Imperator Juliosa

Thanks trailgirl! I'm pleased to report I'm on Day 18 of this first 30 days, and once I figured out how to eat enough calories, I've done really well. You're exactly right on the cravings, if I think I want something, but I don't want the healthy stuff, I don't actually want food. I make myself go walk out and look at the ocean (my office is next to the beach. It's a tough life) and usually that distracts me enough that I can choose not to have the cookies or loaf of bread or whatever I think I want. And it's working!! I've lost a good 2 inches off my waist measurement in less than 3 weeks. So having actual visible results is certainly a great motivator to keep going.

I know Vasque tends to run narrow so you might cross that brand off your list (I have super narrow feet so they're my first stop). A friend of mine has some Keen hiking shoes that she loves, and she does some seriously heavy biological field work, so if they can stand up to what she puts them through, they're probably really good. I tried hers for a day and while they were a bit too wide in the heel for me, they were otherwise really comfortable.

I have a Garmin 25, that does step and sleep tracking, estimates calories burned, and also GPS logs my walks. It also beeps at me when I sit still for too long, which is a feature that is simultaneously annoying (I'm reading! Leave me alone!) and super useful (I didn't realise just how sedentary I was until I turned that feature on). I find the step tracking really useful to gauge how I'm doing with just moving more, and it hooks into My Fitness Pal as well (I don't feel the need for it but I know it's a really popular way to track food). I find it to be a really good motivator, especially when I get near my step goal for the day and when I'm trying to estimate if I'm too far over/under my calorie expenditure for the day. I'm a big fan.

Do you mind sharing which brand you use that doesn't split? Because it's definitely not Australia's Own organic unsweetened.

You're doing great! Keep it up!

Are your feet particularly narrow or wide? That alone might help you narrow down which brands might be best for your feet.

I did it for a while and really liked it, except that it was pretty hard on my knees. If you have any knee or ankle issues, I'd probably try something else.

If you have access to organic strawberries (ie not laden with pesticides), you can cut the tops off the berries (the bit that would normally just go in the bin or the compost) and use them to flavor your water. Cucumber in water is wonderful too, really refreshing! Of the two, I'd keep the coffee and ditch the Kool-aid, if you can. One is natural, one is chemicals and sugar. I also have a French press and buy good coffee and don't feel like I need milk and sugar in it, but I still add cinnamon. Maybe try milk and cinnamon in your coffee, and see if that helps you lessen the sugar you need to add?

You're right, I added up all the calories for everything I ate yesterday, which felt like about 3000 calories--it was only 1590, which was just about exactly what my Garmin said I burned for the day. So I'll definitely keep an eye on calories for the first few days and just eat when I'm hungry, and worry about finetuning the ratios in a week or two. Thanks for the advice!

Thanks Buffyfraz, I really am trying to make it at least this first week, I'd like to see if this works! I added a more generous dollop of coconut oil to my scrambled eggs this morning and some olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing to my salad at lunch and I feel much better, so far I don't think I'm in danger of barbecuing the dog by the time I get home. Maybe the answer is just a bit more fat/oil on the front end? (although I'm still a bit wary of accidentally replacing my grain calories with twice the number of fat calories)

I'm drinking 3 liters of water per day, and I did try the "drink a glass of water when you get a craving" trick, but it didn't seem to work. I do want to try to stick with the no-grain thing for 30 days and see if it results in any weight loss (nothing else has worked). I guess I expected sugar/carb cravings, but not this weird constant hunger immediately after eating a full meal. I'll try adding more fats in to breakfast and add a sweet potato to lunch today and see if that helps.

Hello fellow rebels, I just started yesterday with the "mostly paleo" plan (only "mostly" because I try to eat vegetarian and legumes are a pretty big part of my diet). I've been eating mostly real food for a while, but I've been eating a LOT of carbs in grain form (mostly oats, quinoa, and whole wheat wraps.) Yesterday I was fine. Today I was fine until around lunchtime; since then I've been inhaling everything I can get my hands on. It's a mix of being genuinely hungry and cravings (my kingdom for some oatmeal). I've kept it to just veggies and protein, but I feel like I'm eating massive amounts of food and it's still not enough. For lunch I had a huge salad with avocado and almonds, then about half a tub of hummus with broccoli florets, then I came home and ate an entire package of smoked salmon and a nectarine. Is this normal? This seems like an awful lot of fatty stuff to be eating, and I'm having a hard time believing this is "better" for me than just having a half cup of oatmeal with some blueberries on it (my previous usual brekky). Thoughts?

Any north Queenslanders here? Would love to find an accountabilibuddy that's semi-local!