Shopping List

This day is almost upon me. The day when I go 100% primal for a month and I actually got the OK from the doc before I told him what I was going to do.

I am an athlete and I have had some injuries this summer that has put me off my feet. Just this week I started to get back to my activities and I also had a doctors appointment. I was complaining that my appetite was huge and that I had gained 10 pounds this summer. Well my appetite is still like I have training 15 hours a week. So he said to shy away from carbs and eat more protein.Cool.

So today I empty the pantry. Kids are are helping me happily but they don't know it yet. Out goes the whole wheat bread, refined sugar, and pasta. In comes the tuna, apples and raw honey.

The list:

• Yogi Chai Roobios Tea (very good unsweetened) 
• Greek Yogurt
• Cream
• Eggs (free range of course)
• Olive oil
• Sunflower seed oil
• Samlon
• Tuna
• Steak
• Hamburger
• Chicken
• Berries
• Apples (the orchards are just opening for pick yourself)
• Whatever fruit is on sale
• Almonds
• Sunflower seeds
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Almond Butter
• Jerky
• Salad fixings because I love a Big *** Salad nearly everyday
• Bacon nitrate free
• Fresh Veggies from the farmers market
• Wild rice (at least I will give it a try)

four food groups, where did you go?

Growing up, if you are of a certain age, we ate by the rules of the four food groups. It seemed, at the time, that it was the only food guide there ever was.  It was so simple. Divide your plate into thirds, to each section add meat, veggie, and a starch, drink a glass of milk and you had a balanced meal.

Now we have pyramids for every diet imaginable (even Primal Blueprint). It made me wonder if the four food groups were the first? It wasn't.

On Ramp to the Day, Fueled by Coffee

I must admit, that I have 'freinded' Dunkin Donuts. I have the green punch card from the corner store that has one more punch to it until I get my free coffee and I only got it a week ago. I have also driven 15 minutes out of my way (more than once) to get to a Tim Hortons rather than hit the BK on the way home from the doctors.

I have a coffee problem. An addiction? Well maybe not, but I do spend way too much on coffee when I am out, and I drink way too much.

The Challenge

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either.   ~wikipedia.org

It is the way humans were meant to eat, or so says Mark Sissons.

Mark Sisson's book "The Pimal Blueprint" has so much information backed up by references at the back of every chapter.  These 'end-notes' cite sources like the Mayo clinic, New England Journal of Medicine, CDC, and so much more.

The first human like species, Homo Habilis, roamed the earth 2.5 million years ago. Homo sapiens appeared 200,000 years ago. Only 10,000 years ago our primal ancestors started to farm, relatively, a short time. Mark insists we were meant to eat like out paleo hunter-gatherer ancestors because our genetics have not changed even if we get our food from a different place and in a different way.

I believe him. So for the month of September I am going to live primal. My hopes are that I will lose some weight, get in shape and have more energy.

I am going to follow mark's advise from his last challenge. I will act 'as-if';

• as if I am the person who loves the gym.
• as if I can be Primal 100% of the time.
• as if I have no desire for sweets, bread, pasta and rice.
• as if the big and small stresses of everyday life can slide off my back.
• I may not be that person yet, but I will act as if I am.

Here are the laws:

1. Eat Lots Of Plants, Animals
2. Avoid Poisonous Things
3. Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
4. Life Heavy Things
5. Sprint Once in a While
6. Get Adequate Sleep
7. Play
8. Get Afequate Sunlight
9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes
10. Use Your Brain