Recommitting

impyimpyaj

I had been doing pretty well with being at least 80% paleo. I'd have my coffee with cream and sugar, and occasionally have some bread or corn, but it was once in a while instead of a regular thing. But over the last few weeks I've kind of thrown it all out the window. The whole reason I became interested in paleo is because I want to decrease inflammation in my body and hopefully that will help with my severe allergies. So last night when I went to bed and nearly drowned myself in post-nasal drip, I vowed that I would re-commit to this paleo lifestyle.

Does anyone have any suggestions on making it easier to avoid the cravings? What started the downhill roll was that my husband grilled out over the week of the 4th, and there were a lot of burgers and brats and such, and I'd have buns with them. So after having that for a week, the cravings came back hard, and I started rationalizing it to myself. Oh, just this ONE time. And since you already had toast with breakfast, today is shot, so you can have cornbread with dinner. That kind of thing. I had been planning my meals, but I've found it so hard to deny the cravings for crackers and bread and such that I'd go off the plan, and then lately I haven't even bothered trying to plan much. So I know the easy answer is "just don't have it," and that's fine, I can do that. But is there anything that can help make the process less stressful?

SweetxCatastrophe

If you don't think you can control yourself with "trigger" foods around, don't keep them in the house. Or, this is what I did since hubs still eats bread, put them away where you can't see or reach. Plan your meals ahead, and it'll be tougher to cheat if you literally cannot eat the thing you're craving

nil8r

It might help to pre-plan as many meals this week as possible, to avoid finding yourself craving something w/o a plan. Come up with some ideas for alternative to bread, grain and pasta.

Avoid the bun when you can... instead of thinking you can't have it, think instead that you are going to trade the calories and inflammation issues from this meal and put it towards something like a piece of rich chocolate and wine or fruit. Using your burger example, my trick is to figure out what an "amazing burger" means to me (for me it's at a particular Seattle restaurant) and then I can analyze my craving and decide to "save up" for next time and have the one I want instead of what's nearby. Just keep in mind that the treat of this sort should probably only happen once a month or less. Hubby wants a burger? Have you tried portabella mushrooms or lettuce leaves instead of bread?

If bread is the biggest hurtle, it's probably the one worth tackling first. As you're transitioning back to paleo, maybe you can make a list of "off limit" foods and stack-rank them from worst to least as it relates to how you feel when consuming. Start by eliminating the worst offenders. Also, maybe try having a gluten-free version of crackers (in the first month) so that when the craving strikes, it might be less painful. Just pair it with something that is "on plan" for you.

Also, I find it better to think in terms of success/failure one meal at a time rather than day. If you mess up at breakfast, tell yourself it's ok and make a commitment to follow through with a successful lunch and dinner.

Good luck!

impyimpyaj

Thanks ladies. I've heard of the portabella bun, but mushrooms are way gross, IMO. I just can't eat them no matter how I try. I could try a lettuce wrap. Or I could just eat them with a fork, like a steak.

I just feel like my mindset got all screwed up. I had been doing well with looking at individual meals instead of the whole day for my success/failure. And I'd been doing great at planning my meals and snacks, and just sticking with that. But something's gone screwy in my brain. For me, it is the bread, mostly. I'm having such a hard time finding lunch and dinner ideas that the kids will eat that don't contain wheat, so I just end up falling back on old stand-bys. And I KNOW that most of my "reasons" are really just excuses, but I never seem to get over that hump of recognizing that and then correcting it. Bleh.

blinkinglight

The answer to your problems is Whole9 and their whole30 program. Well, that was the answer for me anyway. Doing their whole30 program got rid of my cravings. I just didn't even want to eat most of those foods anymore. Once I ate a tiny bit of sugar or gluten, my cravings came back full force. I know so many people preach "everything in moderation" which can be true, but I'm starting to realize that for me... it's almost better to just completely eliminate it rather than fight the cravings/temptations all day every day.

You should check it out and see if you think it could help you. whole9life.com/whole30

blinkinglight

For me, it is the bread, mostly. I'm having such a hard time finding lunch and dinner ideas that the kids will eat that don't contain wheat, so I just end up falling back on old stand-bys. And I KNOW that most of my "reasons" are really just excuses, but I never seem to get over that hump of recognizing that and then correcting it. Bleh.

Quit buying bread and quit buying things with gluten. Then you won't have it as a temptation and you'll figure out something else to feed your kids!

impyimpyaj

The answer to your problems is Whole9 and their whole30 program. Well, that was the answer for me anyway. Doing their whole30 program got rid of my cravings. I just didn't even want to eat most of those foods anymore. Once I ate a tiny bit of sugar or gluten, my cravings came back full force. I know so many people preach "everything in moderation" which can be true, but I'm starting to realize that for me... it's almost better to just completely eliminate it rather than fight the cravings/temptations all day every day.

