Wedding Prep

I’m getting married two months from today. I’ve been a little lax with my primal lifestyle, so it is time to get my body in shape.

Here is what I am doing:

• I cleared out my pantry, 100%. No non-primal foods around.
• Batch-cooking my meals on the weekends so I always have quality primal food around for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so that I don’t fall prey to convenience-eating non-primal food.
• Daily workouts from Mark Sisson’s 21 Day Total Body Transformation book. I’m not in the habit of structured exercise, so the step-up in the book is fitting. I will just repeat certain exercises for the last 40 days.
• Cutting out alcohol, except for one drink on the weekends. (I need a little bit of fun, you know?)
• Taking short breaks during the day to do squats and/or pushups by my desk. Even standing all day doesn’t necessarily keep the blood flowing, so this is my solution.

I’ll be tracking my progress by my pants size, the strength of my arms and legs, and my energy levels.

Here is how my batch-cooking went this weekend. In 3 hours on Sunday, I cooked:

• Carne asada
• Grilled chicken
• Roasted tri-tip
• Fennel, onion, mushroom, and chicken curry
• Sauteed kale and rainbow chard
• I am cooking the rest of the vegetables tomorrow. I had some leftover asparagus, so I ate that today.

I should be set for most, if not all, of the week. Now I have to do the workouts, but I’m thankful that I have an action plan already set up.

How do you get ready for summer?

30-Day Re-Introduction Challenge: Halfway There

Many of us are at least halfway through the 30-Day Re-Introduction Challenge, and it’s great to hear of everyone’s successes so far. My only slip-up came over the weekend when consuming a lethal amount of cheese at a work party. Every time I am tempted with cheese trays, I immediately become powerless to those delicious chunks of pure joy. While many of us can tolerate dairy, I have learned through experimentation that it gives me unpleasant bouts of fatigue.

While I often long for the days of consuming dairy indiscriminately, I have come to the harsh realization that it is not for me. If after 30 days something still feels out of whack with your well-being, consider an elimination diet of certain foods one at a time until you can pinpoint the problem. You will thank yourself for it in the long run.

Week One Down: Onto Week Two

Hello, fellow primal dieters! Last week was a difficult time to begin the “30-Day Re-Introduction Challenge.” My journey back to college, among other things, really made my commitment to this new lifestyle (if you can call it that) difficult. However, I powered through, overcame my cravings, and am ready to take on week two! 

Similarly to Chuck, I’ve have really missed bread this past week. The cravings really began to hit me around the third or fourth day, but as long as I kept myself busy and lightly snacked on some fruits and vegetables, I was able to move past my desire for bread. Luckily, I haven’t struggled too much with the cutback on refined sugar. Sure, I’ve had trouble limiting my intake, but I haven’t had any major cravings. 

Now that I’m back at college, I fear it will be harder for me to meet the requirement of 7-8 hours of sleep a night. This month’s challenge will not only test my ability to combat cravings and stay healthy, it will to force me to be more efficient and productive with my schoolwork.  

I know I’m going to have trouble limiting my caffeine intake in the next few weeks (I rely on coffee way too much). Tomorrow, I’m going to go the extra mile and order a Grande instead of a Venti—saying a little money will be nice, too.

Good luck with this week, everyone!  

Restoring Balance to the Primal Universe

Happy New Year, everyone! There’s nothing like the New Year to get motivated for another year of Primal bliss. So get back on the wagon (or is it off the wagon?) and join us. Getting started is the hardest part. The first few days may feel like death as your body cleanses itself, but it’s smooth sailing after that.

A tip I’ve heard from others is to drink chicken broth if you’re feeling like garbage. The “flu” you may feel in the first few days is often due to having depleted electrolytes, and the chicken broth helps to restore balance.

Another tip is to supplement with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil every day. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which help to accelerate fat burning (ketosis).

