Savannah is not a sports nut to say the least, and she thought it was boring, but we had a good time.

This post is part of my One Photo Per Day of 2012 project. Technical details: iPhone 4s using Camera+.

I didn’t get a good serious photo though, and Savannah was really happy with this new doll, so . . .

This post is part of my One Photo Per Day of 2012 project. Technical details: iPhone 4s using Camera+.

I always like the displays of the different color Bibles and testaments and this year was no exception.

This post is part of my One Photo Per Day of 2012 project. Technical details: iPhone 4s using Camera+.

Of Course we had to get something to eat and we chose Applebee’s. I got this pic of Amy while we were waiting on our chicken fiesta chopped salads which were very hot. At least to us.

This post is part of my One Photo Per Day of 2012 project. Technical details: iPhone 4s using Camera+ and Instagram.

]]> http://brettweaver.com/savannahs-riding-gear/feed/ 0 http://brettweaver.com/tuff-skins/ http://brettweaver.com/tuff-skins/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:14:29 +0000 Brett http://brettweaver.com/?p=776

I had to wear Tuff Skins in elementary school, but thankfully not like these! The Sears catalog mention brings back memories. I spent a lot of time in the toy section. Makes me appreciate the internet LOL!

Weight Loss – I’ve lost a total of 30 pounds but I’ve been maintaining my current weight for six weeks or so. I haven’t been tracking body fat but wish I had a scale or other device that would measure it. Along with the bit of weight I lost last year restricting calories, I’m down a total of forty pounds since Jan1 of 2010. I do have some fat that I’d like to lose, but I’ve reach a weight number that I’m satisfied with ( about 175 lb).

Clothing Sizes – Before going Primal, I was wearing jeans with a 34″ waist, but I’d have to pick out the biggest ones with that label. In slacks it took a 36″ size to be comfortable. Now I’m due a new wardrobe. I’m very comfortable in 32″ jeans and slacks and may have to go smaller.

Fitness – I’m generally following Sisson’s Primal Blueprint Fitness plan. I’m walking five to six days a week (moving slowly) for 45 min sessions. Twice a week, I ‘lift heavy things’ (myself) and once a week I do a sprinting session (for now those are running sprints). I’m able to power through the workouts consistently now,although I’ far from mastering all the exercises.

How I feel – At this point I consider this diet to be therapeutic and would not consider going back to my former diet. Heartburn is non existent, my energy level is high and consistent. I have no bloodwork data such as cholesterol but I’m confident it has improved as well.

Other anecdotal cases of success – My Dad has lost over 20 lbs and has had similar results with heartburn symptoms. My Uncle has also lost weight and has been able to eliminate one of two blood pressure medications and his acid reflux meds. Now my pastor has started the diet and has lost almost 20 lb in the last six weeks or so.

We still need to improve our food quality. Most of our meat and veggies come from conventional sources, but I’d say we’re well within Sisson’s 80/20 rule.

Interested in the Primal blueprint? Check out Mark’s Daily Apple.

My single favorite take-away from listening to all the episodes (at least the ones of 5BY5.tv) is that humans are not broken.  That’s right.  We used to get by just fine without drugs to manage our blood chemistry and sanity and every other ailment that the food, drug and medical industries market to us ceaselessly these days.  Disease prevention by diet and proper exercise is very difficult to monetize so we end up getting treated with drugs instead of good food.

In the weekly podcast Angelo gives the latest Paleo news, and comments on the latest discussion in the media about food and nutrition. When you listen don’t turn it off too soon.  His “After the Bell” segment often has a hidden gem. Like last week’s episode where he played the audio from part of a TED talk by Ann Cooper on School Lunches.  I followed up and watched the video of the talk and it’s so powerful I decided to add it to this post below.  This makes me want to petition my local school system for better lunches.  My daughter carries her lunch every day and I haven’t convinced her to give up the PBJ yet so I guess I’ll work on that first!

Anyway, don’t miss Latest in Paleo if you want to learn more about why you’re not broken and how to keep from needing to be fixed.

