Primal Journal *Coconut Girl* page

[Coconut Girl]

so i'm taking the plunge and committing to healthier/leaner lifestyle... i'm a certified yoga instructor (though i don't teach anymore), have always loved being active but always struggled with food (though i love cooking and cook a lot of healthy meals i also have had a sugar addiction--been overcoming it though!)... i recently started to eat red meat again after going without it for almost over 13 years! i LOVE food and cooking and kept wanting to try things like goat, lamb, etc so a few weeks ago i decided to just try it out here and there... then i stumbled upon PB and decided that it was a sign--just eat the damn MEAT! now i'm all about the bison!

current stats:
height: 5' 2"
weight: 155
bust: 36"'
waist: 29.5"
hip: 37"
thigh: 24.35"
upper arm: 11.35"
jeans size: 8
body fat: approx 27.6%

goals:
18-20% body fat; i don't know what weight that would put me at but i'd like to be in the 120's (though i'd be happy in the 130's/140's if lean mass put me in a size 2/4 jeans)

i'm working toward a 60-30-10 ratio of fat-protein-carb...

i'm too lazy to type out what i ate today, technically speaking, this is my 3rd day having 'gone Primal' and i'm still trying to fine-tune my nutrition, etc... i normally eat a lot more salad/veggies and not quite AS MUCH protein & fat, so i think future graphs will look a lot better/more balanced. i think i went a little protein crazy today after only getting in 65 grams of protein yesterday! LOL

today i took it easy at the gym as i did a circuit-type cross training routine the day before... and an all out sprint the day before that.

45 mins walking
10 mins lifting heavy stuff (arms & abs)

just as a note, if anyone is reading this, i'm totally open to any/all advice/guidance! thanks!

[ChocoTaco369]

Hey, congrats on your new endeavor. I think you'll be surprised how simple it is to maintain this lifestyle as long as you don't eat out often.

That being said, I don't see that ratio working out for you to be primal. To have that high of carbs vs. fat, you're going to be eating lots of starchy veggies or sugary fruits. If you're trying to lose weight, you shouldn't be eating starchy veggies at all outside of an occasional sweet potato and very limited fruit. Honestly, to put your body in fat burning mode, you should be taking in 60% of your calories from dietary fat, with that dietary fat being almost all saturated and monounsaturated fats. I'd shoot more for a 60-25-15 fat-protein-carb ratio, but I don't keep ratios (that graph you posted is much better than your desired ratio and will yield MUCH better results - and that is not protein crazy, that is protein PERFECT for your weight and goals). I only get my carbs through green vegetables, with an apple and a tomato mixed in a day, and that's more than enough to get that 15% carbs.

Good luck!

[TheFastCat]

since when is 31 grams of carbs too much?

I disagree about her macros being off - the protein to fat ratio looks great. That's plenty of fat. 100 grams of fat is more than enough for a 5'2" woman whose goal is to lean out. Additionally she has 1 gram protein per lb of lean body mass which is ideal to increase satiation and steer her body to a keteogenic diet fueled by Gluconeogenesis.

this "MORE FAT MORE FAT" chanting is getting old. and really weird.

hats off coconut girl really looks ideal.

[melodious]

I agree with FastCat - that looks perfect. On the low end of carbs, perfect for protein, and adding up to just the right amount of fat to cover a good caloric level.
Looks great to me!

[ChocoTaco369]

since when is 31 grams of carbs too much?

I disagree about her macros being off - the protein to fat ratio looks great. That's plenty of fat. 100 grams of fat is more than enough for a 5'2" woman whose goal is to lean out. Additionally she has 1 gram protein per lb of lean body mass which is ideal to increase satiation and steer her body to a keteogenic diet fueled by Gluconeogenesis.

this "MORE FAT MORE FAT" chanting is getting old. and really weird.

hats off coconut girl really looks ideal.

No, no, no. You're misunderstanding me. Her GRAPH looks perfect. It's a 60-30-10 fat-protein-carbs ratio. That's exactly where she should be.

You may have skimmed over part of her post, but she was stating that she thought she went "protein crazy" and is really working toward a 38-28-34 ratio of protein-carb-fat. I'm trying to reassure her that her target ratio is far too high on carbs and far too low on fat to be successful. That is more like "The Zone" and is great if you want to just achieve an average build (i.e. 10-15 pounds of extra weight), but not if you're looking for optimal health. Her Fitday graph, however, is exactly where she should be, and I want to reassure her that 115.6 grams of protein is not "protein crazy" and is actually exactly where she should be given her lean body mass. If she emulates that graph every day, she'll have much better results than her original target ratio. I wouldn't add too much more fat on what she ate on the graph. IMO, 60%-65% dietary fat is optimal for fat loss with 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight being incorporated, and whatever's left is from low GI carbs, preferably from leafy green veggies.

