When Listening to Your Body Doesn’t Work
Hunger largely comes down to perceived energy and/or nutrient insufficiency. Your body thinks that it needs more calories and more energy, and hunger sets in to get you to eat the food that contains those nutrients. Now, if perception matches up well with reality – if you truly do need more nutrients – things are good. You need some food, you eat some food, and you stop when you’ve had enough. In this situation, listening to your body is a good idea. That’s what all those Primal people (including me) are talking about when they tell you to “just listen to your body, maaaaaaan,” because for those people, it truly is that simple. Eliminating the excess carbs, the refined sugar, the grains, and the processed seed oils while adhering to the other Primal laws regarding exercise, sleep, stress, sun, and all the rest was enough to right the ship.
But that’s not everyone. Sometimes perception does not match up with reality. Sometimes your body thinks it needs more nutrients when it really doesn’t, for a variety of reasons. This isn’t actually an example of your body lying to you, since your body “believes” what it’s saying, but the end result is the same: you eat something that you really don’t need. It’s a bit like how your friends and family who worry about you eating all that fat and protein try to push bran muffins and whole wheat pasta on you. They’re operating under a fundamentally broken set of assumptions, but they mean well.
So, why does this happen? What’s going on when someone’s sense of hunger is broken? When doesn’t listening to your body work?
When you can’t access your stored body fat.
Body fat is stored energy; it’s long-term, slow-burning fuel that our bodies love to use, and should be able to use very well. But what happens when you can’t burn it very well?
You burn sugar instead. After all, you need energy from somewhere, and research shows that those who have the most problem with hunger – the obese and the formerly obese – burn more carbohydrate than fat, whereas those who generally don’t have much of an issue with hunger – the lean – burn more fat than carbohydrate. Problem is, our ability to store glucose as energy is inherently limited and dwarfed by our ability to store fat as energy. We can store pounds and pounds of the latter, while the former is perpetually scarce. We can keep only around 100 grams of glucose on hand in the liver and 400 grams in the muscles, depending on their size. That won’t last very long, and once it’s used up, you need more food – especially if your ability to burn body fat is impaired. When you need more food, you get hungry. If your body is used to burning sugar, you’re going to crave sugar. The resultant sugar craving is very real, because sugar is what you “need,” but it’s not what you need.
So, if you’ve had success losing weight with Primal eating, but still have trouble curbing your appetite, this could explain why – you may not be totally fat-adapted. You can, and likely will, but it will take time.
When you’re insulin resistant.
Remember how I said insulin is an indicator of nutrient availability in Monday’s post on carb feeds? Heck, some have even gone so far as to call insulin a “satiety hormone.” After all, it can cross the blood-brain barrier into the brain, where it interacts with various systems to tell the body that food has been ingested and is currently digesting, and that maybe you don’t have to eat for a bit. Of course, that’s only the case if you’re insulin sensitive. If you’re insulin resistant, your body/brain won’t get the message that insulin is trying hard to convey.
Thus, insulin resistance promotes hunger. You eat, and insulin is released, but your body tells you to eat some more despite the much-ballyhooed ability of insulin to act as a satiety hormone.
When you’re addicted to junk.
What if you weren’t actually even phsyiologically “hungry”? What if your body didn’t think it was missing nutrients or fat or carbs – but rather it just wanted another hit of that sweet, sweet junk food? Last week, I showed how our brains and bodies respond to pleasurable, tasty foods by secreting endogenous opioids – brain morphine, really – that, together with dopamine, cause you to want more of whatever food triggered those secretions. This wasn’t a problem back when we only had access to real, whole foods like meat, plants, fruits, nuts, and roots, because those foods didn’t act as hyperstimuli of our reward systems. They caused modest, appropriate opioid and dopamine responses in the brain, promoting repeated consumption but not compulsive overconsumption. Fast forward to today and it’s a very different world full of people doing odd food-related things that make absolutely no sense:
People eat cans of Pringles and become immediately disgusted with themselves for doing it. They’re repulsed by the Twinkie even as it makes its way into their gaping maw. They throw up in their mouth at the thought of McDonald’s “chicken” nuggets, yet find themselves in the drive-thru after work, ordering a value meal despite themselves.
