Stressed about diet page

[john_e_turner_ii]

Does anyone get stressed out about their diet and the differing opinions?

The conflicting opinions about diet really bother me. I read the Primal Blueprint, and all of it makes sense. On the other hand, I have my cardiologist blasting the high saturated fat and cholesterol I eat, especially after my lipid counts went straight up after starting PB. Then within the forums there is such conflict about:

1. Fruit, it's bad, it's good?

3. Supplements? Which ones? How much?

4. Cage free, grass fed? Some say they are a must, some say it doesn't matter.

I am at the healthiest weight I have ever been at 39 years old, 5'9', 165 pounds, with good strength on my squats, deadlifts, pullups and more. I feel great, sleep better and I don't have the starving food cravings I had on my CW diet.

Maybe I am worried about this other stuff when I should just enjoy what I eat and enjoy how I feel.

[beckinwolf]

I totally agree with you. It can be very stressful, and almost downright irritating. Every single day there's something else that's either bad, wrong, or used to be good, but now its bad. And its not just food anymore, its freaking everything. Plastics, shampoo, toothpaste. It's all going to kill us!

[Little_Fish]

Heck yes it's stressful. I'm just trying to eat good and be happy. I have been slipping for this past few weeks.. haven't gained any weight, but I have felt shitty-tired- headaches sooo.. I know what's going on. I do enjoy eating primal. I will eat some bread every now and then and have a sweet treat too.
I also worry about cholesterol sometimes. I haven't gotten a recent test, but i intend to.

[Mog]

Yes, I do. But then I remind myself that my pre-primal diet was mainly highly processed 'food', sandwiches, grains pretty much every meal and virtually no fruit and veg and I still struggle sometimes not to revert to old habits, so getting anxious about a banana or pumpkin is crazy for me - I should be patting myself on the back for eating healthy whole food. I know a lot of the forum discussions are about debating and understanding what are the absolute best foods for us, and why, but for me, I am doing a lot better than I was before - and most people I know would really struggle to stick to clean whole foods, sans sugar and grains (and most people DO express amazement when they ask what I am doing, and I explain the principles, it IS hard) - so I am trying not to get too hung up on it for fear of ditching it all as 'too hard'. Besides, primal eating works - I lose weight and my skin is amazing.

[Sharonll]

Maybe I am worried about this other stuff when I should just enjoy what I eat and enjoy how I feel.

I think you got it right in your last line. Don't stress about what everyone else says, CW or primal or anything else. Find out what's best for you, always remain open-minded, ready for new information, understand why you do what you do so you won't be swayed by others' opinions. In other words, just enjoy what you eat and enjoy how you feel!

[AuH2Ogirl]

Give it thought and do research? Yes. Stress about it? No. What's the point of going Primal if you're going to stress about your food?

Look at it this way: You can't do anything about what you've already put/not put into your body, so there's no point in stressing about it.

You can, however, look at the science and use the information available to you to make informed decisions from today forward. Besides, if you're here and following the PB, even if you don't have everything just right, you're still better off than 95% of the people in the US. You can't go wrong eating real food. I mean, what logical sense does it make that any processed/industrial food (fake meat, vegetable oil, etc.) would be better for you than the real thing?

[Stabby]

If you're getting optimal nutrition and all of the micronutrients you need and eating all real food (as opposed to processed) you're already miles ahead of most people.

As far as supplements go. Anything that you're low in you should probably supplement with. It's a far greater crime to your body to deprive it of nutrients than to take a pill. We're not a food religion and it's not sinning.

[EGYnutrition]

I take the stance of do the best YOU can for the goals YOU have. Too many people see that something works for them, and manifest in their mind that since it worked for them, it works for all. The reason there is such variation and diversity in opinion is because too little people individualize the advice and methods they get and use.

EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. The best method you could participate in would be to listen to your body.

[PrimalWannabeGirl]

I look at it this way: we human animals are designed to be healthy on a wide continuum of 'traditional' diets. A fascinating read is a book called THE BLUE ZONES. It's a book about the places in the world where there is a large percentage of healthy elderly (nearing 100 years of age). The diets vary from the fish, rice, pork and vegetables of the Okinawans, to the rice and beans, eggs, tortillas and chicken of the Costa Ricans, to the red wine, vegetables, olive oil, and sheep's milk cheese of the Sardinians.

What these populations have in common are these things:
1. The people move all day long, and do physical work most days of the week.
2. They walk a lot to get places, every day.
3. They don't overeat, and they don't eat processed foods.
4. They prepare grains, if any, in traditional manner (lime-soaked corn, eg)
5. They have enduring and meaningful social ties, and a positive role as the elderly in their societies.
6. They make time for socializing with others.
7. They are relaxed about life, with strong faith and strong community ties.

In other words, don't sweat the small stuff! Eat real foods, go out and play.

Sooze

[avocado]

Maybe I am worried about this other stuff when I should just enjoy what I eat and enjoy how I feel.

Yeah, I think discussions about the finer points have their place, and that place is when they aren't stressful. I focus on the changes I can feel happy and stress-free about today, and as those changes become second nature, then I find I can focus on some new finer point without stress. Rinse and repeat.