Today starts day 1: New to primal/paleo with a few questions. page

[Jezzebelle]

Hello everyone!

Today is the first day of committing to new lifestyle changes. I've researched Paleo out and decided that it seems to be the most healthy option out there.

Like most people I've struggled with weight loss most of my life and jumped from one fad diet to the next, with no real success. I'm without a doubt addicted to sugar, caffeine and all junk foods known to man kind. Naturally I grew up in a family that didn't model proper nutrition or we were just too broke back then to afford high quality food.

I've realized that its time to push forward in this new chapter in my life, I'm also a full time college student so that imposes challenges of its own.

Anyone who's been in college knows what it's like to snack through homework or the stress eating before an exam. I know this is the general problem now I just need to counter balance it with better options.

A few questions to anyone who might read this:

1) With people who lead a busy life, what do you do for exercise? I don't currently have access to a gym so I'm looking for some inexpensive options.

2) Water: How important is it and how much should you drink a day?

3) How do you avoid and/or push through the cravings for crap food?

4) What has been your biggest success since you started a paleo lifestyle and what has been your biggest struggle?

I think this is it for now and I thank you in advance for answering any of my questions that you can.

Cheers,

Jezz

[paleodutch]

welcome

i do bodyweight training as the lifting heavy things part, check marks exercises in his free ebook or search convict conditioning. exept for a pullupbar nothing more is needed.
for the rest walk often and do some short allout sprinting once a week. search hiit.
just drink water when thirsty

if i am hungry i eat something. something salt or fat will often help me with cravings. or some dark chocolate.

for me the health benefits of stopping with dairy helped with lots of problems i have struggled with for years, weight loss is an added benefit. not a lot of struggles, sometimes it is difficult to stop grazing food when not hungry. but as long as i am still losing a bit i dont worry to much and i dont know how many calories i eat,

[Pebbles67]

Exercise: I would register for the free download of the Primal Blueprint Fitness plan. It is a good place to start.

Food: Eat as much good primal food as you need to stay on track. Read the book or Primal 101 on the blog if you haven't already.

Water: I drink 100oz / day, because that is what I need for exercise etc.

Other: Make some friends in the journals section whose goals or lifestyle is similar to yours. Be careful on the forums. There is a lot of conflicting information out there. If you get confused re read Primal 101. A lot of us have been Primal a long time and end up in self experimentation mode. Remember, YOU are your own experiment.

Successes and Struggles: The Primal Blueprint saved my life and changed it forever. I lost 65 lbs in my first Primal year, but as you can see by my signature, I have gained some back. Finding my exact Primal formula for optimal health has been a struggle. I have been obese since childhood and deal with a binge eating disorder.

Good Luck!

[MissJecka]

1) With people who lead a busy life, what do you do for exercise? I don't currently have access to a gym so I'm looking for some inexpensive options.

You don't need a gym membership to get a workout! Buy some sneakers and go for a run or walk. Do body weight exercises as outlined in the Primal Blueprint Fitness e-book on the MDA site. It's very simple, as the PB clearly outlines: lift heavy things and move once in a while, go outside, enjoy nature.

2) Water: How important is it and how much should you drink a day?

Drink when you're thirsty. No need to force down water just because of some 8-cups-a-day myth. When you eat whole foods like fresh produce and other items, you'll get plenty of naturally-occurring water. I find myself rarely thirsty because of all of the produce I eat.

3) How do you avoid and/or push through the cravings for crap food?

If I can push through (and that's a HUGE "if"!), it's because I find something else that will satisfy. If I want something sweet, I have a banana or almond butter or carrots or a home-made treat. If I want something savory (which usually isn't the case for me) I'll have raw cheese, a hard-boiled egg, or veggies. However, since being Primal, I rarely get cravings because I find myself easily and overly satisfied by the simple things.

But, sometimes you just gotta have it... like last night when I had a McDonald's Shamrock Shake. Whoops! Just move on in those cases! I don't aim for perfection; my personal goal is to be about 90% Primal. 100% would be great, but compared to how I used to be, 90% is so amazing and has already made great changes in my life.

4) What has been your biggest success since you started a paleo lifestyle and what has been your biggest struggle?

Success = lowering my total cholesterol and LDL level to its lowest in my entire 27-year life, and surprising the shit out of my parents, who swore that I was slowly killing myself by eating a bacon burger topped with egg for dinner!

Struggle = not seeming like a pain in the ass to my boyfriend's family. I know my family will cater to my "crazy needs" to not eat wheat products and other garbage; however, I hate seeming like a burden to others. My boyfriend's family aims to please, and although they don't eat a super-SAD diet, they are very much pasta and pizza lovers... cook breaded chicken a lot... things like that. I don't want to be demanding on them...

Anyway...

Welcome! Have you read the PB book yet?

[Jezzebelle]

Thanks for the responses I have read the primal blue print. The way that all of this comes across to me is that it is simply a lifestyle change vs a diet plan. All in all it seems pretty straight forward.

[MissJecka]

Thanks for the responses I have read the primal blue print. The way that all of this comes across to me is that it is simply a lifestyle change vs a diet plan. All in all it seems pretty straight forward.

Exactly. Diets don't work. When people consider themselves as having "failed being Primal", it's usually because they want some kind of rapid reward for doing this, like a fad diet. Just use the building blocks in the PB and fit them in your life, and you will be fine.