It’s crazy on its face, but it actually makes perfect sense at the same time, because our natural reward systems have been hijacked by a constant barrage of delicious (but gross) food. You want the stuff even if you currently have no physiological need for calories.
When you are compelled to eat junk, don’t listen to your body. Eat something Primal, something nourishing, something that approximates what you’re craving only using real food. So, if you want some Sour Patch Kids, grab some raspberries. If you want a Big Mac, go for a grass-fed burger over salad.
When you’re experiencing reactive hypoglycemia.
Normally, you eat some food, your blood sugar goes up, insulin rises to take care of the nutrients, the nutrients are partitioned to their respective holding places, your blood sugar normalizes, and all is well. You’ll get hungry again, only when you need the food, when your body truly needs an input of energy. In some people, however, eating food (especially carbs) causes the pancreas to secrete an inordinately large amount of insulin, way more than you actually need. Your blood sugar drops from its postprandial high, but the insulin goes above and beyond, and your blood sugar continues to plummet past “normal.”
Your body implores you to “eat, eat,” even though there’s no real need for added energy; it’s just that your low blood sugar is indicating a need for caloric energy. In people with well-functioning metabolisms, lower blood sugar generally matches up with a need for calories and nutrients. In the reactive hypoglycemic state, the two do not match up. Hunger is constant, but you’re not really nourishing yourself. You’re just eating to push up that blood sugar.
In one sense, listening to your hypoglycemic body is working, because eating carbs raises your blood sugar and you feel better. But in the long run, it isn’t working, because you’re eating more than you need to eat, you’re gaining weight, and you’re not fixing the situation. Sticking with foods that don’t elevate your blood sugar to such dizzying heights (protein and fat) should give you better control over your blood sugar.
When your sleep is bad.
I harp on the importance of sleep all the time, and I’m going to do it again here. Lack of sleep isn’t just bad for alertness, circadian rhythm regulation, stress hormone secretion, bags under the eyes, exercise performance, etc., etc.; it’s also a potent appetite stimulator. Furthermore, not sleeping also worsens glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, meaning when you do (inevitably) eat, it won’t sate you and you’ll be more likely to store it as fat. You’re also more likely to eat junk when you don’t sleep, because it increases the brain’s susceptibility to food stimuli.
When you’ve had a bad night’s sleep and your body is craving food, eat. Don’t fast, because that’s just heaping one stressor on top of another. Eat something you know is good – pastured bacon and eggs, a Big Ass salad, some sweet potato. And get some sleep, so it doesn’t happen again.
In all these situations, we are faced with a decision to make: do we listen to our bodies and feel “better,” or do we ignore them and do what’s “best” for us? There are no easy answers. If you’re not yet a fat-burning beast, you’re in for a rough time. If your blood sugar gets low enough, you might faint. Ignoring your body’s cries to eat something probably isn’t a good idea in that situation. If you haven’t slept, you should probably eat, but not junk. At some point, however, saying “no” to your body’s signals or figuring out how to fix the broken machinery that’s precipitating the messages is going to be necessary. That’s where something like the 21-Day Total Body Transformation, which removes the guesswork from all this so that you follow an established framework, or the 90-Day Journal, which provides a foundation for doing your own “formal guesswork,” comes into play.
Your body may appear to be working against you, but it’s doing it’s best. It’s responding to perceived physiological needs, even if those perceptions are misguided and confused. Whatever you do, don’t despair. Don’t give up. You’ve got a great community here, folks who’ve been there and back again, folks who can help you get things moving in the right direction.
In future posts, I’ll be discussing some other instances where the body’s messaging should be viewed with suspicion, so stay tuned.
Now let’s hear how you guys have dealt with confusing hunger messages in the comment section. Until next time, take care!
