Two weeks primal and the results are....

bozmo

... still inconclusive.

I'm two weeks into my one month primal trial. Last week I had the 'carb flu'. I had a bad headache for two days. One day I got up, looked in the fridge, and hated everything. I really wanted a beer and some potato chips, but as it was 7 am on a work day I refrained. I went for the bacon instead. Then more bacon. It ends up that bacon cures the flu.

I've tried weight watchers before. It worked. It was hard always tracking points but I managed OK. I lost 12 lbs in 4 months. It took a year to put it back on. If I count points I can lose, if not I gain it back. It ends up that carbs don't have as many points as meat, but I was always hungry. I know now that if I had eaten meat instead of carbs I would probably have done better with the points system.

So far I gained a pound last week and lost it this week. I haven't had a hard time sticking to the diet and my carbs are almost always under 100, usually under 75. I feel better than last week but I can't say I have increased energy. I'm not really trying to count calories but most days I'm around 1200 to 1500. Its easy to do when you feel full for a long time after each meal.

I have 'cheated' a little, but overall am 80% or more with the right foods. For instance I am just using my olive oil mayo which contains canola. I have only used a few tablespoons in two weeks so for now that works for me. I don't get grass fed beef or all organic veggies. I have chosen to keep dairy in the diet. I only have a splash of half and half in the coffee and a little cheese as an accent though. I haven't had any coke or chips or packaged foods or rice or pasta or bread. I have had a couple of beers. The other day I had a stomach ache. I had the couple of beers the night before. Coincidence? maybe, maybe not.

Surprising things:
tomatoes and eggplant have a lot of carbs.
pork rinds taste really good.

The hardest thing:
going to a great mexican restaurant. No tortillas. No rice. I did compromise with myself and I had a few tablespoons of beans with my delicious chili rellenos. With a little more mental prep I'll go without the beans next time. I just didn't think about going out and ALL the choices having some sort of grain with them.

I plan on finishing out the next two weeks on the plan. It really hasn't been hard at all to eat without grains or legumes. I never really liked them anyway though. Hopefully the weight will start melting away and I'll start feeling like a rock star soon!

_Kitten_Kate

Thanks for sharing! I am in the middle of my 2nd week.
I didn't have carb flu. I didn't eat a ton of carbs anyway...
but sugar has been hard for me because of Jif peanut butter.

And like you I can't do the grassfed and organic everything..
I am sure that is making the really hardcore Primals skin crawl.
But, my budget won't allow it. Its hard enough just eating healthy... SOO expensive.

I don't have any issue with getting my cals in for the most part.. it varies day to day.

I have a hard time getting all the proteins in ... and usually are right on with the fats... and carbs are between 50-90 for me.

I am enjoying the infomation and knowledge I have accumulated... and love sharing it.
My sister decided to go Primal with me... though I have caught her with some of the evil processed stuff!
Nutella of all things! So much sugar.
My luck she will lap me in lbs lost.... oooooh that'll make me angry!

Anyway.. thanks for your update...

jonski1968

I can relate to the cost of the grass fed animals...Bloody extortionate prices.

But all in all...Been low carbing for ages, then was introduced to Primal...4 weeks in (approx) and around 7lb down...Feel great..Finally been able to squeeze into a 32" waist Combats...So more than happy.

purplerain011

Well done to the both of you for sticking to it. Just like you, I am not doing the organic and grass fed thing, cant afford it.

I have been primal since the start of the year and I have lost 15lbs, before that the rest was Weightwatchers. I have an incredible amount of energy and very pleased with my endurance with exercise.

My suggestion to you would be to check how many calories you are eating, you may be under/overeating so your body can the hanging on to food and water. I know when being primal/paleo calories don't matter much but calories are calories at the end of the day. I mean back when I was at WW I could eat 5 cupcakes, wash it down with a ton of water and still lose 1lb.

