Paleo and carbs = grrrrrrrr for me today

[Drakenator]

I just finished 2 weeks of eating Paleo and I think I am finding myself deficient in carbs.

I am cranky, tired and really craving bad stuff today. craving stuff like cake, donuts bread, the cinnamon bread french toast my wife made the kids for dinner etc. I'm usually a lot better about controlling my cravings.

My cheat day isn't until friday and even then it isn't that bad of a cheat day. I just drink a few beers and may have some bread on a sandwich while dining out.

This is a typical day of eating for me these days. I usually get a snack similar to the afternoon snack after breakfast. Today work kept me too busy to remember.

My meals of the day are listed below.

Breakfast: Whey protein shake with banana = water, whey powder, ice and banana

Lunch: chicken breast with baked sweet potato fries

Snack: a dozen cherries with about 15 pistachios

Late afternoon snack: Tropical fruit Larabar.

Dinner: 2-3 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of tomato, 1 strawberry and about 4 x inch cubes of watermelon.

It is now 6:44 PM Central. If I get hungry again this evening I'll make myself a small protein shake.

Today was a workout day and it was about 8 minutes of (dreadful) warmup elliptical and then squats, leg curls, calf presses. I hit the stairs in the afternoon.

I don't know, I feel that the carb options are limited for Paleo...but it is working. I just hate feeling cranky.

Mainly my carbs revolve around salad, veggies and fruit. I don't eat dairy, cheese, rice, beans, bread, crackers etc.

So what are some good healthy options for Paleo carbs

[Drakenator]

And really I feel that I have eaten too much today. Yet I am still somewhat hungry.

The scale will tell me for sure in the morning.

[Sethbacca]

Have you tried logging your food in fitday or dailyburn for a few days to figure out what your actual intake is? Also, depending on how much sugar you ate previously you may be suffering withdrawals. I've been low carb for a couple months now, so I feel your pain good sir.

If you do a search for carb flu on marksdailyapple.com you'll see a lot of folks suffer similar.

[Drakenator]

Haven't tried calculating daily intake just eating when I am hungry but trying to keep portion sizes reasonable. I may have to try that to get it right.

I have been low carb since about June 10th. I started cutting out breads and grins about then. I started removing dairy about 3 weeks ago. I was cutting sugar and the nasty non essential carbs back in June.

I really enjoy sweet potatoes. I used to hate them. I may have to cook some up to have handy. I'll also search carbflu and see if I can gain any words of wisdom. Thanks!

['Roos]

I'm by no means versed in paleo, but you may be a bit low on the fat... Which would mean you're not getting anything in your diet to suppliment not having carbs, which would lead to cravings like woah. I second the dailyburn.com suggestion - get an idea what you're really eating (it gives protein, fat and carb quantities!) and then you'll know better what to tweak.

[Brometheus]

I see several things you might look at:

1) don't worry about the scale. Weight is arbitrary. Get a photo, and measure chest, waist, hip, bicep, etc. Much more useful in figuring out how you're doing. If you're really wanting to know details, you can always pay money for a hydrostatic dunk tank fat test, or some other accurate form of bodyfat testing. No, the electrical impedance ones don't count. They're innacurate.

2) Eat more fat!!!! Your diet appears to be critically low in fat. I would suggest anything from coconut oil, coconut milk, lard, tallow, butter, ghee, eggs, heavy whipping cream (primal blueprint), or avocados. I eat about a 50% fat, 25% protein, 25% carb diet. The point of paleo is to replace all the processed carbs with fat.

3) eat eggs. They tend to curb any sort of carb cravings you have. At least, they're a whole lot less bothersome when I do eat eggs.

4) find a different approach than the protein shakes. Yeah, they're quick and easy, but if your goal is weight loss, adding more dairy may not fix it (whey protein is technically dairy). Dairy is insulinogenic, which results in growth. High fat dairy doesn't necessarily prompt fat gain, but lower-fat dairy can cause issues with losing weight, since your body will now be geared more towards adding mass and fat than reducing it. check out this for more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy-insulin/

If you still want to include the protein shakes, find some source of fat you can add in.

5) Eat more! It looks like you're not eating enough. Too much fruit (limit to 1-2 servings a day), not enough protein, and not enough fat. Try to eat whole foods (ditch the shakes), cook it in fat, and eat that. If you're wondering what to eat for lunch, make a salad, throw some tuna/salmon/bacon/avocado or something on it to get more fat. Part of paleo is to eat till you're full, don't worry about calorie counting.

