I am finally got the nerve to write my first post...can you guide me? page 2

[Narcolepticjenn]

My best advice -- and I'm only about 2 mos in, so take this with a grain of salt -- is to start with Primal things you love to eat, and just eat them with abandon. You want to eat an entire avocado? Go for it. Found blackberries on sale? Eat a whole container. Eat a pile of your favorite vegetables sauteed in Kerrygold butter. Don't worry about portions, points, calories, ratios, etc right now -- eat whatever you want as long as it's actual real food. Eventually you will start feeling less hungry as your body gets used to the new regime. It's incredibly liberating to go four, five, six hours without needing to eat, or even really thinking about food at all, because you have fueled your body well.

[Tribal Rob]

Leptin is a hormone that control hunger - I've recently done it at journaled it on this thread http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread75911.html

Leptin reset starts at poste 38, but there is background before that to put it in context if you can be arsed to read (warning there are also progress photos where my hairy/fat chest is on display not for the faint hearted )

It worked for me, it may work for you, and the best part for you is no excersie at first, then you do HIIT, which I recon if you hate excersise is one of the best ways to get what you need - it may be nasty but it's over damn quick

I found this artical really good for explaining leptin in a not too technical way Understanding Our Bodies: Leptin (The Fullness Hormone)*|*Nutrition Wonderland, there are also posts Mark has done, and Dr Jack Kurse's leptin reset program (google leptin reset) they guy has some quacky ideas, but as I said the Leptin Reset worked for me.

ETA: one thing I like that might apeal to you is I worked out a set breakfast, which was 4 eggs 200g ground beef and a couple of strips of bacon (ok maybe 4 strips) and ate that every morning (you might not be able to eat as much as me and won't need as much food so don't worrry if that sounds huge, I am 200lbs plus and can almost see my abs (at least the top 4) so there is a lot of me to feed)

[Annieh]

Hey Jenn, you have done great to lose what you have so far. I would like to encourage you to persevere with learning to cook primal food well. It's not difficult, but it is different from conventional baking.

What I did, and it has worked well for me, is first purged my pantry and fridge of all offending items - processed oils, packaged products (I don't even call them food now), flour and other grains, beans, condiments full of additives, fizzy drinks etc. I kept some sugar on a top shelf for my dh along with his muesli and try to ignore them along with a loaf of bread in the freezer.

My grocery list is basically: Dairy: eggs, butter, whole milk, cheese; Meat: beef, lamb, chicken, pork, bacon; Veges: Pumpkin, kumara, onions, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms and many more depending what is in season. Fruit: bananas (for sweetening) and whatever else is in season but only a couple of pieces per day. Treats: Almonds, dark chocolate, tea.

Eggs are my staple breakfast, either panfried in butter, whipped into an omelette with veges, or blended with banana to make waffles. Sometimes I add bacon or cheese.

I have found meat is best cooked slowly. Layer your peeled and chopped veges in the bottom of the dish, add the seasoned meat, cover and cook long and slowly.

Mix and match the meat and veges and seasoning for variety - eg a beef curry in the slow cooker all day with onions, mushrooms and carrots, or ginger and pork chops in the oven at 150C for 1 1/2 - 2 hours with kumara, capsicum and pineapple.

Alternatively if you grill your lamb chops or chicken pieces (save the fat that drips off them) then you will want to serve with a side dish of veges. You can make salsas by finely dicing cucumber, peach and mint for example.

Butter makes veges tasty. So does bacon. So does coconut cream. You can steam broccoli and then toss in an olive oil dressing, saute silverbeet or any veges you like in butter, or stirfry cabbage in bacon grease, or mash pumpkin with cream or coconut cream, to give a few examples. Season with salt and pepper. Try out different spices such as cinnamon, coriander, chilli etc.

If any of these ideas appeal, have a look in my journal (link below) I often post my meals.

Good luck with your primal cooking.

[2_N_Jenn]

Good advice and thanks for reaching out to me. I am finding my love again with Paleo and connecting with people who do it make the difference. I am not worrying about the portions as my hunger decreases when eating Paleo. Do you still drink coffee and wine?

Hugs,
Jenn

[2_N_Jenn]

Hi Rob,
Thank you for your invaluable information. I knew about Dr. Kruse but never did he leptin reset. I want to do it but find him overwhelming in the amount of information he has on his site and thank you so much for the links. I looked over your blog and am impressed by the dedication you have.

what can be HIT training?

I had a huge breakfast like you said and felt great. Do you drink coffee and alcohol? I find to get rid of them are hard.

Best,
Jenn

[2_N_Jenn]

Hi Annie,
My favorite country in the world...New Zealand. I love your blog. Is there some way that I can mark it or add you as a friend. I am afraid that I don't know the in's and out's of the website yet.THANK YOU for all the great information. This is what I needed for so long.


