Primal/Paleo?
dmperiman
Posts: 13 Member
Anyone out there trying to live a primal\paleo lifestyle? If so how's it working? I know counting calories contradicts this lifestyle but I don't know what else to do.
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I did it for a solid month before this site and dropped a good 20 LBS, most of that having probably been water. It was great, I did feel a lack of variety but it wasn't too bad. I did however, see my grocery bill nearly triple. It is very expensive to do it, a luxury I cannot afford right now. So what I do now is try to have at least 1 meal a day towards Primal, but if possible that week 2/3. It's a lot easier to make breakfast and dinner primal, but lunch is always a struggle, so that usually ends up being a sandwich, or soup with vegetables on the side.
My brother has been doing it for 3 months, strictly Primal, and lost 25LBS. He went from 210 to 185 and is 6'2. It seems to work well for him and his family, he only shops at Whole Foods and never eats a carb (except with what may standardly come in fruit) above what it allows.
I do not see my self fully committing to Primal, even if I had the luxury to do it. I cannot see myself giving up grains, I love too many foods that have that in the recipe, but that doesn't mean I won't limit the amount that I enjoy it, just like I would anything else that deemed unhealthy when in excess.
When I was full primal for a month, I counted calories too, however if my snacking (beef jerky, nuts) went above the amount, I still considered it a win for that day, as it does say to not hold back on the meat if you're hungry.0 -
Thanks for sharing whitterbugCo.
I do 90% of my shopping at Whole Foods and my husband makes me a primal breakfast (organic cage free eggs and an all natural sausage link) everyday and dinner (organic grass fed or humanly raised protein and veggie) every night. Lunch is definitely the hardest. I find myself eating a lot of potatoes instead of grains at lunch which isn't much better, if at all. I guess I'm having a hard time with the high fat content. He cooks everything in grass fed butter, drinks organic grass fed heavy cream (which is basically a days worth of calories right there) and cooks organic cage free egg yolks and tosses the egg whites. He's doing great on this program and he's had all of his blood work done and his test results were perfect as were mine when I was eating this way. I'm just not losing any weight at all other than fluctuating between the same 5 to 7 lbs over and over again.
I'm hoping to find a happy medium between the Primal lifestyle and Calories in/Calories out kind of a lifestyle.0 -
I've been reading and listening to some podcasts about and have been interested. Early man certainly had access to grains/seeds and they were part of their diet even before they were cultivated. ie wild rice. so I don't buy the entire premise. Although I agree with them that cultivation and human selection has radically changed these crops.
But I think they have some good ideas and reasoning. I have been reducing the bread/pasta/potatoes and increasing my fat/protein. basically I'm feeling better, but haven't lost any additional weight yet. I haven't gone as far as to get rid of legumes or alternate grains like quoioa, oats, wild rice or barley.
I'm interested in how it is working for people.0 -
I eat Paleo, well Primal because I do eat some dairy. I have been doing it for 4 months and have lost 33 lbs. I am also gluten intolerant so giving up grains was kind of a necessity. I love it, no going back for me. Yes, it can be expensive, but there are cheaper options. Eggs, salad, tuna are all cheap and I eat them a lot. Stock up on chicken, fish, bacon, when it is on sale. I have a great local grass fed beef farmer I get all my meat and eggs from. Hit the farmers markets and get in season fruits and veggies fairly cheap. I just ate half a rotisserie chicken for dinner, only $6 at the grocery store. I do keep track of my calories, but it's mainly to watch my carbs, I try to keep it under 100.0
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Worst part for me is I cannot stand sea food. I know how healthy it is (and the variety) but cannot stomach the taste or smell.
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Have you tried the flavored tuna? I love, love, love the hickory smoked tuna and so do my kids who cannot stand tuna. It's really cheap at Target.
Maybe...0 -
I did Primal for about 2 months, then missed my Sunday morning pancakes so I quit for about 2 weeks and now I'm right back in it.
