Make Primal Work for You
Katie made a very good comment in my motivation post that got my rant going.
I have tried to make this point in several posts and comment discussions but maybe it is time I came out and specifically posted my thoughts on this.
I am of the school of thought that you need to adapt primal living to work for you. There is no one right way to go about things. X of Ys and A of Bs is not the answer. This applies to both exercise and diet.
I am pretty confident that if you compare any two primal, “guru’s”, success stories, bloggers or whatever that you will find that we in fact do not eat exactly the same thing nor do we exercise exactly the same. We all follow the same basic principles and ideas but we have adapted it in a way that works for us. Even my wife and I eat slightly differently. She tends to eat a lot more (and different) fruit and nuts than I do… but that works for her!
I think that too many people try to adapt themselves to a diet and that is where the struggle and the heartache and the failure and the diet stigma come from. Diets (mind you I am talking about specific diet plans and not the real meaning of the word) tell you to eat this much of this and this much of this at this time and then do this exercise at this time for this length of time. That rigid mold just does not fit everyone. This should be a 2 way street people. You adapt to the lifestyle and it adapts to you.
Primal living needs to be viewed more as a foundation or a plan. Everyone needs to start somewhere so go ahead and start with what people say or tell you to do but from there make it your own. If something doesn’t seem to be working for you… stop it or switch it up. If you feel you need or want to eat or do more of something, try it out! One important caveat, stick to the primal principles… don’t experiment with eating 10 tubs of cookie dough.
Continue these little experiments until you get to where it works for you. And this will continue to shift over time! I eat and train differently than I did a couple months ago and differently again than when I started primal. Our schedules, goals, heck… our lives change.
All that being said, don’t be afraid to take other peoples advice. I will get emails from people that are having a hard time reaching their goals and I may advise them to maybe cut back on the nuts or fruit or to eat fattier meat instead of lean or any other bajillion pieces of advice. I offer this as advice, not as the end all answer. Someone that has been in your shoes may be in a position to offer you valuable advice but telling you that you are wrong and they are right is… well its wrong. Lol.
Let your primal lifestyle evolve with you. Stick to the basic principles but take it your way from there.
July 24th, 2009 - 8:51 pm
I think you make an essential point here. Primal is more than ‘what you eat’. At the risk of sounding really hokey, it is, in my mind, an approach to living that asks the individual to move away from self-criticism and find a way to live in harmony with healthy choices.
This means you think, adapt, and make choices – not just follow some rules from a book.
July 25th, 2009 - 2:06 pm
Thanks for listening, and for the advice. After writing that comment I did a lot of thinking and realized that most of my frustration stemmed from feeling overwhelmed. As you said, in order for Paleo to really work you have to make it your own. Once you move past the basics, there is a lot of room for personalization, and a lot of information out there about what other people have done. In the beginning you are so busy learning this new way of thinking that you need the structure of “right” and “wrong.” You read articles and blogs looking for instruction. But at some point, you have to trust what you’ve learned and “transition” – the line I was talking about it. It’s the point where it starts to feel natural BECAUSE you’ve adapted it to fit your lifestyle. And then, I think you start reading the blogs for inspiration and community. In my case, I guess I just needed to step back for a moment to see that no one was making me do this, that it really is just for me, and thus there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do paleo. This morning when I opened google reader, I read each article as suggestions rather than rules, cans rather than shoulds. And that made a world of difference. So thanks for helping me get ‘unstuck’!
July 25th, 2009 - 3:59 pm
You’re right that everyone has to make paleo or primal living their own, this is a 100%-spot-on article! The only thing I would add is that when somebody is new to the idea, it’s okay for them to “ease into it”. A lot more people are eating gluten-free these days, and I would applaud that as a very good first step before I would ever challenge them (in a polite way) to consider the next step. I get the feeling that some “lifestylers” would simply say “You’re still eating crap!” or words to that effect.
Furthermore, my wife and I still consume dairy – for many “hardcore” paleo lifers that’s a no-no, but for me that’s the way I sold it to my spouse. She had to give up too many other things she enjoyed (like corn).
