Does it get easier

Lizzard_77

I have noticed a few of my (MFP) friends having some "tired of thinking about this all the time" posts, I am feeling the same way. At my mom's house today she said to me "Let's not talk about food". I didn't realize until then that all I do is food and exercise and food and food and exercise.

Does it get to a point where it's natural and easy, or do you always have to think. Not that I mind thinking about this but I have noticed that recently my logging while calculating carbs/sugar/protein/fat has taken a big part of my day as well as an hour workout then a post workout meal (even though it's a can of tuna) I probably spend 1-2 hrs a day getting it together. And that is all cooking and thinking.....

justaspoonfulofsugar

I think once you get to your goal,things should improve.
Stepping away from MFP from time to time should help as well.
I think we can get so bogged down by all of this information and for our own mental well being we need to read a book,go for a walk,do something fun and not think.
I blame being overly connected to electronic devices for these feelings.
Meditation makes all the difference for me.
I would be lost without it.
As for the cooking,preparing,etc..it's not the easiest thing to change with a paleo lifestyle.
I sometimes do batch cooking and that makes it easier but atm,I cook everyday and I love it.
I find it relaxing.
Hope that helps

nellyett

It does get easier and I tend not to think about it so much now. I've even started pre-logging my day and when I pack my lunch for work. That way I know what my macros are, if I need to up my protein or fat for dinner, or lower my carbs, etc. I adjust at the end of the day if I deviate from whatever has been planned. Doing this has actually made it much more 'mindless' for me instead of constantly logging every little thing all day long.

For exercise, I have a basic idea of what I'm going to do and on what day for the week. I like to switch it up a lot so I don't get bored.

And last, for cooking....I'm not a big fan of being in the kitchen all the time. I bought a pile of tupperware containers and we will spend some time making favorites that we've found so far since starting Primal almost a month ago. Tonight we will be grilling 12 chicken thighs to keep in the fridge, and I will also do a huge batch of taco meat to have on hand. We eat it with all sorts of things. Eggs, grilled / sauteed veggies, put a pile on a huge salad, etc. We do pork carnitas for this type of thing too. We always have hard boiled eggs in the fridge too. A big batch of Coconut Curry Chicken is easy to make and portion out for a few days.

These are all things that are easy to grab and go.....dice up some chicken and throw it in a salad with guacamole....have with leftover sweet potato, garlic green beans, roasted broccoli, etc. etc.

We will cook up a bunch of stuff every 3-4 days so it's not every single night. Now we are in the process of seeking out primal/paleo baking recipes. LOL I'm not much of a baker, but I find that I'm missing that kind of stuff at the moment, so thought we'd give it a shot. If a recipe is a fail, then it's a fail. No biggie. I just tried some paleo carrot cake muffins and they are awesome!! I gave a bunch away and will be making more this week and enough to freeze for later. Have a few more recipes I want to try too.

It really doesn't have to be complicated. Spend a decent amount of time on it here and there, then you are free to get on with your days in between

Being prepared and having great food at your fingertips really makes all the difference for us.

Akimajuktuq

I am most definitely obsessed with my lifestyle, including food, and my health. However, I LOVE it. If I didn't, I would back off a little, not with how I eat but with the time I spend focussed on the nitty gritty details of what I am doing.

Perhaps, if I had a husband, more children, and lived in the south, I might choose to spend less time focused on my food and health. But, really, it's my passion and I'm enjoying every minute. Even the righteous anger at the world (big food, big pharma, big chem, politics, et al) gives me a reason to wake up in the morning.

I think my unending passion and enthusiasm is due to the severity of my health problems before changing my lifestyle. I literally had to make a concious decision whether I wanted to live or die. I decided I was worth saving and that my child deserves to have a healthy, functioning mother.

GrokRockStarWECHANGED

I believe that it will get easier if you're mindful. I had a similar convo with my hubby who'd commented that all we talk about is food and "dieting," which made me realize that I am much more than what I put in my body. There are so many things that I'd rather focus my energy on, but we're all work in our own progress. I try to focus on my hobbies (gold prospecting, spiritualism, beadwork, etc), which provides much more richness to my life. I now look at food as fuel to my body and its common sense (to me & Paleo/Primal folk) what those foods should be, it then becomes second nature.

GrokRockStarWECHANGED

I am most definitely obsessed with my lifestyle, including food, and my health. However, I LOVE it. If I didn't, I would back off a little, not with how I eat but with the time I spend focussed on the nitty gritty details of what I am doing.

Perhaps, if I had a husband, more children, and lived in the south, I might choose to spend less time focused on my food and health. But, really, it's my passion and I'm enjoying every minute. Even the righteous anger at the world (big food, big pharma, big chem, politics, et al) gives me a reason to wake up in the morning.

I think my unending passion and enthusiasm is due to the severity of my health problems before changing my lifestyle. I literally had to make a concious decision whether I wanted to live or die. I decided I was worth saving and that my child deserves to have a healthy, functioning mother.

Akima, I really love your passion and the help and support that you continually provide to many of us! This way of eating is addressing my type 2 diabetes!

Rei1988

Thanks to the OP & the responses, I was feeling the same.

whatjesseats

I'm at the point where working out is "natural and easy"--in fact I love it and kind of hate rest days now--but have a ways to go until eating paleo feels the same, I suspect.

My biggest challenge is keeping my menu 1) paleo or primal, 2) affordable, and 3) interesting. I can very easily hit one or two of those criteria, but hitting them all at once is tough. I anticipate it will get easier with practice, just like exercise.

ShannonKirton

I too was guilty of speaking about my food and exercise all the time, but once I realized that no one was listening I quickly stopped. I now let my results speak for themselves.

Not being able to freely talk about it has made me settle (it's kind of weird) but now I'm just in my own little bubble and everything is pretty easy. I think once you can get into a routine with your exercise and you can find a few go to dishes and foods you really love, it will get easier. I still pre-plan my days personally and I've been paleo since July, but it keeps my mind at ease to know that I'm tracking. If you find that tracking is more stressful that it's worth, try going a few days without and see if that helps.

spatulathumbs

It's easier for me when I set myself up to succeed and surround myself with people who get it. I think there's a lot of people who allow toxic relationships to sabotage them, and I'd rather have few good friends and be healthy than stay fat around people who won't support me. When I take a bit of time to plan, buy right, cook right, it's easier.