Day 47

Meal #1 12:45pm
banana and pepper slices



Comments:
I woke up this morning and felt awful. That full of water and nothing else feeling from last night remained and my legs hurt a lot more than they have before. I tried to eat these peppers at 9am, but after one slice, I thought I was going to puke. I went back to sleep. I haven't felt that bad in awhile.

The sleep helped the nausea, but I still want to be careful. It's hard to find normal "I don't feel good" foods when you're Paleo. I can't have toast or crackers, rice or spaghetti. I wasn't keen on the banana with its high sugar content, but I knew it would be mild enough to potentially keep down at least.

Meal #2 2:30pm
smoothie*
chicken soup
three slices of bacon
orange juice*





Comments:
I only drank a small portion of the smoothie. Not even a quarter of it. It was just too sweet and too...I dunno. It just wasn't going to sit well. So I thawed out the leftover chicken soup and made some bacon, which did sound good, surprisingly. I tried to drink orange juice with it, but my body was rebelling against more fruit at this point, so I only had half the glass.

While my head is starting to feel better, my leg pain is otherworldly. See EotD Comments below.

Meal #3 5:45pm
Chipotle salad with:
Romaine, carnitas, and limited cheese, mild salsa, sour cream and guacamole



what I threw away




Comments:
So this was all mostly Paleo. I barely ate half of the last four ingredients listed. I didn't get the hard tacos which, in the past has been my staple. No grains, especially today.

I should also mention that this was so freaking tasty. I love Chipotle.

Snack #1 7pm
2.5 slices of bacon
a whole pepper

*no picture*

Meal #4 10pm
two scrambled eggs
vegetables with turmeric and pepper
cranberry sausage



Comments:
When did I stop using turmeric on my vegetables in the morning? I don't think I documented it. I don't even know why I did it. All I know is that I haven't been doing it and now I wonder if that has contributed to my leg pain. I doused my vegetables in it tonight. I'll see how that goes.

Snack #2 10:45pm
small baked sweet potato with butter, cinnamon and nutmeg



Comments:
I read today that sweet potatoes might help with leg pain. I'm really just covering all my bases at this point.

Snack #3 11:30pm
banana
two square Green & Blacks

*no picture*

Comments:
I just kind of wanted something else.

EotD Comments:
The pain in my legs was unbearable by 3pm. After two hours of crying hysterically, I finally caved and took an Advil. The pain in my left thigh intensified and the pain in my right leg extended from my hip, down through the front of my thigh, along the right side of my knee, down through my calf and into my ankle. Pain from hip to foot is so much more horrible than the localized pain in my left thigh. Also my right arm started hurting a little bit too.

It was like this deep ache that engulfed my limbs. I don't know what's wrong with my legs, but I couldn't tolerate that kind of pain after so many hours. I haven't been in pain like that since elementary school when I was "diagnosed" with growing pains afters months and months of testing (with results within normal limits and months and months of the worst pain I had ever felt. I loathe that kind of debilitating pain.

I bought some Natural Calm today (a recommendation from Robb Wolf and various people at PaleoHacks)and have already taken a dose. I'm hoping the magnesium supplement will help. It's on my agenda this week to get a Vitamin D3 supplement as well. I need to be able to fix this and I refuse to overdose on Advil to dull the pain and cause a crap ton of other ill effects in the process.

I've spent a lot of time today doing leg pain research, but it's a broad subject matter with limitless possibilities. I limited it to Paleo to see if maybe there was any correlation. It could be a decrease in carbs or a mineral/vitamin deficiency. It could be an absorption issue causing the deficiency. It could be something more life threatening and less easy to treat. I just don't know yet.

So far what I do know is that I'm going to take the magnesium and Vitamin D supplement. Also, I read that eating sweet potatoes might help. I'm going to try to get better sleep and I'm going to take it easy working out. I'll start using turmeric again and probably more cinnamon as well. And then I'll see.

Day 44

Meal #1 8:15am
eggs and vegetables
4 slices of bacon
orange juice



Comments:
I still have no idea what was up with me last night. I'm so rarely that hungry. I'm over it this morning and thankfully just feel normal again.

My left thigh hurts again. It started yesterday. I'm wondering if it was the dog that attacked me on my walk or if my new shoes are messing with me. I wasn't paying attention to the correlation the last few times I wore those sneakers. The temperature has also turned cold again, so that may be it too.

Snack #1 12:30pm
carrots, peppers, black olives



Comments:
I was on the go today. I grabbed a snack when I had a chance.

