[Ilene]

A new week a new Primal day... thank goodness ... Of course the scale was wayyy up this morning...

Way to go Jill, keep up the great work...

[jillybean720]

Susan, I discovered a few years ago that our bodies can VERY quickly adjust to NOT eating crap - and they like it! I used to have a major issue with fast food, what I would easily consider an addiction. I would, of course, quit cold turkey in an attempt to gain control. After a few weeks of no fast food, I would indulge in a Happy Meal or something, and all of a sudden, my body would revolt! You know, I blame my surgically altered insides as the cause of my gaseous reaction to starchy carbs, but I wonder if maybe it's the same thing - I've limited them for more than a year now, so it would make sense that my body just plain doesn't want them anymore!

[BibBob]

My weekend intake (carbs in parentheses)

A couple slices of pepperoni and two sliced mushrooms (.5)
3 bbqd beef patties (o)
6 leaves of lettuce (.5)
a cup of fresh salsa with avocado (15)
7 eggs (2)
1 strip of bacon (.1)
8 oz of scallops cooked in coconut oil* (20)
a cup+ of mashed cauliflower (10)
a cup of broccoli (4)
blended frozen berries with whipped cream (20)

73 carbs for the weekend. I'm surprised and unsure about the carbs in scallops. There's some debate out there, but I went with the biggest number. This is using gross carbs though net doesn't drop these foods much. I felt a little lighter on my feet and my clothes felt a little looser all day yesterday -- then the big Mother's Day scallop meal (stuffed sole was also served but I passed because of the stuffing) finished with the berries and whipped cream. This morning I feel like I may have gained weight.

Hey, hope all you mom's had a nice day and happy belated!

*I finally found coconut oil in the health food section of Rite Aid. GNC brand. Expensive.

[koceank29]

Jill, I'm completely with you on having to just get rid of things that we know will cause us to overeat. I'm better than I used to be at controlling those feelings, mainly due to the low-carb lifestyle and losing so many cravings, but I know I can NOT have ice cream in my home, I'll end up like Susan did!

Sunday was okay, I think weekends are harder for me to control my carbs, of course having 45g carbs on Sunday is better than my previous self having 200-300g on any given day. I did have a beer yesterday, but it was only 6.8g, it was soooo good, I haven't had a beer in forever! I would've had another but my husband came home and snatched the last one!

Today has been good: Eggs/bacon/espresso with milk and I've already been to them gym. I did the bicycle this morning which is a change for me, but I thought my routine could use a shake-up. I'm planning a 2 mile walk later when it warms up, its suprisingly cool and windy here today.

Have a great day everyone!

[koceank29]

Forgot....so I ended up at 83g carbs for the weekend! Looks like you may win this one BibBob, you did awesome! So impressed! Its not as hard as people would think!

Whenever I eat shrimp/scallops/whipped cream I usually have a gain. I think its mainly because I tend to overeat on the seafood, its my weakness and whipped cream for me is a trigger, I have to be very careful or I'll end up having too much of a good thing! You may just be holding some water from the scallops, I'm sure you're fine with actual weight since you're keeping your carbs in check.

[BibBob]

Foods that I cannot resist. Good chocolate chip cookies. Donuts, any donuts, fresh from the shop, the grocers, bagged by hostess or someone else, donuts are evil. Fresh danish is the same thing. Cream pies, especially chocolate. Cheesecake. Good pizza.

I've had two half gallons of ice cream in the house since I started, and it doesn't bother me. My sis brings donuts and danishes over yesterday morning for breakfast and I immediately ducked out for walk. I think I broke out into a sweat looking at them.

[BibBob]

Thanks Kara. That's bad news on the scallops. We have a little market here with a great source. I get bay scallops (frozen) but high quality for the price of ground beef if I buy in a little bulk. Sea scallops from this market are also half price compared to the larger markets. Sometimes he has great deals on wild salmon, halibut, cod, and I grab it, but the scallops supply is constant. It's all coming from Alaska where "he has a guy".

Also portion control seems to work with the midnight snack issue. Last night after a big dinner that included a reasonable dessert. I was done for the night. The many nights I eat before bed, I try to limit my portions. I can really put away a ton of food, even veggies, so I think this is something I will have to address if I am going to see "great" results.

[Ilene]

Oh, you guys are lucky to have such fresh sea food and fish!!

[srmb60]

I hate when folks say things like "epic fail" but today was bad! Horrid working conditions and a box of chocolates ... say no more, say no more.

However, I did lift weights this morning. That sounds so lame.

[CJZee]

I tried something new for me to see if I could shake up (or shake down?) my weight loss. The scale seems to have slowed down exponentially (not that I was plummeting down before, but jeez, this is ridiculous!) It is nothing for me to go 2 weeks strictly on plan and not lose an ounce, while I was losing about a pound a week pretty consistently last year and my habits haven't changed.

