BEYOND GRAINLESS: DAY 11 JOURNAL

- Please visit here to see why I'm challenging myself to live as a modern cave-woman for 21 days -

DIET - CREATE A PRIMAL RECIPE

Today's challenge was to create a primal recipe, so I created two.

Banana, peach, coconut water and double cream blended and topped with more banana, blackberries, Punch Foods Superseeds in Raw Cacao Boost, and chia seeds.

'Courgetti' bolognaise: traditional beef bolognaise served with julienned courgette and sweet potato

EXERCISE - PEM WORKOUT

The second challenge of the day was to sprint a few hundred metres followed by a PEM workout.

Location: Exhibition Park, Newcastle
Success score: 8/10
Reps completed: 2 sets

Push ups: 15 and 10 full push-ups
Squats: 100 and 100
Pull ups: 7 and 7 jumping pull ups
Plank: 2:04 and 1:30
Sprint: 2 reps of 100 metres

Comments: Sprinting felt so funny, but exhilarating. I forgot how quickly you can go from chilled out to out of breath! Thought the PEM would be easy but it was pleasingly challenging.

Sorry it's a short one today, but I'm actually writing this on Day 16 because I spent some time away from media over the weekend. All I remember is just feeling happy all day :-)

Success score: 10/10

Click here for day 12

BEYOND GRAINLESS: DAY 10 JOURNAL

- Please visit here to see why I'm challenging myself to live as a modern cave-woman for 21 days -

DIET - EATING ENVIRONMENT

Today's challenge was to focus on creating an optimal eating environment for all meals by eliminating distractions such as computers, television and high-energy music. It was suggested to also slow down the pace of eating by chewing each bite completely to facilitate good digestion and maximum satisfaction.

My breakfast was enjoyed in a leisurely fashion:

I ate out twice today. Once at NinetyNine for lunch, where I had Portuguese chicken with sweet potato fries, coleslaw, salad and mango. It was delicious!

I also went out for dinner at Sambuca's, where it was nice enough to sit outside for my friend Nikki's birthday. I forgot to take photos of my food but I had belly pork and then a plate of mussels. Yum!

LIFESTYLE - EMAIL FAST

The second challenge of the day was to engage in email correspondence only during specified morning and afternoon periods of 30 minutes or less. The idea behind this is to maintain positive working and social relationships without draining excessive time from high priority tasks.

Unfortunately my job is literally to spend the day in an 'Inbox' answering emails - so I couldn't oblige here or I would have been in trouble! I can see how this may work for other people though.

SUMMARY COMMENTS

Daily energy levels 1-10: pretty consistent -9-

Hunger levels between meals 1-10: lunch was very filling and at the gym after work I still felt full! -0-

Satisfaction level with meals 1-10: I really enjoyed being able to eat out today. Shows that with a little research it can be done -10-

Daily needs to improve: tomorrow I am going to the park for a sprinting session and a PEM workout!

Success score: 8/10

Day 11 is here.

BEYOND GRAINLESS: DAY 9 JOURNAL

- Please visit here to see why I'm challenging myself to live as a modern cave-woman for 21 days -

DIET - TRACK MACRONUTRIENT INTAKE

Today's challenge was to track my calorific and macronutrient intake through an online calculator. I chose to use MyFitnessPal as it has the most accurate database and decent graphical representation. According to a number of 'primal' dieters, the ideal grams per day for carbohydrates are between 50-150 (lower end for fat loss).

Daily protein grams: 84
Daily carb grams: 89
Daily fat grams: 104
Total calories: 1502

I also weighed myself and I've lost 2 lbs.

Here's what some of my calories looked like.

LIFESTYLE - TIPTOE INTO THE BAREFOOT WORLD

For me this required no effort. The aim was to go barefoot for at least 60 minutes today, so I triumphed as I spent the whole evening bare-footing it around the house between 6:30pm and 10:30pm (obviously when sleeping too; though in the winter am I the only person who gets cold enough the wear socks in bed..?).

