Paleo perdicament?

Howbouto

I wrote this a blog post, but have decided to repost here as well. I'm just wondering, does anyone else have this problem:

started my Whole 30 on November 1. After the crappy feelings went away (about 10 days) I felt like superwomen!! I was sleeping better, waking up ready to take on the world, my low level chronic depression was gone, aches and pains were gone, my skin glowed, my chronic congestion cleared up, my sugar cravings~ gone, weight fell off, every thing was coming up roses. Fast forward 72 days later in paleo, and my mind is rebelling a little. At first, I felt so great it was a reward in itself, but now it has became my new normal. I'm used to sleeping great, no aches and pains, skin glowing, feeling happy, so those things are no longer rewards to my mind for all this eating and cooking I'm doing (oh and dishes, OMG the dishes never stop!!)

So because, I'm "used" to all the good stuff, my mind is rebelling. Yesterday, I wanted a cheeseburger. My goodness I'm human and I deserve an occasional cheeseburger. So I went to lunch with my husband. I ordered my bun-less burger but allowed the fries and tortilla soup. By the time, I left work, I couldn't breath through my nose, my chronic neck pain back, I had a headache, and hello sugar craving~ I haven't missed you.

So this morning. I'm mad myself because my neck hurts and I have a slight headache. Because I gave into my sugar cravings last night, I will likely struggle with them today too.

Even though I decided I will let myself have 2 to 3 free meals a week, I'm realizing they are not worth it. However, I want to be normal! I want to be able to grab a pizza with friends and not have a laundry list of symptoms from eating a damn pizza. I keep telling myself that I'm not strange I'm enlightened. I don't believe myself. Goodness, I sound crazy writing this. It's like I have two people wrestling in me. The have the fat, lazy depressed pizza loving women wrestling with the new runner, strength training happy, awake girl. Anyone want to make odds on who will win? LOL

I started my weight loss journey, because the reasons to lose weight finally outweighed the reasons to not to. However, my mind does not like change. I amazes me how emotional eating is. Am I alone in this conflict?

IAmABetterMe

Even though I am new on this journey I know EXACTLY how you feel! I start to tell myself... Oh one coke won't hurt and guess what it does so Yes I do know about the perdicament(predicament). I think you need to decide no it Definately isn't worth the PAIN and ANGUISH... It's not a treat it's a sentence to feel like crap the next few days... do you really want to go back to feeling so horrible the way you did before you started? Stay STRONG! You are STRONG and better then that little voice.... Kick that voice out the door... you want to feel HEALTHY and ALIVE not just be ALIVE

Dmkolls

I completely know how you feel. I did my first Whole 30 in December (worst time to do it, right?). I figured if I can stay compliant in midst of Holiday parties, visiting families, Cookies galore, I can stick to it anytime, right?

Well, I told myself that I was going to allow certain "cheats"....well within 5 days being off Whole 30, I was literally back to my old habits. Sitting on the couch with a bag of Baked Scoops and a plate full of sharp cheddar with no intentions of stopping at one serving.

I realized then that my problem isn't the NOT eating the food. I have willpower to NOT eat something at all. My problems are 1) knowing WHEN to quit and 2) not allowing to snowball into other treats.

So, I am doing another Whole 30 this month. I am one of those that I can't do 80/20 because my 20 will end up getting bigger and bigger until it is dominating my diet and I am unhealthy again.


Keep a list of WHY you want to lose weight. You can endure any HOW is you have a reason WHY.

Howbouto

Thanks all. It does feel better to know I'm not alone.


PS. I'm a horrible speller!!! lol

IAmABetterMe

Me too! I have auto correct on phone that's the only reason I knew it was spelled wrong :blushing:

Christie0428

So, I haven't done the whole30 - I am just leaning in to Paleo now and have eliminated wheat and sugar for this month... but I know what you mean about your mind playing games with you! Just yeaterday I made a comment about how giving up wheat and sugar was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I am now having any cravings... just 2-3 hours later I was at home looking around like "what can I have?" and REALLY wanting something sweet and preferably chocolate!

