Bleh.
I had such high hopes for this past weekend. I was going to clean and organize and play in the kitchen and cook new foods. It was going to be fabulous!!
It was fuckin' hot and humid. I mean icky horrible - move and you sweat kind of weather. I've just had too much of that this summer. I don't handle heat and humidity well anyway, but after all we've had lately, I just couldn't take it. I mostly sat in front of a fan and worked on my computer. By Sunday, I was holed up in the bedroom with the AC.
About the only good thing was that I think I have found a reasonably decent solution to managing all the recipes I've been collecting on the internet. I started a Delicious account and I'm bookmarking them all there. That way I can use tags to sort and organize them and make it easier to find the ones I want, and keep track of stuff I want to try.
I always worry a little bit that when I go back to a link, the stuff might not be there anymore, but as I find recipes that I like and that work well, I will either save them to my computer, or print them out and make my own primal cookbook.
I did try one recipe this weekend. Parmesan Crusted Baked "Fried" Zucchini. I did mine in the toaster oven, so I took FOREVER to cook (But I just couldn't bring myself to fire up the oven), and I learned that you need to grease the tinfoil or they stick and you end up peeling all the crust off the backsides. They were really tasty, though, and I'll be making them again when I can stand to be in the kitchen.
Workouts continue to be gentle - mostly stretching and yoga. I was going to do a CLX yesterday, but the heat made that impossible. This morning I didn't even bother. It's supposed to start cooling off, so hopefully and I do some weight lifting later this week. I also have a couple new ones coming that I'll talk about later on. Looks like some really fun stuff!
My hair has been totally flyway and fluffy looking around the head, so I'm going to resist shampooing other than a rare treat. I may look into CO washing and see what that might do for me. I did BC/ACV on Monday and that felt pretty good again. Doesn't fix the hair smell, but I'm going to go shopping for some new essential oils soon and see what I can use that will please the Hubby.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Vacation Report
We took a short family vacation this week. I feel happy and refreshed and a little more stable than I was feeling last weekend. I had been starting to kind of slip into that resentful feeling of never being able to have foods that I love again..... Those thoughts would definitely lead me down the road to ruin.
We took off Tuesday around noon, and had a lunch of primal snacks in the car while we listened to a mystery book on CD. I love that my kids were into it just as much as we were. That evening I had a couple beers, and I ordered pizza for dinner, but it was HORRIBLE and I mostly scraped the toppings off with my teeth. So less damage there than I might have had. (But no wonderful pizza bliss)(Which is okay, I found a really promising recipe for pizza crust and would like to try it out over the weekend).
My beer? Was PINK!! I had a lovely raspberry cream ale, and it was great:
Wednesday, I spent the whole day riding go-karts and roller coasters - fabulous! The weather was perfect, lots of sunshine, not too hot, pleasant breeze. I had a couple margaritas, and the big splurge: I ate a funnel cake for lunch. That was WONDERFUL. We played at the water park in the evening, and then went out to dinner. My food was mostly primal, but I had three large sugary rum punches, and then we got fudge for dessert. Not surprisingly I had reflux issues in the night. Not TOO horrible, but a nice reminder of why I don't eat like that very much anymore.
Thursday was mostly back to primal, although I had one last go at the fudge just to feel like I really indulged.
Today I'm back on track and feeling very happy with that. I'm looking forward to playing in the kitchen this weekend and moving forward next week when the kids go back to school. I think over all that allowing myself to splurge in situations like this is a good arrangement for me.
I used shampoo in the shower this morning. I'm still not sure if I like the poo-less results. There are pluses: Thicker hair, stays clean longer. But there are minuses too: My hair DOES smell a lot of the time. Not horribly, but earthy and hubby has said he misses the shampoo smell. (I'm experimenting with essential oils in the vinegar rinse for that). Although my hair feels nicer, it doesn't exactly style any better - though this may be an issue of being long overdue for a haircut, so I'm holding judgment on that too.