Last but not least, make sure to get plenty of rest and keep the end goal in mind. You will turn into a rare physical specimen with boundless energy. Others will look at you and be able to sense your greatness. You will be the envy of all who cross your path.

Preparation

Next week starts week 2 of the 30-Day Re-Introduction Challenge. This week, in addition to everything we did last week, we will cut out refined sugar entirely and put away our bottles of cognac.

Depending on how long you’ve been off of primal, the end of this first week may have been rough. You might still be suffering from cravings. If so, preparation will be key to staying on track next week. Even if you aren’t craving bagels every 20 minutes, preparing ahead of time can make staying 100% primal throughout the week much easier. I don’t know about you, but when I am stressed I don’t want to worry about making lunch. It is much easier to take a 5 minute walk to my favorite sandwich place. Luckily I have a plan.

I did my shopping on Saturday and spent part of the afternoon Sunday prepping for next week’s meals:

• I made Ham and Egg cups for my breakfasts. I also bought coconut kefir to start my day off on the right digestive foot.
• I made primal BLTs with avocado and homemade paleo roasted red pepper mayo for two lunches (recipe forthcoming).
• I have quality ham and lettuce wraps ready for two more lunches. (Will probably spread some of that delicious mayo on before I eat them.)
• I thawed frozen homemade soup for one lunch.
• Monday I am making London Broil and broccoli for dinner.
• Tuesday I am meeting a fellow foodie friend (fff) in the city for dinner. I will select something primal off of the menu.
• Wednesday I am having another friend over for dinner. I’m stuffing a pork tenderloin with chopped apples and making a pecan cashew butter glaze for it. Sides: Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and spinach creamed with coconut milk. Dessert: Banana pudding made with coconut milk and no added sugar.
• Thursday I am going to an Indian restaurant with yet another friend. (Good week for socializing!) He isn’t primal, but he prefers low carb meals, so we won’t have naan or rice with the meal.
• Friday I am having leftovers from Wednesday.
• Saturday and Sunday I will eat whatever I have left. I am going out of town the 22nd-23rd, so I don’t want to have a bunch of food in the fridge.
• I have homemade pecan-cashew butter, celery sticks, and cherries for snacks.

All of this took me about 4 hours total to plan, purchase, and prepare ahead of time (breakfast, lunches, and snacks) over the course of the weekend. Speaking from past experience, I am certain it will save me from decision-making headaches and impulse burgers.

Sometimes I even chop all of the veggies I am going to use for my dinners ahead of time, but that was unnecessary this week. Some weeks it is an absolute necessity and a huge time saver. Just like bulk-managing your email, bulk food prep will save you time and toil.

Do you have a plan in place for the week? Let me know in the comments!

Day 4

Phew. Glad to have powered through the past few days! I was craving diet coke like crazy yesterday afternoon and literally had to text a friend to dissuade me. It worked! I’ve avoided gluten all together. Bread hasn’t appealed to me very much at all. I do miss cereal. I’m doing alright, but I know when I have to eliminate dairy that I’ll run into issues; Milk and yogurt are two of my favorite things. I’ve been drinking a lot of water with lime and also having raw almonds to curb cravings. I feel more awake throughout the last 4 days and I know the trend will continue. Starting as of, well, 5 minutes ago, I am intermittently fasting until 12:30 PM tomorrow (so, roughly 16 hours). This was a very head-clearing part of my experience with the Primal Challenge originally and I’m excited to incorporate it again. Until later..

Cravings and Coping

Today is day 4 of the 30-Day Re-Introduction Challenge.

The cravings hit me this morning. I was fine Monday-Wednesday, but not today. I want to eat every piece of bread and candy I can find.

But I won’t. I’m being careful to cope with these cravings so I don’t fall off-track.

The first thing I do when a craving hits me especially hard is drink 1/2 glass of water. If after 10 minutes I’m still feeling it, then I have go-to snacks I planned out earlier in the week: Fresh cherries, roasted almonds, or if I am really hungry, a banana. The water is a good first response because it placates me and keeps me hydrated while helping my body flush out the gunk.

