Clean start.

I'm about to head to my 'office', aka Starbucks.  I've chosen to have a liesurely start,  walk, grab a zero calorie passion tea, iced, and head home to clean.  I figure I need a clean environement to begin the busy work week I have planned for myself.  It's an hour walk there and back at a fast clip, and with my tennis skort, I'll look like I mean athletic business.  I attach this picture as proof to myself that my walking is having an effect on my legs, my worse feature.  I have athletic legs when in shape, but terrible when not.  I lost .5 inches off my hips in the last week due to clean eating and could easily lose another 3.  I didn't measure my thighs, too depressing.  They are firmer with all the work I've put into them and I'm happier than I was.  Yay!

In the last week I lost 2.5 inches under my breasts, at the top of the rib cage, 1 inch off my waist and lastly my .5 off the hips.  Clean eating and exercise is paying off.

 Goal to be sexier when the man returns!

Clean start.

I'm about to head to my 'office', aka Starbucks.  I've chosen to have a liesurely start,  walk, grab a zero calorie passion tea, iced, and head home to clean.  I figure I need a clean environement to begin the busy work week I have planned for myself.  It's an hour walk there and back at a fast clip, and with my tennis skort, I'll look like I mean athletic business.  I attach this picture as proof to myself that my walking is having an effect on my legs, my worse feature.  I have athletic legs when in shape, but terrible when not.  I lost .5 inches off my hips in the last week due to clean eating and could easily lose another 3.  I didn't measure my thighs, too depressing.  They are firmer with all the work I've put into them and I'm happier than I was.  Yay!

In the last week I lost 2.5 inches under my breasts, at the top of the rib cage, 1 inch off my waist and lastly my .5 off the hips.  Clean eating and exercise is paying off.

 Goal to be sexier when the man returns!

IF

I'm doing my first Intermittent 24 hour Fast today. I've fasted before but this one is purposeful as it applies to primal eating. I had a steak last night at seven and my plan is to eat around sevenish tonight. I have a full work day and I plan on doing a high intensity workout just to see how I feel afterwards. My hope is I'll incorporate two 24 hours fasts per week.

There's quite a bit of research on fasting. Here's an article and here's another.

Here's the day broken down by how I feel:

10:30 am - feeling hungry but not starving. I feel like I can do this. I'm having a drink of water any time I feel a hunger pang.

2:30 pm - little hungrier. I still feel like I can do this. I am thinking about my meal for after my workout - perhaps a little too much?

3:30 pm - slight headache. Hunger still doable.

5:30 pm - had an orange juice at 4:30. Hungry, hungry hippo. It worked, I'm feeling better. Can work out and eat after.

6:30 - 8:00 pm - workout. I don't notice any differences in energy.

8:00 pm - grocery store to buy dinner. Hamburger which I'll put between wedges of iceburg lettuce and swiss chard.

8:30 pm = i'm quite hungry so eat a handful of grapes on my way home. I eat two burgers and am stuffed full.

10:30 pm - i watch my fav show Glee and have a coconut milk and banana smoothie. Yum.

11:00 pm - finish post and head to bed.

IF

I'm doing my first Intermittent 24 hour Fast today. I've fasted before but this one is purposeful as it applies to primal eating. I had a steak last night at seven and my plan is to eat around sevenish tonight. I have a full work day and I plan on doing a high intensity workout just to see how I feel afterwards. My hope is I'll incorporate two 24 hours fasts per week.

There's quite a bit of research on fasting. Here's an article and here's another.

Here's the day broken down by how I feel:

10:30 am - feeling hungry but not starving. I feel like I can do this. I'm having a drink of water any time I feel a hunger pang.

2:30 pm - little hungrier. I still feel like I can do this. I am thinking about my meal for after my workout - perhaps a little too much?

3:30 pm - slight headache. Hunger still doable.

5:30 pm - had an orange juice at 4:30. Hungry, hungry hippo. It worked, I'm feeling better. Can work out and eat after.

