Can't stay strict Primal for more than 2 weeks?

[QUOTE=emmie;926429]I disagree with the 'losing battle' thinking because my experience has been that the only way to deal with 'cravings' is total abstinence. For example, I have a world-class sweet tooth, but the sweet taste of anything--artificial sweeteners to fruit--is a trigger for me for overeating in general and going for the 'bad stuff.' However, by avoiding anything with a sweet taste, I never experience cravings [for sweets] and can actually sit at a meal where everyone has dessert and not feel the least tempted or deprived. But one taste starts the rollercoaster.

Mark advises learning our 'triggers' and avoiding them, and that's what I try to do. Am I 100%? No, but I'd say 90-95%, and that works for me.[/QUOTE]

The abstinence thing works for me also, except for me, artificial sweeteners don't trigger it.

Fruit is primal, but it is at the top of the carb pyramid - the carb source you should eat the least of. Still and all, if you could keep it from spiralling to pizza, that would be better. Various sources state that it takes between 21 and 42 days to break or make a habit. Try pushing through that two week barrier.

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]fruit and nuts are both fine to have in moderation with this woe, but dried fruits are super-concentrated sugar. i mostly have berries, plus peaches and nectarines in-season and local. apples and pears are too sweet for me now.

if certain foods are sending you spiraling down a rabbit hole of excess you need to stop eating them entirely. i can't keep nut butter in the house or i will devour it with a spoon until i am sick. is it primal? sure. but it's like heroin for me. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[QUOTE=Barefoot Gentile;926492]So fruit is not primal? I love fruit, i eat it all the time. This primal stuff is really confusing.[/QUOTE]

Fruit IS primal! It is really getting irritating reading posts that start with "I am not eating primal because I eat fruit or I have been very bad, I have been eating fruit ...." Again, I repeat fruit IS VERY MUCH PRIMAL. PRIMAL IS NOT LOW CARB. Fruits are as natural and primal as it gets and it is definitely something my ancestors, especially MINE who lived in the tropics and african continent ate much off. AGAIN I REPEAT, FRUIT IS PRIMAL.

The only reason some people stay away from fruit with a high GI index is because in SOME people it spikes up their insulin response and makes them crave MORE SUGARY things that may not necessarily be primal. But by all means, if fruits do not trigger a bad insulin response, you can eat all the berries, apples etc you want. Again I repeat, FRUIT IS PRIMAL.

I agree with you lawyerchick....fruit is definately primal. However I limit my fruit to 1 piece per day because I am desperately trying to lose another 20kg (6kg down already). Once I have achieved this I will up my fruit and nuts etc...
When I went through my initial cravings, and a couple since I made sure that first thing in the morning I have prepared food for my binge times. Once a craving took hold I would make myself drink 1 large glass of water and have the prepared primal snack. Usually after this I would be ok for a bit. However if the craving hit again, i would eat another prepared primal snack.
My snacks tend to be high fat and protein based, which works for me. (eggs mashed with butter and a little salt, or a fatty chop cooked the night before etc...)
The other thing that I have found, is I must have protein and fat at each meal. This then seems to help with my cravings for the following day. I am now three months in and my cravings are almost non-existent. However I still have prepared snacks - just in case.
Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress

[QUOTE=hulahoop;926408]I wonder if you're getting enough fat / protein in your diet as this is the stuff that stops me bingeing.[/QUOTE]

This^

Barefoot Gentile: Primal isn't confusing. Lots of meat, veggies, and fat. And if fruit doesn't affect you, then you can eat it. Unfortunately I'm one of those people who sometimes get massive sugar cravings just by taking a bite out of an apple... I also happen to LOVE fruit. Horrible combination :(

Msilver: Unfortunately, I think fruit might stall my weight loss. You made a pretty good suggestion with the berries and coconut flakes. Ill definitely try that!

Lawyerchick12: yes, fruit is definitely primal! :) however, for weight loss purposes I'm assuming it should be limited? If I am wrong, then correct me.

[QUOTE=Lawyerchick12;926840] Again, I repeat fruit IS VERY MUCH PRIMAL. PRIMAL IS NOT LOW CARB. Fruits are as natural and primal as it gets and it is definitely something my ancestors, especially MINE who lived in the tropics and african continent ate much off. AGAIN I REPEAT, FRUIT IS PRIMAL.

<<snip

But by all means, if fruits do not trigger a bad insulin response, you can eat all the berries, apples etc you want. Again I repeat, FRUIT IS PRIMAL.[/QUOTE]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]fruits and berries from "back in the day" are about as similar to our modern, super-sweet, cultivated hybrids as a rock is to a raspberry. they were sour and often hard and the trees and vines fruited poorly. year-round access to fruit is a very modern innovation. there are apples and strawberries in my market everyday. is that primal?

i agree fruit is fine and primal, however eating LOTS of it isn't a great idea.

after 3 years of not eating grains, i can't even stand how sweet apples and pears taste and i used to love them. [/SIZE][/FONT]

I've never been particularly attracted to fruit~ green (unripe, not Granny Smith) apples, are good, I like a grapefruit or two in Jan./Feb. and peaches from my tree the end of May~ otherwise, the closest I get to fruit is tomato & avocado on my salad and an occasional slice of melon in the summer. I guess I'm mostly 'seasonal' in my fruit choices, and even then, a little and I'm quite satisfied. [img]http://www.emotihost.com/ver1/clueless/4.gif[/img] Maybe it's a genetic/tastebud thing?

[QUOTE=noodletoy;926873][FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3]fruits and berries from "back in the day" are about as similar to our modern, super-sweet, cultivated hybrids as a rock is to a raspberry. they were sour and often hard and the trees and vines fruited poorly. year-round access to fruit is a very modern innovation. there are apples and strawberries in my market everyday. is that primal?

i agree fruit is fine and primal, however eating LOTS of it isn't a great idea.

after 3 years of not eating grains, i can't even stand how sweet apples and pears taste and i used to love them. [/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

And the animals and fish that were running in the wild thousands of years ago are different from most of the same animals we eat today so what is your point?

and with all due respect where is your reference points for comparison? within a north american context, then yes, the fruits our ancestors ate has obviously evolved naturally AND mechanically. Within more rural societies this evolution is much more natural than mechanical, please, my parents, grandparents are part africans, and the farming in most west african rural societies are still not as developed and THAT is a good thing. So in that context I obviously will not unequivocally compare the berries to rocks. But lets bring it back to the north american context, I will not go that far with the comparison and it is still far more primal than eating toxic wheat and most grainy carbs anyway in the sense that they are still unprocessed.

What I am saying is, devoid of any [I]personal[/I] physiological and/or biological reasons for not eating fruit, fruit is as primal as we can get. From a weight loss perspective, as long are you are not overdoing it on the fat and protein, you can still lose weight from eating fruits even one or two servings a day. YMMV obviously but I am healthier and more in control of my weight since I added some servings of fruits. *shrugs*

I am not trying to be rude but I am really getting sick of people confusing primal/paleo with low fat. Sure, for some people who are not as active, it might behoove them to eat really low carbs so as to speed weight loss process, if that is what they are after, no one is arguing with that, but that does NOT make fruits or sweet potatoes any less primal that a slab of fatty meat. *rant over*