Plateau Discussion page 4

[otzi]

I used to drink a big icy diet pepsi every day, then chew the sweet ice all afternoon. Gave it up 2 years ago, now a sip of diet pepsi about makes me want to gag.

I eat a salad just about every day for lunch...bell peppers, mushrooms, cukes, spinach--I savor each bite. I used to hate salads and went probably 10 years without eating a salad and very little fruit. I was all about the oreos and pringles. Once your body gets used to the nutrition, it seems to crave those nutritious foods.

Here are some primal meats that are way better than chicken--chicken/beef liver, fish, liverwurst, bacon, oysters, shrimp, lamb, and beef. I rarely eat chicken, and when I do, it's boneless thighs cut up and stir fried with the fat and skin left on.

But, really, your problems may run deeper than overeating. Usually big guys like you see the weight melt off for the first 50-60 pounds before slowing--you may have issues a doc needs to address.

[Millersoontobelite]

So what did you used to eat when you allowed yourself to eat freely, but there was nothing you liked to eat? I have trouble imagining eating food I don't like.

oh i am sure you can imagine how I got to 335ish. lots of wendys, taco bell, pizza, americanized chinese, fried chicken.

[primalrob]

my biggest problem with any diet is that i dont like anything. i hate vegetables. i dont like chicken. i spend every day not enjoying 75 percent of what i put in my body. i am guessing most of you dont feel that way. so diet soda is what i look forward to at a meal. good for me or not, it gets me through the day.

i feel like this is one of the biggest issues with any kind of dieting or diet change. palatability for or against certain foods was a huge contributor to my being fat. it never really changed until i started learning how to cook. the only way to get me to eat veggies before then was by hiding them in something, or under something like a bucket of ranch dressing. then i learned about roasting and grilling and adding good fat sources. that made switching away from bad foods much easier. maybe some experimenting in the kitchen can help you change that 75% to something a lot lower.

i think there are worse things you can have than diet soda, but not many. it's pretty much just chemicals, you're clearly relying on it, and that level of food reward can inhibit fat loss even without artificial sweeteners. i don't have an easy replacement for you, other than making the rest of your diet taste better. i also don't know that quitting the soda will help you bust through your plateau, but i do know that it will give you more control over your food than it has over you.

[Millersoontobelite]

i have become a much better cook. but i still cant find ways to make things more enjoyable for me. the biggest problem is veggies and as we all know healthy greens are a great big part of this lifestyle. i eat broccoli, asparagas or brussel sprouts with many meals and i cant stand them

[sbhikes]

You don't have to eat a lot of green vegetables if you don't want to. Many people don't (like Paleobird).

What sometimes helps me is to take pictures of everything I eat. I don't have to show anybody the pictures. Sometimes just knowing I have to get out the camera makes me realize I am eating something I know I shouldn't. Doing this has often been quite enlightening for me and gets me to tighten things up a bit.

[LauraSB]

You don't have to eat a lot of green vegetables if you don't want to. Many people don't (like Paleobird).

Yes! You don't have to feel badly about not caring for green veggies. Maybe just plan to spend the next year looking around for veggies or cooking methods that do appeal and see how it goes. Once the pressure's off, you may be better at finding something to like.

In the meantime, what primal foods *do* you like? Can you put together a diet that will be reasonably satisfying and mostly primal? That will be the biggest step forward, IMO. A diet that is not emotionally sustainable is doomed to failure. I transitioned from a SAD to a mostly primal diet over the course of about 6 months and lost weight the whole time.

My #1 priority was to maintain a caloric deficit without being miserable. Everything else came second, but the SAD foods just kept falling by the wayside. Primal foods were the only ones that I felt like I could regularly eat forever and still maintain a healthy weight. So the diet brought me to primal and not the other way around.

I have always had and still have a bad Diet Pepsi habit. It has actually gotten worse recently. I don't pretend it's good for me, but neither do I beat myself up over it. I still feel a million times better than I did a year ago. I figured out how to give up junk food. I feel quite confident I'll figure out how to give up Diet Pepsi too. Give yourself some time. I personally would focus your emotional energy on finding a primal, or mostly primal, diet that works for you where you are now. You will be in a completely different place 6 months down the road.

[Millersoontobelite]

My diet is almost entirely primal but the foods I do enjoy tend to be on the higher calorie side. Steaks, bacon, sweet potatoes etc

[neilc11]

My diet is almost entirely primal but the foods I do enjoy tend to be on the higher calorie side. Steaks, bacon, sweet potatoes etc

I think 2 slices of bacon are a serving, ,,, be careful.

And I think you said package of nuts,

sometimes when in a rush i eat almonds/walnut mix for a snack. They are the 100 calorie packs, so small portion.

those aren't the yummy sugar flavored covered ones are they ?
no other ingrediants,,,?
some would even say no to roasted, or salt,
salt wich will make you thirsty, for that damn soda, which is now a nice tall glass of water,
and not a energy / vitamin water,

just cold from the tap,,,
and that's not a beer tap !

[Millersoontobelite]

They are salt free nuts and I usually eat three slices if bacon.

[Matt]

I'm going to go against the grain here a bit, and say just stick with your diet pop.

I was like you when I first started, and really enjoyed my evening dinner with a can of diet rootbeer. Healthy? I'd say no and I knew that. Did it help me get through a time when I was making serious (and beneficial) changes to my overall diet. Absolutely. I think it is easy to just say "give it up" because it isn't healthy, however if you end up quiting the entire way of eating/lifestyle (whatever you'd like to call it ) your no better off.

Last month I gave up my diet soda and I don't miss it now, I truly don't, BUT this was after 4-5 month of making changes to may diet in a way that I could be totally satisfied first. It took some time, but I have gotten to a place where I love the food I eat.

Is the diet pop a crutch? Yes it is, and maybe that is exactly what you need to get through the transition. It helped me, and now I'm 33 pounds lighter.

Cheers,

Matt