6:30 - 8:00 pm - workout. I don't notice any differences in energy.

8:00 pm - grocery store to buy dinner. Hamburger which I'll put between wedges of iceburg lettuce and swiss chard.

8:30 pm = i'm quite hungry so eat a handful of grapes on my way home. I eat two burgers and am stuffed full.

10:30 pm - i watch my fav show Glee and have a coconut milk and banana smoothie. Yum.

11:00 pm - finish post and head to bed.

Week Five Primal

Start of primal week five. This is going swimmingly, must say. I'm not starving, not even close and am feeling amazing. I'd recommend this way of eating (WOE) for everyone in terms of how easy it is. Course you do have to give up pasta, potatos, pizza, rice, bread, milk, ice cream...but heck how bad is that really? (just kidding)

I'm an all or nothing person which is why I suppose jumping in with both feet was so successful. I committed for 30 days knowing I could give myself permission to end it after I'd made that goal. I honestly like this so much I can't see changing it any time soon. Perhaps when I reach my ideal size I'll add some more fruit and leave ketosis, but for now I'm content.

The most sugar I had last week was after a hard workout in the rain, coming home, opening the fridge and seeing watermelon. I ate a quarter of melon! 500 whopping calories and a ton of sugar, however the sugar didn't convert quickly to glucose and I didn't even leave ketosis. So if and when I get an urge to devour watermelon I will. heh

I've never been crazy about my legs but I've been working my legs off and I'm happier than I was. We'll see what the next few weeks and months bring.


And because it's soooo interesting to read my weeks nutrients here they are: (g/mg are per day averages)

Fat 46%
22.2 g saturated
Cholesterol 469.9 mg
Sodium 1,799.8 mg (had a fondue with beef broth put me over somewhat)
Carbohydrates 22%
14.1 g fiber
41.5 g sugar
Protein 32%
115.5 g

Week Five Primal

Start of primal week five. This is going swimmingly, must say. I'm not starving, not even close and am feeling amazing. I'd recommend this way of eating (WOE) for everyone in terms of how easy it is. Course you do have to give up pasta, potatos, pizza, rice, bread, milk, ice cream...but heck how bad is that really? (just kidding)

I'm an all or nothing person which is why I suppose jumping in with both feet was so successful. I committed for 30 days knowing I could give myself permission to end it after I'd made that goal. I honestly like this so much I can't see changing it any time soon. Perhaps when I reach my ideal size I'll add some more fruit and leave ketosis, but for now I'm content.

The most sugar I had last week was after a hard workout in the rain, coming home, opening the fridge and seeing watermelon. I ate a quarter of melon! 500 whopping calories and a ton of sugar, however the sugar didn't convert quickly to glucose and I didn't even leave ketosis. So if and when I get an urge to devour watermelon I will. heh

I've never been crazy about my legs but I've been working my legs off and I'm happier than I was. We'll see what the next few weeks and months bring.


And because it's soooo interesting to read my weeks nutrients here they are: (g/mg are per day averages)

Fat 46%
22.2 g saturated
Cholesterol 469.9 mg
Sodium 1,799.8 mg (had a fondue with beef broth put me over somewhat)
Carbohydrates 22%
14.1 g fiber
41.5 g sugar
Protein 32%
115.5 g

Gym Stories

Most embarrassing gym moment:
I'll set the scene. I'm on a treadmill. I've got new music on my iPod perfectly chosen to give me energy while I workout. The first song up is Lilly Allen's Fuck You. I looove that song. So I'm into it. Suddenly my gal pal on the next treadmill taps me on shoulder. I look at her with a questioning look. She says "you haven't plugged your earphones in." I look down and see that the plug hasn't made it all the way in and as I pull out my buds I hear my music tinnily playing for all surrounding peeps to hear. Niiiiice.