6) Get some starches. Worst case, the low-carb flu lasts 6 weeks. But that's if you're getting enough fat. If you aren't, it could be a lot longer, or never go away. If you're still having some acclimation issues, realize that paleo doesn't necessarily mean "low-carb". We are not atkins. You can lose weight a lot faster with low-carb, and in some cases, it's needed to fix some metabolic issues. But some starches never hurt anyone, and are much needed after a workout. Paleo: sweet potato, yams. Primal: white rice, potatoes (with skin removed -- technically nightshade, might be problematic for some people).

7) if all of this sounds too difficult, and you want an easier to follow guide, go get the whole 30 and follow that. Very well designed program on what to eat, how to eat it, and when to eat it. http://whole9life.com/success-guide/

8) Go read a bit. Please check out "the paleo solution" by Robb Wolf. Probably the best book on how to eat paleo, and why. If not that, http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

[Drakenator]

Thanks for the tips guys! that helps out a lot.

I am eating about 1-4 eggs a day hard boiled and scrambled.

You are correct the fat content is too low in my plan. I need to pick that up. I am heading back to my other flavor of whey, chocolate and I love adding peanut butter (natural of course) to it. We cook chicken in Olive oil but I don't feel that it adds enough fat to really count so I do need to get it elsewhere.

Whenever I eat at Chipotle I get guac and that is pretty awesome. I just don't do it enough it would seem.

Looking back at my daily battle log, I do see that I am probably not eating enough. Time to get a dailyburn account setup.

http://nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?3524-To-Hell-and-Back-with-the-Drakenator!

I have a portion control problem which is why I guess I am eating too little. I'm just afraid of losing all over again when I have found something that seems to be working. Looks like I have some adjustment to do to make it even better.

I looked up carb flu and I don't have any flu like symptoms just the cravings. To be honest I never felt better. I've been on a roller coaster from hell thing for about 8-10 years now and so far this is the only plan that has worked. My allergies seemed to have cleared up and I haven't been sick since before I started this eating lifestyle. I know it isn't 100% paleo either.

I think adding more fat back in will help. There is only one way to find out! I know what is for lunch today!

Now it is time to grab a hard boiled egg.

EDIT: More info.

I read the insulin article and since I do like the protein shakes so much I will keep them but it will get altered. Cut it back from 2 scoops to just the 1 and supplement it with a fat and/or solid food like eggs or meat.

Here is the shake I have. I take 2 scoops once a day. http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3509954

[Crooked]

In addition to more fat, eat more REAL protein (meat, fish, eggs, some nuts if you like). You are depending pretty heavily on the shakes, and I just don't think liquid calories are as satisfying as the kind you chew. You should also consider higher-protein snacks - your afternoon snacking is really carb-heavy, especially that Larabar, and I find that I'm hungry about two seconds after I finish one of those. Finally, I would say add in a bunch more veggies - this isn't really to deal with the hunger, but it seems like fruits (and the sweet potatoes) are your main source of carbs, and those are high in fructose, which isn't ideal. You could move the scrambled eggs to breakfast and have a fish entree for dinner or something like that - scrambled eggs don't take much longer to prepare than a protein shake.

[Drakenator]

Thanks for the tips! All good stuff!

Yeah the larabar was one of those...ahem..cheat items that was better than the carrot cake that the boss brought in for his birthday. It's one of those in case of emergency items.

I only drink the shake in the morning. Once in a great while I may take one in the afternoon if i get stuck at work without lunch or cannot get out. But that is really rare. But I can tell I need more solids with it in the morning, So I am cutting that in half, adding a fat and most likely eggs/veggies on the side. Once the mix is gone, I won't be buying any others. Once it is gone, I will consider it the next level.

The salad variety of veggies is what seems to be recurring in this plan of mine. I can tell that needs to change. I bought some red and yellow peppers the other night and some yellow squash. Those would probably work better in the evening than the sweet potatoes. I can save the potatoes for post workout. My eating plan can definitely use more variety. I am a picky eater but I am trying new things. I have been eating steamed broccoli too just not very much of it. Not my favorite but I find it better steamed than raw.

Any other veggies you can recommend for post workout or evening meals?? Since I got rid of bread and grains, this is someplace that needs better focus. There is always a new level to everything!