Goodluck with your journeys

twinmom01

Keep it up - remember there are a lot of good things that happen that can't be measured by a scale when you eat clean...and just because the scale doesn't change much doesn't mean your body isn't going to change...getting rid of bloat and extra fluids may not register on the scale but it will register on your pants

I am doing a 30 day strict Paleo after eating clean with a Primal slant for awhile...

My budget does play a part in it - very hard to justify spending extra money for some of the organic stuff...

What I have done is this...

Buy 1 dozen fresh farm eggs a week - use these in recipes where it calls for an egg or two - use them to make Paleo mayo - use them when I make me up some eggs and bacon - My daughters adore hardboiled eggs and I have been making up quiches for my breakfast that take a dozen eggs - for those I get store brand eggs...although I may have a hook on farm eggs for $3 for 18...if that comes through I will proably stop buying store brand eggs...cause heck a dozen store brand eggs are almost $2

Buy grass fed ground beef - I can find it at our local farmers market for about $6 /lb...I don't eat huge amounts of red meat so spending a little more for this I can do - things like chicken and whatnot - I would like to buy organic and when it goes on sale or is a good deal (i.e. the freshness date is the next day and the store slaps a 1/2 price sticker on it) I will grab it...

Bacon - I can't justify spending almost $10 a pound for "organic" bacon - so I stick with no sugar added Gwaltney bacon...

As far as fruits/veggies...with Fruits I try and stick with berries and will buy bags of organic frozen blueberries and strawberries - Veggies I try and rope my meals around what is on sale that week. to keep costs down... I will also stock up on frozen veggies when they go on sale (I'm a snob and like name brand so I just wait out the sales)

monkeydharma

I can relate to the cost of the grass fed animals...Bloody extortionate prices.

Yeah, it's expensive - but it's not 'extortionate'. I buy my grass-fed beef from a neighbor who raises and butchers it for me, and I'm well aware of the costs involved - the biggest one being (at least around here) that alfalfa has to be bought during the summer months once the grass on his hills die. Buying alfalfa is more expensive than buying corn feed, especially if there is the slightest whisper of drought. Not only does the alfalfa supply dry up (literally), but market speculators drives up prices even more. Unless you buy it from out of state - but then you are tacking on shipping costs.

Keep in mind that the price of whole, organic foods is the real cost of food. Like everything else, food producers can lower prices by cutting corners in ingredients - adding cheap extenders and loading it with the cheapest of flavor enhancers (sugar and salt), mass production and using substandard ingredients. Avoiding cut corners and substandard ingredients is an important component of the paleo/primal and whole food movements. Mass production? I've seen organic food prices drop significantly over the last 20 years - mostly because as more people grow it, more is available - and the prices come down. Will it ever be as cheap as factory foods? Nope - factory foods will always use the cheapest fertilizers and pesticides, and cut every possible corner to keep the price down. Organics can't - and won't. So, get used to spending more on real food - and cut the budget in other areas.

MikeFlyMike

don't forget to factor in all the crud you aren't buying.
I find my shopping is pretty affordable.
I also am in line for some cowpooling.
About $2-3 a lb for organic cow direct from the rancher - but I have to buy 200 lbs - so freezer here I come.

bozmo

The money I'm saving from not going out to eat because most of the time I'm cooking my own food and also not drinking a lot of beer will probably make up for organics and grain fed prices. {grin}

I can understand why anyone would prefer organic veggies if not just to eliminate the pesticides from our environments. But I'm taking the "easy route" into primal for now. I'm more likely to succeed that way. Its a commitment to myself to do what I can for now and fine tune later if this turns out to be a good lifestyle for me.

monkeydharma

About $2-3 a lb for organic cow direct from the rancher - but I have to buy 200 lbs - so freezer here I come.