You should check it out and see if you think it could help you. whole9life.com/whole30

Thanks, I'll check that out. And I know you're right about just not buying that stuff. I feel like I just FINALLY got my kids to start eating regularly, it just seems like so much effort to change their diet. They were on a super-picky kick for a while and just finally started eating normal food without fighting me. But it needs to be done.

breeanreyes

i had a bacon cheeseburger for dinner saturday night and when i ordered it i just ordered extra lettuce, and when it came i took off the bun and wrapped it in the lettuce leaves. I was really surprised because I didn't even miss the bun, all the deliciousness was in between the lettuce leaves AND i was actually able to finish it because all that extra bread didn't get in the way (although i do have to admit, i failed doing that with a beef sausage I got at the rodeo a few days ago because I waited till i was famished and the lady couldn't take the bun off for me because she had just been handling money, oops) Always remember this too, "Nothing tastes as good as healthy (aka allergy free) feels"

impyimpyaj

"Nothing tastes as good as healthy (aka allergy free) feels"

Ah, that's a good one. My new mantra. Thanks!

monkeydharma

There are two types of cravings - physical and psychological.

Physical cravings will subside once you have cleared your diet of all foods that can trigger the cravings. Doing '80%' won't really help - because the other 20% will cause your body to continue to want grains and/or sugar. You gotta do it 100% - there's no other way around it.

Psychological cravings, otoh, are entirely up to you. It falls under the heading of 'addiction' and you have to deal with it the same way we all cope with our addictions, whether it be tobacco, caffeine, drug, alcohol, etc. Some people truly have a psychological dependency on grains/sugars - and you need to deal with it on that level.

beckkotsch

There are two types of cravings - physical and psychological.

Physical cravings will subside once you have cleared your diet of all foods that can trigger the cravings. Doing '80%' won't really help - because the other 20% will cause your body to continue to want grains and/or sugar. You gotta do it 100% - there's no other way around it.

Psychological cravings, otoh, are entirely up to you. It falls under the heading of 'addiction' and you have to deal with it the same way we all cope with our addictions, whether it be tobacco, caffeine, drug, alcohol, etc. Some people truly have a psychological dependency on grains/sugars - and you need to deal with it on that level.

Genius. Thanks for writing this. I needed to read it! I've been doing about 80% for a while but I KNOW I gotta go 100%.

OP...you're not alone! I'm the exact same way. I'll do well for a few weeks and then something will come up and I'll binge. Then I feel like I'm starting back at square one again, which totally sucks.

Zeromilediet

There are two types of cravings - physical and psychological.

Physical cravings will subside once you have cleared your diet of all foods that can trigger the cravings. Doing '80%' won't really help - because the other 20% will cause your body to continue to want grains and/or sugar. You gotta do it 100% - there's no other way around it.

Psychological cravings, otoh, are entirely up to you. It falls under the heading of 'addiction' and you have to deal with it the same way we all cope with our addictions, whether it be tobacco, caffeine, drug, alcohol, etc. Some people truly have a psychological dependency on grains/sugars - and you need to deal with it on that level.

^^this

Reminds me of a comment in the book, It Starts With Food ... paraphrased: if you had four cats and found out you were allergic to cats, would giving away two of them fix the allergy?

impyimpyaj

That makes sense about the 80%, monkeydharma -- not sure why I never thought of it that way before. Thanks for that. And the cat analogy is a good one, Zeromilediet.

I guess then that brings me to my coffee habit. I'm not addicted to the caffeine, but I am addicted to the morning routine. And I have it with cream and sugar, and don't really like it without. Guess I'll need to find another routine.

MikeFlyMike

[/quote]

^^this

Reminds me of a comment in the book, It Starts With Food ... paraphrased: if you had four cats and found out you were allergic to cats, would giving away two of them fix the allergy?
[/quote]

I literally bust out laughing with this.. I'm using it over and over ...

monkeydharma

That makes sense about the 80%, monkeydharma -- not sure why I never thought of it that way before. Thanks for that. And the cat analogy is a good one, Zeromilediet.

I guess then that brings me to my coffee habit. I'm not addicted to the caffeine, but I am addicted to the morning routine. And I have it with cream and sugar, and don't really like it without. Guess I'll need to find another routine.

