Paleo Advice/Tips/Helpful Hints

FlannelMothman

OK - I'm strongly considering going Paleo. I've gone gluten free in the past and it definitely helped speed up weight loss as well as ease a rumbly tummy. I've thought about Paleo for a month or so, but only this past week have I really dived into the research.

I think I'm ready, willing, and prepared to fight. Only problem is... I have no idea where to start.
I have a LOVE for cinnamon raisin bagels with crunchy peanut butter topped on it. So much so I have a pack of bagels waiting for me (but haven't touched in a while due to carbs being bad, etc) and now I don't want to "lose the money" I spent on them, but I also don't want to throw them away... What do I do with all my "old" food?
Also, too...

I know "what to eat" but I still don't know what to eat. Is my cuppa coffee OK? It's just bean flavoured water. Or my teas? I love my teas. Leaf flavoured water. (I don't use cream or sugar for my tea - but I'm prepared to sacrifice my non-dairy whitener and my no-calorie sweetener for my coffee)

I have these packages of Blue Water fish. They're pre-seasoned. Are *they* OK?
Groan.

How does someone get started? I understand the concept of Paleo: As natural as possible, no sugar, no carbs, high protein.
Yet butter and no-lactose milks are OK.

Has anyone started Paleo recently? What were your challenges? Any advice so I don't kick the bucket on the diet? I'm hoping for a Feb 16 start date of full, strict Paleo. Any great recipes or websites or guides/books to reccommend?

FlannelMothman

-sighs- ....bump.

kitoi

Easiest way to start...remove gluten and grains from your diet and kitchen. Take or old food to homeless shelter.

Paleo does not mean low or no carbs

I've been paleo for just over 2yrs.

FlannelMothman

Well, sure, you get carbs from apples and stuff but no grains, which is a majority of carbs, so doesn't that not mean "low carb" simply by eliminating that?

jaimrlx

Change your diary to carbs/protein 25%, fat 50%. That's the best way to keep track. It seems crazy, but it really is not.

Throw away the old food. It's so worth it in the end, do not allow room for error and quit things cold turkey - at least for the first 30 days. Then bring things back in as your body will allow.

Coffee is fine, it's whatever you put in it. Stevia (although debatable) is okay, creamer is not. You could use sugar cane if you'd like. Just no syrups, chemically altered anything and no dairy. I drink mine black anyways, so it works. Tea is fine, same thing applies. I love tea! I drink it more than coffee, for the most part.

For your fish, it depends on what the seasonings are. If you see a lot of chemicals/preservatives, etc.. no.

As for getting started? I didn't start until I ate everything, even the bad stuff. As soon as my cupboards were empty (for the most part), I converted and it's the best decision I've ever made. I drink almond milk, do not drink soy. You are not supposed to have beans at all, this includes soy. After 30 days, let your body decide. I eat 'mostly paleo', as do most people. Butter is only okay if it's 'grass fed', I do not eat it at all. Use oil, it's much better.

Reddit has a pretty good community, if you're into that. Search for Paleo blogs, as well. NomNomPaleo is my favorite.

I was bad the first week. Dizzy, sick, headaches, etc. After ~10 days I was fine. You just have to stick with it! Add me, if you'd like!

Good luck!

:flowerforyou:

FlannelMothman

I also drink almond milk (regular milk just does not taste good to me).
I guess I just want reassurance or an "OK" to eat that bad stuff lmaooooo

I'm scared to up it to 50% fat, but I really like that suggestion! Didn't think of that, and that's why I ask for advice, kids.

babymaddux

hi

i made the switch about a month ago and my best advice is don't think too much about it, just do it.
i can't help too much with the coffee/tea thing as i don't drink either, but from what i've seen other people say, coconut milk or oil work very well as an alternative to cow's milk.
and i'd seriously try not to think of grain based carbs as 'bad', they are just unnecessary.

one thing you might consider, as i have done, is pick your battles. i am still trying to get my head around eating lots of good fats, so while i do this, i'm still allowing myself a bit of peanut butter. although i've found a chocolate almond butter that i like but it has palm oil or something in it. so it's peanuts or a sugar substance. i personally can't stomach plain almond butter, or a lot of nut butters, so i'm giving myself that leeway.

bread hasn't been a problem for me, i pretty much stopped eating it when i moved to the states anyway as it's not what i know to be bread. if you are a big bread eater and want to give yourself a good chance with this, either eat it first, remove it from the house, or throw it in the freezer and forget about it.

with your packaged fish, check the label. if it says sugar, then no. if it says canola/sunflower oil then no. check if there are starches in the seasoning, potato based starches are something to cut back on, corn based ingredients are again a no.. a little salt is fine, herbs are fine.

as for your dairy question, that's a matter or preference and goals. the purists say absolutely not. others say if you just want to eat more healthily, and don't have lactose problems, maybe you could have a little full fat milk. if you want to lose weight then it's better not to. personally i am more primal than paleo, i do have some dairy now and then, though it tends to be cheese rather than milk. coconut milk (the pure, tinned variety, not the fashionable, sweetened boxed drink) is a great alternative in cooking and hot drinks. i'm not sure i could drink it straight though. boxed coconut and almond milks both tend to be sweetened with various things so i don't go for them.

