My Primal Challenge page 3

[bellavida]

I love jicama, it's a root and it's so crunchy & I eat with lime juice, a bit of salt and cayenne pepper. It's a great low-carb snack. It's also good dipped in guacamole. Eggs with salsa (home-made of course) is a breakfast staple...different ways. My favorite way to have them, is to beat them in a bowl, add some diced onion & a bit of salt and then proceed to cook it omelet style in a pan with either olive oil or butter. When they are just done, add a liberal amount of what we call chile rojo (a salsa made with dried arbol chiles, garlic, and tomatoes and/or tomatillos), and a bit of chicken broth & salt to taste (if I don't have chicken broth I use water and add a smidgen of chicken soup base from Penzey's). Let the mixture come to a simmer and then dig in with a spoon (pre-primal days I'd dig in with a corn tortilla). A great replacement for rice as a side.....is cabbage slaw. It will be your new friend if you love cabbage, finely shred some cabbage either red or green, add salt, lime juice, diced tomato and cilantro. It really is delicious and filling, you won't even have room for rice...on your plate or in your stomach. These are just a few ideas....I have many more!

Pozole...my husband (who's not primal) is begging me to make again in the next couple weeks. So I plan on just eating the pork, the spicy broth, and the usual condiments of shredded cabbage, lime, onions and radishes. I'll let the rest of 'em eat the pozole.

[dave155]

I'm rooting for you, Dave! There are several obstacles to finally transitioning to being fully Primal. At least for me, first there's the losing of grains. Then there's figuring how to eat lunch at work - where will you dine-out on the run and when will you make a habit of making your own lunch ahead of time. Then, and this at least is very common for women, I realized fighting sugar cravings got a lot easier when I completely took out dairy and fruit (probably because we generally have less muscle than men).

I finally am fighting with more success lately the battle against everyone else's judgement about my diet and exercise. I just got my master's from UC Berkeley, so I especially get crap for being some overly food-conscious snob. But it's getting easier to force them into accepting it and dismissing the judgement. The fact is that we're at an unprecedented point in the whole history of human civilization. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any culture has struggled with obesity the way ours has. And our culture mostly hasn't figured out what to do about it. We know the real reason there's an obesity epidemic: insulin resistance. And we know the only real way to fix that is to cut down on all the extra sugar and carbohydrates (that are quickly changed into even more sugar) while building our strength, not wearing down our knees.

Thanks Lex, I'm rooting for you too!

Lunch out is a challenge. It's usually a salad w some meat on top for me. If I can prepare it great, if I have to eat out, that's what I'll order (basalmic on the side please) Otherwise, I like Chipotle. Their ingredients are less offensive and you can choose exactly what goes in your bowl. The servers there usually feel sorry for me when I don't get rice or beans and load me up when I ask for a little extra grilled vegetables and meat.

I get the sugar cravings too. In my family, I am a known sugar binger. The kids get scared when they see me take out the cookies, because there is a good chance there won't be any left when I'm done. I haven't had the craving since going primal last week.. Hopefully the elimination of fruit and reduction of dairy will work for me as well! Time will tell....

Your point about our culture is a big one. I just try to go about my business quietly, order and eat the best foods I can find, and not bring it up. When people ask, I answer them politely and shortly. If they get interested, I tell them what I believe. Otherwise I keep my mouth shut. I fully realize this is not a normal thing. Look what "normal" is right now...

I think it will get worse before it gets better. I hope I'm wrong on that

[dave155]

I love jicama, it's a root and it's so crunchy & I eat with lime juice, a bit of salt and cayenne pepper. It's a great low-carb snack. It's also good dipped in guacamole. Eggs with salsa (home-made of course) is a breakfast staple...different ways. My favorite way to have them, is to beat them in a bowl, add some diced onion & a bit of salt and then proceed to cook it omelet style in a pan with either olive oil or butter. When they are just done, add a liberal amount of what we call chile rojo (a salsa made with dried arbol chiles, garlic, and tomatoes and/or tomatillos), and a bit of chicken broth & salt to taste (if I don't have chicken broth I use water and add a smidgen of chicken soup base from Penzey's). Let the mixture come to a simmer and then dig in with a spoon (pre-primal days I'd dig in with a corn tortilla). A great replacement for rice as a side.....is cabbage slaw. It will be your new friend if you love cabbage, finely shred some cabbage either red or green, add salt, lime juice, diced tomato and cilantro. It really is delicious and filling, you won't even have room for rice...on your plate or in your stomach. These are just a few ideas....I have many more!

Pozole...my husband (who's not primal) is begging me to make again in the next couple weeks. So I plan on just eating the pork, the spicy broth, and the usual condiments of shredded cabbage, lime, onions and radishes. I'll let the rest of 'em eat the pozole.