[Coconut Girl]

No, no, no. You're misunderstanding me. Her GRAPH looks perfect. It's a 60-30-10 fat-protein-carbs ratio. That's exactly where she should be.

You may have skimmed over part of her post, but she was stating that she thought she went "protein crazy" and is really working toward a 38-28-34 ratio of protein-carb-fat. I'm trying to reassure her that her target ratio is far too high on carbs and far too low on fat to be successful. That is more like "The Zone" and is great if you want to just achieve an average build (i.e. 10-15 pounds of extra weight), but not if you're looking for optimal health. Her Fitday graph, however, is exactly where she should be, and I want to reassure her that 115.6 grams of protein is not "protein crazy" and is actually exactly where she should be given her lean body mass. If she emulates that graph every day, she'll have much better results than her original target ratio. I wouldn't add too much more fat on what she ate on the graph. IMO, 60%-65% dietary fat is optimal for fat loss with 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight being incorporated, and whatever's left is from low GI carbs, preferably from leafy green veggies.

Thanks for the feedback/advice/support everyone

I wasn't sure if my fat % was too high but I feel better after having read your comments! Also, it really helped to hear that the ratio I got on the graph (vs the one I thought I should shoot for) looked good in terms of my goals. I don't really know how those ratios work (though I thought it was just pure add the grams, divide accordingly to get %) or even if the one I ended up with correlated appropriately. My aim/goal is/was to get 80-100g protein, 90-100g fat and 60-70g carb (or less)... I guess as long as I keep that in mind, that's all that really matters? LOL

At first I found FitDay to be annoying, but as a new kid on the block it's really proving useful in creating a guide for me to adjust to until I can get some momentum here So grateful for your input everyone!!!

[ChocoTaco369]

Thanks for the feedback/advice/support everyone

I wasn't sure if my fat % was too high but I feel better after having read your comments! Also, it really helped to hear that the ratio I got on the graph (vs the one I thought I should shoot for) looked good in terms of my goals. I don't really know how those ratios work (though I thought it was just pure add the grams, divide accordingly to get %) or even if the one I ended up with correlated appropriately. My aim/goal is/was to get 80-100g protein, 90-100g fat and 60-70g carb (or less)... I guess as long as I keep that in mind, that's all that really matters? LOL

At first I found FitDay to be annoying, but as a new kid on the block it's really proving useful in creating a guide for me to adjust to until I can get some momentum here So grateful for your input everyone!!!

I'll try and break it down for you using both my understanding and experience.

Under a standard American diet, the body runs on glucose most of the time. Most Americans run on it so much, their body isn't familiar with metabolizing fat. That's why you get that "sugar crash" - when the glucose runs out, your body can't efficiently switch into fat burning mode, so you have to supplement the body with more carbs to continue burning glucose.

Your body prefers to metabolize carbs over fat - but your body also prefers to process alcohol as energy over carbs or fat, so just because your body "prefers" to metabolize a source of energy first doesn't mean it's the best for you. It's just easier to break down carbs than fat, and your body always takes the path of less resistance. In order to overcome this resistance, you need to consume most of your calories through fat and severely limit your carbs.

We have been browbeaten for decades how terrible fat is, so it's difficult for people to wrap their mind around it. The truth is, the BEST way to store fat is to eat both fat AND carbs - your body will process the carbs, run out of room in your muscles and liver to store the glucose, then wind up storing all the dietary fat as fat on your body. That's why you have to get almost all your energy through fat - so while you're taking it in, your body is burning it constantly as well. When you eat 60-65% of your calories through fat, your body will constantly be in a fat burning state, but if you monitor your calories, you will be burning a net DEFICIT of fat - meaning now that your body is efficient at burning fat, it'll start burning body fat QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY!

But here's the kicker - if you don't eat enough calories, your body realizes you're dieting and slows down your body's metabolism to hold onto precious body fat! So how do we know how to eat? Well, it's pretty simple.

Just listen to your body! I have just a few tips for you:

1.) Maintain that 60/30/10 fat/protein/carbs ratio. That is perfect and is the REAL ZONE for fat burning!

2.) Drink plenty of water. Most Americans walk around dehydrated, and the thirst reflex is so poorly understood, it's confused for hunger. If you drink plenty of water and stay hydrated, you'll know that hunger pang is actually hunger and not really just thirst.