Best gym moment
I have a crush at the gym. I refer to him as The Crush with my workout bud. He's hot, hot, hot. Body to kill for. He seems to be a friendly guy and once engaged me in a conversation about the benefits of the Summit machine. This little convo inspired me to take up the machine. Soooo where was I? Oh yeah, so I'm on the machine and working my butt off and I finish my 20 minutes. I get off and there he is. He looks like he's waiting for the machine so I let him know I'm done and he can have it. Then I notice he doesn't have his gym gear on yet. He tells me he's not ready for it but then says "good girl!" totally referring to how hard I'd just worked out. Nice. We begin what I hope will be a conversation when what should appear (no not eight fricken reindeer) a cockblocker that's what! She weasels right in to chat him up. This girl is no threat and I just move out of the way to grab the treadmill next to the Summit. Sure enough he shows up a few minutes later to grab the machine - do I know this man or what? I have my earphones in (fully plugged in thank the fuck) and he looks over and clearly wants to talk to me. I oblige of course, pulling out the earbuds. We chat it up a bit and then tell him he inspired me to work the machine he's on, that although he is capable of an hour I've only worked up to 20 minutes. He says, "20 minutes is a good workout!". A couple more minutes of conversation and we both got back to our workout. I learned he works out of town and I learned he's a very nice guy or at least that's my impression. And did I mention he's hot? Ya I think I did. My girlfriend said he was totally checking out my ass when I was the machine and I guess that was why he was waiting for me when I got off. Yay.

I know I'm showing off my body these days - but hell I'm working hard on it - so why not?

Gym Stories

Most embarrassing gym moment:
I'll set the scene. I'm on a treadmill. I've got new music on my iPod perfectly chosen to give me energy while I workout. The first song up is Lilly Allen's Fuck You. I looove that song. So I'm into it. Suddenly my gal pal on the next treadmill taps me on shoulder. I look at her with a questioning look. She says "you haven't plugged your earphones in." I look down and see that the plug hasn't made it all the way in and as I pull out my buds I hear my music tinnily playing for all surrounding peeps to hear. Niiiiice.

Best gym moment
I have a crush at the gym. I refer to him as The Crush with my workout bud. He's hot, hot, hot. Body to kill for. He seems to be a friendly guy and once engaged me in a conversation about the benefits of the Summit machine. This little convo inspired me to take up the machine. Soooo where was I? Oh yeah, so I'm on the machine and working my butt off and I finish my 20 minutes. I get off and there he is. He looks like he's waiting for the machine so I let him know I'm done and he can have it. Then I notice he doesn't have his gym gear on yet. He tells me he's not ready for it but then says "good girl!" totally referring to how hard I'd just worked out. Nice. We begin what I hope will be a conversation when what should appear (no not eight fricken reindeer) a cockblocker that's what! She weasels right in to chat him up. This girl is no threat and I just move out of the way to grab the treadmill next to the Summit. Sure enough he shows up a few minutes later to grab the machine - do I know this man or what? I have my earphones in (fully plugged in thank the fuck) and he looks over and clearly wants to talk to me. I oblige of course, pulling out the earbuds. We chat it up a bit and then tell him he inspired me to work the machine he's on, that although he is capable of an hour I've only worked up to 20 minutes. He says, "20 minutes is a good workout!". A couple more minutes of conversation and we both got back to our workout. I learned he works out of town and I learned he's a very nice guy or at least that's my impression. And did I mention he's hot? Ya I think I did. My girlfriend said he was totally checking out my ass when I was the machine and I guess that was why he was waiting for me when I got off. Yay.

I know I'm showing off my body these days - but hell I'm working hard on it - so why not?

First day of Week Four Paleo

Today is start of week four for my new Way of Eating (WOE) - Primal/Paleo*. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I'd said at the beginning I'd give myself 30 days to see if I could adapt and find myself satisfied. My worst fear was that I'd be hungry all the time and feel deprived. I also worried about my complete change in lifestyle from restaurants to stay at home eating. I shouldn't jump ahead to the end but I gotta say I can see this carrying on for the long term meaning a new way of life.

