Getting My Primal On
Comments (2) Good Morning/Afternoon folks! Well, as you all know, it is Friday. It has been a long week my friends! I feel like I’ve been studying and working on projects non stop. Well, today I need not worry about any of that. Sweet!
So, if you guys read my title for this post, you will see that I’m going “primal”. What does that mean? Well, for the past year I’ve been reading Mark’s Daily Apple. Actually, this was the first blog I ever stumbled upon in the blogoshpere. I actually never knew that blogs existed or what they were before MDA. For people who don’t know what MDA is all about read here, and here. And, to quickly summarize, the Primal Blueprint is all about eating and living life similar to how our ancestors ate and moved.
I have been fascinated by the idea that how we are eating today is only a small blip on the radar of how we ate for thousands of years prior to the agricultural revolution. Here is an excerpt from The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan that mirrors Mark Sisson’s viewpoints:
“Taking the long view of human nutrition, we evolved to eat the sort of food available to hunter-gatherers, most of whose genes we’ve inherited and whose bodies we still (more or less) inhabit. Humans have had less than ten thousand years-an evolutionary blink-to accustom our bodies to agricultural food, and as far as our bodies are concerned, industrial agricultural food-a diet based largely on a small handful or staple grains, like corn-is still a biological novelty.”
I can’t help but agree and think that this makes sense. Grains and sugar are by-products of industrial agriculture. We as humans did not eat such carbohydrate rich foods until they starting being processed. Looking at our society today, many of the preventable diseases afflicting our western nation are related to high carb and high sugar diets (as well as high fat). On the counterpoint, there are many cultures in other countries that subsist mainly off grains and do not have the health problems of Americans. The people of Kenya are an example, who eat ugali on a daily basis. Also, the people of Japan eat white rice, yet are some of the healthiest people in the world. Maybe it has something to do with how their culture evolved as compared to the people of North America. It could also have to do with the fact that both Kenyans and the Japanese do not over-eat the way that westerners do. The reasons for the high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer in America cannot be blamed on just one thing. However, the idea that we are not made to digest grains and sugar is a compelling one. For example, there are numerous people who are gluten intolerant. I’ve never heard of broccoli intolerance or steak intolerance. Two of the most common food intolerances, lactose and gluten, are directly related to carbohydrates.
All of the reading I’ve done on eliminating grains and sugars from our diets has simply made me think. I’ve looked at both sides of the argument, too. I mean, aren’t grains the largest part of the food pyramid? Aren’t whole grains heart healthy and contain lots of fiber? I’ve heard the advice to never completely cut out a food group, too. I’m also a proponent of eating without deprivation. How can we deprive ourselves of warm french bread, frozen yogurt, pancakes and waffles? On the no-grain side, I’ve thought about how I personally feel when I eat a diet loaded with grains and sugar. I feel my blood sugar go up and down, my energy level crash after partaking in a cup of frozen yogurt, that film on your tongue when you eat sugar. I just don’t feel good when I eat a lot of grains and sugar. This could just be me and have nothing to do with evolution or anything. Let’s just say…I’m curious about this whole primal thing.
So, this all brings me to the point that I am going to try the primal diet for a week. Just one week of no sugar, no grains. I’ve been reading about it and pondering it for enough time now that I think I need finally give it a go.
Now, I know that many many people may and probably do disagree with the whole “no grain” thing. For one, this is NOT a low carb diet. It is a no grain diet. Mark does not say…don’t eat fruit, eat bacon wrapped in cheese for a snack, etc. like the Atkins Diet promotes. Also, the primal blueprint is about much more than just eating. It is a true lifestyle. Mark promotes eating locally and organic. He also promotes grass fed and finished beef. There is much much more involved, too. I encourage you all to just take a look around his site, and other primal supporting sites, too (he has a blogroll).
Here’s what I’m going to do this week to “get primal.”
- eat no grains. This means…no ezekiel bread, no oats (gasp!), no pancakes, etc.
- eat no added sugars. This means…no cookies, no frozen yogurt, etc.
- focus my diet on meat, beans, nut butters, vegetables, fruit, milk and any other non-grain, non-sugar foods in my pantry and fridge
- try to not think about what I’m giving up and more focusing on the new, fun recipes and foods I can try and experiment with
Here’s what I’m not doing:
- I’m still going to exercise the way I normally do. Mark recommends no excessive cardio, like running for extended periods of time. I run, a lot. He says that excess cardio makes your body rely on carbs too much. Well, I just can’t see myself giving up running, and it’s not plausible for this week, as I’m in the middle of the XC season. So, I will be running.
