The new Paleo/Primal thread - please reintroduce yourself, newcomers welcome!

[misscph1973]

Wow, we got to 1000 messages!

Welcome back from the previous thread and welcome to all new!

I have been Paleo since September last year, I started as an ex-vegetarian/vegan, I wanted to give up gluten and I had been doing 5:2/IF, which lead me to Paleo/primal. I am 40, I have 2 kids age 8 and 6. I have no major health issues, but I would like it to stay that way. I have bad skin, which has improved since starting Paleo and my dandruff has disappeared. I have gained some weight since starting Paleo, but I was not overweight before, although I would like to get back on my pre Paleo weight - I just love Paleo mayonnaise too much ;) I still practice IF and I lift weights 2-3 times per week. My family is also Paleo.

I have just come back from a camping weekend where I was not strict Paleo as I was camping with other families and I just didn't want to spend my entire weekend telling my kids "no, you cant have it". I do think that Paleo camping is entirely possible, think tinned fish, nuts, sausages, eggs etc.

Karbea sorry if I sound like a twat but do you think the stress of the IVF etc is having an influence with you finding it hard this time?

Thanks for the link Giraffe, I'll have a look..

I'm actually reading Escape the Diet Trap on my kindle at the moment

Unfortunately dairy seems to often make me nauseous, so I'm trying to stay away from it. I've suffered with nausea all my life and it went away when I cut out gluten and dairy. Since reintroducing dairy I had an episode, so need to find out if it doesn't happen if I don't eat dairy.

Karbea, don't fancy trying raw milk due to problems with dairy and almond milk and similar has chemicals in it I don't fancy or view as paleo. Sorry, I'm being so picky!

Giraffe, I might try the banana pancakes tomorrow morning, as I like banana. Thanks

No I don't think ivf is to blame, I just don't think my self control is very good at the mo :/
I have put in a 2hr crest whitestrip in, so at least I know I'm not going to eat anything else tonight!

Interesting about almond milk didn't know it had chemicals in it, it's one of the only things I've pretty much kept to since I was paleo before.
I have some bananas but they were previously on my not list (my dr friend put us on the diet before and gave us do's/donts).

Maybe its not about will power, read something interesting recently that people can think they are overeating but in fact they are just eating the calories their body needs. If you look at people's pictoral whole 30 (its a strict version of paleo) logs there is generally loads of food on their plates goodcheapeats.com/my-whole-30-eating-plan/, tbh I don't eat like this and I think thats where i fall down and end up snacking all day and tempted by my children's leftover toast .

If you can afford to/ have the time maybe put it on hold for a couple of days to really stock up with lots of paleo friendly foods that you enjoy, or are quick to prepare.

solidgold I think those bars might raise your blood sugar, 9 bars might be more filling or it might be better just to skip bf? I just saw this juicer on ideal world - it made almond milk in a flash just with water and almonds! That's if you have a spare £250 floating around...

Giraffe, I think you're right.

£250 - ouch!

I made banana pancakes this morning, but think they will be too high in carbs too. They were quite nice though. I guess I'll have to stick with bacon and/or eggs or skip breakfast.

Hello all - I was on the first paleo thread under a different name but would love to join again!

Have been fairly successfully primal for over a year now but did have a bit of a blip over the last couple of months. However, the resulting bloating, exhaustion, irritability and bad skin have got me fully back on the primal wagon - in fact it was the realisation that I'm standing in the kitchen snacking on raw spinach while cooking dinner that made me think I should visit this thread again

Am just roasting up some chicken thighs with ghee, garlic and lemon, with roasted broccoli and butter-sautéed spinach - yum!

Hello all you helpful ladies. I was on these threads under a different name but fell off.

I've been mostly successful at sticking to a primal diet - lots of eggs, sweet potato, fruit, cheese, natural yoghurt, meat, veg. I've lost half a stone without much effort over the last six months, and feel much more normal about food.

But now it is time to focus on weight loss. I really want to shift a stone, please. PLEASE. I just had my colours done and I have so many possibilities open to me for looking better, and I'm wanting to get going on this now.

So - advice so far has been to reduce carbs and increase fats. I need to get back to doing this. I'm wondering about combining this with the '8 hour eating window' approach.

A whole stone. I think I can do it.

For focus on weight loss- no grains AT ALL, none of this 80/20 nonsense . It's probably ok for a lot of people when they are already at their desired weight, but otherwise, it's not going to help you get where you want to be.

I'd ditch the yogurt too (too carby, full of (natural) hormones and not enough fat) - stick to double cream and butter, and cheese if you tolerate dairy well.

Don't feel you need dairy "for your bones". You don't, but the dairy fat from cheese, butter and cream are a good way of adding in nutrient dense calories, veggies sautéed in butter, gravies made with cream, a sprinkle of cheese to top veg mash etc, all tasty and very filling.

Raw thank you. The only grains I have had in the last months have been four rice cakes over the course of a couple of days. I really don't eat them any more.

I think I overdo the fruit, tbh. But top tip about the yogs, thank you.

Hi all - just wanted to ask a question. Apparently some blood tests I've had have come back with high cholesterol (6.2 - total chol should be eblow 4, apparently).

Now. I think I should have a further test to distinguish which type of cholesterol is high, so I will ask for that.

BUT. I know they will ask me about my diet. I can't exercise (chronic fatigue) so I can't control cholesterol through exercise, so it will be my diet that gets attention. It is really high in eggs, fish, chicken and various fats, basically, as we know - I eat red meat about once a week. It is also high in vegetables, compared to most people, I imagine. Any thoughts about this conversation?

Is it ok if I join? I've been primal for about 6 months now. Have various autoimmune issues and trying to get on top of them. In the last month have also started IFing (trying to restrict eating to a 7 hour window). Still getting the hang of it. I'm always looking for new recipe ideas.

Welcome ibon. I'm trying an 8-hr window, when I can - I think it will help!

Hi, you might want to check out Marks Daily Apple for info about cholesterol ... But it's not the total number that's the most important thing, it's the ratio of high and low density. Your body can make most of its own cholesterol, and if you have a low fat diet, it tends to push the metabolism into making to much (proportionately) of the "bad" cholesterol. So the total number may be lower, but the ratio is wrong and that's less healthy.

How long have you been eating this way? Are you eating a wide range of healthy fats (ev olive oil, butter, coconut), and are you staying away from processed seed oils? These can raise the wrong type of cholesterol.

As for describing your diet - I'd not focus on the fat, I'd be saying I eat unprocessed natural foods and cook everything from scratch, I eat lots of healthy veg and very rarely eat fast food... ie tell no lies but emphasise what they will see as all the positives!

And remember- its your body and your diet is yours to decide, they can't MAKE you eat anything you don't want to.

Question about the chronic fatigue - I assume you are staying completely off gluten containing grains? If you are still having a lot of muscle pain/fatigue, it might be worth looking to see if other foods might be triggering that ... For me, the nightshades do this (potato, tomato, peppers (sweet and the chilli ones).
I can have some, but need to be careful with the amounts and how often I have them - the example would be chilli pepper, if I use a little fresh chopped chilli in a recipe, I will be ok with that, but if I use powdered dry chilli/chipotle or other chilli containing powders, that will really set off joint and muscle pains and I feel generally awful!

Thanks again, Raw.

Spoke to my doctor and he was very reassuring. He said it isn't very high overall, and that my LDL (bad cholesterol levels) are quite high so I do need to reduce bad cholesterol in my diet. I talked him through what I eat and he said go easy on the eggs and cheese, but otherwise fine. I reckon I'll increase vegetables mainly - 2 egg omelette with veg instead of 3 egg omelette no veg, for instance, and maybe no massive lumps of cheese when I get hungry.

The only thing I think might have gluten in in my diet is in sausages. I'm really not even pinching the odd biscuit once a month or anything.

Hello. I'm new, can I join your thread? [waving hello] I have recently started eating primal but not sure if I'm doing it right. I have cut out all processed foods, grains and carbs. I have also cut out milk but am having double cream in decaf coffee. I am also eating bio greek style yoghurt. Is this ok?

Marks and Spenser do nice gluten free outdoor pork sausages, 97% pork... My DC love them.

Hello wombat - some dairy is fine on primal/paleo if you are sure you don't react to it... Cream and butter are usually ok even for people who are lactose intolerant (unless very sensitive). BUT try and get the best quality... KerryGold butter is fantastic, cream is tough - I usually can't even get organic cream, and have never seen raw anywhere locally. I have double cream in my morning coffee (full caffeine I might add!) it's a great start to the day!
Cheese is easier... Most towns will have a cheese shop were you can buy really good - raw- cheese. Yes it is expensive but you don't need to be eating huge amounts.

Yogurt - I don't have it very often, it's a bit of an occasional "cheat" treat for me, but "Total" full fat Greek is fabulous. Great with some berry fruits.

Really, it's about what works for you, once again, I'll recommend Marks Daily Apple blog as a great place to find sensible info...

Waitrose and Tesco do a very nice pork rib with peppers on the top which I like with peppers. Once I've had a lunch or dinner for it it also covers a good few meals after and has lots of good animal fat so tends to stop you feeling hungry.

I can't have milk often and it annoys me. It makes my nose run. I do have some cream and a bit of butter.

Thank you Raw I have the Kerrygold butter and use Yeo double cream. I also use Yeo full fat organic Greek yoghurt. Not really losing any weight so will try kick the yoghurt.

Hi guys, am just about to embark on Paleo - stocked up on almond butter and almond flour in the hope of creating some interesting dishes this week. And downloaded a few paleo books onto my Nook.

I don't eat meat, but do eat fish, so I shall have to really think about meal plans as it's obviously a diet which suits meat eaters more. Would love to hear any nice recipes/meal ideas!

Starting in earnest tomorrow, but a nice paleo dish tonight of half an avocado filled with prawns and sweetcorn in organic mayo. Tomorrow I am going to make coconut milk fish pie topped with sweet potato. Yum!

Hi Jojo, if you eat eggs and fish you'll find plenty of recipes. Thai cookery is easy to adapt (as it tends to be fairly "clean" anyway), lots of nice seafood dishes, and very fast to cook- coconut milk, dried herbs or paste, cooked in 10 min!

Oooh, also I've decided to stop eating coconut oil due to its high saturated fat content. I think having fewer eggs, cooking them in olive oil rather than coconut oil, and less cheese overall, will be helpful to my cholesterol levels, but I'll have a test in three months to see.