[wildviolets]

The flaxseed cereal is awesome.....I've really missed oatmeal during the winter and this was a good substitute. I had some roasted flax seed from Trader Joes that I ground and added cinnamon, protein powder and splenda from a recipe I found. I made it for my DH who wants to cut back on carbs but doesn't like eggs. He wouldn't even try it but i ate and it was great! Of course when I make it next time I won't use the splenda and probably not the protein mix but the ground roasted flax was yum!

Thanks for the tips ladies!

I'm excited my DH is trying to lose weight. Not hat he has to lose much but it will be easier for me cookingwise and eating wise.

[walking2lose]

Violet - glad to hear your DH is going to try to lose - I agree, it's easier to shop and cook when there is some measure of compliance even if it's not primal/paleo!

Ilene- the coffee thing -- I'm thinking maybe this summer I'll give that a whirl.

I had an interesting discovery last night and I'm not sure if it's related -- I had curry for dinner. It's a pack of curry paste you buy - gluten free, MSG, etc. and you mix it with a can of coconut milk. I don't think I've made it since summer when I was also eating tons of other nightshades - peppers, tons of tomatoes, etc (we garden). Well, last night's curry was delicious, but I woke in the middle of the night (and still have it now) with very sore and achy hips and knees. I have had joint issues in the past (had a false positive lupus, have a sis with lupus, lots of arthritis in the family, etc.) - I never had a diagnosis of anything, but now I'm wondering if I AM affected by nightshades?! I sure hope not!!! But I may need to experiment with that a bit.

KO - I have given up dairy just for this whole30 and the main difference I've noticed is I just feel trimmer - I think it must be easier for me to lose with no dairy. I feel pretty darned good - not sure if it's the lack of dairy or what.

I will probably add back in grassfed butter (kerrygold brand), a little whipping cream here and there, and occasional cheese. I don't drink milk anyway.

You could give it a try and see - it wasn't as hard to give up as I thought.

Have a great day, ladies!

[Athenacapella]

Oh, paleo-eaters, my weekend has been a disaster. Had a major carb binge fest yesterday. Time to learn and move on, but I only made it a week on this paleo/low-carb journey. Longest I ever lasted being paleo was a couple of weeks, and the weight was flying off. I want to get there again! I will get there again!

How did you folks get over that initial hump? Did you just muscle through? How did you deal with the carb cravings?

[walking2lose]

Originally Posted by Athenacapella

Oh, paleo-eaters, my weekend has been a disaster. Had a major carb binge fest yesterday. Time to learn and move on, but I only made it a week on this paleo/low-carb journey. Longest I ever lasted being paleo was a couple of weeks, and the weight was flying off. I want to get there again! I will get there again!

How did you folks get over that initial hump? Did you just muscle through? How did you deal with the carb cravings?

Oh, Athena! It's ok!! It really, really helped me to "primalize" my kitchen. I know some people do it in one fell swoop; I did it gradually over a month or 6 weeks. Truly, getting the junk out of the house helped a ton until those initial cravings went away.

Also, it's very important for me to have primal/paleo snacks, for when I want a snack, an egg or leftover pot roast will not do. Macademia nuts work well for me (even though I can get carried away, it's better than something else), KALE chips are a fav, there are tons of recipes out there for paleo snacks/apps.

Brush it off and get back on the horse - do not dwell on it - just stay calm and carry on!!!!

We are here for ya!

[Arkansas Kel]

Athena - never fear, it's a process and a journey, not instant perfection. Don't give up. I agree, primalize your kitchen. I only "cheat" when I'm not home cause at home there just isn't much to sneak. Don't beat yourself up. One meal at a time. As far as the initial hump - I made it 2 weeks, then cheated, then made it a few more days, then a cheat, then a few more days... I think it's a slippery slope if you don't get back on it. We are not perfect people, and besides that it's hard to like perfect people.

I went off today - WAY off. s'kay. Was out with my BFF. Had sausage on way out door (so far so good), stopped to get gas and coffee - and a DONUT. UGH. OK, stopped at one, drank coffee. Sliding.... Cici's for lunch - 2 plates of pizza, a token pale salad, and cinnamon roll dessert. Yep, sliding..... and KAPLOOSH!!! The upside, I'm so full I couldn't eat right now. But I did learn something from today, not what you would expect. The salad had grape tomatoes in it. They were frozen still. FROZEN. Was kinda good. Who knew, frozen grape tomatoes could be yummy. I'm sure it's not what they meant to do!

The other upside - got loads or primal grub for the next couple weeks The cave fridge is LOADED with healthy eats. Now, to be compliant for awhile. BURP, at least until I'm not about to bust. (excuse me)

[I'm svelting!]

Yikes ... little non-primal adventures, including daily frankenfood protein bars, over the week leading up to some bread consumption on Friday and Saturday. Result: today, I felt tired and was a craving monster. Realizing that it was just biochemistry didn't help much. I ate lots of fat off the spoon: olive oil, coconut oil, and pumpkin seed butter, macadamia nuts, almonds, eggs and butter. For dinner I wound up eating a lot of a root/tuber casserole, something I'd planned to have throughout the week. Sure hope tomorrow is easier.

If the cravings continue tomorrow, I may try some sublingual L-glutamine until I'm back from the dark side. I got the L-glutamine tip from Primal Body Primal Mind.

[Ilene]

I fell into the last night when DD and I went to the show to see The Rite... Today I am back on track, ran this morning, made a veggie soup and a spaghetti sauce...

