Well, well, well, what's all this then? page

[captainperoxide]

Hi I'm Alex. I'm pretty new at this, I've been trying to do primal for a couple of days now. So far it's going well, I've already lost a couple of pounds. I already work out 3 times a week and walk pretty much everywhere I go on campus. As far as the quality of the food goes, I'm on a meal plan, so I can't really cook my own food, but I'm trying to eat as much vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs and plain meat as I can. It's not as organic as it should be, but it's better than nothing, right?

My primary goal is weight loss, although I don't have a specific number in mind. It's more about being happier with the way I look and feel. My problem right now is that, out of the stuff I can easily snack on, nuts, seeds and fruit are about the easiest things, which probably aren't things I should be eating too much of if I'm trying to lose weight. Can anyone recommend some easy primal snacks that are a little more interesting than carrying around a bag of carrots?

Gotta say though, I feel pretty crappy right now. I read in another thread that there's some kind of "withdrawal" period from grains, is that accurate? It would explain why I feel kinda sickly, I suppose.

[jfreaksho]

There are tons of threads regarding "carb flu", which is the withdrawal that you are talking about.

You want to get away from snacking as soon as possible. Snacking keeps your insulin elevated, which is what you need to avoid in order to lose weight. Eat meals, then don't eat until you are ready for another meal, at least 4 hours or so. This helps to eliminate eating out of habit or boredom, reset your satiety signals, and get you learning what hunger actually feels like. Yes, it sucks for a while, but snacking will likely prolong the transitional suffering.

In addition, like you said, convenient snacky foods like nuts, fruit (dried or fresh), and cheese often prevent weight loss in many people.

[captainperoxide]

Ah, I gotcha Thanks. I wasn't too clear on how that worked, I was kinda under the impression that you could eat more or less whenever you were a little hungry, as long as it was primal-approved food, but I guess it is better to just be hungry for a while and then eat a proper meal.

[jfreaksho]

Ah, I gotcha Thanks. I wasn't too clear on how that worked, I was kinda under the impression that you could eat more or less whenever you were a little hungry, as long as it was primal-approved food, but I guess it is better to just be hungry for a while and then eat a proper meal.

You can eat whenever you are hungry, and you should, but you have to make sure your hunger and satiety signals are working properly. A lot of people don't realize the difference between wanting food and physically needing to eat. A lot of times if I don't eat breakfast, then a couple hours into work I'll have a growly stomach. If I ignore it, the growliness lasts about 15 minutes, and I don't actually need to eat anything until hours later. I start work at 5 am and often don't eat anything until 2pm.

The easiest way to do get those signals working properly is to eat three solid meals per day. After a while, you'll notice that you aren't always hungry at "mealtime" which means your hunger and satiety signals are working again. Another signal for some people is leaving food on the plate and having no desire for it. At this point, "eating when hungry" means that you eat a couple times per day, three at most, and not necessarily at regular times.

[captainperoxide]

Thank you for all the advice Much appreciated.

[Ande]

Hey and welcome! I am new to the forums but have been primal since about June.

I completely and wholeheartedly agree with everything that has been said so far. Eating 2-3 times a day with no snacking is optimal.

However, if you ever do find yourself needing a snack I'd go for hard boiled eggs. It has a mixture of protein and fat which will keep you satisfied longer than fruit will, and without the blood sugar spike. Plus, you can boil a bunch one day and keep them stocked up in your fridge.

As far as the not feeling so good right now, yeah, that is normal. Keep with it, it too shall pass. Just make sure you are well fed so you are not tempted to go back to grains or processed food.

Oh and btw, I'm not insulting your intelligence by posting the recipe for hard boiled eggs below, I just know there are many ways to do it and this is by far the easiest and yields consistent results.

Find a pot that can hold about 1 dozen eggs, and that has a lid
Place eggs (right out of the fridge) and cold water in the pot until the eggs are just covered by the water
Place pot on stove on high heat
As soon as the water starts to boil, take the pot off the heat, put the lid on and let it be for 15 min.
Perfect eggs every time!

Good luck on your journey!

[demuralist]

If the carb flu does not go away in a week or so, I would try to add a bit more veggies (ie. slightly increase the carbs), I could not get rid of mine until I got up to about 50g of carb a day. A very low carb just didn't work for me. Although if you are eating fruit, you are likely getting plenty.

I also agree with the above suggestions. Eat a full meal if you are hungry and eat until you are satisfied. If you have eaten enough fat and protein that should hold you over until your next meal. I usually do 3 a day, with about 5 or 6 hours in between and am doing well now with weight loss.

Good luck, eating well on a meal plan is a bit of work, but don't let it stress you, there is enough to stress about and stress, as well as a lack of sleep slows the fat loss.

[xmikew]

I tried snacking for months with nuts and stuff and gained weight even though I was eating clean
no more. Down a pants size in three weeks
Mike

[sbhikes]

Whatever you do, if you are new, do not listen to your body. Read this. The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. » Tips & tricks for starting (or restarting) low-carb Pt I

[captainperoxide]

Ahh, everyone's so helpful I really appreciate all the advice. I've been doing my best to snack less, eat bigger meals and so forth. I'm doing pretty well so far, although I have slipped on a couple of occasions, but I'm well within the 80/20 rule, so I think I'm okay. Apart from my stomach. My stomach was not happy. Which is good in the long run, because it makes me even less inclined to eat any non-primal carbs.