Week 3 and not going as strong....

Alyxw

Hi people...

Just need to sort of get all of this out there and hopefully get some encouraging advice!

I am in my third week of eating paleo. I feel pretty good and found the transition pretty easy which is great as it will hopefully make this next part a lot easier...

Over the weekend at a social occasion I partook in a few too many alcoholic beverages... read bourbon with coke! Anyway amazingly (and I credit this to 2 weeks of paleo under my belt) I had no hangover! Phew! However it kicked in a whole lot of cravings! I have since had a coffee or tea with sugar a day and let other little things of minor significance slip back into my diet. Yesterday at lunch with a friend I chose the furtherest from Paleo meal possible even though there were other options available.. In good news it was awful and I barely ate it. Anyway I am ready to get back on the horse properly and to do this I will be tracking everything monday-friday (I only don't track weekends as I am too busy usually). I am going for PERFECT. I just want to see how awesome I will feel, as I have been feeling good even with these little no-no's creeping back in.

The other thing that I do wonder though... is if I need to over eat to meet my BMR. Basically when I eat Paleo properly, I don't come near my BMR without adding in extra's even though I am not really hungry. I am OK with this but I wonder if I really have to worry about my calories being low? OR could I still be having these cravings for sweets because I am not eating these extra calories?

caribougal

Sounds like you're doing pretty darn well. Drinking alcohol is like doing shots of sugar... It's not surprising that sugar cravings kicked in.

But, no worries... You're back on track.

As for BMR, the general wisdom is that it's the very minimum cal level to just function. So you should be eating more than that. My BMR is between 1250-1350, depending on the calculator. I have my cal goal set to 1400. But I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, and I try to make sure I have plenty of fats. I am often a few hundred below my goal, but I figure there are times when I'm probably underestimating my portion sizes or cals, so it works itself out.

Maybe try upping your cals by a few hundred, and focusing more on meeting your fat and protein goals for the day. My macros are set at 60% fat, 25% protein, and 15% carbs. The fat is really important in order to make you feel satisfied and less likely to crave sugar.

Good luck.

MikeFlyMike

Agree on the fat and alcohol. I wouldn't worry about hitting your BMR - I find my numbers are low especially when I work out - but my body gets all the food it wants.