Help me keep her going! page

[Rynamo]

Hi everyone. I finally got my wife to give primal a try. She is into her 2nd week, with only one minor setback. She has carb flu hardcore. I had no carb flu when I went primal so I can't really sympathize with her or even give her suggestions. I have been trying to get her to eat more fat, which is difficult for her. She can't let that CW, fat is bad thing go. She has also gained weight. What can I do to keep her motivated. I've read through 100 different posts about carb flu and possible food issues that might be causing her trouble. What are the best things I can do to get her through this? She is ready to give up. Here are her foods and symptoms:

Breakfast 7:30 am: 3 eggs scrambled with a splash of skim milk (I know, but she thinks Whole milk is gross)
Very nauseous around 10:30 am stays until lunchtime

Lunch 12:00 noon: 6oz. red meat usually beef roast or hamburger, small potato, and an apple
Explosive diarrhea in early afternoon 1:30 or 2:00 pm

Snack on almonds mid afternoon

Dinner 6:30pm: Beef or pork probably around 6 to 8 oz. vegetables, usually Brussels sprouts, squash, or potato with lots of butter

She is feeling "disconnected" kind of like floating around and not really in the moment, also extremely tired, and hungry.

She usually does an am workout step aerobics, bosu or boot camp every morning and then twice per week she will do a boot camp with me in the evening. I know that this is too much exercise and she should cut back, but she is from the more is better camp and she does really like the workouts. She wants to lose weight and get more fit.

Just ride it out? More Carbs? I want her to stick with it so any suggestions on how to make things better? easier?

[tradawg]

I would suggest adding any/all of the following to help with digestion: bone broth, fermented veggies, digestive enzymes. If she's hungry, she should eat more. Coconut oil can help with energy, but add it in a little at a time. Also, I would try switching the apple for a banana in the afternoon, to see if that helps w/the diarrhea. That's all I can think of...

[campanella]

Here's what I suggest:

For breakfast, if she's accustomed to a very low-fat diet this might take more to get used to. Maybe start off easy, and instead of 3 eggs, have one egg hard boiled along with fruit, and yogurt or a little less fatty protein source. I love having a bowl of steamed zucchini or vegetables for breakfast as well, maybe that's a thought.
Why the potato? There's nothing wrong with potatoes really, especially if she likes them, but there are lots of vegetables out there, and a single potato doesn't offer much. Try roasting beets or another unusual but tasty vegetable.
That seems like a lot of meat, too. Is it good quality? At least for starting, I'd recommend cutting back the meat to 4 - 6 oz per meal.

I would definitely do fruit, and better quality fruit - berries are a must if they're available to you.

Also, I think she might need to just eat more, with all the exercise she is doing. You should add in more fruits, and more vegetables, for example if you do scrambled eggs again try scrambling them with spinach, mushrooms, whatever she likes, or do an omelet. She thinks whole milk is gross? Well, skip milk altogether then, that's probably best. Maybe try goat's milk, or just yogurt instead if she likes that at all. Skim milk is pretty processed. Also, add in some fats like avocado and coconut if you can. Just go gradually with those, adding in a little piece of avocado every few days and then upping it, otherwise it could badly upset the stomach.

[noodletoy]

you don't need any milk in scrambled eggs. cook them low and slow with butter. is she actually hungry for breakfast? it might be too much food first thing.

miso soup, avocado or well-seasoned bone broth will help with the carb flu. keep up throughout the day, or stir some eggs in the soup for egg drop soup for breakfast.

instead of a potato, why not some greens? or broccoli? something less starchy? if you are north of the equator, apples are not yet in season. if she wants fruits, howzabout some berries or melon?

too many nuts and apples may be giving her the runs, honestly. nuts blow right through me.

unless your wife is a big person, this sounds like lots of protein for her. try cutting back to 4 oz., instead of 8. i can't choke down 1/2 pound of red meat very often, nor do i need to.

hard squashes and potatoes can be fine, but super carby and loaded with butter may not be doing her any favors.

frankly, it just sounds like too much food and the sugar highs from the apples and potatoes are whacking out her insulin.

[Rynamo]

Thanks for everything so far. She is fairly picky and will balk at things that don't " look right" to her palate. She can be challenging somtimes. She also really likes variety, so doing the same things for 2 weeks is boring her. I've been trying to steer her away from fruit but maybe that's a bad idea. I'm telling her things that are working for me, they may not work for her. Thanks again.

[Rynamo]

She is a big woman. 6'3 around 200lbs. She would like to stay in the 180 range. I know numbers don't tell the whole story but she is still in that mode. Plus weight is going up and clothes are getting tight so she is ready to bail.

[noodletoy]

wow! she is over a foot taller than i am! :O

because of the weight gain, i'd drop the starchy veg with butter and the apples. high carb + fat = bodyfat. like, instant-like.

[jammies]

Did she eat eggs regularly before? Any chance she has an egg intolerance?

[Rynamo]

She never had a problem with eggs. I'll try to start mixing in more leafy veg and swapping out the apples for berries. We picked up some cauliflower at the farmers market and I want to try that cauliflower rice with some stir fry.
On a side note. She was complaining of very sweet smelling urine yesterday. She checked her ketones and they were negative and her glucose was 81. Any ideas here?

[teach2183]

Especially being such a large woman, that's a tiny breakfast. Get rid of the milk, add in some veggies and some berries. She's likely very hungry by 10:30. The best thing for me is to eat when I don't feel well. It takes some time to figure out how much to eat, especially if she used to snack a lot. But eventually she won't need to snack any more because she won't be hungry. I gain weight if I don't eat enough, as weird as that sounds. Eating primal doesn't need to be low carb.