Hello from London - *waves* to everyone page

[Screamer]

Hi everyone,

So I live in London and have been reading up about cave man diets, paleo diets and stuff for a while but was glad to find this book and site. My partner and I are thinking about trying out the 21 day diet and have bought the book.

I have to say it's already feeling a little daunting, not least because of the financial side of it but i'm just worried I think i won't be able to get the right stuff or keep it interesting. Alas, I'm really looking forward to trying this and shedding loads of weight and feeling much better and getting back to how i used to be, toned and healthy.

Are there any lists anywhere of 'YES and NO' foods?

Thanks and any help and support would be great.

[lissee]

Hi Screamer & welcome!

Lots of people feel the same when they're starting out. Don't worry and just take it one step at a time. The great thing about Primal living is that you're continually learning. I think the 21-day book has guidelines on what's okay and not-okay to eat. Basically the no list is processed food, grains (breads, pasta, etc.), unhealthy oils, no sugar, minimal fruit.

Yes foods are:
Foods with healthy fats: Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, avocados, macadamia nuts (10-12 a serving), brazil nuts, rib-eye steaks, salmon, pate, etc. Anything that is naturally fatty.

Healthy Carbs: Leaf salads (all sorts), ... actually, it's easier to write that most any vegetable is good for you, except the ones that are overly starchy (like potatoes)

Proteins: Anything that is cleanly sourced as you can afford or get. Free range chicken eggs, organic meats of all kinds, etc.

Good luck to you!
High fat dairy (in small amounts)

[Gary Conway]

Welcome Screamer! It's good that you and your partner are doing it together. Don't worry about price too much, just focus on buying the best you can get for your budget. There are loads of paleo recipe sites and blogs so you wont have to worry about recipes :-)

[Screamer]

How did you guys find it with the stuff you can and can't eat? I mean, are ALL vegetables ok? Bit confused about the bits of exercise as well on the 21day challenge but guess ill figure it out when I've read through the book properly

[Screamer]

P.s great to see a British website on this too as was worried about some of the ingredients as were mostly in US.

[PaleoPanda]

Hi,

I'm new to doing this as well (and am UK based). I am using My Fitness pal to track my macros and nutrients.

The no-nos as far as I can tell are grains, sugar, legumes, or anything processed.

The financial side of it, initially, feels expensive, but when I went shopping the other day, I actually found I spent less money, because I basically did my shopping in two or three aisles instead of the usual wandering around, being tempted by offers etc. I also found that initially I overestimated the amount of food I would need, and have ended up making soup and freezing it because I bought too much veg! You might find once you're set up it's not as expensive as you might think, and if you try to eat seasonal or get a veg box, it makes it cheaper, as well as kinder to the planet than mangetout air freighted from Kenya or whatever. You can also buy cheaper cuts of meat if you're not fussed about low fat dieting any more, and do slow cooking, stewing etc. Shin beef or brisket makes awesome beef stew, you can have mashed celeriac or swede with it, which are both good cheap winter veg grown here. A whole chicken is cheaper than buying individual cuts, for me and my OH it will do a meal, then chicken salad lunches for a couple of days and the bones make a stock base for soup. The other thing I make a lot is omelette, or Spanish tortilla with leftover roast potatoes from a roast dinner. You can add veggies, chopped bacon, sprinkle a bit of cheese on (if you want to include dairy) or toasted pine nuts.

I work near a Waitrose, and I go there at "yellow sticker time" and I have got some bargains on things like organic meat, wild salmon, and seafood, if you can use it that day, or freeze it, it's a good way to get better quality meat and fish at "standard" prices.

[Screamer]

Thanks PaleoPanda,

That's really great to know. I guess it's just a bit daunting because it feels like you'll have to really plan ahead more and prep and spend more time doing everything. To be honest, I do that a lot already anyway, make big meals on a Sunday and freeze them for lunches.

I just want to be SURE that I know what I can and cannot eat. For instance I thought potatoes were a no no? I've been on a special diet called FODMAP recently anyway so am used to cutting stuff out but also used to knowing exactly what vegetables I can and cannot eat. But it seems with this you can eat any vegetables but just that some are better than others?

Also just out of interest, what oil do you use for cooking now? And is olive oil acceptible?

Oh and we're all over the veg box thing

[lissee]

For cooking, olive oil is great. So is coconut oil. Or left over bacon grease that you've saved from when you cooked your bacon.

Some of us here have discovered that we're allergic to nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, & white potatoes). For myself, potatoes are a real trigger for me so I don't eat them. Primal/Paleo/Caveman diets are all about finding what's healthy for YOU. So for me, I can't have potatoes.

I did some research online the other day, and discovered that turnips and sweet potatoes are not part of the nightshade family, and so I had some turnips a couple of weeks ago.

I just looked at the FODMAP entry on wikipedia and saw that you may have some digestion issues. For me, cutting out wheat and other grains completely really helped me in that area.

Re: veggis, while you're just starting out, focus mostly on trying eat vegetables that aren't too starchy. But yes, we're veggi lovers here. Of all sorts. If you're going to go for a potato, might as well try a sweet potato since they have healthy properties (all that orange color is good for you!) and people are less allergic to them. Maybe since you've been eating so restrictively already, you can start adding those restrictive vegetables back in one at a time and seeing how your body reacts to them. Personally, I'd start with avocados. Yum!

[upupandaway]

Hello! I'm in London too. I've been trying this for 3 weeks - I'm envious you have some to experiment and cheerlead with!

I'm finding I spend slightly more on meals, but far less on snacks and, of course, nothing on bread, fruit juice, etc. E.g. My work food (in addition to my main lunch) has shrunk from 2 pieces of fruit and 10 - 15 nuts per day, to 1 piece of fruit and about 5 nuts per day. I'm hoping to get into stewing cheaper cuts of meat now the weather is cooling.

I've shopped around for coconut oil and although it feels like the most expensive thing I buy, it's so filling (and good for you!), it's totally worth it.

[Screamer]

Thanks Lissee.

Well I was going to start off doing Mark's 21 day diet thing from the book? Have any of you done that? How did you start doing paleo?

Yep with FODMAP i'm on that because wheat and gluten and beans and pulses affect me, also you have to cut out LOADS of things on that diet like onion (only the green part of salad onions is ok), all wheat, gluten, pulses and lots of different types of veg for instance: Avocado, broccoli, aubergine, cabbage, onions, garlic, etc etc but it's really just to then reintroduce them and see how your stomach reacts so it would be a bit of a trial and error thing.

I think what i'm concerned about is ending up eating something i'm not supposed to. I almost wish someone woudl give me a list of everything i can and can't eat lol

That's why i was thinking of doing this 21 day thing or i've seen some others about, what would you suggest?