New to Paleo diet - friends & family making me feel like a real nutcase

[paleogirl]

Hi, I'm in need of support from others who believe in the benefits that can be achieved from the Paleo Lifestyle. I have trouble keeping focused on things, even if I really believe in them. It doesn't help that I do not personally know any other person who knows about or believes in paleolithic nutrition. So, I keep falling off the wagon after being good on the diet for a week, then feeling physically & mentally awful, then starting on it again. I think it will help reading posts from others who are also interested in mankind's original diet.

[Karen]

The mentally and physically awful feelings come from carb withdrawal and eating carbs again. That is the point where you really don't want to give up! Once you experience the energy from switching from carb burning to fat burning it will give you more inspiration to continue.

Just keep on sticking to it. The more you do it, the more it becomes a habit. Then the habit turns into a lifestyle. YOu CAN do it!

Karen

[paleogirl]

Karen, I really needed to hear what you had to say. I've been on a roller coaster for the last few weeks. If you stick with the diet 100% approximately how long does carb withdrawal last? (considering that I'm a carb addict) Thanks,

[razzle]

4-5 days usually to make it through carb (or any food allergen) withdrawals. Less for some lucky people, a bit more for some unlucky ones.

Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one can make you feel inferior
without your consent."

link to www.paleodiet.com and start reading the various links off that page. (It'll take a good long while to get through them!) As you do, not only will you get a pleasant education in archeology and the anthropology of food, you may feel less alone and surrounded, at least in cyberspace, by supportive folks of significant intelligence and knowledge.

Paleodieting is the way most humans who ever existed have eaten--it's this grain-laden way that's really the "weird" way.

[paleogirl]

Thank you Razzle. I will definately spend some time at that website.

[Karen]

I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that the withdrawal symptoms pass, but there will always be times when the cravings for carbs will appear.

The better you get at working your new lifestyle, the better you will get at saying "just saying no".

Karen

[foodie212]

Just a note to say hi!

As far as criticism is concerned, hey, you have the right to be an individual, just like everyone else does. A bit of advice though -- the people who aren't into paleo don't want to hear about it. If they're interested in the subject, they'll ask you. Until then, i've discovered it's best to just keep my mouth shut about it and don't make a big deal out of it. You're eating this way because you want to and it makes you feel healthier, and you don't owe anybody an explanation or an apology -- after all, do THEY have to come up with reasons why THEY eat the way they do? Nope. And neither do we. And besides, they have the right to eat what they want, too :D

As far as falling off the paleo diet wagon now and then, everybody does -- the main thing is that overall you're generally eating healthier than you used to! That's great. Personally i think life is meant to be enjoyed, and every now and then i'm going to enjoy my favorite foods, whether anybody else likes it or not, LOL

You don't have very much weight to lose, so you're going to lose it slowly anyway. A healthy way to do that is to make the lifestyle change you already have -- which is, eating more paleo than you used to, generally.

Don't stress yourself out about it. After all, our early human ancestors were totally "faithful" to a paleo diet 100% of the time -- but that didn't save them from being eaten by lions and tigers and bears, oh my :D We can be totally "faithful" to a paleo diet 100% of the time -- but that's not going to save us from being hit by a bus!

IMHO -- enjoy your life. That's the main thing.

[Chapinho]

Yeah I tell my friends about the diet and they are like "WHAT? You are crazy, rice and potatoes aren't bad for you!!!"

I'm starting to keep my mouth shut and not go into deep about it unless I'm one on one with someone. Because if you don't everyone wants to bud in and tell you that you are worng and crazy. Most of the time I just tell people I don't eat grains anymore and expain to them that this is why America is so fat and diabetic. And try and tell them to eat more fruits and veggies instead of rice and potatoes. If they seems interested then I tell them about Paleolithic Nutrition.

But I'm in the same boat. My wife, her Mom, my friends, they all look at me like I'm nuts! Well, I am what I eat!

[captxray]

Wow! Somebody who is also a Neandernut on this forum! We are a rare breed, even here, Chapinho. I've lost almost 80 pounds in a little over a year on Neanderthin. I've never felt as good as I feel on this woe and wol. I spent the summer hiking and climbing in the High Sierras of California, and Cascades of my home state, Oregon. I used to do that thirty years ago and had given up and thought those days were over...something I really loved was given up as lost because of my own eating behavior. Well!!! Not any more! I am alive, really ALIVE for the first time in 30 years and I will NEVER go back to my old grain-eating, potato-orgy, dairy-sickening days again! What I love most about this plan is NO COUNTING!!!! Glad to have you aboard. About friends and family...My mother (a Weight Watcher Counselor) and sister and most of my friends think I'm a Neandernut...Oh well. I'm healthy and they aren't! Finally, my mom quit lecturing me on how bad the diet was for me when I had lost over 50 poundws and was hiking again and feeling wonderful. She still thinks my woe is weird, but doesn't cut it down nearly as bad as before. When i started, I was so convinced that everybody ought to be on the same eating pattern that I became a Boring Zealot...mainly because everybody i knew was telling me how bad it was for me, and I knew they were the ones who were eating poison. Later, I found that people are going to do what people are going to do...even if it kills them! For example, smoking, taking illegal drugs, participating in dangerous sexual practices, eating dairy products, grains, beans, legumes, and dangerous carbohydrate-laden nightshades. It's their lives. I can only be responsible for ME, and that's more work than I seem to be cut out for, at times. People still think I'm crazy. They won't even think about trying this woe ("I couldn't give up potatoes...corn...bread...cake...ice cream...etc., etc.") even though they now compliment me on how much i've lost and how good i look and how healthy i seem to be...Go figure. My loss, their gain...ha!

[Chapinho]

Captxray

Well thanks and congrats on your goals. I'm glad to hear that you are back to your old self and probably better!

I'm trying to get my wife to get on it but she's weird. I bought the Protein Power book because she overseen it on here and liked the way the plan looked. So hopefully she can benefit from this WOE. She's very stubborn and rebels when pushed to do something. So, I'm reading the book because she won't, and I'm going to explain everything to her so she can get started. She tried Atkins a few years ago but didn't stick with it. She didn't read that book either, she was just following what her friend was doing. I'm so convinced that this will help her battle her slight weight gain, these diets on this forum are right on target and people just don't know, or will not give them a chance because of how they were raised. I don't have any weight to lose, I just want to feel better. After eating numerous amounts of carbs and soda I feel so tired and sleepy and just plan dead during the day. Reading how grains and the other stuff affect people I'm convinced this is the best thing a person can do in their life!

People need to open their minds, read, ask why, and then they will understand why this WOE is the only way to go!

[captxray]

You're right on target, Chapinho! I complained for years that Atkins wouldn't work, but I never gave it enough time. Finally, my brother challenged me to stick it out on Neanderthin for 90 days and, then, if it wasn't working, go ahead and quit. Well, I did take his challenge and in 90 days I had lost 14 pounds, never felt better in my life and the rest is history!