I'm a 'drink it black' guy, but my wife was stuck on cream and sugar. Eventually she replaced the cream with lite coconut milk (in the can) and the sugar with a dusting of cinnamon (which strikes the nose/tastebuds as sweet). This is at home. When we're out, she has to use cream - but now she either avoids the sugar, or adds the cinnamon if the shop has it.

beckkotsch

I'm a 'drink it black' guy, but my wife was stuck on cream and sugar. Eventually she replaced the cream with lite coconut milk (in the can) and the sugar with a dusting of cinnamon (which strikes the nose/tastebuds as sweet). This is at home. When we're out, she has to use cream - but now she either avoids the sugar, or adds the cinnamon if the shop has it.

I too used to use all kinds of yummy (but bad for you) creamers. Now I'm totally hooked on canned coconut milk. I'm totally gonna try adding cinnamon tomorrow morning as well for something new.

It's amazing how fast you will adapt to drinking coffee this way(or anything else for that matter). Now if I treat myself to a fancy coffee at starbucks it tastes SO sweet. I almost only drink it b/c I spent five bucks on it:)

impyimpyaj

I don't know, I just really don't enjoy the taste of coffee unless it's sweetened. I've tried the bulletproof coffee, and I had to put sugar in it. It was more palatable than black, I'll admit, but I don't know if I could ever get used to that. I plan to keep trying the bulletproof version when I get a proper blender, but I'm not holding out hope that I'll ever enjoy it. The only reason I drink coffee is for the taste, and if I don't like the taste, I'm probably just not going to drink it. For now, I'm cutting back to one cup per day -- I had already cut back to two cups, down from having 2 or 3 16-oz mugs per day. Progress. :happy:

I'm expecting a minor setback tomorrow because my husband has a work potluck, so I'm probably going to have some non-paleo food. But I'll at least limit my portions. Maybe I'll have a good salad beforehand so I don't feel the need to stuff my face. And no dessert!

GalaxyDuck

Once again, monkeydharma has nailed it. Totally agree with his post and that the "80%" mindset doesn't really work. Others have mentioned "It Starts With Food", you should probably look into reading it. It talks about the psychological food addictions and the physical addictions that food can cause.

I used to drink my coffee with cream & sugar too and say "I drink coffee for the taste". I slowly (over a few months) weened myself down to black coffee by gradually decreasing the amount of sugar/cream/milk I used. Now I TRULY drink coffee for the taste...of COFFEE. Before I drank coffee for the sweet taste of sugar which I think is probably "the taste" you are referring to as well. A big chain here in Canada is Tim Hortons. I used to love their coffee. Now that I drink it black, I realize that their coffee doesn't even TASTE like coffee. Who knew?

impyimpyaj

Oh, I totally know that I don't like the taste of coffee. Don't particularly like the smell either. Which is why I might just give it up completely. No point drinking it if I don't like it, and I don't like coffee without cream and sugar. Too bitter.

GalaxyDuck

I also used to think coffee on it's own was too bitter, but after weening myself down to black I've obviously changed my mind. Of course the quality of the coffee makes a difference. I have yet to be impressed by the taste of coffee from ANY big chain, Starbucks included. But certainly, if you don't like it and you know you don't like it, why drink it at all?

Now the smell of coffee...I'll always love that one!

impyimpyaj

I tried Bulletproof again -- I still don't have a blender, so I just put the coffee, butter, coconut milk, and a dash of cinnamon into my big glass measuring cup and stirred vigorously with a fork. I still needed a tiny bit of sugar, but not much. Good stuff. Progress. :-D

beckkotsch

I tried Bulletproof again -- I still don't have a blender, so I just put the coffee, butter, coconut milk, and a dash of cinnamon into my big glass measuring cup and stirred vigorously with a fork. I still needed a tiny bit of sugar, but not much. Good stuff. Progress. :-D

That's great! The last two mornings I've added cinnamon to my coffee.....SO yum! Tomorrow, I'll finally add the butter.

monkeydharma

Oh, I totally know that I don't like the taste of coffee. Don't particularly like the smell either. Which is why I might just give it up completely. No point drinking it if I don't like it, and I don't like coffee without cream and sugar. Too bitter.

There's no rule that says you HAVE to drink coffee - if you don't like it without the adulterants, then don't drink it. If you're needing that caffeine kick, there's also tea (not Lipton - higher quality teas are very flavorful and don't need cream/sugar), or Yerba Mate.

