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28K views 444 replies 84 participants last post by  pumabearclan 
#1 ·
So we have decided and begun to go primal with our diet and I thought it would be good to start a primal family thread. (when I did a search everything was from 2010 so I figured we'd need a new one)

Today is essentially day 2 of our journey into primal eating and I am definitely in carb hangover mode! I didn't think I would be b/c we really limited carbs anyway and it was all whole wheat or brown rice (which I perceived as healthy).

I have bee reading Marks daily apple's blog but I haven't gotten the book....I did write down the approved foods and workouts though. Do you think the book is really a must?

I am a little confused on if I am suppose to limit meat at all? Also fruit for that matter...

Hope you all will join me for primal eating support here whether you are new to it like me or have experience with it.

NAK
 
#327 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocelotmom View Post

Yes. I'm not entirely sure why anyone would think that you couldn't mix different types of bones.

If you're going for a specific flavor (just chicken or whatever), then you'll want to use just that type of bone. If you just want to make yummy broth, dump it all in.
I keep my bones separate cuz sometimes you just want chicken for something like chicken noodle soup, or rich beef for some rich stir fry.

Oh yes the tallow is so good. I love it to crumble with almond flour and maple syrup over apples and vanilla = primal apple crisp. So good especially with the tallow. Makes it like a real yummy donut flavor.
 
#329 ·
I am so glad to have found this thread! I haven't read it all yet, but I am making some tea and getting ready to sit down and read it and take notes on some of the meal ideas and recipes.

I have been grain free and primal for 6 days now and I feel amazing. The first couple of days I was flu-like and dizzy, but after that I just got better and better. My joints don't hurt anymore, I don't have a backache anymore (I had had one since March '11 and was told it was because I am overweight - now it's completely gone), my eczema is clearing up, and I am not on that blood sugar roller coaster of needing to snack and overeating. I've been eating well, until I am satisfied and whenever I am hungry (not too often) and I've lost 7lbs so far. I am sure I am preaching to the choir here, I just had to share.
 
#330 ·
Attila the Honey, thanks for posting this. I'm getting ready to embark (again) on a more Primal-like eating style and I'm scared! It's going to be hell here for a few days while we ride the coaster. Thank you for your glowing endorsement, it's helping me not be so worried about it.
 
#331 ·
Ok, I have a weird, noob question.

I just made a chicken in the crockpot and there is all this liquid in the crock - what is it? fat? or something else? Can I use it for anything? There is a lot, it halfway covers the bird. I was about to dump it out and then I thought I might as well just ask in here. (I am new-ish to meat cooking.)
 
#334 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Attila the Honey View Post

I am so glad to have found this thread! I haven't read it all yet, but I am making some tea and getting ready to sit down and read it and take notes on some of the meal ideas and recipes.

I have been grain free and primal for 6 days now and I feel amazing. The first couple of days I was flu-like and dizzy, but after that I just got better and better. My joints don't hurt anymore, I don't have a backache anymore (I had had one since March '11 and was told it was because I am overweight - now it's completely gone), my eczema is clearing up, and I am not on that blood sugar roller coaster of needing to snack and overeating. I've been eating well, until I am satisfied and whenever I am hungry (not too often) and I've lost 7lbs so far. I am sure I am preaching to the choir here, I just had to share.
I get email updates on this thread. When I saw it this morning, I thought it was probably you! :) Hopefully that doesn't sound too weird!

As far as the chicken stuff goes, if you don't want the fat, chill the liquid for a while. The fat will rise to the top as an obvious solid layer that you can easily scrape off. I believe animal fat can be healthy, but the fat of factory farmed animals isn't. So we skim the fat off stuff made from factory farmed meat, but leave it on with better quality, pastured meat.
 
#335 ·
Hi there!! There is no way I can sit and read the past 16 pages, lol. I am new around here, but we are a paleo family!! I started because my baby had horrible gas. After I started eliminating things, I was looking for recipes and found paleo. Everything made sense to me and we took off with it! We have been living the life for 5 months now and have never felt better! We are blessed to live in Vermont and are surrounded by amazing farms. We are part of a meat CSA and a produce CSA. I just made pate for snack for my kiddos for when they wake up!

As long as it's good, pastured or organic chicken, drink that bone broth from your crockpot! It is amazing for gut. Or use it for a soup. We drink a cup of bone broth daily if we can. :)
 
#336 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Attila the Honey View Post

OK! What do I do with it? LOL
You can save it and use it to make soup or a sauce or cook veggies or drink it straight. Basically anything you would use chicken broth for. You can water it down to a more broth-like concentration if desired.
 
