Snacking - what are your views? page 3

[SleepyRoots]

I was vegetarian for ethical reasons as well. It makes me sad to think about it, but I had to just bracket any ethical considerations out as my health declined. I ended up reasoning that I had to be worth the resources I had taken up so far and would in the future. So all my energy went into finding a way to get better. This seems to finally be it. Hopefully that means I can turn on my green side on again soon too

Have you looked into box schemes for meat, or direct from farm distribution? I might be worth a google to see if any fit your standards.

[sbhikes]

If your vegetarianism is on ethical grounds, you should learn about grass-fed and pastured animals and maybe read The Vegetarian Myth to understand the ethics (or lack thereof) of a plant-based diet.

Meanwhile, if you are hypoglycemic and new to this diet, just eat as much as you can of healthy foods. Try eating large enough meals that you don't get hungry in between. Put lots of fat in your meals. Butter or coconut fat. I love a good coconut curry from time-to-time. The fat will keep you from getting hungry as fast. Wild salmon and small fish like sardines, herring, kipper, are also excellent protein and fat sources. Eventually you will discover that you've become healed. Give it some time. I started with insulin resistance and now no longer have it. I feel great.

[BestBetter]

Thanks Danielle and Sleepy Roots.

The vegetarianism was for a myriad of reasons... but from going primal I realise that my health reasons were misguided! So now it's only an ethical thing. I actually don't mind people eating meat - I think it's natural, but my problem is in how the animals are treated in order to become food. I live in the U.K, and the parameters for what constitutes "organic" and "free-range" are just laughable. I believe it's even worse with fish.

Being veggie I don't have to engage with all that. However, I am starting to think that being veggie is actually a lazy way out of the whole thing. It would be much better to campaign for conditions that create better quality meat (and a happier life for the animals).

I'm not familiar with the government standards in the UK (though for some reason, I figured it was better than in the U.S.) but are there any farmers markets or local farms that you could get better quality meat from? This way, you'd be directly supporting better conditions for animals, and you wouldn't be restricted by crappy government standards?

Also, do you have access to imported frozen fish from areas/countries with less polluted waters and better fishing practices?

[YogaBare]

[QUOTE=js290;851198]“Eat Like A Predator, Not Like Prey”: The Paleo Diet In Six Easy Steps, A Motivational Guide - GNOLLS.ORG

What an amazing article! Thank you. The first line was the most enlightening for me : Predators gorge and fast; prey grazes.

I'm veggie and I snack on about 200gs of nuts a day...!

Apart from that I'm doing pretty well - cut out all the bad stuff (french fries, soda, sweets loaded with Eeees) over the years, gave up most refined carbs last year, and cut out rice, oats and most fruit recently... It's only been a month, so maybe it takes a little time to adjust.

Having read the replies I'm confident going Primal will sort the hypoglycemia and I won't need to snack anymore.

[js290]

I was vegetarian for ethical reasons as well. It makes me sad to think about it, but I had to just bracket any ethical considerations out as my health declined. I ended up reasoning that I had to be worth the resources I had taken up so far and would in the future. So all my energy went into finding a way to get better. This seems to finally be it. Hopefully that means I can turn on my green side on again soon too

Have you looked into box schemes for meat, or direct from farm distribution? I might be worth a google to see if any fit your standards.

[YogaBare]

I was vegetarian for ethical reasons as well. It makes me sad to think about it, but I had to just bracket any ethical considerations out as my health declined. I ended up reasoning that I had to be worth the resources I had taken up so far and would in the future. So all my energy went into finding a way to get better. This seems to finally be it. Hopefully that means I can turn on my green side on again soon too

Have you looked into box schemes for meat, or direct from farm distribution? I might be worth a google to see if any fit your standards.

I agree - this is a better way. My big revelation came when I read about this guy in South Africa who was using animals to regenerate grass lands! There went my "eating animals is bad for teh environment" excuse I will check out box schemes and famr distribution - thanks for the suggestions!

If your vegetarianism is on ethical grounds, you should learn about grass-fed and pastured animals and maybe read The Vegetarian Myth to understand the ethics (or lack thereof) of a plant-based diet.

Meanwhile, if you are hypoglycemic and new to this diet, just eat as much as you can of healthy foods. Try eating large enough meals that you don't get hungry in between. Put lots of fat in your meals. Butter or coconut fat. I love a good coconut curry from time-to-time. The fat will keep you from getting hungry as fast.