[CasiLeigh]

If you really like the shake/smoothie route in the morning (I know I do, SO easy and fast and tasty), may I suggest supercharging it to work more nutrient dense foods into your morning? This doesn't have to affect your paleo if you calculate correctly but, seconding the fat comments above, nix the whey and go all natural. My favorite base recipe looks like this:

A banana or avocado + 1 cup clean water to blend together as a creamy (non-dairy!) base, you could also use coconut milk

1 tbsp hemp or coconut oil (awesome source of clean burning fat and EFAs)

1/2 to 1 cup favorite fruit (go crazy! strawberries, blueberries, cherries, papaya, pineapple, apples, pears, whatev! freeze it for a shake consistency)

1-2 handfuls greens, like romaine or spinach (you won't taste it over the fruit and this packs a wollop of nutrients and a bit o protein)

Then I get really fun with whatever I want to add in. The fruit and blended base will mask pretty much anything. I add a tbsp of nuts like walnuts or a tbsp of seeds like chia (energy powerhouse! great for pre workout) or sunflower seeds. Dice a cucumber and blend that in to get your hydration jump started for the day. I have even diced and tossed in whole red or yellow peppers to up my antioxidants. It's awesome how creative you can get with this formula.

Bonus? Working extra greens and veggies into your diet has been shown to significantly reduce your carb and sweets cravings. It helps to level out your blood sugar and keep you from spiking.

Let us know how the tweaking goes, I know from personal experience how rough it is to pass up french toast when you really want it.

[CasiLeigh]

One more thing, this is also one of my favorite post workout snacks since it winds up being nice and cold. If you want to amp up the protein in it for that in a cleaner fashion, snag a bottle of hemp protein powder. Pretty inexpensive, doesn't affect the taste, and efficient.

[Crooked]

Any other veggies you can recommend for post workout or evening meals?? Since I got rid of bread and grains, this is someplace that needs better focus. There is always a new level to everything!

Well, I LOVE sliced peppers in all the colors of the rainbow. Try artichokes, carrots (which are a bit carb-ier than other veggies), tomatoes (delicious sliced up with balsamic vinegar), cucumber, zucchini, portobello mushrooms (really hearty sauteed in butter) and varieties of squash (I love butternut and acorn squash - they have a decent amount of carbs but I don't think they're quite as starchy as sweet potatoes).

[Drakenator]

We usually have a good storage of zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes. Those are staples at my house. I'll have to look into the mushrooms. I usually only get them at the salad bar but they would be good at home too. We also have carrots but I usually skip them or eat few of them.

I had grilled green peppers and onions on my Chipotle Chicken salad today. They were pretty tasty. So was the Guac!

[Drakenator]

I just watched this film on Netflix......totally proves how adding more fruits and veggies to the eating lifestyle really helps...everything. I was in tears of joy at the end. What a transformation!

http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

[Crooked]

Ooh I saw that film was an instant option - I guess I'll have to check it out now since it got such a strong review from you.

[drewcifer]

One thing that I haven't heard from many: You need to pay attention to what your body is telling you. It is possible that you may be still hungry because you're not giving your body what it needs to function. You have to ask yourself, "Why is your body hungry?" I've linked a chart below that I printed out and pasted on my fridge. It really helps when an hour after a meal I still find myself hungry. It takes some getting used to, but it certainly could help with curbing lingering hunger.

Furthermore, many times hunger is mistaken for thirst. (I'd link a journal or something showing this, but a google search will help you much more. GSearch: mistake hunger for thirst.) Try drinking either more water, or more water around your meals.

On the other hand, your body may be getting used to an exercise routine. Your metabolism spikes and stays moving for long after you work out. Cardio/lifting/etc. on a regular basis will keep your metabolism at a higher rate. Plus increased muscle will require more to operate.

Think of your body as an engine: If you're moving from a inline 4 cylinder to a V8 you will require more gasoline to get the same distance. Bad for cars, good for us. As your muscles grow, you'll need more fuel to maintain your daily routines. And just as you wouldn't feed your V8 corvette low-grade gasoline, you need to fuel your body with the high grade (no junk).

If you're burning fuel at a faster rate with your new V8 body, then you'll find you're constantly on E if you keep up the old caloric intake. A few extra high grade foods will help in keeping you fuller, longer.

And I'll probably catch flak for this: Don't be afraid to "give-in" now and then. Sometimes that Krispy Kream donut is on par with the bubonic plague. However, every now and then it may be good for your MIND to give it a treat, despite it being bad for the body.

naturopathyworks.com/pages/cravings.php

(^ First post, didn't know how the board feels about linking to other sites. So just put the "www" in front of it.)