Stuck in the Middle with You, maybe? page 2

[Owly]

@Owly: That moderate approach is what I've been coming around to as well. IF gives me a bit of MasterCleanse flashbacks, but if I'm reading it right it's basically just having 2 meals instead of 3? I think I'll try to add that in; I'm not a snacker so just skipping breakfast and eating lunch and dinner doesn't seem too onerous.

Yeah, there are different ways to do IF. Some people do a full day once a week, but from what I've been, reading, an 8-10 hour eating window seems to work well for women (so a 14-16 hour fast). I find that shifting my first meal to later in the morning is pretty effortless. I then try to break my fast with a meal that's mostly fat and protein--I like omelettes or leftover meat from the night before. I usually go to Crossfit around 5 pm, so if it's a workout day, I'll have a small meal about an hour before class, often something like Greek yogurt with some berries and/or fruit or a side of tomato. On a non-workout day, I may or may not eat anything between lunch and dinner. Then I will have a larger evening meal with my partner, which is when I'll eat most of my carbs, normally sweet potato or regular potato (I'm not as worried about them as some folks around here). I don't snack after dinner as a general rule, so once I'm done my evening meal, that's it until late morning the next day.

I do have one day on the weekend usually when I don't do the longer fast because I get together with my dad for breakfast. I think this is helping because it kicks my system out of getting too adapted to the fasting mode.

[Finnabair]

I started at 134 pounds, hoping to get down to 125. My family has a very bad track record of Type II Diabetes, and the weight that I put on after Mom died in 2005 was NOT going to come off by conventional means.

I lost six pounds immediately. That's good. I'm even happy if I don't get back down to 125, but I weighed 113 for about 25 years, so I'm wondering what the final result will be.

There are SO many 'incarnations' of Paleo/Primal/low carb diets. I'm winging it and reading this website every day. Waiting for the books I've ordered to arrive.

[Paleobird]

I lost the first 30 lbs just by going "low carb" before I found Primal. Then I stalled. I lost the last 30 using portion controlled Primal. I went from a 12 to an 8 and from 180 to 150 (at 5'10") and I've been maintaining here easily without any calorie counting.

The details can be found on two monster threads I did. The first was called Reality Check : Counting Calories and the second was called Counting Calories : Distillation and Update, kind of the Cliff's Notes version of the original.

I do understand that the scale can, for some people, become a source of craziness. For others, it is just a tool. Only you can decide if you can handle it. I would be very glad if my experiences could help others.

When I first came to this forum then realized that this effortless and magical weight loss was not happening, I too got advice from both sides and felt a bit stuck in the middle. On one side there were people like Griff (whom I adore) telling me that I should eat more fat and eat a greater quantity overall of food and that this would make the weight melt off. Well, for people substantially overweight like Griff this advice works. It didn't for me. Then on the other side there is the equally adorable young and buffed ChacoTaco who keeps telling me that the answer to all my problems is in the magic of stuffing myself with sweet potato. Well, this is good advice for bodybuilders looking for that "shredded" look, again not wrong, just not for me.

I found a way out of that stuck in the middle spot. I hope you do too.

[TheDarkMistress]

Lol, congrats on your 'promotion' TheDarkMistress & thanks for the sensible advice-- In the bad ol' days (e.g. before primal) I was one of those crazes who did the Master Clease 2/3 times a year (which made me SUPER pleasant to be around--what's the emoticon for irony?) so I'm used to seeing a dramatic reduction really quickly (of course it all came back as soon as I started, well, eating again). "Just keep plugging away because it works" is a very new concept for me...

This thread already has some great ideas and support! I fricken love this forum

I've done the unsustainable crash diet a total of twice in my life (25#lost and regained each time). I am not interested in a repeat performance.

I love this forum too!

[OperaDivaMom]

I'm here too. I lost everything I wanted to the first "round" of paleo/primal, then gained it all back in a month plus some thanks to fructose and gluten while getting tested for celiac. Ugh.

So I'm back in the "want to lose 15-20 lbs" camp, and it's not coming back off as fast this time. I lost the initial 10 lbs of water weight in a couple days, and nothing since then. I am only 5'2" and petite but curvy, I think my ideal weight will be in the 105 range, depending on muscle/fat distribution.

[Kenzington]

I'm jumping in here too! I have 20 pounds yet to go and they are being STUBBORN. I'm playing with IFing 2x a week. Mondays and Thursdays I think. Beyond that, I can be PERFECT all week and then the weekend comes and I'm drinking beer and eating fish and chips with friends.... (face. palm.) I'm trying to figure out how to have better plans of action for going out on the weekends. I keep losing and regaining the same two pounds and it wouldn't happen if I could reign myself in on the weekends.

I'm also getting more serious about the working out. I know my body responds INSTANTLY to exercise (and I feel good etc etc) but I changed gyms and got out of a groove. I'm working on getting myself into a regular schedule again.

[Glamorama]

I'll join in as well. I have another 10 kg/24 lbs to loose, and they weight has stayed the same for 3 weeks now. I barely eat fruit, ne er have nuts, and IF 2-3 times weekly. I sprint, lift and do HIIT. I walk daily. But I seem a bit stuck. I was hoping to lose 1-2 lbs weekly but at this rate I can't see myself reaching my goal by Nov like I planned. Would love to know whet I can do differently.
Paleobird- love your idea seeing it worked so well! Were you literally weighing yourself and all your food daily? Did you go hungry at all?

[Grok]

[Paleobird]

I'll join in as well. I have another 10 kg/24 lbs to loose, and they weight has stayed the same for 3 weeks now. I barely eat fruit, ne er have nuts, and IF 2-3 times weekly. I sprint, lift and do HIIT. I walk daily. But I seem a bit stuck. I was hoping to lose 1-2 lbs weekly but at this rate I can't see myself reaching my goal by Nov like I planned. Would love to know whet I can do differently.
Paleobird- love your idea seeing it worked so well! Were you literally weighing yourself and all your food daily? Did you go hungry at all?

Yes, I weighed myself once daily (not more, that's obsessive). I weighed/measured everything I ate and kept track of it on SparkPeople but there are many such programs out there. No, there was no need for hunger at all once I got the concept that I needed to focus on getting enough protein within a calorie "budget". When you start picking leaner protein sources, you get a lot of satiety value out of a large amount of meats/fish/eggs. There is still plenty of fat that "comes with" the protein itself. I'm not advocating going back to the "bad old days" of low-fat everything, I just think that we Primals have gone overboard in the opposite direction.

Re the "tracking/ measuring/weighing is obsessive" argument. I counter with, being blissfully unaware of how much you are taking in to your body and thinking that the pounds and inches are just somehow going to melt off is the ostrich method of weight loss. By the time you notice that your clothes are fitting a bit tighter, you could have put on ten pounds.

This vigilance doesn't have to be a life sentence. I did it for five months and lost 30 pounds. You do have to buckle down and get serious about it however, at least for the duration. Kenz, this is for you, no more fish & chip and beer binges. You are either doing this or you are not. No, half assing it.

[Kenzington]

Friggin A-men Paleobird.

(I don't do it every weekend, but that's what happened last weekend) Thanks for the kick in the ass.