So my goal, as of today, is to lose 40 pounds. I went camping during May Long Weekend at Minnedosa and promptly gained 5 pounds. Is it the fresh air? The relaxed attitude? Because this is not acceptable. Fiance and I plan on camping a lot this summer and I don't plan on gaining 5 pounds every time.
So...what went wrong?
1) Well, for starters, it was fairly cold out during the weekend. When it's cold out I instinctively want to eat more.
2) White Owl Whiskey. Lots of it. 'Nuff Said.
3) Several trips to the local Co-op market. Mostly buying utensils and spice, but that package of dark and white chocolate chunk cookies probably (most definitely) didn't help.
4) I forgot my air-brace at home, so couldn't really go for any long walks. My left ankle was broken back when I was 14 and never really healed properly. Once in a while it flares up (especially when I eat poorly) and walking becomes difficult. Add to that, when I was 21 I developed phlebitis in my left leg while on a trip to Alberta for a friend's funeral. (Sitting cramped in a truck for 28 hours with Leden Factor V wasn't the smartest move ever.)
5) The day we left to go camping, I had a funeral to go to. My mom's best friend's mom, who was like an honorary grandma, passed away from lung cancer. We always saw her at birthdays and holidays, and my grandparents all died before I could drive, so she kinda took over the grandparent role. She was very close to her daughter, as my 'auntie' was an only child. Grandma R was extremely happy to meet her great-grandchild and to see me get engaged. As we all know, funerals are emotional times, and a LOT of food is put out. Being the emotional eater that I am....
So, there ya have it. These aren't excuses. I'm not saying 'It's not my fault because..." I'm just sort of looking back on the weekend and seeing what went wrong and how the decisions and actions I made caused the reaction in my body.
So this is day 1 of a new experiment. The experiment is called: Eating Primal.
Right now I weighed myself. I weigh 189 pounds. My immediate goal is to clean up my eating and get moving. Right now my goal weight is 185 pounds.
Here goes....
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Holidays Don't Ever End.
I have figured out something today that has taken me forever to sort through. 'The Holidays' never really end. For me, it's no longer an excuse worth mentioning. 'Oh, I gain weight around the holidays because....there's lots of food?'
There's lots of food EVERYWHERE. ALL THE TIME. There are holidays throughout the entire year! Easter is in April, and just yesterday Fiance and I hosted a Mother's Day supper (farm fresh steak, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad and veggie tray and deviled eggs). We'll probably do the same for Father's Day. In Manitoba, March to June is 'social season' and there is at least one wedding social every Saturday. For me, these involve lots of rye and diet 7ups and a midnight lunch.
Then there's summer from...well, now, actually since it's pretty warm out these days, to September which always involves patio dining and margaritas. And camping. And drinking. And picnics. And drinking. And birthday parties. And drinking. And concerts. And drinking. The drive inns are open once more and deep fried food is their specialty.
I think you might see where I'm going with this.
Just because it's a 'holiday' doesn't mean it's any excuse to veer off your regular eating habits. I always gave in to the temptation to overeat during a 'special occasion', but I can't anymore because I now realize that there's a special occasion every fucking weekend. BOOM.
Lately when I go out, I cut down on the booze (sometimes). I ask myself before I order something, 'is this primal?' Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is sort of, and I scrape off some food here, or unwrap a wrap and eat it with a fork (omg, it's like a salad!...). Just make the best of it. But always be aware that there really is no excuse for eating unhealthy food-like substances.
I order lemon water instead of the margarita. Yes, of course it's not as yummy, but you certainly won't feel gross after a couple of glasses. Yes the mozzarella sticks are yummy and gooey, but it's been breaded and deep-fried and there's a 85% chance it will give you heartburn and gas. Don't even get me started on french fries.
This past weekend we were in Neepawa to see Trooper, which by the way, was AWESOME. They look like old-timers but they giv'er like they're 18. This was Fiance's 8th time seeing them, but I had never been to one of their shows before. I kinda knew who they were, because back in 2004, my high school class (all 42 of us!) chose 'We're Here For A Good Time' as our graduation theme, so I was aware of the band, but they did a stellar job and I would definitely go see them again.
