*sigh* (I'm feeling ranty)
Dragonwolf
Posts: 5,600 Member
I'm generally a "to each their own" kind of person, but it really irks me when a thread says something along the lines of "help! I can't lose weight, what am I doing wrong?" and their diet is pretty good by SAD standards, and when someone mentions cutting out grains (they don't even have to go all the way to paleo/primal), someone always comes in with "if you don't have an allergy, you don't need to cut anything out!"
If you're doing "everything right" and not getting anywhere, perhaps it's worth trying to cut out wheat? "But unless you have an allergy/sensitivity, there's no reason to cut out anything!" ....How do you know you don't have a sensitivity to something if you've eaten it your whole life and have never tried cutting it out to see how your body reacts? It's not like seasonal allergies, where the levels go up and down, and you can easily notice when your eyes get scratchy and your nose runs when a certain allergen is running high. If you eat the 6-11 servings of grain everyday that the old food pyramid recommends (anyone beside me remember that?), and you have any kind of sensitivity, your allergen level is constantly on "high," and you've simply adjusted to the feeling.
Seriously, if your "everything right" SAD diet isn't getting you anywhere, what is the harm in doing something radically different for a couple weeks or a month? It's not like you could never return to what you were doing before if you felt it made no difference.
If you're doing "everything right" and not getting anywhere, perhaps it's worth trying to cut out wheat? "But unless you have an allergy/sensitivity, there's no reason to cut out anything!" ....How do you know you don't have a sensitivity to something if you've eaten it your whole life and have never tried cutting it out to see how your body reacts? It's not like seasonal allergies, where the levels go up and down, and you can easily notice when your eyes get scratchy and your nose runs when a certain allergen is running high. If you eat the 6-11 servings of grain everyday that the old food pyramid recommends (anyone beside me remember that?), and you have any kind of sensitivity, your allergen level is constantly on "high," and you've simply adjusted to the feeling.
Seriously, if your "everything right" SAD diet isn't getting you anywhere, what is the harm in doing something radically different for a couple weeks or a month? It's not like you could never return to what you were doing before if you felt it made no difference.
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I totally don't see Paleo/Primal as being some outrageous totally bizarre way of eating either. To me its about taking in more veggies, fruits, healthy fats (American's already take in fats so whats the problem? OH YEAH HEALTHY FATS) meats, fish, etc? HUH? whats wrong with that? I don't get it. I agree with you.0
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Yes, I share your frustration. Except that I never try to help anyone who is following a high carb/low fat diet. I don't see the point and I no longer want to defend myself. There is lots of info out there if people really want to be better informed.
What really irks me is the people, who apparently haven't read the site rules, get on primal/paleo comments and attack, ridicule, disrespect us. Also, those that warn us that it's a "fad" and that we should be careful because it is "dangerous". lol0 -
Same here! The more I learn about nutrition and how it affects our bodies, the more I undertand that an allergic reaction isn't the only thing that should keep us from eating something. I wish more doctor's would get that clue!
It's not the weightloss that keeps me eating paleo - it's the fact that what I was told was fibromyalgia that had me nearly bedridden disappeared...and the chronic daily headaches that I've fought for as long as I can remember disappeared...and the IBS I was diagnosed with as a teenager disappeared. I decided I'd rather eat a somewhat restricted diet than live a totally restricted life...not that I really consider how I eat to be restricted. I can eat avocado's every day if I want to, indulge in dark chocolate and eat incredible meals every single day. Lean Cuisine's and 100 calorie packs are far more restricting than a paleo or primal diet.
It's about learning that everything we eat has an effect on our bodies and our minds, either positively or negatively and that we have a choice in that.
I watch friends struggling to lose weight, eating low calorie frozen foods and starving all the time, and fighting constant headaches and other ailments. I know if they'd just give it one week, they'd see enough difference to commit for a month. It's frustrating.0 -
Yes, I share your frustration. Except that I never try to help anyone who is following a high carb/low fat diet. I don't see the point and I no longer want to defend myself. There is lots of info out there if people really want to be better informed.
Yeah, for the most part, I learned that one pretty fast, but I still see it when I peruse the "help! I'm not losing weight!" threads that happen to catch my eye.Same here! The more I learn about nutrition and how it affects our bodies, the more I undertand that an allergic reaction isn't the only thing that should keep us from eating something. I wish more doctor's would get that clue!