EVOLUTION ORGANICS HAUL

On Sunday I placed an order at Evolution Organics, which is a brilliant one stop shop for all things primal like super-foods, nut butters, supplements, organic pet care and home care etc

It arrived super quick and this photo makes me excited!

I can't wait to try everything!

- primal snacks for the weekend when I'm staying with family.
- coconut palm sugar
- organic cacao powder
- Pukka tea for work and home
- kombucha to replace alcoholic drinks every night
- macadamia nut butter - supposed to be nutritionally superior to other nuts
- Punch Superseeds in Raw Cacao Boost to sprinkle on...everything.

SUMMARY COMMENTS

Daily energy levels 1-10: no yawning today, felt consistently energised all day. I'm probably annoyingly chirpy -10-

Hunger levels between meals 1-10: My lunch wasn't big enough, so ended up buying some rollmop herrings (again I know), roasted red peppers and calamari from M&S for snacking on. But then I was fine. -7-

Satisfaction level with meals 1-10: Still yummy, though it might be time to discover some new recipes -7-

Benefits noticed from primal efforts 1-10: My gym session was good again today, I'm pleased with my pull up progression -8-

Struggles with primal lifestyle: I've had sweet potato every day even though I said I wouldn't. I'm also overdue a sprinting session...and tomorrow looks like rain!

Daily needs to improve: I still haven't eaten out at a 'regular' restaurant so doing that tomorrow.

Success score: 8/10

Click here for Day 10

BEYOND GRAINLESS: DAY 8 JOURNAL

- Please visit here to see why I'm challenging myself to live as a modern cave-woman for 21 days -

NO LABELS CHALLENGE

Today's challenge was to not eat anything that came from a packet, and I'm sorry but I failed at breakfast. My kefir yoghurt breakfast came from a jar, my pecans from a packet and my aloe vera juice from a bottle.

However, my lunch was all locally raised/picked produce. 5/10?

EXERCISE - MAXIMIZE DAILY MOVEMENT

Ways I increased movement today:

1. I walked to work, to the gym and back home;
2. I got myself back to the gym for a quick 'coredio' session;
3. I went for a walk at lunchtime;
4. My Jawbone UP told me to move every 30 minutes which I managed ...mostly.
5. I didn't use any lifts or escalators.

This was actually a fairly typical day for me, so perhaps I'm cheating by writing this down.

SUMMARY COMMENTS

Daily energy levels 1-10: I stayed up too late last night and may have had one too many glasses of wine (oops!) so felt a bit sluggish today -3-

Hunger levels between meals 1-10: No appetite today, though this could be related to last night's sausage binge -1-

Satisfaction level with meals 1-10: Wasn't hungry for my food today -4-

Benefits noticed from primal efforts 1-10: I had a particularly good workout; just felt stronger and faster overall -7-

Struggles with primal lifestyle: I indulged a bit too much last night. I doubt cavemen ate that many fermented grapes.

Daily highlight(s): The sun was shining all day which makes everyone more cheerful and the environment a happier place.

Daily needs to improve: Not so much wine.

Success score: 3/10

Here is Day 9

BEYOND GRAINLESS: DAY 7 JOURNAL

- Please visit here to see why I'm challenging myself to live as a modern cave-woman for 21 days -

INTUITIVE EATING

The Primal Blueprint guide suggests that today being a traditional day of rest and all should be relaxed, including the menu. We should focus on the enjoyment of the experience, and let go of any feelings of guilt, anxiety or other negative emotions associated with eating. So of course I made primal pancakes with proper bacon and maple syrup for breakfast:

Ingredients

- 1 mashed banana
- 1 beaten egg
- 1/2 scoop paleo whey protein (I used banana flavour)
- 1 pinch spices (I used pumpkin spice)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil for the pan

Directions

- mix all ingredients in a bowl;
- heat the oil in a non-stick pan;
- fry 1/4 batter each time to make 4 mini pancakes;
- top with grilled bacon and maple syrup.