The biggest issue? Showers are not very satisfying anymore. I MISS the lather and the soap and the luxurious scents. So today I used shampoo. I kept it minimal, and I only used it on the scalp, and it was nice. My plan now is to see if I can incorporate a shampoo now and then and still reap the benefits of being mostly poo-less. No idea if this will work since the shampoo will mostly stimulate oil production, but we'll see.
Monday, August 23, 2010
My pants are falling down!
In the past couple of years I've actually had a LOT of the pants falling down problem, and not really in a good way. I was still at my highest weights, but I think I was sort of inbetween sizes or something - or fat girl jeans have more stretch and get wear-loose faster, I don't know. But it wasn't fun, and it made me feel very dumpy.
I did have ONE pair of tried and true jeans that would stay put. They fit tighter around my waist, but still fit nicely around butt and thighs. Occasionally I'd skip wearing them because I didn't want to deal with the tight waistband cutting into me while sitting at my desk.
Today I am wearing those jeans....and they're falling off. And I'm kind of liking it!
Tomorrow, we head out to take a little family vacation to Wisconsin Dells for a day of go-kart racing and a couple nights in a nice hotel with water slides! Bring on the playtime!
I did have ONE pair of tried and true jeans that would stay put. They fit tighter around my waist, but still fit nicely around butt and thighs. Occasionally I'd skip wearing them because I didn't want to deal with the tight waistband cutting into me while sitting at my desk.
Today I am wearing those jeans....and they're falling off. And I'm kind of liking it!
Tomorrow, we head out to take a little family vacation to Wisconsin Dells for a day of go-kart racing and a couple nights in a nice hotel with water slides! Bring on the playtime!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Life After CLX
I'm pleased to say I've been feeling pretty sunny all week! (Gall bladder attack not withstanding) I think my brain has made a pretty successful transition to the new eating style, although I'd love to see my energy levels pick up a little more. I would say I'm *about* back to normal there, maybe not quite, but everyone crows about how MUCH energy they get when they give up grains and sugar, and I wants me some too!
Didn't get workout in Monday or Tuesday due to the whole being sick and useless thing, but I am getting back on track. (But OMG it was hard to get up this morning!! No idea what's going on there)
Wednesday:
This is a fairly new set I got super cheap on Amazon. This is when it totally pays off not to jump on the bandwagons. I wanted this set when it first came out because I'm such a huge Sara Ivanhoe fan, but I was NOT willing to pay the steep price they were asking for such short workouts. It's a set of five 20-min yoga workouts, each with a different focus, which makes them really nice for add-ons, evenings or a light week. NOW, not only did I get the set dirt cheap (an on two disks rather than five), but I ALSO got her Yoga on the Ball as an extra on the second disk, which used to be sold completely separately at full price. Bonzer!!
I've done two of them so far and I like them quite a bit - lovely scenery, excellent instructor. Today was Power for Weight Loss (I HATE those titles), which were some nice poses, not held too long, with extra arm movements. Just what I needed.
Thursday:
Since I was tired, and since I'm taking an easy week (at least), I opted for a 30-Day Shred. It's more of a workout, but still only about 25-min. And I was curious to see how I'd do after CLX. I did well - I didn't get winded much, and I used 7lb weights throughout, BUT I did have to bail on some of the arms. CLX builds strength but doesn't do jack shit for endurance. It also doesn't do much for all the smaller muscles - the yoga was a bitch on my legs!!
Also, my shoulder's acting up again a bit, so I didn't want to stress it. Had it been feeling fine, I could have hung in longer on the arms. I'm kind of feeling creaky all over and I think I'm going to take some time to recover a bit - but I also think that taking the Primal Blueprint approach and applying it to my workouts will be very helpful too. I plan to do more walks in the morning while the weather is nice, but I'm also going to ease up on the intensity with which I do some of the video workouts - make them into more of a pleasant low level activity workout, and less about BLASTING CALORIES OMG.
I have to decide what to do next - I'm going to let myself be random for a week or so while we get back into the school schedule, do a little midweek vacation with the kids next week and all, but then I'd like to design a rotation. Maybe a yoga rotation, or maybe some kind of combo. I should get a few weight workouts in to maintain the CLX muscle. I'm also really starting to itch for something new. I held off on Turbo Fire, and probably will until Christmas or the new year. There are several much less expensive things I'm also interested in, so I'll go for something like that instead.