Anyways, we were hanging out at our friend's son's house before the concert, and the girls wanted to go to the drive inn. I tagged along and since I'd been drinking I decided it would be a good idea to buy mozza sticks and perogies for Fiance and me. It really did seem like a good idea. But one bite into deep fried crap and I felt like spitting it out. I think I've been accustomed to a higher source of food now, but I still ate some of the crap because I traded my money for it. Luckily Fiance loves deep fried, so it did not go to waste.
So between that, and our big Mother's Day meal, I've learned a valuable lesson. Special occasions are nice to celebrate, just not with an overabundance of food on my plate.
There's lots of food EVERYWHERE. ALL THE TIME. There are holidays throughout the entire year! Easter is in April, and just yesterday Fiance and I hosted a Mother's Day supper (farm fresh steak, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad and veggie tray and deviled eggs). We'll probably do the same for Father's Day. In Manitoba, March to June is 'social season' and there is at least one wedding social every Saturday. For me, these involve lots of rye and diet 7ups and a midnight lunch.
Then there's summer from...well, now, actually since it's pretty warm out these days, to September which always involves patio dining and margaritas. And camping. And drinking. And picnics. And drinking. And birthday parties. And drinking. And concerts. And drinking. The drive inns are open once more and deep fried food is their specialty.
I think you might see where I'm going with this.
Just because it's a 'holiday' doesn't mean it's any excuse to veer off your regular eating habits. I always gave in to the temptation to overeat during a 'special occasion', but I can't anymore because I now realize that there's a special occasion every fucking weekend. BOOM.
Lately when I go out, I cut down on the booze (sometimes). I ask myself before I order something, 'is this primal?' Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is sort of, and I scrape off some food here, or unwrap a wrap and eat it with a fork (omg, it's like a salad!...). Just make the best of it. But always be aware that there really is no excuse for eating unhealthy food-like substances.
I order lemon water instead of the margarita. Yes, of course it's not as yummy, but you certainly won't feel gross after a couple of glasses. Yes the mozzarella sticks are yummy and gooey, but it's been breaded and deep-fried and there's a 85% chance it will give you heartburn and gas. Don't even get me started on french fries.
This past weekend we were in Neepawa to see Trooper, which by the way, was AWESOME. They look like old-timers but they giv'er like they're 18. This was Fiance's 8th time seeing them, but I had never been to one of their shows before. I kinda knew who they were, because back in 2004, my high school class (all 42 of us!) chose 'We're Here For A Good Time' as our graduation theme, so I was aware of the band, but they did a stellar job and I would definitely go see them again.
Anyways, we were hanging out at our friend's son's house before the concert, and the girls wanted to go to the drive inn. I tagged along and since I'd been drinking I decided it would be a good idea to buy mozza sticks and perogies for Fiance and me. It really did seem like a good idea. But one bite into deep fried crap and I felt like spitting it out. I think I've been accustomed to a higher source of food now, but I still ate some of the crap because I traded my money for it. Luckily Fiance loves deep fried, so it did not go to waste.
So between that, and our big Mother's Day meal, I've learned a valuable lesson. Special occasions are nice to celebrate, just not with an overabundance of food on my plate.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tim Hortons SUCKS the willpower out of me
Okay, so if you live in Canada, you completely and totally know what I'm talking about. If you live in the US (except for Dayton, Ohio which I KNOW has a Tim Hortons because my mom and I found it on our road trip to Boonsboro, Maryland...and I heard New York, NY got one in Times Square) then you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about. I'm talking about this. Delicious coffee. Scrumptious donuts. Delectable cookies. And they are literally everywhere in every town and city. If you don't go to get a timmys every once in a while, it's practically Un-Canadian. Why just yesterday I went to meet a friend for coffee and they had a new cookie out. It's Maple Sourdough or something or other. I decided to order one because I love all things maple. Yes, I'm completely aware that it's not primal food, it's full of sugar and shame on me.
I took one bite. My eyes widened. It tastes like a pancake! Seriously, it tastes like a pancake slathered in butter and drizzled with syrup. I broke a piece off and shared it with my friend because she was wondering why my eyes popped out of my head. I immediately thought, 'this is the future of food. We will have tubes of goo that contains so-called nutrition and it will taste like pancakes.'
I went back to Brandon today because of unfinished business (Brandon is the 2nd largest city in Manitoba, 50 minutes from where I live) and went with my Mom. Of course after all our errands were done we had to stop at Tims for a drink. And of course since I wasn't in the mood for a hot drink, I got a sugar-laden Iced Cap and a Maple- whatever it's called- Cookie. The first couple of bites were awesome.