#338 ·
So, I'm going to get a copy of TPB, and I'm also making a commitment to going completely grain- and sugar-free for January and February. I think once I make it through 2 whole months this way, I will feel fantastically better, and it will be pretty easy to maintain. What do you guys think?
 
#339 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by gardenmommy View Post

So, I'm going to get a copy of TPB, and I'm also making a commitment to going completely grain- and sugar-free for January and February. I think once I make it through 2 whole months this way, I will feel fantastically better, and it will be pretty easy to maintain. What do you guys think?
I would agree! It's definitely easier to try and then see how it goes with a game plan to reassess etc. Don't be surprised if you end up detoxing a bit tho - especially from the sugar withdrawl.
 
#340 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by gardenmommy View Post

So, I'm going to get a copy of TPB, and I'm also making a commitment to going completely grain- and sugar-free for January and February. I think once I make it through 2 whole months this way, I will feel fantastically better, and it will be pretty easy to maintain. What do you guys think?
I am wondering if there is any point that it becomes more difficult. For those who have fallen off the wagon, when did it happen and why?

I've been grain free for 8 days now and I feel so much better and it's been really easy to stick to this. I expected to be struggling, but after the first couple of days I've just felt so good and had such an easy time of it. Anyway, if day 8 is any indication - I think you will be sitting pretty at 60 days!
 
#341 ·
I need to get back to primal eating too. I feel SO good when I don't eat grains or sugar.

Attila the Honey ~ I went primal last summer and ate really well until October. Around that time, I had lost those pesky last 10 pounds and I started relaxing about things like ice cream cones with the kids. One thing led to another and here I am 2 months later, having regained those 10 pounds (plus about 4 more) and feeling the awful bloat and fuzziness that accompanies grain eating for me. So, for me, falling off the wagon was my thinking of primal as a "diet" rather than a lifestyle, and going back to my crappy habits as soon as I realized my goal weight. This time, I need to embrace primal as my forever way of eating.
 
#342 ·
for me, I feel good when I'm primal, but not unbelievably better than I do when I eat WAPF. I end up slipping back into grains for convenience. They are hard to me for avoid as I am the only primal person in my family, so I am surrounded and it gets old and tiring to **** myself something different every night. Also, sandwiches are hard for me! I LOVE sandwiches :) And I also love crackers --- for topping with liver, of course!! One of my friends feels horrible when she takes even a bite of grain or sugar food, so it is easy for her to avoid. I don't start to feel crappy until I've had a few days of crappy food. Personally, I think that her gut is more damaged than mine. I don't really think that someone should have to be strictly primal to feel great, I think it's more that our bodies are so compromised due to the SAD. I like the idea of primal and I do stints of primal eating, but I really fall more into traditional food philosophy. Maybe none of this is even relevant to this thread... lol :) Maybe I have never really even tried primal because I have NEVER given up butter
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#343 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toolip View Post

for me, I feel good when I'm primal, but not unbelievably better than I do when I eat WAPF. I end up slipping back into grains for convenience. They are hard to me for avoid as I am the only primal person in my family, so I am surrounded and it gets old and tiring to **** myself something different every night. Also, sandwiches are hard for me! I LOVE sandwiches :) And I also love crackers --- for topping with liver, of course!! One of my friends feels horrible when she takes even a bite of grain or sugar food, so it is easy for her to avoid. I don't start to feel crappy until I've had a few days of crappy food. Personally, I think that her gut is more damaged than mine. I don't really think that someone should have to be strictly primal to feel great, I think it's more that our bodies are so compromised due to the SAD. I like the idea of primal and I do stints of primal eating, but I really fall more into traditional food philosophy. Maybe none of this is even relevant to this thread... lol :) Maybe I have never really even tried primal because I have NEVER given up butter
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I've never given up butter either (although I think there are still grey areas in paleo/primal eating that allows for dairy). Anyway, like you I don't feel super awesome eating paleo relative to eating starches. I do, however, feel (and get) fat. My problem is that when I fall off the wagon, I fall off huge because I get the "go big or go home" mentality so even little slips are the start of the big slippery slope. I guess that's another issue altogether.
 
#344 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by crayfishgirl View Post

I've never given up butter either (although I think there are still grey areas in paleo/primal eating that allows for dairy). Anyway, like you I don't feel super awesome eating paleo relative to eating starches. I do, however, feel (and get) fat. My problem is that when I fall off the wagon, I fall off huge because I get the "go big or go home" mentality so even little slips are the start of the big slippery slope. I guess that's another issue altogether.
I can relate to this in so many aspects. I've taken to repeating the mantra "perfect is the enemy of good" when I start to get into that "all or nothing" type of thinking. I figure if I can aim to stick to primal 80% of the time I will be doing well. I go out with friends once a week and usually have beans or rice or corn or more dairy than I want to have - but that's one meal out of 21/week. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. lol Anyway, just had to pipe up and let you know that I totally understand.
 
