Anyone follow Primal?

Faery_Dust

As in the Marks Daily Apple, primal living? http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-to-the-primal-eating-plan/#axzz2bqseusPq

I eat a pretty high carb diet. I've done keto before and quite liked it but I seem to be able to deal better long term with carbs. I'm steadily losing weight at the moment and certainly don't feel deprived but have been thinking about long term and my heath, rather than just weight loss.

My mum was overweight in her younger years, and although she has lost weight, she ended up with diabetes, she also takes tablets for high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

My cholesterol and blood pressure are fine. During a procedure I had done recently I was told that I do have cysts on my left ovarie so I may have PCOS (had terrible skin from age of about 18 - 30 so would make some sense) although I have never had any tests done to confirm it.

So taking all this in to consideration I've been thinking about health and not just weight loss. I eat quite a lot of processed foods, things like weight watchers meals, and while they work for weight loss I sometimes wonder about whether they are "healthy". I don't always sleep very well and even with plenty of exercise, just don't always feel healthy.

I've been looking at different eating plans online and came across Marks Daily Apple and the whole "primal" way of eating. I just wondered if anyone has followed it and what they thought of it.

Of course there are success stories on the site, where everyone says how much better they feel and how much energy they had but would like to hear if anyone here had tried it please and what was your experience?

_TimeForMe

I've never heard of it, but I will check it out.

Faery_Dust

Thanks. I thought there would be more people who would be follow it. It seems a low carb (with carbs from nuts, vegetables and small amount of fruit).

Kate_Brown_123

Hey!

So I am studying for my PhD in the evolution of human nutrition and so I read a lot about the Paleo diet and "early human diets". These types of diets help people lose weight effectively as they are low-carb/and or low-GI. These diets work especially well for men, and their metabolism is different to that of women. But the truth is; the human genome HAS evolved and adapted to the consumption of starch & other carbohydrates!

Losing weight with PCOS can be really hard and you may be in for a long ride, my advice would be to make long-term changes. Following an extreme diet such as the Paleo/Primal diet is not easy to do for a long time, but you may well see results fast at first. I would suggest lowering your GI intake, so swap white potatoes for sweet red potato and white pasta/rice for brown, eat more legumes and greens and maybe have a meat-free Monday! Reducing, (not eliminating) dairy is also a good idea.

Faery_Dust

Thanks for your advise Kate!

pcastagner

Not a bad diet, but the basis for it is pseudo science.

It allows all the foods I tend to binge on, so not for me!

moglovesshoez

I follow it (most of the time), didn't start it to loose weight though but more as a way to gain more energy and prevent after meal bloating. I love it. Feel great, no longer asleep at my desk at 3pm after a carb filled lunch. No longer bloat up for no reason. I have droped about 14lb as well :-) Bonus!!
You just have to remember that most of your cals will come from fat. Low Carb = High fat :-)

pcastagner

I follow it (most of the time), didn't start it to loose weight though but more as a way to gain more energy and prevent after meal bloating. I love it. Feel great, no longer asleep at my desk at 3pm after a carb filled lunch. No longer bloat up for no reason. I have droped about 14lb as well :-) Bonus!!
You just have to remember that most of your cals will come from fat. Low Carb = High fat :-)

Yeah, I get the same sleepiness after a big carb meal.

So it's perfect for dinner! Bring in the pasta!

ShanMiller85

I follow the Paleo/Primal diet mostly. It is in no ways a miracle diet. You still need to watch your calories if you are trying to lose weight but I will say, and I think most people who follow it will agree, my body feels so much better. I have more energy and my cravings for bread and sugar have subsided.

TheVimFuego

Ah, Mark's Daily Apple, I remember those days.

I even have the Grok "Get Primal" t-shirt to prove it (true strory). Still wear it sometimes.

The 'science' (carbohydrate curve, hah!) behind it is pure bunk but there are worse ways of basing your nutrition on something IMO.

Do whatever works and more power to you.

Faery_Dust

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Guess it's kind of a daft question really "is a diet of quality meat with lots of veggies, some fruit and no real processed stuff going to be good for me?" lol. Well of course it is. I read on all these sites with all their "science" and unfortunately I'm not too up on the science to know if it's a load of BS. Like some of you have said, there could be much worse diets for me!

Well right now what I am doing is working as far as weight loss is concerned. I *know* that low fat diets aren't all that (which is what I am doing now) but I am still losing weight. I think I will gradually start trying to decrease the processed stuff and get more of carbs from veggies and fruit. I know fat isn't the enemy, I have followed keto but I seem to really only fall in to two camps, either low carb / high fat or higher carbs / low fat. Guess a moderation in the middle might be best for me.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply folks

leighn62

Yes! I follow Primal. It has been about 6 weeks for me and I've lost about 14 lbs. I'm 51 and I'm happy with that pace. I can't tell you how much I am enjoying the freedom knowing that I can lose weight without feeling hungry and deprived. Marksdailyapple is an amazing resource! If you really scour the forums you will find so much info and motivation to follow this way of eating whether you need to lose weight or not. From the posts you can see how many health benefits there are including better numbers for diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, hormone related issues and many more. The premise is that 50 to 100 carbs a days are the "sweet spot" for weight loss (1-2 lbs/wk). Below 50 will speed weight loss and he says 100 to 150 grams of carbs is good for maintaining weight and will also give you the health benefits of eating this way. There are some Primal/Paleo and Low Carb groups here at MFP. Just do a search to find them.

