Primal/Paleo noob needs advice page

[ummaya]

Hello,

Until not long ago I have been a vegetarian (apart a piece of fish once a week or some chicken wings also once a week). Most of my food was a lot of vegetables, 4 or 5 fruits a day, oatmeal, brown rice,lentils, quinoa, buckwheat, grounded flax seed each day and sesame seeds paste (tahini) at each meal.

Several months ago the results of a blood test were a bit disturbing. Some were OK - LDL was OK, Total Cholesterol OK (163.6), Non HDL Cholesterol OK (121 ) but others not so OK:


Glucose: 113
Triglycerides: 230
Cholesterol HDL: 43 (a bit low)
Since 2007 my blood pressure is a bit high and I take two 10mg pills of Enalapril a day

I visited a naturopath who said that my diet was lacking in grains and legumes. So, during two weeks I added beans, barley and bulgur and mung beans to my diet but I did not feel I want to go on. I have been lurking paleos forums for some time and decided to try. I have read some Paleo/Primal diet books and since a bit more than a month I have change my diet. I have stopped eating any sort of grains and legumes, no more quinoa, buckwheat, oatmeal,tahini etc...
Today I eat a lot of vegetables salad, about 150g chicken breast and 150g fish a day (Salmon, Tilapia), sardines, two eggs a day, sweet potatoes , two fruits a day (instead 4 or 5) and I added some fats: virgin olive oil,ghee and coconut oil. I also eat some Brazil nuts,cashews and almonds ( about 10 of each a day). I drink only water (between 6 and 8 glasses a day) and I have 3 meals a day.

I feel fine and less hungry than before but almost from the day I started this new diet, my bowel movements have been strange. Since then I have only one bowel movement every two days and even then it does not come easily as before; I have to push. This was not the case before. As far as I remember I always had one an easy (no push) bowel movement each day almost at the same time every morning, like a Swiss watch. The bowel movement change is not only negative (constipation) but also positive: the stool look much better than before and I do not see any food remains inside anymore. I am 62 , 1,65m high and my weigh is 68kg; I do not want to lose weight, only to have a healthier diet and of course I hope that this will help to lower my Glucose and Triglycerides.

I understand that bowel movements should change when changing diet but is it normal that this kind of constipation is going on for almost two months now?

What is not very clear to me right now, is what is the right Protein/Carb/Fats ratio for me. It seems that different Paleo/Primal diet 'schools' have a different take on this issue.


Thanks.

[Nigel]

I've got a feeling it's the change in diet. I'm having a similar reaction and I see on another thread some believe it is a lack of fat causing the "congestion." Well, I'm actually eating less volume of food and that's obviously part of my cause. I am also noticing that I am eating too high a percentage of carbohydrates for the purists here. I am losing weight because I am just eating less calories, and, I am still getting my lifestyle in order so will no doubt be eating more animal fat in due course.

[primalhorsewoman]

Still looks like a pretty low fat diet (not much fat in chicken breasts and tilapia!). Eating fattier red meats and enjoying more fat might help things move smoothly.

[BestBetter]

Here is my post from another thread:

If you are serious about improving your long-term digestive system health (vs. a short-term fix, like fiber, which will likely lead to serious and irreversible consequences in the following years), I'd suggest doing a little reading of these sites:

Gut Sense: How to reverse and prevent constipation in children and adults

GUT FLORA

I have been slowly, but successfully healing my long term (6+ years) constipation, bloating, and abdominal pain by following the protocols on these sites in the last few months.

The websites will explain why, but in a nutshell, the most important things you can do for your digestive system are: 1) Improve your gut flora through the use of probiotics and fermented/cultured foods 2) Increase healthy fat intake 3) Keep fiber low

Additionally, there are some other things you can take to help your system produce BM until it is strong enough to function correctly without you having to shove tons of indigestible crap down there. Large doses of vitamin C (taken in smaller doses throughout the day to avoid irritating the stomach) and magnesium are two great supplements that will help, without producing the cramps or dependence associated with laxatives.

I fell for the high fiber CW lies, and after years of it keeping me regular as clockwork, I spontaneously developped IBS. Fiber works...until is doesn't. Then you're screwed.