Grab a copy of Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals for over 100 Primal Recipes You Can Prepare in 30 Minutes or Less
Posted By: Mark Sisson
While I was going through recovery from anorexia athletica, under strict supervision from my “team”, I was instructed to eat A LOT of food. I was restricted from including vegetables from my caloric count and encouraged to eat complete junk; burgers, fries, burritos, pizza, chips…all of it. I LOVE vegetables; this was difficult.
I appreciate that I’m alive. Although, my “team’s” approach caused massive swings in my blood glucose to the point that I had to by a glucometer to avoid dangerous levels of hypoglycemia. I was told to consume sugar, if this happened. Of course, by following their instruction, I was quickly making matters more chronic and of course, I got FAT. I’ve never been fat. I was devastated and FAT. Aside from this, my body was reacting by swelling up like a balloon with severe edema. They couldn’t figure this out either; REALLY?
About halfway through the process of this so-called recovery, I buried myself in research and literature and proposed to my doctor that sugar and “starchy” carbs were clearly the culprit. I was right; they were wrong; educated/trained professionals. My dietitian, thankfully, agreed with me toward the end. I sense she knew, but was afraid to cross the line as a new consultant. My doctor said he’d consider my concerns and I never heard from him again. I like him as a person, but I believe he made big mistakes.
I have a kicker – every day of that miserable recovery, I told my husband that I was craving protein and fats. I just started the primal way of life 2.5 weeks ago. 4 months ago, I moved home, took my diet into my own hands, lost a slow 15lbs and recovered from the edema. Since I’ve gone primal, I’ve lost ~5lbs and can go for hours and hours without eating…much like I remember pre-anorexia. Phew. Thank you, Mark. You’ve sincerely confirmed everything I’ve been saying for 2.5 years…and no, I really didn’t know much about this approach until recently
I am completely relating to Heather’s important comment and story…for it is mine precisely. I too had anorexia athletica as well as restrictive anorexia post ill-informed, yet perhaps well-intentioned “team” advice..I too was instructed to eat anything and everything…mostly junk and sugar…and I ended up with horrific edema and fat..I was also instructed to get the minimum of physical activity in a day..and to stay in bed, take frequent naps…and it just served to make me fat with more weight than I ever carried when eating normally..I had severe joint pains in my shoulder, low energy, acne (first time in my life!), depression and disgust with the new foreign body. I suppose I followed my team’s advice to “carb load” because I knew I needed to gain weight, and I thought by doing so I would “refind” my menses and my metabolism would finally “kick in”..My “team” informed me that this would eventually “happen”…although, it never did. I went from 32 kilos to almost 60 kilos during this “recovery” period..nearly one year!.. before I decided to listen to my body’s call to rediscover physical activity (long mind-cleansing walks) cut out the grains/sugar/baked goods/starchy carbs and upped the protein/healthy fats component of my diet. I too delved into research regarding food’s effects on the body and happened onto your life-saving, informative site..and have regained energy, health whilst losing the pregnancy-mimicking edema and fat. I feel much more like my pre-anorexia “normal” self…listening to my body’s call for healthy, nourishing fare…and I want to thank you Mark…Heather…and the incredibly intelligent MDA readers/commentators and their contributions…I feel truly in recovery thanks to all of you.
Donna – your response gave me chills. Albeit necessary (for me, at least), it’s such an unusual and unpredictable circumstance to encounter. Each time I feel I’ve returned to normal, another week passes and clarity returns in another dose. The entire process of an ED simply puts you to sleep. The pathway back to health is a myriad of old, yet re-learned experiences and this, as you’ve mentioned, has proven to be the final piece to a long-awaited “me again”. I offer heartfelt acknowledgment to you, for making it through.
Thank you Mark. Ignoring my body and doing “what’s best” has been my battle cry for the last 2 yrs or so! Ya, not good. And my sleep – what is this “sleep” you speak of!LOL – not really a laughing matter. The ONLY time in my life (I’m 43) I’ve been able to really rest/sleep was the weeks that followed a hysterectomy (I was “made” to rest – it was hard!). Too Sad, I know.
