Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Primal 21 Day Challenge: Day 4

Day 4:

By tomorrow (Day 4), I hope any headaches or cravings that you may have been experiencing are easing up.

For me, the first 4 days were tough as I was coming off of that carb addiction. I felt like I was constantly eating primal snacks to help get me through at first. So, for day 4, don't restrict yourself to a breakfast/lunch/dinner schedule. Eat when you are hungry. If you don't get hungry until 10 am, then wait until then to eat or if you eat early in the morning and by 10 am you are hungry again, then eat something at 10 am! Eat according to the primal food pyramid until you feel satisfied, but not to the point of feeling stuffed. For day 4, we are going to listen to our bodies!

Along with listening to our bodies, there will come a point when our bodies will be so great at properly storing and burning fat that we may not feel hungry for many hours! Later on we will practice random fasting from food to see how well our body is at fat burning:) You will be amazed!
Once, I was impressed to hear Mark Sisson describe in a podcast at just how well his body is at fat burning. Mark said he was able to eat a dinner in the evening time and would not feel hungry until the next day at 1pm, which is when he would indulge in a delicious primal meal. Amazing!


Exercise:

Find your maximum repetitions of...

-Pushups
-Sit-Ups
-Pull-Ups or Chair Dips
-Plank Holds
-Squats

If you just jumped in this challenge (there will also be another one starting on Monday December 2nd), please refer to Day 2 of the challenge for proper form and movement.

Lastly, for Day 4 try to focus on standing up straight, walking/standing without shoes (or try bare minimalist shoes like the ones I'm wearing above!) and stay on your feet for most of the day. We are trying to increase our movement and avoid the american sedentary lifestyle. So, if you find yourself at a desk at work most of the time, find ways to stand more and take brief breaks. Remember to hold good posture and ensure your workspace is at a proper height for YOU. The last two years of my life working as a nurse in an office, I found my upper shoulders/back in an awful state of pain, numbness, and tingling due to my inappropriate work space. I also carried around a laptop in one arm ALL day! Once I started the 21 day challenge, I adjusted my work space, moved more, and held my laptop in both arms while setting it down as much as possible to save my back.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- sauté spinach in a pan with salt and have eggs/bacon on the side (this is what I made for my husband this morning); make a big spinach smoothie with berries or other fruit if you're in a hurry to go to work/school/or do errands.

Lunch- did you make pulled pork yesterday? use that shredded pork to top off your green salad and mix together guacamole to add on top!

Dinner- finish off that pulled pork (again with the pork?) with lettuce wraps and add sliced avocado, onion, and tomatoes; make Ginger Garlic Sesame Seed Chicken.

Ginger Garlic Sesame Seed Chicken
  • 4 chicken thighs, fat trimmed
  • 1/4 cup coconut aminos
  • 2 T garlic, minced
  • 1/2 small onion, thinnly sliced
  • 1 T sesame seeds
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 T coconut oil
Set oven to 350 degrees. Heat large pan over medium heat with coconut oil. Trim extra fat off chicken thighs. Salt and pepper chicken as desired on both sides. Place in hot pan and cook top of chicken thigh for 5-7min. Mix remaning ingredients in a small bowl. Flip chicken thighs and place mixture over top. Place pan with chicken thighs into oven and cook for 30min. Remove from oven. Scoop mixture from bottom of pan on top of chicken thighs. Let cool for 5min. Serve.


















Snacks- make a veggie plate of your favorite veggies; throw salt on sliced tomatoes (my favorite!)

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement
-what you did to improve your workspaces and avoid a sedentary lifestyle
-max reps of the above five movements
-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Let's Talk:

Please ask ME a question(s) :)

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