Falling Off the Wagon

In the spirit of being honest, I'm just going to say that we've fallen off the wagon a bit lately. It's just too much for me to pack/unpack a house--mostly all by myself... take care of four kids... have Tom out of town on a week long deal... and deal with all the various errands that accompany a move... I have neither the time, nor the energy to cook three times a day. I know many of you will say "if you just did..."  but I'm a fairly goal-orientated person, and if I fail to meet that goal (staying Primal) it's because doing so would cause serious mental harm to me or members of my family.  And I'm not even (really) joking. 


However, we haven't been out eating pizza or downing the Pepsi (ew, anyway) every night. It's been mostly some potatoes (white) and a couple of sweet (frozen yogurt...cookies) things, and probably a bun or two. Interestingly, my kids thought they were going to be in heaven when I said "look, whatever. You know what it will do to you, so you figure out if it's worth it."  I was pleasantly surprised when one of them, Veronica (who was the most resistant to this "diet" when we first started) said "well, I ate my burger with only the bottom of the bun, and just *one* french fry. . . because... I was hoping to eat that half cookie later today, so I thought to myself "ooh, don't eat too many bad things, because you will be sorry."  


Okay, so even though we could be scolded for not staying Primal, I was really happy that my seven year old showed that much self-control and forethought when it came to her food. I was even more happy when it turned out to be my carboholic, will-do-anything-including-sell-my-own-grandmother-if-it-means-I-get-extra-carbs daughter.


I've been craving carbs like crazy. I eat mostly potatoes when that happens. I think it's because lifting 50lb boxes and 90lb rugs have a way of making your heart and muscles burn fuel like crazy. I wish I like sweet potatoes... I have tried and tried, but man, I just don't get how anybody could like them. It's icky. And orange. And sweet. NOT a potato, people. It's just not. 


I wish I could find my camera cord because I have some nice photos of food we've made at the new house. One day we had: Breakfast: eggs, bacon and fruit.  Lunch: nitrate-free hotdogs with a spring mix salad, topped with feta, blueberries and a honey-lime dressing. And dinner was hamburger patties and a vegetable salad.  It was all very pretty and very tasty. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the recipe up for the salad. 


Let's see... what else... not sure. I'll be very happy with the unpacking process is completed, because we now have some awesome walking trails right next to my house, and I cannot wait to get out there and walk.  I just have to figure out a way to keep Elizabeth in a stroller. And I suppose giving her cookies to munch on is out?  


I kid, I kid!


I'll give her some tree bark and tell her it's super primal. 


Tom says I have a different personality in my writing than I do in real life. Well, duh... in writing you can be as dumb as possible, but I don't have to see people roll their eyes at me when they are way on the other side of the ... computer, I guess. I told him we can't all be like him; charming and good looking all the time. 


Okay, so that's my update for tonight. I am really hoping to get back to cooking/baking sometime next week. 


Wish me luck!

Does Cheating Aid Weight Loss?

I weighed in on March 19th, had two pound(maybe three?) loss from the previous week, and then I hit a wall.  ::smack::  I stayed the same number for over three weeks.


 It was really disheartening. 

 I was working out, not over-indulging in treats, and eating a lot of healthy things. So what gives?

I remembered seeing something on Mark's Daily Apple that some people have real trouble losing weight if they are having too much dairy. So I tried cutting back on dairy, but really the only dairy I eat is cheese and butter, and on occasion, sour cream. I didn't want to cut out butter since it has so many great benefits, but I did cut back on cheese by about 60%. 


It didn't make a difference.


Then I realized I would frequently forget to eat during the day. Either I just didn't feel hungry, or I was too busy juggling babies, school projects, and trying to maintain the household, that I would go to be and think "did I eat anything other than that egg this morning?"  Not good. 


I wondered if the accidental fasting was causing my metabolism to drop too low. A commenter offered some advice: try to eat more often, add in some fruit, and a "cheat meal" here and there would help. 


So I added in an apple a day, which was nice because I love apples and haven't really had them much lately. I am getting better at remembering to eat (the commenter was correct when he said that adding in fruit would cause me to feel hungry again), making sure I eat at least twice a day, with the goal being three-four times a day.  And, finally, I had a few treats over the weekend (keeping it as primal as possible). I was skeptical that adding in cheat meals would help aid weight-loss, but... 


Today I decided to weigh-in and since Saturday I have lost 2 pounds! This is the opposite of what I was expecting---yippee! There is a bonus, too. I feel better all around: emotionally, physically, and mentally. I don't know if having a few cheat foods/ingredients helped, or if it's the eating more, or what, but I like it!


The idea of taking one day a week and using it as a cheat day is definitely more appealing at this point. However, I don't want to feel like garbage the next day, so I definitely would want to find the least offensive cheat foods to chow down on. 


What is your favorite cheat food?