avoid certain paleo approved foods in beginning?
brenbrenm
Posts: 81
Did anyone find they needed to avoid certain foods in the beginning until they got rid of their cravings and old habits? My first week went incredibly easy, TOO easy. Now, this week I find myself going crazy with the dark chocolate, almond butter, and coconut butter. I hate to eliminate these completely, because then I'm left with pure meat and veggies, which I'm beginning to get a bit bored with. I will have to start looking up some recipes....
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healthy foods =/= fat loss foods, in the words of www.metaboliceffect.com.
Those are 3 foods that I limit, but don't avoid entirely. Same with sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, etc. If the chocolate is dark enough (say 85-90%), then a few bites satisfy me just fine. But the almond and coconut butters I have to severely limit, unless I have a good amount of activity.
Try new recipes, new spices, etc. Google is your friend - try paleo/primal *insert recipe* and it'll spit out tons of options to try. I just found a chicken tandoori recipe from nom nom paleo that I'm going to try this week!
Edit: I don't necessarily avoid sweet potatoes or bananas due to cravings when I eat these, but more because of the carb load and limiting my carbs. Apples on the other hand, do make me hungry after I eat them, so I do avoid them.0 -
New recipes help me a lot. There are tons of delicious combinations out there! I figure if my meal is boring that has to be a way to add spice or bacon. lol.
I think it would be a good idea to eliminate the foods you see as treats for a while until you can get you digestive system healed so the cravings are less intense.0 -
I just started eating paleo on June 1 and I'm not including any dark chocolate into my diet at this point, which for me is easier than limiting the quantity.
I eat a little almond butter almost every day, but I'm not tempted to over-eat it the way I used to be with peanut butter.
Switching to this new way of eating is definitely challenging at times, but I try to have fun with it, experimenting with new-to-me foods and techniques. Even with just "pure meat and veggies" there's a ton of variety out there if you look for it!0 -
I avoid fruit, except for berries, and any starchy vegetables. My body cannot yet handle even 30 grams of carbs per day, unfortunately. I also inadvertantly quit nightshades for two weeks and then noticed that a lingering pain in my knee vanished. I did re-introduce them, but in very small quantities and not every day.
I'm always ready, willing and able to tweak how I eat to make sure that I am as healthy as possible and not hungry or struggling in any way.
(PS. If looking at my diary, look past last Saturday. My pet died in a horrific way on Saturday and I haven't been able to eat much since then; it's NOT normal for me to under eat.)0 -
(PS. If looking at my diary, look past last Saturday. My pet died in a horrific way on Saturday and I haven't been able to eat much since then; it's NOT normal for me to under eat.)
I'm so sorry for your loss....I hope it gets easier for you...0 -
I can't eat 70% dark choc, must be 85%+ or I go a bit mad.
I love almond butter, but I can't keep it in the house. Nuts are hit and miss, I've had to throw out cashews as I was eating my body weight in them. But I can keep other nuts for weeks in the house and they don't call out to me. Depends on my mood. As soon as I find something calling out to me, time for 1. it to leave the house and 2. me to check my diary - have I eaten enough protein/fat/food.
Trial and error, what works for one person doesn't work for another.
