New to Primal! Help/advice welcome page

[scjohnson243]

Little behind starting my journal here..

Little background, at the end of 2010 I was 336lbs - one day I decided I was going to make some changes, I started researching diets and through a lot of trial and error by the middle of the year I was down to about 260.. I got pretty burned out and quit watching what I was eating, quit jogging, etc... Short story I'm back to 291 as of last week and kinda depressed about it, I had tried to restart dieting, and no matter what I do my weight would drop down to about 288 and then back to 290, constant yo-yo'ing... I was jogging about 4-5 miles a day and just got sick of it...

Fast forward to last week, I bought Marks book and it all made a LOT of sense, I know the diets I was on I could not maintain for a lifetime.. With primal I feel like I COULD maintain this..

I started last Thursday 2/9/12 and I couldn't wait and got on the scale yesterday and I was 288 again!!

Menu for the day!
Breakfast: 2 Eggs(whole!), diced up few oz's of turkey, spinach omelet...
Lunch: Few more pieces of turkey (prob 4-5oz) and some greens (Spinach, lettuce)
Dinner tonight was a plate full of grilled asparagus(with butter!) and beef "Biscuit"
I had a weak moment and ate a taco that was laying on the counter, (damned Kids) oh well, Tomorrow will be cleaner!

I also cooked up some brussel sprouts for the first time, and realized I *HATED* them.... So those are off the menu!

Any advice on food would be welcome!!!

[Gay Panda]

Ugh, brussels sprouts are on my NO NO NO list, too.

I don't know if you mean advice on the food you ate or advice on primal food in general, but I really like the Cross-Rib Roast recipe on Robb Wolf's website. I make that frequently and it lasts for a few days.

Good luck!

[Orannhawk]

Try the brussels sprouts again ... I've never cared for them boiled, but when I lived in Cali, I was at a dinner where the host had cut them in half, tossed them with a little sea salt, olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar, then roasted them on a cookie sheet in the oven until they were slightly browned. Absolutely amazing. I've made a variation of the same in a cast iron skillet using bacon drippings, then adding in crisp bacon after the sprouts were browned and nicely glazed.

Welcome to Primal scjohnson243 ...
Hide the scale now.

As far as food goes, I tend to go simple with my meals, and I've doing IF since the 23rd of December and loving it. I include a lot of greens, spinach, kale, mustard, cabbage, watercress ... and then add in other veggies, meat, eggs, occasionally a few nuts.
I find recipes here on MDA, Robb's site, as well as Nom Nom Paleo, Everyday Paleo .... there are a lot of fabulous paleo/primal sites online with some great recipes.

[scjohnson243]

Thanks you two! Orannhawk that sounds really good - I think I'll give them another try! I mean, how bad could it REALLY be its got bacon! I need to look into more details of the Whole30, I want to give it a shot, but need to learn more about it. I see you like True Blood, I caught a few episodes with my wife and now love to watch it!

Hiding the scale is hard (I got on it again this morning, was a mistake because it shows 289, I know it fluctuates, but its still depressing) I'm going to make an effort to only get on it once a month or something to see any changes, it will be hard.


Food today!
Breakfast Three Eggs, over sauteed Broccoli (was out of spinach)
and I left some of the meat out I was going to use this morning to make lunch with - and ran out of time, so I'm lunchless today, I hope the eggs and butter hold me over! I did grab a handful of unsalted Macadama(sp) nuts out of the pantry along with a few pieces of "organic" beef jerky in case I get too hungry... Off to grab my coffee (I still use sugar, its the only time I use it, its the one crutch I dont want to drop right away, I cant seem to drink it black/Unsweetened)

No idea on dinner - Will have to look when I get home!

Edit: I saw the TrueBlood Quote and somehow COMPLETELY missed the Serenity/Firefly References!!! *LOVE* that show!! Best show on TV to get canceled.

[Orannhawk]

Thanks you two! Orannhawk that sounds really good - I think I'll give them another try! I mean, how bad could it REALLY be its got bacon! I need to look into more details of the Whole30, I want to give it a shot, but need to learn more about it. I see you like True Blood, I caught a few episodes with my wife and now love to watch it!

Hiding the scale is hard (I got on it again this morning, was a mistake because it shows 289, I know it fluctuates, but its still depressing) I'm going to make an effort to only get on it once a month or something to see any changes, it will be hard.