Anyhoo-great, great post.
great article. i really liked how you encompassed so many different areas regarding hunger.
I had a mad craving for banana bread as I was reading this…that “replace with primal” concept was key, ate a bunch of bananas.
I think it is all a matter of “retraining” our bodies. We have been hijacked by food companies, nutritionists, and leaders. I have found that over time, the body starts to wise up a bit. Once the good quality nutrition comes in on a regular basis, you stop craving the junk so much.
I have insulin resistance/PCOS and tend to have low blood sugar – something my ND wants me to avoid due to also having an autoimmune disorder. Many times I don’t eat when I know I should and it catches up with me sooner than later. I guess its easy if you have a “normal” metabolism and not all of these issues.
What about your gut bacteria? If advantageous bacteria are not in check you can easily be ruled by nefarious bacteria and beastly yeasts and their endless hunger for sugar.
I completely agree, gut bacteria is important to address. My struggles with cravings for sugar & especially dairy are gut bacteria related. Those nefarious bacteria & beastly yeasts that you refer to thrive on the sugar in both. So when we remove sugar these nasty “creatures” starve, and the only way they can survive is by changing the way we think by making us crave the foods they need. They are parasites after all and we know parasites are able to change the hosts they live off. Whenever I get cravings I just think of all those nasty microbes I’m killing off – ha, take that suckers!
absolutely! we have 10x more bacteria than cells in the human body! if our bacteria colonies are health-promoting, we’re in good shape, but if we have a lot of bad bacteria our bodies can respond in lots of negative ways. Eating/drinking lots of probiotic ferments has helped me tremendously
I have a (potentially stupid) question…if you are obese or overweight and consistently eating primal, why do you get hungry at all given how much stored energy there is on your body? Is it simply that you are still not fat-adapted, or is it that your body is asking for nutrients rather than more energy?
I have about 140lbs to lose total, and I have dropped 75 so far eating primal. I can definitely go much more extended periods of time (10-12 hours)without feeling hungry than I did when eating a carb loaded diet, and my cravings are almost non-existent, so I am just curious why I get hungry at all when I still am in the obese category of body fat/weight. Thanks!
I think you are right regarding the nutrients. Plus, I think the body is hard-wired to want to survive, and I think hunger is triggered before the “lets consume myself” trigger. I could be wrong… anyone else out there have an idea?
Oh, and Congratulations on the weight loss!
great article! it is important to maintain the body.
I used to eat lots of carbs in my teens and 20s, and then when i gained weight i decided to try atkins, yes i did lose weight…but when i stopped i gained it all back. Fast forward a few years and i realized the common sense of the paleo way of life, and it makes sense, and i don’t have cravings for carbs any longer! But i am anemic since childhood, and get dizzy spells since 06 which i believe are reactive hypoglycemia…does anyone have recommendations for tests to do? I do plan to do hormonal tests.
your could have dizzy spells from hypoglycemia – easy to test for. get yourself a glucose meter at the drug store and prick your finger and see what your blood sugar actually is during an episode. it’s also very possible that you produce little insulin (because you are low-carb) and thus are sodium depleted. If you get dizzy upon rising or have episodes where you feel dizzy (like you’re going to pass out), you should dramatically up your sodium intake and add some carbs back to your diet and see if that helps. For some people, low-carb = low fluid volume, which =’s low blood volume which causes periods of low blood pressure. the trick is to increase the fluid volume in your body to maintain your blood pressure.
Since i switched to paleo/primal i have found myself significantly more hungry all the time while still eating around the same amount of calories. I wonder if it is my bodies way of telling me that i should keep eating the way i am or if it is missing the grains and sugars. Whatever it is i try to deal with it by eating loads of primal foods but they are definitely not as satisfying as, or maybe just not as calorie dense, as processed foods.
What is accepted as the time it takes for the body to completely adapt to primal living? After 18 years of a standard diet i would imagine it takes quite a while.
