Trying Primal, anyone else?

[cheri]

I've been reading quite a bit about primal/paleo nutrition. It bugs the crap out of me that we as a nation are getting bigger and bigger, and the information I've read about primal/paleo certainly makes sense (the science part of me wants more studies, but I know it's early).

I've decided to try eating primal for the next few weeks. I have a few pounds around the middle that haven't gone away since the birth of DD2 (almost 4 years old), and I figure that'll be a good measure of whether it works. If it does, I want to get DH to try (since he has quite a few more pounds than I do).

I'm not going to tell him (or anyone IRL), since I want to see if it works first. Anyone want to be eating buddies? Or have any advice?

[daisysmom]

You will find a lot of threads here that talk about primal/paleo or low carb generally. I think there are 8-10 of us or so that have really converted to this over the past year or so and there are some great ideas out there. I don't know how to link threads on here yet but I did a thread a few weeks ago about low carb dinner ideas and got a ton of great suggestions, I have printed them all out and our family has tried out quite a few. My current struggle is that I eat Paleo for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then after my DD goes to bed and my husband is dealing with a lot of stress on the care of his ailing parents, I tend to break-bad and eat something like 10 Ritz crackers out of frustration, emotion. The days that I managed to really stick to low carb/Primal were awesome -- January - March were honestly just home runs. I am needing to get back to this, but something emotionally is holding me back and I need to solve that first. But anyway, I digress. It is a great life change and kudos for you for doing it! I would love to be your eating buddy but I am not sure that I will really do it. Seach some threads here though and get lots of ideas -- you won't regreat it. Also have you read Gary TAubes book called something like This is Why we are FAt? It is very motivating (and helps you feel better about the science).

[cheri]

Thanks, daisymom--I'll look for the dinner thread. The first few days have gone pretty well, but I can tell I've got a lot to learn about variety :). Salad with meat on it is already getting a little old.

I've got Gary Taubes book on reserve at the library. I can't wait to read it!

:grouphug: with the stress that's getting to you now. I totally understand needing to work through something before you can get back to something else. Hang in there! I'm pulling for you.

[nfowife]

I'm doing low carb (Taubes inspired, right now I am doing <30 net carbs and 1500 calories/day) but not paleo. Salads definitely get old! I haven't had one in over a week now because I haven't remembered to pick up greens:).
I get a lot of great recipe ideas at lowcarbfriends.com , some wouldn't work for paleo depending on ingredients but many would.
Best of luck! I'm at the 2 month mark this week and have lost 10 pounds. Slow, but it feels great!

[cheri]

Thanks! I'll check that site out as well. So far, DH doesn't seem to have noticed (although to be fair, I do all sorts of weird "experiments", so it's probably barely on his radar). Maybe I can sneak in some low-carb foods for the whole family. ;)

[alirebco]

I've been paleo/primal for 3 years and my body does so well on it. The first couple weeks are the hardest. Also if you cheat, don't cheat with gluten - it takes weeks to get it back out of your system. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

[cheri]

Thanks for the encouraging words :). When you say that it takes weeks for the gluten to get out of your system, what do you mean? Do you have specific symptoms that occur when you eat gluten? This is all so new to me and I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks!

[daisysmom]

My non-technical understanding is that you will feel the benefits of being low carb and gluten free after a couple of weeks, but when you backslide, it will take another couple of weeks to get rid of the sluggish "carby" feeling. That has been my experience. I have been backsliding! And it feels so bloated and carby. So I know that getting back on the wagon and stayng that way, it will feel better immediately but really feel better in a couple of weeks.

[echoesofspring]

I have been backsliding! And it feels so bloated and carby.

I've been having some problems myself - I'm right there with you!

Also if you're just starting out, I find that there's some sort of 'detox' my body goes through when I first cut out the carbs, I've heard people call it 'carb flu', I'm low energy, cranky, hungry, hungry, hungry. Be sure to have a lot of protein and veggie snacks on hand for that period. It's only a couple days and then I find my body adjusts and I'm just not hungry as often.