Have you seen the new slim Alec Baldwin? He has embarked upon a sugar free diet, and he looks phenomenal. If Alec Baldwin can do it you can, too! In an interview done earlier this month he reveals how he did it, and he also exposes the dangers of eating sugar Hear him speak about healthy eating in this interview with Dr. Robert Lustig. Transcript here.
5 things that happened when I stopped following the Primal lifestyle. Aka …. If you fall off the Primal Wagon, you’ll feel like a zombie.
Going primal made so many great changes in my life. You can read about them in my post 5 things that happened to me as a result of starting a Primal lifestyle. I should have called the post 5 Great things…because every one of the changes was a positive one.
You might wonder how I would ever let myself slip off. And you’d be justified in wondering this. I am perplexed myself. Essentially, it boiled down to laziness and procrastination. I had been very consistent with my efforts for the first 6 weeks and then with a trip away (all you can eat and drink is hard to completely resist,) and some unexpected life hiccups it just became less of a priority.
These are the things that happened when I fell off. They didn’t happen all at once, but they all built up simultaneously over time.
1. I gained weight. It didn’t happen all at once, it creeped up. I was off track for about 5 weeks and I managed to gain 5 pounds. This was after losing between 9 and 10 pounds in the first 2 months I was on Primal. Gaining weight you just lost is like losing money on the stock market. Now my jeans are snug at the waist again. No fun at all.
2. I was more tired. It became harder to get up in the morning when the alarm went off. And I wasn’t sleeping as well.
3. I was less regular. I’m not going to elaborate on this one, since I think most of my readers are not 7 year old boys who enjoy discussions about toilet issues.
4. I became cranky. Tiredness, weight gain and irregularity can do that to a girl.
5. I was less motivated. Less motivated to dance, to run, to bound up the stairs. I had less resolve to jump start my way back into the Primal way of eating. I was succumbing to the SAD (Standard American Diet.) I felt a bit like a zombie, just not the flesh eating kind.
(6. I stopped blogging.) Likely a result of #5 combined with super-busy life events.
Anyway, you’ll be happy to learn that I’ve the spark I needed to get back on track and I am starting to feel the goodness from it already.
Just Say “No” … to drugs. Or Candy. Well, it’s pretty much the same thing anyway.
Some days this is easier said than done.
The best way to do it, is to keep it out of your environment. Great advice, not always easy to follow.
In my workplace there is usually some form of delicious sugary “treat” in a dish in plain view there for the taking. Placed there by some well-intentioned person as an offering to those who might wish to partake.
The trouble for me, is that I can’t have one.
Meaning: I can’t have even one. Not even one measly piece. Mark Sisson says aim for 100% compliance with a healthy lifestyle and be happy with 80%.
You might think that I am being rather harsh not allowing myself to eat even one candy. But the fact of the matter is that I can’t stop after having one. If I could, I would certainly partake in the occasional indugence. But once I’ve had one, it’s like I’ve broken the dam and all my willpower has flowed downstream.
“One more won’t hurt will it?” If one wasn’t so bad then 2 can’t be that bad either. But 2 leads to a small palmful and then 2 palmfuls….and well that’s a mittful. And that’s nothing at all like having one candy.
Addiction. Clearly, that’s what it is.
Does anyone else have this problem? What do you do about it? Help!!
It’s been 16 days since I started my 30 days of Primal/Paleo lifestyle. And I’m like a new woman….not that I was like an old woman before, but Wow. Just Wow. This post started as a 5 things….but it turned into 6.
1. I am less hungry. Seriously less hungry. I used to feel ravenously hungry if I was late for a meal. Now I find that I can go even an hour beyond my usual meal time and not mind a bit. I’ll notice that I’m hungry, but it’s not distracting. Before, if I got too hungry I would get to the point of being “hangry” do you know what I mean — hungry+angry= hangry!
2. I am sleeping better. These days I’m ready to sleep at sleep time and awake before my alarm goes off feeling well-rested.
3. I have more energy. It’s like my muscles are ready to go at any moment. I’ve got a spring in my step and I bound up the stairs instead of plodding.
4. I am thinking more clearly. There were times before when I would feel clouded or dazy, but since going Primal, I’m able to think keenly and focus with a longer attention span.
5. I don’t crave sugar. Seriously, this has to be the best side effect. I have always joked that I don’t have a sweet tooth I have a whole mouth full! Since cutting refined sugar and carbohydrates out of my diet I don’t even want sweets.
6. I have lost weight! And of course, everyone wants to know how much. Well I’ve lost 7 pounds. That’s 5% of my body weight in 16 days. Not too shabby!
If you want to check it out have a look at one of these books:
I find that when I’m trying to cut back on eating the only thing I can think about is…you guessed it: eating.
I can avoid eating between meals, but then once it’s time to actually eat I find it hard to stop. It’s like by starting eating, I’ve primed the pump, and I want to eat everything in the house. Sometimes it feels like I do.
I have discovered a method of curbing this. It’s a new method that, so far, I have met with some success. It involves portion control and time.
When it’s time to eat, I put on my plate the correct portion size for my meal of choice. Then, I eat the food. I try to chew slowly and enjoy the meal. And do nothing else while eating, no computer or TV or reading. Inevitably, I will finish the food and want to continue eating. Here’s where the time element comes in.
I tell myself that I must wait 20 minutes and then if I still want to eat, I can have whatever I want.
Very often 20 minutes will pass and I will have become involved in some other task, no longer feeling an urge to eat. And sometimes after 20 minutes I’ll still want a snack. If I decide that I want a snack I determine what it is. Let’s say, chocolate!
So, I repeat the steps. First determining a deliberate reasonable portion and then eat it without distraction. Now I must wait another 20 minutes before eating again.
Give it a try, let me know what happens.