I was absolutely starving during the first 3 weeks or so after going paleo, and I believe most people come out of the carb-coma within a month. if its been longer than a month make sure you’re eating enough fat, and search around the site for more wisdom.
Carin is right, you are hungry because (according to what I have read around the site, too), you need more fat (energy). Make sure you are eating enough protein, too — about 1 gram for your desired body weight. I have found that if I am hungry and know I shouldn’t be, it’s because I didn’t get enough protein that day.
…and all this I learned from MDA and TPB. Mark is the best!
Great post. But why no mention of leptin?
I’d love to see a take on insomnia. \
I can attest to the lack of sleep, I’ve been having sleep difficulties for the past 2 weeks roughly and I’ve noticed that when I eat now, I don’t get satiated as quickly and instead of my body telling me that I’m full, it’s more so me telling my body that it’s time to stop eating.
Also, I’ve been eating some junk whereas I usually never touch the stuff as I normally have zero desire to, and I find myself getting hungry sooner than normal as well as for longer.
I’ve also noticed that I’m looking a little softer in the mirror, not to mention that I haven’t been feeling as full of energy either.
Definitely a little frustrating and annoying plus I’ve got a final exam in a week from now that I’m trying to prepare for but the lack of sleep is no help as it zaps my concentration and motivation. Gonna have to dig deep to beat this.
Stress throws off my eating signals. All I want is sugar. I started a new job a month ago, and I’m not happy, and it’s a struggle just to maintain my weight. I really am not hungry, but I want sugar.
I am 5’11″ and was 220 when eating the standard American diet. My wife is 5’4 and was 160. In January of 2011 we switched to a very high fat diet, basically primal plus liberal amount of raw grassfed dairy. . When I say high fat, I mean high fat: 75% of calories. I averaged 4500 calories AND lost 55 lbs in 3 months. My wife lost 45lbs. I still eat 4500 calories a day but have maintained an ideal body weight for over a year. I really think saturated fat is the answer. It is the ideal fuel of the human body.
I was curious, what kinds of fat to you eat to get 75% of your calories. Congrats on the weight loss! That is awesome! (and something I really hope to have one day)
Would love more on this topic, particularly on low metabolism. I’m hypothyroid and constantly fight the weight battle in spite of being primal. I typically workout with kettlebells about 5 days a week (been doing it for 6 years now) and run 2.5 to 3 miles the other two days, sometimes do both, i.e. run then workout. I also sleep 8-9 hours a night. Still fight the weight battle!
My exercise instructor just told me that because I have type A blood type that I need to go on a vegetarian only diet with no red meat with only white fish and vegetables. This seems contradictory to what I’ve been reading to lose weight. I am currently on a hight protein no carb diet.
She also said that I need to limit my exercise to a lower stress level – minimal weight lifting and cardiovascular exercise and concentrate on yoga. Pleae advise.
Please advise
From what I have read, the blood-typing method is only one method/theory. According to my blood typing, I am a “mixed type” who should eat equal parts carbs and protein. Yeah, no. I don’t think Grok examined his blood type, he just ate what he could get his hands on.
Regarding working out, barring injury, I say do what you feel like you can do. I run a mile, then Lift Heavy Things (my own body weight). Or jog a warmup and sprint. It depends on what I feel like doing that day. Most trainers’ learning is based on CW and the SAD, so I have not bothered with one in quite some time, though I am sure there are quality trainers running around.
great discussion. i am having some trouble now. I had lost 14 lbs. two years ago and achieved a wonderful leanness and clarity and strength never experienced before eating and living primally. Now at 5’3 i am up 7 lbs. from ideal weight since january (a 7 month roller coaster ride). i had achieved a wonderful satiety and leanness and maintained for 1 1/2 yrs. eating primal. 7.7% body fat and very athletic. Used to sleep well and eat 80 / 20 primal. But now, now i am turning 50 and have been struggling with midnight “crazies” since January / Feb of this year…every 5 nights I snap, get haunted by the decadent foods my college age kids make / buy and zombie down stairs and i give in…this erratic behavior has made my weight creep up, well, let’s say SPike, and then i restrict (IF) for the next so many days to try to return to homeostasis. i feel dysregulated with hunger, satiety…IS this peri menopause? i am still fairly lean 10% bodyfat on my small frame, but i don’t feel “right”. anybody else (females) going thru similar midnight cravings and battles…?
