Hello from Scotland; going primal in the new year..Advice?

Hi all,

I'm Nijel, 29 and currently live in scotland,U.K (its soo cold this time of the year). I have heard from a lot of friends that going primal its great for weight loss and given them great results in terms of reducing their bf% and losing overall weight while staying lean and toned so I wanted to try this in the new year. Ordered the primal blue print book and am excited and looking forward to it :) .I came across this blog while looking around on the internet for a new way of eating.

In the past I have bulked upto 85kgs and although i did build some amount of muscle I was feeling bloated and lethargic. So I have been doing intermittent fasting and that has belped me bring my weight down to 77kgs. However I found that I did lose some strength and muscle tissue in the process as well while feeling hungry and tired during early morning workouts. I currently do three days of weight training, one day of boxing and one day of kendo.

I am 175cms tall at 76kgs with 18% bf as of today.As someone who is looking to build muscle and / or increase strength how does does eating primal fare? If the principles are followed would I still need to eat in a caloric surplus (around 3000kcals) in order to lean build muscle mass while minimizing fat gains?. I am happy to be part of the community and eagerly looking forward to starting to eat primal.

Why wait till new year? Turkey, sweet potatoes, veges & red wine.

Maybe a little dark chocolate. You'll see a difference in two weeks if you follow it well.

Advice? Don't wait, start now.

Hello
Great to see someone else from the UK.
I would also say start now, a couple of weeks and you will be able to notice the difference, it would be great to start the new year with energy! Actually most Christmas meals are centred around the meat- turkey/beef so really just say no to bread sauce and you're set!

Good point..I am just waiting on the book now so that I can read into more details, but I shall start immediately. Thank you for the advice, and with regards to eating in caloric surplus, do I continue doing that even while eating primal in order to build muscle? When eating primal especially over Christmas the meat may not be grass fed / organic. Would this make a difference. Sorry if these questions sound silly..I am still picking up info as I go along.:D

Hi from another Scottish (well, adopted) Primal-ate.

I'd say to go for the old 80/20 rule over the holidays - enjoy yourself during social occasions and don't feel guilty, then straight back on the wagon. That's my plan, anyway.

i was gonna say 'don't wait' too, just jump on board!

Thanks guys I will start immediately..Quick question though does all the meat have to be Organic / Grass fed?

Ideally it should be, but you do what you must....hey I don't see many grass fed fish out there....lol.

Take advantage of the wonderful fish you have there and if you can talk to your local forester you may be able to pick up a venison (you will have to skin and butcher) dirt cheep.

Not sure where in Scotland you are, but I can pop you in the right direction for some really good sources of grassfed meat.