken for dinner
Today's workout is a recumbent bike ride on the program "Rolling Hills." 20 minutes.
Mental state: I slept 6:30 last night, and woke up tired and grouchy. I came to work grouchy, in fact almost went off on a few passer-bys because they wondered why I always bring a sack of food with me to work. I snack through the day, and my co-workers are starting to catch on to my diet. The coming weeks could prove to be detrimental to my resolve, as I try and explain Paleo to them. I doubt anything will get through, however.
In other news, I celebrated my week-and-a-half-going-Paleo with a low-carb brownie treat thing. I'd never baked before, so I followed the recipe closely, and it was amazing! It wasn't much a browney as it is cake. I just found the same recipe, but with only two eggs as opposed to five, so I'll make it again only using two eggs and see if that doesn't make it more "brownie-y". Here's the recipe:
16oz almond butter
2 eggs
1 cup honey
1 tbsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
Blend almond butter until smooth (microwave a little bit).
Add eggs, honey and vanilla. Blend cocoa, salt, and baking soda.
Grease a 9×13 pan
Bake @325 for 30-40 minutes.
I found a recipe for Paleo Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream. My gosh...I'll be trying this soon.
Today's plate:
Grass fed sausage with two eggs and a handful of cheese
1/2 cup cashews (morning and afternoon snack)
1/3 pound grass fed ground beef with sauteed (in coconut oil) various peppers and pepperoni
Brownie dessert
Fried chicken for dinner
Today's workout is a recumbent bike ride on the program "Rolling Hills." 20 minutes.
Mental state: I slept 6:30 last night, and woke up tired and grouchy. I came to work grouchy, in fact almost went off on a few passer-bys because they wondered why I always bring a sack of food with me to work. I snack through the day, and my co-workers are starting to catch on to my diet. The coming weeks could prove to be detrimental to my resolve, as I try and explain Paleo to them. I doubt anything will get through, however.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Truth trumps lies
I finished watching "Fat Head" today, and I have to say it might be one of my favorite movies now. Not only is it educational, but it stimulated the necessary emotional response most directors look for while making a movie. I learned that the Gov't is responsible for making America obese. I'll say it again: The US Gov't is singlehandedly responsible for making Americans obese.
I will back this up in a coming post, as I don't have time right now. Let's just say, that the SAD diet (Standard American Diet...and it is indeed SAD) is teaching Americans the wrong thing about nutrition. In fact, I'm so AMAZED at what I've been taught personally through public education couldn't be farther from the truth. I have lost just that much more faith in our government's ability to lead this nation. I am honestly at a loss of words.
Today's menu:
3 oz grass fed pork sausage with 2 whole grass fed eggs, and handful cheddar cheese.
1/2 cup cashews and 1/4 cup almonds for morning/afternoon snack.
5 cups leafy romaine salad with tons of cheddar cheese and blue cheese dressing for lunch, also with a piece of bacon explosion.
Grass fed ground beef burgers with various veggies.
Today I am choosing to take a rest day, as my left shoulder is aching for whatever reason. I don't want to push it.
I will back this up in a coming post, as I don't have time right now. Let's just say, that the SAD diet (Standard American Diet...and it is indeed SAD) is teaching Americans the wrong thing about nutrition. In fact, I'm so AMAZED at what I've been taught personally through public education couldn't be farther from the truth. I have lost just that much more faith in our government's ability to lead this nation. I am honestly at a loss of words.
Today's menu:
3 oz grass fed pork sausage with 2 whole grass fed eggs, and handful cheddar cheese.
1/2 cup cashews and 1/4 cup almonds for morning/afternoon snack.
5 cups leafy romaine salad with tons of cheddar cheese and blue cheese dressing for lunch, also with a piece of bacon explosion.
Grass fed ground beef burgers with various veggies.
Today I am choosing to take a rest day, as my left shoulder is aching for whatever reason. I don't want to push it.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Results
I believe I've already said this, but to aide in the documenting of this experiment I'm going to weigh myself every Monday, straight out of bed and after taking that morning pee. This morning I weighed 183.8, down 6 pounds from 189.8! The "carb-flu" was worth it. This past week I cheated 3 out of the 7 days, but now that I am over the 'hump' so to speak, I don't expect any difficulties this next week.