- I’m not going “low-carb.” Mark recommends eating around 100-150g of carbohydrate a day. I’m pretty sure I can’t sustain my daily runs on that amount. However, instead of getting my extra carbohydrate from grains, I will eat more fruit, vegetables and starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes).
- I am going to eat dairy
- I am going to eat conventionally raised meat. I just simply cannot afford to buy grass fed beef at this time.
So, I’m not following the primal blueprint to a T, but I’m going to do my best with what I have and know. Essentially, I’m more just focusing my diet on whole foods. We’ll see how it goes.
If anyone wants to do this with me feel free! I’d love to have other people experimenting to see how they feel on no-grains, too!
Like usual I’ll be sharing pictures of my food. And at the end of the week (next Friday), I’ll share with you guys how I feel after a week with no grain. I’m going to try really hard to not slip up…but I’m human. I have a feeling I’m going to get some major sugar cravings! Wish me luck!
So, to begin my primal journey, I’ll share with ya’ll my breakfast.
I made a two egg omlet stuffed witha small handful of spinach and 1/2 ounce of sharp cheddar cheese.
I also had a banana topped with about 2 tbsp. of peanut butter.
I’ve gotta say…this was delish! I’m looking forward to making more primal breakfasts!
See ya’ll later and enjoy your Friday!
I had a salad with greens, broccoli, cuke, carrot and sunflower seeds. I dressed it with some TJs caesar dressing. I’ve been getting a bit tired of beans in my salads, so I decided to get my protein from some yogurt. Thus, dessert was 1/2c. lowfat plain yogurt and strawberries. It was a lighter lunch than usual, but I actually really liked that. I felt lighter and more energized eating a little bit less for lunch. I may need to make a habit out of having lighter lunches.
Just after Jacob picked up that pepper, like 12 of them fell off onto the floor. I laughed…oh yes I did!
The article was titled “Nibble Your Way to Slim.” I looked at the food they were touting as “slim down” foods, and I have to say, I was a bit appalled. For all you guys who have read my story, I am an advocate for real food…and sure, I don’t eat “real” food all the time, but I try to eat as much real food as possible. And if I do eat a packaged food, I try to pick one that has ingredients that I recognize and know are not too harmful. So, when I saw that they were advocating Nesquik, sugar-free jello, weight watchers brownies and a bunch of other extremely processed “diet” foods, it made me a bit angry inside. A lot of women read Shape and other “health” magazines in an effort to lose weight, get toned, look better, get healthy, etc. I feel that it is irresponsible for a magazine that does have so much influence on people to advocate foods such as these. 
This was okay, but I have to say that my favorite Pinot Grigio is the one from Bianchi! However, this was still refreshing and light. On the way to my friends (Aaron and Kailee) house, I got a but munchy so I ate some carrots and celery with peanut butter.
Most of the time, when I go to a party, there is never food that I like to eat, so I just bring my own snacks or I bring a healthy dish to share. Well, they didn’t need me to bring anything, so I packed myself my veggies and pb and a Clif Mojo bar for later (which I ended up eating during the evening).
I drank about 1/3 of it. I’m not a big soda fan…I think the last time I had a soda was…a year ago? I did like the flavor and liked how the soda was sweetened with sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup. I probably would not buy these, but it was a sweet, and bubbly treat.
I had one shot… I wasn’t much in the drinking mood.
It was a fun night. I hadn’t seen any of my friends for about a month… I’ve been so busy!! It was so nice to see them and celebrate!
The jar I used was huge…I usually buy the big jar of peanut butter because it’s cheaper. So the oats only went about half-way up the jar. But I had a long spoon to eat it with…so it worked out well! I made my oats with milk, banana, and chia seeds. I mixed in ground flax and cinnamon and I topped the oats with trail mix and a teaspoon of peanut butter + the peanut butter left in the jar. MMmm mmm good.
I had a tuna pita. I stuffed a whole wheat pita with 1/4 avocado, canned tuna in water, carrots, tomato, lettuce and mustard. I also had double chocolate chip muffin.
I’m just about off work…so yay! I’m doing a little dance in my head right now 
Themocracy