New to Primal page

[angie00708]

I'm new to eating primal. I'm at 230 lbs and looking to lose. I need advice on what to eat to add fat. I'm terrified to eat it! I've been taught my whole life to avoid it so it scares me to add it back to my diet in the amount the Primal diet suggests. I don't even know what to eat to get that amount of fat in my diet. I've started adding coconut milk but have to be careful - it causes some gastoinstestinal distress.

As far as exercise, I've been a chronic cardio'er for the last year. I've lost 80 lbs. in the last 1.5 years but have hit a wall in the last year. I've started the Primal way of excercise and feel better and stronger already.

Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[primalrob]

don't be afraid of fat, but don't go chasing after it either. focus on eating meats, fish, vegetables and eggs and you will do just fine. the relatively high amount of fat that most PBers eat is because it's healthy, to be sure, but also because it fills us up. but meat and veggies are your staples...just dress your veggies with butter.

[Primal-J]

You're not far off where I was when I started - I was following all sorts of Mens Health articles, the "Abs Diet", and believed that most fad was to be avoided.

One good way to "trick" yourself into eating more fat is a big salad;

1. Avocado
2. Nuts
3. Olive oil (I add balsamic, garlic, herbs, lemon juice, etc - no sugar)
4. Lots of veggies
5. Add meat or fish - I love to add a good cut of steak chopped up into all my salads

You can have yourself a very fatty meal while loading yourself with nutrients. My salads, as well as many others' on the boards, tend to be quite big and are full meals.

Also, if you've been doing chronic cardio with no anabolic exercise (resistance training), chances are that you've also lost a lot of muscle, which is very active metabolic "mass" (i.e. it requires a lot of calories to maintain - this is good). You'll want to focus on rebuilding a strong and healthy muscle core (I don't mean just abs here) to increase your lean body mass. If you like running, or jogging, try sprinting. Better yet, try hill sprinting. Add some simple resistance training, such as pushups, squats, chin/pull ups (all can be done at home), and you'll be there in no time.

You'll find yourself craving fatty foods, big slabs of meat, fish, eggs, veggies. Your body will adjust as you change its composition.

From my experience, I lose weight much faster when I cut out dairy. Cheese seems to be a trigger, and I binge eat. Nuts should be limited when wanting to lose fat, but a small amount in a salad is OK.

And don't forget the wonderful eggs. Boiled eggs are great to throw in a salad.

J

[angie00708]

This is my issue: I have a physical limitation that severely limits my intake of food. I can only eat about 3 oz of hard protein at a time (steak, chicken, pork) or about 1-2 eggs (depending on how they are cooked). That makes me have to eat ALL the time to get that kind of fat in in just meat. I've been using butter to cook with more and will continue to do that. I don't want to get caught up in the nut trap, though. As far as dairy, I don't do a whole lot - never drank milk but I do eat greek yogurt with protein powder mixed in about once a day.

And I didn't mean to insinuate that cardio was all that I did. I was also doing a lot of circuit training - cardio/strength mix but it was balls to the wall for an hour at a time stuff, several times a week plus cardio kick-boxing, treadmill, etc.

Thanks for all your help already!

[Digby]

Read Mark's Primal Body; there are a couple free downloads on this site that are good. In fact, you can search just about anything on this site and get good information. Glad you found MDA! All the best.

[primalrob]

That makes me have to eat ALL the time to get that kind of fat in in just meat.

are you hungry all the time?

if you are looking for more fat, you could just eat straight fat. there are people here who put down spoonfuls of coconut or palm oil...that's a great way to get some down. but if you're not hungry, don't worry about the numbers.

[Primal-J]

I eat one or two spoonfuls of Coconut Oil every day.

[Nomad1]

don't be afraid of fat, but don't go chasing after it either. focus on eating meats, fish, vegetables and eggs and you will do just fine. the relatively high amount of fat that most PBers eat is because it's healthy, to be sure, but also because it fills us up. but meat and veggies are your staples...just dress your veggies with butter.

I think this advice by primalrob is solid. I don't eat fat just for the sake of eating it, but I do have butter on my steamed veggies. If I find myself having strong relentless cravings for non-primal foods, I'll have a spoonful of coconut milk and that takes the edge off.

[angie00708]

are you hungry all the time?

No, I'm not hungry all the time - that's kind of the problem. I'm not hungry very often at all. If I only ate when I was hungry, I'd probably only ingest about 700-900 calories a day. But I will have to say that calculation was with the "old" way of eating - carbs, etc. Maybe with meat, more fat, the caloric intake will be higher.

I will say that last night, I did eat two strawberries with about a tablespoon of cold coconut milk and it was quite delicious and very satisfying.

[Primal-J]

Angie,

A good hard workout - resistance training and perhaps some hill sprints? Should induce hunger. Try working out fasted, and if you're anything like a lot of us here, you'll be ravenous after the workout. This is when I eat my big salad, usually followed by eggs and bacon - sometimes twice.

Remember, lean tissue requires food.

J