Of course, the cravings aren’t at zero and likely won’t be for another week and a half, but I am keeping the gluten dogs at bay by sticking to my plan.

Do you have a plan to deal with cravings so you don’t fall off? Let me know in the comments.

Re-Challenge

Greetings! After taking the primal challenge last year, I decided with Chuck and Jacob to take it again. It bred great results previously and I’m anxious to get started. I expect some drawbacks considering the lack of variety of pale-type food at my university, but I will power through! I’m hoping to convince some sorority sisters to take the challenge as well. I believe that cutting out dairy will be the most difficult aspect because of my morning yogurt or milk. Thankfully I will not eliminate dairy until week 4. Wish me luck!

30-Day Re-Introduction Challenge

Hello! It has been a while, modern-day cavefriends!

The last 4 months have taken a toll on me. I haven’t stayed primal and I can tell. My indigestion is back, I don’t have as much energy as I did when I was primal, I feel sluggish midday, I’m spending more time in front of the computer and less time getting exercise, and I’ve put some pounds back on around the midsection. Not good. Thankfully, I’ve at least maintained consistent use of my standing desk and haven’t reintroduced soda or fruit juice into my diet.

So, here is the deal. My wedding is in 6 months. I need to look good and feel good. I need to be on top of my game both at work and outside of work. My current state has to change. If I don’t change my habits, I will have no new outcomes.

Two friends from back home and I got spontaneously together on Twitter and decided to do the 30-day challenge again to start anew. Jacob Shalkhauser, Erica Gigliotti, and I have committed to the below and will post here on The Primal Challenge at least once a week during the next month.

In order to make a seamless transition back into being primal, here is our plan:

Week 1:
No bread.
No glowing screens for at least 30 minutes before bed.
Minimum 7-8 hours of sleep.
50% less refined sugar than normal.

Week 2:
No bread.
No glowing screens for at least 30 minutes before bed.
Minimum 7-8 hours of sleep.
No refined sugar.
No alcohol (with the exception of an occasional red wine.)

Week 3:
No grains of any kind.
No glowing screens for at least 30 minutes before bed.
Minimum 7-8 hours of sleep.
No refined sugar.
No alcohol (with the exception of an occasional red wine.)
Daily outdoor activity.
Cut back 50% on caffeine.
Watch at least one sunrise.

Week 4:
No grains of any kind.
No glowing screens for at least 30 minutes before bed.
Minimum 7-8 hours of sleep.
No refined sugar.
No alcohol (with the exception of an occasional red wine.)
Daily outdoor activity.
Cut back 75% on caffeine.
Watch at least one sunrise.
No dairy.

We start January 7. Once the month is over, our cravings should be gone and we should be able to maintain our primal lifestyle.

Are you going to join us? Dig through our archives for tips, recipes, and support!

Go Camping!

First, I want to admit it’s been so long since I’ve logged in that I forgot my password. Second, I’ll cover my tail by claiming that it’s because I’ve been too busy enjoying the outdoors to keep up with this (or any) blog. But, I’ve been thinking about this topic for a few months, and I’m excited to share my primal feasts with all of you – I hope you have also been enjoying the fruits of the harvest this summer!

In the 40-hour workweek world, vacation is important – but it can be challenging to fit vacation into your schedule, budget, and primal lifestyle. So, go camping! Camping is a quick, cost effective and healthy way to spend your days off and fulfill the vacation desires of your entire family. I camped several times this summer, and each time provided unique and satisfying options for my physical and spiritual nourishment. Each camping trip also posed unique “survival” challenges from scarce kindling and extreme summer heat the weekend of July 4th, to poor air quality (from natural dust due to dryness) and chilly dampness (from late night and early morning dew) this past weekend. I don’t need to tell you that you can enjoy camping on private grounds or at State and National parks in any part of the US all year round, so I’ll just show you a few of the delicious primal meals I cooked for myself and my tribe over the fires I built this summer. If you’re in or near Ohio like I am, I encourage you to pack up and head out into the wilderness for a weekend ASAP.

