As I understand it, Primal is kinda "Paleo with dairy."

At least, that's what an online discussion settled on; it's a looser version of being Paleolithic; some Neolithic elements can creep in.

It all started with me happily maintaining on Atkins; and slipping back into stress eating. Not disastrously; I gained 20-30 pounds (I don't own a scale) and I buckled down in the spring and lost them again by the next fall. I can easily maintain that way.. only I no longer wanted to.

I dropped grains at Christmas, Frankenfoods like bars and shakes the next spring, and this summer I stopped eating high Omega 6 seed oils like canola and soybean. And I effortlessly lost 5 more pounds!

As my cooking skills have increased over the last couple of years, my interest in processed foods has correspondingly dropped. Geez, when my own cooking ruins me for fast food and franchise chains; I've really come a long way

As my next step, I've bought a copy of Mark Apple's The Primal Blueprint. I've been lurking on his blog for a few years now; it's time I give it a whirl.

The exercise thing has always been difficult for me. Aside from living on the third floor, even long walks are problematic for me because of a hip problem. But I've been using the Egoscue Method for several years and it's finally coming around to the point that I can embark on something more than these great floor exercises. Which I need to buckle down on again.

I've decided I'll try dropping ten more pounds. I've eyeballed the ol' torso and I think I can do that. Or, dropping a size, down to size 8 pants.

Because I really don't care what the scale says. I only care what my pants say.

Hmm, Werebear, I guess I'm kind of primal as well, then, if it's 'paleo with dairy'. I couldn't give a stuff about all the neolithic, paleolithic theory .. I just want to eat real, not Frankenfood and lose visceral fat. You've done well! I think your ( please excuseThe Biggest Loser cliche I'm about to use) 'weight loss journey' is a fairly common one with those stages you describe.

Using that definition of primal and paleo, I guess I wobble between the two. For the last month, I've been enjoying some extra dairy (mainly cream cheese and string cheese) to ensure my body is getting the calcium it needs to mend this broken leg...but even before that, I enjoyed a little cheese or sour cream now and again.

For me, I focus on the big picture items - no grains, no legumes, very little processed foods (what can I say? I like having a touch of BBQ sauce or mustard every once in a while!) and making sure I serve my family homecooked meals full of whole foods. That is the Paleo/Primal lifestyle for me....to hell with the whole dairy debate. ;-)

Anne

that's why i changed my WOE to Primal, too.
i enjoy dairy and a few vegetables..
i want to eat like my forefather's/ancestors did...
clean food, what is available in my area, and i keep it simple...

thanks for the thread WereBear.. I enjoy your posts and logic!

I'm so glad!

I have a somewhat unique perspective on dairy; back in the late 1980's I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance and I stayed away from dairy (hello soy milk on my cornflakes) for years. Once I went on Atkins I discovered I could have cheese, sour cream, and yogurt without a problem.

I think my original diagnosis was wrong, frankly. I discovered I would get tummy aches from the cheese and crackers... but now it's certainly not the cheese, and it's definitely the crackers!

And being without dairy all that time made no discernable difference to my weight struggles. Even the studies out there seesaw back and forth; I'm going to as much organic & grass-fed sources as I can, always choose the highest fat & the lowest carb, and see how it goes for a bit.

I love your posts, WearBear, and have learned from them. I'm trying the gradual approach too this time -- I've been one of the Imperfect Perfectionists, trying to do everything, then stopping when I couldn't meet that standard. I've found that stopping bread helps, too.

I have a theory (totally untried or tested) that we really need to go back to what our ancestors ate -- but which ancestors? What if your mother was a goat and rye person, and your father was a cow and wheat person? You might have gotten the goat gene AND the wheat gene. Or not. My mother, her mother and her mother were all the same size -- I have the photos -- and all could eat white bread with impunity. I'm five inches taller than they were, and am learning I can't have bread.

I'll read the Primal Blueprint book -- thank you!

Do let me know what you think; I'm already getting lots of new ideas from it.

As far as eating white bread and staying the same size: the highly hybridized wheat introduced in the 1970's is a radically different creature now... a new book, Wheat Belly, describes exactly how much it has changed.

So it doesn't matter what genes you wound up getting... you simply aren't eating the same bread!

Good point! I read a post about Wheat Belly (probably yours!) yesterday. I probably won't read it because it will make me want to jump off my balcony, but I'm quite happy with received wisdom So many things changed in the 1970s. And all the diseases that have -- "blossomed" seems like such a bad word in this case -- since then have to be related.

I have been primal pretty much from the start, i find it very easy to live with 24/7 and it does not seam to inhibit my weight loss

The eating-like-your-ancestors idea has entered my head once or twice. I am half Greek and half Mexican, and had violent morning sickness with my pregnancies. Weight-loss inducing. Anyway, I could only keep down tomato juice, and once I could eat, the only foods I could keep down were beans & rice...for about a month. My local Mexican place knew my order when I walked in the door every day. (Couldn't stomach cooking)

Probably a coincidence but it did give me pause...

Especially since I was vegetarian at the time...heavy on fruit, vegetables, dairy and bread. Was not accustomed to eating Greek or Mexican.

When it comes to eating-like-your-ancestors, it's not in terms of "who came on the boat." It's more like "who was on the African savannah."

We've only had agriculture for 10,000 years. Though I agree that what our cultural heritage ate can point to what is comfortable for us; this is how I justify some dairy eating, since I come from a line of people who did that for many centuries.

But what drew me to Primal was how processed foods were shown to affect me; once I stopped eating them. I get along with low Atkins rungs, good fats and oils, and fresh produce; to a far more dramatic extent than I thought possible. I think it's a marker of just how far from nature our modern "foods" are.

I was in a rush one day and got a package of creamed spinach; seemed like good ingredients, like half and half instead of powdered milk, and less than 2% of objectionable ingredients.

But it smelled like baby puke and I had to throw it out.

VLC Atkins just wasn't working for me any more. Not even zero carb was working. So now my diet is mostly veggies and some fruit, with one serving of 3 oz of protein per day. Needing a defined plan, I thought this resembled Paleo the closest.

This change cuts my calories. I feel a lot better eating tons of veggies and I find it costs half in groceries per week to eat this way.

I really hated eliminating the veggies from my diet trying to keep carbs under 5 or zero.

Ran across your first post over there totally by accident today Werebear! I think this forum and mda are great together and very complementary.