primal or paleo, anyone?

[DjBlackDiamond]

Hello everyone!

A little background about me: I've got cealiac disease, but just found 4 eyars ago. Since then I've started a primal/paleo diet, but with a twist... I don't eat meat (never have), just some fish and eggs.

Anyone keen to share experiences on this?

[Khaospawn]

Get with ham and photodyer. This is right up their damn alley.

[Alex]

My girlfriend has Coeliac's, she eats a lot of Udi's french toast and quite a bit of steak. That being said, sucks bro.

[Pendulum]

Oh, that's an interesting twist. My first thought was that a vegetarian paleo diet would be a nightmare to control if weight loss were one of your goals, but I know you do yoga so I'm kind of assuming you don't have a lot of excess weight.

You do any meal planning? It... kind of goes against the grain of the primal/paleo diet, but it strikes me that there's a few things you might have to actually watch to make sure you're not getting too much of, especially fiber. [Since I'm an American, where we feed exclusively on processed food, there's actually a little disconnect in thinking "I hope she's not getting too much fiber," lol]

[DjBlackDiamond]

Oh, that's an interesting twist. My first thought was that a vegetarian paleo diet would be a nightmare to control if weight loss were one of your goals, but I know you do yoga so I'm kind of assuming you don't have a lot of excess weight.

You do any meal planning? It... kind of goes against the grain of the primal/paleo diet, but it strikes me that there's a few things you might have to actually watch to make sure you're not getting too much of, especially fiber. [Since I'm an American, where we feed exclusively on processed food, there's actually a little disconnect in thinking "I hope she's not getting too much fiber," lol]

I can not say I'm a vegetarian because I do eat some fish (only some kinds) and eggs. But
I don't eat diary as well. Even thought I follow a gluten-free diet I don't eat gluten-free processed foods (bread, cookies and the like), and that's the main reason I turned to a paleo/primal diet - I was sick to my stomack, literally - of too much 'fake foods'. I do eat a lot of veggies but I don't really know if 'that's too much fiber' as you put it... My main issue with this diet is I do think I eat a lot more fruit (fresh fruits) than I should. (And it's not about losing weight, is that I really think my body doesn't like that much sugar.)

[photodyer]

My kids (son 15, daughter 12) have been doing some variation on primal for a few months now thanks to a nudge from hamfactorial. My son has Asperger's, so we decided to trial him on casein free/gluten free. As we are all relatively carnivorous in our tastes anyway, shifting over to primal was not devastating after the initial week or so of breaking carb addictions. My daughter has dropped much of the extra weight she was carrying, is looking fantastic and feeling good. I've dropped about 30 pounds so far and really enjoy eating like this.

We are not zealots...my son is a challenge because unlike my daughter and I he cannot keep weight on. Thus, I have to stretch to get calories into him to support his normal teenage growth needs. He does peanut butter on tapioca bread for lunch on top of calorie-dense egg protein-based shakes for breakfast; he also eats potatoes pretty regularly. My daughter and I stay pretty strict
out of deference to him, but we generally espouse the "80% success" attitude and don't let our healthy diet choices become punishments. If the kids get a pizza party at school, my daughter knows that she's free to choose to partake in moderation; when we go to birthday parties, we honor the person in question with a small slice of cake; and so on.

We are very much on the "meat and veggies" side of things with regards to overall preferences. I have a wood pellet grill which is basically an outdoor oven, and we love grilled meats. My kids are also absolute bacon hounds...I cook up at least 4-5 pounds of the stuff each week as our "grab-and-go" calorie source. My daughter and I are also big into salads; I really enjoy playing with mixes of flavors to create totally different takes on our usual base of grilled chicken and romaine. We very occasionally do "salad bowls" at Chipotle as well because we both like a little rice here and there.

Fish presents a real
challenge for us--my son loves all kinds of fish, but it is generally so lean that it's hard to get calories in him that way. My daughter is not big on fish, but she does love shrimp, so we enjoy a seafood feast every couple of weeks to change things up.

Overall I'm glad to be free of the carb cycle; I miss fresh bread--a lot--but not as much as I love feeling better without all the sugar spikes and crashes.

[DerWille]

I'm not sure about primal, but I did paleo for about 1 or 2 years.

I don't really think it's possible to do vegetarian paleo and survive without resorting to gray area foods like white rice and sweet potatoes. Otherwise, your meals will no calories. Your meal is basically meat with a side of vegetables and maybe an apple at the end of the day.

I had to stop because it was becoming too expensive and I hate cooking. I'd be willing to do it again if someone else would cook, but it felt like I had to spend half the day in the kitchen. It's effective if you can follow it properly, but it sort of takes over your life if you try to adhere to it.