Didn't get workout in Monday or Tuesday due to the whole being sick and useless thing, but I am getting back on track. (But OMG it was hard to get up this morning!! No idea what's going on there)
Wednesday:
This is a fairly new set I got super cheap on Amazon. This is when it totally pays off not to jump on the bandwagons. I wanted this set when it first came out because I'm such a huge Sara Ivanhoe fan, but I was NOT willing to pay the steep price they were asking for such short workouts. It's a set of five 20-min yoga workouts, each with a different focus, which makes them really nice for add-ons, evenings or a light week. NOW, not only did I get the set dirt cheap (an on two disks rather than five), but I ALSO got her Yoga on the Ball as an extra on the second disk, which used to be sold completely separately at full price. Bonzer!!
I've done two of them so far and I like them quite a bit - lovely scenery, excellent instructor. Today was Power for Weight Loss (I HATE those titles), which were some nice poses, not held too long, with extra arm movements. Just what I needed.
Thursday:
Since I was tired, and since I'm taking an easy week (at least), I opted for a 30-Day Shred. It's more of a workout, but still only about 25-min. And I was curious to see how I'd do after CLX. I did well - I didn't get winded much, and I used 7lb weights throughout, BUT I did have to bail on some of the arms. CLX builds strength but doesn't do jack shit for endurance. It also doesn't do much for all the smaller muscles - the yoga was a bitch on my legs!!
Also, my shoulder's acting up again a bit, so I didn't want to stress it. Had it been feeling fine, I could have hung in longer on the arms. I'm kind of feeling creaky all over and I think I'm going to take some time to recover a bit - but I also think that taking the Primal Blueprint approach and applying it to my workouts will be very helpful too. I plan to do more walks in the morning while the weather is nice, but I'm also going to ease up on the intensity with which I do some of the video workouts - make them into more of a pleasant low level activity workout, and less about BLASTING CALORIES OMG.
I have to decide what to do next - I'm going to let myself be random for a week or so while we get back into the school schedule, do a little midweek vacation with the kids next week and all, but then I'd like to design a rotation. Maybe a yoga rotation, or maybe some kind of combo. I should get a few weight workouts in to maintain the CLX muscle. I'm also really starting to itch for something new. I held off on Turbo Fire, and probably will until Christmas or the new year. There are several much less expensive things I'm also interested in, so I'll go for something like that instead.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Busy Times!
Whew! I've been busy lately! But it's all good - well, most of it.
Last week I had a big screen printing job which serves nicely as low level activity AND I get paid for it! But it was so damn hot and I'm just sick to DEATH of being sweaty and drippy. Happily, this week the weather has really cooled off, and it feels great. I even got outside for a nice round of hooping (after which my hands looked like rotten fruit). But I had so much fun and I learned to do my favorite behind the back pass in the other direction so now I can do it both ways and string it together with a vertical walk-through and a few other simple moves. I want to learn the vortex next because I finally found someone who said you can enter it from halo rather than waist hooping, so YAY!
I had a less than pleasant experience yesterday, and now I'm kind of leery. I've had a handful of gall bladder attacks in the past, and they are miserable, horrible events and the last time I had one, I did a bunch of research to figure out how I could make sure it never happened again. One of the things they say causes the attacks is a high fat diet.....um. Since going primal, that's been nagging at the back of my brain, and I've wondered if it was going to be an issue. BUT, since I'd seen no mention of them on the forums, I decided not to worry about it. Then Sunday, I read a post from someone who'd been doing really great, UNTIL, he got struck down with gall bladder issues. Which concerned me a little.
Now I don't know if it was the power of suggestion, or just cruel cruel coincidence, but.....in the late hours of Sunday night, I awoke with the beginnings of a gall bladder attack. Promptly threw up my dinner, and spent the night, and all day Monday lying limp in misery on my bed, the floor, or the recliner. (With the occasional upchuck). I'm feeling fine now, so that's a happy thing.
