I wanted some fish for dinner tonight, so here is what I came up with:
This dinner was easy and tasted super-good!
I put sole filets in a casserole dish after spraying it with olive oil. I cut some onion and sprinked atop the fish with some lemon juice. I then wrapped two sprigs of aspargus with a half of a piece of thick bacon, and pepper to taste. I popped it all in the oven at 375*C for about 20-25 minutes. While it was baking, I whipped some olive oil-based mayo with lemon and dill, basil and cumin (I have no idea what's in real tartar sauce). Once out of the oven, I sprinkled the fish with some fresh chopped cilantro.
Et voilà!
And if you're wondering what we were drinking -- Club soda (it's water with bubbles!) with some frozen berries and a lemon wedge.
Now it's time for my date with Ellie (my elliptical machine). I'm currently watching Inception during my workouts... Oh, Leo...
In my effort to lift heavy things three times a week (as recommended by the Primal Blueprint), yesterday was a leg-day and I LOVE leg-day. I think it's the girl in me that really wants a nice tush, and I also feel that I get more for my money if I work out my bigger muscle groups.
I'm really sore... and it's only the day after (I find that the soreness reaches its pique after two days). I like the feeling of having put my body through a good workout, but I had to ask Grok to give me a butt massage this morning (dirty minds!).
In my gym, I have minimal equipment but does the trick for my routine. I have my giant elliptical machine that has an incline and resistance option (I call her Ellie, and as the second machine I've owned I treated myself to a gym-quality product). I have a flat-bench that raises to an incline, and it has that piece on the end that I can do my isolated bicep or hammer curls on. I have a series of workout DVD's that entertain me and keep me moving depending on what my mood desires (think yoga, plyometrics or lifting). In addition, I have a thigh-toner and two stretch bands that really help with my back work, a yoga mat, a giant workout ball and 10lb wraps. Last but certainly not leaqst, the best workout piece own is: My PowerBlock dumbells (note that other than the loose dumbells you'd get in a gym, I haven't bought or tried anything else).
PowerBlock.com
I love these dumbells! They look a little bulky but they don't really get in the way of any of the exercises or routines that I've been trying out. They go up to 50lbs with the option of 2.5lb increments. However (and this is a big HOWEVER), I'm a girl and not as strong as Grok. So the only downside I find is the fact that there is a gap between 10lbs and 15lbs. When I'm working on my curls, 10lb is too little and 15lb is too much until I get a little stronger.
I'm sure that in the future I'll want to grow my gym. For now, all of this works great and I'm super happy.
Here was my workout, three sets of each:
Ambro
Squats (12 reps of 35lbs each dumbell)
Sumo squats (12 reps of one 45lb dumbell)
Lunges (12 reps of 25lbs each dumbell, each leg)
Stiff-legged deadlifts (12 reps of 25lbs each dumbell)
Inner leg lifts (I used 10lb wraps)
Bouncing calf raises on the edge of a step (20 reps of one 25lb dumbell, each side)
Today was a very primal day, and it was all thanks to my wonderful Grok. I love you honey!
My feasting was a little low in overall calorie count, but my proportion of fat-protein-carbs was optimal for ketosis. I had three large meals yesterday so it took some time for hunger to set in.
I woke up to the wonderful scent of coffee and breakfast being prepared by Grok (actually, it was the sound of the fire alarm that woke me, but it's the thought that matters!). On my morning menu was a 2-egg omelette, fried in coconut oil with mushrooms and onions, and a 1/2 of a top sirloin steak on the side.
After cleaning the house, I kindly asked Grok to assemble my elliptical machine that had been collecting dust since September. The monster-sized clothes rack was missing a washer, so Grok and I decided to give assembly a whirl without the missing piece.
I had a 30-minute workout of light walking on an incline with resistance. I was also very happy to find out that my little netbook fits perfectly on the holder so I can watch something entertaining as I walk miles in the same spot. I don't know how people read and workout at the same time... I honestly think they just look at the pictures!
When I was finished, I had a pork back ribs and a spinach salad waiting for me.
Besides the wonky almost-cold that my body is fighting, it was a GREAT, relaxing Sunday. I only need the summer weather to hit for the day to be a perfect one.
Here's a breakdown of today's feasts:
Breakfast
3.5oz Beef top sirloin
1tbsp Coconut oil
2 large Eggs\
30g of Mushrooms
20g of Onions
Salt and pepper to taste
1.5 cups of Coffee
44g Coconut milk (with my coffee)
Dinner
200g of Pork back ribs
40g of Baby spinach
65g of Tomatoes
8g of Green onions
10g of Extra virgin olive oil
A squirt of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
This is NOT an average day. I'd normally have three full meals (as breakfast would be earlier during the work week). However, I'm very happy with this for a very relaxing day.
Three weeks ago, the Grok household received a giant delivery. A 17.5 cubic foot freezer full of meat to feed a family of 3-4 for a year.
Lamb, chicken, beef, pork, turkey and a variety of wild fish. All free-range and organically-fed (as much as possible).
A primal dream.
Since that day, I've enjoyed many delicious and satisfying meals. The leftovers make the next-day lunches a breeze, and what's fabulous is that having a meat locker makes it difficult to deviate from my primal goals.