[CJZee]

Hi everyone! I have been traveling, snowbound, traveling, snowbound, and am ... finally, finally, finally ... back home in Florida. Thank goodness! Have been ok food wise except the road trip had me eating sandwiches in the car. Then, last night to celebrate our arrival, we went out to Margaritaville and I had a turkey burger and fries with ketchup and half a frozen margarita!

I made a conscious decision to have this food. What is it that compels me to have these "final" bad meals before I climb back on the horse?

[KO]

Hi Ladies
WV Glad you liked it
I had it this morning with 2 tbs of almond butter It exploded a little in the micovwave but cold mornings I want something hot and quick
I'm leaning towards the lower end of the carb spectrum to get the loss cranking!
Happy Monday!
Kierie

[walking2lose]

Welcome home, CJ, and hello Mayo Mamas!

We just had a delicious red curry chicken soup for dinner. OMG, it was so tasty and rather addictive - we both kept going back for more. It started last night with a leek/cauliflower soup modified from this recipe. I got the idea to spice it up with my open packet of gluten free red curry paste and coconut milk. We ate a little last night (just smooth and creamy), and then tonight I added sauteed onions, peppers, and chicken -- wow, it was so good. This recipe is a keeper for sure.

We also had scallops last night prepared exactly like this. Holy cow - melt in your mouth goodness! They are the frozen wild scallops from TJ's - I've had them in my freezer for a while (I love scallops but am not too experienced cooking them). Well, this recipe is a keeper too! They're pricey, but maybe this will be a monthly treat for us - love! They didn't need anything else, but just to be decadent, I used my homemade mayo (2nd successful batch!) to make a simple "tartar" like sauce -- just the delicious thick mayo with finely diced Clausen pickles - a dollop on the side of each of our plates was divine.

I am getting really dramatic about my food, but gosh, it's just amazing to eat such good food, to NOT be hungry (!!!), and to feel so great -- oh, and the shrinking part ain't bad either!

Hope everyone had a great Monday - can't believe we are almost at the end of whole30

[Natalia]

Hey chickies! I'm still here and doing well. I have been eating clean and the darned ol scale just does not want to budge! So I was thinking that maybe although my carbs were low( under 30) maybe I was getting too many calories?? I know taubes says they never matter but according to the eades they do, for some folks. So now I'm journaling my food and doing a calorie and carb total... I've also been counting hidden carbs all along... So for right now I'm going to shoot for 1500/30 and maybe once a week if I need it 1800/50 but still no wheat starch or sugar. It's hard to believe nothings coming off when you consider my old diet.. I would think nothing of having a family sz pkg of licorice or whole bag of Teddy Grahams

But at least my energy level is slightly better, I don't feel bloated and I have no cravings....

Have a good evening girls! Heavy is on tonight.

[Athenacapella]

Thanks for all the support, everyone! That really means a lot.

My kitchen doesn't have any junk, but when I get some of those cravings I go get food. Carbage is never far. *sigh*

Today I started out back on plan, but the chicken and spinach that I thought would be an adequate lunch and I was starving. I ended up going off plan. BUT, the good thing is that when I went to the grocery store after work, I was actually planning on getting a glute n-free pizza "since I already was off plan and blew it for the day," but then when I was there the thought of a steak was so much better. So I got a steak and ate it and spinach and broccoli for dinner. Yum!

So here's to a better day tomorrow, everyone.

[Arkansas Kel]

CJZee- I repeat, it's hard to like perfect people, so it's ok not to be one. I'll state the obvious: move on, get back on the horse... etc etc. If somebody's perfect u let me know and I'll dog 'em until they stop playing diet **** on here.

Athena: Good going! Proud of u! Of course, when is it not a good time for beefy, juicy STEAK goodness. Crap, and I just ate. mmm, steak. with pan sauce..... OH MAMA!

Natalie: let us know how goes it. I think we all can be successful, if we just learn to do what's best for us and not worry about a cookie cutter plan.

Today was good, albeit a little off plan in the afternoon. Breakfast: usual sausage, eggs, avocado, lime squirt, coffee. Considering adding a little yogurt tomorrow (yep, I said it - DAIRY - I know some may not call it primal, but MDA says to have a little cultured dairy wouldn't kill me). Lunch: BAS (Big A Salad) of greens, onions, cukes, leftover rotisserie chicken, Duke's may mixed with greek drsg. AWESOME! Supper: stir fry (our version of hamburger helper). Small square of 85% chocolate, cup of hot tea. Many glasses of unsweetened iced tea. Coffee. Phew. The cheat: afternoon party at work - ate some gardetto's snack mix. with unsweet tea

[Athenacapella]

Forgot one more small victory.

I had a meeting with someone over coffee today, and I thought to myself, "well, I already had dairy yesterday, I might as well have this tiny bit of half & half." It was GROSS. I barely drank half and threw it out. And to think I used to need a lot of half & half in my coffee and a couple of years ago sugar, too. I even did a coaching session with a paleo nutrition guru and whined about having to give up half and half. How on earth did I get here?

I have become ... wait for it ... wait for it ... a black coffee drinker! And ya' know what? I kinda like it. Black coffee=naked coffee=sexy coffee.

walking2lose: Do you make your own kale chips?

Arkansas: Thanks for the encouragement! Let's make this week a good one, OK?

Natalia: How long have you been stuck? How long have you been at this? That totally STINKS about the scale! Stupid scale. Sounds like a totally smart move to count your calories for a spell and see where you're at.

CJZee: I think it's just totally human nature. I am SO guilty of that. "Well, I already ate this bad food, so I might as well eat more bad food." That all of nothing perfectionism -- story of my life!

[srmb60]

Pure unadulterated coffee!

I have a bit of dairy. Butter, cream and cheese. Yogurt is an occasional treat. Doesn't seem to make much difference to me.