I found it WAY cheaper to eat Primal than regular "healthy" as things like condiments, boxed snacks and breads (if you buy a good quality) are the expensive part. We are on a $400 a month grocery budget for 2 people and I spent under that eating Primal and over that not. That included buying grass fed meats from the farmers market.
The hardest part for us is that between the two, we don't like many Primal staples like coconut oil/butter, sweet potatoes or pork. But I use tons of pastured butter instead, and don't mind missing out on sweet potatoes. I try to eat local and in season as much as I can.
I eat avocado with EVERYTHING as a way to get healthy fats. My fav breakfast scramble is turkey, eggs, avocado and mexican hot sauce. YUM!
Well-Fed is a cookbook I swear by, you can order it off Amazon, but it's AMAZING. I also started the 30 Day intro to Paleo from The Food Lovers kitchen, which has meal plans and weekly shopping lists. It's kind of like a Whole30. PaleOMG has delicious recipes.
There is a Paleo group here on MFP- you should def join up!0 -
I've been doing it for on and off for about a year so far, and the way we afford it is buying in bulk. Yes, there isn't much variety but you can make it affordable by only buying meat and veggies. If we really need to pinch pennies, we can do a month of paleo food for under 250 bucks and that includes every meal for every day with no eating out. So far i've been very successful as demonstrated on my weight loss ticker below.0
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I've been eating this way for close to a year and wouldn' eat any other way now, personally it suits me (insulin resistant).
In saying that I still count the calories. It doesn't really matter the type of food you eat you still have to eat at a deficit to lose weight.
In regards to the expense I do the same as above posters and buy in bulk where I can and when only buying fruit/veg/meat it saves alot of money not buying junk food.
Good luck
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I am 3 weeks into Paleo/Primal. I am still eating out a lot, and it is fairly easy to stick with meat, veggies, etc. I started shopping a little this weekend for organic items and had a bit of sticker shock.
Personally, I am not drinking the Kool-Aid in regards to what early man did or did not eat. But the current science in regard to fat, grains, glucose, gluten, etc made sense to me. My body has reacted fantastically to giving up grains and sugars. I am dropping fat that I could not drop before. I am sleeping better. I have more energy.0 -
Thanks for all of the amazing advice.
I would love to join the paleo group here on MFP...as I'm super new to this site I'm not quite sure how to do that. Help please.0 -
Also...
For those of you eating primal, how are you dealing with the high fat content? Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Apple) preaches more fat...more fat!
I still have 567 calories left for the day but I'm over my daily fat goal by 32 and under my daily carb goal by 209!
I'm totally okay with this if this yields positive results.
Anyone seeing the same? AND getting positive results?0 -
I'm Primal and enjoy it. High fat-low carb is way less depressing!0
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The fat really isn't that scary: cook your meat with a drizzle of olive oil, butter on your veggies, heavy cream in your coffee or scrambled into eggs, if you decide to eat primal where you allow dairy, some good full fat cheese is a nice snack
Edit: and avocado!0 -
I'm Primal and enjoy it. High fat-low carb is way less depressing!
Hallelujah!0 -
Worst part for me is I cannot stand sea food. I know how healthy it is (and the variety) but cannot stomach the taste or smell.
I have a friend who's been doing Paleo for a while, he mainly sticks to chicken breasts. He does not have the money for expensive beef and such. He gives himself one cheat day a week and has lost 50 pounds, not sure of the timeframe that he has done this. Another option is to count calories and just eat clean - no processed foods.0 -
7 months and I now have a lifestyle that suits me. Feel free to check my diary if you want. This is not a diet but a way of life. Good luck to you!0
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Hmmm.. I don't really think about the fat. But I would rather have high fat than high sugar for sure!
Plus, it keep sme full. I find with Primal and high fat, I can easier eliminate mindless snacking.
Here is the link to the group!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/37-primal-paleo-support-group0 -
pardon me.. i've never heard of this but...
i used to have friends in Pittsburgh who were here doing a hawaiian / polynesian review. their picnics were the best... for pig roasts, they's roast a chicken in a turkey in a pig they'd wrestled to the ground and played with before they slaughtered.. is this what you mean? they were great guys....0 -
Also...