I'm not entirely sure what to do at this point - I'm certain that just going back to the SAD isn't the answer. Primal is working so well for me in so many other ways. Besides, I had four or five attacks while eating the SAD anyway. I think I just need to perhaps reign in my fat intake just a little bit, and perhaps up the veggies more. I don't know.
In other great news, I am otherwise feeling FANTASTIC! My mood is back up to happy, perky and optimistic much of the time (it's like the SUN CAME OUT), and I'm finally feeling energetic. That still sort of comes and goes, but I would imagine that's pretty normal. We can't be high energy ALL the time. I'm feeling much more focused and clear - YAY!
Last week I had a big screen printing job which serves nicely as low level activity AND I get paid for it! But it was so damn hot and I'm just sick to DEATH of being sweaty and drippy. Happily, this week the weather has really cooled off, and it feels great. I even got outside for a nice round of hooping (after which my hands looked like rotten fruit). But I had so much fun and I learned to do my favorite behind the back pass in the other direction so now I can do it both ways and string it together with a vertical walk-through and a few other simple moves. I want to learn the vortex next because I finally found someone who said you can enter it from halo rather than waist hooping, so YAY!
I had a less than pleasant experience yesterday, and now I'm kind of leery. I've had a handful of gall bladder attacks in the past, and they are miserable, horrible events and the last time I had one, I did a bunch of research to figure out how I could make sure it never happened again. One of the things they say causes the attacks is a high fat diet.....um. Since going primal, that's been nagging at the back of my brain, and I've wondered if it was going to be an issue. BUT, since I'd seen no mention of them on the forums, I decided not to worry about it. Then Sunday, I read a post from someone who'd been doing really great, UNTIL, he got struck down with gall bladder issues. Which concerned me a little.
Now I don't know if it was the power of suggestion, or just cruel cruel coincidence, but.....in the late hours of Sunday night, I awoke with the beginnings of a gall bladder attack. Promptly threw up my dinner, and spent the night, and all day Monday lying limp in misery on my bed, the floor, or the recliner. (With the occasional upchuck). I'm feeling fine now, so that's a happy thing.
I'm not entirely sure what to do at this point - I'm certain that just going back to the SAD isn't the answer. Primal is working so well for me in so many other ways. Besides, I had four or five attacks while eating the SAD anyway. I think I just need to perhaps reign in my fat intake just a little bit, and perhaps up the veggies more. I don't know.
In other great news, I am otherwise feeling FANTASTIC! My mood is back up to happy, perky and optimistic much of the time (it's like the SUN CAME OUT), and I'm finally feeling energetic. That still sort of comes and goes, but I would imagine that's pretty normal. We can't be high energy ALL the time. I'm feeling much more focused and clear - YAY!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Weekend
Things have been very busy lately what with kids and friends, and starting up screen printing at the shop (OMG what a sweat-fest in this humidity), and I meant to post earlier, so I just jumped in here to get down the nitty gritties.
We went to the cabin this weekend, and I took a few liberties. We went to a VERY excellent restaurant for lunch on Saturday, and I was all set to order a burger or salad when I saw a Pesto Grilled Cheese, on sourdough with provolone, spinach and tomato. I made an exception and it was WONDERFUL. I also had a slice of MIL's homemade pie, which is not to be turned down. Other than that, I kept pretty much on the straight and primal.
This week has been fine, although I'm craving fruit like crazy in this hot weather. Plus it tastes SO GOOD!! You learn how sweet it really is when you're not eating enough sugar to fill a fishbowl the size of your HEAD.
I'm getting very excited about changing up my fitness routine. I have one more workout to complete CLX and I'm going to see that through, but I'm really glad there's no more. It's wearing me out, and it's getting a little hard on my arms. I'll be cutting back the heavy lifting to once, MAYBE twice in a week and focusing more on low level activites like yoga and walking. I need a little recovery time. Mark's Primal Blueprint Fitness just came out, so I'm going to be taking a look at that and see what I can put together.
I'm thinking about maybe doing the 30-Day Challenge coming up in Sept, depending on how I'm feeling and what work is like. I'm a sucker for stuff like that.