Actually, this is a money saver I forgot to mention - buying a chest freezer. Yeah, it's a few hundred bucks investment, but it pays off. As mikebyron mentioned, when you buy meat grown for you, you usually have to buy a half or a whole cow/pig/whatever - which can add up to hundreds of pounds of protein. It may cost me a couple of grand to stock the freezer when my steer or pig is ready - but it also takes me a year or more to go through all of it, and it lowers my weekly grocery budget appreciably.

Also, I pay attention to seafood sales: usually the price will dip several dollars per pound when new catches come into the distribution channels. So when, say salmon dips from $12.99/lb to $5.99/lb, I'll buy several whole fillets and chuck them in the chest freezer. Same with other seafood. Also the same when turkeys go on clearance sale right after thanksgiving and christmas - one free-range turkey can cost $40 before the holiday, $20 after, and can feed two people for well over a week between meat for meals and making soup from the carcass. Same is true for corned beef at St. Patricks Day - I pick up a few extra when the sale price is on and into the chest freezer it goes.

jessiepilot

I'm just under 3 weeks in to my own little month of Primal challenge to myself and I am loving the lifestyle - lost just under 15lbs so far, most prob water weight from the unbelievable amount of carbs and sugar I was eating - which oddly enough I don't miss and I'm not hungry - which has never happened for me on any other diet I've tried. We join an organic farm share every year and this year we've doubled our own veggie garden so we can grow more of our own.
Also looked into the grass fed cow share and will prob be doing that - for now our organic and grass fed meats come from Whole Foods and I have to say in not buying all the other junk we were our grocery bills have been pretty much a wash. What I do to save a little $$ on is the organic veggies and fruits (in the off months we don't get stuff from the farm share) I'm really strict about getting those things organic that are known to have the highest levels of contaminants/pesticides and buy some of the other stuff conventional.

ainembol

Try a true 30 day challenge with no "cheats." The beers are likely affecting your results. (gluten is the least tolerated grain)

GalaxyDuck

Try a true 30 day challenge with no "cheats." The beers are likely affecting your results. (gluten is the least tolerated grain)

I agree with this. You will likely to continue to have "inconclusive" results, as you haven't truly cut out gluten. It only takes one beer to damage your gut lining and it takes approx. 2 weeks for that to heal. The whole idea is to heal your gut. If you want to drink, try red wine or a clear hard liquor.

jonski1968

I can relate to the cost of the grass fed animals...Bloody extortionate prices.

Yeah, it's expensive - but it's not 'extortionate'. I buy my grass-fed beef from a neighbor who raises and butchers it for me, and I'm well aware of the costs involved - the biggest one being (at least around here) that alfalfa has to be bought during the summer months once the grass on his hills die. Buying alfalfa is more expensive than buying corn feed, especially if there is the slightest whisper of drought. Not only does the alfalfa supply dry up (literally), but market speculators drives up prices even more. Unless you buy it from out of state - but then you are tacking on shipping costs.

Keep in mind that the price of whole, organic foods is the real cost of food. Like everything else, food producers can lower prices by cutting corners in ingredients - adding cheap extenders and loading it with the cheapest of flavor enhancers (sugar and salt), mass production and using substandard ingredients. Avoiding cut corners and substandard ingredients is an important component of the paleo/primal and whole food movements. Mass production? I've seen organic food prices drop significantly over the last 20 years - mostly because as more people grow it, more is available - and the prices come down. Will it ever be as cheap as factory foods? Nope - factory foods will always use the cheapest fertilizers and pesticides, and cut every possible corner to keep the price down. Organics can't - and won't. So, get used to spending more on real food - and cut the budget in other areas.

Completely agree with you, but in the Uk at the moment, organic is very much in fashion, so suppliers are obviously milking this for all its worth, finding someone locally to go halves on a full cow is difficult with the current recession.

Times are hard here... Paying £1.42 ($2.23) per litre of fuel...Its a killer, especially when i have to drive approx 250 miles a week.

But all in all cutting out all the crap has been very beneficial, pity i can`t get my wife and 2 teeneage daughters doing the same.