But, like you are finding out, as your body adjusts to relying on fat for energy instead of sugars, your tastebuds change as well. You'll start noticing sweetness where it once seemed bitter; other items (like kale or coffee) that didn't seem palatable at all, suddenly are very tasty. Go 100%, give yourself 30 days - and you'll be amazed at the changes.

impyimpyaj

Oh, I totally know that I don't like the taste of coffee. Don't particularly like the smell either. Which is why I might just give it up completely. No point drinking it if I don't like it, and I don't like coffee without cream and sugar. Too bitter.

There's no rule that says you HAVE to drink coffee - if you don't like it without the adulterants, then don't drink it. If you're needing that caffeine kick, there's also tea (not Lipton - higher quality teas are very flavorful and don't need cream/sugar), or Yerba Mate.

But, like you are finding out, as your body adjusts to relying on fat for energy instead of sugars, your tastebuds change as well. You'll start noticing sweetness where it once seemed bitter; other items (like kale or coffee) that didn't seem palatable at all, suddenly are very tasty. Go 100%, give yourself 30 days - and you'll be amazed at the changes.

I mostly like the routine of it. It's my morning thing, and has been for a long time. So if I cut out the coffee, I'm gonna need to find a new morning routine, that's all. So I'm trying to make Bulletproof work, because it feels like less of an adjustment than finding something completely new.

I need to go and collect recipes and rethink the way I do grocery shopping. I mean, I've collected the recipes, but I haven't printed them out and made an actual meal plan, so they're kind of useless at the moment. I'm going to continue just doing my best through payday at the end of the month, at least avoiding grains and excess sugar (which I know isn't the be-all, end-all of paleo, but it's the most important part for sugar-dependent me) and in the meantime I'll make a mealplan and grocery list so I won't be bringing home non-paleo stuff except bread. It is easier for me to avoid grains than it is to avoid sugar, especially since I'm noticing that I get bloated and gassy every time I have bread. Dairy is the hardest for me, but it needs to happen because I'm allergic to it. But dang, it's in everything that I like! It'll just have to be a continuous process. I've cut out dairy several times in my life, and I always end up coming back to it. I'll just keep trying.

monkeydharma

Dairy is the hardest for me, but it needs to happen because I'm allergic to it. But dang, it's in everything that I like! It'll just have to be a continuous process. I've cut out dairy several times in my life, and I always end up coming back to it. I'll just keep trying.

You might look into goat and sheep dairy. Both are more easily digestible than cow dairy, and a lot of dairy-intolerant people are allergic to just cow. If you look around world-wide, more people use goat and sheep products than cow. Both goat and sheep are grazers, and are difficult to 'feedlot', so even if the label doesn't say so, they are essential grassfed.

Although our use of dairy products in general have plummeted since going paleo/primal, we still use goat yogurt as a general substitute for sour cream, yogurt and sometimes mayo, and goat- and sheepsmilk cheeses on occasion. Also use goat butter. We don't use milk anymore (kids are gone and wife switched to coconut milk for her coffee) - goat milk is available, but some people don't like the flavor. The other products are virtual indistinguishable from their cow counterparts.

impyimpyaj

Dairy is the hardest for me, but it needs to happen because I'm allergic to it. But dang, it's in everything that I like! It'll just have to be a continuous process. I've cut out dairy several times in my life, and I always end up coming back to it. I'll just keep trying.

You might look into goat and sheep dairy. Both are more easily digestible than cow dairy, and a lot of dairy-intolerant people are allergic to just cow. If you look around world-wide, more people use goat and sheep products than cow. Both goat and sheep are grazers, and are difficult to 'feedlot', so even if the label doesn't say so, they are essential grassfed.

Although our use of dairy products in general have plummeted since going paleo/primal, we still use goat yogurt as a general substitute for sour cream, yogurt and sometimes mayo, and goat- and sheepsmilk cheeses on occasion. Also use goat butter. We don't use milk anymore (kids are gone and wife switched to coconut milk for her coffee) - goat milk is available, but some people don't like the flavor. The other products are virtual indistinguishable from their cow counterparts.

Where I live, other forms of dairy aren't readily available. My grocery store did just recently start carrying goat milk and goat cheese, but the cost is ridiculously high. I could buy it once in a while as a treat, but not for regular use.

The bulletproof coffee is working out well. I've been using a bit less sugar in it every day, and hardly notice the difference. Plus, it seems to help me manage stress better, oddly enough. I'm under a lot of stress lately because I'm starting up a photography business, and I've been having a minor panic attack every afternoon. But since having the bulletproof coffee in the mornings, I haven't been freaking out. The only thing I can figure is it must be due to the increase in fat. I wasn't doing low-fat before, but perhaps I still wasn't getting enough for my brain to stay happy.