A bunch of silly questions from a newbie page

[brightside]

After spending the entire weekend reading and researching this stuff, I made the decision to jump in cold turkey and head first today. Coming off a mostly fast food diet, I am very irritable already. However, I am committed and determined, so please bear with me.

Firstly, can someone review my day so far and tell me if I'm on track?
9:15 AM:
Coffee, black
10:30 AM:
2 eggs scrambled in
Olive oil with
Peppers and onions
Half a grapefruit
11:45 AM:
Apple
2:30 PM:
Handful of nuts
3:15 PM:
Lean boneless pork chop grilled with
Olive Oil
Chopped tomato
Half a small avocado

Secondly, here are some questions I have:

What is with the butter? Butter is allowed? I have to admit, I have always bought some lower fat, not really butter, butter. Just checked the ingredients... lots of stuff I can't pronounce, so it's going in the trash, right? But butter, real butter... says "contains milk." Milk? Dairy? Why is this allowed? I'm confused.

Sweet potatoes... yes or no? Why all the controversy? Which leads to....

What to eat before and after I run? (Yes, I'm a runner, and no, I'm not ready to give it up yet.)

Can we really eat any cut of meat? As in, steak? Any kind of steak? I know nothing about buying steak.

Am I supposed to eat protien, veggie/fruit, and fat together, every time I eat? Or just so long as it balances out throughout the day? What I mean is... if I need a snack, can I just grab an apple, if that's what I want? Or am I supposed to have an apple, and....?

Thanks in advance for answering my obviously very newbie questions. My plan right now is patience. Eat what I know for sure is allowed, keep it simple, continue reading TPB (bought it Friday), asking questions, and trusting that this will feel more natural so long as I stick to it. But for now... HELP! Please!

[iniQuity]

I'm procrastinating hard at work, my answers in bold below.

After spending the entire weekend reading and researching this stuff, I made the decision to jump in cold turkey and head first today. Coming off a mostly fast food diet, I am very irritable already. However, I am committed and determined, so please bear with me.

Firstly, can someone review my day so far and tell me if I'm on track?
9:15 AM:
Coffee, black
10:30 AM:
2 eggs scrambled in
Olive oil with
Peppers and onions
Half a grapefruit
11:45 AM:
Apple
2:30 PM:
Handful of nuts
3:15 PM:
Lean boneless pork chop grilled with
Olive Oil
Chopped tomato
Half a small avocado

it's your first day, and you're eating real food, so no issues. In the future, you might want to snack less and just eat more food when you DO eat. However, this mostly depends on whether you're trying to lose fat or not, you don't state that.

Secondly, here are some questions I have:

What is with the butter? Butter is allowed? I have to admit, I have always bought some lower fat, not really butter, butter. Just checked the ingredients... lots of stuff I can't pronounce, so it's going in the trash, right? But butter, real butter... says "contains milk." Milk? Dairy? Why is this allowed? I'm confused.

real butter is good for you. Grass fed butter in particular has lots of good vitamins and minerals, and it makes an excellent cooking fat, so we embrace it. Even if you're lactose intolerant, most can handle butter. We 'primals' don't subscribe to the "cavement didn't drink dairy" or "no animal consumes dairy after being weened" arguments, mostly because we try to look at the benefits of food and decide from there, not just whether they were consumed in the past or not.

Sweet potatoes... yes or no? Why all the controversy? Which leads to.... Yes. There's no real controversy, just 'paleos' think eating white potatoes is dumb, and that's also pretty much changed (they eat them now) so carry on, eat them.

What to eat before and after I run? (Yes, I'm a runner, and no, I'm not ready to give it up yet.) Can't give you specifics there, but fruit and/or starch. Also, someone's going to tell you not to run ever, or you'll die, don't listen, just don't run yourself to the ground either.

Can we really eat any cut of meat? As in, steak? Any kind of steak? I know nothing about buying steak. yes, any kind, learn about beef and meats in general.

Am I supposed to eat protien, veggie/fruit, and fat together, every time I eat? Or just so long as it balances out throughout the day? What I mean is... if I need a snack, can I just grab an apple, if that's what I want? Or am I supposed to have an apple, and....? common sense my friend. Eat that apple if it's what you think will do the trick. I'll say that since most of us don't really snack (you'll see why in the next few weeks, you'll notice your hunger decrease) we do typically have at least fat/protein at every meal, most of us have fat/protein/carbs every meal.

Thanks in advance for answering my obviously very newbie questions. My plan right now is patience. Eat what I know for sure is allowed, keep it simple, continue reading TPB (bought it Friday), GOOD, book is all you need, the board is full of people with varying opinions and different approaches to the PB lifestyle, so go by the book mostly. asking questions, and trusting that this will feel more natural so long as I stick to it. But for now... HELP! Please!

[activia]

After spending the entire weekend reading and researching this stuff, I made the decision to jump in cold turkey and head first today. Coming off a mostly fast food diet, I am very irritable already. However, I am committed and determined, so please bear with me.