But we’re evolving – I’ve gotten her interested in doing interval training now, for example.
July 26th, 2009 - 7:55 am
I agree entirely and say this all the time on my blog. One must adapt a WOE to fit one’s lifestyle. Folks get hung up on ‘rules’ and the diet fails.
I’m Paleo but also still eat a bit of dairy (I call it Lacto-Paleo) and despite my subsisting mostly on fat, meat and eggs and echewing grains,legumes,tubers,nightshades, fruit and cucurbits, folks on forums will sniff and say: “Well, that’s NOT Paleo.”
Well, Lacto-Paleo works for me and that’s all that counts! ;D
July 26th, 2009 - 12:47 pm
If u think about it, Grok discovered animal milk centuries ago, but chemicals have been around for only 100 years, so should be avoided.
Other species have been knocked out by far less then what we are exposing ourselves to in our environment (fabric softeners, perfumes, colognes, air plug-ins) and ingesting in our foods and through our food containers ………..
July 26th, 2009 - 6:07 pm
Very good post! My first attempt at eating low carb (Atkins) failed miserably, even though I was adhering to it to the letter, because I was miserable from carb cravings. My second attempt at low carb (Protein Power) was much more successful (and I’m still sticking with it, 2 years later) because I decided I would just eat as few carbs as I could manage, which still ended up being A LOT fewer than I had been eating. I lost weight, my health improved, etc.
So I agree with you, and I also like gcb’s comment about “easing into it.”
Hmmm, well, my very first attempt at lowering carbs was the Zone Diet, which is not marketed as low carb but it did lower my carb consumption, and it went pretty well for me – in part because it allows more carbs. I lost weight and felt better on the Zone Diet even though I was eating a few more carbs than the diet recommended – again, that was my way of adapting that diet. So – I had success with two diets that I modified, and was miserable with the diet I didn’t modify.
And you are right as well, SoG, about continuing to adapt the diet. It seems like I am still discovering ways to eat low carb that surprise me in a good way. I guess it really is a journey and not just a very specific and regimented lifestyle.
July 26th, 2009 - 11:02 pm
My husband and I are making it work for us. I still have to have a hazelnut soy latte about once a day, and he still has an open-face PBJ sandwich on whole grain bread nearly every day for lunch at work. I am a legendary dieter – always with that “last 10 lbs” that won’t budge. This is the only way I’ve ever eaten that has felt “right”. Same goes for the man. Food is a team effort now and we are feeling good.
Oh, and the last 10 are coming off. 6 months of hardcore cycling classes 4x per week did nothing but tone my legs (and hey, I’m okay with that!!). It wasn’t until I started eating primal that the excess began to budge. I also like the workouts. Yesterday I paddled six miles down the river in a canoe and it was way fun (well, except for the nasty mosquito bites)!
July 27th, 2009 - 6:45 am
SOG,
I couldn’t agree with you more!!!
My Japanese martial arts teacher used to tell us this all the time.
“Learn it, break it, leave it behind”
so with going primal, use the info that’s available to you. There’s lots out there. Learn it, then make it yours and you can leave it behind to truly make it your own.
God stuff SOG. Hope all is well with you!
Marc
July 27th, 2009 - 11:45 am
SOG you are so right! Everyone is different and what is great for you may be the wrong thing for me. And as you said, that can change over time as well.
Love this post. Thanks!
July 27th, 2009 - 5:57 pm
Yes any steps you take that are your own will empower you. Everything from workouts to eating. I think I am what must be a Beer Paleo. And I enjoy running, so I’m not going to give it up for more intervals. I think it’s a more meditative endorphin release that works for me. Whereas I never feel good after intervals… more like I’ve been run over by a Hummer.
When I started taking responsibillity and control of my eating and exercise I decided that I wouldn’t let anyone tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. Can’t stand another thing about red meat and inflammation or cancer. It makes me feel pretty good and buzzed as a matter of fact.
TrailGrrl