Recovering Vegan goes Primal! page 2

[avocadogirl]

That's great to hear, zoebird. I'm introducing these concepts to my older son, but he's resistant to giving up grains so I think it will be a slow process with the rest of the family. The baby will literally eat anything I put in front of him.

My husband loves meat. For years, it was a sweet dichotomy that my DH the carnivore coped with me, the avowed vegetarian. Now that I am radically changing my diet, he's glad that I'm eating meat but utterly resistant to any changes for himself. Although he's a carnivore, he's also very much addicted to wheat and artificial sweeteners. He drinks at least 3-5 diet cokes a day, eats lots of refined sugar and wheat. His favorite meal is a steak with potatoes, a couple of rolls of bread and a diet coke. Even with all the veggies I've been making for years, he rarely touched them. I haven't tried to push anything on him, I like the idea of being a good example and showing, not telling.

Last night's dinner:

Grass-fed flat iron steak, marinated with garlic and fresh rosemary and pepper.
Out of my neighbor's garden zucchini and tomatoes

Simple and perfect. My husband had some bread rolls with it. My kids ate mostly the veggies, my older (5) boy thought the steak was too spicy (he's always been picky). He had some cheese and extra veggies. The baby had a yogurt and berries in addition to his portion.

This morning I had my dream breakfast:
2 perfectly cooked over medium eggs
On top of a perfectly ripe avocado
Fresh salsa made with heirloom tomatoes and peaches

Yum! I feel like I could go all day without eating. I'm so sated and content. I'd try IF but it wouldn't be good for my milk supply.

Since the baby slept again last night (only 2-3 wakeups instead of a dozen), I'm planning on using naptime to workout. Hopefully, he will sleep long enough so I can do some yoga and lift.

[honeybuns]

I am glad that you are finding what works for you but it sure seems like you are not getting much protein every day. forgive me if I am wrong.
My husband was adamant about refusing to change his way of eating and over time he realized that the way he was feeling just wasn't worth it. He now eats like I do 98% of the time. I never tell him what he should or shouldn't eat because it will backfire on me if I do. Be patient, give it time, he'll come around eventually.

[avocadogirl]

Thanks for the feedback!! Do you have some suggestions? I try for 2-4 eggs a day, and 2-3 additional servings of protein a day, that's usually chicken, turkey or fish. We eat beef about 2 times a week since I buy it from a local farm where they are grass fed and grass finished. It's costly but I rather eat high quality beef less often than buy other products. I'm allergic to shellfish, and we keep kosher at home so pork isn't an option. I also eat that high protein Greek yogurt that has 18-20 grams of protein per serving.

What do you think, turkey jerky as a snack instead of something else? I feel pretty sated after meals and energetic. I'm really open to suggestions and guidance!

[avocadogirl]

I took an idea from paleomusings.com and made some protein balls:

Freshly ground almond butter
Some Vega protein powder
Unsweetened cocoa

I probably used 2 TBS almond butter and then enough protein powder and cocoa to give it some dense shape. I added a couple of dark chocolate chips, even though rolling it in unsweetened coconut flakes would be better. It's just an experiment to see how I like them, and maybe find something the hubby will like. He loves cookies and cookie dough (who doesn't?), and these ended up tasting like cookie dough.

[zoebird]

you want .8 to 1 g of protein per 1 lb of lean body mass.

to calculate how much you need, you go like so.

I'm 128 lbs and 18% body fat, and therefore 82% lean body mass. 128 x .82 = 104.96 lbs of lean muscle mass.

I then need .8 g of protein per lb, so you multiple that and get that i need between 83.968 to 104.96 g protein per day.

[avocadogirl]

Thank you, zoebird!

I weighed in today at 120.5, so we can call it 121. I'm 5'2" tall. I'm embarrassed to say I have no idea what my body fat percentage is now. I haven't measured that since before having two kids. I have a bit more of a mesomorphic body, but I'm also still nursing which has kept me from losing all the pregnancy cushioning. I'll have to find out this week. I suppose I could guesstimate at 22-24%.

[zoebird]

there's an online calculator that i'll give you. it works nicely. It's pretty close to accurate: Calculator.

[honeybuns]

Let's see. What I keep on hand for additional protein varies.

Cheese, jerky, tuna, hardboiled eggs, greek yogurt, nuts and nut butters. When I cook something like chicken tenders I cook extra so I can nibble on the leftovers the next day when I am feeling the need for a protein boost. since we only eat two meals a day now we'llsometimes feel the need for something late afternoon to tide us over to dinner.

[avocadogirl]

Good morning!

Thank you for the body fat calculator, zoebird. I took my measurements this morning, and it said I have about 27%. That's higher than before my kiddos, of course. But this is good to know as I'm only about 2 weeks into eating this way, and expect my body composition will change.

So, using the above guidelines, I should consume about 70.6 grams of protein a day. I've been tracking my food/nutrient profile on an app called My Fitness Pal. I don't track every single day but aim for 4-5 days a week do I can see how I'm doing in both macronutrients and iron, et cetera. So far, my emphasis has been on limiting carbs.

At first I was aiming for 100 grams or less per day for carbs,
but now I'm going with between 100-130 because of the calorie demand of nursing. Looking at my diary,
I can see that I've been eating about 50-60 grams of protein most days, some days I ate almost 90 or more.

Thank you for the feedback, zoebird and honeybuns!

I'm off to the farmer's market my favorite Saturday morning activity. I'm lucky that I can not only buy plenty of local veggies and fruits but also my yogurt, cheese, eggs and beef. I also buy local raw honey but, obviously not every week.

[zoebird]

honestly, there's nothing like local raw honey to cure most ills. I love the stuff. I have a friend who keeps bees, and she gifts me a fair amount of honey.

I think i get a container every-other year.

It's ok, too, for your food to 'average out' across a week. If you get 60 grams today and 80 grams the next day, then 70 and so on, you'll know where you are going with it.

I would say about 100g -130 g carbs should be great.

I would be mindful of protein powders (i don't use them) and also nuts and nut butters. These tend to keep the weight/fat on folks. (Also has a lot of PUFAs, which should be counterbalanced with flax seed oil to balance out your omega 6 with 3).

I tend to eat a but more "paleo" than primal. Dairy is just butter; nuts 1-2x week if that; no protein powders or supplements. I mostly eat veggies (around 80-100 g), eggs (usual 2-4 per day), and meat (about 6-8 oz per day I would reckon).

I also keep to around 1500 calories a day.