Wow, that's great information. I printed it out. Thank you!

I didn't even think of jicama, everyone loves it! I've never thought about having guac with it. I'll try it this week.

I know how strong you're being. My wife will not change her diet mostly because she refuses to give up tortillas, but if I can get us home for dinner, I can control the meals better. That way I'm simply not around the chips, beans, tortillas, hominy, etc... It doesn't sound like you have that luxury.

That's why I started this journal and reached out to people here. I need the support.

[Lex26]

I just try to go about my business quietly, order and eat the best foods I can find, and not bring it up. When people ask, I answer them politely and shortly. If they get interested, I tell them what I believe. Otherwise I keep my mouth shut. I fully realize this is not a normal thing. Look what "normal" is right now...

Man, if I could not discuss it at all that would be ideal. But, it's inevitable. At first it was easier to avoid more social dining altogether, but now I realize I need to just tell people, this is how I'm eating. I don't really feel like giving a dissertation every time I eat in front of people, which is what a lot of people want when they get curious and/or get ready to pounce on you for trying something Atkins-like. I find the easiest way to get cashiers, waiters and strangers to understand is to just tell them I'm already diabetic, even though I'm not. For some reason it's okay to alter your diet this way if you're already that sick, not if you want to keep yourself from being really sick. As you said, what's considered "normal" is quite freakish these days.

[bellavida]

I agree...it's hard not to discuss it. At work I get "free lunch", and if you avoid the potatoes, rice or overcooked pasta, right away everyone thinks you're on Atkins and people ask. I've told a few people I am avoiding all grains, the big one being wheat since it is ubiquitous. Even good friends that know I have PCOS and am susceptible to diabetes and insulin resistance, think the best way is everything in moderation? Really, because if my body knew how to moderate carb intake....I wouldn't have gotten to 212 pounds! A co-worker of mine who is also following the primal way (and lost 30 pounds with little to no exercise) just tells them she has celiac disease but then because we work in life insurance underwriting (we basically read medical records all day and determine what premium to charge you based on your medical records, health exam and blood-work) and everyone knows what that is they wants details...was it confirmed by colonoscopy, what markers were positive, what signs/symptoms did you first have? It's exhausting.

[dave155]

I agree...it's hard not to discuss it. At work I get "free lunch", and if you avoid the potatoes, rice or overcooked pasta, right away everyone thinks you're on Atkins and people ask. I've told a few people I am avoiding all grains, the big one being wheat since it is ubiquitous. Even good friends that know I have PCOS and am susceptible to diabetes and insulin resistance, think the best way is everything in moderation? Really, because if my body knew how to moderate carb intake....I wouldn't have gotten to 212 pounds! A co-worker of mine who is also following the primal way (and lost 30 pounds with little to no exercise) just tells them she has celiac disease but then because we work in life insurance underwriting (we basically read medical records all day and determine what premium to charge you based on your medical records, health exam and blood-work) and everyone knows what that is they wants details...was it confirmed by colonoscopy, what markers were positive, what signs/symptoms did you first have? It's exhausting.

I don't understand it. Why are people so damn judgemental? Anyone who tries to get healthy is wierd!?! Moderation is helpful, but doesn't get you there either. Have you tried the calories in/calories burned aproach? I was hungry all the time. My wife is doing it now and if she doesn't eat right away after work, she's in trouble. You'd people would be more open to change... Look where the SAD (and SMD) has gotten us.

My motto this year is to not care what people think. In business or personal life. It's always held me back and I wonder where I'd be if I had adopted this attitude years ago?

[dave155]

I've felt kinda flat yesterday and today. I was wondering if I haven't been eating enough or enough fat then today I read a little about carb flu. Could be that too. Need to research it more tomorrow..

Meals today:

B - 3 egg spinach omlette

L - Chicken w chard

S - nuts

D - grilled pork steak w baby spinach salad

S - several pieces of chololate

My first mistake since starting.

[bellavida]

I had some chocolate too! It was 85% cacao though. I just had to have it and for some reason just a couple squares was enough. The rest of your day was great though....overall you're probably still within target for carbs.

[Lex26]

A co-worker of mine who is also following the primal way (and lost 30 pounds with little to no exercise) just tells them she has celiac disease

Yeah, I've thought of saying I have both diabetes and celiac. But then, just as in your situation, I think people want to know the details of how you discover something like that and if you sound like you're faking, on top of being fat, you're a hypochondriac. It's hardest to deal with people who are thinner than you who eat bread all the time because they instantly think they're living proof that our line of thinking is bull.

[Lex26]

My motto this year is to not care what people think. In business or personal life. It's always held me back and I wonder where I'd be if I had adopted this attitude years ago?

Right on! That's some additional incentive to overcoming this judgmental hump. If we can overcome this big one, all the others are going to seem effortless in comparison.