Then I'm not sure what happened. I'm not sure if it was the sugar in the drink, or if it was because I was driving, or if it was that particular cookie. But after I was finished I was no longer enthralled with Tims. Yes, they have excellent coffee. Yes, I'll definitely go back, because they are everywhere and ingrained in every Manitoban's culture. But I need to make a conscious effort to stop going there and eating their junk food. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to reach my goals, but I need clearly defined goals. There are too many variables. Is my goal to get 'healthier'? Is it to be 130 pounds? To be a certain size in a certain store? To finish Yoga Meltdown without passing out from muscle fatigue?
To all those questions, is there an answer? I think there is. My goal is to get primal. To stop eating foods that aren't primal. Sugar-laden cookies are not primal. Large double-doubles are not primal (*sob*). If anyone has some sort of system for walking in what is basically a donut shop and not eating junk food, please let me know! I meet friends and family there all the time and I'm not sure how to resist! I may just have to find a new meeting place that serves delicious cheap coffee. If anyone knows of a place, please let me know!
I took one bite. My eyes widened. It tastes like a pancake! Seriously, it tastes like a pancake slathered in butter and drizzled with syrup. I broke a piece off and shared it with my friend because she was wondering why my eyes popped out of my head. I immediately thought, 'this is the future of food. We will have tubes of goo that contains so-called nutrition and it will taste like pancakes.'
I went back to Brandon today because of unfinished business (Brandon is the 2nd largest city in Manitoba, 50 minutes from where I live) and went with my Mom. Of course after all our errands were done we had to stop at Tims for a drink. And of course since I wasn't in the mood for a hot drink, I got a sugar-laden Iced Cap and a Maple- whatever it's called- Cookie. The first couple of bites were awesome.
Then I'm not sure what happened. I'm not sure if it was the sugar in the drink, or if it was because I was driving, or if it was that particular cookie. But after I was finished I was no longer enthralled with Tims. Yes, they have excellent coffee. Yes, I'll definitely go back, because they are everywhere and ingrained in every Manitoban's culture. But I need to make a conscious effort to stop going there and eating their junk food. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to reach my goals, but I need clearly defined goals. There are too many variables. Is my goal to get 'healthier'? Is it to be 130 pounds? To be a certain size in a certain store? To finish Yoga Meltdown without passing out from muscle fatigue?
To all those questions, is there an answer? I think there is. My goal is to get primal. To stop eating foods that aren't primal. Sugar-laden cookies are not primal. Large double-doubles are not primal (*sob*). If anyone has some sort of system for walking in what is basically a donut shop and not eating junk food, please let me know! I meet friends and family there all the time and I'm not sure how to resist! I may just have to find a new meeting place that serves delicious cheap coffee. If anyone knows of a place, please let me know!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Exercising Around the World
This video done by Steve from Nerd Fitness is really cool and super inspiring. He funded his own 18- month- round- the- world trip on his own and I can only say one word. Jealous!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
RESIST!!
HO. LY. SHIIIT.
So yesterday went relatively well. For lunch, I had a cup of chowder (probably not primal) with a chef salad (probably primal) for lunch with coffee and water (primal). When my mom and I hit the 2nd mall of our day, we were in the food court and, well, bad things happened. I have a weakness for Tim Hortons Chocolate Chip Muffins. My weakness used to be toasted blueberry bagels with butter, but they have discontinued said bagel (it's a sign!) so then I moved on to my original treat of muffins. If it's out of my sight, it's out of my mind, but I really did want a coffee and a bottle of water, so I waited in line with my mom. After staring at the glass case of wheaty, gluteny, sugary delights, I broke down and ordered one 'so my mom wouldn't feel bad when she had her treat'. Fuck.
I broke the muffin into a bazzilion pieces and tried to savor every bite. But to be honest, it tasted a little....store-bought (gee, I wonder the fuck why?). The part I really liked was the chocolate chips. My affinity for chocolate shall never go out of style! Well, onward and upward.
For supper I had chicken gumbo (possibly primal) and a philly cheese sandwhich ( not primal) with extra cucumber and tomato on the side. I felt like emptying the contents of the sandwhich (steak, cheese, pepper) onto the plate and eating it with my tomato and cucumber, and I did for the most part. But I also ate the flax bread.