I was motivated first and foremost by weight loss. I'm closer than many to a good figure but farther than I'd like to be if that makes sense. I've dieted before only to gain the weight back when I resume my old habits. I'd 'arrive' and it would give me license to eat crap and the cycle would start all over again. This time my emphasis has shifted from weight loss which will occur naturally to health. I feel amazing. More energy and positive mental health than I remember having in a few years.

This particular time I started with friends and began a hardcore workout routine and wasn't really thinking too much about altering food. I knew the rules of what not to eat. No highly processed food, no deserts and light on the carbs (pasta, potatos) yada yada yada. I knew it all. Or so I thought.

As I began to increase my strength gains through 1 - 1.5 hour weight routines I was frustrated I couldn't see the muscle development I knew was happening. How to literally cut the fat? Thanks to two readers - II Capo and Shel - I discovered Primal/Paleo eating. I remember Roissy referring to it once but I thought it meant you had to eat everything raw and I knew I wasn't going to be able to stomach it (literally). I'm a learner by nature and have done a fair amount of research since discovering it and I can say it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. See bottom of post for links to sites which offer more info than I can.

I don't weigh myself because I have a tendency to obsess on the number so I can't tell you how much weight I've lost. I do know my fat ratio is dropping. I've been able to stay in ketosis (see links below) for three weeks and this is proof my body is burning fat for fuel. Side effect of ketosis - low appetite. I haven't had any sugar outside of fruit in three weeks and I can say at this moment I seem to have lost my craving for the manufactured kind. Can I tell you how good an orange tastes? I never knew!

For a quick refresher I'm not eating grains, legumes, dairy, tuber veggies (potatos) or sugar that's not natural. My cheats have meant soy milk for fruit smoothies (in three weeks I've had only 2 glasses) and cream in my coffee (I have one a day). I haven't experienced an increase in cravings after either so I'm likely to continue for the next while - I'll reevaluate as I go along. I have more problems getting enough food in than too much, it's a problem I don't mind having I'll tell ya.

My tummy has always been a better feature for me, but it's flatter than ever as you can see here. This picture was not altered to flatten, minimize or any other technique designed to make me look better than I am. My trouble spots remain my thighs and my back ass, it'll be a celebratory day when those babies get slimish.

Primal/Paleo links:

Mark's Daily Apple

Primal Eating Modern Table

Cosmopolitan Primal Girl

What is ketosis?

Here's a link and here's another

First day of Week Four Paleo

Today is start of week four for my new Way of Eating (WOE) - Primal/Paleo*. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I'd said at the beginning I'd give myself 30 days to see if I could adapt and find myself satisfied. My worst fear was that I'd be hungry all the time and feel deprived. I also worried about my complete change in lifestyle from restaurants to stay at home eating. I shouldn't jump ahead to the end but I gotta say I can see this carrying on for the long term meaning a new way of life.

I was motivated first and foremost by weight loss. I'm closer than many to a good figure but farther than I'd like to be if that makes sense. I've dieted before only to gain the weight back when I resume my old habits. I'd 'arrive' and it would give me license to eat crap and the cycle would start all over again. This time my emphasis has shifted from weight loss which will occur naturally to health. I feel amazing. More energy and positive mental health than I remember having in a few years.

This particular time I started with friends and began a hardcore workout routine and wasn't really thinking too much about altering food. I knew the rules of what not to eat. No highly processed food, no deserts and light on the carbs (pasta, potatos) yada yada yada. I knew it all. Or so I thought.

As I began to increase my strength gains through 1 - 1.5 hour weight routines I was frustrated I couldn't see the muscle development I knew was happening. How to literally cut the fat? Thanks to two readers - II Capo and Shel - I discovered Primal/Paleo eating. I remember Roissy referring to it once but I thought it meant you had to eat everything raw and I knew I wasn't going to be able to stomach it (literally). I'm a learner by nature and have done a fair amount of research since discovering it and I can say it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. See bottom of post for links to sites which offer more info than I can.

