Nothing I love like a good Polka – really! They are just such good, foot-stomping fun. I know that makes me the ultimate geek. I’d be embarrassed about that except that I claimed my title years ago and now just wear my Linux shirt with pride. Besides, when was the last time you polka’d? I want to hear no sarcastic witticisms from you people until you get out there and chicken dance. Plus? It’s a fab workout.
Know something else I love? (Besides ridiculous non-sequiters?) Updates!
First Up: Primal Blueprint
I’ll give you the good news first: Not a single grain has crossed my lips for 8 days now. I’ve eaten a lot of meat. And I think I’m single-handedly keeping the raw nut industry in the black. Surprisingly (to me), my workouts have not suffered for lack of grains. I’m enjoying CrossFit this time around just as much as the first – which is to say I hate every second of doing it but I love the results. Also good: no jelly beans, ice cream, candy, cookies or any other sugary nonsense! Which is even more impressive considering what, um, time of the month in it is (see the bad news for more on that). I honestly feel like I’ve had more energy and have been more stable without the white satan.
Staying true to the primal blueprint, I included one day of intermittent fasting – no food for 24 hours. I’d be all proud about that except that I’m pretty used to it seeing as it’s part of my religion (I’m LDS).
I did cheat however. While I had no problem giving up the moo juice, it ended up being too much to kiss all my beloved dairy good-bye so I made a concession and allowed myself one Greek yogurt a day. Which sadly has become the highlight of my Paleo culinary experience. It’s also been kinda rough transitioning from full-veg to full-meat. I only ate red meat once and wanted to throw up for hours afterward but fish and chicken seem to be going down nicely. I haven’t dared try any pork products yet. The worst part is probably the sticker shock when buying my grass-fed, organic dead animals. (Sorry, old habits die hard.)
On the carb front, I think I’ve been OD’ing on the fruit. Since I “can’t” eat grains or sugar and my CSA gave me a delicious basket of picked-that-day organic peaches, plums and melons I’ve been having a week-long fruit binge. In the end though I still managed to keep my carbs under 100g per day.
Now for the bad news: I’ve gained two pounds. This does not please me. Especially as I was hoping to lose the nine pounds from the overtraining debacle that are still clinging to my thighs. However, I can’t blame the Paleo diet solely for this as there are, ahem, girly hormonal issues at work this week. Plus Gym Buddy Allison tells me she thinks I’ve gained some muscle. (I tell you, everybody needs a Gym Buddy Allison!) Go CrossFit shoulders!!
Next week I think I will have to cut out the yogurt (sigh…), about half the fruit and probably some of the nuts as well if I want to start seeing results. Seriously people, I ate so many nuts this week that squirrels were giving me support-group pamphlets.
Second: L-Carnitine
If you remember, Reader Shellie has been conducting her own L-Carnitine research study (sample size = 1). She experienced phenomenal success with it the first month. So how has she fared in the second? Her report:
[Following a 1-week hiatus] I have been back on it for a week now. In that week I have dropped 2 ½ lbs and ½ inch off my bust, waist and hips each. (I keep asking myself how I could possibly lose any more of my breasts, but down they go. Actually, I think I am mostly taking fat off my back.) I can now get into every pair of jeans I own and coming very close to getting into my smallest skirts, shorts and pants. Hooray! N says he thinks he could bounce a quarter off my butt, but he has yet to try. I will keep you posted (on my weight loss I mean, not the quarter.) I am getting more confident that this is real weight loss and I will not yo-yo back up as long as I stay the course.
As grateful as I am that L-Carnatine seems to have done the trick for me as a catalyst to weight loss, I certainly won’t be climbing any rooftops and shouting to the world that this a is miracle cure for anyone looking to lose weight. Although I could totally be wrong, I think there were a few factors key to my success.
1. 1. My metabolism was screwy and I couldn’t convert fat into something useful on my own. When a person presumably burns a good 500-800 calories more than they consume day after day, week after week, there is a strong mathematical probability they will lose weight. Yet I couldn’t lose anything. I kept gaining and I was tired, nauseated and dragging.
2. 2. I had fat to lose. It is very possible that the reason L-Carnatine didn’t work for you and Allison is not just the dose, but that your body didn’t have extra fat to burn. According to a BMI calculator (for what it’s worth,) I started out at 26.2%. My first big drop in weight on the L-Carnatine took me right to 24.9% which is officially the top of the “normal” bracket and out of “overweight.” When I got off the L-Carnatine, my weight loss slowed. Started back up on the supplements and it dropped again, but this time not as dramatically. I am now 23.9% fat. And I don’t think the calculator tells the full story because I have built a considerable amount of muscle that works against me on the scale. I am curious to know my fat percentage by more accurate measurements. I am also curious to see if the L-Carnatine doesn’t give as dramatic of results when my body has less fat to lose.
