Welcome to whiney town..sorry- long pity party. page

[mamaparks]

So when I first stumbled across Primal/Paleo I was 204lbs- I had lost weight going from 220 down to 189 on Weight Watchers and had gained it back. I followed this way of eating for a week in the summer and lost about 10 lbs and then vacation came and I reverted back to my old ways because it was just easier to do so for me at the time. Fast forward to today...
I weighed in this morning at 217. At home we eat primal but the problem is the eating out and dessert. Sweets have always been my downfall and I am having issues kicking that. And eating out is a stress reliever for my husband and I. Anytime we needed to decompress eating out is how we did it...we could eat and get really lost in a deep conversation without having to worry about cooking or cleaning. So I know I gained the weight from the eating out and the sweets. It seems like after a savory meal I just crave sweets and I could eat 2 candy bars a night- in fact last night I did just that. My pants are so tight I want to wear pj's all day (i'm a stay-at-home mom so I could in reality) and I just overall am over being fat.
I thought about reverting back to weight watchers but honestly I believe the primal way is the right way and I want to do the best thing for me and my family. I want my kids to grow up knowing this way of eating. The reason I have been eating out so much lately is this: I go shopping and get the groceries and I am ready to make my primal meals for the week. I wake up in the morning and don't feel like making eggs and bacon... and when I do my kitchen is a mess afterwards and I don't feel like cleaning in the morning with kids going strong (not a morning person). And then because of lack of wanting to dirty the kitchen or energy to make a meal I don't eat again until dinner which falls around 9 most nights...I don't personally see a problem with this as I don't really feel hungry if I did eat breakfast. So then it's dinner time and I have a recipe from whatever primal/paleo blog I visited to try. I make it and it is wonderful, we love it and I wish I had leftovers for the next day to make life easier. But I never do. And I have a complete mess on my hands in the kitchen.
If this sounds like I am being lazy- maybe so, but until you are at home all day with 2 yr old twins I don't really want to hear it. This is long winded I know but I guess my issue that I want help with is making this lifestyle as no-brainer as what my old one used to be. I am struggling with making this come naturally.

Okay I just read back over this and realize I sound like a crazy person who is whining. I guess what I was trying to vocalize never came across... I am very much a person who likes a path to her day. I don't want everything set in stone but I like a rough draft. For instance- in a typical SAD this is my day:
Bfast- skip it or have a nutrigrain bar
Lunch- leftovers
Dinner- something different every night
Dessert- cupcakes/candy bars/ice cream
So I knew everyday what it was. And with primal I know what my dinner is everyday and breakfast if I have the energy to make it... but really for breakfast I would like leftovers. I just haven't figured out my amount of food needed for the week when shopping yet to do this. Also if I doubled every recipe I would be shelling out about 300.00 per week and we just can't afford that. I guess it will just take time to get used to having this as my new way of eating. I think growing up with the conventional way of eating has hurt me... for instance. How easy is it to ensure there are leftovers when making vegetarian meals- beans and pasta are cheap and endless. With meats, which I never really ate a lot of I am finding it harder to know exactly how much of this and that I need to buy at the store and then when I forgot an ingredient or didn't calculate right guess what happens- out to eat. I am probably making this harder than it is and just feeling sorry for myself. But if anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. I would love to replace bacon and eggs with leftovers as I am already sick of eggs.

[tradawg]

While you're making dinner, and already making a mess of the kitchen, throw a frittata in the oven to have for breakfast for a few days. Eggs/frozen veggies are affordable and it's pretty quick to put together. Things like tuna, canned salmon and a bag of spinich, will make a quick, affordable, no mess lunch. The cravings for sweets could simply be because you're not eating enough throughout the day, and you're looking for a quick source of energy. Make some coconut bark instead.

[mamaparks]

How is coconut bark made?

[tradawg]

Melt a few tablespoons of coconut oil, some things you could mix in: some shredded coconut, unsweetened cocoa, cinnamon, almond butter....put in the freezer and within 20 minutes, coconut bark.

