Take the Challenge!

Mark Sisson posted the latest 30-Day Primal Challenge over at Marks Daily Apple. Go check it out and then get involved in the forums. This is a design it yourself challenge, where you decide what your goals are going to be. It's not a competition, but a way to start or enhance your primal lifestyle. The forum even has a place to start your own journal, and as we all know, the Primal community is uber-supportive.

My goals for this challenge are:

• Get more sleep. On average, I tend to get 5-6 hours a night. I would like to increase that to 6-7, and allow myself to tap a nap if I need it. I tend to feel guilty if I take a nap, as if I am wasting time. It's time to listen to my body and give it what it needs.
• Walk the talk. It's time to show friends what the Primal lifestyle is all about. I am the first person to tout the benefits of eating primal, but I am not the best walking example. Time to be a walking advertisement.
• Limit alcohol intake. I've been spending more time lately with friends trying to cool off at the local watering hole. This is not benefitting my primal-ness. Time to limit it to a couple glasses of red wine a week (a sensible vice according to Mark!).
• More outside time. The sun is out and it is time to get there and enjoy it, whether it is walking the dog, or working in the yard, or just playing like a kid.

• Drink more water.

Daily Eats:

Breakfast: big cup of homemade chicken broth, handful of raw almonds.

Lunch: grilled Top Sirloin, 3/4 oz 72% Dark Chocolate

Dinner: big cup of homemade chicken broth, grilled Top Sirloin, roasted free range chicken, small zucchini (fresh from my garden!) sauteed in coconut oil and soy sauce, frozen grapes.

Good luck with the challenge everyone! I will make an effort to post daily and keep you posted on how I'm doing. Feel free to add your goals, status updates, etc in the comments section.

Mark's New Challenge

Wow! Where has the summer gone? I didn't realize that I had been out of touch so long. The good news is tomorrow Mark is annoucing a new 30-Day challenge on Marks Daily Apple. I urge everyone to check it out and join in. I know I am looking forward to....it will definitely get me back on track! It's going to be a tough month to stay on track, I have almost three weeks on the road, but I am up for the challenge!

Tuesday's food and pastured eggs

What I ate today: 2 deviled eggs (made with nitrate free bacon and chives from my garden), chocolate creation, Organic apple, raw almonds, pineapple sausage, peach with half and half, bacon cheeseburger (no bun, no condiments), side salad with ranch dressing, one cocktail.

Went out to dinner with a friend this evening and was able to avoid the french fries and only had one cocktail, a Lynchburg Lemonade. Delicious on a warm summer's day!

I was lucky enough to find a vendor at the farmer's market last week that had pastured eggs. If you have never had pastured eggs, make the effort to seek them out. The yolks are deep yellow, sometimes orange. The shells thick and are varied in color-tan, white, light green, even light blue. The taste is.....fresh. That is the best way to describe it. You can actually taste the freshness. Sure they cost a little more, but they are so worth it. Pastured eggs actually have nutrients, unlike the factory farmed versions that we are all used to. Imagine the benefits they are giving your body. I'd say that's worth the extra cost.

Back on track

Back home after an interesting visit to Argentina. While I am glad to be home, I am missing the massive quantities of meat! I'm a week away from my next delivery of grass-fed beef and I am jonesing for a big ol' steak! While beef is king in Argentina, I admit I did veer off track. And I am paying for it with a three pound weight gain. Ugh! Which of course got me thinking about why I started this blog in the first place. My first post said how I was sick and tired of being overweight. Guess what? I am still overweight! So it is time to get serious....again! I have taken my measurements this evening, and while I am not quite ready to share them, I promise to do so soon. I am issuing myself a 30-day challenge, to stick to the primal lifestyle and actually see progress. I refuse to spend another summer covered up and hiding from friends' cameras. I also feel like a hypocrite. When my friends go on and on about the latest diet fad, I am the first to spout off about the benefits of the primal lifestyle. Unfortunately, I am not walking the talk. Time to show what real food can do for you and prove that one doesn't need to spend hundreds of dollars a month on gimmicks...prepackaged food, shots of HCG....it just isn't necessary. So next month, on July 4, I will post my starting stats, and hopefully, have some positive results to share.

Beef is King in Argentina!

Just a quick update from Argentina, where Beef is truly king!! I've been lucky enough to enjoy some incredible meals on my visit, unfortunately, they were not all primal! First of all, the steaks are incredible! I have eaten steaks every night so far! One even had mozzarella, roasted red pepper and tomato....delish!! Today we had a site visit at a local meat processor and they treated us to an amazing lunch, full of meat! To start was a wonderful plate of cheese and cold cuts. Then they brought out grilled sausages (on buns, which I discarded), followed by a bowl of sliced sausages with a red sauce, and topped of with a kabob of steak and bacon. Apparently, there were supposed to be two more courses, but we had to run to catch the next meeting. I was in meat heaven!!! LOL While I am trying to watch what I am eating, I totally believe I will have a gain when I get home, mostly due to the massive quantities of wine we have been consuming! Malbec from Argentina, go get some!! Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!

Weekend Recap

Spring has finally hit in the Northwest, and it couldn't have come at a better time! The farmer's markets are open, the fresh produce is starting to make an appearance, and people are just generally more active and happy. I was able to get the pup out for a couple walks, once to the dog park, and the other for a 3+ mile walk with some serious hills. My friend and I do it every Saturday, and we are dying by the time we reach the final hill. Cooper ran up it like it was nothing! Little guy amazes me!

As for food, I did a lot of grazing, mostly on roasted chicken and fruit. I bought two rotisserie chickens this weekend, along with some mangoes, organic apples and strawberries, lettuce and avocados. This has made for some great grazing food, along with some pastured ham.

This coming week will be a hectic one, as I am gearing up for a trip to Argentina, starting on Saturday. I am incredibly nervous for the trip, since I have never done any international travel. It is a requirement for my MS degree, so fortunately I will be with a group and have a jam packed schedule. I've heard that Argentina has some incredible meat, so I am looking forward to that!

Strawberries

I've been a little busy lately and haven't had time to post, sorry about that! I just finished up a major project for school, so I will now have more time to pay attention to this blog. I've been doing pretty good. Sticking to primal eating about 80% of the time. I have to admit I had some goodies on Mom's Day, and they were delicious! But I also made sure to have some fruit and cheese out. My niece devoured the organic strawberries that I set out. I kept emphasizing how they taste so great because their organic. I have a feeling she is going to start harping on my sister to buy organic "because Auntie said so!" What can I say, you gotta start them young!