All in all, it could be considered a fail, but I learned something. After reflecting on the day, I know I did make the effort to try. And now I've seen that I need to look for alternatives to soup (the thing is, I HATE dry salads) and to stick with things that are not wrapped in grain products. And also to stay away from the fucking glass case of muffins.
Today is a fast day for me. It's not that I don't eat EVER (obviously), it's just that I'm not hungry, and I like to test myself to see just how 'ravenous' I get. So far, I never really get ravenous. Except for today, when the things I ate the day before were crap. And even then, I'm not really hungry, I just have that 'I could eat' feeling. What upset me today was when Fiance decided he'd have potatoes for lunch, and I advised him to cut the potatoes in half because sometimes they're rotten inside (we got them from a local farmer). So instead of just baking them like he planned, he ended up frying them in his deep fryer to make french fries. I LOVE FRENCH FRIES. Needless to say, I took a page from the book of our beagle, Peggy Sue, and stared at the plate of fries and my head followed every morsel he picked up from the plate and placed in his mouth. My eyes watered. Was I crying? I muttered 'jerk' a few times and moved over to the couch to watch tv. If I can't see it, it's not there, right?
I am not perfectly primal at all, I'm a newbie! Still learning! How do you deal with friends and family who flaunt their junk food in front you?
So yesterday went relatively well. For lunch, I had a cup of chowder (probably not primal) with a chef salad (probably primal) for lunch with coffee and water (primal). When my mom and I hit the 2nd mall of our day, we were in the food court and, well, bad things happened. I have a weakness for Tim Hortons Chocolate Chip Muffins. My weakness used to be toasted blueberry bagels with butter, but they have discontinued said bagel (it's a sign!) so then I moved on to my original treat of muffins. If it's out of my sight, it's out of my mind, but I really did want a coffee and a bottle of water, so I waited in line with my mom. After staring at the glass case of wheaty, gluteny, sugary delights, I broke down and ordered one 'so my mom wouldn't feel bad when she had her treat'. Fuck.
I broke the muffin into a bazzilion pieces and tried to savor every bite. But to be honest, it tasted a little....store-bought (gee, I wonder the fuck why?). The part I really liked was the chocolate chips. My affinity for chocolate shall never go out of style! Well, onward and upward.
For supper I had chicken gumbo (possibly primal) and a philly cheese sandwhich ( not primal) with extra cucumber and tomato on the side. I felt like emptying the contents of the sandwhich (steak, cheese, pepper) onto the plate and eating it with my tomato and cucumber, and I did for the most part. But I also ate the flax bread.
All in all, it could be considered a fail, but I learned something. After reflecting on the day, I know I did make the effort to try. And now I've seen that I need to look for alternatives to soup (the thing is, I HATE dry salads) and to stick with things that are not wrapped in grain products. And also to stay away from the fucking glass case of muffins.
Today is a fast day for me. It's not that I don't eat EVER (obviously), it's just that I'm not hungry, and I like to test myself to see just how 'ravenous' I get. So far, I never really get ravenous. Except for today, when the things I ate the day before were crap. And even then, I'm not really hungry, I just have that 'I could eat' feeling. What upset me today was when Fiance decided he'd have potatoes for lunch, and I advised him to cut the potatoes in half because sometimes they're rotten inside (we got them from a local farmer). So instead of just baking them like he planned, he ended up frying them in his deep fryer to make french fries. I LOVE FRENCH FRIES. Needless to say, I took a page from the book of our beagle, Peggy Sue, and stared at the plate of fries and my head followed every morsel he picked up from the plate and placed in his mouth. My eyes watered. Was I crying? I muttered 'jerk' a few times and moved over to the couch to watch tv. If I can't see it, it's not there, right?
I am not perfectly primal at all, I'm a newbie! Still learning! How do you deal with friends and family who flaunt their junk food in front you?
Friday, April 13, 2012
Soaking it Up
I love reading primal-minded blogs, and I love learning about different blogs out there in the primal/paleosphere. Just this morning I added primalbody-primalmind, primalgirl.com, and robbwolf.com!