For those of you eating primal, how are you dealing with the high fat content? Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Apple) preaches more fat...more fat!
I still have 567 calories left for the day but I'm over my daily fat goal by 32 and under my daily carb goal by 209!
I'm totally okay with this if this yields positive results.
Anyone seeing the same? AND getting positive results?
I often have 50-60% fat. I LOVE macadamia nuts which really rack up the fat. But I usually lose weight like crazy when I eat them. Wish they weren't so expensive. I get them in bulk from Amazon. I have a hard time incorporating fat into my cooking since I usually just grill the meat and steam the veggies. I will throw some pasture butter on the veggies, but it's hard to get a lot of fat. I am allergic to avocados, so macadamia nuts work for me.0 -
pardon me.. i've never heard of this but...
i used to have friends in Pittsburgh who were here doing a hawaiian / polynesian review. their picnics were the best... for pig roasts, they's roast a chicken in a turkey in a pig they'd wrestled to the ground and played with before they slaughtered.. is this what you mean? they were great guys....
While your friends picnics sound amazing and definitely primal the link below may explain it better than I can.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/#axzz223vbMezK
You may have to cut and paste the link0 -
thank you .. I did..... He lost me at 'eat insects' .. just not fur me... but I did stop using electric hedge trimmers, clippers and weeders... does that count?pardon me.. i've never heard of this but...
i used to have friends in Pittsburgh who were here doing a hawaiian / polynesian review. their picnics were the best... for pig roasts, they's roast a chicken in a turkey in a pig they'd wrestled to the ground and played with before they slaughtered.. is this what you mean? they were great guys....
While your friends picnics sound amazing and definitely primal the link below may explain it better than I can.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/#axzz223vbMezK
You may have to cut and paste the link0 -
thank you .. I did..... He lost me at 'eat insects' .. just not fur me... but I did stop using electric hedge trimmers, clippers and weeders... does that count?pardon me.. i've never heard of this but...
i used to have friends in Pittsburgh who were here doing a hawaiian / polynesian review. their picnics were the best... for pig roasts, they's roast a chicken in a turkey in a pig they'd wrestled to the ground and played with before they slaughtered.. is this what you mean? they were great guys....
While your friends picnics sound amazing and definitely primal the link below may explain it better than I can.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/#axzz223vbMezK
You may have to cut and paste the link
Your responses seem on the verge of annoyingly sarcastic. I don't eat insects, I don't think anyone doing Primal does, nor do I think they stop using their electronics (as you can see, they're using this forum)0 -
thank you .. I did..... He lost me at 'eat insects' .. just not fur me... but I did stop using electric hedge trimmers, clippers and weeders... does that count?pardon me.. i've never heard of this but...
i used to have friends in Pittsburgh who were here doing a hawaiian / polynesian review. their picnics were the best... for pig roasts, they's roast a chicken in a turkey in a pig they'd wrestled to the ground and played with before they slaughtered.. is this what you mean? they were great guys....
While your friends picnics sound amazing and definitely primal the link below may explain it better than I can.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/#axzz223vbMezK
You may have to cut and paste the link
Your responses seem on the verge of annoyingly sarcastic. I don't eat insects, I don't think anyone doing Primal does, nor do I think they stop using their electronics (as you can see, they're using this forum)
[The Modern Primal Blueprint® – The Rules of Living Today: 1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants.]
what's sarcastic about not using electric gardening stuff any more? I'm serious.. I hooked up to my heart rate monitor, found out I can burn major calories trimming hedges and did all mine.. it worked so well I offered to do a neighbor's too because being out in the sun was preferable to riding an ebike. these clippers are safer than electric, they burn a lot of calories and they make my muscles feel good. I also bought a hand cultivator to do my overgrown gravel driveway with. I burned 262 calories digging up the grass in 28 minutes. I've got a great tan going because of it.... so there's no sarcasm here. chill.0 -
I thought you had sad you stopped using the electronic clippers as a way of saying that it's ludacris to expect us to live primal (like cavemen) but use electronic devices. Since that's not what you meant, then no worries 0
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