Lots of questions from a primal newbie

QuakerMom

So, according to MDA i read somewhere that you aren't really even supposed to count anything -- even carbs. Just eat according to the plan. But obviously most of us are on MFP b/c we find 'counting' and 'tracking' to be helpful.

My question is, in addition to watching your macros, keeping carbs down (under 100 g or wherever your sweet spot is), do you still count total calories, and still try to keep a deficit?? Or is it really true that once you get the starches and sugars out, the actual calories don't matter? Or just that they don't matter as much -- i.e., you can keep LESS of a deficit and still lose, but still need some deficit.

I know that my total cals last week were about the same as the week before, but the pounds started coming off after a nearly 2-week plateau, b/c last week was when i kicked out sugar and grains. But this week, i seem to be letting my total cals creep up -- mostly due to more fat -- and am wondering if i'll lose anything this week.

kkarrolle

Have you read the primal blueprint book? There is a chapter in there regarding weight loss..

Determine calorie requirements for weight loss, then dependent on activity levels 0.7 to 1gm of protein per pound of lean body weight and 50 to 100gms of carbs with the remainder of your calories to come from fats.

Many people still track...gotta do what works for you...eventually I would imagine you would become comfortable with letting your appetite be your guide.

Regardless of how well your body is burning fat for energy, if you continually eat too much any of the food groups and your calorie intake is continutally greater than the energy spent you will not lose weight.

Once you have lost the amount of fat you want/need to and let your appetite become your guide and only eat until satisfied you are unlikely to overeat and won't need to track in the same way.

kcmg0730

I'm on Day 9 of Primal eating, and I stopped tracking around day 5. I found that I was 'panicked' about going over my calories so often, and the one thing I don't want to do is start restricting food. I know that some of my overage was due to eating a lot more than I normally do, I think the first week was just about working out appetite, and comfortable portion size; I'm finding that the amount that I'm eating per day is actually decreasing the longer I'm eating right. Not tracking does mean that I'm not religiously monitoring my carb intake, but I have a rough idea, so I'm trying not to worry so much. I've now lost 5 pounds in 9 days, so I'm guessing I must be hitting the mark fine!!

ganesha303

I am on Primal and I still track.

Anathama

Bear in mind that by eliminating sugar, junk foods, wheat products and carbs from your diet, your average caloric intake will very likely go down without thinking about it, because these foods are very high in calories. I wish I had been using MFP before my diet so I could track by average what my caloric intake was before I went primal. I wager it was huge.

I suspect that if I knew what my calories were before I started my diet, it would be very difficult for me to eat an equivelent amount of primal meats, vegetable and dairy products to equal it out.

On my diet I've found I've usually stayed below my limit without even trying.

crossfitterwahine

I really need to track, otherwise I'll overeat. I spent the first 2 years not tracking and I let myself have too many non-primal things and wasn't really holding myself accountable. Now that I'm tracking, along with the strong 2 years base of "practice", I feel like I'm going to really shed the fat and keep this lifestyle going.

I know a lot of folks only weigh themselves once a month or so but use body measurements to more accurately track composition changes. I find that doing 30 day challenges help break any plateaus when the scale doesn't budge. For example, I hit a plateau in my first year, then went on a no dairy challenge and lost 5 pounds. It takes a while....definitely more than just week to week to really track patterns and see how your body responds to things.

Hope this makes sense!

sethandjane

I've been eating this way since March 1st of last year (2011), and although I KNOW what foods I should/need to eat, sometimes I don't always make the best choice -

I find that tracking things still in the Food Diary keeps too many poor food choices from "creeping" back in - bottom line it helps keep me accountable.

The good thing about Primal/Paleo though, is that if you're not able to log in for a day or two or whatever, you can SURVIVE by eating what you know you should, despite not knowing the exact number of calories, fat, etc. in every particular piece of food.

_Amy_Budd

I find that tracking things still in the Food Diary keeps too many poor food choices from "creeping" back in - bottom line it helps keep me accountable.

Exactly. I've been strictly Primal for almost 8 months, and I still log and track and count calories and grams of carbs. I like it. I like seeing the macros line up right, and as the quote above says, it keeps me accountable.

The good thing about Primal/Paleo though, is that if you're not able to log in for a day or two or whatever, you can SURVIVE by eating what you know you should, despite not knowing the exact number of calories, fat, etc. in every particular piece of food.

Yes. Yesyesyes.


Amy

godslilgerl

I MAINLY TRACK MY CARBS...CALORIES DIFFER DEPENDING ON WHAT I EAT...ON DAYS WHEN I HAVE FATTIER THINGS LIKE STEAK MY CALORIES WILL BE HIGHER THAN ON DAYS WHERE I'M EATING CHICKEN OR FISH. PLUS I'M ADDING THINGS LIKE REAL BUTTER WHICH IS ALSO HIGH IN CALORIES. I'M NOT GOING OVERBOARD ON THOSE THINGS BUT MY CALORIES ARE DEFINATELY HIGHER THAN WHAT MPF HAS SET FOR ME...I'M USUALLY AROUND 1400ISH BUT I'VE BEEN AS HIGH AS 1900 AND I STILL LOST 3.2 POUNDS THIS WEEK

monkeydharma

DON'T YELL!! We can hear you just fine...

chammich

I'm on Paleo and I track. If I don't I gain weight. I'm super carb sensitive so I mainly track those plus calories. I think you need to find what works for you.

missyyclaire

Primal since Dec 1st, and still tracking. After many many years of complete oblivious lack of awareness of calories, tracking them gives me a steady base of knowledge. It's definitely a valid tool and only takes about 3 minutes of your day to do so.

I kind of like tracking calories too because I feel like I cheat eat all the time because the Primal foods are so delicious...and I want proof that eating like this really does work...which it does.

nicolealison

I track my food and keep a close eye on my carbs. I don't pay too much attention to my calories because even if I go over, I'm not going WAAAAAY over. As long as my carbs are below 100 I am happy. There've been days when I watched calories and then ... poof, my carbs were way out of whack.
That's just what I do. Obviously, from reading the others posts, everyone does something different for them!!

QuakerMom

Okay, well, I'm still tracking, but this week has been a huge stall week for me, which is frustrating, since I've been keeping my carbs below 100 g, and calories in a 300-500+ deficit range every day. Starting yesterday I decided to try cutting out all dairy except butter (i'm in love w/Kerrygold butter since last week!), to see if that will make a difference.

Ultimately I need to get to a point where i can do this w/out tracking. But, for now i'm like most others here finding that tracking both carbs and calories is helpful.

godslilgerl

DON'T YELL!! We can hear you just fine...

ha ha sorry...so used to having my computer on all caps for my job :happy: