And the carb flu starts...

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impudentputz
impudentputz Posts: 479 Member
For the first couple days it seems like my body was fine running off the remaining glucose / carbs in my body... however, I think it is finally running short. Starting to get the groggy , lethargic, achy feelings.

At first I was wondering if I wasnt eating enough...but I was, calorie wise it hasnt changed much. However, I am eating too much protein and not enough fat... which I am slowly but surely trying to fix.

Any quick ways to add fat to some of my meals, as I read through "The Primal Blueprint" I saw a cool idea that I hadnt thought about, adding heavy cream to scrambled eggs... I was getting bored with just eggs. Added a bit of flavor and a brighter color :)
Any others I should be made aware of?

Replies

  • whatjesseats
    whatjesseats Posts: 228 Member
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    Olive oil -- drizzle on salads or cooked veggies.

    Avocado is great just about anywhere -- slice it and eat with your eggs, dice it and put it on your protein, mash it up and use as a dip for raw veggies.

    I use butter or coconut oil for sauteeing, pan-frying, etc.

    A couple days ago I made a great Pad Thai-inspired sauce with coconut oil and almond butter as the base.
  • cherryrobot
    cherryrobot Posts: 64 Member
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    Does that mean you are eating dairy if you are adding cream?

    Way to add fat to meal: avocado
  • Mrs_Duh
    Mrs_Duh Posts: 263
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    Some people swear by Bulletproof Coffee as a great way to get in more fat. Avocado is also a great way to add more fat to any meal.

    I know the carb flu is rough, but it will pass! Groggy, dizziness, nagging headaches... your body is detoxing from all the grains, sugars, and processed junk. The carb flu just showed me how bad all that stuff was for my body, and how I never want to go through that again.
  • rotnkat
    rotnkat Posts: 393 Member
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    For the first couple days it seems like my body was fine running off the remaining glucose / carbs in my body... however, I think it is finally running short. Starting to get the groggy , lethargic, achy feelings.

    At first I was wondering if I wasnt eating enough...but I was, calorie wise it hasnt changed much. However, I am eating too much protein and not enough fat... which I am slowly but surely trying to fix.

    Any quick ways to add fat to some of my meals, as I read through "The Primal Blueprint" I saw a cool idea that I hadnt thought about, adding heavy cream to scrambled eggs... I was getting bored with just eggs. Added a bit of flavor and a brighter color :)
    Any others I should be made aware of?

    When you restrict your carbs you lose a lot of electrolytes and sodium in the beginning, so increase your sodium (make sure to use unrefined sea salt like Real sea salt) and drink bone broth as that should help with the carb flu symptoms.

    As far as getting enough fat you could make fat bombs (just google this) or sautee your veges/food in coconut oil.

    Hopefully you'll feel better soon!!!!!
  • justaspoonfulofsugar
    justaspoonfulofsugar Posts: 587 Member
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    If you have access to good meat,eat fatty cuts of meat.
    If I eat berries,I will cook then in butter and cinnamon and add them to full fat greek yogurt.
    Cooking in butter,coconut oil,ghee..adding olive oil to salads and veg.
    I know everyone always says avocados but they are not that high in fat but rather rich in taste.One small avocado only has 10 grams of fat in comparison to a tbsp of butter which has 14 grams of fat,or coconut oil which also has 14 grams in a tbsp.
    I have access to really great double cream and there are super high fat grams in it.
    I second the fat bombs..I make them often and they are a great treat..be careful though as they can get out of control(so good)
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    BUTTER ALL THE THINGS!

    Seriously. Best way to eat broccoli - steamed and swimming in butter. :)

    Use the grease left over from your bacon and cook your eggs (or anything else) in it.

    And I third the fat bombs. I'll sometimes make a quick and easy one for a treat - just butter, cocoa powder, and raw honey (soften butter to just shy of melting, add cocoa and honey, mix well, enjoy!).
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    There is no good scientific reason to take so many carbs out of your diet and endure "carb flu"

    While eating Paleo/Primal is healthier than eating over processed junk food, there is no real scientific evidence that our caveman ancestors ate Paleo. Cave people from different parts of he world most certainly ate different foods, and unless someone has a food allergy or sensitivity, there's no good reason that many healthy and nutritious foods the Paleo diet forbids should not be in our diet.

    This is a good article from the Scientific American on the topic:

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-gatherer-really-eat

    Are you new, or did you join just to troll? (I know, I shouldn't feed the troll...)

    The only people that think that the Paleo way of eating equates to "eat exactly like our pre-agricultural ancestors" are people on the outskirts, who haven't actually looked into why we eat what we do. It's called "Paleo" for pretty much two reasons - a) marketing, and b) because we use pre-agricultural hunter-gatherer society as a basis for our decisions (kind of like a Christian using "What would Jesus do?" as a basis for making certain decisions).

    Anyone who's done any amount of research into human natural history knows that because humans are omnivores, our diets vary greatly from region to region, with tropical people eating more fruits and arctic people eating mostly animals. That's the beauty of being an omnivore. It also makes it very, very hard to pin down "what humans ate," because what we ate was pretty much anything we could get our hands on.

    However, there actually is quite a bit of research that shows that grains (particularly wheat) and dairy are, at best, not great (they're actually rather nutritionally devoid, compared to other things that could be filling our stomachs) and, at worst, harmful to our health (see also: subclinical gluten sensitivity, lectins, leaky gut syndrome, nutrient-binding compounds found in wheat).

    Additionally, there is quite a bit of research that low-carb (and particularly low-carb/high-fat) diets are better for people with insulin resistance and metabolic disorder (which is a large majority of Americans), and better for losing weight while retaining lean body mass.

    I highly recommend reading some of the items from the mountain of research Dr. Loren Cordain has done (here they are - http://thepaleodiet.com/published-research-about-the-paleo-diet/ ), as well as the research that others have done. For a "plain English" breakdown, complete with pretty charts, of why grains, legumes, and dairy actually kind of suck as food sources, check out pages 84 through 91 of Dr. Cordain's "The Dietary Cure for Acne" (here you go - http://www.scribd.com/doc/55357860/The-Dietary-Cure-for-Acne-Loren-Cordain )

    Or, to be more direct - what, exactly, is it that I'm missing out on by diverting 1200 of my 1800-2000 calories from bread to more meat, vegetables, and fruit?
  • momof2osaurus
    momof2osaurus Posts: 477 Member
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    BUTTER ALL THE THINGS!

    Dear t-shirts makers: I can has one of these, please?
  • homesweeths
    homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
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    Are you new, or did you join just to troll? (I know, don't feed the troll.)

    I had the same thought after seeing this same post in another paleo topic. How strange, with so many other discussion boards available on MFP, to feel the need to come here to proselytize and spew misinformation that people here -- who have already seen real and tangible benefits from eliminating, not just cutting down on, grains and refined sugars -- are going to ignore.

    To quote something I remember from somewhere: Some people are gluttons for punishment.

    If this zealot persists can s/he be reported for harassment?
  • lighteningjeanne855
    lighteningjeanne855 Posts: 566 Member
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    "Fat Bombs" are a way to help you jump-start the fat intake:

    www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/942770-fat-bomb-recipes

    lowcarbbetterhealth.blogspot.com/2012/07/fat-bombs.html
  • momof2osaurus
    momof2osaurus Posts: 477 Member
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    Are you new, or did you join just to troll? (I know, don't feed the troll.)

    I had the same thought after seeing this same post in another paleo topic. How strange, with so many other discussion boards available on MFP, to feel the need to come here to proselytize and spew misinformation that people here -- who have already seen real and tangible benefits from eliminating, not just cutting down on, grains and refined sugars -- are going to ignore.

    To quote something I remember from somewhere: Some people are gluttons for punishment.

    If this zealot persists can s/he be reported for harassment?

    Yep. She's been doing the same thing on the Crossfit boards for a while, and apparently decided to try her luck here. I've been reporting her posts, and if I could figure out how to report a person, I'd have done that by now too.
  • _Amy_Budd
    _Amy_Budd Posts: 378 Member
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    All -

    I didn't realize there were reports for the group - I don't get a notification email or anything. I've now blocked her from this group.

    Thanks,
    Amy
  • momof2osaurus
    momof2osaurus Posts: 477 Member
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    Ohh, I thought MFP handled it, I didn't realize it was the group mod! I WISH I could report HER to mfp. Thanks for taking care of it!!
  • homesweeths
    homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
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    All -

    I didn't realize there were reports for the group - I don't get a notification email or anything. I've now blocked her from this group.

