Last Day of the 21 Day Challenge Tomorrow!

Day 21:

Agenda:

1. Intermittent fast. When you wake up do not eat for as long as possible until you are very hungry. If you have been faithful to this challenge, you will be able to fast longer than your first time or, at the least, longer than before the challenge.
2. Take your after picture to compare with your before picture. If you see a difference {and are willing!}, please send me your pictures:) If you are even more willing and would like to share your experience, please contact me and I will post your story and/or picture to my blog!
3. Also, don't forget to document and compare your earlier notes from the challenge. It's incredible to see the difference!

Document:

-total hours fasted

-how you increased your daily movement

-relaxation techniques tried

-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Lastly, celebrate Day 21 by preparing your favorite primal dinner {assuming you will be able to fast through the typical american breakfast and lunch schedule!} with your loved ones:)

Congratulations!

I will repost Mark's 80/20 concept tomorrow, so stay tuned on how to continue this lifestyle.

Again, congratulations and thank you for taking this challenge. I hope you feel an increased feeling of health, strength and a sense of control! If you had a wonderful experience, please refer your family/friends to beprimal.blogspot.com and have them take my next challenge which will be announced soon:)

A New Year's Primal Challege: Day 20

Day 20:

Agenda:

1. For Day 20, you will be preparing for your last intermittent fast of this challenge. So, tomorrow night will be your last meal before Day 21 and that does not mean to pig out! Eat normally to see how you will do during your fast. Then on Day 21 fast for as long as you can until hunger gets the best of you;)
2. Perform a 30-60 minute moderate aerobic exercise of your choice.

Here we are foraging and getting in some aerobic exercise:)

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- sauté mushrooms, peppers, onions and put on top of an omelet.

Lunch- bacon and egg salad.

Dinner- pork chops seasoned with rosemary and a side of cooked carrots and salad or steak with hash back sweet potatoes! 

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-moderate aerobic exercise

-relaxation techniques tried

-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 19

Day 19:

Agenda: 

1. Max reps workout to see how you have improved from the beginning:)

Find your maximum repetitions of...

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

-Squats

Meal/Snack Ideas: 

Breakfast- scramble eggs up with leftover meats/veggies.

Lunch- turkey wraps.

Dinner- Tomato Basil Soup with a side of oven roasted veggies or meat.

Tomato Basil Soup

1 large can diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream (raw/unpasteurized/etc.)
1 stick of butter (raw/hormone free/antibiotic fee/etc.)
15 fresh basil leaves (or sage...I used sage and it was great!)
salt
pepper

In a large pot put in the diced tomatoes (juice and all) and put it on the stove over medium heat. Once it starts to bubble a little, turn it down to low/medium heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Take off heat add basil/sage and puree or use stick blender to blend until mostly blended (I like some clumps of tomato). Put back over heat low heat and stir in the heavy cream. Then add butter and stir until all melted without boiling the soup.
Serve!

Snacks- baked pumpkin seeds or another seed of choice.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-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

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 18

Day 18:

Agenda:

1. Tomorrow's  challenge is to do a movnat workout here!

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- green smoothie (spinach/kale/coconut milk/frozen berries or a banana).

Lunch- try a primal curry using coconut milk {except avoid those green beans...more on the green beans here.}

Dinner- beef round eye with a salad and a side of twice baked sweet potatoes.

 Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Pecans - recipe here.

Snacks- try something new and different like this dragon fruit below.

DOCUMENT:

-how you increased your daily movement

-movnat

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 17

Day 17:

Agenda:

1. Complete a sprint session! Do about 5min of a light warm-up such as jumping jacks, high knees, or jog. Then, put on running shoes {or your bare minimalist shoes} and decide on a number of sets to complete. For example, you could complete 5-8 sets of 10-30 seconds of sprinting with a recovery in between {rest for about 60 seconds or until your breathing is back to normal} doing any cardio activity: running, rowing, bicycling, stationary bike, etc.

For example, I sometimes complete a sprint session on our rowing machine at home as follows: 8 sets x 30 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest. GO ALL OUT!

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- make a big, green smoothie: spinach, kale, cucumber, coconut/almond milk, berries, bananas, and some ice or scramble eggs with spinach and blue cheese.

Lunch- roasted cauliflower and broccoli with mushrooms and onions.

Dinner- try a spaghetti squash or summer squash noodles with veggies!

Snacks- try some primal beef jerky from a co-op/health foods store or make your own using a food dehydrator.  


Homemade jerky:
-box fan
-2 air filters (ours was 20x20 which fit the box fan perfectly)
-meat of choice cut thinly (I believe we used beef round eye)
Then... 
Lay your box fan down or up on a chair. Set one filter on top and place meat on top filter spreading around the area evenly. Set another air filter on top. Turn fan on for about 18hours or until meat is dried as desired (ours took less time.)