We went to the cabin this weekend, and I took a few liberties. We went to a VERY excellent restaurant for lunch on Saturday, and I was all set to order a burger or salad when I saw a Pesto Grilled Cheese, on sourdough with provolone, spinach and tomato. I made an exception and it was WONDERFUL. I also had a slice of MIL's homemade pie, which is not to be turned down. Other than that, I kept pretty much on the straight and primal.
This week has been fine, although I'm craving fruit like crazy in this hot weather. Plus it tastes SO GOOD!! You learn how sweet it really is when you're not eating enough sugar to fill a fishbowl the size of your HEAD.
I'm getting very excited about changing up my fitness routine. I have one more workout to complete CLX and I'm going to see that through, but I'm really glad there's no more. It's wearing me out, and it's getting a little hard on my arms. I'll be cutting back the heavy lifting to once, MAYBE twice in a week and focusing more on low level activites like yoga and walking. I need a little recovery time. Mark's Primal Blueprint Fitness just came out, so I'm going to be taking a look at that and see what I can put together.
I'm thinking about maybe doing the 30-Day Challenge coming up in Sept, depending on how I'm feeling and what work is like. I'm a sucker for stuff like that.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Portobello Mushroom with Canadian Bacon and Provolone
We made a wonderful discovery at dinner this evening! A recipe we made up that is SO delicious I can hardly believe it. Please pardon the mid-devour photo, this needed to be recorded and remembered.
Portobello Mushroom with Canadian Bacon and Provolone
We took a couple of portobello mushrooms and oiled both sides, and put them stem side down on the grill for a few minutes. Then flipped them over and put a slice of Canadian bacon on them, and let that cook for a few minutes. Then right at the end, we added a slice of provolone cheese and cooked until it got nicely melted but wasn't dripping off.
Serve and savor!!
Portobello Mushroom with Canadian Bacon and Provolone
We took a couple of portobello mushrooms and oiled both sides, and put them stem side down on the grill for a few minutes. Then flipped them over and put a slice of Canadian bacon on them, and let that cook for a few minutes. Then right at the end, we added a slice of provolone cheese and cooked until it got nicely melted but wasn't dripping off.
Serve and savor!!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
And the cooking results are?
That it's been too damn hot and humid to do much in the way of experimental cooking. Rats.
I did try out a couple things though, and we're slowly expanding our knowledge base. I did NOT accomplish very much organizing or compiling of recipes. The farthest I got was to download a free recipe organizing program that turned out not to be free at all. It pisses me off when they pass off trial versions as shareware.
On Saturday we got a great deal on some fish, so I tried out the Rutabaga Fries for a little fish and chips. Those were a little too strong and I don't think we'll be doing them again. For as rarely as we eat fries, I'll stick to sweet potatoes. It's possible these would be good with more seasoning to even out the flavor.
Sunday, I made Triple Almond Cookies, and they were fabulous. I didn't smash mine flat like she did, I just left them like little cookie bonbons and they were very good that way. I left out the slivered almonds, only used half the amount of syrup, and I didn't have cardamom so I used nutmeg. I will definitely make these again if I get to feeling like I can't have sweet things anymore. They have the right texture and flavor, but still are mostly primal.
Monday night, I took the plunge and tried Summer Squash Fritters. These were very good, and will make for a nice change of pace from time to time. They weren't too involved to prepare, and they have a bit of that doughy/bready feel that lets me think I haven't given up all that much. I saved one and brought it to lunch yesterday, and it tasted just fine - a little softer, but still yummy.
Noodles and steamy things will wait until the weather is a little more bearable.
I'm STILL feeling the effects of lo-carb flu, and I'm SO glad I've already read a couple people who said it took them more than the usual two or so weeks. At least I hope it's still the transition - I'd hate to think this is all I'm gonna get. *sadface* Moodiness and depression are still all over the map (never wildly happy though), but I'm just going to hang tough. With the hot weather, I'd probably be draggy and crabby and tired anyway, so I may as well double up and get it all over with at once.