I went about 3 weeks with pure primal food. Chicken, vegetables, nuts, etc… I got to the point where I felt faint from lack of energy. I had to actually go eat at Yogurtland, and I piled on the sugar!
I’m trying to find a balance. I’m getting my sugar from Trioplex bars now, and everything else is primal. Any advice on WHERE I can get carbs for energy?
I think you almost made it but not quite. I didn’t feel great until after a month of complete paleo eating. It takes some bodies longer than others to make the switch, during that time I, like you, felt faint. Now I never feel like that, even when going longer stretches without food.
I do not crave junk food and I literally wanna throw up when I do indulge (which only happens when I did not prepare my meals ahead) I am a sucker for healthy foods and I am down to only eating when I feel the hunger pangs- but many a time I needed a drink of water and not so much food. Excercise keep me diciplined when it comes to choices re what to eat and what not to. I love being health concious and sticking to “primal” foods!
All I know is that I do not crave junk foods at all-quite strange!
Thanks for all these great comments and advice. It’s good to know I’m not alone (struggling with PMS / cravings), and there are some useful strategies here.
The main point I am taking from all this is that a few weeks or even a few months of a Primal / paleo diet / lifestyle is not always long enough to achieve rebalance. It may take longer before the body starts to give more sensible signals that we can trust.
The important thing seems to be that the longer you resist those crazy cravings, the more diminished they are likely to become. That fact alone should help strengthen resistance.
I feel stronger facing today having just read all of these comments. Thanks Mark and everyone who contributes.
Thanks for the great post! I’ve been reading over a bit of the 90 day journal and I’m getting pretty excited about holding myself accountable for some much needed self-care.
If I get hungry when I obviously shouldn’t be I smash down a big glass of water…if that doesn’t work, a ‘man up’ pill usually does the trick (Note: ‘Man Up’ pills are not available over the counter
I guess I’ve been lucky so far with primal. Before going primal, I had severe reactive hypoglycemia, which I “controlled” by simply eating every couple of hours. This started in 1996, and I’ve gradually gained weight (with a few episodes of weight loss but the overall trend was up and up).
I’ve been Primal for a little over 2 months now (total weight loss is 41 pounds including 6 weeks efforts before primal), and it only took me maybe 5 days to get over the carb flu. A few weeks into it, I started IF’ing, something I never could have imagined doing pre-primal. My body quickly became fat-adapted, and I feel so great now. I do feel light-headed once in a while sorta like the hypoglycemic feeling I used to get. It was confusing until I realized that I was actually dehydrated. I think as a fat-burner, you need more water, more frequently than a carb burner does. But I am also very strict. I am usually in ketosis. I don’t follow the 80/20 rule. I’m more like 95/5. I have a couple of squares of dark chocolate daily and some wine on the weekend (sometimes too much … my one naughty indulgence). Otherwise, I am very strict (probably more paleo than primal).
I also don’t have any dairy. I used to LOVE cheese, but I found that I don’t miss it at all. I thought I’d cut it out for a month and add it back in, but I haven’t bothered.
I also don’t have carb cravings even though I used to love bread and pizza. I went 18 days straight in college having pizza at least one meal a day. Now I don’t think about it.
I think that if you are having trouble with cravings and with losing weight on primal, take a hard look at what you are really eating. Are you baking SAD style desserts made from “primal” ingredients? Those are fine once in a while as an alternative to eating something worse, but they can become addictive too. They aren’t as bad as the alternative, but they aren’t good either.