Soaking up information, discovering new studies, reinforcing new ideas, it's all awesome :) I really do love reading, and this is a topic I'm passionate about, however I'm well aware that what we know is not necessarily as wonderful as what we do. If we have all this information, but don't do anything with it, it's useless. It takes guts to be different and to put yourself out there, but when it's important, it's worth it.
My personal challenge right now is to eat primally when I'm out in public, with family or friends. Sometimes (a lot of the time) I throw caution to the wind because I'm afraid. I'm afraid of judgement, I'm afraid of questions, I'm afraid of changes in relationships, etc. My resolve is to be brave. I know what's good for me, I know what I want to do, and I can't let other people's opinions of what's good for me get in the way of my optimum health!
When I'm by myself, or with fiance, I eat the way I want to eat, which is primally (although about once a month we split a bowl of ice cream or a plate of french fries). But when I'm with my sister or mom or friends who eat junk food daily, I find it so incredibly hard to eat primally. They either tell me I'm starving myself or denying pleasure, or that I'm making them feel bad for their choices. It's what I call 'THE GUILT'. Today I will have to fight THE GUILT, as I'm going to Winnipeg with my mom for a bit of shopping and lunch.
I will have to look up suggestions as to how to battle THE GUILT. I'm a pretty big softie (figuratively AND literally :p) and it's definitely my weakness. If anyone has suggestions on toughening up, feel free to comment! I need all the weapons I can get!
Soaking up information, discovering new studies, reinforcing new ideas, it's all awesome :) I really do love reading, and this is a topic I'm passionate about, however I'm well aware that what we know is not necessarily as wonderful as what we do. If we have all this information, but don't do anything with it, it's useless. It takes guts to be different and to put yourself out there, but when it's important, it's worth it.
My personal challenge right now is to eat primally when I'm out in public, with family or friends. Sometimes (a lot of the time) I throw caution to the wind because I'm afraid. I'm afraid of judgement, I'm afraid of questions, I'm afraid of changes in relationships, etc. My resolve is to be brave. I know what's good for me, I know what I want to do, and I can't let other people's opinions of what's good for me get in the way of my optimum health!
When I'm by myself, or with fiance, I eat the way I want to eat, which is primally (although about once a month we split a bowl of ice cream or a plate of french fries). But when I'm with my sister or mom or friends who eat junk food daily, I find it so incredibly hard to eat primally. They either tell me I'm starving myself or denying pleasure, or that I'm making them feel bad for their choices. It's what I call 'THE GUILT'. Today I will have to fight THE GUILT, as I'm going to Winnipeg with my mom for a bit of shopping and lunch.
I will have to look up suggestions as to how to battle THE GUILT. I'm a pretty big softie (figuratively AND literally :p) and it's definitely my weakness. If anyone has suggestions on toughening up, feel free to comment! I need all the weapons I can get!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
It's a Blah Day, Charlie Brown
Well, it's 11:10 am and I'm FINALLY starting to get my a$$ in gear. Some days all I can muster is the will to walk my dog. Doing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, even just getting dressed is a chore. I'm not depressed, I swear! Just lazy I guess.
Well, my plan is to crank some music to get my body hopping and get dressed to start the day. Things need to be done! Sometimes it's good to have a plan instead of a list. Eating primally has been a bit of a challenge lately because of all the chocolate junk given to Fiance from this past weekend (Easter) but they're out of my sight now.
At this particular moment I feel like I took a muscle relaxant or something. Just don't want to move! Fiance is coming home with some fresh veggies and meat so I'll be able to whip up a delicious stir fry for lunch. So far the key to staying on a primal eating path is preparation and simplicity.
Ok, music, check. I'm starting to sway. I'm starting to bop. Halestorm- Here's to us. Awesomeness. Here's to me getting up off my A$$!
Well, my plan is to crank some music to get my body hopping and get dressed to start the day. Things need to be done! Sometimes it's good to have a plan instead of a list. Eating primally has been a bit of a challenge lately because of all the chocolate junk given to Fiance from this past weekend (Easter) but they're out of my sight now.
At this particular moment I feel like I took a muscle relaxant or something. Just don't want to move! Fiance is coming home with some fresh veggies and meat so I'll be able to whip up a delicious stir fry for lunch. So far the key to staying on a primal eating path is preparation and simplicity.
Ok, music, check. I'm starting to sway. I'm starting to bop. Halestorm- Here's to us. Awesomeness. Here's to me getting up off my A$$!
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