New to this Primal thing page

[Vegemighty]

I saw John Durant on the Colbert Report the other day, and was intrigued by what he said. So I was looking around, and found this website.


My name is Ken, but you can call me Vegemighty. I'm in the Baltimore area, and its snowing again here.


I love grains, they're in almost everything I eat. I especially love donuts. mmmm donuts... But I'm thinking of trying to give it all up.


Whats the most difficult part of starting a paleo diet? I hear alot of people only eat once a day, is that something I should start? And finally, I'm currently living on campus. The food selection in the cafe is pretty poor for the diet. Its mostly pizza, waffles or these terrible hamburgers. Its not exactly a place where you can get steak. What should I do?

[Nekurahn]

hey Ken, welcome on board!


My first suggestion would be for you to read the book if you haven't already. Secondly, order coconut oil in bulk online. Since most of your calories will come from fat and that you seem to have limited options in your situation, coconut oil is great to have around. As for meat, you can google for non-industrial farms in your area if you've got the budget for it.

[Stabby]

You may indeed have to venture forth to a grocery store or better yet a farmer's market. Regardless of your nutritional disposition, nobody should be getting their meals from a cafeteria.

[Adventure8410]

Welcome Veg


I am a college kid too, living on campus and battling the cafeteria to keep primal. I admit that it is significantly more difficult to eat primal while stuck on a meal plan; however, it is far from impossible. The main thing I would suggest for you to do right now is research, start reading through Mark's site as well as other people's blogs, comments, posts, etc.

[erstad17]

Hey Vegemighty. I echo the previous posts. As far as eating. You can eat more than once a day. The great thing about this lifestyle is that you eat when you want to, not because you think you need to. I feel like I"m always eating but yet the results are awesome.

[Vegemighty]

So today, I had my first primal day. For breakfast, I had chicken teriyaki, a breakfast sausage, some hard boiled eggs and a salad. And for dinner, I had beef stew and a salad.


I kind of feel wierd. Is it from not having sugar?

[Grumpycakes]

There's sugar in the teriyaki sauce, I wager.


Sounds like today was a big change in your diet. All of that put together would be enough to make you feel "weird." Keep it up, though. You'll need to tough out the impeding brain fog that will come from carb withdrawal until your body adjusts.

[TheCasualWarrior]

Aloha, Vegemighty! Welcome to the Cave. There seems to be a certain amount of 'detox' when you change up from a High-carb diet to a Primal plan as your body gets used to the lack of sugar and carbs - It's to be expected - BUT if possible, try and give yourself 2 weeks to let your body make the change.. Sounds like you're off to a good start, though! Keep it up. Are you currently working out?

[Vegemighty]

I am not currently working out. Though I should probably start. I admit that exercise is my kryptonite. I don't like it at all. I usually lack the motivation to workout to where Im fit.


How should I start working out? Theres a lot of information out there. Too much if you ask me.

[Minxxa]

Hi Veg!


I'm somewhat of a newbie here myself, although I've been reading/working on my diet for the past few years due to health issues. Here's my thoughts...


1) Read a lot. There are tons of articles on this website in the archives... read them! LOL... I do have the book and I do recommend it, but 95% of that information is also available on this website in lovely bite-sized chunks. Start with articles on grains (and why they're not so good) and venture out from there...


2) Make small changes. Start with eliminating grains. Wait a bit and see how that goes... then try eliminating sugars, etc. Don't feel like you have to make ALL changes at the same time. You might want to and that's okay, but sometimes a little at a time can work better and end up with longer lasting results. One thing to consider in that is that eliminating processed carbs/sugar all at once might be a good idea. With some people (and I am one) if you eliminate them at once you go through a few days of withdrawal, and then stop craving them. But having them even in little doses can trigger cravings. This isn't the same for everybody... but something to be aware of...


3) Don't worry about exercise right away. Since you're not really an exercise person already, my opinion is that trying to radically change your diet and add exercise all at the same time can be sometimes too much to digest. Try changing diet first... and then you can work exercise in sneakily. Start with walking... if you have a dog, walk them. Grow slowly from there... dont' feel like you need to jump into a heavy exercise program straight off...


4) Visit the forums and read... even the old posts. Many times you might have questions which have already been asked and answered by this group that has a lot of knowledge. I read here every day-- sometimes going back to old posts. I learn a LOT that way and have really not ever had to ask a question yet because someone has already asked it at some point and I just read that post.


And lastly... don't worry about Intermittent Fasting at first. I have been pretty good eating for about 3 months, and almost 95% primal for the past 6 weeks. And I am just now getting to the point where I will IF. But I do it when my body feels like that's what it needs. For example, I tend to eat dinner when I get home around 4:30 or 4:45. And most times I don't eat again until the morning whenever I feel "hungry", which can be around 9:30ish. I eat a small breakfast, then lunch at around noon. (Usually a Big ass salad). Then a small dinner again at 4:30, repeat. Take the time to get your body used to real food... and then see what it does with it. Your mileage may vary.


Hope this helps a little.. and welcome. It's a whole new world!


M