Thanks for the book recommendation - I will defo read it. And I apprciate the encouragement

I'm not familiar with the government standards in the UK (though for some reason, I figured it was better than in the U.S.) but are there any farmers markets or local farms that you could get better quality meat from? This way, you'd be directly supporting better conditions for animals, and you wouldn't be restricted by crappy government standards?

Also, do you have access to imported frozen fish from areas/countries with less polluted waters and better fishing practices?

Yes, I think things are waaay better here than in the U.S for beef, but chickens and pigs I think have a terrible time everywhere. That's a great idea about going to farms directly - I'll do that! At least for eggs right now The mental shift to eating meat may take a while...

[jojohaligo]

“Eat Like A Predator, Not Like Prey”: The Paleo Diet In Six Easy Steps, A Motivational Guide - GNOLLS.ORG
Why Snacking Makes You Weak, Not Just Fat - GNOLLS.ORG

Those are great links!

And Yogabare - don't give up, it really does take a bit of time especially if you are easing into it. Once I was committed 100% it took me about 2 weeks until I noticed that I simply was not hungry for really long periods in the day. It has been three and a half months now and I do not snack at all and generally eat just two meals a day.

[girlhk]

I struggled a lot with snacking even after adopting a more primal diet. Even with lots of fat and protein, I still had the urge to snack between meals. I didn't like how I felt grazing all day. Yet I felt like I needed to snack. I used to eat every 2-3 hours all the time out of habit, not hunger. What really helped me overcome the snacking was intermittent fasting.

I had tried fasts before, and always felt it was torturous. I started IF slowly in stages. I would eat a lot more at dinner, and skip breakfast. It wasn't easy at first because I was so used to eating in the mornings and would get irritable if I didn't eat. I started taking coffee with heavy cream instead. This quelled the hunger pangs, and I'd be fine until past noon. Slowly I decreased the amount of heavy cream, and pushing back the hour of taking coffee. To my surprise, I stopped feeling hungry altogether in the mornings. Now I either drink black coffee or water or bone broth in the mornings, and I'd feel fine and stable until my first meal. This all took about a month or so to adjust to without feeling like I'm denying myself. And I have found the effects of this IF carries over throughout the day. I no longer feel the need to snack in the afternoons even though I tend to eat a lighter meal for lunch.

But I do eat a lot of meat and offal according to my cravings and appetite. I have found this to help greatly with stopping cravings. I think it's because my body is more nourished? I never had this level of satiety when I was vegetarian.

[YogaBare]

Okay - now I'm confused!

The reason I posted yesterday was because, for once, I didn't snack in between lunch and dinner. On the way home from work I felt dizzy, nauseous, exhausted, STARVING, etc etc and when I got home I gorged.

Today, I decided to try the fasting thing. I just had three coffees for the whole day, and didn't feel hungry, or even have any hypoglycemic symptoms. After approx 22 hours of fasting I had a nice big dinner... and I feel great!

How is it possible that eating incites hunger and hypoglycemic symptoms, whilst NOT eating curbs the appetite and promotes a stable mood? The theory I subscribed to previously was that fasting slowed your metabolism, that's why you didn't get hungry. I'm guessing this is more conventional wisdom that's ready to be shot out of the water

[CaveWeirdo]

I've been eating (vegetarian) Primal...

That might be your problem. You need to eat some protein and fat with every meal in order to keep your hunger under control, and I can't imagine you're eating eggs/dairy/sprouted beans with every meal? I know I would get fed up of that within a few days! Have some animal flesh sometimes if you want this lifestyle to work for you in the long term. Doesn't have to be every day if you don't like it of course.

Also, meat in UK supermarkets is very different to those found in America, it's not always labelled as such but most large animals are predominantly grass-fed here. I can't afford farmer's market stuff all the time, but I find LIDL has excellent quality British meat available.

I think it's better to eat 2 or 3 meals, with zero snacks if you can, to allow your body to actually heal/detox/grow/burn fat occasionally instead of being forced to digest food and deposit fat all day long. It takes a while to get used to eating large hearty primal meals without feeling like you're being naughty... but once you are it is liberating, not having to worry about carrying snacks around with you, and even missing a meal now and then without feeling bad.

Unless you are pregnant/breastfeeding or suffering a minor illness, wanting to eat all the time is unusual for a primal eater and may be a sign you're either not eating enough at meal-times, or you have some other emotional or metabolic problem that you need to talk to a primal-friendly doctor about.