[activia]

How about a protein shake in the morning? That is minimal mess. I also hard boil eggs the night before and mix it with homemade mayo and cooked spinach and put it in the fridge for breakfast the next day if I dont have time to make it. For now I would suggest eating something non-sweet when you are craving sweets. I knwo this won't satisfy you and it probably wont be good for weight loss however it will help you get over your sweet cravings. You need to go 100% for at least 3 weeks to get this down to something more managable. I also found IF helps me really get it together that I want food not crap. As for going out to eat I would suggest to look for primal things on the menu. It will take time but you will get better at making quicker primal meals and it will get easier. Try to buy bigger cuts of meat that are usually cheaper as well, for example a brisket, or whole chicken. Then you have many meals at once. I wouldnt say you need to double your grocery budget just buy bigger cheaper cuts more often.

[June]

I definitely understand where you are coming from and you sound very confused. You really need a game plan and you can make one for yourself. One thing I noticed is that you say you eat out a lot... well two things about that: (1) you can eat primal out, just get a veggie and meat dish; (2) you will have more money for groceries if you don't eat out a lot. Going for a walk with your husband still lets you get lost in conversation and it is a great de-stressor. At this stage in the game (I was over 200 also), even small changes are going to yield results - so you don't need to feel overwhelmed, just take it one step at a time. You can follow this plan, I really like it: Archevore - Archevore Diet

[activia]

Oh also, the longer you go 100% the high sensitivity you will have to the sweets..then one day literally pig out on somethign like brownies.. you will feel ILL. Then you can associate your beloved sweets with an ILL feeling (like happened to me with vodka back in the day). - Coming from a recovering sugaraholic and recovering yo-yo dieter. Think of your sweets like a drink of alcohol is to an alcoholic. I would stay away from anything sweet for 3 weeks including fruit. This is just from my personal experience, that is when my cravings actually started dissapaiting. Then fruit will begin to taste very sweet to you as well.

[fitmom]

I can completely relate. A few things will help. First, I've found that getting a quick burst of exercise helps my energy. Racing up the stairs every now and then, grabbing the pull-up bar for a few (almost) pull ups. nothing complicated or involved.

Second, google once-a-month cooking recipes. A lot of the roasts and crockpot dishes are primal. There are fantastic recipes for pre-cooked egg/sausage combos baked in muffin tins.

This link from the challenge has more recipes, and links to sites that link to great recipes, than you'll know what to do with:
Contest: Share a Primal Recipe Link | Mark's Daily Apple
This site has great recipes, easily scaled up or down, and easy to adapt:
Once A Month Cooking | Freezer Cooking | Once A Month Mom

You don't necessarily have to cook once a month....but it sure is nice to take a Sunday, cook a few meals, and know that when evening comes, you can defrost dinner quicker than it takes to go pick up takeout. And with almost no mess.
Definitely helps the budget, too.

Twins? Two years old? Go get a massage!!

[lucyh]

Now is the perfect time of year for soups and stews, and a big pot isn't any more work than a smaller batch. We make a huge pot on the weekend and it lasts for several days, and we eat BIG bowls full. I've even just heated up broth and thrown in a handful of spinach and then poached a couple eggs right in it. It's really nice on a cold morning and you'd only have one pan to wash.

Maybe make egg muffins at the beginning of the week and then you'd just have to warm them in the morning.

Sweet potatoes really help me with sweet cravings. About three weeks in to eating this way I started craving a cupcake. I had a sweet potato and the craving went away. I still regularly indulge in dark chocolate too. I think that helps me stay away from worse stuff, because it's just sweet enough. Milk chocolate seems way to sugary to me now.

I totally get the pajama pants thing, I used to regularly have pajama days on the weekend because I was too worn out from the week to want to get dressed, especially since all my clothes were ugly and too tight and uncomfortable. Now I love getting dressed in the morning and haven't had a pajama day in months! Stick with it, this alone is worth it!

[ChocoTaco369]

Throw all the junk in the house away and stop buying it. You can't smoke cigarettes if you don't have any. Don't restrict your fruit or sweet potato intake, either, at least at first. Including Primal starches should curb your carb cravings, and you'll get your carb cravings in the form of sweet potato instead of corn syrup. After you completely break the sugar habit, then reduce carbs for weight loss.