It's not the weightloss that keeps me eating paleo - it's the fact that what I was told was fibromyalgia that had me nearly bedridden disappeared...and the chronic daily headaches that I've fought for as long as I can remember disappeared...and the IBS I was diagnosed with as a teenager disappeared. I decided I'd rather eat a somewhat restricted diet than live a totally restricted life...not that I really consider how I eat to be restricted. I can eat avocado's every day if I want to, indulge in dark chocolate and eat incredible meals every single day. Lean Cuisine's and 100 calorie packs are far more restricting than a paleo or primal diet.
It's about learning that everything we eat has an effect on our bodies and our minds, either positively or negatively and that we have a choice in that.
I watch friends struggling to lose weight, eating low calorie frozen foods and starving all the time, and fighting constant headaches and other ailments. I know if they'd just give it one week, they'd see enough difference to commit for a month. It's frustrating.
While I, fortunately, don't have something like fibro, I found myself in recent months/years reaching for the Ibuprofen once every week or two. I chalked it up to eye strain (yay...desk job...), plus stress, plus family and personal history of being migraine/headache prone (cluster headaches, FTL). I would get headaches such that if I didn't do something when I first noticed it, it would turn into a migraine, or would simply never go away (I seriously maxed out on Tylenol for three days when I was pregnant, until I called my doctor), and only certain medicines would work (typically, NSAIDs; things like Tylenol wouldn't touch it unless mixed with caffiene (Excedrine) or a muscle relaxer). I also found myself going after Tums more often than I used to.
I almost immediately noticed the reduced need for Tums, but it wasn't until your post that I realized that I don't think I've had to touch the Ibuprofen except maybe once, aside from when I was sick last week and took Advil Cold & Sinus so I could avoid feeling like someone was choking me. For that, I thank you.
That's a nice feeling, even if it's small compared to your relief (which is awesome, btw). 0 -
While I, fortunately, don't have something like fibro, I found myself in recent months/years reaching for the Ibuprofen once every week or two. I chalked it up to eye strain (yay...desk job...), plus stress, plus family and personal history of being migraine/headache prone (cluster headaches, FTL). I would get headaches such that if I didn't do something when I first noticed it, it would turn into a migraine, or would simply never go away (I seriously maxed out on Tylenol for three days when I was pregnant, until I called my doctor), and only certain medicines would work (typically, NSAIDs; things like Tylenol wouldn't touch it unless mixed with caffiene (Excedrine) or a muscle relaxer). I also found myself going after Tums more often than I used to.
I almost immediately noticed the reduced need for Tums, but it wasn't until your post that I realized that I don't think I've had to touch the Ibuprofen except maybe once, aside from when I was sick last week and took Advil Cold & Sinus so I could avoid feeling like someone was choking me. For that, I thank you. That's a nice feeling, even if it's small compared to your relief (which is awesome, btw).
That's awesome! I think there are so many of those aches and pains we just accept and live with that could be helped by diet.
And I do have to add that I have made more than a few paleo/primal converts just by living this way - from a friend, her husband and their 7 kids to my hairdresser who was amazed at how healthy my hair was
. People who knew me when I was sickest want to know what drug I'm taking (lol!) and why I feel so good all the time. It's the best recruiting tool we have! 0 -
I'm glad that in Seattle, there's a lot of awareness about eating organic, whole foods in general. Amongst my friends and family, it hasn't been such a "crazy" life choice.
I lived with constant swelling and IBS symptoms for so long, as well as intermittent headaches, crashing after meals, and joint pains. I now know that my tolerance for pain and discomfort was a lot higher than I thought. I couldn't lose much weight, even when successfully staying within my recommended calories for loss.
I choose to avoid grains (especially wheat) and legumes most of the time and follow a primal lifestyle, because it works for me. I have energy, my nails are stronger, my skin looks great, I've lost weight (and continuing) and stopped experiencing the elephant ankles on a daily basis.
I can eat what I want. I now know what the side-effects of certain choices will be. I don't try to make a big deal or judge those who haven't adopted the same choices. However, it is annoying when people get all defensive and alarmist on forums.0 -
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And I do have to add that I have made more than a few paleo/primal converts just by living this way - from a friend, her husband and their 7 kids to my hairdresser who was amazed at how healthy my hair was . People who knew me when I was sickest want to know what drug I'm taking (lol!) and why I feel so good all the time. It's the best recruiting tool we have!
Woah, you just blew my mind. I never made the connection about my dietary shift to my hair. My stylist is generally amazed at how my hair has been over the past six months. To be honest, it's actually become much easier to manager my curly hair after switching to primal to the point where I don't get super short short cuts anymore.0
