No, don't think of it that way! A hamster on a wheel gets nowhere ever. It's more like riding a bicycle - we speed up, slow down, and coast when necessary.

I'm going to google Primal and see what it's all about. I'm not sure I know. Barb, some people suggest eating your carbs earlier in the day because then you tend to burn them off throughout the day. Others say have a bit of carb in the evening to help with sleep. Whatever works for the individual. If I have carbs, it's usually with dinner, because I'm fixing them for DH.

It is kind of my own plan: Paleo, but with dairy.

Mark's Daily Apple is the website for it.

Carol, Mark Sisson is the guru and author of The Primal Blueprint and his website/blog/forum, Mark's Daily Apple (marksdailyapple.com). There is a wealth of information on his website including how to get started (look for "Start Here" and "Primal Blueprint 101"). Pay attention to what he says rather than the multitude of posters on his forum with their own erroneous ideas and opinions. They really go off on tangents. Mark's daily blog, going on for years now, is a treasure chest of guidelines from the horse's mouth. The Primal Blueprint, his original book, is good to read and keep as a guide should you decide to follow it. It is a more laid-back and flexible version of paleo, as WereBear suggested. Full-fat dairy if you tolerate it and grass-fed butter are included.

Mark Sisson also establishes a "carbohydrate curve" that makes sense and is so easy to follow. In a nutshell, the 50-70 carb range you prefer (I do, too) is great for gradual weight loss.

About carbs, I like having a banana and Greek yogurt in the morning. For me, it fills in a lot of nutritional gaps besides being light on my stomach and tasty first thing in the morning. So that's 35 g of carbs right there. No problem for me. I like the idea of burning carbs early in the day. As you said, different things work for different people.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I have Mark's Daily Apple bookmarked but never read into it thoroughly, and I also have Primal Blueprint 101. When I see books like that at Goodwill I buy them, since they are only $1 or $2. I think I looked through it when I first got it but there was something about the plan I didn't like, so I never really got into it. I will get it out again, now. I have a habit, good or bad, of tweaking a plan to suit my own likes/dislikes.

Just remember Mark Sisson was an endurance athlete, and his place is full of young people with high levels of activity

Well, I am an OLD person, with low levels of activity! LOL

Bingo! That's what turned me off to it and why I resisted sticking with it. There didn't seem to be a lot of support online for older women like me, and besides that the whole Grok thing seemed over the top and gimmicky. It's hard to believe Mark and I are the same age ... he looks great, and I am the polar opposite of an endurance athlete.

However, after bouncing around from diet to diet looking for something I could stick with for life for both health and weight maintenance, primal seemed to be the best fit for me as far as lifestyle and food choices. Especially the "move around a lot at a slow pace" recommendation. I thought to myself, "I can do that!" When you strip away all the schtick, it's a nice and mellow yet very pleasing, effective and balanced way to eat and live. It reminds me very much of the "back to nature" movement of the '70s, minus the tree bark.

BTW, since I re-started thinking primal a couple of weeks ago, I've dropped two pounds after being stuck for weeks. It's a big deal for me! And I feel great. Thanks for letting me share ...

Again we land in that same place - find whatever works for YOU!

Good to see this thread being resurrected!
I think sometimes there is nothing else I could possibly do to make this work. By work I mean something I can sustain permanently whilst still enjoying and looking forward to my choices. But by jove I can usually find something to tweak. Present tweak is be aware of carbs and their effects particularly on their own. Probably going more by counting calories though. Have considered primal in the past, but I don't do well feeling I have to permanently restrict certain things, it makes me rebel.

I am very fond of it too. It is practical, it emphasizes real food, and yet it is also flexible about helping you figure out you.

Well said, WereBear!


esw and Carol, I hear you about the tweaking and rebelling part. I need flexibility, to make my own choices. I don't like extremes. I often borrow philosophies and tips from various books I have read over the years to concoct my own WOE. I can't follow any one rigidly and dogmatically. Instant fail if that's the case!

I read somewhere that you are doing good if you follow your WOE 80% of the time, so I guess that's me. Having said that, maybe that's why I have such a hard time losing weight, by not sticking more firmly to plan. I have read of some people who follow very strict low carb but still stall for a long period of time, but 9 years? That one heck of a stall. ha ha

Nine year stall? 😱😛. A lot of people do 80/20 paleo or primal, and it works when it comes to staying healthy but not so much for losing weight, and it's so easy to rationalize that 80/20 to 50/50 and worse. Been there, done that!

I'm finding that out, Barb. I really need to reexamine my WOE to get better results.

From many people's experience here, we have to go very low carb for a period of time to heal our metabolic issues, and retrain our body about proper insulin release.

There's also the pattern of release. There's a theory that the pancreas releases insulin based on the last meal. If so, the usual pattern of meal-snack-meal-snack-meal-snack would be disastrous. You'd either be getting two much insulin, making your hungry as blood sugar drops, or not releasing enough, triggering a second one, making you hungry, etc.