I highly recommend searching for a local distributor that provides this type of product. I will, however, admit that it's a little pricey. The cost of the meat is higher than that which you would get at Costco, yet cheaper than buying the organic and free-range meat from your neighbourhood grocery store. I make bi-weekly payments, and they threw in the freezer for free. FREE! The meat is all flash-frozen and put in substantial vac-packing that keeps the meat for up to a year and a half.
The initial consultation was great. A very nice gentleman arrived at my house and provided an overview of the family-owned company. He wasn't pushy and he was up-front about costs and rules, and he didn't give fluffy answers to my questions. After browsing through a binder full of the different cuts that I could choose from, Grok and I selected what was most to our taste. After the delivery, we had the opportunity to look through the meat and decide if we wanted to make any exchanges within the first six weeks. It has been a great experience so far.
Out of the many meals I've had, there has only been one that was just average, but I think I screwed up how I cooked it. The meat theremometre I put in the pork roast was broken, so when I unwrapped the twine the uncooked meat fell to pieces and had to be cooked further. The presentation was severly off, and the fat distribution wasn't even so it threw of the taste and the texture. Oops.
Daniel St. Pierre
Every other meal has been great. Even the beef, which up until now I haven't been able to eat because it hurt my stomach for days. I'm not saying that the quality of the meat or my primal ways have changed my ailment, but something has happened over the past 5 months that has enabled me to digest beef properly. I first discovered that I couldn't consume beef after eating a giant burger on a camping trip 6 years ago, and subsequent tests of eating steak proved true.
It's a short article that suggests that one's focus is a key factor in achieving goals. Specifically, the article illustrates focusing on previous achievements is more motivating than focusing on future ones. I guess it makes sense to qualify or quantify successes to make your future goals more realistic and achievable.
Just and interesting tidbit that I wanted to share.
Last night after a long day at work, I came home to Grok who had made me a nice primal meal for dinner.We then got comfortable on the couch to watch some downloaded shows, while browsing through our freshly-delivered Oxygen and Men’s Health magazines.I eventually got up to change and have a little workout.
I had a good workout.I felt good and not exhausted like some of the older workouts I used to put myself through. But it definitely got me thinking: If I worked so hard in the past at eating clean and working out, then does my body look virtually the same that it did?(Granted, I’m sure that internally I’m much healthier).
Last week, I went to the doctor for my annual physical.It had been a year and a half since my last one, which would have put me at the time I started eating clean.The doctor was enthusiastic at my weight loss, as most of her clients tend to have a weight gain year after year.The loss: 3 pounds.I wasn’t so enthusiastic.
A year and a half of eating clean, loads of cardio workouts, softball, volleyball, dodgeball, and lots of walks, equated to 3 pounds.What I’m not including in the list are the long bouts of falling off the wagon - bingeing on dirty foods, drinking loads of alcohol and making excuses to not workout.
In my case, success isn’t measured by cumulative effort.If it were, I’d be an Oxygen model.Success is measured by consistency, and my consistency has been lacking.This is not a grand realization on my part, I semi-knew that this was my problem.Heck, I even quit all of my winter sports to accommodate a more routine workout schedule and balanced lifestyle (like not having to do groceries at after all my sports were done).
It sucks.It’s hard to move beyond that feeling of defeat when you recognize that you’ve failed.However, I’m sure I would be worse off should I not be able to reflect on the experience, and do something about it.Every effort gets you one step closer [enter fluffy uplifting music].
My efforts weren't a complete waste - I'll admit that I learned a LOT. I've learned about what my body needs in terms of nutrition and exercise. I've learned many new recipe favourites, and what workouts make me come back for more. I know that health and happiness is a lifetime journey and not a quick-fix.
Now that I know I’ve had a hard time committing to commitment in the past, I’m going to change my approach.I can commit to finding new commitment strategies… Google is such a nice thing to help me start my search.
Grokette spoke too soon. Her routine went through the spin cycle.
For the past month, life has been fun but full of unhealthy habits. With the new house came parties. With parties come booze and non-primal eating. Throw in Hallowe'en and extra hours of work, and you end up with a grumpy Grokette who charges to the wine bottle when she walks in the door. Grok hasn't been any better -- as I type this, I'm surrounded by his empty beer bottles and wine glasses (that I refuse to clean up... because I'm nice like that!).
No one makes a change unless they see that change is needed. I need a change.
I've missed making primal a priority. I was happy in my routine and the changes I was seeing, and I want that again. I haven't been working out; having been eating very cleanly; haven't been getting enough sleep; and I haven't been playing enough (by this I mean doing anything active beyond binge-drinking!). But that's okay! I would be in a far worse state if I didn't recognize my rut. The dreary month of November seems like a good time to try to get back into that happy place... The quiet before the holiday storm.
I'm going to pen-in an after-work trip to the grocery store tomorrow to stock up on the basics: fish, meat, eggs, loads of veggies and fruit, and some nuts. I've both ate well and worked out for the past two days, and it feels nice. I also commit to drinking more water in lieu of the copious amounts of coffee and wine I have been consuming.
Here's to another go at it!
Oh, and just for the record -- I never got sick (see my last post). I felt off, but it didn't turn into a full flu or cold, but I know that my body was fighting something. I still haven't been sick since starting primal.
Et voilà!