Are you really eating enough good fat? Enough protein? Eating right is a big part, but not the only part, of the primal lifestyle. Are you lifting heavy things, having lots of slow movement, and intense sprints/intervals once a week? If you aren’t doing these things, then you aren’t really primal. Everyone is different, and maybe some people have certain issues that genuinely make primal more difficult for them, but I suspect that most people respond well if they follow all of Mark’s primal laws (and back off the 20 of the 80/20 if you aren’t responding so well).
I’m borderline diabetic, heavily overweight, nowadays maybe fat-adapted since I can go the whole day without eating before I start to get hungry, but I haven’t been losing any weight even though with the amounts I do eat I should. But I do work nights, between 2 and 6 in the morning, I sleep, most times, in two shifts, some hours before going to work and a bit more after work.
So I’m guessing the problem might be with my sleeping schedule. I usually also do eat after work and right before going to bed, that’s one of the times during the day when I am hungry. Should probably do something there, I just haven’t been able to figure out what.
Regarding sleep, I don’t sleep well at all on weeknights. No matter what I do to wind down before bed, my brain won’t stop working when I hit the pillow. I generally sleep fine on the weekends. What else can I do? I really don’t want to take a sleeping aid, but I feel like it’s my only option right now. Thanks!
“When you are compelled to eat junk, don’t listen to your body. Eat something Primal, something nourishing, something that approximates what you’re craving only using real food.”
So are you saying I’m actually doing the right thing when I grab a spoon full of Coconut Manna instead of a spoon full of peanut butter?
Hi
Same problem with appetite. I lost 20 pounds going primal. But the last 7-10lbs won’t move. started keeping a food diary. I found myself at 1200 calories a day and no appetite. Also I started taking antihistamines to get me to sleep deep all night. My appetite went through the roof! I’ve gained 5 pounds. It wasn’t just fake hunger my stomach growled 2 hrs after a big meal.
Again it just proves how everything is balanced. Fix the sleep and it sets off an appetite chain reaction that has taken me 2 months to try and control. I think that until things settle out you just try to minimize the damage. I think my uncontrollable hunger is under control so I’m ready to fight the fat again.
I also think that in women when you get rid of long stored fat you release long stored hormones in the fat and my body goes haywire. Everytime I loose old fat i’m a mess for 2 days. Then things normalize.
It’s hard and discouraging but makes you realize how important it is to get rid of old fat!!
Ok here is my problem…..pastries…I do not miss pasta, rice, bread etc….but a sticky bun or a danish just about caves me every time…so what is my body craving and what can i substitute that will silence that craving? This is honestly my last hurtle in going 100% primal and i think it is what is holding me back from turning from a sugar burner and being overweight to a fat burner and starting to drop some real pounds. Anyone have any suggestions or suffer from the same craving/addiction? Thanks
Can anybody help me with the challenge of breakfasts on the go? I am a principal with small children at ho,me and I seem to always be in a hurry and I am tired of eating eggs all the time. I also have not found the perfect combination of Almond milk and Whey protein as of yet either? Can anybody help me out here?
“Can anybody help me with the challenge of breakfasts on the go? I am a principal with small children at ho,me and I seem to always be in a hurry and I am tired of eating eggs all the time. I also have not found the perfect combination of Almond milk and Whey protein as of yet either? Can anybody help me out here?”
Mike, I feel you. I’m a full-time working mom with a 4-year old + 3 other little ones we help care for. My mornings are crazy sometimes. I love my veggie omlettes & bacon but yeah, you get sick of eggs sometimes. I rely on leftover salad with a protein (fish, chicken etc – I ALWAYS make enough food at dinner for leftovers), or canned fish like sardines, salmon or tuna. I also make whey protein smoothies – I don’t care for almond milk but I add thick coconut milk, frozen berries, spinach & kale, and sometimes cold coffee in the mornings (I make extra coffee and store in the frig) – I often add a TBS of almond butter to thicken up. Sometimes for breakfast I will chop up raw veggies (carrots, celery, cauliflower + apple) and stir some almond butter and/or coconut butter in with them. This is one of my fave snacks too.
Good luck to you!