Saturday 23 April 2011

Hormones

It's been almost 2 months now since I went primal, and I've stuck to it 100%. Three months ago I was exploring the options for treating an eating disorder, in that I was compulsively overeating and just couldn't stop. The 'disorder' has now completely disappeared and I no longer have the overwhelming urge to eat sugary foods and non-veg carbs, which I find utterly amazing. I saw no end to the lack of control, as any negative event or interaction would trigger me to eat sugary food. I'm quite sure that the insulin resistnace did not help, as that also made me hungry every hours. I'm so thankful I've found this way of eating and I won't go back.

Unfortunately, I have only lost 0.75lbs since my last post, well, I've actually gained 3lbs and then lost 3.75lbs, but the gain may have been due to too much coconut cream. I stopped eating the cream and started exercising properly 2 weeks ago, which helped get rid of a bit of fat. I started doing interval training, walking, jogging and cycling. The first time I sprinted (just for 6 seconds, 5 times) I had a really weird reaction, in that I felt very emotional (in a good way) and ended up crying in the middle of the park. I guess it was due to the release of the good hormones that come from exercise. The cycling was the scariest because I'm not so confident on a bike. Getting on it was the first challenge as my leg wasn't used to being lifted up so high at such an angle. Then keeping the handle bars steady is way too hard at the moment! I'm weaving all over the place, so I'm hoping I'll get better at that with practise. Similarly, signalling to turn left or right is a nightmare as it involved letting go with one hand, leaving the other one with all the responsibilty of keeping the bar steady. I haven't fallen off yet though.

The painfully slow weightloss is probably due to the insulin resistance, which is taking time to correct. I have decided to start taking Metformin (Glucophage) to help with this, as lots of women with PCOS have found that it helps them to lose weight when combined with the correct diet and exercise. I have to gradually build up the dose otherwise it can cause digestive problems.

Friday 8 April 2011

Better News!

I have found some fantastic creamed cocount! Most of the canned coconut milk I have tried so far had a funny taste to it, but this one was like white chocolate. The exact name of the product is Organic Creamed Coconut and it's made by Biona. I bought it from Ocado but it is available elsewhere.

Anyway, I'll keep it short as I'm off to visit my parents this weekend, and hopefully visit their local fishmonger, by the sea. I'm going to be like a child in a sweet shop. Ah, that reminds me, I gutted my first fish yesterday. I've never done it before and so I didn't know what to expect inside. It was quite grim and I had to start by handling the fish with plastic tongs, but I eventually got stuck in with a knife and tea spoon and cleaned it right out. I then cut off the head, and the fish seemed to freak me out a little less. I realised afterwards that I should have cut the head off first though as the guts are sttached to the head. I baked it in the oven, stuffed with lemon, drizzled with olive oil and warpped in tin foil (180 degrees celcius for 20 mins). It was good. I felt more primal afterwards and one step closer to going fishing.

Have a great weekend all!

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Sprinting!

The weight doesn't seem to be going anywhere still, but I assume that this is because my body is still getting used to eating primally. The lightheadedness has subsided and I am feeling a lot more energetic. I am a lot less anxious than I used to be, and I feel a lot more positive, life seems considerably more exciting and inspiring now. Eating the way I do now has become a way of life and I am used to it, buying and cooking food is no longer a an epic task or a chore.

I've started going for walks and am working at University as much as possible now, so I'm getting more exercise. I do believe I shocked a few people in the park when I catapulted myself from a leisurely stroll into a 6 second all out sprint on Sunday. I repeated this 5 times and couldn't manage anymore. I did hurt my ankle, but it healed after one day, so it wasn't anything serious. I decided that I need to start wearing barefoot shoes in order to prevent further injuries and strengthen my feet and ankles. I've had lot's of helpful comments from people on the Primal Blueprint forum, especially this awesome link to minimalist shoes, which has inspired me to look in to alternatives to Five Finger Vibrams (expensive and hard to find to try on). I found that I already have some minimalist shoes in the form of water shoes (shoes you can wear whilst swimming in the sea), so I've been wearing them for the last 2 days. They feel quite liberating and it's nice to be able to feel the shape of the ground. Sounds odd, doesn't it? But I feel more in touch with my environment and plan to wear minimalist shoes as much as possible. I don't know how long they will last though because they aren't meant for lots of walking on hard pavement, so I'm considering making the Huarache sandals for summer.

I've been using my new slow cooker (see below) quite a bit and love the fact that it makes the meat so tender. I have also bought a Thermos food flask (see below), which keeps the meat piping hot for up to 7 hours, which is plenty enough for me to keep it perfect until lunch time.

Awesome products I'm using:


I've also worked out that I musn't slice the beef for dehydrating too thin, otherwise it dries right out and loses its flavour. The last batch, which was sliced quite thickly (3/8 inch) and sprinkled with salt and cayenne pepper is very tasty and I must refrain from eating it all at once :)

I realised today that I am finally free of my emotional dependence on food. Before going primal I could not control what I ate, I used food to make me feel better (which made me feel worse) and I could not see how to get a grip. This way of eating has helped me so much, and I would highly recommend it to anyone, whether they are overweight, underweight or have difficulty controlling what they eat. In fact, to everyone. It will make you feel better in so many ways.