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-sprint workout

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 16

Day 16:

Apparently, I forgot to hit PUBLISH again! {I've never done this in my other challenges and here I did it TWICE...}

Agenda:

1. Take play breaks throughout the day! This could include getting off of your home computer to play on the swings with your kids for 15 minutes or getting up from your work desk to throw a frisbee with a coworker outside for 5 minutes or whatever else your heart desires to do for fun :)
2. Try a new primal recipe! Find a recipe I have put up on the blog, google primal recipe's, go to marksdailyapple.com to find a new recipe, or find a delicious recipe and make it primal!

{These are a couple of my siblings PLAYING while on our hike in Utah.}

If you're feeling really energetic after all your play breaks then go ahead and try another movnat.com workout!

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- cut the top off of a large tomato, core the inside, and put in oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or more until tomato softens slightly. Sauté ground meat, onions, or anything else on hand and then put in the tomatoes after they come out of the oven. Crack an egg or two on top of the meat/onions and place in oven to broil until egg is set. 

Lunch- make a shrimp coconut milk soup.

Dinner- place whole chicken in crockpot with veggies: carrots, celery, onions, or leeks. Salt and pepper. Fill crockpot with water leaving 2 inches of space at the top of crockpot. Add some lemon juice and vinegar. Turn on crockpot to cook for about 6 hours and turn chicken once halfway through.  When cooked, let chicken cool a bit and then pull apart the meat in chunks and serve with the cooked veggies!

Snacks- guacamole and chips {sweet potato, zucchini or another primal chip}.

Document:

-play breaks tried

-new primal recipe tried

-movnat 

-how you increased your daily movement

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 15

Day 15:

Agenda:

1. Let's kick off our third and LAST week of the 21 day challenge by another FORAGE. My husband and I do a family night every Monday, so this is a perfect challenge for a Monday {well, for us at least!}

You could do a real primitive forage and go out into your surroundings to find mushrooms, apples, berries {which are probably all gone now;)}, etc. Last year my husband and I went out early spring to pick fiddleheads {basically a baby fern}. It was fun to get outside and hike around and try something new!

You could also forage by finding a new shopping market with ingredients to make primal foods or even go out to a different restaurant and to eat a primal meal. Remember, politely ask for substitutions as deemed necessary to create a primal meal:)

2. Lastly, perform a moderate aerobic exercise of your choice, 30-60 minutes long and 50-70% of your maximum heart rate.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- scrambled eggs, veggies of choice, and then throw in kale or spinach for the last few minutes of cooking.

Lunch- ceviche {I foraged at a restaurant last month and had ceviche that included the seafood, onions, cilantro, and sliced mangos...delicious!}

Dinner- creamy tomatoe basil soup.

Snacks- roast those chestnuts that are on sale {make an 'X' on the top of the chestnut with a knife, place upright on a baking sheet and bake.}

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-forage

-moderate aerobic exercise

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 14

Day 14:

Tomorrow is Day 14! Two weeks down, one week to go:)

Agenda:

1. REST. No crazy workouts, just a lot of relaxation and spending time with those you love. Plan on taking a family stroll or take a nap on the couch!  Continue {obviously!} to eat primal approved foods and work on your relaxation techniques... this includes preparing for bed a couple of hours early by putting away digital media, dimming lights, etc. You might also want to make a list for the upcoming week to get yourself organized and prepared for your last week of the primal challenge:)

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- stir fried veggies atop eggs.

Lunch- chicken salad wraps.

Dinner- salmon burgers.

Snacks- olives, grape tomatoes and fermented cheese of your choice.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 13

Day 13:

I hope the fast went well and that you are blown away by how long you can go without feeling hungry! If so, this means that YOU are becoming a great fat-burning human being.

Agenda:

1. Write down everything you eat throughout the day. Mark Sisson recommends using a great website called fitday.com to input your day's worth of information and the website will calculate your daily nutrition: protein, carbs, fat, and calories. This will give you a great idea of how much you are intaking in a day and what you will need to eat more or less of. If you are trying to lose weight, Mark recommends a daily carb intake of 50-100 grams/day.
2. Lastly, complete a push-up tabata workout. Remember, this is 8 sets of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Count your total repetitions. If you need to keep your knees on the ground that is fine, but be sure to maintain good posture: flat back, hands to the side of shoulders, and ensure your chest hits the ground first {if you cannot make it that low, then use a pillow beneath your chest.}

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- zucchini egg bake with sausage {for the recipe go HERE}.

Lunch- chicken breast, sweet potato, and veggies!

Dinner- roast in the crockpot with veggies.

Snacks- bananas with a spread of almond butter and sprinkle of honey.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-your fitday.com calculations

-total push-ups from tabata workout 

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 12

Day 12:

Agenda: 

1. Primal fast. Please don't forget to eat a nice dinner tonight {remember, do not over eat with the knowledge of Day 12's fast or carb overload}. So, tonight will be your last meal and then tomorrow go as long as possible without food until you get very hungry and then eat a very primalicious meal:)

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- eggs with tomatoes and avocados.

Lunch- cobb salad.

Dinner- Turkey, baked sweet potatoes, and baked asparagus wrapped in bacon.