Meal #2 3pm
salad



Comments:
I got some new chicken sausage today. Cranberry and cognac. This is unbelievable sausage. I found it locally, so I'm doubly excited so now I can have it whenever.

I also decided that I shouldn't have regular cheese for awhile. I did better with just the raw cheese, so I'll stick with that once I decide to start eating cheese again.

Meal #3 6:30pm
tuna in oil
sliced peppers and avocado
black olives



Snack #2 7:45pm
Sticky Sticks with Sunbutter



Comments:
I still wanted a little something about dinner.

Meal #4 12:30am
cranberry chicken sausage
sliced peppers and avocado
orange juice



Comments:
I've got all my special macronutrients and hopefully this will tide me over.

Day 42

Meal #1 8am
two eggs
vegetables
4 slices of bacon
orange juice



Comments:
It's getting easier to eat more food at one meal. It's an interesting change.

I woke up at 7am and was actually really really hungry by the time I started making food at 7:30am.

Meal #2 12:30pm
burger with steamed carrots
salad with two slices bacon (no eggs)



Comments:
I just walked for an hour and a half. I'm definitely hungry now. I'm trying to consciously eat more. We'll see how much I eat/how full I get with this.

eta:
I ate all of it no problem and even wanted a snack within an hour or so of finishing.

Snack #1 2pm
Sticky Sticks



Meal #3 6:15pm
"breaded" scallops*
steamed cauliflower and carrots
tiny side of dijon mustard



Comments:
I was looking for a good from scratch recipe for artichokes and came across this amazing sounding recipe for breaded scallops instead. I intended to get fresh sea scallops for dinner, but the store didn't have any. I managed a bag of frozen ones and searched for the "farm raised" warning so that I didn't get those. After I got home though, as I was throwing the packaging away, I saw the teeny tiny warning on a super hidden part of the label. Blah. Despite being adamantly against farm raised fish, I ate it any way. I won't get them again though.

The breaded scallops were amazing and the easiest thing in the world to make. Had I not had a salad this afternoon, I would have eaten them in a salad instead. As long as I can find them wild caught, I will definitely be eating these on a regular basis.

*recipe to follow

Snack #2 7pm
apple with almond butter
one square of green & blacks



Comments:
I'm still pretty full from dinner, but I wanted something else. The scallops were kind of heavy because of the oil and "breading". I wanted something a little lighter.

Meal #4 12:45am
Muenster slices
avocado and red pepper slices
banana dipped in fine coconut



Comments:
Had it been any other night, I would have either been in bed long before now or I would have caught a snack earlier than this. No big deal. I contemplated just going to bed, but I have a headache so I thought food was in order. I'll down an extra bottle of water. Hopefully that'll help.

Oh, also I would have eaten some real protein instead of cheese, but this was my fastest option. I need to hard boil some more eggs tomorrow, as long as I can get more on Thursday.

Day 41

Meal #1 10:45am
two eggs
sauteed vegetables
four slices of bacon
glass of orange juice*



Comments:
I waited too long to eat this morning. By the time I got around to food I was famished. These busy weekends are kicking my ass and I never feel productive. Today I've spent most of my time cleaning and getting my tornado'd house back in order, yet it's still a minefield.

As it is, it's 2:30 right now and I'm just getting around to typing today's food. I haven't even started a new post for yesterday yet and I should be eating again soon, which I've yet to start preparing. It's fun, hectic times in the life of me right now. I need the chaos so I can make it calm, but I need the time to make everything calm. It's a double edged sword.

Mondays are my favorite day because I can make everything my own again after a crazy weekend. I need to make this not so. It doesn't fit within my needs. I can't be paleo during the week, and then sabotage myself every weekend. My goal for next weekend, despite the bad timing, is to stay within my means.

*Not to be confused with bacon juice.

Meal #2 3:15pm
leftover spicy citrus cod
salad with all the normal stuff
half glass orange juice



Comments:
Last night's cod was more my style, but still not 100%. I need to eat this before it goes bad though, so leftovers it is.

The orange juice is to counteract the spicy cod.

Meal #3 6:45pm
burger (amazing freaking burger)
avocado slices*
sliced peppers
sauteed asparagus and mushrooms
couple small slices of Muenster





Comments:
A few photo edits. One. I didn't get to eat much of that avocado—maybe a half of one slice. The munchkins stole it and since I'm advocating paleo for them, I let them eat it since I knew I could get a fat source from elsewhere. Two. The burger in the second picture? Imagine the second half there as well, as I immediately ate that after finishing what was pictured. Amazing burgers tonight. I mean, they are normally good, but these were exceptional.

