Obligatory forum Introduce yourself thread page 376

[Sefardita]

Hello my name is Debra. I'm 35 and nursing a 4.5 month old. The past few years I had been eating fewer and fewer grains and dairy products and my husband and I decided to make a greater investment in eating primarily about a month and a half ago. I am still using nuts and some dried fruits as a snack food source because I've been afraid of weakening my milk supply. I return to work next week, so I expect some big changes in our lives and want to make sure that I (and my milk) can weather them! Any guidance is appreciated.

Your location: SF bay area

Age (If you want): 35

How Primal are you: 95%

Do you consume dairy: yes, mostly in raw milk cheese form

Do you drink coffee or tea: yes

Motivator for switching to Primal: reduce amount of anti inflammatory meds being taken for chronic pain and so lose some weight

Favorite exercise: walking...use to be swimming

Favorite Primal food: beef jerky and salmon

Best part about being Primal: I don't need anti-inflammatory meds every day! I feel less phlegmy and bloated too!

Worst part about being Primal: I don't really have one except for trying to explain it to other people and eating out.

[Mr Paul]

Hi, all! I've been lurking around the forum for a while, dabbling in primal eating, and 'testing the water'. I recently took the dive (to extend the metaphor) and went 100% primal (OK, 90% - I really like my Crystal Light Lemonade).
A little background: I was a chronic cardio addict, running several half marathons and a dozen 5k and 10k runs each year. About 2 years ago, I was running at 5:30am, in the dark, and stepped into a mass of sweet gum balls. The end result was a high ankle sprain, a knee sprain, and a Jones fracture in my left foot. I've healed, but running has become difficult and painful, thanks to some permanent biomechanical changes in my stride.
I gained about 25 lbs. when I stopped running. I knew running was no longer an option, so I was Googling "weight loss without cardio" and found MDA. It's been a real eye-opener, to say the least. I'm going to lose the 25 lbs. and regain some youthful vigor.
And now, the obligatory details:

Your location: SW Missouri

Age (If you want): 41

How Primal are you: about 90% (still can't kick the crystal light lemonade)

Do you consume dairy: rarely. Just cheese, occassionaly

Do you drink coffee or tea: No

Motivator for switching to Primal: Weight loss

Favorite exercise: hiking

Favorite Primal food: Pork. Pork butt, pork belly, salt-cured ham, sow belly, bacon, sausage...

Best part about being Primal: Mental Clarity and steady blood glucose levels

Worst part about being Primal: Doing it alone and dealing with cynics

[Suzanna]

My answers:


Your location: London
Age (If you want):no shame in this -36
How Primal are you: working on being better but probably 60%
Do you consume dairy: yes, goat and sheep milk based.
Do you drink coffee or tea: 1 coffee a day otherwise herb teas.
Motivator for switching to Primal: somethings got to give. My body isn't happy with me.
Favorite exercise: walking, rowing and running depending on my ankle.
Favorite Primal food: beef
Best part about being Primal: more beef.. Although I cannot process it as well I feel later in the day. And hopefully better health and energy.
Worst part about being Primal:I miss certain processed foods. I have serious carb-flu ( I just realized this today!!)

[kittyscousin2]

Your location: Austin, TX

Age (If you want):29

How Primal are you: Newbie, but jumped in the deep end first day. No wheat/grain, sugar, or dairy. The occasional slice of cheese, or honey. No chronic cardio, and always making time to play!

Do you consume dairy: heavy cream or fancy cheese on occasion (sometimes a cheeseburger just needs cheese) I don't have a problem with the consumption of dairy, but my lactose/stomach issues have benefited tremendously from cutting it out.

Do you drink coffee or tea: unsweet tea on occasion or herbal tea. my husband drinks coffee.

Motivator for switching to Primal: My chiropractor suggested it after I spent several years trying desperately to lose weight and consistently rebounding.

Favorite exercise: walk at a slow pace! I love that Im not forced to go sit in the gym 6 days a week and kill myself. I use Zumba as my sprints for now. Heart rate is the same as a sprint. My husband and I will be starting the sprints in the coming weeks though.

Favorite Primal food: Apple-Cinnamon Smoked Bacon, and Primal Enchiladas, and grilled squash

Best part about being Primal: I feel amazing! My attitude is positive, my girly emotional rollercoaster has evened out, I haven't had a single stomach issue (not one), I am sleeping like a baby (haven't done that in years), my husband and I are spending so much more quality time together at the farmers market, cooking, etc than ever before! And I'm not so completely obsessed with digital junk as I used to be.

Worst part about being Primal: The preparation. We used to eat out for all meals and now we don't eat out at all. I have learned to make double batch recipes for later dates though. Also, although I know I am doing this the right way, I am used to high weightloss diets and not losing tons of weight fast is testing my patience. (No rebounding this time...its a lifestyle!)

[EvelynB]

Your location: Massachusetts

Age (If you want): 58

How Primal are you: not at all

Do you consume dairy:

Do you drink coffee or tea: yes

Motivator for switching to Primal: lose weight, feel younger, deal with chronic health issues.

