It’s day 2 of the Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge, and I’m happy to report that I’m back on track and feeling a bit better. Today, all of my meals have been fully primal. Generally, I try to follow the 80/20 rule, but for these thirty days, I want to go all the way, pull out all the stops! For me, that means cutting out sugar in a big way.
Sugar is my big vice. I have a gigantic sweet tooth and things like honey, sugar and agave syrup have helped to keep me sane. I’ve cut back on my chocolate intake and switched to dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao, but I’ve still been drinking my coffee with my customary two teaspoons of sugar. I gave up sugar in my coffee once before, so I knew I could do it again, but it’s been challenging. I hadn’t realized how much those two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee helped stave off the rest of my sugar cravings. I’ve been filling the void with fruit, especially high fiber fruits, and it’s working, but it’s just not the same.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. If the paleo/primal way of life is the right way of life for me. Especially when I read something like this. I read a lot about low carb vs. low fat. This month’s Women’s Health magazine says low fat is the way to go. Last month I swear I read the exact opposite.
Right now, I’m sticking with paleo/primal because it’s working for me, because I feel good, and because I like the logic behind it. I’ll continue to try to get my protein and fat from healthy sources, and I’ll continue to keep my carb intake between 50 and 100 grams per day and only take in carbs from fruits and vegetables. But with so much conflicting information out there, it’s not at all surprising that people don’t know how to eat healthy anymore. I mean, come on, when one source says one thing and another says the complete opposite, how do you know who to trust?
That’s the thing.
There’s 367 “ways to diet” and 567 opinions on it all. I’ve come to the very grandiose conclusion of:
Nobody fuckin really knows for sure. It’s kinda like brain chemistry levels. They can’t be measured, and 10 people with the same diagnosis can all have slightly different levels of the 3 chemicals meaning that the exact same treatment won’t work for everyone.
I think it’s the same with nutrition. Your body, your brain, your genetics could very well be totally geared towards this Paleo thing. It could go back as far as your deep ancestors and what part of the world they lived in. This is my friends theory. Sure I enjoy my sweets but you give me the choice between sweets and carb-salt based savory? I’ll choose the later, thanks. So my long-ago-far-away ancestors lived in an area perhaps coastal, where natural sea salts existed and colored everything a little bit salty. Who the hell knows. Point is….nobody knows. We never will. It’s all a roll of the die. I know of 4 people right now trying to lose weight, and we’re all going about it in different ways – we’re all having our little struggles but overall it’s working. Could I live the way you are? I’mma go with “cold day in hell”. No bread? No cheese? Shoot me!
I’m trying very hard to accept that science and logic cannot be relied on, that there is no exact formula, that I can’t pinpoint the right combo of foods and exercise and etc to make me consistently lose 2.3 pounds every single week.
And when you see commercials saying otherwise?
Take note of that teeny fine print…..”Results not typical”.
So what’s this Paleo/primal stuff? I’ve been hearing about it all over twitter lately. Basically no grains? Hm. I don’t know that I could give up oatmeal. I really like oatmeal. The steelcut stuff not the instant crap. And good on you for going sugar free! I’m trying to move away from the artificial yellow packets to agave syrup in my coffee, but its rough. If I get coffee out, that means I’d have to bring agave with me. And you know, I’m just not that together. Sometimes I’m lucky if I leave the house with matching socks, remembering my resuable stainless steel coffee canteen is pushing it, so carting around a bottle of liquid sweets would probably end in disaster.
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