Quitting Primal? (Temporarily) page

[glowgirl]

Let me start by saying that eating/living primal has absolutely changed my life. I spent 20 years suffering from gastric distress and after every medical test possible, was told that nothing was wrong with me. Internet research suggested that paleo/primal might help and since I've changed my eating, I have more energy, need less sleep, look slimmer and have a happy tummy - I am a total convert!

HOWEVER, this past weekend at the cottage, I had a "cheat" evening and had a piece of corn and a bun with my chicken burger. The next 24 hours were terrible. I have several trips planned in the near future and I'm thinking I might have difficulty sticking with my eating plan in a few of the countries.

Can anyone shed some light on the following questions?

1. By eating primal, have I developed an allergy to processed carbs? Or has my clean eating just made my intolerances more obvious when I do cheat?

2. Are there some non-primal foods that are easier to digest than others? Is wild rice an option? Gluten free products?

3. Has anyone had a similar gastric experience with going on/off primal? If you've gone off, how long do reaction symptoms last?

Thank you in advance for any advice/stories/information!

[namelesswonder]

1. The latter is more likely. Your body has learned to run off "good" foods and no longer processes the bad ones. In a way, you lost your intolerance to those foods.

2. White would be least distressing, in most cases, but you should experiment to know for sure. Try not to go overboard, because you WILL experience side-effects either way.

3. Yeap. Severity/length varies from person to person and food to food. For me, a huge trip off the wagon will result in several days of feeling off, after an initial absolute crash (feeling flu-ish). A small one may only last a day, with gas and bloating.

[Twibble]

I'm not primal enough for that to affect my diet yet, but if I eat barley (I'm celiac, so no gluten anyway) by accident, it takes about 3 days, not counting the day of exposure, for me to really start to feel better. Try white rice in small amounts first.

[ryan54]

Your clean eating has more than likely made your intolerances obvious.

[Blackcatbone]

Where are you going? It may not be as difficult as you think and you may be able to eat mostly primal while limiting the amount of non-primal stuff.

[Enilegna/hearts]

Well some gluten-free products like cake are made with rice flour, so maybe if you don't tolerate rice well you should be careful even if the rice comes in flour form. I know I get light pain if I go crazy on gluten free cake because of this.

[LoydAviles]

It may not be as difficult as you think

[sbhikes]

Wild rice isn't rice at all. It's a different species. So you might tolerate it just fine. You spent 20 years in gastric distress so I don't see how eating Primal has made things any worse. Remember, that used to be normal for you.

[solstice]

I can still tolerate some gluten free options with no ill effects (maybe some added weight though~)

[glowgirl]

Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't realize how far I had come with feeling better until my little episode this weekend.

I plan on being in Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe and South America. I think Russia and Europe will be easy, but I'm concerned with Asia and South America. I've never been to Asia and when I've been in Mexico in the past, most restaurants had beans and rice as staple foods.

Any suggestions for those who have travelled and managed to stay on plan?