Hot Diggity's Primal Journey

Thanks for this....

 

I got my new size 32 board shorts on clearance for $4.99, walked about two miles on the beach in the warm Carolina sun, and have never felt better!

 

On Sunday, which was a beautiful day, I went back to the beach and did my first set of wind sprints. I didn't measure the distance but used my phone to time 15 seconds. I thought that first sprint felt a little long, so I stopped at about 100 yards and figured out that I had started and stopped the timer as I began my sprint. So next time I set it for 16 seconds, and started when it had counted down to 15. This worked better, and I did five more all-out sprints of about 50 yards. That felt great! I hadn't felt that burn in my lungs since I retired 16 years ago.

I am doing the best version of a cold water plunge I can do around here every morning. After I'm all done with my shower I just turn it to full cold, and jump under the water, gasping for breath and dancing around on tip toes until I'm good and chilled. It's rather like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer...it feels so good when you quit!

Planks tonight. Six standard planks of 120 seconds (20 breaths), and six side planks of 45 seconds each. (15 breaths). I am amazed at the definition of the muscles in my thighs, arms and calves when doing these exercises. It really does work the whole body. Seeing results like this is great for my motivation.

One unfortunate side effect of my new leaner body is that I have developed a painful lipoma above my right hip. It's right where my belt wants to ride, and is now making it painful to sit in a car, or do any sort of ground work on my back. I went to the doctor today, and will schedule a surgery date as soon as possible to have it removed. I suspect it has been there for a long time, but had not been pressed on due to my larger fat reserve. Now it's between a rock and a hard place and feels like a marble stuck in my skin.

 

Morning omelets with various cheeses, bacon, and either jalapeno relish or chopped olives have been saving me at least a couple bucks a day in breakfast at fast food joints. I've mastered the one pan, one fork, one spatula breakfast on a paper plate. There is one habit that I have to avoid using when I'm using my good Lodge frying pans. I take the hot pan (cheap aluminum, non-stick) and run it straight under the tap water and scrub it off while still hot. I'm sure this would crack a cast iron pan, or at least ruin the seasoning.

Exercise delays due to injuries while sleeping aren't new to me, and may be complicated by my ability to fall asleep most anywhere. Recovery times seem shorter, and I can still do many of my daily exercises in spite of the shoulder or back pains. Long term Celebrex is still out, but I did take one BC powder this morning, and it worked like a champ on a nagging mid-back pinch.

I hit 173.8 pounds over the weekend, so Mark's predicted pound or two a week is holding true. I am really loving the stable sugar throughout the day, all day, every day, without the miserable crashes and cravings. That's a huge plus for me, having suffered with hypoglycemia for years. LGN is a pleasant side effect!

It's getting colder here at night, so I can add wood gathering, cutting and splitting to me routine.

 

171.0 this morning. I'm really starting to feel tight in the torso, and it's a good feeling. I'm beginning to see lots of muscles that I've never seen before...on me. My recovery times while exercising are getting shorter, and my breathing while in the plank position is not the huff & puff it was when I started. I could almost read a book while doing sets of planks now. Almost.

It's time to go clothes shopping now. ;-) I am no longer a large, and lots of my clothes hang on me like a tent.

Breakfast is now the only meal that I feel the need to eat at a certain time, and that's just because cold omelets don't sound too good. I eat at home, saving several dollars on fast food breakfast every morning. Lunch has been working out well with dinner left-overs supplemented with salad and vegetables.

Like donuts and cereal, salad dressing is now something that I can comfortably do without. Salt, pepper and just a sprinkle of first cold press olive oil, and plain salad is delicious. At a salad bar I can flavor the salad with bacon, cheese, eggs and oysters. No need for dressing at all then.

Success like this just makes me want to do more exercise, within reason, and stick more strictly to a primal diet. The diet seems to be the easy part, since I have so many years of avoiding carbs. The okay to eat some fruit and have a little treat now and them sure make Mark's program a lot more fun.

 

That's what I'm planning for the couple of days when I am home after getting this tumor cut out of my back. I've got two closets completely full of clothes, and I only wear the stuff that is thrown over the back of the rocking chair. Only thing I hang in the closet anymore is uniforms, and that's only because I get them every week already on hangers.

I need to go through all the stuff in my closets from t-shirts (concert shirts from the 1970's that I'll fit in again!) and sweaters to jackets and trousers and see what fits, what's too big, what's completely not my style, itchy or ugly and haul it to the Goodwill. Some needs to go in storage, and some seasonal stuff needs to be segregated so it can be available when needed.