    Thanks,
    Amy

    Thank you!
  • EricCowperthwaite
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    Hi OP, here's a few ideas above and beyond what you've already heard

    1. Heavy cream in your coffee ... 2 tbsp is 100 cals, all fat. I eat Primal, so dairy is allowed ... yay me! ;-)
    2. Grassfed butter on everything ... and cheese, a couple ounces a day. This will add lots of fat to your diet. My wife saw me butter a piece of tri-tip steak the other day and just about tossed her cookies .... I was like NOM!
    3. Salads - have olive oil and vinegar as your dressing!
    4. If you make yourself a smoothie in the morning, add 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil to it.
    5. Bulletproof coffee! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/862742-bulletproof-coffee
    6. Grassfed beef - especially a ribeye steak. OMG heaven. Ignore all that advice about the lean packs of ground beef. Get the lowest lean ground you can, 80% or less
    7. BACON. Bacon fried in butter. Eggs fried in butter and bacon grease and served with bacon fried in butter. With cheese on top. And half an avocado. And coffee with heavy cream. OMG that breakfast is to die for. I eat it every saturday and sunday!

    Great healthy fats that you can add to any meal include olive oil, coconut oil, grassfed butter, heavy cream, avocado.

    Oh yes, getting enough electrolytes is really important. When I started this, I followed Gary Taubes advice and had a cup of chicken stock with lunch and dinner.

    Take a look at my diary, totally open to the public!
  • chirpinggalaxy
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    Fat bombs really, really help me.
  • impudentputz
    impudentputz Posts: 479 Member
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    @Eric...

    Again you provide quite a bit of info for me. I have used heavy cream in a few things recently... even with my eggs when i make scrambled or omelets. I really need to get into the habit of eating salads with oil on em. Sadly a big chunk of my fat intake is coming from Fat bombs. though it makes my macros / numbers work, i feel i could be getting the fat from better sources.

    However, I am still new at this and feeling my way around trying a couple different things at a time and seeing what works for me.

    As for the Bulletproof coffee.... I wonder how I could turn that into iced coffee.. Could never EVER drink hot coffee...I am not a rocket scientist but once you make it cold again I am assuming some of the ingredients would return to a much...chunkier form. *shrug*
  • ladyfyre13
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    I have been suffering from a lot of headaches lately and since I just officially started Paleo yesterday, I expect it will get worse before it gets better. I’m not looking forward to that part.

    I am still trying to figure out how much of fat/protein I should be eating. I suspect I am not planning for enough fat. I’m still reading Robb Wolf’s book, so I’m hoping it will shed some light.

    Stacie
  • rusty1257
    rusty1257 Posts: 30 Member
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    For me, when I started, salt and some sweet potato helped with the carb flu. The salt was needed because without lots of processed foods I was really lacking. This helped with the cramping, achy muscles. The sweet potato helped me ease into a lower carb situation.

    I think if you look around you will find that people do Paleo or Primal with various carb levels. Once you are used to the this way of eating/living (maybe 6-8 weeks in) find what works for your goals and your body and go with that.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I have been suffering from a lot of headaches lately and since I just officially started Paleo yesterday, I expect it will get worse before it gets better. I’m not looking forward to that part.

    I am still trying to figure out how much of fat/protein I should be eating. I suspect I am not planning for enough fat. I’m still reading Robb Wolf’s book, so I’m hoping it will shed some light.

    Stacie

    Protein - aim for 1g per pound of lean body mass. You can get an estimate of your lean body mass by measuring your body fat percentage, then subtracting that from your total weight. It will be 2-3 times what MFP sets by default.

    Carbs - if you follow Mark Sisson's carb curve, go with no more than 150g if you do a lot of cardio-based stuff, or 100g otherwise. You can always tweak from there, but that's a good place to start.

    Fat - Everything that's left. Yes, it will likely be something like 60% of your total calorie intake.

    I've found that gives a pretty good starting point. You can play with carb and fat numbers after you're used to not eating 400g of carbs every day. There's not much in the way of rules regarding tweaking those numbers, some go down and do best on keto, while others do better with a higher amount of carbs. Do what works for you.