(Hints for photos: LOOK AT THOSE SHRIMP – so easy: olive oil, salt & pepper. The foil packs have artichoke stuffed mushrooms and grilled mushrooms, onions & peppers with marinara (respectively). Random veggies from the farmer’s market we passed on the way. Leftovers always used with eggs and cherries for breakfast. A variety of sausages: blueberry breakfast, bratwurst, cheddar beer, italian…and can you find the “fake meat”/soy patties and dogs the vegetarian brought (not as beautiful or natural as the real food)? Smokey the Bear would be proud we put our fire out with ice before leaving our campsite during the hottest and driest summer on record.

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August Whole30 Challenge

Whole30 is putting on a challenge beginning today, August 1, to follow their program for 30 days. For those looking to get back on the straight and narrow, now is a great time. Read the rules and give it a shot! Who’s with me?

Weekend Challenge: Unplug for a Day

This weekend, I challenge you to unplug for 24 hours. Don’t check your phone, your email, don’t turn on the TV, and don’t surf the web.

Instead, get outside to play, think, read a physical book that has been sitting on your shelf for a while, spend some time with the people you love, spend some alone time with your significant other, write someone a letter, or go out and explore.

Take note of how much more you notice when your head isn’t buried in a phone or behind a computer screen. (You don’t want to look like these people, do you?)

When you come back on the grid, drop by and leave a comment about your experience. Did your stress levels drop? Were you more focused on the things that matter? What did you do?

Battling Stress and Sharpening Focus: Unplugging

Part of the primal lifestyle is managing stress in order to live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Here is one way I’ve been combating stress recently. I hope it helps! -Chuck
–

The last week of June and the first week of July, I was struggling with major burnout, both at work and with my personal projects. Nothing I did seemed to shake it. I was getting adequate sleep, I buckled down and finished some of the projects that were giving me anxiety, I worked from a coffee shop in the afternoons (a change of scenery usually helps), but I was still burned out and irritated about it.

Come the evening of July 3, still no change. Since I had the next day off of work, I decided to do something I haven’t done in a long time. Relax. I mean really, truly relax. With no distractions. I put an auto-responder on my work email, texted those closest to me and told them I was going to be unplugged for the next 24 hours, then shut off my phone and my email and put them out of sight.

Unplugging might be fairly easy for you, but it surely isn’t for me. My livelihood is directly related to me being online and working on my computer. Even outside of business hours, I constantly monitor multiple websites, social media channels, and my email. If anything happens, I am on it. Unfortunately, this adds more stress to my life than I realized.

After I shut everything off, I read for an hour and then went to bed. At that point, I was a little unsure whether or not unplugging would help, but I didn’t think it could hurt at all. After all, I was so stressed out that it couldn’t have made things worse. It was nice to read without distractions for an hour, though.

The next morning, I awoke well-rested (without an alarm clock) and didn’t immediately reach for my phone, which was still turned off and sitting in my bag in the other room. I got out of bed, grabbed a glass of water, and sat on the couch for an hour as I gazed out of my window at Midtown Atlanta. For the first time in a while I sat and thought without mindlessly surfing Twitter, checking my email, or refreshing my Instagram feed. It felt good.

The rest of the day went pretty well, too. I didn’t go to any July 4 parties or fireworks shows–I just stayed around the apartment with my fiancee and read, relaxed, and cooked. When I am not tired or stressed, I absolutely love cooking. By lunch time, I was in good enough spirits again to cook and enjoy it.

The biggest advantage I had from turning my technology off was regaining my focus. I didn’t realize how much I mindlessly check my email, Instagram, and Twitter on my phone. When I pause to think, my phone comes out and I do little to no actual thinking. Without distractions though, I was able to plow through The Brothers Karamazov at a really good rate.