Firstly, can someone review my day so far and tell me if I'm on track?
9:15 AM:
Coffee, black
10:30 AM:
2 eggs scrambled in
Olive oil with
Peppers and onions
Half a grapefruit
11:45 AM:
Apple
2:30 PM:
Handful of nuts
3:15 PM:
Lean boneless pork chop grilled with
Olive Oil
Chopped tomato
Half a small avocado

Secondly, here are some questions I have:

What is with the butter? Butter is allowed? I have to admit, I have always bought some lower fat, not really butter, butter. Just checked the ingredients... lots of stuff I can't pronounce, so it's going in the trash, right? But butter, real butter... says "contains milk." Milk? Dairy? Why is this allowed? I'm confused.

Sweet potatoes... yes or no? Why all the controversy? Which leads to....

What to eat before and after I run? (Yes, I'm a runner, and no, I'm not ready to give it up yet.)

Can we really eat any cut of meat? As in, steak? Any kind of steak? I know nothing about buying steak.

Am I supposed to eat protien, veggie/fruit, and fat together, every time I eat? Or just so long as it balances out throughout the day? What I mean is... if I need a snack, can I just grab an apple, if that's what I want? Or am I supposed to have an apple, and....?

Thanks in advance for answering my obviously very newbie questions. My plan right now is patience. Eat what I know for sure is allowed, keep it simple, continue reading TPB (bought it Friday), asking questions, and trusting that this will feel more natural so long as I stick to it. But for now... HELP! Please!

1) Why are you snacking so much and eating so often? Eat bigger meals less often

2) throw that franken butter a way and never touch it again... its akin to poison in my book.. full of oxidized oils..that will cause oxidized cholesterol and inflamation in your body.

3) Butter, is dairy yes.. but its dairy without any casein or lactose (or almost none) because of the way its made..not getting into more then that on that subject. So people that are casein and/or lactose intolerant can handle it

4) Sweet potatoes.. Yes eat them after your run. Some people like to go VLC so having something that has 20g of carbs is way too much for them. Sweet potatoes have a good amount of nutrients and nothing bad.

5) You can buy any cut of beef, or any cut of any animal products as long as its grass fed. If its not grass fed, most will recommend (including myself) going for the leaner cuts like lean ground beef, london broil, sirloin. You can have ribs/brisket/rib eye if you get grass fed. I recommend you at least get grass fed tallow from a local farm, or buy online... so you can add back the good animal fats

6) you can just grab an apple if you want, but you shouldnt need to snack so much! You can also do apples with almond butter, or for desert apple with raw local honey.

[Buffdv]

What they said. And I'll add that you need to embrace the fat and love the fat and eat the fat. I make sure to eat fat every time I eat, usually animal fat, sometimes not. Pastured pork/bacon, pastured eggs, grass fed beef/lamb/goat, avocado, almonds, cheese, yogurt. Always eat some fat. I don't eat chicken, lean pork, beef jerky or turkey anymore, almost never. Fat is the key for me.

[jenn26point2]

A lot of your questions are based on CW logic. Once you read the book your questions will be answered or you'll see the logic behind the answers given above.

I gave up running for the time being to heal some injuries and reduce the adrenal fatigue I think was brought on by overtraining (6 half marathons and a 20k last summer). But I would do as you did before with your pre and post run meals, except instead of pasta, use veggies or fruits. In the book, Mark says that white rice is ok (it's a grass, not a grain), quinoa is ok b/c it's also not a grain, and sweet potatoes are good. All three are approved for athletes like yourself.

I hope you find you enjoy PB and reach the goals you're seeking.

[PrimalHerbalist1]

You may be irritable for a couple of reasons. If you are jumping in cold turkey, your body is not going to be used to the substantially less carbs in your diet. You will probably experience irritability and some mental fog for the initial 'conversion period'. Depending on how much sugar you ate, you will also probably experience withdrawals from it for a bit. Also, since you are a runner, make sure you are eating enough carbs. Lots of sweet potatoes and fruit should be in your diet, and I would also make sure that you are eating enough. And, fat is KEY. Make sure you are getting enough of it.
Dairy is a confusing topic, especially for people who are new. It isn't technically paleo, but if you don't have an intolerance to it, it is extremely healthy and is a great addition to a diet. In regards to the post above saying butter is okay for people with casein/lactose problems, that really isn't the case. For SOME people it can be okay, for other it is not. If I touch any amount of butter or ghee, my stomach bloats to that of an 8 month pregnant women (maybe a small exaggeration there). If you are concerned about it, try a strict cut out for 40 days and see if you notice any differences. If not, it probably isnt a problem for you then.
Yup, any kind and cut of meat is allowed! If you want some good education on the cuts, the first episode of a show called good eats on the food network was all about steak and has great information. (Good Eats - Steak Your Claim [Full - High Quality] - YouTube)
For snacking, I would recommend adding some fat (almond butter w/ apple) just for satiety, but there is nothing written in stone and it is not a big deal.
All in all, don't over think it too much. Good luck, and enjoy!