Snacks- parsnip fries.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-total hours fasted 

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 11

Day 11:

Agenda:

1. Complete a favorite aerobic exercise and invite someone to do it with you. Do your exercise for 30-60 minutes and with a heart rate of about 50-75% of your maximum.
2. Limit the carbs you eat all day. This is to get us ready for the following day {Day 12} where we will practice intermittent fasting. After a normal primal dinner on Day 11 you will fast for as long as you can until you feel famished or energy depleted. Record how many hours you went without food.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- sausage patties with cooked vegetables and eggs.

Lunch- a month ago at my hemodialysis training we were provided lunch. I was very weary of this and brought healthy snacks as I was unsure how primal the food would be. But, surprisingly I have foraged well! Take a look below...

 I opted out of the pasta salad and grabbed grilled chicken with a heaping side of green salad.

We were served tacos, SO I made a taco salad complete with fresh salsa, guacamole, greek yogurt {for the sour cream} and beef! Ahhh....

Dinner- stir fry veggies {you know, the veggies that are sitting in your fridge and you're thinking, "man, I need to toss these soon!} and add meat on the side.

Snacks- kale chips (sprinkle sea salt and olive oil over small pieces of kale on a baking pan and pop in the oven at 350 until crispy).

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-aerobic exercise with a partner

-carbs cut out in preparation for intermittent fast

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 10

Day 10:

We are in the double digits! Stay focused on your end results and don't get discouraged if you're not seeing all benefits of the primal lifestyle just yet. If it is significant weight loss you're looking for, then focus on how your clothes are fitting now and celebrate the small achievements. All these small things will add up:)

I will also talk more about Mark Sisson's "80/20" concept when we get towards the end of the challenge for you to incorporate or you may want to continue to be strict {if that's what you want to call this challenge} for a while until you hit your goal weight.

Agenda:

1. Eat whenever and whatever you want! I mean it... Eat dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Dessert for an afternoon snack or vice versa. Eat whatever sounds good that falls in line with the primal food pyramid. Now while doing this, get rid of any guilty feelings from eating or other emotions tied to eating and just enjoy your food. For the remainder of this challenge, ENJOY {primal, of course} FOOD.
2. Complete a sprint session! Do about 5min of a light warm-up such as jumping jacks, high knees, or jog. Then, put on running shoes and decide on a number of sets to complete. For example, you could complete 5-8 sets of 10-30 seconds of sprinting with a recovery in between {rest for about 60 seconds or until your breathing is back to normal} doing any cardio activity: running, rowing, bicycling, stationary bike, etc.

The benefits of sprinting: slight increase in human growth hormone {HGH} and testosterone production, increase in muscle fiber growth, toned muscles, and metabolic advantages.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- a dinner favorite or leftovers from last night!

Lunch- cheesy omelet and spinach.

Dinner- a lunch favorite or breakfast again like... cutting the top off of bell peppers, take out the pit, put in an egg or two and stuff with bits of meat/bacon/etc. and pop in the oven to bake until cooked.

Snack- PRIMAL DESSERT!

Dessert- apples dipped in hazelnut butter.

{Please try to find one other than this brand due to the sugar content!}

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-how you did with cutting ties between food and emotions

-sprint workout

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 9

{I apologize! I thought this post went through yesterday, but apparently it did not.}
Day 9:

Agenda:

(1) Avoid eating foods that have a label! This might mean you will need to find fresher foods from co-ops or other whole food stores. This might give you the opportunity to learn how to make your own dressings, dried fruits, or nut butters!
(2) Avoid media! We spend so much time in front of computers, phones, our TV, etc. You may have to be in front of a computer all day at work, but if that is the case then limit the extra media you engage with. Set time limits for your media time twice a day. Focus on the most important things {email, news, etc.} and then close the device. Also, try to put on those screen dimmers/filters, such as f.lux, if not done so already to protect your eyes.

{This is from when my husband and I avoided labels by going apple picking;)}

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- crack in egg in each half of a pitted avocado, sprinkle a favorite fermented cheese or pieces of bacon and bake in the oven until egg is cooked.

Lunch- fry/grill some ground beef or bison patties and add a fried egg on top with tomatoes or avocados. 

Dinner- make a ratatouille dish from online with fresh ingredients and fermented cheese. 

Snack- make your own primal trailmix!

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-how you did with avoiding food labels and media

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 8

Day 8:

Tomorrow we start WEEK TWO of the challenge!

Agenda:

1. Complete a very short, yet intense, tabata air squat workout. A tabata workout is usually 8 sets of a specified movement being performed for 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between. It is an amazing workout that you can get done in just minutes! Below is a large group of people performing this tabata style workout, so feel free to do it along with them or you may do it on your own:) Count your total reps and document.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- mixed eggs, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes poured in cupcake pan(s) and baked.

Lunch- find hot dogs/sausage that are antibiotic/nitrite/nitrate free and dab primal approved condiments on top {read those labels if not making your own condiment!} Add a side of greens.

Dinner- below is a big salad with homemade pickled radishes {never been a fan of radishes, but pickled are delicious!} along with baked chicken and remaining fried plantains.

Dessert- have you made/tried coconut milk ice-cream? Literally, just coconut milk and coconut pieces. Check your labels, or better yet, make your own!

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-tabata air squats total reps

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits