need help starting paleo diet. tips, recipes, ideas. please

mandksima

Tue, Jul 24 2012, 9:32 am

I've been on this basically but with a little of my own interpretation. I eat a lot of fruit and nuts even though they say to keep it low to moderate except for berries and other low sugar ones. I have lost almost 20 lbs in the past 2 months on this. I never have success with weight watchers and such as I can not stand portion control and scheduled meals. I need to eat what feels right to me. If I eat watermelon in place of dinner, that is fine by me. I eat around 10 times a day. Small meals, just enough to take away the hunger without getting a full feeling. Usually veggies with a protein.

I really have lost the great interest in food and have noticed that I sort of get annoyed when my stomach growls and I have to find something to eat. I never leave the house without food because it is not easy to stop and pick something up. I am entirely off dairy and that agrees with me very well. I do allow a small amount of legumes once in a while - a handful of peanuts, tofu once during the 9 days, chick peas in a salad here and there, etc.

Basically, I eat very few grocery processed items and eat tons of produce with proteins here and there. No deli or processed meats. You can buy a raw turkey breast, marinate it in spices and roast it, slice it cooled like deli and it is very good. I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge for a quick protein. I buy prewashed lettuce so a salad is easy to prepare. I use coconut milk (canned) for a treat with avocado for an ice cream kind of treat, fresh coconut is better but I'm not ready for that. Or make mango/coconut popsicles. I do use date syrup, agave or honey as an occasional sweetener or in marinades. I use dijon mustard and a few other seasoners like soy sauce.

Some of the Paleo rules, I can't follow. I don't use animal fats to cook with. only EV olive oil and avocado as well as nuts are my fats. I do eat sweet potatoes and peas as my starches. I don't eat much red meat as I feel too heavy after a meal and it doesn't digest quickly enough. That is why I love fruit. It is the perfect food as it digests quickly and makes me feel light. I can tell by my bathroom habits if I'm eating well or not. The only time I felt constipated was after red meat so I avoid it unless I am really craving it.

I am also pre-diabetic and wanted to reverse it as long as I can. I have been hypoglycemic for as long as I could remember and it amazing how I don't get blood sugar lows after too much fruit. Only refined grains, potatoes nd bread, even whole wheat does that to me. I have never felt better than with this diet.

I would probably lose more if I lowered the fruit but I don't want to do that with the great summer fruit. I could live on watermelon, grapes and peaches. I do avoid bananas though except to sweeten a dessert sometime maybe.

Basically, eat a lot of veggies. Salad, cooked and soup if you are still hungry. Drink lots and lots of water. I'll buy tomato juice as an occasional treat. If I had a juicer, I might make veggie juices as well.

Well, this is what worked for me. I hope it goes well for you.

BTW, I do eat a kezayis of challah on Shabbos with each meal and allow myself chumous. I have not noticed that it changed anything as I still lost weight and felt ok as it wasn't enough to make me feel tired after the meal.

mandksima

Sun, Sep 23 2012, 10:06 pm

I would say you have to like fruits and vegetables a lot to have this diet be a success. It is very similar to eating on Pesach without matzah or matzah meal. Raw and cooked veggies (starchy ones too) made in a wide variety, fruits and nuts/seeds, proteins that are not made with nitrites/nitrates like deli and hot dogs, lots of water, no sugar, no grains, no dairy, no chemicals, preservatives or oils other than unrefined ones.

It is not a low carb diet but without grains, the carbs you consume are less than a typical diet. The amount of fruit you eat is up to you. I eat dried fruit as well. I eat a lot and still lose. I did this diet to feel good mostly and the weight loss has been the best bonus, I totally didn't expect it. I manage to have certain treats but eat them in moderation. On Shabbos/chagim, eat the same but include one kezayis of challah at each meal.

miyfin

Mon, Sep 24 2012, 1:09 am

The tough thing about starting paleo, ie cutting out processed grains etc, is getting enough calories. Paleo is not going low carb for the sake of less calories, but low carb for the sake of health benefits. Eating 2000 calories on paleo your body will process completely differently then 2000 calories that include pasta bread etc...

How to solve this?
The name of the game is DISPLACE don't REPLACE. Which means don't just cut out everything you want to cut out and try to replace them with healthy alternatives. Thats almost setting oneself up for failure. Simply start adding good things earlier, and you'll find you're not craving the bad things as much. Good paleo rule of thumb is 1/3 of your body weight in pounds in grams of protein for breakfast. (Eg 120 lbs weight, eat 40 grams of protein for breakfast to start.) In Israel a 250 gram 5% cottage cheese is 27 grams of protein. (While dairy is not so paleo, unless you're sensitive to dairy, I wouldn't cut out the cottage cheese completely in the beginning as its an easy source to up protein intake in the morning). A hard boiled egg is 6-8 grams of protein. On busy weeks I would boil a bunch of hard boiled eggs for the week and then leave them in my fridge. Btw its been completely dis-proven that eggs increase cholesterol so don't worry about your egg intake.

Start with that, then eat a mid morning snack and lunch. You can and should also include a lot of vegetables in the breakfast. The above is just addressing the protein intake. For my husband and I, breakfast was the key to make paleo work. Any questions feel free to message me.

Great Paleo recipe site. http://paleodietlifestyle.com/.....ipes/

Also whey protein shakes are a good stop gap measure for later on and the beginning as 2-3 scoops of whey protein can provide you with 45-60 grams of easily digestible protein, .... MAKE SURE NOT TO USE SOY!!!

Good Luck!

newly-wed

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 9:17 am

Hey, I am a totally new memeber to imamother. Just signed up yesterday and I immediately searched for paleo diet because I just got married 5 months ago BH, and have gained a lotttt of weight and just feel so heavy and unhealthy. It has affected my mood and my relationship with my husband because I dont feel good about myself. My husband is very supportive of changing around our eating habits and recommended that we start this diet together (even though he is tiny and super healthy and doesnt need to do this bc he eats healthy ayways- he said he'll do it with me to get me inspired and motivated BH) But I really need advice and encouragement. Carbs are a bigggg part of my daily eating habits. can I hear some more success stories with this diet?