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Low-carb diets

Paleo and primal

999 replies

Daughteroughter · 27/03/2013 01:28

I have been reading about paleo and primal diets has anyone tried them?

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teaandthorazine · 27/03/2013 09:40

I am currently in the process of switching over to a primal WOE from standard low-carb. I really like primal eating as it think it gives a bit more freedom than simple low-carb, though I still try to ensure I'm keeping my carbs low, have cut grains completely and I don't eat a lot of fruit etcetc. Now I just have to get my head around primal exercise!

I think there's so much sense behind a primal WOE. I've never brought into the low-fat, high-carb myth - it just seemed counter-intuitive to me but I couldn't put my finger on why. But when I started reading about primal eating it all clicked into place! I feel as if I'm giving my body the food it wants now.

What have you been reading? Am addicted to Mark's Daily Apple -probably for the photos of Malibu beaches and sunshine as much as anything Grin

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snoworneahva · 27/03/2013 12:55

I'm moving from low carb to primal too. It is mostly a grain free diet, with a focus on being lower carb but no restriction on veg or fruit, you can still have honey and maple syrup....amount of allowed carbs is lower if you need to lose weight. I think the primal approach is pretty sensible - get 80% of your diet right and don't worry too much about the 20%. You can get bogged down in the whole what's Paleo and what's not, some of the Paleo community are very controlling disciplined, I do what suits me and my family.

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Daughteroughter · 27/03/2013 22:02

Hi have bought primal blue prints and have Eat like a dinosaur. I agree it makes sense and am transitioning ds onto it which has really helped him. It clearly a big thing in US and Australia but hasn't taken off here. I wonder why that is

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snoworneahva · 27/03/2013 22:37

The Brits love their carbs and are convinced they are the backbone of good health, who am I to argue? Let them eat cake! Grin

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teaandthorazine · 28/03/2013 08:43

I think, proportionally, primal/paleo (or something like it) is probably almost as popular here as in the US - it's just there are so many more of them Grin. Blimey, lots of 'p' there...

But yes, given that we Brits are usually so good at being cynical about govt. guidelines, it's interesting how we cling to the high-fibre, low-fat, carb- and sugar-heavy diet that's been prescribed for so long. Even though it clearly doesn't work! I think health is the one thing we're pretty bad at taking personal responsibility for - we expect the govt./the NHS to sort it out for us and just take what they say as read.

And, you know, it's tough to go against the conventional wisdom we've been fed for decades now - calories in = calories out, eat less, move more etc. People are very emotionally invested in what they choose to eat and don't take kindly to suggestions that maybe eating 3 Muller Lights and a curly wurly every day might not be optimal for health and sustainable weightloss, even if you have counted every calorie and fat gram...

I could go on and on and on about this, but I won't... I think you've made a very sensible and sustainable choice in going primal and I very much doubt you'll regret it!

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QueenofWhatever · 28/03/2013 16:12

We've been eating primal for a few months now and the benefits really are significant. A lot of the low carb stuff such as the stuff that's on some MNet threads misses the point IMHO. I'm more interested in a high-quality way of eating than a restrictive diet that is all about losing weight.

Part of what I like about Mark Sisson's approach is that it's about a wider lifestyle although the primary emphasis is on food. It's about sorting out a diet and way of life that works for you. I thought today's post summed it up well.

Also I haven't enjoyed food so much for years!

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 28/03/2013 20:33

Was low carb for about 5 years before moving to paleo/primal/lchf a couple of years ago - the grain free thing has been great for my health.

Read robbwolf.com and thedietdoctor .com blogs are free, and very good!

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 28/03/2013 22:01

Queening whatever, agree totally - while I started low carb for weight loss, moving to paleo has been about improving health and that has become my focus and goal- weight loss continues, at a slower rate, but I am down to the last bit now, pounds to lose now, not stones!

Most people are not ready to embrace fat/animal protein as health foods and I have given up trying to explain that no, actually grain foods are not great for you, that fructose added to proccesed foods is giving us fatty liver disease etc but I do think there is a change happening because it is so much easier to buy paleo things such as raw coconut oil, raw nut butters, grain free seed bars, grain free fruit and nut bars and similar products (ok, mostly over the Internet not in real shops)!

If these products are more available now, that's great new because it means more people are buying and using them Grin.

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Daughteroughter · 28/03/2013 22:12

Haved exited this weekend going to get on the paleo wagon

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buildingmycorestrength · 03/04/2013 07:55

I'm interested in this but think I would have trouble. Am low carb for now (well, yesterday!) and want to try the paleo approach.

I guess this is what you call marking my place?

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Xenia · 03/04/2013 08:42

It is how I eat.
The site paleohacks questions and answers can be useful too for anyone looking into it.
Paleo does not mean no carb for many people by the way.

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buildingmycorestrength · 03/04/2013 09:20

Are you Xenia of $1000/day fame (a thread for entrepreneurs, for anyone else listening!) I admire your general attitude enormously so this is interesting!

And yes, my brother eats paleo and has sweet potatoes, for instance.

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 03/04/2013 09:43

Buildingmycore- out of interest, why do you think you would have trouble eating paleo?

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buildingmycorestrength · 03/04/2013 10:41

I just find it very hard to prioritise thinking about food at all, and my husband is very wedded to his junky food. So it feels like an emotional and logistical battle to eat differently to the rest of the family, even though I actually like that sort of food. Have done okay today and yesterday though.

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teaandthorazine · 03/04/2013 11:13

My dp eats a lot of crap too, and my ds is a pasta fiend. But that doesn't mean that I/we can't eat primal pretty easily. Tonight, for example, we're having burgers with cheese and bacon, maybe done with some mushrooms too, and a big salad including including avocado etcetc. When I first made this, dp complained about 'no bun, no chips' but once he'd eaten it he realised how filling and delicious it was anyway! And now is quite happy to forgo pasta etc when I cook. If he then wants to eat a tube of Pringles afterwards, that's his lookout Hmm

The worst thing is the guilt I feel for not being a bit stricter with ds wrt pasta/sugar etc!

I love primal - who wouldn't be happy eating this way?!

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 03/04/2013 11:14

"Wedded to junk food" seems like a good reason to stop eating it! (Addictive nature of it, etc). IMO and IME, as a huge (literally huge) junk addict, those with the biggest excuses as to why they can't stop eating carby grain foods have the biggest intolerance/addiction issues!

I agree, hard to eat differently to the rest of the family but if you chose to eat paleo, I bet you can get your family to eat that way without actually realising there is anything missing off their plate.

My dh and I have successfully done this with our 3 teens - they are now CHOOSING to eat this way because they have realised that when they eat grain carbs they feel sluggish and ill.

Roast meat with veg and sweet potato... Grain free, additive free, home cooked, no one would think there was anything missing from that meal, or feel in anyway deprived to be served that!

There are plenty of "normal" paleo meals - I tend to serve the teens a bit more sweet potato, carrot, onion than myself, as they are slim, and very active, where as I am still losing weight and not so active therefore I need to watch carb levels.

You are right though, paleo is not about low carb, it is about cuttibg out the damaging carbs and finding the right level of carb for the individual, according to their metabolic state and activity level. The basic rule would be, if you are significantly overweight, you are metabolically disordered and therefore do need to cut carbs right down to lose that weight, and when at a normal weight, you can increase carbs to find the level you can cope with.

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 03/04/2013 11:20

Yes Tea, exactly what you said in your post of 11.13!

We can only encourage, and if they feel the better for it, they will make that decision for them selves. DS's and Dh tend to go for gluten free carbs when they snack now, so popcorn or rice based, which is a big step on the right direction.

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BedHanger · 03/04/2013 15:26

Following this with interest.

DH and I are planning on doing Whole30 with our 2.5yo DS1 (DS2 only four weeks old and ebf so already paleo Wink. I'm an overweight carb addict, DH is a crossfit fanatic with terrible excema and DS1 has tummy issues, so I believe we'd all benefit hugely.

Going to be very tough, though. Addict's a mild term for my love of carbs!

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 03/04/2013 18:44

Been there Bedhanger! The first few days are tough, you may feel ill, headachy and weak - honestly though, once your blood sugar Stabilises you won't crave the carbs, if you do you probably need to cut carbs back to a low level at least for a few weeks!

I couldn't believe how fast the cravings and food obsession vanished.

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 03/04/2013 18:49

Bedhanger- eczema and tummy trouble are both good reasons to completely ditch grain foods (all grains including rice though many add that back to their diet after a few months), at least for a while to see if the symptoms resolve.
There is nothing in grains that you can't get (better) from other foods.

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BedHanger · 03/04/2013 21:32

Thank you Raw (sounds like a tasty recipe!). I'm nervous because I've tried to low carb on my own a couple of times and have ended up failing miserably and eating more carbs than before. But I think doing it as a family will help. It makes perfect sense to me; has done since reading Gary Taubes. I'm just so hopelessly addicted to sugar.

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Xenia · 03/04/2013 22:01

I would certainly recommend ditching sugar, but paleo does not mean no carbs. They are in all kinds of good foods.

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3ismylot · 04/04/2013 10:01

I have just started out on my primal journey, I did Cambridge diet for 2 weeks and lost a stone and got rid of the carb cravings and have just started week two of primal and cant believe the difference in my attitude towards food!

I haven't even considered a binge when before I was doing it daily Blush and I have completely lost my sweet tooth cravings and haven't needed to snack once!

I can work an 11 hour shift as a waitress by having a BAB of bacon scrambled eggs and mushrooms about 8am and then a big chicken salad about 4pm and nothing else till breakfast without being hungry or feeling deprived!

I am slowly bringing the kids inline by making primal dinners and remove a few carbs at a time from their diet, it will take a while but I will get them there, this morning I made paleo pancakes for breakfast and tgey all said the prefer them to daddy's pancakes (normal ones) and last night I did roast chicken with roasted sweet potato and stirfryed cabbage and bacon and they cleared their plates more than a normal roast so am starting to win.

I feel amazing eating this way and am starting to love food I would never have eaten before Grin

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teaandthorazine · 04/04/2013 10:06


Amazing, isn't it? And the family do come on board in the end. Last night ds ate samphire Grin

I've rediscovered a love of cooking, and actually crave veg now...
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3ismylot · 04/04/2013 10:15

It really is.

I am loving cooking again too, tonights dinner is courgette 'spaghetti' in homemade tomato sauce with leftover roast chicken Smile and tomorrow we are having pork apple and bacon burgers with buttered leeks and greens.

I have already meal planned for next week too and am looking forward to every single meal Grin

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