3.) Eat when you're hungry. Don't eat when you're not. If it's 12pm and you're not hungry, don't eat. Take your lunch break at 2pm if you're hungry at 2pm. If you don't get hungry, don't eat! And when you're done eating your meal, sit tight for 5 minutes. You may not feel full at 12:25, but at 12:30 you may be. It takes a little while for the hormones in your brain to tell you you're full. I just got done eating a huge salad. When I was typing this, I was still hungry. I'm now editing my post to let you know I'm full! Haha.

In 3 months, you'll be a whole new person following these simple rules.

[Coconut Girl]

I'll try and break it down for you using both my understanding and experience.

Under a standard American diet, the body runs on glucose most of the time. Most Americans run on it so much, their body isn't familiar with metabolizing fat. That's why you get that "sugar crash" - when the glucose runs out, your body can't efficiently switch into fat burning mode, so you have to supplement the body with more carbs to continue burning glucose.

Your body prefers to metabolize carbs over fat - but your body also prefers to process alcohol as energy over carbs or fat, so just because your body "prefers" to metabolize a source of energy first doesn't mean it's the best for you. It's just easier to break down carbs than fat, and your body always takes the path of less resistance. In order to overcome this resistance, you need to consume most of your calories through fat and severely limit your carbs.

We have been browbeaten for decades how terrible fat is, so it's difficult for people to wrap their mind around it. The truth is, the BEST way to store fat is to eat both fat AND carbs - your body will process the carbs, run out of room in your muscles and liver to store the glucose, then wind up storing all the dietary fat as fat on your body. That's why you have to get almost all your energy through fat - so while you're taking it in, your body is burning it constantly as well. When you eat 60-65% of your calories through fat, your body will constantly be in a fat burning state, but if you monitor your calories, you will be burning a net DEFICIT of fat - meaning now that your body is efficient at burning fat, it'll start burning body fat QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY!

But here's the kicker - if you don't eat enough calories, your body realizes you're dieting and slows down your body's metabolism to hold onto precious body fat! So how do we know how to eat? Well, it's pretty simple.

Just listen to your body! I have just a few tips for you:

1.) Maintain that 60/30/10 fat/protein/carbs ratio. That is perfect and is the REAL ZONE for fat burning!

2.) Drink plenty of water. Most Americans walk around dehydrated, and the thirst reflex is so poorly understood, it's confused for hunger. If you drink plenty of water and stay hydrated, you'll know that hunger pang is actually hunger and not really just thirst.

3.) Eat when you're hungry. Don't eat when you're not. If it's 12pm and you're not hungry, don't eat. Take your lunch break at 2pm if you're hungry at 2pm. If you don't get hungry, don't eat! And when you're done eating your meal, sit tight for 5 minutes. You may not feel full at 12:25, but at 12:30 you may be. It takes a little while for the hormones in your brain to tell you you're full. I just got done eating a huge salad. When I was typing this, I was still hungry. I'm now editing my post to let you know I'm full! Haha.

In 3 months, you'll be a whole new person following these simple rules.

Thanks CocoTaco369! I really appreciate the time you took to write all of that! I read up on a lot of the posts here and on marksdailyapple.com to try to best educate myself on going Primal... but the info you provided has really helped.

As far as your tips go, I've actually always practiced 2) and have been recently practicing 3) but now I'm definitely going to place emphasis on 1) as well! I guess I did OK yesterday huh?! hah! BTW, what was in your huge salad? I'm having to re-introduce myself to salad making--I used to have MAD salad-making skills LOL... don't know what happened!

[ChocoTaco369]

I stole Mark's "bigass salad" as my lunch and I like it so much, I use it for dinner sometimes, too. Roughly, I used:

2 cups romaine
2 cups spinach
2 chicken thighs cooked in coconut milk, soy sauce (a little won't kill you) and cilantro
1 ripe tomato
1 half large red bell pepper
1 seeded jalapeno
3 pickled pepperoncini peppers, sliced
A little sliced avocado (not a big fan but I'm teaching myself to eat it)
A handful of pickled cherry peppers
A handful of almonds
Sesame seeds
Extra virgin olive oil
Squeezed lemon juice
Vinegar of your choice (I use either red wine or white depending on my mood)
Grated romano cheese
Cracked black pepper

Sometimes I chop up a little sharp cheddar but with the coconut milk on the chicken, there was no need. I rotate with almonds. I probably eat way too many of them but that's fine since I'll need something to take away if I hit a plateau.

[Coconut Girl]

NICE--instead of soy you should try Bragg's Amino Acids something or other (like soy sauce but much better for you--less sodium, etc etc)

the last 'diet' that i was on screwed me up big time (which is probably why i forgot all of my salad tricks) so this seriously helps *thumbs up*