Favorite exercise: Dancing, walking dog.

Favorite Primal food: FRUIT! (okay - it's a minor primal food - but i do love it)

Best part about being Primal: Dunno yet

Worst part about being Primal: cost

[acrichardt]

location: Evansville, In

age: 31

How Primal are you: 60% to 75% (transitioning)

Do you consume dairy: occasionally as a rare treat

Do you drink coffee or tea: tea

Motivator for switching to Primal: to eat in order to feel better

Favorite exercise: not that far yet (other than walking everywhere I can, lifting for friends, taking extra strides in the workplace)

Favorite Primal food: coconut (its the one thing i use the most....water, milk, and oil)

Best part about being Primal: I feel better, have more energy

Worst part about being Primal: nothing really, other than people thinking you are strange (arguing with you about grains, religion, etc even though I've resolved all those issues for myself with an open mind) but then they comment on how much weight I lost so I don't mind

[BEEF THE BUTCHER]

Your location: South of France, Herepian

Age (If you want): 30

How Primal are you: newbie to it. Spent my life eating shit, now paying the price for it. But love my meat

Do you consume dairy: very, very rarely, some times i love a milkshake, but am looking in to raw milk.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Nope never have, but I love the smell of grounded coffee.

Motivator for switching to Primal: watched an interview of Arthur De Vany, came across Daniel Vitalis, now im here and just felt like I had come home!

Favorite exercise: Beating the crap out something and anything that involves using my body weight.

Favorite Primal food: hhhhmmmmmmm steak!!!

Best part about being Primal: will let you know soon

Worst part about being Primal: As above

[kaspegren]

The Questions:
Your location: Omaha, NE
Age (If you want): 38

How Primal are you: I live in a beef state, so yes, pretty primal. And I love bacon too! I've been pretty good about getting rid of grains - I never really understood why I felt so bad eating them until now - my acupuncturist has been on me to go gluten free for over a year.


Do you consume dairy: yes, butter, sourcream, soft & hard cheeses (but not regularly) and milk. I'm trying to go to full fat milk but have been clinging to the safety net of my nonfat milk for the past week so far. I'll get there though!

Do you drink coffee or tea: Yes, both. I like milk/cream & sugar in my coffee and am having a terrible time finding a suitable sweetener! I thought Agave was okay and then read more of my 21 day book and dropped that idea. I need help finding a suitable replacement if anyone has any suggestions for a sweetener that is primal. I don't need much, just enough to cut the bitterness. As for tea, I drink it unsweetened and love all kinds! Hot or cold.

Motivator for switching to Primal: My best friend's husband has been primal for years and she suggested I might try it - also my acupuncturist suggested gluten free (for infertility issues). I'm about 50 pounds heavier than I would like to be and have had no luck on the traditional SAD . . . Going primal also seemed really natural to me, go figure.

Favorite exercise: Walking, playing frisbee (I'm terrible, but its fun), golf and tennis. I'm really enjoying increasing strength through pushups, pull ups, squats and planks!

Favorite Primal food: Steak, of course.

Best part about being Primal: I sleep better, have better digestion and more energy. I feel more alive.

Worst part about being Primal: Trying to explain that I don't eat corn (or any other grains) - we have a corn field in our backyard!

[en2ec]

Hi everyone. I started primal this past weekend. I've been exercising for a couple of months and had been cutting back on carbs prior to going primal. My weight in early March: 280+. My weight as of today: 257. More info in my journal (see signature).

Your location: Vienna, Austria, but I grew up in Kentucky and lived for years on the East coast.

Age (If you want): 41

How Primal are you: nearly 100% for the moment -- will relax a little after 30 days.

Do you consume dairy: Not at the moment. Will try after 30 days.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Green tea. I don't like coffee and never drink it. I have a serious Coke Zero addiction, but it has been 5 days now since I've had one (when I started eating primal), and I think I'm doing OK without them.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Lose fat, get in shape, stay healthy for my 8 month old son.

Favorite exercise: Uechi Ryu karate, but I have to do it on my own, which isn't so fun, so my next favorite exercise is swimming.

Favorite Primal food: Steak.

Best part about being Primal: After the first few days of feeling a little tired, I have loads of energy. Oh, and getting to eat red meat, which I'd have once every couple of months prior to primal.

Worst part about being Primal: I am a serious carb addict. I'd say giving up bread and all its variations is the worst part. Giving up chocolate chip cookies is a close second. Fortunately, I haven't had any cravings so far.

[en2ec]

The Questions:

I need help finding a suitable replacement if anyone has any suggestions for a sweetener that is primal. I don't need much, just enough to cut the bitterness.

Have you tried stevia? It is a natural plant that is hundreds of time sweeter than sugar. I suppose that, technically, only the actual leaves would be considered paleo/primal since the extract is processed, but I wouldn't have any qualms about using the extract. Using the right amout is tricky. If you use too much, then it is both sweet and bitter at the same time. If you use too little, then it is only mildly sweet. I haven't tried it since going paleo (I haven't had sugar in 2 months), so maybe "mildly sweet" is perfectly fine now.