I don't weigh myself because I have a tendency to obsess on the number so I can't tell you how much weight I've lost. I do know my fat ratio is dropping. I've been able to stay in ketosis (see links below) for three weeks and this is proof my body is burning fat for fuel. Side effect of ketosis - low appetite. I haven't had any sugar outside of fruit in three weeks and I can say at this moment I seem to have lost my craving for the manufactured kind. Can I tell you how good an orange tastes? I never knew!

For a quick refresher I'm not eating grains, legumes, dairy, tuber veggies (potatos) or sugar that's not natural. My cheats have meant soy milk for fruit smoothies (in three weeks I've had only 2 glasses) and cream in my coffee (I have one a day). I haven't experienced an increase in cravings after either so I'm likely to continue for the next while - I'll reevaluate as I go along. I have more problems getting enough food in than too much, it's a problem I don't mind having I'll tell ya.

My tummy has always been a better feature for me, but it's flatter than ever as you can see here. This picture was not altered to flatten, minimize or any other technique designed to make me look better than I am. My trouble spots remain my thighs and my back ass, it'll be a celebratory day when those babies get slimish.

Primal/Paleo links:

Mark's Daily Apple

Primal Eating Modern Table

Cosmopolitan Primal Girl

What is ketosis?

Here's a link and here's another

Red Hot Primal

I haven't updated on my Primal life lately so thought I'd update y'all.

I'm doing great - ketosis remains. That's the state your body is in when your body produces ketones from low carb intake and is proof the body is buring fat for fuel. It's a state that reduces hunger too, which is a terrific side benefit!

I went clothes shopping with my gym buddy today and although I see much room for improvement the improvements needed are significantly less than they were three months ago when I started hard core workouts. I'm starting week 4 on Monday with my primal plan.

Here's a dress I tried on at Le Chateau a medium which frankly I wouldn't even have dared try on before. I didn't get it, but give me a month and I will.

Oh and for the detractors - this was NOT photoshopped so suck it.

Red Hot Primal

I haven't updated on my Primal life lately so thought I'd update y'all.

I'm doing great - ketosis remains. That's the state your body is in when your body produces ketones from low carb intake and is proof the body is buring fat for fuel. It's a state that reduces hunger too, which is a terrific side benefit!

I went clothes shopping with my gym buddy today and although I see much room for improvement the improvements needed are significantly less than they were three months ago when I started hard core workouts. I'm starting week 4 on Monday with my primal plan.

Here's a dress I tried on at Le Chateau a medium which frankly I wouldn't even have dared try on before. I didn't get it, but give me a month and I will.

Oh and for the detractors - this was NOT photoshopped so suck it.

WOE is me

WOE = Way of Eating

Here's my day's food - I'll follow with my bod so hopefully it will keep you entertained.

Breakfast:
Smoothie - with Soy Milk, fresh strawberries and blueberries
Coffee - two cream. This is my indulgence - Shel says it was okay. (thanks Shel)

Lunch
Salad - carrots, lettuce, radish, apple and a salmon fillet

Dinner
Steak - four ounce
Steamed broccoli
Mashed squash
Salad with all the above fixing - I make my own dressing with olive oil and white wine vinegar

And that's my day of food. I worked out for 1.5 hours with a combo killer Summit machine - I did over 1700 feet and weights. I'm using a High Intensity Approach in order to get maximum benefits.

I'm shocking myself when I look in the mirror at the gym - I can see a huge difference in my shape - starting to show in my clothes. And I'm getting close to bikini ready. See.

WOE is me

WOE = Way of Eating

Here's my day's food - I'll follow with my bod so hopefully it will keep you entertained.

Breakfast:
Smoothie - with Soy Milk, fresh strawberries and blueberries
Coffee - two cream. This is my indulgence - Shel says it was okay. (thanks Shel)

Lunch
Salad - carrots, lettuce, radish, apple and a salmon fillet

Dinner
Steak - four ounce
Steamed broccoli
Mashed squash
Salad with all the above fixing - I make my own dressing with olive oil and white wine vinegar

And that's my day of food. I worked out for 1.5 hours with a combo killer Summit machine - I did over 1700 feet and weights. I'm using a High Intensity Approach in order to get maximum benefits.