Food today!
Breakfast Three Eggs, over sauteed Broccoli (was out of spinach)
and I left some of the meat out I was going to use this morning to make lunch with - and ran out of time, so I'm lunchless today, I hope the eggs and butter hold me over! I did grab a handful of unsalted Macadama(sp) nuts out of the pantry along with a few pieces of "organic" beef jerky in case I get too hungry... Off to grab my coffee (I still use sugar, its the only time I use it, its the one crutch I dont want to drop right away, I cant seem to drink it black/Unsweetened)

No idea on dinner - Will have to look when I get home!

Edit: I saw the TrueBlood Quote and somehow COMPLETELY missed the Serenity/Firefly References!!! *LOVE* that show!! Best show on TV to get canceled.

I love True Blood and Firefly ... still do a marathon of Firefly, followed by Serenity on a regular basis. Hooked on Sons of Anarchy and Dexter now too ...
Yeah, bacon makes everything better !
Whole 30 is actually pretty easy, although you will have to bid a fond farewell to the sugar ... I only have coffee a few times a week now, after I've been at gym. I had to experiment with different blends to find one that I liked without any sweetener.
I started drinking coffee when I was about 9, with my grandfather ... handfuls of it thrown into an enamel pot, boiled until thick, then tons of sugar poured into the cup. There was usually so much sugar in the mug - it didn't all dissolve, so I would scoop it out (along with the grounds that were always present) and eat it. All that caffeine and sugar gave a whole new meaning to the term "wild child" .... LOL.

[scjohnson243]

Big Sons fan too! cant wait till the new season! I tried Dexter, and watched the entire first season but just never went back and watched any more!

Good few days!

First off, we are getting a new Fridge and dishwasher installed so our kitchen is WRECKED, plumbers have been out a few times and everytime they leave something else is wrong, of course we have already paid them so no matter how much I just want to get someone else, its like throwing money away... ugh...

Last night dinner was great - I went to the store and bought some flank steak, beat it for a few minutes with a tenderizer then sliced it into thin slices (I also bought bunch of bellpeppers, onions and jalapenos). I got home diced up the onions and peppers let them sautee for a bit (in butter of course) and then added the steak and let it cook down - (after a lot of seasoning) then I cut some romaine lettuce up and made wrap - added the beef and onion/pepper mix to the lettuce, added a bit of advacado(sp) on the top and ate... Was really good! I definitely will do it again.

My son requested Pizza and because he has been doing well in school we went ahead and ordered a few pizzas for him and my daughter.. I made it all night without touching it.. I usually convince myself of something that ends up with me eating at least one piece. . Not last night, I was clean all day!

This marks my ONE week Primal journey - with a few hiccups along the way (ate bad sunday) and when I got on the scale this morning, 287! Thats 4lbs in a week! I have purposely not done any exercise just because I was a bit burned out and wanted to see if I could lose weight just on the diet alone. (My mother has bad arthritis and is overweight - she has had a few knee surgeries last year and is not really into exercise, if I can lose weight like this without it, so could she)

I found a few local grass fed, pastured animal farms here in Louisiana and am trying to swallow the idea of buying a whole side of beef at once (its like 800 bucks!) but it works out to about $7 a pound... Still going back and forth with it - right now still just trying to buy the better stuff at the grocery store, but at some point I will be ordering better meat at least once to try and see what differences they are...

So the primal guys are pretty slick - this diet isn't "magic", it all comes down to calories in vs Calories out to lose weight - I just realized that this is working for *ME* because I dont ever really feel hungry anymore, so I eat less, which mean less calories... (Thank you fat) - The foods I am eating are much higher quality than the average I would say. I was trying to lose weight a month ago on a regular breakfast (omelet, Frozen lunch lean cuisine, and then a normal dinner) and I *ALWAYS* felt hungry...

For whatever reason, I do notice I seem to be sleeping better, and I'm in a better mood more often than not now. All in all I think a great week, I have made a few mistakes and I have found a few more things I really enjoy eating. I am probably going to add back in my normal 3x a week weight training next week and go from there...

There is a Kickboxing gym I have been dying to go look at, I would have to go after work, which sucks (Less time with the wife and kids ) but I think it is something I would be interested in learning - I just hope I wont be the only fat guy there dying in the middle of the workout... And I hope its a "real" gym to learn kickboxing, not just some aerobics class disguised. I really want to learn to box.

Breakfast today:
3 eggs and spinach omelet (cooked in butter)
Lunch is a bowl of Broccoli steamed with butter and about 5-6 oz of ground chicken/peppers...
Dinner tonight is not decided as usual... May do more flank steak with mashed cauliflower... Not sure!

One more day till friday!

[scjohnson243]

lol.. just ate about 15 macadamia nuts and looked at my stats for the day for carb/fat/prot so far... talk about skewed....

Guess i should eat more protein tonight for dinner.

[scjohnson243]

Quick update: 285 this morning.