A Breakthrough page

[Siena]

Ef CW. Seriously.


Oh, and hi! I've been lurking for a while now, reading all your great advice as well as your trials and tribulations until I bit the bullet and went primal a couple weeks ago. Not *completely* primal (that starts Monday) but definitely low carb (under 20 a day). It was a good way for me to ease into getting rid of processed junk and I am officially craving free. And I come baring gifts! I have so many great recipes to share.


But that's not why I'm posting for the first time. I'm posting for the first time to tell you that conventional wisdom doesn't work.


As I began my carb purge, I couldn't help but hang on to the "calories-in-calories-out" dictum. Religiously, I ate 1k less than I'd burned during the day and, as hard as I tried to fight it, I kept heading toward foods that I associated with being on a diet: chicken breasts, fat free half & half, fat free this, low fat that. All while staying under 20 carbs and pretty much under 1200 calories. It sucked. And I gained weight. 2 lbs.


This past week, I stopped dieting and started living. I resumed my 3x a week spinning class and 2x a week circuit training (I know, I know, but I am truly a nicer person when I'm working out - and it keeps me from drinking as much when I get home!), I ate bacon and eggs, bought coconut oil and coconut milk (I have a great recipe for coconut and lime marinated halibut), made those awesome coco and coconut nut balls and pretty much ate more than I'd ever eaten (while averaging 30 carbs a day) and guess what? I lost 3 lbs.


I'm excited to go truly primal this week (fine, 90% Primal; I am NOT giving up wine, chocolate or cheese).


Take-aways:

1. You do not need to starve yourself to lose weight - in fact, that probably won't work.

2. Stop obsessing over calories. Stop obsessing.

3. Do whatever amount of activity works for you - there is no right or wrong (endurance is not evil) - but do some activity everyday.

4. I used to roll my eyes whenever I would read "you need to eat more. You need to eat more fat." But in the end, that was exactly what worked.

[rwilliams]

edit: this is Timothy accidentally posting with my wife's account.


Siena, congrats on giving up the CW! I was on that eat less/exercise more treadmill for years. It did almost nothing for weight loss and left me an inflamed basket case. On the PB, it was shocking how quickly my body shaped up.


Your priority sounds exactly right: first eliminate sugar and grains, then minimize carbs and hold on tight as your body switches from carb-based to fat-based metabolism. Then you can focus on implementing the rest of the PB. At least, that's what worked for me.


And there's no need to ever count calories or to hungry. Eat all you can of the right foods.


I'm glad that you joined us! We need more people to break their CW shackles and find out what their bodies are really capable of. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Rachel19]

Siena, wonderful post! I relate in so many ways. I've always been mystified about why dropping my calories low and exercising more wouldn't give me the body I desired. It really isn't just about calories eaten and calories burned. I could eat 1200 of CW foods and do an intense hour on the treadmill and still look fat.


In working with a trainer over the last 18 weeks, I've been able to look at my records and see that my best weeks, in terms of results, have been when my calories are HIGHER and my workouts include heavy lifting and low intensity cardio. The weeks when my calories were lower and my cardio were intense? Well, those weeks were basically a wash for me.


Two and a half weeks ago, I was at 139 pounds, and we switched my eating to primal. Now I am at 133 pounds. I only have one session left with my consultant--next Wednesday--but I am definitely staying with a primal diet + heavy lifting, low intensity cardio, and sprinting on occasion. I want to be a bit leaner, and I know it will get me there.


Anyway, welcome!

[Siena]

Thanks so much Timothy and Rachel! I've really enjoyed watching the community here at MDA and I'm so happy to finally join the discussion!


Rachel - those are EXCELLENT results! I'm bookmarking your blog for motivation!

[MalPaz]

way to go girl!! i TRUELY believe a good at least 40% of weightloss is mental, and by you saying "screw it" and not worrying and LIVING is aHUGE deal..keep it up thats great!!

[Griff]

What they all said! I was just saying to the husband last night, "You know what is awesome about Primal eating? Even though you lose fairly slowly after the initial big drop in weight - " (I'm losing about 8-10 pounds a month, but I'm also really big; once your loss settles down you lose more slowly the closer you get to goal) " - you aren't starving, moody, and depressed while you're losing that slowly, so it's not a problem. No wonder CW diets fail all the time; they expect you to accept both a slow loss AND feeling like absolute crap at the same time! Nobody can sustain that forever."


On PB I'm never hungry. Ever. I'm dropping weight slowly but steadily. And I don't feel deprived and I'm not moody and I'm not obsessing on my next meal. It's a true revolution in the way I think about and treat food. I'll never go back.


I think it's awesome that you've made this breakthrough, Siena.

[Funkadelic Flash]

I have a great recipe for coconut and lime marinated halibut

I need this recipe!!! I love halibut, but I've been getting quite bored of it lately as I have a lot in my freezer from a recent fishing trip to Alaska. This recipe seems just what I need to spice things up a bit!


Could you post this ASAP? Pretty please!

[anniegebel]

Siena...you said it all so well! Glad you're here and excited to read all those recipes! Welcome

[Siena]

Funkadelic - here you go! It's SO good and really it works for any not-too-flaky fish and I've used it with shrimp too.


1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil or cilantro

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

Zest of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons fish sauce (nam pla)

1 teaspoon brown sugar (feel free to leave this out - it's fine without it)

As much crush red pepper as you like - about 1 tbsp is good but you can use more or less.


Blend all that stuff up until smooth.


Take your fish and cut it into chunks for kebabs or leave whole for fillets. Pour the coconut lime marinade over your fish (or shrimp) and refrigerate for an hour.


Thread the halibut onto bamboo skewers and grill! You can also mix in some veg on the skewers: onions, jalapenos, chunks of tomatoes - whatever you like. Pineapple used to be my favorite but a little too sugary for me now but SOOOO good.


You can also pan fry the fish in coconut oil or drizzle some coconut oil in a roaster and bake it at 350 for 15 -20 minutes or until it starts to brown. This works better for flakier varieties.


I LOVE any and everything coconut and am always trying to figure out how to work coconut oil, milk and meat into my cooking!

[Siena]

I just started thinking about coconut milk cocktails... dangerous. But maybe a good idea? Balance the alcohol with fat so you don't end up ordering pizza at 2 in the morning? Please?