TheVimFuego

Sounds like you have a reasonable attitude to these things, I will say that listening to your body is key in all my non-expert opinion

The whole Primal/Paleo stuff worked really well for me for a while but then I rebounded a bit, lacked some energy, craved something I was missing (bread, basically ), got some physical symptoms (dry eyes, mouth, muscle cramps, couldn't sleep, etc).

A basis in "whole foods" has to be a good thing, and something I carry on today (my prior eating habits were appalling) but I will say there is a tendency in Primal/Paleoland to demonise some foods for no good reason and this can lead to some weird behaviour.

Good luck, walk on and question everything, always

leighn62

I agree. I just can't be convinced that legumes are the enemy. When I lose the weight I want to I plan to add back some beans and other non gluten carbs. As I said the premise at MDA is 100-150 carbs for maintaining which seems like a very reasonable amount and we all know that carbs in a box is never the healthy way to go.

PrimalSiren

I follow the primal lifestyle and I love it. I came across it when I was just about to give up on ever losing weight, I gave it a try and 4 months later I had lost ALL of my extra weight without any real effort. I have never looked back and have never felt better. Sure I miss the occasional piece of cake at a party, but I look amazing and that right there is worth it. I have reversed my PCOS eating this way. It has been almost two years since going Primal, maintenance had been effortless and I feel healthy and happier than I've ever been. I highly recommend it! Feel free to message me if you have any questions about it.

jenn26point2

I started primal in March 2012 by the recommendation of my chiropractor. I had been seeing her bi-weekly for sciatica pain and running injuries. She suggested to me multiple times to check out MDA, but I thought it was hokey and there was no way in hell I'd be able to give up pasta (I was a runner after all). Finally, after MONTHS of treatment for my sciatica, she finally looked at me and said "There is nothing else I can do for you unless you're willing to do something for yourself". I expected her to tell me to stop running, but instead she told me to change my diet. She challenged me to go 2 weeks without sugar, dairy or gluten. She guaranteed I'd lose 10 lbs in that two weeks (I'd also been struggling with my weight - it's hard to run when you weigh 221 lbs). I followed her advice and lost 8 lbs in 6 days, but then the weekend came up and there was a birthday or some other lousy excuse, and I gave it up.

Fast forward a few months to a different issue - my anxiety and depression were OUT OF CONTROL! I was taking 4 medications and spending $80 AFTER two insurance policies were applied to my prescription costs. I was taking Ativan for panic attacks, Lexapro and Deplin for depression and Adderall for ADD. I was desperate to not take so many meds, so I looked for alternative treatments for my mental health issues. Surprisingly, I stumbled upon Paleo... I revisted Marks Daily Apple and decided to give it a real shot. On March 5th I started. Since then, I've had a few instances where I revert back to my old SAD ways and I'm quickly reminded why I chose Primal/Paleo. About 2 days after eating processed foods, I feel sad, lethargic, anxious, and my attention span is that of a gnat. I also promptly put on 5 lbs of bloat.

4 months after committing to Primal, my psychiatrist felt confident enough that she allowed me to stop taking my 4 medications. I have not seen her since. The first 7 months, I lost 37 lbs and all I did for exercise was walk 45 minutes a day. At some point in there I discovered I didn't have any sciatica pain anymore either... I have since increased that loss to 50 lbs, added heavy lifting and (against the Primal Blueprint design) started half marathon training again. I am running stronger and faster than I ever did before (even before gaining all my weight after having my 2 kids). I have been amazed by how easy it was to lose the weight. I struggled for 11 years doing calorie counting never losing more than 12 lbs at a time before I'd plateau. I didn't plateau with this until that 37 lb mark!

I'm not religious about following the framework - like I said, I step back a few times a year, but I immediately know it's a bad idea. One day of poor eating and I'm spending the next two weeks trying to get rid of the immediate bloat gain. I find PB to be flexible enough that I can eat out at a restaurant without worrying too terribly much, and there are a lot of Primal/Paleo substitutes for old favorites.

The one rule I make sure to follow without fail is the no gluten rule. One meal with gluten takes months to repair. The things gluten does to the intestines is scary and takes a long long time to repair.

If I can recommend a book, I'd like to recommend It Starts with Food by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig. They explain in great detail how certain foods affect our bodies and how we can repair our bodies with proper foods. They push their 30 day program pretty hard, but it's a free program so there's no harm, really. I've done countless Whole30's and have been very pleased with the results of each one.

Anyhow, that's my story. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want to talk further.

Faery_Dust

Thanks everyone I will definitely be looking at it more closely