I'm shocking myself when I look in the mirror at the gym - I can see a huge difference in my shape - starting to show in my clothes. And I'm getting close to bikini ready. See.

Week Three about to Begin

Week 2 Primal Completed. I'm feeling good although today I spent almost the entirety in bed. Fighting a sinus thinga-ma-jiggy.

I did a new weight routine yesterday and that might have contributed although I hope not. I did my Summit Machine climbing to 1300 feet and then walked at a moderate pace for 25 minutes. Afterwards I did a 20 minute weight routine using High Intensity Training on six different machines using a weight I could reasonably do a number of reps and continue until I experienced burnout/positive fatigue in my muscles. In my butterflies I was able to complete 52 before having to stop. I'm sore today, but not overly.

I'll be happy when I see that back fat start to disappear.

Anyone else think about twins when they looked at that pic - or was that just me?

And here's a skin pic - cuz you know I wanna!

Week Three about to Begin

Week 2 Primal Completed. I'm feeling good although today I spent almost the entirety in bed. Fighting a sinus thinga-ma-jiggy.

I did a new weight routine yesterday and that might have contributed although I hope not. I did my Summit Machine climbing to 1300 feet and then walked at a moderate pace for 25 minutes. Afterwards I did a 20 minute weight routine using High Intensity Training on six different machines using a weight I could reasonably do a number of reps and continue until I experienced burnout/positive fatigue in my muscles. In my butterflies I was able to complete 52 before having to stop. I'm sore today, but not overly.

I'll be happy when I see that back fat start to disappear.

Anyone else think about twins when they looked at that pic - or was that just me?

And here's a skin pic - cuz you know I wanna!

Beef and Broc

I may one day stop half naked picture day and concentrate solely on food...

Nah.

I do notice red wine hits me FAST. I rarely drink alone but tonight as I prepared my dinner (and the leftovers which would remain) I had a glass. Ketosis the state my body is in right now due to low carb consumption allows the alcohol to hit my blood stream rather fast. Too bad I don't have a boyfriend right now he could SO take advantage of me.

I climbed another 1327 feet today (who's counting? ME). I feel sweat running off my back as I push it to the limit on the Summit machine. This machine is rarely used. You know why? Cuz it's damn hard.

Beef and Broc

I may one day stop half naked picture day and concentrate solely on food...

Nah.

I do notice red wine hits me FAST. I rarely drink alone but tonight as I prepared my dinner (and the leftovers which would remain) I had a glass. Ketosis the state my body is in right now due to low carb consumption allows the alcohol to hit my blood stream rather fast. Too bad I don't have a boyfriend right now he could SO take advantage of me.

I climbed another 1327 feet today (who's counting? ME). I feel sweat running off my back as I push it to the limit on the Summit machine. This machine is rarely used. You know why? Cuz it's damn hard.

Climbing Higher

Gotta love Primal eating don't you?

Oh and I'm back in ketosis after getting the Pumpkin Pie (didn't eat the crust) out of my system.

I'm somewhat discouraged reading Primal Posts on Forums by Women. Some are annoying about their lack of weight loss - encouraging.

I climbed 1300 feet in 14 minutes yesterday and my t-shirt actually showed sweat front AND back. That's a first.

I also biked 3.5 miles and lifted weights for an hour. I added some abdominal work using a ball and today I'm sore - glad to know I have muscles there after all.

Climbing Higher

Gotta love Primal eating don't you?

Oh and I'm back in ketosis after getting the Pumpkin Pie (didn't eat the crust) out of my system.

I'm somewhat discouraged reading Primal Posts on Forums by Women. Some are annoying about their lack of weight loss - encouraging.

I climbed 1300 feet in 14 minutes yesterday and my t-shirt actually showed sweat front AND back. That's a first.

I also biked 3.5 miles and lifted weights for an hour. I added some abdominal work using a ball and today I'm sore - glad to know I have muscles there after all.