Our first 3 days of Primal...are we on the right track? page

[jersharocks]

Okay so my husband and I started Primal 3 days ago. The first day was very bumpy and we ended up eating way too many carbs and not enough fat but we still did an OK job on everything else. The 2nd and 3rd days were a lot better. No "carb flu" thus far but I was ridiculously hungry (my husband was not) on the first 2 days even about an hour after getting full off a BAS. I ran the foods we ate through the nutrition tracker on SparkPeople and this is what I got:

^ ignore the "goals" on here
For breakfast, we're eating 3 scrambled eggs cooked in butter OR 3 omelet muffins (recipe from MDA). For lunch, we're eat a BAS with 3 or so cups of greens, some ham or chicken, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and dressing. For dinner, we're eating a main course with meat (we've had meat loaf, "fried" chicken, and pork chops thus far) and some veggies. I'm not a huge veggie fan so I'm eating what I like (peas and green beans) even though it's not primal. Next week, I'll try branching out to something more primal.

We have been a "no bread" family for several months now. We saw Fat Head and then while doing research about it to back up its claims, I found MDA. We talked about it for awhile and then decided to at the very least, get rid of bread. We were dumb, though, and continued eating junk for awhile but now we're jumping head first into Primal. We're not coffee drinkers and not soda addicted but we LOVE sweet tea. We're weaning ourselves off of it and after this box, we won't be buying anymore.

So...are we on the right track? Any advice? Suggestions?

[L8F]

I think it sounds good so far. I have found that increasing my breakfast to 30+ g of protein really helps with hunger in the day. I eat a high fat, high protein breakfast with some veggies with butter on them. I found buttered veggies really helpful way to transition to primal, and eat more of them. Just making most changes will go a long way!! You can also try tea with heavy cream as a transition to see if that gives you some of the sweet tea/caffeine fix...

[jersharocks]

I think it sounds good so far. I have found that increasing my breakfast to 30+ g of protein really helps with hunger in the day. I eat a high fat, high protein breakfast with some veggies with butter on them. I found buttered veggies really helpful way to transition to primal, and eat more of them. Just making most changes will go a long way!! You can also try tea with heavy cream as a transition to see if that gives you some of the sweet tea/caffeine fix...

Any suggestions for how to do that with a very quick prep (or prep in advance) breakfast? My husband's job starts at 4am so dragging our butts out of bed at 3am means we don't have much time (after bathroom, shower, etc) or energy to make a big breakfast.

Thanks for the other suggestions too. I bet butter would make a lot of veggies more palatable. I know I can eat broccoli but usually it's only when it's in something like a casserole or covered in cheese (55% cheese, 45% broccoli). I've never had tea with cream but that definitely sounds interesting.

[L8F]

Well, scrambled eggs with heavy cream are really easy and fast...same time as toasting a bagel really. And if you have any turkey bacon, you can throw a few peices into the pan and it cooks quickly after the eggs are done and the pan is heated--I save bacon grease from real bacon which takes too long in AMs. At first it takes time, but then gets faster. I buy organic veggies in a bag, and slice the bag and steam in mic for 4-5 min while cooking eggs. Then dump into bowl with butter. Keep cooking other stuff while butter melts. Any pre cooked meats could also save time. Just heat. Best tasting is in a pan with grease/butter, but micro works fine if you eat it soon after heating so it doesn't get tough. For you guys maybe prep work before bed might be best (crack eggs and beat them in a bowl, and cover, open up pre cooked bacon container so it is ready to go, keep meat in tupperware type thing...leave frozen veggies in fridge so they thaw mostly) Come to think of it, I should do this too!! I love tea with heavy cream (and honey of course) which I hear is how little old Irish ladies like it...but it works for me too. I love Barry's brand Irish tea, very rich tasting. A little tiny bit of honey probably won't kill you, or sugar to start. Weaning slowly is good so you don't have a day when you go totally nuts after "deprivation"...

[Hedonist]

Fresh peas and green beans are completely Primal. It's only when they have been dried and cooked that they become a problem.

Welcome. You seem on the right track.

[Sanctus Real]

My suggestions for breakfast: Omelet Muffins I don't do breakfast, but my kids do, and this is something I can heat up while they're brushing their hair, then shove in their hands as I rush them out the door. They're great. My youngest likes my Coconut Flour Muffins, too. Especially since I started incorporating Rivvin's advice from the thread. Very easy to make, very yummy.

If you're not a veggie person, my advice is to get a little adventurous, try a bit of everything. You'll be shocked at what it turns out that you do like. For example, I adore raw spinach, much to my own surprise. Curse my mom for always cooking it! Turnips are an amazingly good substitute for potatoes in soups, believe it or not. I don't care for asparagus, but zephyr squash is amazingly sweet! And even if you don't think you like it, try it with creme fraiche on top, lol.

I don't feel comfortable judging the diets of others, mostly because I know that what works for me doesn't work for some other people. I kind of feel like it takes a lot of experimenting on anyone's part to figure out what really works for them. It's hard for me to judge what will work for you. Lousy advice for starting out, sorry. *wince* One thing I will advise, read Primal Fitness and do the exercises, if you haven't already started. It all works together, and though you probably will lose without the fitness part, you need to work out to achieve your full potential.

And, please don't think I'm weird or evil for suggesting this, but have you ever tried unsweet tea? I live in the South, and to even mention it is like heresy, I know, but I've always preferred tea with nothing in it. You might give it a try, and if you like it that way, buy some decaf tea and enjoy.