3. 3. I am living an active lifestyle, working out hard 6 hours a week and only taking in 1300-1500 calories of healthy food per day. I don’t think this supplement will work as an excuse to “eat what I want and the L-Carnatine will just take care of it all.” But it could easily be interpreted that way by people who are looking to lose weight without limiting their food intake and exercising.
Thanks for being our guinea pig, Shellie!
Third: 100 Push-Up Challenge
This challenge has been making the blog rounds the past few weeks and as soon as I saw it on Andrew Is Getting Fit I knew I had to try it. The challenge isn’t finished yet but we were supposed to do 100 push-ups for CrossFit today so I figured it would be a good time to check my progress. I did 100 push-ups!! Granted, I had to break them into 4 sets of 25 so they weren’t consecutive but that is so far from the pray-for-no-PE girl I used to be that I almost clapped for joy. I would have too except I couldn’t move my arms.
So – what are your updates? How are all my fellow Primal Pals hanging in there? Anyone else try L-Carnitine? Are your push-up pecs as sore as mine? Share the pain, people!
how did you manage to quit the sugar?! I don’t think I could do that diet just for that reason. (mmmmm…must find sugar…)
and while I am not cranking out 100 pushups just yet, I am getting there.
again wishing a crossfit facility would come to my area!
Congrats on the pushups! that’s awesome!!!!!!
As for the 2 pounds, total water retention.
My son, totally on his own, started jumping backwards into the deep end of the pool! And he checks first to make sure no one is there before he jumps (he’s so cute!). And my daughter is still swimming backwards (ultra-cute!).
No progress of my own to report, other than that I am no longer trying to lose weight. I’m almost 39, I have 2 kids, I’m in good shape. Life is good.
Is intermittent fasting part of the primal blueprint? I’m curious if you were able to attempt that too.
Also, in my probably-not-qualified-to-give-an-opinion opinion, don’t sweat it about fruits. It’s already awesome that you’re able to satisfy your sugar wants with fruit. I don’t mean to be sexist, but in the conventional thinking of gender roles of the primal hunter/gatherer society, the men hunt, and the women gather. If that is true, then it’s very likely that women consumed far more fruits/veggies than men.
Primal is going well. I had to adjust my carb intake to allow for my marathon training but I’m surviving just fine on no grains (it was hard to give up my morning oatmeal).
I’m eating more veggies than ever which is a good thing! I’ve limited fruit and dairy to one serving a day.
I’ve lost 1.2 pounds since starting!!
workout mommy – Well, I told myself it was only for 30 days. I can quit sugar for certain periods of time. I just freak out when i think it is forever. And you don’t need a crossfit facility to do crossfit! You can do it at home, even! I do it at my local YMCA. Totally adaptable.
Azusmom – Alyssa, I love you, girl. I want to be you. Seriously – how did you get this point? I want to know all your secrets.
Dislycx – Yes, I did fast for 24 hours as part of the plan. Sorry I forgot to put that in my post! I added it now. ANd very interesting thought about your females eating more fruit thing. I’m going to pass that one on to Mark and the gang to see what they think! I certainly agree:)
Gretchen – you are a rockstar, girl! Way to go with all your hard work:)
Im HEARTING the primal (and Mark. may I add that?) but am skipping the fasting.
does that matter in your opinion??
M.
I’ve been reading more about Primal since you took the challenge. It seems pretty doable for long term, as long as I allow myself the occasional plate of pasta or rice (I’m such a carb junkie). Oh, and start eating meat again.
I’m starting the 100 push ups today. We’ll see how it goes!
Congrats on the pushups!
And the L-carnitine thing is kind of intriguing… my sister is one of those people who can NOT lose weight no matter what she does, and she does everything you’re supposed to (times ten).
I’ll have to do some research, but that report from the trenches sounds quite compelling! It would be great to have something to suggest for those with messed up metabolisms.
MizFit – I don’t think that not doing IF will ruin the blueprint for you but I do think there are significant benefits to fasting. They’ve done studies that show increased insulin sensitivity, greater heart health and fat metabolism from the occassional fast.
Gena – Good luck with your push-ups! And meat eating, if you decide to go that way.
Crabby – Has your SIL ever had her thyriod tested? I’d try that first . Although the L-C can’t hurt you to try it. It’s just money!
Primal is going good here – I’m not giving up dairy (lifestyle choice, too easy to take yogurt (only plain and Greek-style) and cottage cheese (high fat kind!) to work). And heavy cream in the coffee (which Mark says is A-OK). I was basically already off sugar and grains, so getting out the last few holdouts was no problem.
And I’m doing Crossfit. I, too, have gained just about 2 pounds. I’m banking on it being muscle from the serious CF WOD’s because I feel (and look?) leaner. I’ll know Saturday.