Friday I ordered my copy of the Primal Blueprint. I haven't gotten any kind of shipping confirmation yet, so hopefully today I'll get an e-mail about it.
Today's Menu:
Two grass fed eggs with bacon and pork sausage (actually, I made a bacon explosion, seriously awesome.)
1/4 cup each of peanuts and almonds
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Baked chicken breast with bacon wrapped around in, and garlic cream cheese in the middle
Finally, baked salmon with baby dill, and also asparagus on the side.
Workout:
Today is my sprint day, so I'm trying to figure out how to accomplish this. I don't own a treadmill (that works anyway) and I don't have a gym membership. There's also fresh snow coming down this morning, so road running may be a problem. I work at a warehouse...I may try and do some sprints here. We'll see.
Friday I ordered my copy of the Primal Blueprint. I haven't gotten any kind of shipping confirmation yet, so hopefully today I'll get an e-mail about it.
Today's Menu:
Two grass fed eggs with bacon and pork sausage (actually, I made a bacon explosion, seriously awesome.)
1/4 cup each of peanuts and almonds
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Baked chicken breast with bacon wrapped around in, and garlic cream cheese in the middle
Finally, baked salmon with baby dill, and also asparagus on the side.
Workout:
Today is my sprint day, so I'm trying to figure out how to accomplish this. I don't own a treadmill (that works anyway) and I don't have a gym membership. There's also fresh snow coming down this morning, so road running may be a problem. I work at a warehouse...I may try and do some sprints here. We'll see.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 4: Shut out
Waking up this morning I felt full of energy. But mentally, walls are coming down. I don't know if this is due to the diet or what, but this morning was difficult. I'm starting to scratch and claw my way out of this tunnel, focusing on my job and also my "play" time later tonight. Something is going to happen. I don't know if I'll go out driving all night, or running amok through the woods in the snowy forest, or simply playing video games all night. Soemthing will stop me from thinking the crazy thoughts I have.
Menu:
Breakfast: two eggs and three pieces bacon.
Morning and Afternoon snack: 1/4 cup each of almonds and peanuts.
Lunch: Baked chicken salad with ranch. Four cups leafy romaine lettuce.
Dinner: Baked Salmon with asparagus spears.
Workout:
LSD bike 30 minutes, 65% heart rate the whole way.
Frolicing in the woods (maybe.)
Sleep: 6 hours. Woke up from an intense dream and came to work two hours early to try and shake the bad thoughts from the dream.
I ordered the Primal Blueprint today, and am ecstatic to have it coming my way. I can't wait to dive in and soak up all the information it holds. I believe it'll be invaluable to my new lifestyle change. Now I just need to work on not being so moody and stoping these irrational emotional changes.
It's not a bad thing, but yesterday someone triggered the discussion of "regrets." I understand it's unhealthy to have regrets, but something inside me keeps thinking about the cool things that would've happend had a certain situation worked out, etc etc. Well, I've made a decision. I'm a very military-ish guy, and training so hard for the SEALs to all of a sudden find myself in civilian life was tough. I've decided to join the Army and go for their special forces program. There's a lot that has gone into this decision, and I believe it is a decision that was not made lightly. But with everything that's been happening these past few weeks at work and in my personal life, it's time for a big change. Let the training begin.
P.S. I weighed myself this past Monday, and I was at 189.9. I'm going to weigh myself again every Monday morning. I'll roll outta bed, take a pee, then hop on the scale first thing to get the most accurate reading.
Menu:
Breakfast: two eggs and three pieces bacon.
Morning and Afternoon snack: 1/4 cup each of almonds and peanuts.
Lunch: Baked chicken salad with ranch. Four cups leafy romaine lettuce.
Dinner: Baked Salmon with asparagus spears.
Workout:
LSD bike 30 minutes, 65% heart rate the whole way.
Frolicing in the woods (maybe.)
Sleep: 6 hours. Woke up from an intense dream and came to work two hours early to try and shake the bad thoughts from the dream.
I ordered the Primal Blueprint today, and am ecstatic to have it coming my way. I can't wait to dive in and soak up all the information it holds. I believe it'll be invaluable to my new lifestyle change. Now I just need to work on not being so moody and stoping these irrational emotional changes.
