Lady in Waiting page

[gristastic]

Hi folks,

I have been lurking here for several months and really feel good about what I see. I very much want to try the Primal Blueprint and believe it will work well for me but I have to stop talking myself out of it first.

Until recently, I never thought myself a person who shied away from a challenge or an interesting experiment, but having a child and then, finding myself newly single have really taken a toll and changed my outlook on a lot of things. I suppose recent life experience has made me a bit more cautious than I really want to be in daily life.

As for diet, I have cut grains from my diet fairly well in the last 2 months (being gluten intolerant made that transition fairly easy). Unfortunately, sugar has proven a bit more difficult. The ugly truth is that I use sugar as a bit of a crutch. I like my iced chai in the morning, the rationale being that it makes the grind at work more manageable. I also like to eat a bit too much fruit (namely mango, which I can really eat a mountain of in the morning if I allow myself) and like to have a sweet little something at the end of my day. (this is usually a chocolate flake bar which is certainly not the least bit primal).

Movement is something I already have worked into my everyday. I typically walk about a mile or 2 everyday, between walking my son to his camp/school and walking to the market and to or from work.

The Primal Blueprint Book and the Quick and Easy Meals cookbook are both read and sitting patiently in my bookcase at the moment. The cookbook has so many recipes I'm interested in, but to be honest, even that isn't quick and easy enough when there is only 1/2 an hour to get my son fed, washed, read-to and in bed after a long day at work. Typically, I will make one or 2 of the recipes on the weekends when I have more time. I am hopeful that my energy level and motivation to cook will increase with a little time on the Primal Blueprint but right now, the prospect of getting over that sugar hump is a little scarey. I won't lie, it is a little pick-me-up and something to look forward to.

At 5'4", with a small frame, I have gone from weighing a contented 118 lbs in college to weighing close to 200 lbs now, with the bulk of that weight coming with my pregnancy and never leaving again. I gained a whopping 80 lbs while pregnant and have been completely unable to lose a pound without practically starving myself, but I want to change that.

SO, after all that, I guess my real question to you is, how did you get through the early days? How did you get through your sugar cravings? I know there will be a detox period where I will be a miserable moody little human and I really don't want to be a grouch with my son. How can I get over that hump and make a real change in my health and wellbeing? All suggestions welcome! And, Thanks

[RitaRose]

Accept the fact that you're going to feel like crap for a week or two. Just keep in mind that, like labor, there is an end to that, and you will emerge feeling even better than you did before with something to show for it.

I drink a lot of herbal tea. Having said that, I have been eating this way for months now, so my sense of "sweet" has drastically changed. If I had to recommend something that tasted sweet and really wasn't, you might try Celestial Seasonings "Bengal Spice" tea. I had to double check the ingredients because there was no way this thing didn't have sweetener, but it's really just a combination of the spices.

I've heard about supplements you can take to ease the transition, but to be honest, the closer you stick to the plan from Day One, the faster you get over the dreaded "carb flu".

Glad to see you here!

[warrdogg]

I still have a chai tea a few times a week with coconut milk and a bit of honey. I find after a while of eating primal, sweets are something I don't crave anymore. The odd piece of 70+% chocolate does the trick. Before primal eating I would have listed honey as a top 5 favourite food, so I thought I would miss it, but don't. I agree with RitaRose sweet has a different definition to me now.

I never got the "carb flu" thing so I can't give you any advice. Before I want to have something non-primal I just think back how poorly I felt when I used to eat my old way. That usually keeps me on track. There's the odd slip up, but I still come back as I feel so much better eating like this.

[belinda]

Even though I had carb flu (varying stages for a couple of weeks) I knew within the first two days that the PB was doing good things for me.

The gains are worth way more than the pain

[gristastic]

thanks so much for your kind responses, have a great Thursday!

[Hedonist]

Being cautious and easing into Primal are fine. That's what I did and I'm doing fine. I hope Primal goes really, really well for you!

[Grokarella]

Welcome gristastic! I have been primal for a month now, and I sometimes crave sweets too. I thought I would have trouble with bread, but I don't want it at all - just sweets! I have a couple squares of dark chocolate when I'm feeling deprived. My husband and I went out to dinner and I even had a little sorbet (I thought that it was probably the least offensive of the desserts). I was good for the rest of the meal It doesn't seem to have affected my weight loss. I think it is fine to have a little bit of something if you REALLY want it. Just have a small amount and move on.

[gristastic]

Hi folks! I'm currently on day 3 of Primal Eating and so far so good! No carb flu yet. Fingers crossed. Just wanted to pop in and say that I had finally gotten over that hump and jumped in. I think seeing all those posts about the 30 day challenge finally wiped out the last of my cold feet. :-)

Thanks again for all the kind words and I'll keep you updated.

[demuralist]

I was on Atkins for a couple of months before I went Primal, and Primal is WAY better in every way.

What helped me the most was to do a version of a Leptin Reset (these rules from the book "Mastering Leptin")...

RULE 1: Keep 3 hours before bedtime food free
RULE 2: Eat 3 meals a day, no snacks
RULE 3 : Eat to satisfaction, not stuffed
RULE 4: Eat a high protein breakfast soon after arising-trying to get 50g protein within the 30 mins. after waking up
RULE 5: Carbs between 25 and 50

The most useful of these...the high protein, low carb breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up, totally curbed cravings.

Good Luck