Self sabotage page

[HelenLouise]

Really unhappy right now with my efforts of moving to a Primal lifestyle. I'll do well with breakfast and then when it comes to lunch, all I can really think of is salad and I just don't feel like salad. Also bought a muffin when I went to the shops and a piece of cake yesterday. I'm so frustrated with myself!

[NZ primal Gwamma]

Helen Louise, When you say that you are moving to a primal lifestyle - what exactly do you mean ???
Give me a basic run down.
Goals, weight, what you are prepared to do

[HelenLouise]

I don't need to lose weight at all, I've been pretty much the same weight most of my life, but I just feel unhealthy and bloated and tired all the time. So I want to start eating as optimally as I can and I just seem to eating the bad stuff, just coz I can.

[NZ primal Gwamma]

I totally went primal all in one day. ie I ditched the grains, sugar, processed food and dairy. If you do not have any weight to lose you could possibly keep the dairy, but in moderation. You will find that stopping the sugar, processed foods and grains would be a fabulous start. Yes you might get the cravings and carb flu etc... but prepare your daily food in advance until you can control your cravings - and you just might find that this helps. It certainly helped me get over that first couple of weeks. Remember to keep up your water intake.
anyway thats my take - good luck and keep us posted

[Annieh]

Hi Helen Louise. I can understand your frustration, I also have found lunch the hardest meal to keep primal. Sandwiches, muffins, cheese on toast...so many grain options and it's hard sometimes to think of anything else. I agree that salads just don't appeal in the winter, and can be a fiddle to put together also. But don't give up! From my recent experience, eliminating the grains was precisely what tipped the balance and helped me feel light, healthy, unbloated and energetic.

I have found that planning ahead is very helpful. Eg you could make a large quiche or batch of mini quiches to last a few days. Have some boiled eggs and precooked ham in the fridge. Cook double at dinner time and save the leftovers for lunch. Some other easy options: cottage cheese and apple slices, tinned tuna on cucumber wheels, nut butter with carrot sticks. Banana and frozen berry smoothie.

Good luck, the results of eating real food are so worth it. A.

[zoebird]

we usually have sliders for lunch. these are just mini burgers, and we season them with different flavors (cajun, italian, mexican, persian, etc). we then just do chopped veggies (peppers, tomato, whatever else we have on hand). typically, we'll make a mayo dip for them.

it's quite simple and straight-forward, but it carries easily enough.

[MissJecka]

Why are you limiting yourself to just salads for lunch? I think you're making it harder than it needs to be! Primal is not restrictive to eggs and salad!

Do you have any leftovers from dinner? (If not, cook in large batches and freeze/store the rest for the next few days.) What did you buy in your last grocery shopping trip?

[HelenLouise]

Well my bro actually does the shopping. I've just finished the frittata's that I had frozen which I was eating for bfast. I don't limit myself to salads, I just can never think of anything else to do, and right now dinner tends to be meat/chicken and steamed veg. I am not much of a cook and don't enjoy it so I'm going to need to try and get more inventive.
Plus I gorged myself on brie and crackers today as it had been sooooo long since I'd had any, and I loved it so much, that I ate too much. *sigh*

[MissJecka]

Well my bro actually does the shopping. I've just finished the frittata's that I had frozen which I was eating for bfast. I don't limit myself to salads, I just can never think of anything else to do, and right now dinner tends to be meat/chicken and steamed veg. I am not much of a cook and don't enjoy it so I'm going to need to try and get more inventive.
Plus I gorged myself on brie and crackers today as it had been sooooo long since I'd had any, and I loved it so much, that I ate too much. *sigh*

Are there leftovers when you are done with dinner? If so, pack a portion or two away and use those for lunches. The vast majority of my lunches that I eat at work are leftovers from dinner the night (or two nights) prior.

If you are not much of a cook, then don't! You can eat raw veggies with a protein of your choice. If you do want to cook vegetables and you really don't want to "cook" you can always take a short-cut and buy frozen veggies that can be microwaved whenever you want. (If you have fresh veggies, you can also freeze them and microwave them just as you would the store-bought frozen stuff.)

Although I don't know how different supermarkets are in Australia as compared to the USA, but at my grocery store there are freshly-cooked rotisserie chickens to take home. Any time I've forgotten to take out something to defrost for dinner, or if I'm just feeling lazy, I will pick up a rotisserie chicken on my way home from work. One of these will easily provide at least 4 portions of protein, and with only two people in my household (myself included), this means lunch for a couple of days!

It doesn't need to be complicated!

[sunsis]

we got the bbq'd chooks here ready to go in a bag at woolworths. my IGA here has them too, free range chickens at that! thats actually one of my go-to's when im lazy. im still working my way in now. battling some adrenal fatigue issues. im sick of the symptoms and im hoping primal will help.