It's not a bad thing, but yesterday someone triggered the discussion of "regrets." I understand it's unhealthy to have regrets, but something inside me keeps thinking about the cool things that would've happend had a certain situation worked out, etc etc. Well, I've made a decision. I'm a very military-ish guy, and training so hard for the SEALs to all of a sudden find myself in civilian life was tough. I've decided to join the Army and go for their special forces program. There's a lot that has gone into this decision, and I believe it is a decision that was not made lightly. But with everything that's been happening these past few weeks at work and in my personal life, it's time for a big change. Let the training begin.
P.S. I weighed myself this past Monday, and I was at 189.9. I'm going to weigh myself again every Monday morning. I'll roll outta bed, take a pee, then hop on the scale first thing to get the most accurate reading.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 3: Cheaters Never Win
Well...yesterday I craved a honey bun. Really bad. I know it was only day two, but when you're so used to just eating whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, it gets hard. So suffice it to say, I cheated last night, and had a McFlurry and two apple pies from McDonalds. It was super sweet, and super good.
However! Just because it was good doesn't mean I'm giving up. So here's the plan. I went one whole day Paleo (or close to it...I still don't 100% understand it yet) and then cheated. So, I am now going to go two whole days, cheat, then three whole days, cheat, four, cheat, five, you get the picture. That doesn't mean I 'have' to take those cheat days either. Maybe just having the 'option' will mentally stave off those cravings, and I won't cheat at all. We'll see.
Today's food:
Breakfast: Two eggs, three slices bacon, and cheddar cheese on top.
Morning and Afternoon snack: 1/4 cup each of peanuts and almonds together.
Lunch: Four cups leafy romaine salad with chedder cheese and ranch, also a boneless skinless chicken breast wrapped in bacon with garlic creamcheese inside it.
Dinner: Not sure yet.
Today's work out: These excersises will be done immediately after the one preceeding it.
50 pushups
12 pullups
50 air squats
12 shoulder press pushups
90 second plank hold
45 second plank hold on the side; both sides
Rest
^^^Same as above. So basically two cycles of this regimine, but a brief 2-3 minute rest in the middle. Afterwards, a VERY slow 30+ minutes on the recombent bike. Hardly any resistence at all. Just watching a movie/tv show/reading a book/who knows yet.
Sleep: 7:30 again. Although today I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Is that because of the sweet stuff last night? I hope not...but if it is...I'll have to re-train my body to get over it and accept using fat as a fuel source. I'll get there.
Mid-Day edit. It's 1:00pm and I have got to say I've got some crazy amounts of energy. I'm flippin through work with a smile and not letting any of the knuckleheads get in the way (and at this place...you have to dip and dodge to avoid 'em.) No matter...today is a good day, and I look foward to my work out later.
However! Just because it was good doesn't mean I'm giving up. So here's the plan. I went one whole day Paleo (or close to it...I still don't 100% understand it yet) and then cheated. So, I am now going to go two whole days, cheat, then three whole days, cheat, four, cheat, five, you get the picture. That doesn't mean I 'have' to take those cheat days either. Maybe just having the 'option' will mentally stave off those cravings, and I won't cheat at all. We'll see.
Today's food:
Breakfast: Two eggs, three slices bacon, and cheddar cheese on top.
Morning and Afternoon snack: 1/4 cup each of peanuts and almonds together.
Lunch: Four cups leafy romaine salad with chedder cheese and ranch, also a boneless skinless chicken breast wrapped in bacon with garlic creamcheese inside it.
Dinner: Not sure yet.
Today's work out: These excersises will be done immediately after the one preceeding it.
50 pushups
12 pullups
50 air squats
12 shoulder press pushups
90 second plank hold
45 second plank hold on the side; both sides
Rest
^^^Same as above. So basically two cycles of this regimine, but a brief 2-3 minute rest in the middle. Afterwards, a VERY slow 30+ minutes on the recombent bike. Hardly any resistence at all. Just watching a movie/tv show/reading a book/who knows yet.
Sleep: 7:30 again. Although today I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Is that because of the sweet stuff last night? I hope not...but if it is...I'll have to re-train my body to get over it and accept using fat as a fuel source. I'll get there.
Mid-Day edit. It's 1:00pm and I have got to say I've got some crazy amounts of energy. I'm flippin through work with a smile and not letting any of the knuckleheads get in the way (and at this place...you have to dip and dodge to avoid 'em.) No matter...today is a good day, and I look foward to my work out later.
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