My Primal updates for the week

I’m six weeks into pretty much “Primal eating”.  I know it’s not the main objective, but I’m still keeping an eye on the scale.  Finally this week I broke through the current weight plateau.  After my “official” Sunday weigh-in I’m down a total of 10 lbs. since starting the Primal Lifestyle, and 5 lbs. under last year’s low when I was counting calories.  I don’t think my scale is very accurate so that’s why I don’t usually post my actual weight, but it’s around 190lb now.

How?  I think it had a lot to do with my first intermittent fast (IF).  As my body adjusts I’m finding that missing a meal (usually lunch) is not a problem.  In fact I rarely eat what would be considered an actual lunch anymore.  Maybe a piece of beef jerky here and there, but no more.  I’ve read about people doing a 24hr fast once a week or so or as schedule dictates.  Tuesday evening we had a nice steak dinner so I just decided to skip breakfast and lunch on Wednesday.  Although I got hungry a couple of time during the afternoon, it was not a problem waiting until dinner on Wednesday to break the fast.  Actually I’m late posting this and I’ve already done another 24hr IF but I’ll talk about that one next time.  When you’re well nourished, eating is more enjoyable and I’m finding that I can schedule my meals around my schedule instead of my meals scheduling me.

Right on time, I just got The Primal Blueprint Insider email newsletter and the subject was Intermittent Fasting.  Near the end, Mark says:

To sum up, if you’re interested in the following…

• Mobilization of adipose tissue for energy (burning body fat as fuel)
• Improved insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake (again, good for burning body fat)
• Increased resistance to oxidation damage to lipids
• Increased human growth hormone secretion(utilizes body fat for energy while preventing protein/muscle catabolism)

…skip that next meal.

Another good development from the fasting was that I also gave up soft drinks for the day.  My favorite is Sun Drop. We always buy the diet version, but it’s still bad.  I figured since I had 24hrs invested into quitting it I may as well see how far I could take it.  As of this writing, it’s been a week since my last drink.  It’s actually more difficult giving up Sun Drop than all the other processed carbs food.  I’m sure caffeine has something to do with it, but I don’t think I was that hooked on caffeine.  A lot of it is the sweet taste and the “bite”.  I’ve had a small amount of iced tea and green tea (store bought), but mostly water.  I think I’m going to make it without going to “Sun Drop-ahaulics Anonymous”.

Workouts are still going well, but evidently I did pull something during the sprints last week.  The top-middle of my right thigh has a sharp pain if I try to run.  I think it got aggravated during a workout on our Gazelle glider during a rainy day on Friday.  At any rate, looks like I’ll have to nurse it for a while before I can get back to the sprints.

This is getting long and rambling but I have to share one more site that I found on RobbWolf.com.  It’s the site of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  It has dense articles, but a lot of good info from research done by Price who was a dentist.  Here’s a good article to start with: What’s Wrong with Politically Correct Nutrition.

That’s it for now! Thanks for reading.

Brett

The reason I like this interview is that Mark and Hank have very different body types, yet the Primal way of life worked for both of them.  Mark never had a weight problem and has been a runner most of his life. Hank is a self-professed “fat man looking for the truth”.   So no matter where you are right now, I think you can relate to some part of this interview.

In the interview, Mark also gives a great summary of his health philosophy:

In a nutshell:

• fresh, organic, unprocessed food – no junk!
• daily activity – whether it’s the gym or a walk along the beach, it all counts
• plenty of quality sleep
• plenty of water, no soda or sweetened drinks
• antioxidants galore – the key to limiting stress
• a good fish-oil supplement
• lots of essential fats, reckless amounts of vegetables, and clean protein
• time for fun – don’t take anything too seriously – ethical behavior – because what goes around comes around

taking responsibility for yourself and your life – openness to new things and ideas

If you’re new to Primal living and want a good summary and explanation, check out the interview.

Before I close out the post, a quick update on my progress this week. I was able to work in about three and a half hours of walking with sustained heart rate, two Lift Heavy Things (LHT) workouts (bodyweight) and my first Sprint workout.