#345 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by crayfishgirl View Post

I've never given up butter either (although I think there are still grey areas in paleo/primal eating that allows for dairy). Anyway, like you I don't feel super awesome eating paleo relative to eating starches. I do, however, feel (and get) fat. My problem is that when I fall off the wagon, I fall off huge because I get the "go big or go home" mentality so even little slips are the start of the big slippery slope. I guess that's another issue altogether.
I understand and I have days like that but I've been able to expand my idea of what it means for me to eat traditional/primal which makes it easier for me to take a bite (or have a serving of something) that doesn't fit into my model of eating and still feel that I haven't 'failed' and so I don't just keep going... I don't know if that makes sense. But it feels really great! I think it's because I really feel comfortable with my own model and I'm not just trying to follow someone elses guidelines. IDK, but my diet is certainly a pendulum. Some days I'm really strict because that's what feels good, and some days I have liver on crackers :) I think I also fluctuate with the seasons.
 
#346 ·
For me, it was all good until I reached my goal weight, and then, like a PP, I got lax with the little things: an ice cream cone, sourdough bread with butter, and the like. Then I got pregnant and everything went out the window. I've since had another baby, and I've just never gone back. I've been pretty good about sticking to a whole foods/TF diet, but carbs and sugars have been way too plentiful in my diet. So, although I do want to lose all the baby weight, really, more than anything else, I want to be strong, healthy, and energetic. I want to be able to keep up with my children, and not feel completely exhausted at the end of the day.

So, I am going to work very hard to re-establish my good primal eating habits, and hopefully, I will be able to maintain it as a lifestyle this time.
 
#347 ·
I've never really fallen off, per se. I have had foods that weren't great for me, but I just moved on after it happened. I find if you over think it, you stress, and fall back into bad habits. You just have to do what feels right to you and your body though. :) As far as the butter goes, as long as it's raw..go for it. :) I don't, but I am not one of those people who turns their nose up to people who eat differently. :p
 
#348 ·
Day 3 of grain- and sugar-free. Here's what I've eaten thus far today:

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in coconut oil and butter (I doubt I'll ever give up my raw, pastured butter.)

Apple with peanut butter (ok, that's not perfectly primal; I was hungry, and I needed something really quick, plus I forgot about my raw almond butter.)

Lunch: BA salad with everything but the kitchen sink, celery with raw almond butter.

I'm still hungry. And tired. DD3 hasn't slept well for the last several nights, due to a nasty virus. I'm hoping that she is better tonight.

How's everyone else doing?
 
#349 ·
This week has been a good week. I'm not hungry. At all. And I really haven't eaten that much.

Breakfast - coffee w/ heavy cream, half an avocado and 2 pieces of bacon

Lunch - tortilla-less taco w/ flank steak, cilantro, avocado and cherry toms

Dinner - not sure. I'm really not hungry. I have some ground buffalo in the fridge that I might do something with if I need it.
 
#350 ·
Wow, I just ignored my family for two days and read all these posts! We've been mostly TF for almost two years now. I recently cut way back on grains and effortlessly lost some weight. I'm still feeling a bit low on energy so I think when we use up the grains in the house and leftover Christmas treats, I'll go all the way. Except for some organic white rice, maybe once a week. I have pinned so many awesome primal recipes, I just need to step away from the computer and start cooking-which is one of my favorite things to do. My 3yo DS loves his Ezekiel raisin bread, so that will be hard for him. Also, he is on the skinny side and I don't want him to lose any weight. 10m DS is loving his egg yolks and berries, just need to work on more meat.

Does anyone use diatomaceous earth? I just ordered some with Bentonite. It seems like a good way to get some minerals and keep the colon nice and clean
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#351 ·
I've done really well for the last three days. Not perfect primal, but good enough for me. I like the 80/20 ratio from Mark's Daily Apple (80% primal/20% not). My 20% usually involves ice cream
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. I'm also definitely primal, not paleo, in that I do eat some dairy like greek yogurt, butter and heavy cream.

Breakfast ~ greek yogurt, heavy cream, and strawberries blended into a smoothie.

Lunch ~ BAS with spinach, strawberry slices, tuna, balsamic and olive oil plus a clementine.

Dinner ~ DH is taking me out
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!
 
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