I'm in the last two weeks of CLX and I think Lean Phase is starting to wear me out a little. In this weather it is anyway - if I do the whole rotation again, I'll do it in the winter. After this, I think I'm going to plan a light and gentle rotation to round out the summer. I'll keep a couple of the CLX workouts in the mix to maintain muscle, and make use of some of my other weight videos, but I think I see a lot of gentle cardio and yoga in my future.
In other little details, I don't really get that horrible hunger at the end of the workday much anymore, and when I do find myself getting hungry (of the stomach growly sort) it goes away MUCH easier and more quickly then when I was eating the old style.
On the other hand, I'm finding myself eating too much at lunch and dinner. I'm not used to the way I feel when satisfied on this food yet and so I keep eating until I think I am, only then it's too late and I feel heavy after meals. I'm working on cutting back portion sizes and just stopping when the food is gone. (I still maintain that I can eat as much as I want, and whatever I want - and I always will. As long as I know that, keeping things under control is actually a LOT easier for me.) So this is just a matter of practice and learning to read my body under new conditions.
No Poo/no soap is pretty well integrated and seems to be going well. My hair isn't quite the way I'd like it yet, but I'm at the stage where it's just a matter of playing around with treatments, pretty much like I used to do - I'm just getting the ideas from new sources.
I did try out a couple things though, and we're slowly expanding our knowledge base. I did NOT accomplish very much organizing or compiling of recipes. The farthest I got was to download a free recipe organizing program that turned out not to be free at all. It pisses me off when they pass off trial versions as shareware.
On Saturday we got a great deal on some fish, so I tried out the Rutabaga Fries for a little fish and chips. Those were a little too strong and I don't think we'll be doing them again. For as rarely as we eat fries, I'll stick to sweet potatoes. It's possible these would be good with more seasoning to even out the flavor.
Sunday, I made Triple Almond Cookies, and they were fabulous. I didn't smash mine flat like she did, I just left them like little cookie bonbons and they were very good that way. I left out the slivered almonds, only used half the amount of syrup, and I didn't have cardamom so I used nutmeg. I will definitely make these again if I get to feeling like I can't have sweet things anymore. They have the right texture and flavor, but still are mostly primal.
Monday night, I took the plunge and tried Summer Squash Fritters. These were very good, and will make for a nice change of pace from time to time. They weren't too involved to prepare, and they have a bit of that doughy/bready feel that lets me think I haven't given up all that much. I saved one and brought it to lunch yesterday, and it tasted just fine - a little softer, but still yummy.
Noodles and steamy things will wait until the weather is a little more bearable.
I'm STILL feeling the effects of lo-carb flu, and I'm SO glad I've already read a couple people who said it took them more than the usual two or so weeks. At least I hope it's still the transition - I'd hate to think this is all I'm gonna get. *sadface* Moodiness and depression are still all over the map (never wildly happy though), but I'm just going to hang tough. With the hot weather, I'd probably be draggy and crabby and tired anyway, so I may as well double up and get it all over with at once.
I'm in the last two weeks of CLX and I think Lean Phase is starting to wear me out a little. In this weather it is anyway - if I do the whole rotation again, I'll do it in the winter. After this, I think I'm going to plan a light and gentle rotation to round out the summer. I'll keep a couple of the CLX workouts in the mix to maintain muscle, and make use of some of my other weight videos, but I think I see a lot of gentle cardio and yoga in my future.
In other little details, I don't really get that horrible hunger at the end of the workday much anymore, and when I do find myself getting hungry (of the stomach growly sort) it goes away MUCH easier and more quickly then when I was eating the old style.
On the other hand, I'm finding myself eating too much at lunch and dinner. I'm not used to the way I feel when satisfied on this food yet and so I keep eating until I think I am, only then it's too late and I feel heavy after meals. I'm working on cutting back portion sizes and just stopping when the food is gone. (I still maintain that I can eat as much as I want, and whatever I want - and I always will. As long as I know that, keeping things under control is actually a LOT easier for me.) So this is just a matter of practice and learning to read my body under new conditions.
No Poo/no soap is pretty well integrated and seems to be going well. My hair isn't quite the way I'd like it yet, but I'm at the stage where it's just a matter of playing around with treatments, pretty much like I used to do - I'm just getting the ideas from new sources.
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