How To Go Primal

Sorry guys - I just went back and looked at some of the comments and saw that a few of you had some questions about going Primal. So I'm going to give you MY 'cliff notes' of what to do. That being said, I am NOT the end-all-be-all when it comes to being Primal. You can ALWAYS go to this website where you can read till your hearts content. I bought the book (it's crazy long - on my ipad, holding it vertically, there were over 700 pages), but you can find just about all the info on the website.

So here it goes, my version:

Here is the main list of DON'TS:

1) no sugar

2) no grains (bread, pasta, etc)

3) no legumes (beans)

4) no dairy (you can actually have 'some' dairy if you want - I'll go into that more in a sec)

Here's what you can have in MODERATION: 

1) sweet potatoes

2) rice

3) dark chocolate (the higher the % the better)

4) fruit

5) dairy (butter, ghee, full fat yogurt, heavy cream, some cheeses - think 'hard' or 'aged')

Here are GUIDELINES for what you're consuming:

1) To lose weight, keep your carb count under 100 GRAMS of carbs per day

2) To lose weight more 'aggressively', keep carbs under 50 grams per day

3) To maintain your weight, keep carb count between 100-150grams per day (after keeping your count under 100g, you'll find that 100-150g will feel like splurging)

4) Go to FitDay.com to open a free account to track your food. (I only track food on occasion. At first it was to gage where I was 'at' with everything. Now I have pretty good idea of where I'm falling with my carb count without having to log food everyday - but this is REALLY easy to do and it helps SO MUCH in the beginning)

SAMPLE MEALS:

BREAKFAST: cook some bacon. scramble eggs in the bacon fat and add whatever vegetables you feel like.

LUNCH: make a salad with lots of vegetables and at a 'meat' (this can be beef, pork, poultry, seafood, whatever). Just toss it with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I actually add 2 hard boiled eggs to my salad. I love how the yokes give it a slightly 'creamy' texture (and this is coming from the girl who hated yokes).

DINNER: meat of some sort, with steamed vegetables of choice, but finish the veggies in butter and add a little salt and pepper. 

Some Key Points to remember:

1) MAKE SURE YOU ARE COOKING WITH FAT. That means using butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil ... don't use vegetable or canola oil. Those are no -good. If you drink coffee, you can use some heavy cream if needed ... but try to go without the sweetner. If you find that your weight-loss is stalling, then cut out the heavy cream.

2) Limit your fruit. Although they do say that it's better to have a piece of fruit vs. having some kind of carby snack (like chips, crackers, etc). If sweets are your downfall, then by all means, use fruit as your crutch until you can make the transition. Berries are going to be your 'best choice' when picking fruit. I've found that a simple 'google search' will let me know what my best choices are for low carb fruit. 

3) Limit dairy. If you have to eat yogurt, then eat a full fat greek yogurt. But people see better results with no dairy. I eat a bit of smoked gouda cheese (that is my dairy), but I don't drink coffee (so I don't need the heavy cream) and I don't eat yogurt. For now I'll continue to eat a little cheese, but if my weight-loss stalls, that will be the first to go. Keep in mind, some people can eat dairy/fruit the entire time and still lose weight ... but if you're having problems, then try and eliminate those two things.

4) They say you can eat sweet potatoes and rice in moderation. I personally try and stay away from them. I know when some people get really hard core into their work outs, they eat a sweet potato. Granted, I'm no where NEAR 'hard core', so I don't partake in the potato ... but maybe one day ... maybe one day ...

EXERCISE REGIME:

1) walk. don't run. for reals. as I mentioned in an earlier post, it was best described that your cardio should NOT be faster than a walk, but slower than a sprint. It should be either or. So walk. They suggest 3-5 hours of casual walking A WEEK. (personally, I try and do an hour a day - but I probably get in 5-6 hours realistically, as something seems to come up every week).

2) Lift Heavy Things. This is in regards to weight-lifting or high intensity workouts. You don't need to do over 20-25 minutes, two times a week. If you don't have access to a gym or weight-lifting on your own, try checking out Shin Otake. This guy is pretty incredible. And no, I haven't personally tried to do any of his workouts as I'm too intimidated. You can also check out Zuzana and her workouts. It was one of her workouts (that I modified) that had me laying in the fetal position and calling it quits before I even finished the workout. If you try any of these workouts - PLEASE let me know what you think!

3) Sprints. You sprint for 30 seconds, rest for 90 and repeat 8 times. Simple as that. It's so simple, that I have yet to try it. But it's recommended that you do it once every 7-10 days. 

And that ... well, that's about it! I could talk about fasting, but we can save that for another time. I had NO INTENTION of incorporating fasting into my 'lifestyle' as I've always hated the word. But honestly, it came completely naturally. I love it. (and I STILL can't believe I'm saying that!).

Oh - now Primals will recommend that you eat as organically/grass fed/free range as  you can. If you can swing it - great. But if you can't, don't stress about it! Seriously, just making the basic changes will still give you results. 

So now ... I'm challenging YOU. Please - try Primal living for 7 days. ONE WEEK. That's IT! I swear you can quit it forever after that. But I think you'll be AMAZED at the results. 

I was a sugar addict. I drank so much diet soda it would probably make you sick. My portion sizes were OUT.OF.CONTROL. and I loved snacky carbs and could eat them all day long. I use to joke that I loved 'artificially flavored, pre-packaged food'. The sad thing was, I actually really did. But I got so sick of myself. I got sick of how I felt. I got sick of how I looked. And when my cousin introduced me to the Primal lifestyle ... it just came at the perfect time for me. For reals. 

Everything that has held me back in past diet attempts, doesn't even exist now. This is EASY. The food tastes INCREDIBLE (I'm so in love with bacon and butter it's ridiculous). I'm NOT hungry. My skin has improved. I don't feel bloated. I have way less gas (was that TMI?) and the best part, is that I am constantly encouraged by the scale. For the first time I KNOW that my body is responding and it's changing. I can SEE IT! And I've only been doing it for 3 weeks (well, almost 4 now).

I have a LONG way to go. A super long way. But I still want others to experience the limited success that I've had! Even if you only have 10lbs to lose - TRY THIS. You'll be amazed! This isn't a gimmick. This is a doable lifestyle. Giving up certain things does sound hard. Again, I'm Asian, I've always sworn that I would NEVER give up rice. But after losing 11+ pounds ... I will gladly put my rice bowl away for the time being. Rice is not gone for ever, but until I get to where I want to be, rice and I are breaking up for a bit. I'm sure we'll see each other from time to time, but we won't have long sessions together like we used to. 

And you know what? I'm okay with it. Because that is one relationship that I can fully walk away from, and know it's making me a better person.