Going Primal - My 90 Day Journey to Health

I've been working on transitioning from my SAD food habits to PB and have been wiening myself off of Diet-Mt. Dew for a few months before that, so this just gave me to push to quit completely. I have access to a water cooler here at work and have been drinking plain water. I understand your stress about the soda pops thing because I still feel the urge to pop the top from hour to hour. So far, I've been able to resist.

I've been sugar free for a week now and grain free for two days. It's tough, but I firmly believe the change in lifestyle will be worth it, once I get the menu figured out. Every time I read about it, I say to myself, "That's easy enough." However, when I'm standing in the kitchen looking into the refrigerator, all thoughts of those great looking menu items vanish from my head, so I'm having trouble coming up with dinner ideas. I'm trying to think of something for dinner tonight while I type this...

I'm committed to this plan though and pushing through the cravings. So far, I've lost 4.4 pounds in just the first week. I don't think that's water weight since I've been hitting my water bottle regularly.

 

Coffee, tea (unsweetened, iced), water, fruit juice (100% no sugar added, no HFCS, I like calcium added orange juice, of course in moderation), herbal teas (sweetened with raw, unfiltered honey), unsweetened flavored carbonated water (no sweeteners at all), my Primal Ginger Ale (a fully primal recipe of ginger ale, using water, honey, ginger, and a small amount of yeast for carbonation), the occasional glass of wine, or my once a week cheat, a beer.

 

Primal Ginger Ale
Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces finely grated fresh ginger
6 ounces honey (raw unfiltered is best)
7 1/2 cups filtered water
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Place the ginger, honey, and 1/2 cup of the water into a 2-quart saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir until the honey has dissolved. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to steep for 1 hour.

Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing down to get all of the juice out of the mixture. Chill quickly by placing over and ice bath and stirring or set in the refrigerator, uncovered, until at least room temperature, 68 to 72 degrees F.

Using a funnel, pour the syrup into a clean 2-liter plastic bottle and add the yeast, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups of water. Place the cap on the bottle, gently shake to combine and leave the bottle at room temperature for 48 hours. Open and check for desired amount of carbonation. It is important that once you achieve your desired amount of carbonation that you refrigerate the ginger ale. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, opening the bottle at least once a day to let out excess carbonation.

My last batch was made in July. I use glass bottles with ceramic and rubber "corks" like the old fashioned soft drinks and some beers still come in. I just cracked open the last bottle of the batch yesterday, and it is super fizzy, and exceptionally tasty.

Every family used to have a "soft drink" recipe or two, like root beer, saspirilla, etc. I just love ginger ale.

 

Looks good.. Will put that on the to do list for spring..

 

Oh, I drink about 4 ounces every few days with my 10 egg breakfast. No worries, I don't consume much in the way of fruit/fruit juices. Hence the "in moderation".

 

I started the Primal Diet on January 7th. I was inspired by others here end thought I would give it a try. My Dr. cleared me that morning to start walking at the local health club. I wasn't able to do very much since my wreck and resulting surgery. First two days I walked 1 mile,next 4 days I walked 2 miles per day, now I am walking 4 miles a day, slow but steady,and going to increase it to 5 miles tomorrow. I have lost 9 lbs and am really starting to feel better and I feel like I have more energy than I have had in a while!

 

Keep at it Sapper, I am recovering from an acidant myself and am working on getting all the muscle lost in my left leg.. And trying to not put on any more weight..

 

I have always loved walking. I have spent the last 14 months trying to recover from the head on collision that I was in and over 9 months of physical therapy.I was forced to retire early, so now I have plenty of time to try to work myself back into shape.

 

Mine would be three eggs lightly over easy fried in bacon grease on top of refried medalions of baked sweet potato covered with butter, sausage or crispy bacon or ham or all chopped up on top of the eggs. Through in a couple cups of strong black coffee and I am ready for the day..
Dogs do like Buckwheat pancake days.. Always have a couple for them..

 

Melbo: I like your evening beverage of choice recipe. You and I are on the same page with that one.

I've been on mostly water lately with a little (6-8 oz.) coconut water every once in a while.

I'm having my greatest trouble with my stomach being full and not hungry, but he mind telling me I need something. It's a very weird feeling to know it's all chemically related to the sugar rush I've been feeding my body for too long. I'd hope that these cravings would stop some time, but like many addictions, I wonder if they never completely abate and that's what drives people off of any diet. That continuous nagging addiction that will be there for years until you simple learn to reprogram your mind that there're other food items that are the answer for those cravings.

It seems to me that, of those that begin the PB lifestyle change, many fail between 12 and 24 months because they yield to the constant cravings. Many come back and re-start, but many never do. I equate this to smoking and when I quit smoking, it was almost three years before I finally noticed, one day, that I wasn't having any desires, or cravings, for a cigarette. It was really a case of noticing what wasn't there instead of what was there.

I've signed up for the long haul and am still struggling with getting my food inventory in place to allow my cooking habits to change.