What's worse? page

[Aloe]

Hey everyone!

I've been semi-primal for about 3 and a half weeks. I haven't been as successful as I would wish (lost only 3 pounds), and even though I think all of the things I'm going to list are working against me, I would like to know which of those things is the worst.

The context:

• No exercising beyond walking for an hour once a week.

• Chocolate after dinner. Counting this in, my total carbs are still under a 100 a day, 30 grs of chocolate= 18 grs of carbs after dinner. This number goes to about 6 carbs now that I'm having 85% chocolate.

• One binge day a week for the past 3 weeks. Trying to eliminate that from this week onwards.

• I was just diagnosed with borderline hypothyroidism (because of this I chose not to take medicine for it).

• Fasting: I wake up around 10.30am, and don't eat until lunch at noon. Then we have dinner around 6pm. Then sometimes we'll have a no-carbs snack around 10.30 if we're too hungry. According to the leptin posts, fasting when you're still resistant works against you.

I'm a slow-approach kinda gal; I need some success before going for it full force. I have no will power. I'm sticking to this way of eating because of its health factor, but I think that to be totally healthy I do need to lose weight.

The "hypothyroidism" and my recent move to another country (no job, no friends) have me very low energy mood-wise, so it's been really tough to start doing exercise. I do intend to change that, but a little boost would help!

What do you guys think? What is so bad that I haven't lost weight yet? Which change will make the most significant impact?

Thanks for your input!

[Paleobird]

Your week 4 looks great. Now just make them all that way and you will make some real progress.

ANY snacking, regardless of macro levels, outside of meals is going to kick your body out of the "burn the food storage" program and into the "Incoming food! Store this away" mode. So, meals only. I know it's hard but after a little while you totally lose the urge to snack. I think a lot of it is really about boredom and/or habit, not real hunger.

Keep at it. You are doing better and better each week.

[Misabi]

Your week 4 looks great. Now just make them all that way and you will make some real progress.

ANY snacking, regardless of macro levels, outside of meals is going to kick your body out of the "burn the food storage" program and into the "Incoming food! Store this away" mode. So, meals only. I know it's hard but after a little while you totally lose the urge to snack. I think a lot of it is really about boredom and/or habit, not real hunger.

Keep at it. You are doing better and better each week.

Only thing I'd add to this is try and move around a bit more than just a single one hour session per week.
Even if you can get out (not sure what the weather's like where you are) for a 15 mins walk per day you'll notice the difference, have a dance, zumba anything... the more fun you have the better

[Paleobird]

Only thing I'd add to this is try and move around a bit more than just a single one hour session per week.
Even if you can get out (not sure what the weather's like where you are) for a 15 mins walk per day you'll notice the difference, have a dance, zumba anything... the more fun you have the better

I agree. Try to do *something* physical every day, even if it is only a short walk or putting on the tunes and "dancing like nobody is watching".

[AndreaReina]

You need to get your thyroid into place before anything will move -- if you're not taking medication, what are you doing to remedy the situation? You'll want to get enough iodine and selenium (at the minimum), both of which are tricky without supplements. A 12-15 oysters a week will take care of the selenium, but iodine is difficult to get without supplementing, especially if you avoid seaweed (bromides, other compounds interfere with thyroid function). Low carb is also typically contra-indicated in hypothyroid, so try to get at least 100g (net) a day.

[Adrianag]

You need to try to walk every day. The rest looks pretty good.

[john_e_turner_ii]

I don't want to get into a calories in/calories out debate. This is just my opinion and experience. There are some people with great success in here that can eat unlimited primal calories as long as they keep carbs low, and they still seem to get ripped. I tried it, and I am not one of them. For me, even if I keep carbs under 100, just to maintain my weight I have to keep calories to an average of about 2000 per day. To lose fat, I have to drop it down from there, usually to around 1500-1600 to see any real fat loss. That is on top of walking at least 4 miles per day, sprints once or twice per week and weight training three times per week. Most people will say I am not eating enough, and I would agree based on what I have seen from many others in here. Again, each person is a little different, and maybe being 40 has something to do with it as well.

My suggestion before adjusting calories is to get your diet in line with the primal program on a consistent basis for at least 6-8 weeks to see how your body reacts to the change in diet. Not eating grains and sweets, might have an impact on your metabolism, as well as the increased activity, and you could see some fat loss. If not, then after a few months you might try going down a bit on your average daily food intake to see if that makes any difference.

[glorth2]

A) You need to walk more than an hour a week. At least 3 times a week if not more.
B) No more "binge day per week". 1 binge meal or so is debateble but you are nowhere near 80/20.
C) You sleep 'til 10:30? I'm all about waking up when your body wants to but this is late. Considering everything else you wrote here I suspect you're suffering from depression and while eating primally, esp getting plenty of omega 3s can help with that you may need to take something for it.
D) The chocolate you're eating after dinner should be at least 70% cocoa or you are really just kidding yourself and not eating primally.

[tradawg]

Pretty much what everyone else said. Get a walk in everyday, even if it's just 20 minutes. Don't go too low with the carbs if you're hypothyroid, that would work against you...try to keep it around 80-100 gr. Try to drop the binge day, easier said than done, but this could really be hindering your progress. If you feel binge-y get busy to take your mind off it, but also make sure you're eating enough so you don't get too hungry. Worry about calories once you've got the hang of things.

[PrimalBaker]

What are you eating exactly? You could be low-no carb but eating crap. As in, you say your are semi-primal so you could be buying Atkins bars for all we know and using that for sustenance. Are you eating the foods you should be, such as meat and fish? Lots of veggies? Not too many nuts. Move more.

I've suffered depression and I've also moved to new countries (where I didn't know the language) with no friends other than my family. I understand the feelings associated with this. Going full on Primal really helps with the depression. Trust the Primal! Don't slow-go it, just jump in and enjoy the food. Keep your carbs at 75 or below each day (seriously, not an average for the week, but daily), get outside in the sun and walk your new neighborhood most days. Your mood will lift, your weight will decrease and you will feel incredible. Also, I don't think bingeing is a good idea. A cheat/binge meal is not going to help you stay Primal. You look forward to it too much and then you may end up letting things slide during the week. Finish out this month as Primal as possible. and post here (or start a journal on the journal page to get out your thoughts and feelings) to seek advice or get encouragement.