Hot Diggity's Primal Journey

Sounds like my wife and yours are related! @hot diggity

 

@hot diggity I so enjoy your posts. Thank you for sharing your primal journey. oh and that was for the female contingent

 

I bought a pair of UDT shorts today. I never thought I'd wear shorts quite this short again, and certainly not once I passed 50. It just struck me as really strange that I'll have a tan from my knees down next summer if I keep wearing board shorts. I've got the legs for it now, and they are good looking shorts. Maybe I'll just cut the insides out of a pair of old board shorts and wear them over the UDT shorts when I'm not actually on the beach. This would be the male version of the little wrap skirts that the hot chicks wear to cover their bikini bottoms when they are leaving the beach.

 

Is it just me, or have others become so fat adapted that excess carbohydrate intake acts like a strong sleep aid? I felt like I was in a coma on Christmas day after eating two pieces of ("Gasp!") coconut cream pie and a piece of chocolate cake. The same thing happened New Years Eve after just two mid afternoon chocolate truffles. I don't have a sweet tooth, or cravings for this stuff, I'm just trying to be polite, and try stuff that's offered. It seems I may just have to warn people that if they won't let me politely decline their offer they will have to deal with me falling asleep on them, drooling, and snoring.

 

People talk of the sugar high but IMO the crash and lethargy that happens after is much worse. I threw away pies & stuff after the holidays. I didn't wan it in the house and I felt awful. Not one person bought fruit as a gift but they sure brought cookies and candy etc...

Interesting isn't it. Some just won't take no but they wouldn't be pushing that stuff on a diabetic.

 

I've used the diabetic line on strangers. It's a concept that most folks understand. Occasionally I'll get questions about what medication I'm on, and have to explain that I control my sugar with diet alone.

 

I have noticed a change in my morning Primal Plunge in the shower. When I started doing it I would turn the water on full blast and full cold, let it shock me and then flee as fast as I could and shut it off. Now I turn it on and let it blast the back of my head, then lean backwards until it flows down my face for as long as I can hold my breath. Then I completely rinse off with the ice cold water, which has gotten even colder in the winter. I find myself moving back under the icy cold water, sometimes several times, instead of fleeing to get out of range. I couldn't think of ending a shower with hot water anymore, and this morning jolt starts my day off in a happy way.

I'm wondering if anyone else has found that they've become cold adapted as they've pursued the Primal Blueprint lifestyle?

 

I heard a mosquito buzz past my ear yesterday, but he didn't bite me. Mosquitoes in January. Today it's 33 degrees. Typical Coastal NC weather.

I'll have to wait til next summer to really test this, but has anyone found that the change to a primal diet makes them less attractive to biting pests?

 

I will let you know this spring/summer here is AZ. They eat me alive when I go out in the evening to feed up.

 

I have once again mastered the art of cast iron frying pan seasoning! But only after an old non-stick frying pan habit had screwed it up the first time. I was in the habit of breaking my eggs in the hot frying pan, and then whipping them around with a bamboo spatula.
Apparently this is enough to damage the seasoning, or at least cause things to stick. When I mix the eggs in a bowl and pour them into the hot pan they will slide right off. Makes cleanup a bunch easier too.

This pan is serviceable, but the sides are quite steep, and I've found that I spill the stuffing out of my omelets if I try to slide them out onto a plate. The solution here was easy. Hold a couple paper plates on top of the frying pan and just invert the whole thing. Omelet and any loose fillings flop onto plate and frying pan is ready for cleaning and storage. I'll be keeping an eye open for a 10" pan with a shallower angle at the sides, but this one makes beautiful omelets.

 

Acceptance: This is the point I have reached this morning.

I have to accept that my socks will slide down into my boots unless I lace them really tight, because my feet are skinny now. My 32" trousers do not have the same zipper length as the old 38" trousers, and this is normal, even if it feels about as odd as going down a flight of stairs and having a half step at the bottom. That's what you get when you make big changes in trouser size.

These are small inconveniences, and are more than compensated for every morning when I hop out of bed full of energy, and each time I see my reflection. When women in the office say "I'll have whatever Hot Diggity is having for lunch." you know you're getting noticed.

There is only forward from here. No going back.

 

I did notice that it's easier to run my laps up and down the industrial stairs at work if I count only the number of times I hit the bottom step on the way down, and not each individual step on each trip up them. This seems to make it easier somehow, and I arrive at the top step with more spring than if I was counting them, knowing that there are sixteen to the top.

I've also noticed that I can't put my boots on before my trousers now. These new trousers have what I would call "cigarette legs" if I had to describe them. They seem really skinny, but it's just my skewed perception from years of living in a big mans clothes.

 

Winter weather finally arrived here on the beach this weekend. No barefoot sprints on the beach this week, but I did do a set of sprints in all my cold weather gear minus parka. Big insulated boots didn't feel nearly as heavy as I expected.

I spent much of the weekend outdoors at work, snacking almost continuously on nuts, veggies and fruit to stay warm. Last nights supper was a delicious roast, and I ate plenty. This morning I wasn't surprised when I didn't feel the least bit hungry, and since it was Monday and I was running late already I decided to skip my Primal omelet. This set me up for a nice 16 hour intermittent fast (IF) if I ate nothing until noon. This was the first time I had done this intentionally, and I found it effortless. No hunger pangs, no lack of energy. I might have even had a little increase in mental clarity, although on a Monday morning just making it to work without getting lost is generally a good start.

