Haha, well, I guess I can't spell, sorry. How very American of me to not look up and see how to spell Brugges.

My friend lives near Brighton but I'm only going to visit her a few days. Otherwise I'm free to go anywhere.

Is the Eurailpass worth it for only a week? If so, should I get it before I leave? Thanks SilverLife! CJ

From what I understand the difference between Paleo and Primal is that Paleo is more low fat with lean meats and Primal is higher fat and high fat meats... I'm reading Paloe right now borrowed from the library. I try to keep a good balance of both plans I think...but...I've been really off plan any plan not just Primal/Paleo...

Ah this thread just made me smile after a very very long day. Sorry about the delayed results. Maybe you guys should start guessing? I was 316 on the 1st of July.

How much do you think I weigh?

Remember the pace I set was a goal of 25 pounds a month for 4 months, but I have testified to the existence of a very stubborn plateau around 300. I will not make it home until late tomorrow night. I'll weigh first thing Thursday morning.

I miss my kid. Us single parents do not function well away from them. I did drop an amazingly quick $300 school shopping for her. My how times have changed. We had a blast shopping together 150 miles apart. I took pics of what I was finding and she picked her own shoes, boots, and other various back to school clothes. Technology is not primal but it sure is slick.

Here's Mark on the difference in Paleo and Primal. I would add that Cordain does not allow dairy. Sisson does. That's a deal breaker for me. It was Drs. Harris (PaNu) and Eades (Protein Power) who really sold me on the diet, but Mr. Sisson wrapped everything up into a lifestyle with common sense guidance for far more than eating. I almost feel stupid that someone had to tell me to eat natural whole foods, exercise, have fun, avoid stress, toxins, other dangers and be happy, but I did!

I've been keeping it primal and grass fed here, but I have also been unable to IF (and portion control may have been an issue at an amazing Argentinian steak house today). I'm exhausted, going to bed before 10 for a change. Thanks for all the concern about my weight and making me smile. Night.

Good Morning, all.

Ilene, thanks for posting that info. I haven't read all the different versions of Paleo and Primal. I read PaNu and Hyperlipid and some of Dr. Jan Kwasniewski's articles and decided to go with Dr. Kwasniewski's ratios. I'm slowly making my way through his Polish website, using Google translator. Not ideal, but I don't read Polish.

It's wonderful being able to choose. I really enjoy eating this way. Wish I'd been doing it my whole life. Being free of the effects of grains and legumes has been a tremendous boon to my health. It's not for everyone, but for my family it's crucial.

BigBob, I've read on other forums and in blog comments, of others having started to eat this way due to Drs. Harris and Eades, or Gary Taubes, too. Peter Dobromylskyj's blog, Hyperlipid is of the same caliber, IMO.

Sending you all best wishes.

Wow you guys have been very chatty!

CJZee- Hope you have a great time when you go visit your sister.

Bob- I cant wait to see what your results are! I am sure you are now out of the 300s. What grade is you DD in? My DS in 11th this yr. I am finding that I do not have to buy him as much school supplies now. Alot of of the supplies can carry over to the next yr without getting trashed or lost. He has slowed down on his growing as well so less clothes to buy as well. He does get new shoes & a couple new pants each yr. He's a runner so he goes threw shoes like crazy.

WELCOME to the newbies!

CJZee, It's been many years since I used a Eurrail pass. There used to be a one-week pass. Some would buy passes for a period of time that let them pick the number of travel days within that period of time. Yes, you must get the Eurrail pass here in the States. It's only available here, and only to US citizens who are US residents, as far as I know. I'm sorry, I'm not up on the latest anymore. Goodness, there is so much I miss about living in Europe. Brighton is wonderful. You are going to have the best time! I'll be thinking of you.

Tymaboy, thanks for the kind welcome!

Good morning,

SilverLife-- I read Peter too. He goes over my head sometimes but also makes me laugh, which I think is important in this world of hyperfocus on hormones and evo medicine. Resveratrol causing cancer is classic. Stephan Guyenet and Art Ayers are also big favorites of mine.

