Jenni M

I personally eat green beans...they are really more "green than bean". But certainly, if they bother your gut you could consider dropping them from your diet.

We also make homemade trail mix with nuts purchased in the produce section. Seems that canned nuts are full of oils (not the good ones necessarily) and alot of salt (which you may need to restict in your diet. We add dried berries, unsweetened coconut flakes, cashews, pecans, walnuts and occassionaly some small pieces of jerky. It's delicious!

SparkMonkey

We eat green beans too, occasionally. We also allow some peas, even though they're also technically legumes. If you can eat them raw or in the pod, they're not as much of a concern. But, like Jenni said, if you think they bother you, try giving them up for a couple weeks and see what happens. All legumes contain compounds than can be toxic in large quantities (which is why they're not allowed); you may simply be more sensitive to them.

Oh, and chocoholics? You can still get a chocolate fix. We make fake brownies (we call them "frownies") that consist of nothing but 1/2 cup dates, 1/2 cup walnuts, 2T cocoa powder, and 1t coconut oil, chopped up to a fine, sticky consistency in a food processor. It tastes just like brownies, and even the texture is smooth and "cakey." It is the best PMS chocolate fix. ;)

jaciqltznok

actually it has a LOT to do with quilting...quilter's can be a rather sedentary group with bad habits of eating the wrong "quick" finger foods and snacking mindlessly while sitting at the machine/computer!

in any case, Jen can ask the mods to move it to General chit chat!

jaciqltznok

Ok Jenni...I got the book and cookbook today...do I just jump right in..or do a detox...have a LAST SUPPER...what...hehehe

SparkMonkey

Not Jenni, but I can chime in. :) I like the idea of a Last Supper. ;) Yep, you can just jump right in (the whole diet is a "detox," but it's more than that--it's "detox and stay that way!" ). My fiance went into it cold turkey about a month before a marathon last fall. He was worried that he'd be low on energy for the race, but he was fine--and thirteen pounds lighter, he was able to run it nearly ten minutes faster than he'd expected.

The first week is the hardest. Be prepared for carb cravings like mad, possibly headaches... and pee. You'll pee a LOT the first week. They didn't put that in the book. ;) That's all the silent inflammation being purged--fluid that was hiding around your joints, under your eyes, and in your hands and feet. J had to start lacing his shoes tighter! I think one night he got up three times to go to the bathroom. Skeptics say "oh, that's just water weight," which is true, but it's water from inflammation that can cause long-term damage.

Anyway, after the first week, you'll feel a lot better and you'll start to understand just how much food can affect our bodies. It's astonishing, really.

I hope you like the diet. It's so much more, though--it's a whole lifestyle. I know I'm happier and healthier than I have been in a long, long time, and going back to my old way of eating simply isn't an option.

jaciqltznok

Thanks SparkMonkey...
I have a Lapband, so am already on a pretty harsh eating style! Add that being diabetic!
I have discovered that while I simply adore my iced tea...the one they make at McDonald's seems to irritate my insides more than the Red Rose tea I make at home!

And I am going to give all black tea up and go for just the whites & greens!

Will be interesting to see.
As for carbs, I don't do "white" carbs...bread, pasta, rice, corn, taters, all gone for nearly 2 years now!

BellaBoo

With any diet plan the most important thing is daily exercise. You can lose weight by diet only but not be fit and have energy and feel good everyday. That is what good health is feeling good everyday. That is the goal of any healthy lifestyle. That's why it's so important to make sure your children have a healthy diet and lots of physical activities, they need to know not having energy and not feeling great is a sign of something is not right.

romanojg

My sister did the primal diet which sounds like this one and she's diabetic. Even the South Beach diet says it takes about 3 days for your body to stop craving carbs. When I visited a few months ago my sister had been on her diet a few weeks and while I was home and we did a lot of running around she had some bread a few times and that's when she realized that w/the diet she didn't have the bloated feeling like before and then after when she started eating it again. She decided then for more reasons than weight loss she needed to restrict grains

SparkMonkey

Primal and Paleo are very similar (Primal allows for a bit more dairy). Your sister's reaction to the grain is pretty typical for someone who's gotten it out of their system. I don't notice much besides a bit of sluggishness the next day when I cheat (I like to have a beer once in a while). My fiance, on the other hand, gets horrible stomach pains and bloating when he cheats. So he just doesn't anymore.

Jenni M

Hi Girls! I'm sorry that it's been so long since we've "talked"! Thanks SparkMonkey for filling in the blanks for me on this post! Actually you are much more educated on the topic than I am! All I know is that for me, this lifestyle change has tremendously impacted my life in a positive way! It's hard to explain to folks how simply changing your eating habits can make such a difference! Just to update everyone...the systemic inflamation I had throughout my entire body is unbelievably gone! I am not kidding when I tell you that I thought myself to be permanently crippled. I can now do some running and excercise with more vigor. I can even bend my wrists enough to actually do push ups (I had barely been able to even more my wrists due to joint pain) and I am down 20 pounds since May 20th to boot!

Jacque...I agree with SparkMonkey...I'd eat a "Last Supper" then just jump right in pretty strict for 30 days. I am excited for you and anxious to see and hear about your progress!

Jenni