as i said, i'm still figuring it out, but this is what i'm working with. i eat a lot of rotisserie chicken. i love red peppers, they are my go to snack any time of day. i have a big juicy steak at least once a week with lots of green veg, grilled tomatoes, onions and mushrooms. people seem to swear by bacon, but again, i'm not a fan of american bacon so it's not as big a part of my diet. i prefer a big plate of ground pork with tomato, onion and cheese thrown in and a couple fried eggs (fried in lard, ghee or the pork fat) on top. that's my weekend breakfast and tends to last me through to mid-late evening. i make a big batch of something with ground beef on a sunday, bolognaise/lasagne/meatballs, and that pretty much gets me through the week. where i would have used pasta, i now use zucchini/courgette sliced thinly like spaghetti or lasagne sheets.

i hope something in all that helps. if you want, add me as a friend, we can give each other ideas

caribougal

Ditch the bagels. Believe me, I was a total bagel addict. I ate one almost every day for most of my adult life. When I was pregnant and diabetic, I had to quit bagels and it was torture. You can guess what hubby had waiting for me to eat once I popped out the kids. It was that bad.

Now... I don't miss them at all. I haven't had one in 8 months. I much prefer eggs in the morning, and they keep me full for hours.

If you have a dairy allergy or don't like the idea of dairy, eliminate it. You can use coconut or almond milk in your coffee. If you don't have issues with dairy, you can declare yourself "primal" and use full fat dairy like cream, Greek yogurt, kefir, etc.

Swap your peanut butter for fresh ground almond butter and eat it on an apple. Yum.

Join the paleo/primal support group on here for help.

Some good blogs:
Nomnompaleo.com as mentioned above. My fave
Theclothesmakethegirl.com
Paleomg
Thefoodie.com for aggregated recipes

Have fun.

freerange

You are doing fine. Start slowly, remove the things you "know" you should remove, study, read, ask questions, and refine your diet as you go. IMO if you will just remove most/all gluten you will be so much better off. Then start replacing processed foods with real food as much as you can.

hyper_focus

I eat 80% paleo, 100% gluten free, and currently on 21 of Balanced Bite's paleo "21 Day Sugar Detox."
Follow me!

FlannelMothman

You are doing fine. Start slowly, remove the things you "know" you should remove, study, read, ask questions, and refine your diet as you go. IMO if you will just remove most/all gluten you will be so much better off. Then start replacing processed foods with real food as much as you can.

Hrm. I like how you said this. My goal with going Paleo is to not eat processed stuff and no gluten. I think I'm overthinking (surprise surprise) and thinking tomorrow I should eat salad all day and a huge cut steak for dinner. OK. This seems more manageable now.

I'll aim for a March 1st start, not a Feb 16th start. I'll change my nutrient percentages as well.

tigger9759

I'm finishing up day 5 of going primal and I agree with the others; don't over think or beat yourself up. Make better choices and keep making improvements in your food choices and where they come from. But be warned that you may feel stabby the first few days while getting everything out of your system; that's the hell I'm currently in :laugh:

FlannelMothman

Oh gawd I don't want that I already have that, that's why I went gluten free in the first place my dr thought I was a Celiac gaaaah

tigger9759

So are you currently gluten free? If so, you shouldn't have quite the drastic changes required that many of us do. And apparently there are others who didn't get the 'carb flu' but I obviously wasn't one of them :sad:

LemonMint6

I definitely agree with the above do it in stages.

There is a good how to here: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

And here: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/01/22/super-mario-eating/

I'm a nerd. Anyways, the second link is one girls way of how she transitioned into (mostly) paleo.

freerange

Oh gawd I don't want that I already have that, that's why I went gluten free in the first place my dr thought I was a Celiac gaaaah

the "yuk" feeling is your body changing from a carb burning machine to a fat burning machine. You don't have to go thru this. Just make sure you get good carbs. Sweet potato (I make hash browns with them for breakfast) berries, veggies, a little brown rice or oat meal. You don't have to go super low carb to be Paleo. It's just that when you cut out grains and processed sugar it will naturally be lower carb than the SAD.

LavenderBouquet

There are a couple groups you could also look for advice in:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/621-the-primal-life-tips-from-the-cave
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/37-primal-paleo-support-group

I also like the website: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ you can search for almost any topic related to primal/paleo and something should come up.

If you like to read or have a library card, I've read The Primal Blueprint and The Paleo Diet, though I liked PB better, they have lots of information too.

As for recipes, just googling "Paleo _______ or Primal _________" with something like spaghetti or gravy or stew or whatever, has been working for me. There is also http://nomnompaleo.com/ which I've found some good recipes on as well as marksdailyapple.com I mentioned before.

I understand you don't want to waste the food, you could either give it away to friends/family/shelter or you can freeze it and eat them gradually over time, depending on how strict you want to go. If you plan on having a cheat meal you can hold on to them and eat them then.

I had pretty bad carb cravings in the first week, but once I pulled through and asked for advice on here, I felt much better. Good luck!:flowerforyou:

Feel free to add me, I'm really new to primal eating still, but I have an open diary!