Paleo Confusion

nicolealison

Hello! I've been strictly Paleo for two weeks now. Two weeks yesterday actually and I'm trying to make sure I do this correctly. I feel like I don't have enough meat throughout the day and I end up being very vegetable heavy throughout the day. I don't want to do it wrong. I looooove how I feel so far, but I definitely know I"m a lot hungrier when I don't have enough meat to gnaw on throughout the day. So somehow, I need to incorporate more meats in. I also don't want to have too much fruit because I sitll have 100 lbs to lose ... but I see different opinions on that too. Some people say you can have it, others say don't have it.
I want to do this, commit to this lifestyle and maintain it for a long time. But, I want to do it right.
Ugh, I am so confused.

MNHoliday

Sounds to me like you're doing it right. If you're 80% veg and 20% lean meats, that is just as fine as 70/30 or 60/40. You're getting high quality foods so your body will know what to do with it all and use it efficiently. Just try to not go 100% veg, that is def not paleo. Make homemade beef jerky, it's easy and then you can always have a snack handy. Don't sweat the fruit, have it, but maybe favor earlier in the day with it (different opinions on this, I say eat it). Don't get discouraged.

mehaugen

You can go by carb count if you want to. I stay under 100 a day, and that usually allows me 3 fruits/starchy veg in addition to all the low carb veggies I eat. So yesterday I had a quarter ruby red grapefruit, a banana, and blueberries. Another day I had quarter grapefruit, berries, and half a sweet potato.

sethandjane

Since switching to Primal/Paleo, I notice that I am DEFINITELY not as hungry as I used to be when I used to just count calories, since this way of eating has me eating so much more protein and not just "empty" carbs (I was a cracker/cookie/etc. junkie).

For protein sources if you don't want to eat just lean meat, try eggs - great for you and totally great for protein - as well as nuts/seeds, which also have protein. For my snack this afternoon, I'm having a packet of almond butter with celery - another great protein choice.

I had almost 100 lbs to lose as well (I'm the "jane" portion of my username and have been having infertility issues for 7 years) - right now I'm almost down 60, and I've been at this since last March 1st. I haven't been perfect at times, but I'm probably close to 70% of the time great and 30% of the time not-so-great (I know Mark Sisson of "The Primal Blueprint" and www.marksdailyapple says to strive for 80%/20%.

I'd also recommend fitting in even 30 min of exercise a day if you have time. In my "old" days, when I was eating way too many poor-carb choices and on the treadmill for 1+ hrs a day, I wasn't losing weight. Since I started, I do about 30 min (45 on a weekend day) of cardio, but it's walking/sprinting intervals. Believe me - my sprinting intervals started out almost as slow as my walk at 4.0 mph, but now I'm up to sprinting for 1 minute at 6.5 mph! (And I usually walk for about 3-4 minutes and only jog/sprint for 1).

Keep at it - It's a learning process, and you will learn so much! And I'm glad you feel better after only two weeks - that's awesome!

Finally - if you'd like to look at my diary, feel free to "friend" me - I'd be happy to help (hopefully).

Good luck!