Anyone Else Need a Paleo/Primal Challenge?

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  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
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    Sorry, if I ask to join, I should follow the thread host's rules!

    I've been eating this way for 5 years and this is how I maintain my health so I will continue to eat this way.

    My only challenge to eating right is not being prepared. Either I have to bring my own provisions where ever I go, or I have to be clear of the food choices that will be available to me to meet my needs. I have soft-sided coolers and cold packs of several sizes for any occasion.

    What I am working on this week/ month: getting back to 3 days a week at my bootcamp, getting enough sleep, staying off the scale and focusing on what the mirror tells me.

    Meal prep for the week: I make my own mayo and salad dressings (to avoid soybean oil)- did that today. Lunches usually are salad or leftovers from the night before. Dinners- my husband is the grillmaster so we do a lot of grilled chicken, steaks, pork chops. But hunting season is coming up fast and I still have some leftover ground venison to clear out of the freezer so I expect this week will be spaghetti squash with venison meat sauce or enchilada stew at least once.

    Oh, and for you peanut butter lovers: there's no substitute for peanut butter, legume or not. It's definitely in my 20% ;)
  • SherryTX
    SherryTX Posts: 15 Member
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    What have you learned this week?
    That without good organization (which I did know before but it was reinforced this week) that eating more primal is difficult because you have to cook more. I have been doing a lot of organizing and more time at the grocery store. Also, while I have some great cook books, its hard to get buy in from the family as I thought it would be to get them interested to participate in baking/cooking wtih me - which was a downer.

    Did you accomplish your goals? If not why not?
    Eh - not as I would have liked. Some of it was because we did have a scheduled night out for a kid's bday, but also I got overwhelmed with some work/other stuff and went for the easy meal or eating out. HOWEVER, I did excercise most days, and the days I did do mostly primal, it went fairly well.
    I DID clean out the pantry though! There are still a few things in there I want to get rid of, but have kept because I am waiting to give them to my sister later this week.

    Will you try it again this week? If so, what are your goals for next week?
    Yes - same goals. Cannot give up! However, not going to expect anyone else in the family to really care about this too much. They are just going to have to suck it up and cook what I make. There is no longer any other option of PB&J sandwiches in this house, so they still have to make choices from decent food instead of the old standbys.
  • HollyMac20
    HollyMac20 Posts: 259 Member
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    My weekend was a complete fail, but I honestly don't feel too bad about it. We were roofing the garage, so my calorie burn was through the roof (no pun intended). Pizza is an easy meal to feed a mass of people, so that is what we did.

    But today is a new day! Yummy scambled eggs and sausage for breakfast and having a pear and hard boiled egg for a snack/meal 2. Didn't have time to prep all my food last night, so making the time tonight. Grilled up chicken breasts for the week, so they are ready to go. Have my stash of Larabars and trail mix, tomatoes, pears and almond butter.

    Bring on the week!
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
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    Weekend wasn't great for me, but last night dinner was pork loin and roasted root vegetables, yummy! leftovers for lunch today!
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
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    Weekend wasn't great for me, but last night dinner was pork loin and roasted root vegetables, yummy! leftovers for lunch today!

    what root vegiies did you use? did they turn out well?
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
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    oh, the questions:
    What have you learned this week?
    I have learned that I like vegetables. Sounds funny, but I can see my mindset changing where I want a plate that is mainly meat and vegetables. I still want a little carb...
    Did you accomplish your goals? Mostly good on the breakfast and lunch. If not why not? I didn't bring lunch and had to have a frozen meal I had in the freezer.
    Will you try it again this week? yes. If so, what are your goals for next week? still trying to focus on breakfast and lunch with dinner trying to focus on meat and vegetables.
    I do have some dairy...
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    Omg, this week started off bad. I think I'm still pouting over the loss of dairy and my plateau, allowed myself tortilla chips. Also hubby is giving me push back on the rice ban, he made my favorite Jamaican rice and peas and showed up to my job with a plate of it, I've been eating some ever since. Now I know I don't have an intolerance to rice and I don't think I have one to corn, but still! It's hard trying to eliminate whole food types and I guess part of me is against it. I am going to challenge myself to be good the rest of the week. How do people do this long term? Any newbie tips appreciated!
  • PrimalMorningMoon
    PrimalMorningMoon Posts: 85 Member
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    Omg, this week started off bad. I think I'm still pouting over the loss of dairy and my plateau, allowed myself tortilla chips. Also hubby is giving me push back on the rice ban, he made my favorite Jamaican rice and peas and showed up to my job with a plate of it, I've been eating some ever since. Now I know I don't have an intolerance to rice and I don't think I have one to corn, but still! It's hard trying to eliminate whole food types and I guess part of me is against it. I am going to challenge myself to be good the rest of the week. How do people do this long term? Any newbie tips appreciated!