Meal #4 10pm
can of tuna in oil
apples with almond butter





Comments:
I reheated last night's cod, but it tasted so much of white wine, I couldn't eat it. I guess next time I'll need to cook it on a lower temperature in hopes of the alcohol burning out a bit more.

I'm trying tuna in oil for the first time. I'm a tuna in water sort of girl, but this way is good for me (as long as the oil is olive oil and not vegetable oil) and it eliminates the use of mayo. So...we'll see how it goes.

eta:
I eat a lot of tuna. One out of of seven cans of tuna is amazing. The rest of the time, it's just normal tuna. I don't know if this can of tuna happens to be a one out of seven or if I should expect this type of quality from all of this "in oil" tuna but my freaking god, this is the single best tuna I have ever eaten. No really. Ever.

Meal #5 11:45pm
carrots and hamburger



Comments:
So I had those apples and was still hungry, but didn't want to snack on anything. Steamed carrots sounded good, but I had to wait for them to steam. At this point, I should just eat something else. So another meal it is!

EotD Comments:
(These eotd thoughts will not make sense until I post yesterday's meals. I apologize for this and will get yesterday's up sometime tomorrow.)

Today was an amazing food day. I felt great and I didn't want for food and it was really the perfect day.

I was having a conversation with myself...essentially thinking up comments for yesterday's dinner post and I came to a realization. The most important thing I can do in regard to weekend fare is only eat something if I've photographed it. I never snack on things out of the bag/box and hell, 95% of the time I don't even have things to eat out of a bag or box, but yesterday I did and I find it unacceptable. So that will be my weekend rule. It's not something I ever think about during the week, as my eating habits are always impeccable during the week. I think it's a good place to start though to kill this issue I have with the weekend before it gets worse.

Day 38

Meal #1 11:45am
Romaine and spinach salad
two hard boiled eggs, 1/2 chicken sausage
diced pepper, cucumber, apple, raw cheddar
bacon fat dressing



Comments:
I did not want real food for breakfast. I wanted a cup of coffee. I wanted danish. I wanted fake food. Not because it sounded good, (okay, well the coffee does) but just because I wanted to be lazy and reach for the first processed thing within sight. ...Not that there was danish in sight. I just wanted the easy route. I wanted the simple thing. Making paleo for breakfast sounded too complicated. I wanted a moment there the old norm was the norm again. Alas, it is not so. So I sucked it up and made a huge salad.

I wasn't even all that hungry. I just knew I'd be out running errands for a bit and would get hungry. I will bring some heavy whipping cream with me though so I have something to put in my coffee...

Snack #1 1:30pm
6 Go Raw spirulina and chocolate cookies

*no picture taken*

Comments:
I use the term "snack" loosely here. ABoy and I went for a walk and snacked on his favorite cookies.

Meal #2 3pm
hamburger and steamed broccoli and carrot leftovers
pepper slices
smoothie



Comments:
I decided to pair my smoothie with a meal. It's my intention/experiment to see how the fruit/nut/liquid intake affects me with real food combined with it.

The leftovers are so freaking good. The smoothie is much sweeter than I remember it. I can see why I'd want one every day if I was used to them, but now that I'm not, I don't know that I'll go back to having one daily. The steamed carrots are my favorite from this meal.

Snack #2 6pm
hard boiled egg
carrots and broccoli



Snack #3 7:15pm
apple with almond better



Comments:
I forgot to take pic at the start so a couple slices were eaten first. Oh well.

Meal #3 11:45pm
Spicy Citrus cod*
just barely sauteed asparagus and mushrooms
a few sips of wine
glass of orange juice
red pepper slices
two squares Green&Black's



Comments:
This meal was so.freaking.good. I bought Alaskan cod fillets on a whim and used the first recipe I found that sounded good and then added some sides. Amazing dinner.

*recipe to follow

Meal #4 2:30am
steamed carrots and Brussels sprouts
3 slices of bacon
Muenster cheese
orange juice



Comments:
I made a cake for ABoy's birthday. This was not a from scratch cake and I had bought the mix months and months ago. First ingredient is sugar and the second is potato starch. Really, that is exactly how the cake/cupcakes I made tasted. After taste testing them I felt gross and sick so I decided to eat some real food.

Day 35

Meal #1 9am
two eggs
chicken sausage (red pepper and garlic)
a few slices of Gruyere



Comments:
Today I might limit carb intake. I haven't decided completely yet, so I figured I'd at least do it for breakfast.

The chicken sausage is new. It's really good. I'm going to have to find it locally. I don't think I would want it every day like I do bacon, but it's a fantastic substitute.