You definitely have me thinking about doing the whole 30 next month! Hmm - I have some reading to do. From what I've read it says minimal fruit - how minimal in minimal?

divemunkey

Go ahead and have a square or two of dark chocolate. You can have a piece of fruit a day, but if you are trying to lose weight, it would be best to skip it except for a treat every once in a while. I thought an apple or so a day would be ok, but I think it really sabotaged my sugar addiction and also kept me from dropping the weight I was hoping to lose. If you choose fruit, better options are berries, then citrus, then apples or pears. All that stuff is out of season here, so it's much easier to not buy it if it's expensive AND poor quality. And no fruit for a week=weigh starts to shift.

LauraDotts

Yes, a lot of the temptations are emotional. On my own I don't care if I ever eat another piece of pizza or cake. But, when I'm at a birthday party where everybody else is enjoying pizza and cake I want to join in on the FUN of eating pizza and cake even if I really don't want pizza and cake. I've had to learn that I can still enjoy the party and the people without eating the pizza and cake. And, I have to remind myself that joining in and eating what I shouldn't eat will just feel really bad when the party is over.

twinmom01

It is something I am struggling with....

I turned to Primal after spending a good amount of time weaning myself off processed foods and into a Clean Eating type of food style and then paired it down even further with the removal of grains and most dairy (I consider myself primal because I will do things like half and half, greek yogurt every now and than and my guilty vice coffee creamer)

I don't have huge issues if I veer off the path every now and then (as I am not eating this way because of certain health issues).

I know through lots of trial and error in order for me to loose weight I have to keep to lower carbs - and eating a primal way fits that what i know I need to do....

Knowing what you need to do and actually doing it is two very different things...

Over the past few years I have lost 3 friends quite suddenly...I have learned first hand there are things out of our control and life is short...Life shouldn't be a daily hassle, but one shouldn't waste it either.

So if a situation arises where I want to veer off the path - I will veer off the path. Yesterday we had bagels for breakfast at work...I knew ahead of time and I quite like bagels so I had a bagel....I did my best planning the rest of the days food to compensate for the fact the 2/3rds of my daily carbs were ingested before 9am. Now I don't do this every week - probably once every 4-6 weeks...and I am fine to adjust for that...

I have found that by eating this way for over a year it has lessened my wants and desires for certain foods and the "triggers" have diminished - meaning I can have a bite of something without triggering my body to want all of it...

However, things like this won't work if you "plan" for it...I.E. if you tell yourself "Hey I am going to have a cheat day every week..." and then proceed to eat a bunch of junk once a week...like I said should the situation ariseand you feel it is worth it to you personally.

I will say my nasty little vice is flavored coffee creamer...I have tried to quit it - and when I do a week or a month of strict I do give it up and use coconut milk...but all the other times - life is too short and in the long run if the biggest "bad" thing is having a Tablespoon or two of creamer every day I can live with that...

Akimajuktuq

I don't really understand the "rebelling". The health issues that have been resolved for me are nothing short of miraculous. Yes, I suppose it is my new "normal" but I love it. While on vacation this year, I was able to experience how quickly I can feel like crap again (still didn't have wheat, as far as I know) and no, it's not worth it. Of course, I currently eat primal because it's easier for me to stick to. For now.

I don't allow myself frequent "free meals". While I might have a bowl of popcorn once every couple of months, I never ever have any other grain or legumes. I also keep my carbs really low almost every single day. I don't like feeling crappy and I don't like struggling with hunger. Even a quarter of a banana for breakfast earlier this week caused me problems.

I haven't officially done a Whole30 but it is my long term goal to get to eating that way on a daily basis. Not that I wouldn't ever have my full fat dairy occasionally, but I think 90/10 would be a sustainable ratio. Currently, I'm not experiencing any negative effects from the cream and cheese that I eat, but I'm still eyeing the dairy suspiciously. It would be different if I could get raw dairy.

