How long for results? page

[sophiek]

I am on week two following Primal Blueprint. My goal is to just get really lean and I probably only have areound 5 pounds to lose. I'm a size 2 but just have some extra fat to lose on my stomach, hips, and want my arms super lean and strong. Before going primal I ate primarily meats and veggies, but would also do mindless snacking on bad stuff (corn nuts...crap around the office), and ate a lot of fruit (grapes throughout the day), would occasionally have starch with dinner, and drank wine on a regular basis with dinner. I exercise a lot (lots of running (40+ miles a week) and road biking in the summer). I had my appendix taken out a few months ago, and was out of commission for over a month and fell into a huge exercise and eating rut (especially now that it is getting darker earlier making it harder to run after work). I also recently tweaking my knee and couldn't do my weekend distance runs. So I joined crossfit (going 3x a week) and started eating primal. I'm wondering how fast I should expect to see results in order to know if I need to adjust my diet. Any comments or suggestions is much appreciated.

[Yvonne PHX]

You don't have a lot to lose, so you may not see fast results in that respect. You should already have seen improvements, though, in things like your skin and digestion. Depending where you are with carb flu, you may be feeling more energetic by now. Have you noticed a difference in how you feel?

[namelesswonder]

Speed of results depends on a lot of things, but it can vary widely from person to person. You might need more starchy carbs to support your crossfit. Ditto to what Yvonne said; how are you feeling so far? What does an average day look like meal-wise? Keep in mind also that belly fat is often the last to go on women and sometimes is caused by improper cortisol levels, so if you're feeling energetic or sleepy at inappropriate times during the day, this might take longer to adjust/remedy.

[sophiek]

I do feel better. It's hard to describe but just "cleaner" and I feel like my face looks healthier, less swollen maybe. An average day's meals would be the following:
Breakfast: 2 eggs with 1/2 bell pepper and coffee with coconut creamer
Lunch: Big salad with chicken and oil and vinegar
Snack: bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower heated up with salt and pepper
Snack: apple or plumb
Dinner: Protein (Steak, pork chop, chicken, fish) and vegetables (broccoli, turnips, rutabagas, you name it I love all vegetables)
Snack: hadful of frozen blueberries

Often times I don't eat breakfast. I'm also wondering if you can actually eat too many vegetables, i.e. the amount of veg brings up your carb intake. I get snacky during the day at work and eat veg and an apple or something. Do I need to cut that out? Also, my diet is relatively low in fat.

Thanks for the feedback! It is greatly appreciated.

[Yvonne PHX]

Feeling better is a big deal.

Your diet does indeed look really low in fat. That was/is the hardest part of Primal for me and requires a lot of discipline. Maybe eat about half the frozen broccoli and cauliflower and put a bunch of pastured, organic butter on it. Yum. I would also get rid of one of the fruit snacks and replace it with some fat and protein.

[sophiek]

OK so you really can eat too many vegetables...it's so wierd reprogramming how you think and feel about food. I'm glad for the response because I want to just get going on the right foot.

[RitaRose]

You can, but most people don't eat enough. There's a happy medium somewhere in there. I'm having to up my intake.

[Yvonne PHX]

I actually recommended eating half only because you are probably going to feel full and sated by the butter.

[sophiek]

One more question: what would be an appropriate quantity of vegetables? I'm still just wrapping my head around the whole thing.

[Yvonne PHX]

One more question: what would be an appropriate quantity of vegetables? I'm still just wrapping my head around the whole thing.

Plug your food into fitday for a day or two and see how your carb/protien/fat ratio looks and then adjust. Once you see it on paper, it's easier to make determination.