Simplification of my life is something that I've come to value more and more as I get older. Sometimes it's little things, like the consistency of getting "No ice" in my drinks at the drive-thru. Sometimes it's more life changing, like ditching the check book and putting everything on auto-pay. These are all things that lower stress, and have made me happier.

The thought of spending a few months of retirement just trying to get clutter cleaned out of the house doesn't sound like nearly as much fun as being able to wake up that first day and have only enjoyable projects or pursuits to choose from.

 

I have to thank Witch Doctor 01 for making my planks routine much more challenging this morning!

I was doing two minute straight planks and breathing easily, listening to some songs from the listening thread. I click on Happy Jack's Undrinkable Ale as I start, then about 30 seconds in I find that I'm trying to maintain the plank position while laughing!

Nothing like giggle fits to work the muscles that aren't already straining and make the morning routine go faster. Thanks Doc.

 

Now I have a question. What is "a lot" of planks. I'm doing three sets of 2 min straight, and 45 second on each side planks almost every night. Is that a lot? Is that enough? It seems to be working, but I'm doing lots of other stuff too.

I guess I'm just wondering what you all are doing for your plank routine.

 

I'm still doing very well, and enjoying myself in my new body. Fluctuating between 168 -172, but trending down.

I have had two guys at work get on-board with the Primal program. I also learned last night how to stop everything at the local alterations shop. I had arrived while the ladies were busy, so I'd been there a bit when one finally asked what she could help
me with. I explained that I'd lost forty pounds in the last 90 days and needed some trousers taken in. At that moment everything stopped. One lady asked if I was okay. Others asked how I had done it. I spent the next five minutes telling them about The Primal Blueprint and giving them the Mark's Daily Apple web address. They were genuinely excited.

I was happy to be spreading the good word.

 

Your most welcome

 

I went to the range this past weekend and ran into a couple old friends who I hadn't seen in several months. Their reactions to my new body were priceless. One asked if I'd been sick, and the other pulled me aside and almost whispered "Can I ask you a personal question? How come you're not fat anymore?"

Both of them, one who has thyroid problems, and the other who is nearing 100 years old, were curious about how I had made such a visible change, and how they could possibly benefit from the Primal Blueprint.

 

That had to make you feel good. I am enjoying your Primal journey, keep posting!

 

Oh, they're coming out of the woodwork now. Had a fella who used to work here stop by today. In his defense, I was near 235 when he left. He shook my hand and said "You're looking kinda scrawny." I had to bite my tongue, because I was thinking that teaching auto shop had turned him into a great big food blister.

By the time he left I had him taking notes too. ;-)

 

Ouch! I've suffered a physical setback since the surgery on my lower back to remove a lump. It's a back strain, unrelated to the surgery, although I did feel the internal stitches in the incision let go yesterday, which just felt weird. Wife says there's a deep purple bruise on my bony lower spine, and it sure hurts. Feels like a good old-fashioned pinched nerve, but the aching and inability to stand up straight has been going on for more than a week. Some improvement with tylenol and chemical heat patches, along with hot baths and ice cold showers. I guess it'll just take time to heal, but I have no idea how I hurt it to start with.

I'm confident that as long as I stick with Primal eating and get plenty of rest, I can work through this setback without any further interruption in my Primal Journey. That's a comfort.

 

When I wrecked my knee earlier this year and was basically couch bound for 3 months, as long as I stuck to Primal I didn't gain a pound. Wasn't until I dove off the wagon into the Mr.'s bag of Doritos that some weight came back. Amazing how 1. addictive processed trash is, and 2. how fast it piles pounds on you. Take some time off to rest up and heal, long as you stick to the program you'll be good.

 

My back seems to be getting much better, and my ego got a big boost yesterday.

Uniform company delivered eleven new pairs of trousers in size 32X30. Quite a change from my old 38X. Waist size is correct, even with an IWB holster, and length is just a tad short, but these things must be cut for a long legged man about half my height...or a teenager that wears them hanging off his butt. Even the zipper is the length of something that would fit on little kids trousers. I'll give them credit, they're trying, but I think they'll have to actually send someone out with a tailors tape to get me some trousers that fit everywhere.

 

Glad you are feeling better and sorry for the meme but you said the words that irks one of my pet peeves...