I hope that by being aware of all the positive changes, will help you to continue this journey and renew your commitment. I think it's become easier for me because I finally have accepted that I have to eat this way FOREVER, and since I love fat and protein and not being constantly, uncontrollably hungry, more than I love being sick, this is working great. Even if I didn't lose even one more pound, I'd keep doing this.

Edit: keep in mind that all those "normal foods" that "normal people" are eating are NOT normal for human physiology (think about how long humans have been eating pizza, or burger in a bun or sandwiches-not long). Also, all those people are suffering sickness that they think is a normal part of life including: depression, acid reflux, bloating, indigestion, fatigue, inflammation, joint pain, allergies, etc etc.. No, it's not normal to have a low level of feeling sick all the time, yet that's what most "healthy" people eating a normal "healthy" diet are living with every day.

justaspoonfulofsugar

THIS!

Edit: keep in mind that all those "normal foods" that "normal people" are eating are NOT normal for human physiology (think about how long humans have been eating pizza, or burger in a bun or sandwiches-not long). Also, all those people are suffering sickness that they think is a normal part of life including: depression, acid reflux, bloating, indigestion, fatigue, inflammation, joint pain, allergies, etc etc.. No, it's not normal to have a low level of feeling sick all the time, yet that's what most "healthy" people eating a normal "healthy" diet are living with every day.
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neverstray

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Dmkolls

So, I haven't done the whole30 - I am just leaning in to Paleo now and have eliminated wheat and sugar for this month... but I know what you mean about your mind playing games with you! Just yeaterday I made a comment about how giving up wheat and sugar was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I am now having any cravings... just 2-3 hours later I was at home looking around like "what can I have?" and REALLY wanting something sweet and preferably chocolate!

You definitely have me thinking about doing the whole 30 next month! Hmm - I have some reading to do. From what I've read it says minimal fruit - how minimal in minimal?

About the fruit, it is different for everybody. It's usually 1-2 pieces per day but if you find you're eating a lot and using it to replace your sugar crutch, they recommend cutting it down. I'm staying low carb on this so I stay within 0-1 pieces per day. And I'll stick with grapefruit or oranges for that vit c boost.

Last night I went to dinner with my beau to a nice steak house, and he ordered their special garlic fries with a "dusting" of Parmesan. Had I not been on the Whole 30, I would have tried one or two....then a handful...add ketchup, and oh there's bread, and might as well have a cocktail...or two. Instead, I focused on my very awesome meal and walked away satisfied and feeling great. My beau (who practices paleo about 80/20) was feeling gross because he couldn't stop and ate the ENTIRE order of fries all by himself.

The whole 30 isn't for everyone, but for someone like me, it was an eye opener. I couldn't hide behind food or have "cheats."

JohnNull

I only read the original post, so if I missed something, sorry.

I'm one of the first ones to proclaim loudly that being fit and healthy is in itself its own reward. But as hardcore as I can be when it comes to these things, even I would never say that people should never treat themselves.

There are very few things I miss at all from my days of "normal" eating (though even those are losing their appeal as time goes by). Probably #1 is grilled cheese sandwiches. In my first year of paleo, I had established that I'd have grilled cheese on some of that gluten-free goody-two-shoes bread twice a year.

I did this being completely aware that it wasn't the best thing for me, health or "body-comp" wise.

I enjoyed it. At first. But after the second or third indulgence, I lost interest. I had the experience of eating it. I also had the lousy day after feeling like crap experience, too. I found the return on investment pretty unappealing.

So now if I have any kind of treat, it's without the "faileo" fake food crap that's been gorillaing into the grocery stores, since this is now kind of en vogue.

If I may slightly mangle something Dave Ramsey says (the absolute top guy to go to for the financial stuffs): I have no interest in "being normal". "Normal" is fat, sick, and broke.

We're rising above that.