Primal Observations: Sleep, Bug Bites & Allergies

It’s been about six weeks since I switched to Mark Sisson’s ‘Primal Blueprint‘ lifestyle and I’m starting to notice some interesting ‘coincidences’ – except that I don’t believe in coincidences.

First, I started to sit in the sun for an hour or so after work, weather permitting [this IS New England…], and I’ve noticed that on the days I get some sun, no matter whether I exercised or not, I sleep like a baby that night. I fall asleep quickly – and more importantly to me – I STAY asleep the entire night and wake up feeling refreshed. I don’t know if I’ve every written about it here, but normally I don’t fall asleep right away and I wake up many times throughout the night and generally get out of bed feeling exhausted, so this is a big deal to me. I don’t know if it’s because I have a vitamin D deficiency that getting some low-level sun after 4:45pm helps to restore, or if it’s allowing myself to relax and do nothing for an hour while being outdoors [though, I tend to read MDA or listen to talk radio while I’m out there, which sometimes isn’t relaxing, but I still sleep great regardless…]? I don’t really know, but I also don’t care. If it’s sunny out and warm enough for me to expose my legs and back to the sun for a while, I’ll be out there. I do cover my face, since I read that the skin on your face doesn’t produce much vitamin D, so why accelerate the aging process there? lol…

Recipe: Fast & Hearty Tomato Bisque

I made this last night on a whim because I really wanted some good tomato soup, and anything from a can is most certainly NOT Primal-friendly with the added sugar/chemicals/preservatives/excessive sodium… etc. I’ve made really great homemade tomato soups in the past that required a lot of time to roast whole canned tomatoes to get that rich flavor, but it dawned on me yesterday… why not just add all-natural, organic sun-dried tomatoes packed in fresh olive oil instead: It worked like a charm. Sun-dried tomatoes combined with onions, garlic red pepper flakes, sea salt, organic tomato paste and a can of diced tomatoes… sautéed, simmered and puréed together at the end and finished with a blop of full-fat whipping cream [optional] was TO. DIE. FOR.

Here’s how I did it. This recipe makes one very large serving that is a meal in and of itself, or you can split it into two smaller servings to accompany a salad. Multiply it by how many servings you’d like to make…

Note: Athletic Build BMI Calculator

Almost 5 years ago I posted about an  Athletic Build BMI Calculator I found online and to this day it gets THE MOST hits on this blog… I also get a lot of comments on that post and felt like I should give an update. While I agree, that if you are more athletic and carry more lean muscle mass than the average person, and want a unit of measurement to judge yourself by, using a different BMI calculator may be helpful.

For me, now… 5 years later… I don’t remember the last time I thought about my BMI because I’m in a different place. When I was just starting out with my weightloss journey and had a good 100 lbs to lose ANY form of measurement where I could map some positive change was a great thing for my morale and motivation. And because I had been overweight for so long, I truly had no idea what my ideal/healthy weight should be, so I turned to tools like BMI calculators and realized that even at my fittest/thinnest in high school, I didn’t fit within the ‘healthy’ range on your average BMI scale, so I went in search of something else that would give me a more realistic goal to shoot for.

Primal Brunch Feast

Before going Primal, my favorite breakfast in the whole world was a simple throwback to my childhood – 2 eggs over easy on rye toast with bacon and lots of butter on my toast. Now, most of that is a-okay after going Primal… minus the toast. So what’s a girl to do? Easy. Find something else even more delicious to lay those yummy eggs on, to sop up that gooey, bright orange yokey goodness. My solution? Sautéed zucchini.

Here’s everything I used and how I used it to make my delicious breakfast, pictured here… [A quick note about dairy: Dairy is off limits for strict ‘paleo’ followers. I, on the other hand, have no problems with digesting dairy and use it in moderation – and when I do, I try to stick to full-fat, and fermented if possible].

Okay – here’s the scoop…

Primal Thoughts 5-3-13

You know what’s fun about finding a lifestyle that just works for you? Noticing little changes each day. Today’s little discovery was that my calves have tightened up a lot – like whatever fat I had left on them has miraculously melted off in the past week or so. There’s more there, but it’s not nearly what it was before I started Primal living 4 weeks ago.

I also feel like I’m getting younger – my skin is looking a lot better and has gotten a lot of its elasticity back. I just turned 39, so that’s a pretty big deal for me.  ;)

I realized this morning that the difference this time around from usual attempts at weightloss is that my cellulite is almost gone already, even though my size hasn’t changed drastically. I think ditching grains, legumes and sugar has let my body finally release all the excess inflammation and fluid – I just feel lighter all around. Normally I lose weight by burning fat, but that fluid is still there under the surface so it used to end up weighing everything down, and I would start to sag and droop… and that’s not happening this time [I am doing a mental happy-dance right now!].

Going Primal

Recommended Reading – Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson

I don’t remember the last time I posted [just checked – it’s been over a year, wow!], but I’m ready to get back into it. I’ve been away because, quite frankly, I’ve been in a self-imposed plateau for two-plus years. I say ‘self-imposed’ because I got lazy about counting every calorie, weighing everything I eat and writing every little thing down. I stopped wearing my body bugg, which was a huge help in the beginning because I had no concept of portion control [though, looking at it now, it was because of the foods I was eating and not so much about a lack of willpower]… I think I got burned out. Starting a new job at a small company for a very demanding boss didn’t help. Oh, and I broke a toe last year around this time clean through and it took forever for it to heal… [like, I’m JUST starting to wear normal shoes again and can finally go hiking and trail running after taking last year off, which was a total bummer!].

The good news is, I successfully maintained the 65+ lbs I’d already lost up until before the last holiday season. I ended up gaining 10lbs between November and February… then came to find out I had an enormous cyst on my right ovary, which might have explained some of the crazy cravings I was having, along with the fatigue and scary abdominal pain, which prevented me from doing my usual workouts [resistance training, kickboxing, running… high impact or heavy lifting – so anything I enjoyed doing!]. Even walking on the treadmill at anything higher than a 2.8 felt like I was being stabbed with each stop. not fun… I normally walk at a 4.0 or 4.2… 2.8 is slower than a warm up for me… I was diagnosed on 2/26 and had surgery on 3/26. I think I stopped working out for a total of 8 weeks, during which time I felt gross. I couldn’t wear normal pants without a ‘bella band’ because the cyst was so big – my doctor said it was like the equivalent of being 5 months pregnant. It was an experience, that’s for sure…

So, during my down time I started researching nutrition again, looking for some fresh material so I could focus on the one thing I COULD control, which was my diet. I ended up revisiting ‘paleo’ but remembering that it was a little too strict for me… until I stumbled across Mark Sisson’s book “The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weightloss, Vibrant Health and Boundless Energy.” I read it cover to cover [figuratively speaking since I use an e-reader] over a weekend and started right away… And have been loving it.