Eating Out

Beeki and I are working hard at eating in as much as possible and learning to cook better. But sometimes it's nice to go out. And sometimes we just have to. A week ago we were in a hurry going about our evening and didn't have time to make it home. So we stopped at Outback and check out the awesome primal meal I was able to have with just one little substitution:



All I had to do was swap out the potato for some broccoli. It was great! And it was totally primal. Yum.

Weigh-in Wednesday

So Wednesday is the day of the week that I weigh-in. I used to weigh every morning, but measuring incremental change like that is a recipe for neurosis. Also, since Beeki and I enjoy watching The Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights, it seems to sync well. Thus, every Wednesday morning I get up and head to the scale. (Then I imagine Allie from TBL saying, "Your weight is...," followed by a beeping sound and random numbers flashing on the display.)

So last week I dropped another pound and a half. That makes a total of 17 lbs. down since going primal five and a half weeks ago. Woo hoo! And it's been really easy and comfortable. I haven't been hungry, I haven't had energy swings, I've learned to cook well, I've eaten a variety of foods, and I haven't been stressed about the process in the least.

I can't say enough about how good I feel since dropping grains and refined sugars. Going primal is the best diet-related decision I've ever made. I can sustain this happily and healthily for a lifetime. And that's what I've been looking for. I haven't been interested in quick-fixes or short-term solutions. I've been looking for a better way to live. And here it is!

Have a good week!

Omelette

Boy am I stuffed! I didn't really eat all that much today, but what I did eat counted big time. I slept in today, so I only ended up with two meals. My first meal was an awesome omelette with ham. And for dinner I made my primal pizza with mashed cauliflower. After dinner I treated myself to a small glass of chocolate milk and a few spoonfuls of some vanilla ice cream. I don't usually indulge in the chocolate milk or the ice cream, but then, that's what makes it a treat, isn't it?

Anyway, here's my omelette recipe. I'll post my pizza one later.

- two eggs
- whole milk
- spinach
- onion
- garlic
- salsa
- monterrey jack cheese

I don't think I need to post any cooking instructions. It's an omelette. It's pretty simple. But what it delivers is some great protein, some good veggies, and a lot of satisfaction. Also, almost no carbs. Woo hoo! For even more protein, I had some leftover ham with it. It kept me feeling full for hours. Well, perhaps satisfied is a better description that full. I'm full tonight after the pizza, chocolate milk, and ice cream! But I was nice and sated earlier with plenty of energy.

Hope you're all having a great weekend! I'll be posting at least every Wednesday since that's my weigh-in day. I'll sprinkle in some other posts too with recipes, exercise details, and links when I can. Look for the pizza recipe to come soon. It's killer.

Dr. Mirkin

I will occasionally post information from Dr. Mirkin and others that I think will be helpful as supportive, supplemental or even at variance with the primal plan. The purpose is for inspiring discussion. For example, as we eat meat products, it is helpful to know pros and cons of each meat. Is it the same effect eating, beef, poultry or fish? From a carcinogen standpoint, is there a difference between grilled vs baked?

Consider this article (http://www.drmikin.com/) about the effect of certain foods as we age remembering that my mother's mother, my mother and my father's father all had Alzheimers:

Dear Dr. Mirkin: Can diet help to prevent senility and Alzheimer's disease?

Probably. A study from Columbia University in New York shows that those least likely to develop Alzheimer's disease eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B12 and folate, in foods such as nuts, fish, tomatoes, olive oil, poultry, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables. They eat less red meat, organ meats and high-fat dairy products (Archives of Neurology, April 2010).Alzheimer's disease is associated with an overactive immunity called inflammation. Your immunity is good for you because it prevents germs from invading your body. However if your immunity is overactive, it uses the same chemicals that it uses to destroy invading bacteria to punch holes in your arteries and damage your brain (Nature Medicine, August 2009). The foods recommended in the Columbia study reduce inflammation, while red meat and high fat dairy products may increase inflammation. Being overweight also increases risk for Alzheimer's disease because full fat cells release hormones that cause inflammation (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, May 2009).

See the red meat connection? Does this mean never eat red meat? Jesus ate lamb and he also ate broiled fish.

What does everyone think?

Papa John

Our Primal Family

Hello! I'm Scott. This blog will be a chronicle of the members of our family who are going primal in food and lifestyle. Now, it's not a nuclear family that's going primal... not yet anyway... So far it's me, my wife Beki, her father John, her brother Mark, and my mother Carol. We're hoping that our success will inspire the other members of our family, but we're not forcing anyone to do anything!

We're all obviously inspired by Mark Sisson, his blog Mark's Daily Apple, and his book The Primal Blueprint. We're branching out and reading other blogs following a similar lifestyle and soaking up all of the information that we can right now. And so far so good! Everyone is reporting great energy levels, weight loss, health, and strength.

What we'll do with this blog is that everyone involved in the family here will post as they're inspired to do so with success stories, challenges, recipes, links, anecdotes, and anything else relative to our primal adventure. I hope that it will prove interesting to hear how things are both similar and different among us of both genders and ranging in age from 28 to 60+.

I hope that anyone reading this will be informed and inspired because we're all planning for massive success!