So ... yesterday I decided to do the "mini-meal" thing. I worked it out in CalorieKing ahead of time because eating so frequently it would be easy to overeat calories (I count calories and carbs).

Meal 1 - Bacon & eggs

Meal 2 - Ripe tomatoes with sea salt and feta cheese

Meal 3 - Fresh portabella mushrooms sauteed in butter with a patty of Niman Ranch ground sirloin mixed with chopped garlic (I had a meeting after this, but *luckily* the other party had a cold so I apparently didn't smell like a vampire. Does garlic make you smell bad even if you brush your teeth?)

Meal 4 - Pot roast and the remaining portabellas

Meal 5 - Pot roast again and an orange (I know, I know, but I haven't had an orange for months and I felt like it)

Anyhoo -- I'm down to my ticker weight this morning!!! I had bounced up to 214 from the ticker weight (I always claim a new weight when I see it, and then bounce around it awhile). I'm so stoked!

So .... maybe it was the mini-meals, maybe it was the orange (?) or maybe it was just frackalackin time for the scale to move (well, it only moved back to where it once already was, but it feels great). Who knows? Any ideas?

Susan -- lifting weights is awesome! Forget the candy, it's done. How heavy are the weights you lift? When I first started my journey, lifting weights is the first thing I did, even before I modified my diet. I wasn't sure I could modify my eating, but I was sure I could do exercise and that gave me confidence.

Jilly -- yippee!

[koceank29]

CJZee, good for you! I am experiencing a complete stall right now, it is so frustrating. Good to know you came through yours, your menu sounds yummy! I smell garlic coming out of my pores almost daily, but I eat a lot of it! LOL! Its really good for the heart though!

Susan- today a new day, forget about the chocolates. The weights helped you break even for yesterday!

I'm not sure what I'm doing today, I have 1 errand and I know I need to incorporate some activity but I can't decide what I feel like, its very dreary right now since raining last night. I'll report back!

[jillybean720]

CJZee - When I stall, I find just about anything that changes my routine helps to get the scale moving again. So, maybe just by shaking up your food routine into eating more frequently helped to wake your system up? Whatever the reason, it worked!

Susan - Hey, I haven't lifted weights in, oh, a year? So, NOT LAME!

As for me, Monday was on track:
- double protein shake
- pulled bbq chicken w/Swiss cheese
- roasted chicken, cheese, bacon crumbles, mayo, and bacon ranch dressing (no lettuce this time!)
- Texas Roadhouse: maybe half a starter caesar salad w/out croutons, about half of a 6oz sirloin with sauteed onions and jack cheese, maybe 3 bites of sweet potato with lots of butter

My scale is holding steady at 204.5. Lots of things going on that could be affecting my scale, though, so I'm not too worried about it (mild constipation off-and-on, lovely TOM, changes in my water consumption...).

[BibBob]

Another low carb day in the books. Back to just one meal and a late snack. The dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, but for me the meatballs were chunks of pork and the pasta was grated zucchini. Of course I had a late snack. Eggs and the leftover scallops. There is something particularly wonderful about a seafood omelette. The 18 hour IFs are now habitual. Still not feeling the weight loss I'd like. Portion control is the problem, I think.

[srmb60]

Even the weight was lame! My lower back has been a bit tight feeling so I used 20 lbs for deadlifts and tried to use really really good form. Got tired of that and did shoulders.

I hear ya Jill. I used to lift fairly heavy but I just haven't got lifting reincorporated yet. I do love it when I get at it.

[katerina11]

Hi everyone.

I love lifting, too, but haven't exercised in a while. When I move back to KC, I plan to start lifting and doing some tae-bo. For now, I;m still in the beginning here and really want to incorporate things slowly so I don't get burned out and give it all up. I have been primal for 25 days now. I only recently gave up artificial sweeteners and that has really helped to curb my cravings.

I have lost 10 pounds! My food intake is completely unrestricted as long as it's leaning towards primal. No grains, flours (not even almond flour, because I'm scared it will trigger me), sugar, honey, maple syrup all out. I was relying pretty heavily on fruits, even dried fruits for the first couple weeks, but have gradually weaned that. This has been a real experience for me. BibBob said earlier it's like heroin for him. I am definitely in the same boat. I feel like I am finally beating my final addiction. It's so empowering!

Today I've had:
coffee with cream
rib eye steak

I will probably end the day with:
big *** salad, romaine, carrots, red bell pepper, bacon, apple with a vinaigrette dressing.

and either another steak or a fish soup I made. It's pretty darn good.

1.5 T EV coconut oil
one onion chopped
3-4 cloves garlic minced
8 fillets tilapia chopped
3 cans coconut milk
2-3 T red curry paste (to taste)
5-6 T fish sauce (to taste)
1.5 c vegetable stock

coconut oil, onion and garlic until onion is cooked to clear
add coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce and stock cook until bubbling and mixed thoroughly
add fish and simmer until fish is cooked through.

tasty stuff.