Hello everyone,

Starting my food journal. Today for breakfast I had water, a piece of grilled fish. And some carrots.  

 Usually don't eat much first thing in the AM. Last week I got out for a swim, and hot/cold water immersion (and some sauna) before my first meal of the day. If I eat too early, get really sluggish. My first meal needs to be protein oriented, or it wrecks my day.

Today I snacked on sunflower seeds. Then had a large salad for lunch. Right now, store bought salad dressings are a problem. I make my own (olive oil, water, garlic powder, dried onion) but get tired of the taste. Guess my taste buds are bludgeoned from years of processed foods.  

For dinner I slow-cooked some 80/20 ground beef. Not grass fed. I am looking for the best sources for grass fed beef. Looked at the ad link at the top page of this site; looks pretty good.

Trying to deal with some myfascial pain in my left leg. (This from sciatica, cured with surgery) Read about toxins from over-cooking building up. Am 53, so basically...everything has probably "built up".  

Have no problem not eating grain/wheat products. Have no problem not eating dairy. Have no problem not eating refined carbs and really sweet fruit; Paleo diet helped me beat my carbohydrate addiction. No problem not consuming caffeine, or alcohol. These are my main strengths in terms of my diet. Made a huge leap managing anxiety and ADHD like stuff, from going as Paleo as I could. Looking to improve.  

Thanks for having me, I appreciate being here. And am looking forward to learning and trying new ways to refine my diet and improve my health.

PS - one more thing relevant to diet. I get sunshine on me all the time. Year round, maybe an hour or two long "doses". So pretty sure no vitamin D problems. Am a big fan of hot tub spa. Place I go has a nice pool for laps, and a sauna too. Plus it's open 'till 10PM 7 days a week and is pretty cheap to boot. Doing hot/cold water immersion feels great, cuts my stress and makes for a fine day.

Hey James B, good work starting a food journal, it is the best way to help people help you with your food.

Might be an idea to take a look at some other posters journals to see how much information they give. Some are very detailed, which is usually not necessary but at a bare minimum ingredients need to be listed.

For instance 'a salad' can be a lot of things, many of them non Paleo.

Hello everyone - thank you so much for all the helpful feedback.

RE: "If you get a lot of vitamin D over the summer, you can survive on stored vitamin D for the winter, though.  And if you're at a lower latitude, this may not be a concern."

 Where I swim (and get sun) is approximately 1076 feet in altitude. Up here in the (lower) Mojave, altitude is about 2500+ to 2800 feet above sea level. It is good to know I can use what I store in the off times when not getting much sun. Thanks.

RE: " For instance 'a salad' can be a lot of things, many of them non Paleo."

Thank you, I agree. Being detailed helps everything. It was a green salad, Romain lettuce chopped up with raw sunflower seeds. And then (disaster) store bought Caesar dressing.

RE: "There is a lot more you can be doing with your homemade salad dressings."

Gosh, this is so great. Thanks for the link. Yes, I avoid nightshades, but will look at the alternatives.


Food Journal continued:
Last night I was up late and felt like a late meal. I slow simmered some green onions in olive oil, then mixed in 4 eggs (pretty good ones I think, small local farm) cooked and ate 'em. I was full and slept good.

This AM, water and fish oil caps. After walking (hiking) though the desert 1.0 mile to town, and another .5 mile to the local market, I ate a hand full of cherries. Then walked home. Not enough carbs to wreck my day (lol) and OK after a nice morning hike. That's all so far today.

Want to get a better skillet and just get more skilled at cooking in general.

Thanks again everyone for all the thoughtful feedback.

Dinner:

Made 4 hard-boiled eggs, sprinkled on a little Himalayan salt. Ate that with about 5 small carrots. Drank water. Earlier, snacked on some cherries. Had a couple spoon fulls of coconut oil. Yum.

Not feeling like salad or nuts/seeds. Found a semi-local source for grass fed beef. Found a neat YouTube video recipe for Bone Broth (Hydration) from originObalance. Looks good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNOYsFUA3nc

Lunch/dinner

Put 12 ounces of chopped lettuce in a bowl added store bought (cheat) Caesar dressing - ate it.

Later, put some chopped green onions into (my new) skillet with some olive oil, slow simmer. Added a large Swai fish fillet (bought frozen - Safeway) and slow cooked it for a little while. Put cooked fish in bowl, added some fresh lemon juice.

Tasted good. Dessert was a spoonful of coconut oil.

Going through and finishing off my frozen meat selections before getting more whole cuts: like the whole chicken (with skin), fish, etc.

Breakfast:

Water, a couple carrots. Went into town, errands/groceries. Bought 2 pears. Ate one. Test: how will it be to have carbs in the AM? Though not first thing?

Did my swimming/water thing. By 1:30 starting to bonk. Stop at local market for green onions (the ones at Vons were a joke). Bought a bag of dried papaya (about 4 oz.) ate it on drive home - went too far without fats/protein.

Lunch: water, nice piece of Atlantic salmon slow cooked with a little olive oil and green onions. Ate that with a broccoli crown (dipped in a little Caesar dressing - cheat). Good salmon.

Going through remaining store-bought dressing before I make my own from paleo recipes so kindly shared with me here.