For my second meal I had a grass-fed burger with a portobello mushroom bun, a few sweet potato chips, sauerkraut, salad and tahini.

EXERCISE/LIFESTYLE

Today's challenge was to get outside for a leisurely stroll, and though I walked 9850 steps which is 4.2 miles, I feel I could have done better. My aim was to exceed 10,000 steps every day so I was nearly there.

SUMMARY COMMENTS

Daily energy levels 1-10: I spent a lot of the day chilling out as it was a Sunday after all -8-

Hunger levels between meals 1-10: I could not stop eating today - really fancied trying to make a paleo cheesecake but became distracted by BBQ plans -7-

Satisfaction level with meals 1-10: I enjoyed some yummy food today, though perhaps 5 sausages as an after dinner 'snack' was going overboard -7-

Benefits noticed from primal efforts 1-10: Same as yesterday :-) -10-

Struggles with primal lifestyle: There was some lemon drizzle cake (which was my favourite) that was hard to resist. I had another sausage.

Daily highlight(s): Seeing Claire & Michael after their Mini-moon.

Daily needs to improve: I'm going to make more of an effort this week to exercise 'primally'.

Success score: 6/10

Here is Day 8

BEYOND GRAINLESS: DAY 6 JOURNAL

- Please visit here to see why I'm challenging myself to live as a modern cave-woman for 21 days -

MODERN FORAGING

On the back of yesterday's meat haul I paid a visit to The Honey Tree and bought some fairtrade bananas and nectarines, local portabello mushrooms, organic double cream, kefir yoghurt and Scottish mackerel. I love how everytime I go into this shop there is something new to try!

If you're wondering what kefir is visit here, but the short of it is that it's a fermented, low lactose dairy product which is very good for gut flora. Other fermented foods include sauerkraut, kombucha (must try) and kimchi. 

A WORD ON SWEET POTATO

I had a query as to why I am eating sweet potato but not white potato and I think this quote sums it up best:

"Sweet potatoes are different from potatoes in that they do not contain several harmful substances such as saponins and lectins, which may increase your intestinal permeability (if consumed regularly) and rev-up your immune system."

They can also be eaten raw (like in this recipe), and therefore I am including them into my diet sparingly. Today I ate a small sweet potato split between two meals. The pork recipe was fantastic - here's the link, though I replaced the flour with spices.

Bacon, scrambled eggs in butter, grated sweet potato, spinach, red onion, tomato and a nectarine.

Pork loin steak marinated in jerk seasoning, and topped with a sauce of red onion, garlic, red wine and honey. Served with steamed sweet potato and courgette.

EXERCISE - ABBREVIATED PEM WORKOUT

Today's challenge was to complete one set of maximum reps for push ups and squats with a five minute warm up. I ended up doing a 15 minute warm up of yoga stretches and managed 20 full push ups and 60 squats - I think I could have done more squats to be honest but I was running late for a social event! Excuses...

SUMMARY COMMENTS

Daily energy levels 1-10: Today my energy levels were pretty consistent. I had quite an active day of cleaning and walking around, so only felt pleasantly tired in the evening. -9- 

Hunger levels between meals 1-10: I was occupied all day and only had two meals, which was actually enough. Before this challenge I would pick at food all day! -1-

Satisfaction level with meals 1-10: Food was amazing today -10-

Benefits noticed from primal efforts 1-10: Consistent energy levels, no cravings, no sugar crashes and still no bloating. Without grossing people out, the best part is definitely having no IBS symptoms. Before the challenge, some days it would be so bad that I didn't want to leave the house for the fear that I would fall ill. This week has been blissful, being able to live without these fears and discomforts. It's safe to say that after this challenge I will not be returning to my 'old' way of eating -10-

Daily highlight(s): the cream coffee and the pork. 

Daily needs to improve: none. Win!

Success score: 9/10

Click here for Day 7