Meal #2 1pm
bbq turkey tenderloins
steamed broccoli and carrots
1/2 avocado
apple with almond butter





Comments:
I walked for almost an hour and a half and then decided to do my dynamic workout before I ate. Now I'm unbelievably hungry.

I added the apple and almond butter about 20 minutes after I ate the rest because I was still really hungry.

Snack #1 3pm
celery sticks with sheep's cream cheese (with lavendar and honey) and raspberries
chocolate
apple skins



Comments:
The celery sticks are a weird concoction. I ended up eating the raspberries separately. The chocolate just sounded good and I'm working on will power. Only way to do that is just to keep testing it. The apple skins are because Allergy Boy always wants me to peel the skin off his apples and I realized today I wasn't going to waste the amazing farmers market apples. So now I'm getting extra nutrients.

Meal #3 4:45pm
pot roast with celery, carrots and onions



Comments:
I don't know if this constitutes an actual meal or not. Had it been an actual meal, I would have expected it to tide me over for a longer period of time. As it was, I was just trying to avoid actual snacking before I had a chance to make dinner.

Meal #4 6:30pm
tuna with homemade mayo, dill and celery
pepper slices
mock salad thingy with:
Romaine lettuce
sauteed carrot and ground beef in bacon fat
topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa and olives



Comments:
I was just being weird with dinner, I guess. I wanted to try out tuna with dill, but then I didn't have any mayo and then I made some and it's just okay. The tuna salad was pretty good though with everything mixed together. The peppers really helped pull everything together, but probably just because I really like peppers. Good texture combo though.

The salad start out as something else and kind of morphed its way into this pseudo taco salad. I intended on using the bacon fat as dressing again, but wanted to warm it up first so I sauteed the carrots in it, but then I saw the sour cream and salsa in the fridge. Then I noticed the all ready cooked (unseasoned) ground beef and decided I'd use up some leftovers. Thus, became another odd concoction. It's really good though, but could use crunchy chips and tomatoes that I can't have (and I'm already pressing my luck with the salsa).

Snack #2 7:45pm
6 Go Raw cookies



Comments:
I just wanted something crunchy.

Snack #3 9:15pm
pepper and avocado slices
banana slices topped with almond butter and coconut



Comments:
It's late and I'm hungry. I didn't want to eat anything really dense though. I don't have any hard boiled eggs and I vetoed more cheese. I know I'm interested in limiting the almond butter, but I'm just so tired. The thought of putting more though into food today didn't sound appealing. I cut the banana into thick chunks and just put the almond butter on top. I think it's probably less almond butter overall.

The pepper/avocado slices are so good. This is the best pepper I've had in awhile and the avocado is perfectly ripe. They are almost better than the bananas.


EotD Comments:
I'm going to start eating more vegetables with a low glycemic index. I'm experimenting. It really doesn't make that much of a difference because I usually eat the low GI ones anyway, but I'm going to be much more vigilant. Part of my experimenting this week is watching my carbohydrate intake. I'm still ridiculously busy this week—catching up from last week and still doing garage sale stuff this week—but this is my intention anyway.

I have a bunch more clean meat in my fridge and I'm excited to shop for some new vegetables to go along with it.

Along with an added intake of low GI vegetables (as well as vegetables in general) I'm going to start limiting my nut intake. I rely on them as quick backup food and I end up utilizing them for more than just for "backup" moments. If I better prepare, I won't have to do that. If that means eating more protein and vegetables, I'm okay with that. I'll have to add more sources of fat to compensate, but that'll just take some research and then acting accordingly. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Day 31

Meal #1 8am
soup



Meal #2 10am
2 hard boiled eggs
pepper slices
coffee with whipping cream



Comments:
I needed a super easy breakfast to munch on during the garage sale. I don't know that it's really "meal-sized" but I had intended it as a meal because I didn't have time to make more.

Meal #3 1:30pm
tuna with mayo
apple with sunbutter



Comments:
I still haven't had a chance to make almond butter. The sunbutter is growing on me. At the very least, it's a change of pace.

Snack #1 2:30pm
20 assorted nuts



Comments:
I was really hungry and on my second day of standing all day during a garage sale. I felt like I couldn't get enough food today—probably because I neglected to find the time to sit down and eat enough.

Snack #2 6:15pm
2 tbsp sunbutter
banana
hard boiled egg

*no picture*

Comments:
I continued neglecting to eat, so I was very hungry. I had to eat something. I also had to run out to the store to buy some stuff. Instead of taking the time to eat first, I decided to snack and then go out.

