It's not working! :( page

[Romana]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if people could point out where I am going wrong? I heard about the primal diet through a friend of mine and, for the most part, I've been following it quite well. However, in the past few of weeks, I have had a few meals where I cheated and I seem to have gained a lot (I don't weight myself, I'm just going by my clothes)! Obviously, this makes me sad.

Anyway, for the past week and a half, I have been good and exercising, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference. Also, I am shocked at how much I have gained because even if I cheated, for the most part I was still sticking to it. So, I was wondering if I could give you an example of what I eat and do, and if you could tell me if it's OK, please?

Morning:

Tea with full fat milk
2 eggs fried in butter + bowl of full fat yogurt and (possibly) a tablespoon of honey

Snack:
Another bowl of yogurt/10 almonds or a plum/orange/apple + tea

Lunch: Goats cheese/chicken salad or roasted peppers with some eggs or high fat meat
+

tea

Snack:

Same as mid-morning snack or possibly no snack at all

Dinner: Something similar to lunch but probably bigger + probably some yogurt or fruit plus a herbal tea (I really like tea b/c I'm British!)

Now...I have to admit that I am very fond of amaretto and I may have had a couple of glasses (not more than one at a time) in the past week. Is this going to make a big difference?

I really have not even touched bread or potatoes or grains at all in the past 2 weeks.


I walk quite a bit and I run maybe 3 times a week for about 30 minutes at a time. I live in Italy and there is no gym near me so interval training is not as easy as it might be if I were in a gym. I have started to do some pilates youtube videos too.


Where am I really going wrong? I'm so envious of these people who are losing 10 pounds at a time! That is the dream

Thank you for your help, guys!

[MarissaLinnea]

You seem to be eating a lot of dairy. Many people have a harder time losing weight while eating dairy, so maybe that could be part of the problem. Maybe you could cut the yogurt down to just once a day and see if that helps.

Also, sounds like you have only been at it for two weeks or so? You have to give it time. Give it a few months before you throw in the towel and decide that it isn't working. Believe me, I understand how frustrating it is, I was in your position not too long ago. Be patient and changes will happen. Hare you living heavy and sleeping well? Playing at all? Those are all important too.

[AMonkey]

Why so many snacks? Paleo isn't an excuse to eat lots of food just because its "healthy" for you. For instance breakfast is good, but then you have snack which seems completely unnecessary. Lunch looks good but then another snack.
The alcohol won't make any significant difference unless you actually start binge drinking it.

And from what you are saying you have only done primal for a couple of weeks. I can healthily lose 1-2 pounds a week (0.5kg) myself, as a guy, and that is what you should be expecting. People losing 10 pounds a week/couple of weeks are not the norm. Additionally weight flucutations can eclipse what fat loss you have achieved. For instance how hydrated, how much food is in your belly, how much crap their is in your colon etc.

So, re asses if you are eating too much. In general you should never eat to you are full, and eat only when hungry. Additionally keep at it. For most people weight loss is a slow process, do not let glamour magazines and extreme stories make you believe that you can drop 5 pounds in a week normally (unless you are extremely fat).

[PHaselow]

I gained weight at first. I think it was due to portion sizes.

How big is a bowl of yogurt? At least in the US, our bowls are now gargantuan.

How many ounces of meat? 4 oz means fewer calories than 8 oz.

Is the chicken salad a green salad with some chicken on it or cut-up chicken in a mayonnaise based dressing? Big difference.

An ounce of Amaretto contains about 100 calories and 15 grams of carbs. Do you have a mug of it?

Things like that all add up. I gained at least 3 pounds in the first month and seemed to add a layer of fat where I did not have it before. I found that I really needed to reduce the amount of protein and increase the vegetables to maintain or drop any weight. It is different for everyone.

I would definitely listen to what others are saying and reduce the amount of dairy. Substitute a bunch of carrots, celery and peppers for a snack if you need one.

You can also try intermittent fasting? Skip the breakfast except for the tea. Try adding heavy whipping cream to the tea for a bolus of fat in the morning to carry you over?

What works for some will not work for others. It is so easy to read the success stories and assume if you do what they do you will be as successful. Often all you do is get discouraged. I know I did.

Hang int here! dumping the grains is great.

[Unicorn]

Way, way, too much dairy and nuts. Yogurt has natural milk sugars in it, so your carb level may be much higher than what you anticipate. Plus, many people have sweetened yogurt which is NOT GOOD.

Start with eating three meals a day. Drop the snack habit. This will take work. Add veggies, especially deep green leafy veggies, into each meal. Limit yogurt to once per day tops, and include meats with each of your meals. I would drop the nuts for a few weeks, as they pack a lot of calories and carbs into a small handful, and are often not very satisfying. Keep the tea, but make sure you are not adding sugar to it. Switch to a drop or two of heavy cream (no milk sugars) instead of milk.

How is your sleep? Are you getting enough rest?

You cannot undo years of damage in 1-2 weeks. Your body probably hasn't even figured out what is going on yet. This is going to take time. If you have weight to lose, your body must first go through a metabolic healing process before weight can be lost. For many it can take over a month before they start seeing weight loss. However, there are other changes that can occur that let you know this is working.

[sbhikes]

Try this instead:

Breakfast
4oz meat (beef, ground beef, liver, salmon, eggs, chicken)
As much vegetables as you want

Lunch
4oz meat (beef, ground beef, liver, salmon, eggs, chicken)
As much vegetables as you want

Dinner
4oz meat (beef, ground beef, liver, salmon, eggs, chicken)
As much vegetables as you want
A small sweet potato
butter if you need it

You can thank me later.

[Leida]

Start with eliminating fruit. If it doesn't help, nix dairy. Then, it will be the nuts' turn. At the moment your eating looks like you are interested in treats rather than meals. I go on that spree once in a while and always gain weight when I do.

[Silvergirl]

You do have to give it time to adjust. Basically your diet sounds lovely but not great for weight loss IMO.
Gear you food more around meat, good fat and veg. Think more of fruit and dairy as a treat. Cut out the snacks altogether, only have something very small if you feel really uncomfortable. Gradually lower your portions. You will be amazed how much less you will want or need to eat with more fat in your diet. Eat very slowly, really taste your food. Stop as soon as you feel sated, not full. Just some suggestions, hope something helps

[shep68]

So far looks like pretty sound advice. I agree about dumping all the dairy and limiting fruits and nuts. I eat about 1 apple per day and hardly touch nuts. Dairy is limited to a couple cheese slices every few days. Also 1-2 weeks is not enough time. All the reading you do on this lifestyle recommends giving it 30 days before making any judgements. If you must snack try some olives, maybe some small amounts of natural hard cheese, pickles, veg, dark chocolate every once in awhile. Snack only once a day at first and gradually wean yourself to every couple days. If you find you are starving between meals then increase your meat/veg at meal time. Try these tweaks and check back in a month.

[JoanieL]

Amaretto has a lot of sugar. There are a lot of recipes for homemade liqueurs online, and I'm thinking you could do one of those with a sugar substitute like stevia.