Help! Trying Primal page

[robotunicr0n]

Greetings! I'm not sure this is the correct forum to be posting this in but it's the only one that seemed in any way related. What I'm currently trying to figure out (and I should probably email mark with this question directly) is how to successfully eat Primal in a cafeteria that is 99% supplied by Sysco with processed foods and lots of bread.

I could and have been just getting meat items when available and salads but I'm having major gastronomical distress right now with unexplained and rather alarming "runs" and lots of gas. This is most likely directly from the food quality which encourages my desire to find a way to eat Primal.

What can I eat from a college cafeteria that is supplied by Sysco that will keep me nutritionally balanced and preferably won't wreak havoc on my body? Help!

[Adrianag]

Salad bar, burgers (hold the bun), scrambled eggs and bacon any meal you can get them. Veggies - broccoli, greens.

Stay away from the multitude of fried offerings or pull the batter coating off of things like fried chicken. Look for grilled chicken and fish.

[lil_earthmomma]

The stomach problems you're experiencing are pretty normal when transitioning to low carb eating. While you may be eating lower quality meats, the salad bar and plain meats are your best options. Make sure you're supplementing with VitD. There are some great threads about VitD sups!

Oh, and Welcome!

[robotunicr0n]

Adrianag - Thanks for those tips. I'm slowing going into low-carb so as not to cause any major changes in my body at this point, have way to much to focus on for more biological distress of any sort to occur (senior thesis etc) however these are good tips and burger buns and breakfast breads will be the first to cut.. will be hard to cut doughnuts but they're probably one of the best things to cut first. (As a note I don't eat doughnuts for breakfast every morning, just on Fridays sometimes when they are available).

lil_earthmomma - Actually I haven't started the low-carb change yet. The biggest difference is that instead of eating a bagel or an english muffin with some tea for breakfast (which is what I do when I'm at home) I've been eating rather large, mostly fried and unhealthy, breakfasts because that's all that's really available. I think the issues I'm experiencing are from eating that food at such a different time for my body (2 hour difference between home and school). It's rather angry with me right now and I think I might start skipping breakfast or having something light like a small bowl of cereal or yogurt as I work my way towards no grains. Thanks for the suggestion on VitD I was already considering obtaining some supplements to help enrich my life. Already downloaded f.lux for both of my computers to help with blue light emissions and while that's not the same as vitamin supplements it has similar effects.

[eisenreich]

Along with what's been mentioned, another option is to simply bring your own lunch. I've regained my passion for cooking since going primal and there are always plenty of left-overs that you can mix and match with Mark's list of snacks. The best part for me so far is the flexibility of the plan, good luck-

[robotunicr0n]

Thanks Eisenreich - at this juncture I'm in university and my meal plan is already paid for so while I have the option of purchasing my own store bought food and making my own lunches it's sadly not economical and since I'm paying my own way through college I don't have many funds at my disposal. I absolutely can't wait to graduate this June and move into my own place somewhere so that I can regulate exactly what I eat. Thanks for the tips!

[tradawg]

It's rather angry with me right now and I think I might start skipping breakfast or having something light like a small bowl of cereal or yogurt as I work my way towards no grains.

Honestly you'd be better off skipping breakfast than having cereal or yogurt. I can't imagine your school offers greek yogurt and that's one of the few kinds that isn't loaded w/sugar. Do they not offer eggs and bacon for breakfast? Do you have a mini fridge to keep food in? You can also stock up on non-perishables to keep in your room-almond butter, raw nuts, beef jerky, pork skins, avocados will keep for a few days...so if they don't have any options for you at breakfast you have something to eat if you're hungry. Otherwise, have some coffee and wait until lunch

[alireb]

How about having 2 hardboiled eggs in the morning before you go? You can cook up a bunch in advance and that way you're not starting off the day without grains.

[robotunicr0n]

Tradawg - I do have a mini-fridge as well as copious snack storage for both my roommate and me. Currently it's filled with dangerous carbs and sugars but I think I saw a list of snacks that mark wrote up linked to somewhere that I might check out. The hardest thing for me was that I didn't know any good snacks to get and of course kicking the mentality that breakfast could only be "breakfast" food if you get what I mean. They do offer eggs and bacon. I don't know if it's something else like the orange juice I have in the morning sometimes or if it's whatever chemicals and processes the food goes through but the eggs they server, especially, give me indigestion and/or upset stomach though I guess that's common for almost every meal offered here.

Alireb - That's a great idea! I should be able to pick up a dozen eggs next time we go shopping and hardboil them all and store them in the fridge.

As a note (and yes I'm trying to justify cereal grain consumption, silly me) the cereal I would eat for breakfast is Quaker Oats cereal. While it's not ideal or really that healthy in general compared to what I could be eating primally it has way less sugar than most mainstream breakfast cereals. Lesser of two evils but still, as you say, not the best idea.

[tradawg]

Tradawg - I do have a mini-fridge as well as copious snack storage for both my roommate and me. Currently it's filled with dangerous carbs and sugars but I think I saw a list of snacks that mark wrote up linked to somewhere that I might check out. The hardest thing for me was that I didn't know any good snacks to get and of course kicking the mentality that breakfast could only be "breakfast" food if you get what I mean. They do offer eggs and bacon. I don't know if it's something else like the orange juice I have in the morning sometimes or if it's whatever chemicals and processes the food goes through but the eggs they server, especially, give me indigestion and/or upset stomach though I guess that's common for almost every meal offered here.

Alireb - That's a great idea! I should be able to pick up a dozen eggs next time we go shopping and hardboil them all and store them in the fridge.

As a note (and yes I'm trying to justify cereal grain consumption, silly me) the cereal I would eat for breakfast is Quaker Oats cereal. While it's not ideal or really that healthy in general compared to what I could be eating primally it has way less sugar than most mainstream breakfast cereals. Lesser of two evils but still, as you say, not the best idea.

I'm confused...do you really want to go primal? Cereal is a huge no-no, so trying to justify it is really not going to help you on your journey. There are so many other options, it just doesn't make sense. You also shouldn't have orange juice-that's a sugar bomb. Have an orange instead.