Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Primal

So I've been eating this primal diet for 3 or 4 weeks now. I lost 10 lbs almost immediately and now I'm very slowly losing a bit more. That's ok, though, because I'm actually NOT counting the days til I can cheat. This really works for me.

I will direct you to Tamara's blog, because she is the person who inspired me to try it. She'll send you to Mark's Daily Apple, because that seems to be the epicenter of primal eating - but I didn't read his site til I'd read hers for a while, so say hi to her.

The way I think of it is "no grains, no sugar." It's similar to a low-carb diet, but for me, the application seems way different. If you read low-carb sites, they are usually obsessed with making low-carb versions of typical American food. It's an eternal quest for chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes and gravy, with whatever weird substitutes to make it low carb. Primal is like "there's so much good food to eat, even without bread."

So what do I eat? Eggs and bacon for breakfast. A huge salad with plenty of homemade dressing for lunch. Nuts or a piece of fruit for snacks. A normal dinner, without grains or potatoes.

I am not very hardcore about this. (About anything but riding, really.) If I want a sweet, I'll have a tiny piece of 75% dark chocolate or some fruit. If I want a drink, I'll have a finger of bourbon on the rocks. Quality over quantity.

Anyway, I find it to be a very sustainable way of eating. If I want pizza or sushi badly enough, I'll go get it, but I'm just not craving anything.

I was eating like this - effectively low carb - when I rode Moonshine. Aside from being up all night and super tired, I felt better at Moonshine than I did at Rides of March, when I ate "normally."

I am getting back into the gym, too. I have been debating whether to post this kind of stuff here or over on the dormant fitness blog. Votes? All horse stuff here (sorry Kacy ;) ) or horse and human fitness here?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

10 comments:

  1. My vote's for anything you want to put in this blog - I put other stuff in my blog too besides horses, and people can opt to read it or not as they choose - it's your blog. I tried separate blogs for different topics, but found it too hard and time-consuming.

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  2. I say put whatever you want in your blog. I think most horse people are struggling with nutrition/eating/finding a good balance so it would be helpful.

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  3. It's your blog, post what you want. Keep it in one spot so I don't have to follow a bunch of different things, okay? ;)

    I've started the primal eating this week as well. Tamara's blog, especially the before and after pics, are very inspiring and she does make the overall concept and application of primal eating seem to be fairly easy. I do love, er, LOVE, my carbs (pasta, rice, potatoes, etc), but so far have been okay - even when making those dishes for the boys. All the summer fruits and veggies are out right now, which makes it much easier for me. I've been filling up on zucchini or asparagus instead of potatoes and pasta. The hardest for me was my morning coffee, but I used coconut milk this morning instead of creamer and it was actually pretty good.

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  4. Good for you on the primal eating! I'm working my way towards that as well... Love Mark's daily apple - lots of good info and recipes there.

    I say post whatever you want on this blog - I like reading a mix of everything that people do...

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  5. I'm with everybody else - post whatever you want. Sure, we're horse people, but there's more to us than that.

    I've started to think about taking a pilates class.

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  6. I was reading this after Funder came to mine. The diet I go on, turns out to be almost the same as Marks Daily Apple! How weird is that, and I`ve never heard of this. Unfortunately I fell off the diet wagon for a couple of days! It was the Fillet Steak and Rioja, that did for me!
    Like the blog!

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  7. You know...my blog may sound like all horsestuff...but I sneak in my life and times too...it is my horse's "girls life" anywho! She wouldn't get written about with my fingers!
    HAHA!
    The diet affects your mare anyway..it all factors in, don't you think Fund?
    As for the name...it is open for anyone to use. no matter to me!

    That is an excellent way of eating ..makes me feel good...and sounds like, you too!
    KK

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  8. Definitely journal your primal diet here...others are interested, reading, and watching (she would desperately needs to drop 30 pounds). ~E.G.

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  9. how else will i keep in touch with american modern diets?: )

    ~lytha, who never liked her starches anway

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  10. The Primal diet sounds interesting. I'm not that keen on low carb diets myself - I eat more along the longs that Michael Pollan outlines in his books (An Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defence of Food, Food Rules) which has some similarities in that it advocates a natural diet that avoids processed foods, but he certainly doesn't encourage anyone to cut out carbs. Anyway, will be interested to see how you go on the primal diet :-)

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