    I would like to suggest that you not judge it or yourself "good" or "bad" with regard to what you eat. You're making choices, period. I would also suggest that you make some sort of commitment to what you will eat and then make choices with that in mind. There is no law at all says you can't have dairy or rice or corn. (There might should be a law against tortilla chips though. :) ) This, and any way of eating, is about finding what works for you by committing to a course of action and sticking to it long enough to find out. I am not an "old-timer", although I did practice low carb eating for awhile some time ago. I prefer to share my experience so far, rather than put myself in any way an expert. I am soooo not. :)

    As I go into this WOE I expect to be challenged with several things...oatmeal, dairy--especially milk, peanut butter, and sugar. Honestly, I have no intention of not having milk and peanut butter...and probably sugar in small quantities. I love food and the rituals of cooking and eating, and I don't want to be miserable with self-denial and a diet mentality. If you haven't read blogs or books or other people's posts here, you should do some research to find out what you can decide to expect from yourself. What you can eat, how much you can eat, what you can expect, what might happen if you choose to eat whole grains and legumes, and even how to deal with cravings for the things you do decide you don't want in your eating plan. You'll experiment as you go, discovering what makes you feel healthy and what makes you feel sick, and what leads to weight loss and muscle building and what doesn't...for YOU.

    So I think that's how one does it long term. It's how I expect to move towards long term. I am fortunate (?) in that I do the cooking in our household, and that my husband will eat more or less whatever I put in front of him. There are things in the house that are for him, because he will be able to eat more carbs than I. I'm not yet ready to prepare things like rice for him, but there's bread and crackers and things that he can eat, that I will not, and so far I haven't had unmanageable cravings to fight. And I haven't been hungry, nor much over or under the MFP calorie goal...for what that's worth. I hope he will support me by not bringing things into the house that will be problematic, or more difficult for me to not eat. He did call me yesterday regarding a news story on the radio that women should have 2 bars of dark chocolate every week for the anit-oxidants. :) But he hasn't bought me a chocolate bar yet. And dark chocolate is pretty easy for me to not eat because I much prefer milk chocolate. :)
  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
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    Omg, this week started off bad. I think I'm still pouting over the loss of dairy and my plateau, allowed myself tortilla chips. Also hubby is giving me push back on the rice ban, he made my favorite Jamaican rice and peas and showed up to my job with a plate of it, I've been eating some ever since. Now I know I don't have an intolerance to rice and I don't think I have one to corn, but still! It's hard trying to eliminate whole food types and I guess part of me is against it. I am going to challenge myself to be good the rest of the week. How do people do this long term? Any newbie tips appreciated!

    I think graysgirl gave some really good advice, you have to find what works for you and what you can live with and the only way to do that is through trial and error. Cravings, hormones, social settings, emotional attachments all factor into daily food choices. I've found that I slipped up more often earlier in this process and eventually, the price for the "cheat"- feeling ill namely- began to outweigh the pleasure of eating it. And, after a while your tastes and cravings change, you just don't get the satisfaction from some foods that you used to. Keep making good choices as often as possible and the messups will get fewer and farther between.
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    Grays girl, I really appreciate your way of looking at things. This week got busy and I got sick so I fell behind on this thread. Been doing pretty well with exercise and eating, though I'm not sure about honey and I need it with lemon for my throat right now. Where did everyone else go?
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
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    great gluten free week for me. Not entirely grain free, but hugely reduced from former consumption. Also, more than a pound lost this week!!
  • HollyMac20
    HollyMac20 Posts: 259 Member
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    How is everyone doing?! What are you struggling with? What are you finding surprising easy? What benefits are you seeing from your change in diet?

    I am doing ok. I am definately making this more of a lifestyle than a challenge. I have non-paleo foods here and there, but for the most part I am staying on track. A challenge for me is meal planning with my BF. He is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and pretty stuck in his ways. Don't get me wrong, he is supportive of what I want, but we don't share the fitness passion so it is a little more difficult. I also find that when time comes up short, it is hard to sometimes find a quick/easy/takeout dinner that is paleo friendly. But if i have been 100% all day, I will allow myself nonpaleo foods for dinner, keep portion in moderation.

    I can say i feel more toned, leaner and stronger. My water and hydration levels have evened out and I don't get the bloated feeling as often.

    I don't really miss any foods and have adapted well to little grains and dairy in my diet.
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
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    I think I'm doing pretty well with no gluten and very few grains. I think I had some popcorn last week. I had some meatballs yesterday that most likely had bread crums in them, but I was at a family party with very few other options.

    I haven't cut out the dairy, but I don't drink any milk and I haven't been having any yogurt. Cheese is a weakness of mine and a good snack for work.

    I find I haven't missed the breads and pastas at all and I can eat so much without all those processed carbs! I need to work on cutting out processed sugars, I'm still loving my chocolate!
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    I lost 7lbs to start but I seem to have got stuck again, i tried re-introducing a carb day or two then dropping back to strict but still not shifting off 160lbs and not going to bathroom as often.. goes up 2 lbs for about 3 days until I've been to bathroom then down to same again.


    How can I kick start weigh loss without going off the diet? How much are others losing on this diet a week and for how long before you get stuck again?
  • bonkers5975
    bonkers5975 Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Check out this topic http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/374157-primal-blueprint-21-day-transformation if you're interested in getting serious about going, or improving your primal experience. Would love to have some fellow grokkers along for the ride! :)

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