This was the first time I’ve actually sprinted since baseball practice in high school. I did six warm up jogs and six sprints of about 40 yards. At sprinting speed they were about ten seconds. From the way I feel today I think it was effective. I definitely used some muscles that hadn’t been used in a while, but no injuries. I think I’ll be ready to do it again next week.

Still little to no weight loss this week, but I’m still feeling great. Oh, and I made a batch of jerky all by myself.  Look out world.

Grock on!

If we consider the first month a trial, then this marks the beginning of a long term lifestyle change.  I just feel too much better to go back, plus I know there are many improvements to be made and benefits to be gained by continuing to refine and improve the diet and fitness plan.

Primal Cookbook Review

I pre-ordered the Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals Cookbook at the same time as the order for the Primal Blueprint book and it arrived this week.  Thumbnail review: Several good recipes, but it would have been nicer had the cover been designed like a cookbook.  Either lay-flat or spiral bound.

Looking beyond the binding, the recipes are organized by suggested meal time, which is great.  There are wonderful photos showing both the ingredients and the finished product. Being a photographer myself, I appreciate the quality of the photos.  Co-author, Jennifer Meier is also the photographer. Kudos! 

We tried the Buttery Eggs with Leeks recipe this weekend for breakfast and I should have made my own photo of Amy’s version. Doh!  Maybe next time.  I loved it.  Amy likes her salsa with an omelet better, but it still gets a hearty recommendation from both of us.

New fitness plan started

I finally got the Primal Blueprint Fitness e-book and familiarized myself with what the “Lift Heavy Things” workout consists of.  Turns out the heavy thing is ME!  The suggested workout movements are simple and use body-weight for resistance.  It’s very intense compared to the Bowflex routine I was doing, but at least I’m not starting at the bottom progression except for pull-ups.  I’ve never done those at all.

Speaking of pull-ups,  I didn’t have a good pull-up bar.  I started out using the upper bar of the Bowflex, but it was really too narrow.  We went to an Aldi grocery store this weekend and they had an assortment of fitness gadgets (go figure!) for $5.99 ea!  One was a doorway pull-up bar so I got one.  The bar was of very good quality, especially for the money. If you have an Aldi in your neighborhood, check it out.

I started with the self-assessment which calls for doing certain movement progressions to failure and comparing the results to a chart to determine your starting point.  The self-assessment kicked my butt!  I went ahead and performed another cycle as best I could, but I had to put three days between the first and second workout, so no sprints this week.  Sprints are another component of PBF along with Moving Slowly, which I did plenty of.

 The PBF plan calls for 3-5 hours per week of “Moving Slowly” in basically any activity which causes your heart rate to maintain between 55%-75% of “max”.  This range keeps your body burning fat/protein without going into glucose reserves.

Without a heart rate monitor I really couldn’t be certain if my intensity level was correct, so I jumped on Amazon, read some reviews and ordered the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor for under $35. My net cost was $7.99 after using my gift card from Christmas   My copy has worked great so far and I’ve already found out that the first half-mile or so of my 2.5 mi walking route was a bit too slow.  On my last walk, I successfully got my heart rate up to target range and kept it there just about the entire time.  This shaved a couple of minutes off my walk…a bonus.

I must be at what my body considers and equilibrium weight, because I barely lost a pound this week.  That’s ok though, as I said, I’m in this for the long haul and it’s just a matter of time. I haven’t been below the weight I’m at now (about 195lb) in probably fifteen years, so it may be a tough plateau to break through.

New resources

I added two new blogs to my Google Reader this week.  One is by Matt Madeiro, who started his Primal journey exactly a year ago this week and he has some great insights from his experience. Find his Three New Leaves Blog here.

The other blog is The Perfect Health Diet.  It’s written by a husband and wife team of scientists.  I’m using this as another opinion on diet.  All of these bloggers have slightly different opinions and experiences and recommendations as to what can or cannot be included in the optimal eating plan and this is a good addition to the list.

Last but not least, we found a couple of sources for local eggs, so the continuous improvement of food quality has begun.  We’ll probably shop for a chest freezer after the tax return gets here and start looking to buy some local meat to store in it.

That’s it for this week’s update.  Feel free to share your “Primal Experiences” below.