I scaled Angie to 50 of each (I could have done 100 squats, should have, next time). Rock the 100’s! I’m excited to do the CFT tonight!
I’m tempted to become Test Subject #2 on the L-Carnitine thing.
I remember reading the first post on this, and the fact that it still seems to be working/making a difference is compelling.
I work out. I have no problem with that. Sticking to an eating plan is a bigger challenge for me. But I have found in the past that I get frustrated. I work so hard to stick to an eating plan, stay in my calorie range, and I don’t see any results…Makes it very hard to stay motivated.
Will definitely think on this.
I think I could give up refined sugar most of the time, but give up my oatmeal for breakast? Or my pasta? NO! And as much as I considered it, I just can’t eat enough meat to go primal. My husband made me steak for my birthday 2 weeks ago, and it was only the 4th steak I’ve eaten in 5 years, and I couldn’t eat more than an ounce or two. I felt so sick after that. But I do love me some pork products – yum bacon – so that’s kind of weird.
I was *going* to do the 100-pushups, but we have had our daughters (they each live with their other parent) and a niece here to visit, and I have some concerns about eating disorders and body image in a couple of them, so decided to lay off while they were here. But now it’s just my daughter, and we are getting back into it. She’s naturally tiny even if she lives off ice cream and sodas, but wants to be fit and strong, so we can get back to the pushing-up!
I just finished doing 117 push ups today! (non-consecutively, of course). And ooh are my arms burning!
That’s really interesting to hear about her thoughts on the L-Carnatine. But I can’t help but still be skeptical and suspicious of it. But hey, if it works it works (for some people, anyway).
And good job on going Primal! Mmm nuts and fruit.
The only primal I’m doing right now is fighting the desire to eat my own young. But I think that has more to do with lack of sleep and inability to eat a full meal anytime before my husband gets home. =)
Been following the posts and am now thinking that I should have gone primal with you all – it would have been so easier to do it as a group!! Boo Hoo to me. I love hearing how you are doing with it and know that I would have to make some significant changes for me to do it too as I eat at least a couple servings of (whole) grains everyday and love me some sugar and dairy.
Thanks for the update on the L-carnitine experiment too. Glad to hear she is having success so far.
Keep on rockin’ with your bad self!
P.S. Took a while, but finally got the Lipton bike I won, and then it sat in the living room for a while before finally being assembled and wow – it is a big frame! There are still a couple of things I need to do before I ride it, but am looking forward to trying it out and hoping that the frame isn’t too large for me!
You are far more experimental than I, I could never eat that way. I tried so hard to do atkins but since I just hated everything I could eat it ended up being starve-kins instead. I am doing the 100 pushup challenge, and started all the way at the beginning since I could only do about 12 to start. I’m on week 2 day 2 tomorrow and a little freaked out about 16 in a row. 😉 I would totally settle for 4 sets of 25, that rocks!
Ya know? you’re right, polkaing is fun. If only the music weren’t lame. Anytime I pick up a toddler to dance with them I polka. Polka is big in the toddler demographic.
Very impressed with anybody who can do 100 pushups. I don’t know what gets tired, but I’m only good for about 20. My muscles don’t feel sore anywhere though, I guess I’ll keep practicing.
Polka is okay…but I have an abnormal obsession with polka DOTS. Does that count?
Kudos to your for your progress. That’s a lot of push-ups.
Yeah! Another Crossfit lady! I live in South Minneapolis and would love to have a partner for some of these WOD’s!
Great job on the push-ups!
Holy crap you are awesome! I can’t do that many yet but I’ll get there!
I did pushups this morning, and I don’t know what was wrong- I did 10, and had to stop, then I could only do 4 more.
Maybe I should have done them before any other weight lifting.
Or maybe it was lack of sleep…
Had to finally stop lurking at the mention of Linux. Glad to know that there are other geek chicks out there. I have a T-shirt that says: My OpenSource program is cheaper than this T-shirt. See what my husband brings me home from trips?
As for the primal diet, the thought of no bread makes me panic. I’m actually trying out the Making the Cut routine. I don’t think my butt will ever be the same. So many types of lunges, all in one workout, ugg. But hey, maybe in 30 days I can get my husband to try the quarter trick…
(and if this post shows up multiple time , huge apologies, I seem not to be geek enough to figure out how the OpenID thingy works)
your pushups? phenomenal!
If you give up the yogurt, are you going to take a calcium supplement to make sure you’re at least getting some calcium? That worries me a bit…
keep us posted on how you feel and your energy levels…Good luck with the PMS. I am battling mine as we speak :-0
I wouldn’t worry so much about the weight. I sincerely think people place way too much emphasis on weight as a measurement for health. Face the facts: if you keep working out, you’ll gain muscle weight, but you’ll also be healthier.
Besides, I’m pretty sure my weight deviates two pounds from when I go to bed at night to when I wake up in the morning.