In starting to struggle..... again page 2

[jammies]

Don't be too hard on yourself. I have been doing this for almost two years and go through phases where it is so easy I can't believe how lucky I am to have found primal eating and phases where I really struggle. There are a few things I have found that help me in the rough phases. First, I tend to go through a tough time if I have been eating the exact same foods for a long time - I guess I get bored. So I periodically try new recipes and flavors. Add some new spices or sauces to your food repertoire. I also think it is very natural to go through high carb phases and lower carb phases. So if you find yourself really wanting to eat a whole chocolate egg, make a bowl of full fat yogurt with some toasted coconut, fresh raspberries, a little honey, and some shaved dark chocolate on it. It will have the sweetness you are craving, but it will also relieve the fell-off-the wagon guilt that you are letting undermine your efforts. I eat plenty of fruit and sweet potatoes when I am having those craving.

The other tip that works for me when I feel things coming off the rails a bit is to do a little pre-emptive eating. I am normally a fan of eating when hungry, but sometimes when I have been eating a bit too much junk I find it helpful to get up and have a large high fat, high protein breakfast and do the same for lunch and dinner for a few days. It usually gets me back in line with eating quickly.

I do feel for you though. It would be very, very hard for me to stay primal if there was junk food in the house all the time. I think I would have to beg my significant other to keep the house primal. They can pick up snacks or whatever when they are out of the house, but not keep them in the house.

Good luck

ETA: Oh yeah -- the one rule that i think keeps me on track is that I never have two non-primal meals in a row. So if I eat a giant chocolate cake with dinner, no matter what I will not eat any non-primal food with breakfast. Even if I screw up again at lunch, I will only eat a primal dinner. Keeps things from spiraling too far down.

[pierro6]

Take an hour out your day when you're feeling particularly tempted by non primal eats, and have a leisurely look through the "Before and after" thread, it was seeing the results others have had that finally convinced me to seriously give the primal lifestyle a go, and that thread helps me through the rougher times

[Knifegill]

Go volunteer in a hospital for a week. You'll get to watch people just like you and me who couldn't get their eating habits reigned in. They are laying in beds waiting to have their feet amputated while STILL eating crackers and sandwiches and jello. Hopefully, the anger you will feel at the synthetic food industry will set you on a lifelong boycott of their products. Works for me, I see it everyday and it makes saying 'no' to the fake food realy easy. Eat this cupcake = eventual neuropathy. No thanks.

[abstractpersona]

Can your wife store her junk food somewhere else? Maybe under lock and key, so you have to go through the humiliation of asking her for the key before you get any? That kind of thing (well, not the key part, but 'out of sight out of mind' plus a little social pressure) works for me.

LOL!
My boyfriend does that for me! He bought a small security box and keeps popcorn, nuts, and... other things that I don't remember because they're out of sight!

I can't eat those things because I end up vomiting all day the next day, so having those on the lock box helps. I'm not accountable enough to have "just a handful once per week", and he doesn't want me to be sick, so he gives me just a little.

I know I could run to the store and buy something and pretend I never ate it, but why bother when I could just ask him? I'm less tempted to eat junk because I know there's "some in the box, if I want".

You do what you gotta do, right?

I have no restrictions on other treats, though, if I want cream and berries then I eat them. It's only the non primal stuff and things that make me sick.

[abstractpersona]

Ah, the boyfriend is also smart enough not to keep junk around the house. No spaghetti, no bread, no rice. If he wants some, he makes or buys enough for him to eat in one sitting, no more. He has seen how unhealthy I was, and doesn't want me to go back to those days.

Something for your wife to keep in mind. If you were a recovering alcoholic, would she keep alcohol in the house?

[chriswbread]

I know I have made the right choice going primal. I just need to accept that I will make mistakes sometimes. Eating lots of protein for a few days after is a excellent idea And yes I need to try other recipes as I seem to be eating the same things in the last month.

[cantat]

I'm glad I saw this thread, I've been having a bit of a struggle lately and this has a lot of good insight in it. One of my stumbling blocks is that I don't like cooking and I get tired of preparing my own food really quickly.

Syd

[TwinkiesnKetchup]

I'd barter with the wife. Saying no to junk food is not just good for you I'd tell her Honey I've got a goal to be healthy. I need your help. I need you to do <insert keep junk food out of the house> for < 3 months(?) or so> in exchange I'll do <insert bribe, shoot if someone offered to vaccum my floors, clean my toliet I would dance naked on table tops, so figure out what motivates your wife. I'd say after 3 months of no junk food in the house your wife will feel better and join you primally.

[TwinkiesnKetchup]

I'm glad I saw this thread, I've been having a bit of a struggle lately and this has a lot of good insight in it. One of my stumbling blocks is that I don't like cooking and I get tired of preparing my own food really quickly.

Syd

before going primal how did you prepare your foods? How many do you cook for?

[Drea6681]

Have you asked your wife to maybe not buy those kinds of things for the house? I'm sure she would support you and you can both be healthy together