2 More Success Stories from Mark’s Daily Apple Readers

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Updated on November 22, 2013

It’s time for another round of Primal Blueprint success stories. It’s been a real pleasure receiving these messages from Mark’s Daily Apple readers and being able to share them with the community. As you’ll read, Malika sent hers in recently after reading a bunch of stories submitted by other readers. If you have a Primal Blueprint real life story, I hope you’ll do the same. Shoot me an email with pics explaining how the Primal Blueprint has played a role in your life. Have a wonderful Friday, everyone. Grok on!

Mark,

After reading another half dozen success stories I decided tonight is the night I submit my own.

Right now, as I type this I’ve just downloaded pictures from a photo shoot I just completed in Miami that I can hardly believe is of ME… and that’s all because of YOU and our little community here!

I’m seeing muscles I thought were lost forever and a number I never thought would be possible after having 3 kids and starting to believe that I had to settle for the fluffy mommy look forever.

Frustrated with my results after doing an entire round of doubles of a 90-day home workout program that glamorized “muscle confusion” (you may be familiar with it from a past life of yours), I figured the problem must be my diet.

I didn’t have a scale when I started the program but by the end I was 151 pounds.

That led me to explore low-carb eating according to the glycemic index.

After about 2 months of replacing all my white/brown carbs with beans (gag, I know) I was asked if I ever heard of the Primal Blueprint.

I bought it and the cookbook almost immediately. That was May 1st of 2010. It was a massive nutrition education crash course and I took my husband and 3 kids along for the ride with me!

Yes, we had a semi-huge argument about the rapid change in our diet which of course led to an increase in the food budget but after about a week of eating uncured bacon, sausage and real eggs from a near by farm for a week… There wasn’t anything to argue for. I mean come on, what red blooded American male would argue for whole wheat pasta instead of spinach, tomato and onion in bacon fat with a big honking piece of rib-eye?

I didn’t have any other issues I was personally looking to solve except for losing belly fat to avoid diabetes. I was approaching the age, 32, where my father was diagnosed with diabetes after a HIGH rice/bean Caribbean diet. It has rendered him legally blind which has taken away a lot of his independence, impacted his self worth and self esteem as well as his lifestyle.

It’s also effected my grandmother (took her life 2 years ago), aunt, uncle, two cousins and will catch up to the rest of my family who refuse to seek change or entertain life after grains.

I am determined to have that disease stop with me in my blood line.

My husband however, seems to have recovered from his totally undiagnosed IBS and thanks me at least once a week for his newly uncovered 8 pack!

Also, the two oldest of my 3 kids – 10 and 8 – have also leaned out as well from a pudgy 137 lbs and 110 lbs to 106 lbs and 84 lbs, respectively.

Things have gone so well that we’ve created a community to help woman and families transition to living PB!

Malika

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Dear Mark,

Rewind 8 months, after having my second bundle of baby joy, when I was the heaviest, most disgusting, hideous blubber-monster known to man. I am sure that no one thought I looked THAT bad, but that was exactly what I thought of myself. My self-confidence was almost non-existent. Yet, I still allowed 6 months to float by trying to lose weight the “conventional,” carb filled way. I suppose you can guess that I did not lose one spec of weight. Even though my husband, who is the nutrition and Crossfit whiz in the house, was there to encourage me and write workouts for me, I still did not lose weight. He kept *nicely* suggesting that I try to go Primal, but I poo pooed it because I have a special place in my heart for mini muffins.

Finally, on the first day of September ’10 I was ready. I was 5’5” and 175 lbs of self loathing. I remembering taking my first “before” pictures and looking at them. I looked worse than I even thought! I had to call my husband and apologize that he ever had to gaze upon that (as I am sorry that you all have to as well).

Upon recommendation from my husband, I actually started out using the Zone blocks but eating Primal. I needed to count and weigh for a while simply because my perception of servings was a little….skewed. If I was left to eat until I was no longer hungry I would still be eating to this day.

Let me just say that as far as “diets” go, I had never stuck with anything much past 2 weeks for this very reason. After two weeks of Primal perfection, I was excited to step onto the scale and see how much progress I had made. When the scale registered at 175 lbs still, I cried. I actually cried. In swooped my husband with a measuring tape and showed me that I had actually lost an inch on my hips and an inch on my waist. With a little resistance due to society’s focus on scale weight, I allowed my husband to hide the scale in the house somewhere. I began working out 4 times a week in a Primal/Crossfit style. Short. Intense. I love it. You should see my shoulders! The point is, after 2 weeks it got easier and I kept going.

Fast forward with me now to December ’10 and 20 lbs dropped.

This journey was first about fat loss and fat loss only. I happily received that, but it is almost a secondary blessing to all of the benefits that come from eating Primal! Food has become a casual friend and not an obsessive lover anymore. I don’t weigh or measure anymore. I eat when I am hungry, and, if I am not, I don’t! The scale sits, yet again, on the bathroom floor but I only use it occasionally. I am less hungry, I don’t crave things, and I have a full day’s worth of energy. That ain’t easy when you are chasing around two kids all day. Also, going Primal has almost eliminated my headaches and migraines I would get several times a week. I haven’t had one in months.

I still want to get down another 10ish pounds, but I figure my body likes doing the 5 lbs a month thing, so I am in no hurry. Going Primal has proven itself as far as I am concerned.

The last reason why I can never go back to living or eating any other way can be summed up in one word: bacon.

Thank you so much for your dedication, service and information to all who care to look! See you all in another 3 months!