Is there anything special you do to steam veggies? I always make my veggies mushy and boring. Love your ideas and I am so excited.

How long have you been doing primal?

Much thanks for the help,
Jenn

[Annieh]

Hi Annie,
My favorite country in the world...New Zealand. I love your blog. Is there some way that I can mark it or add you as a friend. I am afraid that I don't know the in's and out's of the website yet.THANK YOU for all the great information. This is what I needed for so long.


Is there anything special you do to steam veggies? I always make my veggies mushy and boring. Love your ideas and I am so excited.

How long have you been doing primal?

Much thanks for the help,
Jenn

Thanks Jenn, I love to encourage people starting on primal because it has made such a positive difference in my own life since I heard about it eight months ago. I jumped in straight away and haven't looked back.

I have added you as a friend, I think all you need to do is go to your profile and accept my request. If you find out about marking a page I would like to know too.

I agree that steamed veges can be a tad boring, but they needn't be mushy. I just slice and put them in a pot with a small amount of water in the bottom, cover and cook only until they turn a brighter colour and are no longer raw but still a weeny bit crisp. Then drain. Unfortunately I have also burnt many pots and many veges this way, haha. You really have to keep an eye on them because they never take as long as you think and the water evaporates away. Genuine steaming would be a double pot system, with boiling water in the bottom and veges in the pot above (the one that has holes in the bottom).

Now that I'm not afraid of fat any more I would rather roast my veges instead, or stir fry them, or at the very least toss them in butter after steaming. They can also be mashed with cream, sour cream, or coconut cream, baked in a frittata, blended into soup etc etc. So many non boring things to do to them. Have fun!

[Tribal Rob]

Hi Rob,

what can be HIT training?

Do you drink coffee and alcohol? I find to get rid of them are hard.

High Intensity Interval Training High-intensity interval training - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Essentially it's anything that is either hard (weights or body weight) or fast (like star jumps, high knee running on the spot, or just actaul sprinting) that gets your heart rate up fast, for a short period of time, then a period of rest. Tabata intervals are often used, which is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, for 8 rounds.

If you have a smart phone you can download HIIT timers as free apps and there is a circuit trainer app that has a free version that has a certain number of free routines you can follow and it shows you the excersisies as little aninmations.

I do drink coffee, and I don't feel it is detremental to weight loss as long as you don't have cream/milk or sugar in it (and I avoid artfical/calorie free sweetners for a number of reasons too) I have 1 - 2 coffees a day with cream, 1 is my first thing drink and I might have another with my first meal of the day. Other than that I take it black so there are no calories.

I don't drink alcohol mainly as having young kids in the house and co-sleeping with our 1 year old I don't like to be in a state where I can't drive to hospital if I need to, or be even slighty buzzed for co-sleeping, just my choice. I don't think you need to cut out occasional drinking, but it it's all down to how you deal with it personally, a glass of red wine to relax can be a net benifit to your health, a bottle of cooking sherry out of a brown paper bag on a park bench probably not a positive choice

BTW have you seen the e-mail service Mark has just launched - unlimited 1-2-1 e-mail support for $10 a month and a primal meal plan e-mailed to you for $10 a month, either or both of these might benifit you if you are stuggling to get fully on board with the whole primal thing, and I think they are pretty good value (to be honest once you've got a months worth of meal plans you could just start back at week one again, I know I don't have that much variety in my diet)

[2_N_Jenn]

Hi Annie,
Thanks for the friend add. I still have to figure out how to do a lot on this forum.

Thanks for all the great tips and I can't tell you how invaluable your help is to a newbie like me...well, I am not so new but I have much to learn. I did good today and ate a lot. I feel as if I am gaining weight and Ai have 65 pounds more to lose. I definitely feel that I am getting better sleep and am happier.

I will be following and reading you.

Hugs,
Jenn

[2_N_Jenn]

Hi Rob,
I sent a friend request and post marked your blog. Great info and already it has helped me a lot. I read more on HIIT and love it. I think that I have been working too hard. Ai really have to concentrate more on the eating part and not so much the workout as I am quite confident. I have 65 pounds to lose where I would feel comfortable and So I want to shred quickly.

I don't have the smart phone..I have an android and will look for it there. I hope there is an application like it.

I think I have to give up the cream at least on a regular basis as I use a lot of it and wine. I have a glass or two of red or white wine a night. So, hard because I feel as if I am giving up something that I enjoy.

As far as a cheat meal, is it one meal or a day of non paleo? I am trying to decide. Would love your take on that.

No, I haven't heard about the meal planning or the one two one email support. Love that and will have to find information about it. I might just partake in that as I need a lot of help and support as this is very overwhelming to me.

Again, thank you for giving me some great information and support.

Best,
Jenn