For more on reducing stress by turning off technology, read (or watch) these:
Taking Email Vacations Can Reduce Stress, Study Says

Paid Vacation? That’s Not Cool. You Know What’s Cool? Paid, PAID Vacation.

Brad Feld’s Quarterly Week Off the Grid (TEDx)

My goal is to do one night during the work week off the grid, as well as either Saturday or Sunday each week, depending on what my plans for the weekend are. I know it won’t be easy, but I can’t afford burnout.

Unplugging really does help in managing stress and improving focus. Do you routinely unplug? Do you have tips for the rest of us? Let us know in the comments.

A Review of Whole9′s Foundations’s of Nutrition workshop

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a Whole9 workshop led by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, “Foundations of Nutrition.”  It was only halfway through the day when I thought, “wow, this was time and money well spent.”  The workshop was superb.

The first time I heard of Dallas and Melissa and the Whole9 was when they were featured on one of the first Robb Wolf Paleo Solution podcasts a couple years back (though I just heard it a few months ago).  They fill a much needed niche in the whole paleo world – winsomely urging strict adherance to healthy nutrition.  Why is this important?  Others won’t be convinced to give paleo a shot without winsome persuasiveness. Dallas and Melissa focus on the positives and not the negatives (“eat nutrient dense food” vs. (don’t eat grains”).  And ultimately if one keeps “cheating”, eating paleo won’t do much for them as the body will still be suffering chronic inflammation (among other ills) due to the continued cheats.

The workshop was an all day event from 9 – 5, with an hour lunch break.  For lunch they hosted a paleo caterer. Way to go!  Boy, was it delicious.  They opened by explaining that nutrition is the foundation and most important component of health. And while there are certainly other important aspects of life to get under control they are secondary.

They tagged team well together explaining the four criteria for good food, then moved on to which foods pass and fail those criteria. This was all very fascinating.  Frankly, they make it all easy understand and take in when they start with the reasoning, then move on to the conclusions, instead of giving the conclusions first.

Why would I recommend attending if they are ever in your area?
1. You get to hear from them in person, which is quite different and can be more personalized and beneficial than simply a book or website.
2. You will learn a lot about health and nutrition, especially if you are an auditory learner.
3. You will be challenged to start the Whole30 program (30 days of eating nutrient dense food).
4. You will be given a shopping guide, and other very useful materials to make nutrition a reality in your life.
5. You will meet others from your area who are also interested in starting or continuing these healthy habits.

I couldn’t give this workshop a higher recommendation. Given the time they work with Dallas and Melissa do a slam dunk at explaining the fundamentals winsomely.

My only suggestions for change in the future would be that they try to leave some time at the end to talk about some common problems people run into with paleo, like the food gets boring after awhile or what to do while traveling or eating out.

More fish love

Following up on Chuck’s fish post, I just want to say I’m glad he brought up the importance of fish on this blog.

Like Chuck, I have been eating it infrequently, maybe once per month at best, mostly because I am a cheap bastard. In lieu of fish, I have been supplementing with high-quality Omega-3 fish oil (try Carlson or the Vitamin Shoppe brand), but there really is no substitute for wild-caught salmon and other cold water fish.

Most paleo circles recommend an Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio anywhere from 1:1 to 3:1. On the Standard American Diet, the ratio can typically reach 20:1. Some of the benefits of Omega-3 intake include:

• Improved brain health
• Improved heart health
• Protection against Alzheimer’s
• Protection against cancer
• Protection against depression
• Improved skin health
• Protection against bowel disorders
• Protection against arthritis

Other ways to ensure your ratio is in balance include:

• Avoiding processed vegetable oils like canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, and soybean oils
• Eating grass-fed and pasture-raised meats
• Eating eggs from pasture-raised hens
• Avoiding farm-raised fish

For a wealth of information on Omega-3′s, see Whole9′s Fish Oil FAQ.