I've definitely reached a happy place with my weight, varying no more than 4 pounds in the past couple months. If this is my ideal body composition, I can get used to that. If I want to experiment with greater reduction in body fat at this point I have to adjust my thinking to maintain muscle while only reducing fat. This is where IF will fit nicely into my life. With no real need to eat at breakfast time each morning I will simply skip my morning meal occasionally and see where this leads. If it is a breakthrough in body fat reduction without muscle loss I will be pleased. If it just makes my egg money stretch further, that's something anyway.

 

As I made my Primal omelet this morning I thought it might be a good idea to jot down the process to see how it evolves over time.

I store my cast iron pan upside down on the pop rack of the oven to protect the precious surface. There's an S hook on the handle, so if the oven is needed my pan can be hung up in the pantry.

First step in my omelet ritual is always to put a big chunk of real butter in the pan. Cut from a stick, it's usually a piece about 3/8" thick. I'm sure that translates to something in tablespoons. The butter melts on low heat while I break out the rest of the makings and pile them on a double paper plate. Shredded cheese, cut up meat, onions, peppers, and sliced olives is the usual routine. I might leave off the olives and peppers, but the rest seems pretty essential. Two eggs get whipped up in a bowl using the bamboo spatula, and about the time the butter is all melted I'm ready to pour the eggs into the pan and flip the stove to high heat.

While the eggs are cooking I have time to put everything back in the refrigerator, wash the bowl, knife and spatula, and get the salt shaker and pepper grinder out of the cupboard. As soon as I see the generous amount of melted butter start to bubble around the edges I slip the bamboo spatula under an edge, tilt the pan at a 45 degree angle and flip the omelet over. The stove is turned off at this point, since the pan retains enough heat to finish the process. Pepper and salt are added, and the remaining ingredients are pushed from the paper plate onto one side of the eggs. After some arranging to get everything well distributed I can flip the egg over into the classic omelet shape and mash everything down a little with the spatula to get the cheese to stick it all together.

My cast iron pan has relatively steep edges, so I've found it near impossible to slide the completed omelet out without the innards spilling out. My solution has been to use the paper plates that I prepared the makings on. I just lay them over the top of the frying pan and invert the whole thing. The omelet falls perfectly preserved onto the plate and it's only necessary to poke the last remaining onions or cheese that remains in the pan with the spatula to clean it up.

Final cleaning before storing the pan is as simple as wiping it out with a folded paper towel. There is usually a nice coating of butter remaining, and the pan is still hot enough that this will add to the seasoning as the pan cools naturally in the oven.
The whole process takes just a few minutes and starts my day off with an energy boost and a smile.

 

What Primal Blueprint Law mentioned avoiding trauma? Twice this week I have been a bit clumsy and suffered the consequences.

First was a stumble up the industrial stairs. Jammed my fingers through the open grating of the step, and momentum carried my body a couple of steps higher. Fingers don't like to be bent in that direction, but they seem to be just sore and stiff.

Second incident was a slip while mounting a very large tire and wheel assembly. This felt like it would rip my right shoulder out of the socket, but although it was initially painful, causing me to drop the tire, it has recovered quickly.

I have to put more emphasis on self preservation.

 

Finally got in for my annual physical and the doctor spotted my weight loss immediately. After going over my test results she took me off both my blood pressure medications and my cholesterol medication. This is to be on a test basis, and I will return in 90 days to have my cholesterol checked again. It felt good to take my pills this morning knowing that it was just vitamins.

I've gotten used to the questions about how I lost the weight, but yesterday it was all ladies who are in the medical field. The nurses in the office wanted to know about my test results. Several of them commented on the bulging veins in my lean arms, but the young lady that took my blood was the funniest. She wrapped the band around my arm and handed me the ball to squeeze as she does with every patient. Then she stopped...stared at my arm, took the band off and said. "I guess we won't be needing those, I can see your veins just fine." She was more interested in the science behind the weight loss, and said she'd be shopping for The Primal Blueprint.

167.3 yesterday. Happy, happy, happy!

 

@hot diggity

Way to go girl!!! Thats my goal too, to kill the meds.

Got another 20 lbs to go right at about 220 now and I need to spend some more time concentrating on the physical conditioning.

 

First day in the sun this year. It was 65 and overcast when I did my Sunday morning sprints on the beach. It cleared up nicely in the afternoon and I had an opportunity to get a little sun while I did the seasonal service on the lawn mower. It started on the fourth pull and idled happily for an hour and a half on what appeared to be only a tablespoon or so of treated gas left in the tank from last year.

I'm not lobster red, but I am a nice even pink. Sun avoidance has been my primary concern when outside for years. Now, on no meds that warn against exposure to sunlight, I embrace it, although respectfully, and in moderation.

 

I know the answer may be to just not get on the scale every day, but this has been my routine for months. I've been between 168 and 172 for at least six months. Lately I'm seeing that I'm staying on the high side of this normal weight, and in trying to figure it out I have wondered if I might be gaining muscle. I am certainly doing more pushups, and the rest of the Primal Essential Movements seem to be easier now.

Without a way to test body fat percentage I guess I just have to ignore the scale and go by what the mirror tells me. It says I'm doing something right.