Primal Experiment Lessons Learned

In December, for My21DayX my family and I attempted 21 days of a 100% Primal lifestyle. That meant a low carb, high fat diet and no grains along with a few other healthy lifestyle changes. It was mostly easy, as I’ve been living this way for about 2 years (with some exceptions here and there).

Here’s what I learned:

• Once you figure out what foods work with your body, it’s not that hard. I actually enjoy whole foods, so I focus on foods I love — a variety of veggies, high-quality meats, and lots of healthy fat like coconut products and avocados. Yum!
• The temptations were strong since it was around the holidays – lots of junk food at work and parties. But because I had made a commitment, it made it a lot easier to resist.
• I stayed strong for 2 weeks straight but cheated when something I had forgotten about came up – Uncle Butt’s famous rum cake! He only makes it to once a year and it’s delicious – I think I even got a buzz from it although he said all of the alcohol is gone after it’s cooked.
• My mind is really good at self-rationalization. Those 2-3 times when I cheated, I told myself things like “it’s OK, just this one time won’t hurt”. I was surprised how powerful your mind can be.
• Sugar cravings were almost non-existent but I really craved corn chips – that crunchiness is lacking when grains are removed from the diet. It’s amazing how addicting certain foods can be — you start eating a bite, and before you know it you’ve eaten way too much. By focusing on whole foods, I just ate enough.
• My kids do much better with higher carbs like white rice, quinoa, and buckwheat.
• Taneen really knows how to cook! The meals she made were absolutely delicious and I really never felt like I was missing anything.
• I slept great – sometimes almost 9 hours.
• Focusing on just moving a lot was a lot easier than focusing on going to the gym. I definitely liked the simplicity of the workouts.

Overall, not a very hard month. I’m planning on eating this way most of the time, with some starchy carbs and a few guilt-free bites here and there when the occasion arises (birthdays, etc.). I’ve learned that some sweets/certain flour are totally fine, as occasional treats, not as a main staple of my diet.