Primal Nut

Stress, sickness, laziness… none of them are excuses. I’ve been slacking lately. I’m talking about both staying primal and updating the blog.

This is how I feel lately:

It needs to stop!

My goals by the end of 2012 (some more immediate than others):

1. 90% Paleo
2. Lose 40 lbs. (~2/week) (not final goal)
3. 9 minute 2k time on the erg (rowing machine)
4. Join a Crossfit gym and afford the monthly membership (~$135/month)
5. Become a skating referee for roller derby
6. Upload 4 videos to Primal Nut Recipes (once a month)

Obviously, all of these goals work together nicely.

To reach #1,#2, and #3 I’m going to track my food and exercise online.  I’m not sure which site is the best and if I’ll be able to share on my blog, but there’s got to be a plugin for that, right? Comment and let me know!  To be honest, I feel like this back-and-forth between paleo and SAD (Standard American Diet) is worse for me than just sticking with one or the other. I end up eating more fat while I’m also eating carbs. Not always at the same time.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I read somewhere that that’s a recipe for disaster.

To track my progress on the Concept II, I’ll be sharing my logbook. My baseline 2k will be done this week, as soon as I don’t feel like complete crap (I’m still getting over a wicked case of bronchitis). In college my best time was 7:16. I think 9 minutes is a very realistic goal.

#4 is just a matter of budgetary constraints and prioritizing. It kills me that Crossfit is so expensive. I understand that the equipment is top notch and you’re basically getting feedback from a personal trainer on what to do and how to do it, but $135/month is jaw-dropping.  Starting CrossFit is exciting to me, mostly because I already have a Concept II rowing machine at home (that’s 16 years old BTW)! Also, it reminds me of the heavy lifting I did in college. I’ll take a WOD over an hour on the elliptical any day.  Plus, I’ve always been super competitive. So I would push myself by trying to beat my last WOD time, lift heavier, row faster, etc.

Leave a comment below about CrossFit, sticking to 90% paleo, budgeting, or just say hi!

M2A, it’s trademarked!

“TEDxManhattan 2011 Fellow Stefani Bardin’s video, below, shows what happens in your body when you eat processed foods vs. homemade versions of similar foods, using a tiny M2A LED/camera capsule. The project looks at two subjects eating two similar meals: one composed of processed foods (gatorade, ramen, and gummi bears); the other of homemade versions (hibiscus drink, homemade broth with noodles and gummi bears made of juice). What happens to the foods is drastically different”

Are you surprised? Ick.

Ellis, Our Boxer

My beloved Boxer passed away last Thursday. We were completely devastated. Not only because he was only 3 years old, but because, to Zack and I, he was our child. We raised him, trained him, loved him. He was the best dog I’ve ever owned and the first time I’ve had to make that hard decision. It was the right decision. He had cancer, and it was progressing rapidly. We’ve been dealing with it since last August. He was better on steroids for about 5 weeks, but in the last 9 days he really took a turn for the worst.

It kills me that we were such good owners – trained him well, fed him grain-free, etc. but he still had to suffer and eventually his body couldn’t handle it.

I’m sorry for such a somber post, but I wanted to share what’s going on in our lives. Unfortunately, all the stress has kicked me right off the primal bandwagon. I was eating crap and feeling like crap. It didn’t help that I was in Georgia for Christmas and Las Vegas a week after that (but no excuses). I made a commitment (again) to myself and went to the store on Friday to get back on the right track.

I’ve noticed lately that when I eat poorly – bread, processed food, etc., my nose gets stuffed up later that evening/morning. Can anyone else relate?

It was so bad last night that I barely got any decent sleep. I was just sniffling and blowing my nose the whole night.

Of course, I can avoid this by eating right, which means meat and veggies, but that doesn’t always happen. And yes, I regret it later .

We kept the Halloween celebration limited to Thursday and Friday night. We donned homemade LEGO costumes, partied with friends, and consumed adult beverages. On Friday night, at our roller derby party, there was a food buffet set out with toasted ravioli, pizza, pretzels and……. BEEF JERKY. Aw yea!

As far as the day of Halloween, we didn’t do anything.  We didn’t even hand out candy to kids.  I know what you’re thinking, we’re the house on the block with our lights off.  It’s true, but we only got one knock on the door, so I’m glad I didn’t waste my money on candy.  The rest of the night it was just screaming kids running up and down the block driving our French Bulldog crazy!

Next year I may pick up some mini Larabars to hand out.  They need to make mini ones of the chocolate chip flavor.

What did you do for Halloween?  Did you hand out candy to kids or did you find a better alternative?

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Our Boxer, Ellis, has an infection and a pretty serious case of pneumonia. We’ve been occupied with making sure he’s comfortable and taking his medicine.

I hope to have a new post up in a week or so.

Hey guys! I whipped up a quick post to invite you to join me on Facebook! My page is brand new, so I don’t have many fans yet *sniff sniff*. Please help me get it going! I plan to post photos and new videos as well as notify you when there’s a new blog post.

Hopefully we can have some great Paleo/Primal/LCHF discussions! “Like” PrimalNut on Facebook.