Meal #4 7:15pm
Spring mix salad with bacon, apples, cheese and chicken with bacon fat dressing



Comments:
This was unbelievably good. It was a super easy way to get some extra "good fat" in and it was really the perfect dressing anyway. Apples and bacon go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Ice cream 9:15pm


Comments:
This is not your run of the mill ice cream. This is Ashby's Sterling. So freaking good. The sweet kid working let me get two half kid scoops because I couldn't decide between Spumoni and Gold Rush. I got a cone too because...well, hey, I was having ice cream. I might as well go all out.

I decided to have ice cream because I kind of just wanted to get it over with. I had been thinking about it for a while and it was just kind of easier this way. Last year I waited too long (the parlor closes at the end of October) and they didn't have Spumoni anymore. I didn't want to risk that either.

eta:
I had no obvious reaction to the ice cream.

Chocolate 11:15pm


Comments:
I indulged in the ice cream, but then it just wasn't quite enough. I've never been one for dark chocolate, but I knew that's what I was signing up for going Primal. I got 60% cacao that also had ground espresso and star anise in it. I actually wanted to be able to eat the chocolate, so I figured I'd compromise on the cacao. It was surprisingly good. It was amazing actually. After eating so well for so long, my palette can now appreciate those kind of flavors. If I want to indulge again, this will definitely be the way to go.

Meal #5 11:45pm
pork*
sticky sticks with organic raisins



Comments:
I indulged a bunch tonight. I recognize this. I immensely enjoyed everything I ate. I wanted to eat something substantial too though, so I had some real food. The sticks were made with Sunbutter. The raisins were so good. I don't think I'll be able to buy regular ones ever again.

*I ate only half of what's pictured

Day 30

Meal #1 8:15am
two hard boiled eggs
pepper slices
goat cheese
coffee with coconut milk



Comments:
It's Day 1 of garage sale weekend. We'll see how this eating thing goes.

I'm having coffee again today. Fourth day in a row. I didn't intend on this and it won't become a staple. I used to be Coffee Girl, but I don't think even a few consecutive days could bring her back. I haven't even been finishing the coffees I've been given.

Meal #2 1pm
pork
pepper slices
goat cheese



Comments:
I ate when I got hungry, but I felt hungrier than I normally do.

Snack #1 3:15pm
smoothie (with sunbutter)
30 assorted nuts



Comments:
I've been up and very active since 6am. I got a good seven hours of sleep last night, but no sleep the night before. I think my body is trying to find a rhythm to the random.

Before I ate, I felt like I hadn't eaten anything of substance all day. I knew I need the extra, so I ate more nuts.

Meal #3 6:15pm
Mexican
ground beef with cayenne, paprika, basil, oregano, onion powder, garlic and pepper
spinach
organic sour cream
tablespoon salsa
black olives
Monterey jack and mozzarella shredded cheese



Comments:
I'm not usually a fan of Mexican, but it's been sounding really good since the weekend. This meal was not what it was supposed to be. No matter how I seasoned the meat (and there was a lot of seasoning added) it never tasted like anything. It was odd.

Mexican is not much fun without the salty crunch of corn chips. I will either have to find something crunchy for next time or just not have Mexican again. Oh well.

I know I've sworn off tomatoes and said I'd be careful with dairy, but it's Mexican! That's not so doable. We'll see how that goes.

eta:
I added many more new ingredients to the meal than I would normally, which I realized while doing it, but I figured I'd be alright. Within an hour, I got this killer, incapacitating headache. One of those awful headaches where you're afraid it might actually make you puke. It wasn't fun. I don't know if it was from something in the meal or from severe dehydration since I only drank one bottle of water all day.

In any case, it's now almost 1am, and after a four hour nap, I'm starting to feel a lot better.

Snack #2 6:45pm
nanasun sandwiches
blueberries



Comments:
I need to make more almond butter, but haven't had the time. I've been eating Allergy Boy's Sunbutter instead. There is something specific I don't like about it, which is why I don't normally eat it, but it's been a quick substitute in a jam.

Meal #4 12:30am
drumstick
orange



Comments:
I got up from my headache-induced sleep, and decided some food sounded good.

I really wanted an apple, but we didn't have any. The garage sale stuff has kept me so busy this week. A good shopping trip is definitely in order.

Snack #3 1:30am
20 nuts
pepper slices



Comments:
I wanted something crunchy. I just realized with the elimination of crackers and chips, crunchy things are sometimes lacking.

EotD Comments:
I am now going to take my still dehydrated, so exhausted body to bed. I had to update my final day though! I cannot believe it's been 30 days already. I feel amazing, despite the dehydration and circumstances of the day. Tomorrow may be October, but it's just going to be Day 31 for me.