I've shared this a few times but I like telling it so here is my basic story. I yo yo-ed for 25 years on CW diet plans. I really tried hard and I tried just about everything. Nothing worked. My pattern for years revolved around New Year's resolutions. This past New Year's I made a different resolution. I resolved not to diet, but to research the issue and figure this beast out. At 370 pounds I had a ton of health issues. I was prepared to be a raw vegan if necessary. Dr. Furhman is a good people and he's helped many get healthy. I do not hate vegans. I was being sucked into that lifestyle because I had pretty good but temporary success juice fasting and living off of beans and veggies for about 9 months a few years ago. I lost right down to where I currently am, but couldn't sustain it. Then I stumbled across my epiphany, my moment of clarity. Not the book, but the article that started it all by Taubes -- What if it's all been a Big Fat Lie. I then got hooked on the paleo bloggers. I have over 50 of them bookmarked and 30 of them in my reader. My blog, if I ever get it launched, will feature them. Next I read GCBC alongside Primal Blueprint and knew I had found what I was looking for, a sustainable lifestyle, not a diet. By mid April I knew I was going to do this, and I knew it was going to work. Being an accountant by education I work on a monthly schedule and decided to start May1 and weigh/report once a month. I am also a believer in intermittent fasting for those who can do it -- the combination of primal and IF, for me, is the gold standard for a healthy lifestyle that should take me to a goal weight comfortably and quickly while supplying me the tools to maintain for life.

Other topics that have captured my interest are epigenetics (optimizing gene expression), neuroplasticity (changing your mind, literally), and calorie restriction. I am happier today than I have been in 12 years. My favorite thing to say to friends and family who doubt what I am doing or comment on the good results is: "I got this this time." And I do.

Also I am constipated, dammit.

Bibbob, thanks for posting your story. I'm so glad you read what you did and found out about the lies. Yours is a brilliant and dear testimony to the truth.

Yes, the resveratrol was a good laugh.

It is true that once we start thinking, it just keeps going!

RE: Constipation. I have found that drinking much more water, and eating much more fat helps that elimination challenge. Elimination is less frequent now than it was eating grains and other fibers. It's great to be free of the irritation. Much more water for me means 128-140 ounces a day, rather than the previous 80-100. Don't yet know my maintenance fat requirements.

I've been going thru all the comments, little by little at PaNu and Hyperlipid. Some tedious, some junk, but many jewels.

Will take a look at Art Ayer's writings. Stephan's aren't my cup of tea. Thanks much for the reading tips.

Am also reading FailSafe, about toxins in plants, medicines, etc. Some useful info in there for me, especially about salicylates.

It never ceases to amaze me that most of us already knew a bunch of this stuff.

Thanks for the welcome! Right now I'm trying to cut pop and candy out completely. I was able to do it last year for the most part, but somehow I fill back into the habit of a can a day. So far I haven't had pop for at least a week, and no caffeine for 2 days (any caffeine or carbonated beverage can sometimes give me heartburn).

I've mostly been a meat and potatoes girl, and never much experimenting, so I need to expand the vegetables I eat that are good for me. I like beets, broccoli, lettuce, squash, cabbage, carrots, and celery but that's about it. Does anyone have any suggestions for steamed or raw vegetables?

Oh Sara! I'm excited. If you already were a meat and potatoes girl, switching to meat and another vegetable will be so natural for you!

cauliflower? different lettuces? parsnips? different kinds of cabbage? sweetpotato? zucchini?

Browse the produce aisle ... grab something ... come home and google how to cook it

Hi Tyma -- My daughter is entering the 6th grade, middle school, and growing like a weed, especially her feet. She's been growing out of shoes before wearing them out for two years now. Her cousins get some very nice hand me downs!

I'm going to try to IF all day and be a little lighter for the weigh in. I feel like I may have put on a little weight. I went for a long walk and my hands swelled a little like they used to when I was retaining water. Between that and constipation I am feeling bloated. I need my homemade yogurt.

Speaking of that, I finally used the full fat Fage as a starter culture and wowwowwow was the result by far my favorite so far. I need to toss some recipes up in our new thread when I get a chance this weekend.

Sara- As far as veggies, all I can say is roast em roast em! If you aren't a fan of a lot of them, once they get roasted they turn into something like veggie candy! My favorite is roasted asparagus, but brussel sprouts are edging in. You can roast just about any veggie, I clean them, cut them, coat them in olive oil, sea salt, pepper and red pepper flakes sometimes, and throw themin the oven for 2-25 min at 400degrees. Sorry if you already know how to roast them! I think you'll eat more veggies if they are cooked this way IMO. Also, since you're a meat & pot. eater, have you tried mashed cauliflower? That is a go to at my house. I love it with garlic and cheese(no chz this month for me though!). I can't wait for winter when I can experiment with more soups and make my sheperds pie(w/mashed cauliflower), its just too hot right now to enjoy soups for me.

Bob, gotta check out that article by Taubes, about to google it and hopefully I can print it out for my friend that is "trying" (I say that loosely) to do Primal.

found the article, printed it, and calling my friend! Thanks Bob for mentioning this.