I'm not really whole paleo, more primal, and about 80% at that, but I find if I eat processed foods, in particular anything with sugar I'm back to scratch. So really, sugar to a minimum (ie NONE!)0 -
I think I may have jumped in to it head over heels, a bit too quickly. I read up on the plan, researched it quite a bit, and LOVED the idea of it....I STILL do. I think I shocked my system, and initially I was having no problems, because all of a sudden I could eat the fatty foods that I'd been avoiding for so long! However after sausage and eggs almost every morning, chicken breast or ground turkey burgers with either cauliflower, broccoli, or asparagus for every lunch, then a piece of grilled meat with more veggies for dinner EVERY day, it got a bit boring.....especially after having a few beers one night, and going for the sugar! Then, I got down on myself for failing what I thought would be a life changing plan. BUT, I have been eating WAY better the past 2 1/2 weeks than I have in ages! Yes, I had ice cream once, along with a slip of a couple drinks, followed by some leftover spaghetti and 2 pop tarts .....but I ate these things and way worse all the time before! I may have overloaded on coconut butter, dark chocolate, and almond butter a couple of times, but usually it would have been Doritos, Cheez-Its, etc........ I haven't touched anything processed, and the artificial sweeteners are almost gone. I am making great improvements, and that 's what counts. I had myself all worried about a camping trip we are going on, but as long as I do better than I used to, I'll be content. I may have a bun with my burger. Can't rule out an ice cream or smores either... but I'll be swapping protein bars for hard boiled eggs and homemade sausage.....hot dog for canned tuna with olive oil.....chips and crackers for beef jerky.....white potatoes for sweet potatoes, processed granola bars for apples with almond butter, etc... Gotta concentrate on the small things! Sorry for the rant!0
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I think I may have jumped in to it head over heels, a bit too quickly. I read up on the plan, researched it quite a bit, and LOVED the idea of it....I STILL do. I think I shocked my system, and initially I was having no problems, because all of a sudden I could eat the fatty foods that I'd been avoiding for so long! However after sausage and eggs almost every morning, chicken breast or ground turkey burgers with either cauliflower, broccoli, or asparagus for every lunch, then a piece of grilled meat with more veggies for dinner EVERY day, it got a bit boring.....especially after having a few beers one night, and going for the sugar! Then, I got down on myself for failing what I thought would be a life changing plan. BUT, I have been eating WAY better the past 2 1/2 weeks than I have in ages! Yes, I had ice cream once, along with a slip of a couple drinks, followed by some leftover spaghetti and 2 pop tarts .....but I ate these things and way worse all the time before! I may have overloaded on coconut butter, dark chocolate, and almond butter a couple of times, but usually it would have been Doritos, Cheez-Its, etc........ I haven't touched anything processed, and the artificial sweeteners are almost gone. I am making great improvements, and that 's what counts. I had myself all worried about a camping trip we are going on, but as long as I do better than I used to, I'll be content. I may have a bun with my burger. Can't rule out an ice cream or smores either... but I'll be swapping protein bars for hard boiled eggs and homemade sausage.....hot dog for canned tuna with olive oil.....chips and crackers for beef jerky.....white potatoes for sweet potatoes, processed granola bars for apples with almond butter, etc... Gotta concentrate on the small things! Sorry for the rant!
Rant on!
It does shock the system - the glucose/insulin merry-go-round is a hard ride to get off of. It takes 2-3 weeks of strict observance to retrain the body (and many people get what we call the 'carb flu') but once the body switches from being a 'burn sugar first' machine to a 'burn fat first' one, the desires subside.
Mark Sisson espouses the '80/20' Rule: while we should always strive to be 100% primal/paleo, be realistic. Just make sure if you do decide to fall off the wagon, make it worth your while. If you have a beer, don't make it a Coors - enjoy a really smooth microbrew. Don't get a frozen pizza, have a wood-fired artisan pizza with a large salad.
I keep a 'kosher' kitchen - you will not find any bad foods or ingredients. That way, all home meals are within regimen. But since my wife and I go out to eat 2-3 times a month, that's where we bend the rules a little. We might enjoy some sushi, or something. In the 60+ meals we have per month 2-3 cheats still makes us 95% kosher.
The ability to decide when and where to break regimen gives you the will to be on target the rest of the time. I don't eat sugar-based desserts anymore - but I sure do miss pecan pie, and I'll have a small slice at thanksgiving. I don't eat ice cream, but I will surely have a bowl of home made on July 4 - making holiday ice cream with the grandkids is a family tradition started by MY granddad. I don't lust after the things I gave up anymore, because I don't have to pretend I'll NEVER have them again - I just choose when and where it's OK.
Hope this helps.0 -
I will NEVER buy almond butter again! I think I ate the whole jar in one sitting! My weakness is bananas, apples, and oranges. They're about the ONLY thing that keep me sane at times. Sure, there are days I can go without them, but those days are rough. I like to start my mornings off with a smoothie and they tend to include bananas IDK, I've hit a rough spot, I haven't lost a pound since Easter! Ugh, I came back on myfitnesspal for motivation and accountability 0
