Well I did decide to give up alcohol for Lent, and I'm going to also put a focus on eating right and not giving in to my sweet tooth. I've been about 70% Primal lately- dinners have been a pitfall. Both DH and I have been using panko breading on some dishes, cooking more potatoes, etc. It's not terrible by conventional standards, but definitely not primal. My breakfast and lunches remain primal, though. My biggest pitfall right now is in the evenings I'm tired and trying to follow a new Primal recipe or whatever just isn't working for me. I think I need to start doing Primal Crockpot recipes, haha, so it'll just be ready when we get home.

I'm having some issues with the same thing at dinner. I think I'm going to have to start doing more planning ahead and maybe cook ahead on weekends. Most of the time I don't keep non primal foods in the house (except for my pre portioned cheese - I couldn't part with cheese), but my boyfriend INSISTED that I bring potatoes back for him, and once we determined that nightshades really don't bug him the way dairy does, I started buying those pre made mashed potatoes. Well, every time I make them, at least a spoonful goes into my mouth!

I'm hosting a dinner party on Tuesday, and I'm making it a completely primal affair, partly to stay on plan and partly because my BIL is celiac. Monday is the holiday so maybe I'll just pre make most of the dinner and then do the same for the rest of the week.

This made me laugh... because I do the exact same thing in my house when I'm cooking for my family... It's funny to, because I can mix up a whole batch of brownies to make for my family and not even think about licking the spoon (well that's a lie... I do think about it, but at least I don't do it) but leave me around a bowl of mashed potatoes too long and I just can't be trusted...

LOL- Mash potatoes are a weakness of mine as well. I'm of Irish descent, I think I'm genetically predisposed to loving potatoes!

I like this... Maybe this is part of my problem... I have the dreaded "potato" gene...

Looks like it been quiet here... I'm happy to report that steering clear of grains has been going well... But going hardcore paleo... well, that's just not happening right now... I've been just trying to focus on my LCHF plan for now... so some full fat dairy... some heavy cream and full fat cheese have been part of that... and since I'm doing a lot salad greens I'm using store bought salad dressings too, because I've just been too lazy to make my own right now... But I'm not going to make myself crazy over it...

So definitely "a work in progress"...

I'm doing...so/so right now. I'm about 70% primal. I'm struggling with rice and potatoes. I have no problem avoiding wheat, however. And the fact that rice and potatoes are both a little controversial (some say they're ok for primal/paleo and some say they aren't) makes it harder. Wheat is cut and dry- everyone agrees it's no good.

Hey everyone! I just joined this evening although I have been lurking a little. I've been obsessed over what changes I need to make (with all the conflicting info this is hard to figure out). I can say I gave up soda almost 3 weeks ago. I knew for sure that was a definite step in the right direction. I've also given up sweet tea and mostly been able to steer myself away from sweets. I did cave one night and make chocolate cake then didn't like it because I put frosting on it and I'm not much of a frosting person. Anyway, I've decided to go primal. I don't drink much milk, don't care for yogurt, but I have to have cheese so I won't be eliminating that right away. I would like to lose about 75 lbs or more, but mostly I want to be around for my kids for a long time in a healthy way. I don't want my kids to pick up my bad habits. I want them to be fit and healthy but I feel I'm setting them up for failure the way we've been going. That leads me to my concern... we are a family of 6, 4kids ages 2-12. I'm a sahm with our 2 year old. With only 1 income, we are on a tight budget. I won't be able to buy organic or grass fed as much as I should for primal, so will this mess me up? I'm hoping hunters in the family will share some venison, otherwise it's what I can afford to buy and still make sure everyone eats and bills are paid.

Wow, I'm long winded tonight. Sorry!

Grass fed is better because it's got a better Omega ratio, but if you can't afford that then just try to get cuts of lean meat and try to get hormone/antibiotic free meat if you can. Chicken and lamb are easier to get like this than beef, but even our regular grocery (Safeway) has hormone/antibiotic free beef. Also, Buffalo/Bison must be antibiotic and hormone free by law. I often use ground bison meat in place of beef hamburger in recipes. It is more expensive, but only marginally. And wild fish/seafood is always good. Even some farmed varieties aren't too bad.

Thanks, Dee. I will be grocery shopping soon so I can check prices. I'm lucky to live in a farming community so I'm sure I can find someone that sells meat for a reasonable price too. My food budget for a family of 6 is $450-500 per month. Not very big, but I manage. I think cutting out all the sugar, prepackaged, nasty stuff will help offset the higher cost of meat a little.

Hi I am all about good carbs, grass fed beef, free range eggs and chicken etc. I am really impressed by all the weight loss tickers on this thread. I'd like to check into Paleo/Primal dieting. Which diet book worked the best for you and why?

Although I'm new to primal (I'm on day 5), I'm already noticing a difference. I suggest the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. It tells you why certain things are bad for our bodies and how. You can also find lots of info on marksdailyapple. Good luck!

+1 on The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.

And check out his site Marksdailyapple.com - he does an article every day, there's a huge archive of previous articles, a lot of the info in the book is on that site for free, there are some success stories (lots of them) and a very active forum.

This one is my favorite primal success story, but they are all awesome: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-u...#axzz2MtxjEMhw - the first photo to the last photo is one of the most amazing transformations I've seen.