Nice fresh garden veggies!

We were blessed with a really great garden this year! It has felt so good to eat a bounty of fabulous fruits and veggies that we grew by ourselves! I have BIG plans for next year's garden! :)

I've been reading Mother Earth News for a while now and am striving to become at least 50% self sufficient with food. I think we can do it!

I also have a TON of cucumbers- so I'm going to give a shot at making my own pickles this weekend. We shall see how that goes!

Eating primally has continued to go well- I have a renewed energy in it after re-reading Primal Blueprint and having tons of fresh foods to eat.

Our Garden!

The Whole 30 didn't go as well as expected. I had a couple of "cheat" days... but I did lose 5 pounds over all for the month.

We also have a really great garden this year... it's coming along very nicely! We have had several humongous zucchini, and some beautiful cucumbers and peppers as well! I'm really excited for the broccoli and tomatoes to come in!

This month I am going to work really hard on primal exercise. I have taken a big break from jogging- but I really enjoy it- so I'm going to get started again. I have also really loved doing Zumba- we have it for Wii and I highly recommend it- very fun!

Watermelon

Broccoli

Cucumbers

Zucchini

June 1 is a Good Day

June 1 seems like a good day to start another 30 day challenge. The past two challenges I've tried have not been successful- I've mostly stuck to the plan- but I've let little things slide in like drinking milk, eating processed salad dressings, and such. I've been so busy studying for boards I've let some things slide. But that's over- and I passed!

So today- June 1st starts a true Whole 30 Challenge- no cheats at all. Also, this past weekend, my husband and I put in our garden. I'm super excited- it's the biggest garden we've had yet (about 150 sq ft). We've planted zucchini, cukes, tomatoes, about 5 different types of peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, watermelon, cabbage, and kale. I have somewhat of a brown thumb- but hopefully this time it will stick! It feels great to get on the road to self sufficiency. Now we have chickens regularly laying eggs, and a nice big garden. Next year we want to add beehives, and within the next 5 years I'd like to have a dairy goat (or two)! It's a slow project- but I want to make sure I can master it one step at a time. Pictures of the garden to come!

Graduated from Nursing School- getting "strict" again!

I completed the hardest two years of my life and graduated from nursing school. I'm excited to be a "grown up" now! With that said, there has been a lot of celebrating and eating non primal foods the past couple of weeks- and I have definitely felt the effects! It's amazing that I used to be able and easily eat a bowl of ice cream and a couple of hot dogs and not feel a thing. Now my stomach definitely is NOT happy when I do that. I had a cookout and stayed up with heart burn and stomach cramps at night. Now that all of that stuff is done- I have decided to complete another 30 day challenge! I need to get myself back on track!

This 30 day challenge includes:

No dairy (except butter)

No sugars/grains

No high glycemic foods (I have a weakness for bananas!)

Daily scripture study

Daily piano practice

Running outdoors at least once a week

Hopefully this will help me get going in the right direction again! I also wanted to link over to Primal Toad's "Primal Cave Friday". He has a great blog - http://www.primaltoad.com/primal-cave-friday-2/#comment-10775 .

Have a great weekend! While I will not be putting up daily posts of what I eat- I will try to at least do every 3 days or so - I want to be accountable for what I put into my body!

One year today!

Today is a special day for me- I have been primal for one year! It's been one of the best years of my life and I really look forward to continued progress and health. I've lost almost 70 pounds, lowered my cholesterol and triglycerides, and actually ENJOY exercise! I am SO grateful that I was introduced to this way of life. I was feeling pretty hopeless- but now I feel like I can do anything! I hope this year brings about another 25 pounds of weight loss and continued strength and wellness. :) If any of you have doubts as to whether this can work for you- it CAN! Just stick to the plan and you will see amazing results in your health.

You can learn more about primal blueprint at the website marksdailyapple.com .

Last March:

Last week:

Birthdays are hard!

I celebrated my birthday a few days ago, and I REALLY indulged in some not so healthy treats. My grandmother knows that my favorite meal are her homemade biscuits with tomato gravy and for dessert- blackberry sauce over the same biscuits. I ate a TON of them. I also indulged in quite a bit of Ben and Jerry's oatmeal cookie ice cream. While I was enjoying all of the food at the time, afterwards, I was HURTING!

I've never really had a problem eating high carb foods, but since my body is longer used to all of the sugar, I had a REALLY bad stomach ache and couldn't sleep all night.

I definitely enjoyed my birthday dinner- but next time I'll eat a quarter as much!

Whole 30- THE RESULTS

Well, I finished my Whole 30 challenge. It wasn't too bad. The main thing I learned is that dairy is my downfall! I eat far too much dairy. So now that I'm back on a "normal" primal diet, I'm going to make sure I eat way less of it.

So total- I lost 10.5 pounds. That's a lot of weight loss for 30 days!

I also went down at least a pant size- maybe two. I haven't been shopping yet- so I'm not sure.

As a reminder- here is a picture of me from last March (the week before I went primal and 65 pounds heavier).

Now here is a picture of me from right before my "Whole 30" challenge.

BEFORE:

Here I am in the exact same clothes after my "Whole 30" challenge. Now I have to wear a belt!

AFTER: