is this on the right track? page

[thaijinx]

So, I've only been doing this for a few days now, and I feel as though I am still confused about many things about the nutrition side of this. (And that somehow, I'm not doing it 'right'.) I haven't read the book as I can't afford it at the moment - and the more I read about the each 'item' on the website the less I seem to be able to see the whole picture as far as putting it all together goes.

So far, a little under a week in, I have eaten:

• bone broth that I cooked up,
• chicken (I even tried crunching on some of the softer the bones to get the marrow out - and was surprised at how 'edible' it was!),
• ribs,
• salmon sashimi,
• prawns,
• white fish,
• butter (organic),
• goat cheese,
• goat milk,
• eggs (free range),
• cream,
• pumpkin,
• corn cob,
• watermelon,
• pineapple,
• mango (organic - from my own tree!),
• 1 baked potato,
• and 2 natural beers. (treat)

For condiments and flavours, I have used

• honey,
• had 3 cups of milk tea,
• and used a bunch of natural sea salt,
• lots of garlic,
• 1/2 onion,
• and kimchi.

I know it's hard to tell, cause I haven't included amounts here, but am I on the right track...???

Should I be eating MORE or less vegetables?

More or LESS dairy? MILK? Honestly, I feel like I'm eating waaay too much dairy! (compared to how much I normally eat!)

Can anyone comment, cause I feel a bit confused at the moment.

Thanks

[cpb]

It is pretty straight forward - even if you don't have the book Just remember to eat as close to nature as possible. Best to limit the dairy as much as possible. I try to limit dairy to a tiny bit of milk in my tea - tried heavy cream and didn't like it. Go for the non-starchy vegetables - no limit to those. Maybe just go easy on the corn, pineapple and watermelon (depending on whether weight loss is a goal or not).

[Sambo]

• bone broth that I cooked up,
• chicken (I even tried crunching on some of the softer the bones to get the marrow out - and was surprised at how 'edible' it was!),
• ribs,
• salmon sashimi,
• prawns,
• white fish,
• butter (organic),
• goat cheese,
• goat milk,
• eggs (free range),
• cream,
• pumpkin,

ding!

• corn cob

bzzzt!

Looks pretty sweet to me, corn is a grain, but no biggie.

There's so much info here, it can indeed get overwhelming. If you keep it simple, stick with the basic guides, eg How to Succeed with the Primal Blueprint | Mark's Daily Apple (I love the food pyramid, it's stuck on my fridge), you'll be sweet as. Then you can read more and go crazy from information overload.

[belinda]

First: I don't see much veg. Where's the broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, asparagus, chard, kale, spinach, even romaine?

Second: you may benefit from eating some beef once in a while.

Third: watermelon, pineapple, and mango are all high sugar fruits. You might want to sub out some of these for berries.

Fourth: If your goal is weightloss, by all means cut back on the dairy.

[thaijinx]

Yes, overwhelming is right!

The probelm is too - I'm skipping about through websites, finding loads of info - some conflicting - which is doing my head in a bit. Just looking at Westin Price / Paleo / Vegan... and discovering that one says EAT corn with LOADS of butter, the other says DON'T eat corn just eat the butter, and the third says EAT corn NOT butter! LOL Yikes!

I guess you have to stick with whatever gels with you - if it works, then do it. I've never been drawn to Veganism, even though I was vegetarian for a long time, and do believe that fruit and veg play a role (at least for me) in my diet.

I'm just at the point where I WANT to eat more meat I'm just sorta *scared* of it (and fat and dairy) - no doubt because of all the misinformation that we've been told by various food lobby groups and the like. Which, I guess, is what a lot of people feel... yet it seems to make so much sense that our ancestors ate a lot of fats and meat and they wern't dropping dead of heart attacks! So who is *right*... I just don't know.

The thing is I found this site via Westin Price, so a lot of what he (or at least Sally Fallon) said is still in my head, and I'm trying to work out how that differs from the food/diet in this blueprint. I also read 'Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle' some time ago too. Talk about information overload! Bleugh! Reading some of the posts on here, I belive that Primal is not exactly the same as Paleo - and that's a good thing, cause I juat can't agree with the lean meats, sodas and canola oil! None of which seem very caveman to me!

So I guess what I'm trying to do is get it exactly straight in my head what a "Primal" diet really is and how much of it is similar or different to the Westin A Price stuff - which gells with me. I like the idea of organ meats (even though I dunno if I can stomach them) and fermented foods, and lard.

Sorry I'm probably rambling a bit now. But thanks for the input - I will keep reading and hopefully it will all sort it's self out. At least I'm on the right track-ish with the food... now I've just got to start with the excercise.

[RitaRose]

Can you find Primal Blueprint in your local library? Or see if they maybe have The Paleo Solution? They're both very close and would give you a better overview. Most libraries let you search their content online, and then you can reserve it and pick it up or have it sent to the one nearest you.

[Sambo]

So I guess what I'm trying to do is get it exactly straight in my head what a "Primal" diet really is and how much of it is similar or different to the Westin A Price stuff - which gells with me. I like the idea of organ meats (even though I dunno if I can stomach them) and fermented foods, and lard.

Well, as far as I can tell, they're quite similar in the emphasis on 'traditional' real food and abandonment of overprocessed non-food: plenty of vegies, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, fats etc., preferably organic, local, in season, and especially wild (meat) is awesome if you can get it. The less contaminated by the hand-of-man, the better.

The big difference is, no grains, grain-based products (bread, flour), or beans, no matter how they've been prepared. To me, the main advantage there is that by cutting out the grains and relying on vegies/fruit, the diet is naturally lower in carbohydrates, so you don't get fat. There's also nothing you need in grains that can't be gotten from vegies. Many others come from the "grains are poison" angle.

If the Weston Price stuff appeals to you, I say go for it, it looks pretty sound to me. I'm no grain nazi, anything which emphasises real food over processed- is miles ahead of the typical western diet. Anyway, since you're in Thailand, rice is pretty benign, just carby. It's all about your goals

[thaijinx]

Awesome. Thanks so much for you input, I apprecieate it. Rita rose, I wish I had a local library that I could visit! Unfortunately, I don't.

Sambo, thanks so much for that. I appreciate being able to see the differences between them now more clearly.

Living in Asia it's amazing to see how quickly the young generations are changing from the old traditional ones. It's like the kids are a different breed to the grandparents in terms of what they eat. With 7-11s and golden arches everywhere, pizza and fried chicken have replaced traditional foods - like fried bugs and odd looking meats (to me) intestines and the like? fermented fish sauces and of course, rice, still remain, but boy are the kids getting fatter...! It won't be long before the health problems follow, I'm sure!

I guess rice is quite an empy food in terms of nutrients. but I've always found it to be easily digested - I have LOTS of digestion issues - namely bloating and belching. After I eat my belly often feels like it will explode and the pain is incredible. I am approaching 40, and have developed a bit of a belly - though I wouldn't say I'm fat... But initial weight loss would be good, (actually - great! LOL) but generally I'm after a life-long good health really and a cure to this digestive problem I have.

I know exercise is a big key to it too, and I have gotten very very lazy, so I must do something about it! it's difficult here... I know this sounds like an excuse but the weather is SO hot! the streets are so polluted! I don't wan't to go for a walk, and to behonest there really isn't anywhere to walk anyway! I don't particularly want to join a gym either, because they're hotter than hell, usually, and they tend to stock them with old rusty dumbells, and machines that are like 100 years old! Swimming would be an option.

My mom suffers from all sorts of helath issues, including arthritis, and aches and pains, low thyroid (for which she has been on daily medication), digestive problems, etc, etc... whereas my Dad has never suffered from anything. (He is active, whereas she is not).

I still have a bit of a ways to go, in terms of the exercise component of the blueprint, but I have committed to myself that I will try. And, despite my fears about 'saturated' animal products, I will attempt to clean out my diet too.

I know I can do without bread and pasta and processed foods.
So here's to moving more!