Can you go semi-primal? page 4

[jimhensen]

To be honest I don't think you can go semi primal if you are eating bread every day. Why even call it primal when it is not?

[CoconutLover]

Thanks.

[CoconutLover]

To be honest I don't think you can go semi primal if you are eating bread every day. Why even call it primal when it is not?

I get I'm not primal, sorry for misusing words!

[Metric]

Yeah I'm not used to measuring carbs or anything really, is there a site that adds it all up for you?

If you choose your carbs from lower carb veggies (ie: leafy greens, asparagus, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc), with occasional higher-carb veggies on heavy workout days (not required if your goal is weight loss) (ie: small sweet potato) and occasional fruit (ie: handful or so of berries), you should be fine without having to measure them.

[CoconutLover]

OK thanks Metric/Jennifer, only problems is I don't like many vegetables.

[Leida]

Coconut Lover, I think if the Paleo and primal concept is hard to take off the bat, you might want to take a look into whole foods diets, and start by eliminating processed grains, but keeping whole grains & legumes, cooked in a proper way (I use Mark Hyman's book, it was really helpful to me to understand my hunger and fatigue caused by bread and pasta). I started my change in the way of eating from switching to whole foods, and then slowly moving towards eliminating all grains and experimenting with other eliminations and additions till I found the right balance for me - or kind of found, since it changes over time. I have to add as well that simply eliminating processed grains was one of the two really big changes I have seen (the second is sugar), and positively impacted my diet.

Good luck.

[Annana]

The best way to prevent being hungry is to eat lots of saturated fat. It fills you up for a good while. Since going Primal I don't need to snack at all and am quite happy eating twice a day. And don't worry about red meat, it's only bad if it's processed. Offal is another really good thing to try. If you don't like the taste of liver or kidneys, try beef heart; it's like a really lean and tasty piece of beef, and is much cheaper as well.

It is hard to quit grains, but once you've been off them for a week or two you won't miss them! You may also find that minor health problems just disappear when you do succeed; that certainly happened to me. I had no idea I was intolerent to gluten until I removed it from my diet.

Good luck, it is well worth the effort, and I personally would never go back to how I used to eat.

[Metric]

The best way to prevent being hungry is to eat lots of saturated fat. It fills you up for a good while. Since going Primal I don't need to snack at all and am quite happy eating twice a day. And don't worry about red meat, it's only bad if it's processed. Offal is another really good thing to try. If you don't like the taste of liver or kidneys, try beef heart; it's like a really lean and tasty piece of beef, and is much cheaper as well.

It is hard to quit grains, but once you've been off them for a week or two you won't miss them! You may also find that minor health problems just disappear when you do succeed; that certainly happened to me. I had no idea I was intolerent to gluten until I removed it from my diet.

Good luck, it is well worth the effort, and I personally would never go back to how I used to eat.

+1. Especially with the high sat fats.

[Drumroll]

OK I'll steer clear of the fake meat, I love the real stuff, was just worried about risk of cancer from too much processed red meat.

The cancer/red meat studies that were done were so full of holes it's funny. Relax about them. One point of note, the slow-cooked meats seemed to pose the bigger risk (IE smoked meats, slowly barbecued meats, ect.), so if you are still worried (though you can still poke other holes in the arguments), you can reduce the risk slightly by focusing on quickly cooking your meats over high heats (such as cooking them in a frying pan for a few minutes).

[Metric]

OK thanks Metric/Jennifer, only problems is I don't like many vegetables.

I'm also picky with veggies. I makes salads (and a homemade ceasar dressing - super easy), asparagus, cucumbers, onions, garlic. You don't even need to eat that many. If you're making an omelet, it's an easy way to sneak in some veggies. Pan fry your veggies in fat (bacon fat is my fav). Sure, it's definitely not my favourite part of the meal, but I eat my veggies right away, then I savour the fat and protein portions. Pick the ones that you like, and cook them in a way that you enjoy. What are some of the ones that you like?