How are you feeling after Day 1? You might not feel very energetic and/or have a headache. This is normal after coming off of the american high carb/sugar diet or, as Mark Sisson refers to, the SAD (Standard American Diet). During the last challenge, almost everyone who participated said it took them about 4 days to get over these side effects and then they started to feel "great" and "energetic"! So, hang in there. It will only get better:)
What did you have a difficult time with on Day 1? Was it hunger? Cravings? Getting in more movement throughout the day? Turning off that TV 2 hours before bed? Decide how you can better prepare yourself for Day 2 by creating more primal snacks to help you with hunger or cravings; making the time to go for a walk during a lunch break or parking farther away from work or taking the stairs instead of elevator; set a curfew for your media time by setting an alarm 2 hours before bed. Think, plan, and then do!
How satisfied were you with meals? Want to try a new recipe? Get creative in the kitchen by trying different spices and herbs with your meals. Go tomarksdailyapple.com to find new recipes or purchase one of his cookbooks or find a recipe online that you like and MAKE it primal! One suggestion from Mark in 'The Primal Blueprint' is to rotate 5 of your favorite primal recipes during this lifestyle transition.
Have you noticed benefits? As I said before, you might not feel great the first few days of the challenge as you're coming off of that sugar high. But, again, give it time and your cells will soon change into great fat burning cells instead of hungry-for-sugar-and-burning cells!
Today, for Day 2, I want you to take about 5 minutes to find your maximum repetitions of:
-Pushups (Keep body in straight line, hands shoulder width apart, hands and toes on floor, touch chest to ground. To modify, keep knees on floor along with toes.)
-Sit-ups (Put a rolled up towel lengthways or pillow beneath buttocks and back. Put bottom of your feet together to make a diamond with your legs. When you lie back, reach back as far as you can with your hands and then crunch forward reaching as far as you can with your hands to your toes.)
-Pull-Ups or Chair Dips (Unlike the above picture, grip the pull-up bar with the top of your hands facing you, wide grip, pull your body up until your chip is above the bar. For chair dips, take a chair and sit just in front of it by gripping your hands on the edge of the chair. Your body will be in a sitting position just in front of the chair. Dip down as far as you can and then push yourself back up.)
-Plank Holds (Get into the pushup position, hold this position for as long as you can.)
-Squats (Stand shoulder width or a little wider if you have long legs. Keep your arms stretched out in front of you and lower yourself down by pushing your buttocks back, keeping your back flat, and keeping your knees behind your toes and going outward rather than inward. Go as low as you can, preferably below parallel.)
Meal/Snack Ideas:
Breakfast- egg frittata with peppers, onions, and spinach; stuffed squash blossoms; baked stuffed peppers with eggs and bison meat.
Lunch- leftover dinners; cubed avocados, sweet peppers, celery, onions, tomatoes tossed as a salad with lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt.
Dinner- baked salmon with lemon and seasonings of choice (if it's a big salmon, save half and keep frozen to use later for salmon patties); bison meat patties with cooked egg on top.
Snacks- coconut milk, banana, spinach, and berry smoothie.
Don't forget to document:
-where you shopped for primal foods
-how you increased your daily movement during 3 different times in the day
-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits
Let's Talk:
During the last challenge a few people ask me about dairy in the primal lifestyle. How good is it for you? How much to eat? Here was my answer: limit your dairy, but some high-fat, unpasteurized dairy is beneficial in moderation and if not lactose intolerant. Commercial dairy that is pasteurized and homogenized is rid of harmful bacteria, but also rid of healthy bacteria, enzymes and nutrients we need. The other downside is the amount of antibiotics, pesticides, EGF (epidural growth factor that is believed to increase cancer risk), casein (stimulates some auto-immune properties) and hormones that are found in dairy. It is also believed that dairy can worsen acne which, in my case, I believe was true. Unpasteurized, raw and fermented dairy has probiotics for a healthy immune system due to minimal processing, low levels of casein, and allows people to avoid allergic reactions with lactose. So, stick with either no dairy, raw fermented dairy, raw high-fat dairy, raw milk/cheese, or organic hormone/antibiotic free dairy. This is the best order according to Scott Kustes, friend of Mark Sisson, mentioned in 'The Primal Blueprint'! Lastly, we want to get the majority of our fats from animal fats which is what our body wants/needs, so do not solely rely on dairy for high-fat consumption. Again, no dairy or dairy in moderation.
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