Finally, I Am Me
It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!
Last September marked the one year anniversary of the beginning of my Primal Journey. It’s been a life changing year for me and my family. I finally feel ready to tell my story. So here we go…
I can honestly, whole-heartedly say that my whole life, I felt like I was way off course. I am smart, athletic, was always successful in school, came from a good family, knew my career choice (teacher) at a young age and was passionate about everything I did. Despite my “normal” life, I struggled deeply with anxiety as long as I can remember. I never felt normal, or like I could handle anything. The slightest bit of stress sent me into a life or death reaction. I honestly thought I was crazy, but I knew deep down that this wasn’t how I was supposed to be living my life. This wasn’t ok. I knew that for sure.
I was in constant pursuit of changing my outlook on life, but I just couldn’t make it happen. My anxiety spiraled out of control in my mid-twenties and I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My doctor suggested I go on Cipralex, a medication for anxiety and depression. It helped with my mood and I guess life went on, but the anxiety was always lurking in the background and it never felt right being on medication. My husband and I decided to have a baby, so I went off my anxiety medication. The anxiety symptoms returned full force and I was once again feeling out of control. I continued to try and manage it as we added a second beautiful child to our family, but I generally could not keep myself together. It was a tough couple of years. I was unhappy, moody, lost and felt completely alone.
On top of my ever present anxiety and all the other struggles that came with it (weight gain, strain on relationships, lack of sleep, isolation, depression) I was quickly developing horrible digestion issues and felt sick to my stomach after every meal. I had knee pain, back pain, bad seasonal allergies, acne, tendinitis, constant migraines, I was tired all the time, but suffered from insomnia for many years. I felt like I was falling apart and I was only 29. I was really struggling with my weight, which had been creeping up slowly since high school despite being involved in many sports, and eating “very healthy” according to the Canada Food guide. When I say healthy, I mean, “egg whites-whole grain bread-brown rice-oatmeal-no fat yogurt-no fat cottage cheese healthy.” We thought we were very aware of our diets, but I just couldn’t keep a healthy body composition. I was baffled. What was I doing wrong? I was at my worst when I should have been at my prime.
Finally, June 2011, I saw a naturopath who recommended that I give up Gluten and Dairy. I think I actually laughed at them. I thought in my head, there’s no way I could EVER do that. Coincidentally, soon afterward, I started talking to an Ultimate Frisbee friend who ate Primal (I know! Ultimate players know best!). He started talking about inflammation, omega 3-6 ratio, etc… To be honest, I was a bit lost in the whole conversation, but the simplicity of what he ate intrigued me. He told me about your site, I wrote it down on a napkin and checked you out the second I got home. I was hooked immediately! I bought The Primal Blueprint and The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation and started my research. I downloaded your fitness ebook, bought a few cookbooks, read every article I could cram in my brain and dove right in!
Exactly a year ago, I told my husband we were changing our lives and going Primal. He was amazing and 100% supportive from the start (despite his love for sandwiches, crackers, cereal and other high-carb fillers). We went cold turkey (ummmmm!) and our kids are Primal too. A month in I started seeing the changes…changes I didn’t even know I needed! I began to sleep better, wake up refreshed and maintain that energy throughout the day – it was incredible! A few more months went by and my acne disappeared, my knee pain, back pain, tendinitis and allergies were gone. The debilitating migraines that I was suffering from on a sometimes daily basis ceased. I lost 40 lbs and who knows how many inches, gained muscle and leaned out. My husband tells people I look like I did when he met me at 19. I feel younger and am so energetic. I am in the best shape of my life! And the most phenomenal benefit of Primal for me has been the complete change in my anxiety. I no longer feel like I am out of control. No more panic attacks, breakdowns, or feeling sorry for myself. The symptoms of GAD are non-existent. I finally feel like I am living my life the way I should be. I am a better mother, a better wife, a better teacher, a better Me. I am Me. I am truly happy. Finally. I have never been able to say that.
Primal living has changed my life and this passion could not be contained. People were asking me what I had been doing so often, I decided to start running Primal Information and Cooking workshops in my community. I am a full time teacher and love Primal, so I thought I’d combine the two. It has been a great success and I have inspired many people in my community to take control of their health. This past year has been amazing. I feel like I am just beginning. Thanks for all your amazing inspiration, Mark. I can’t wait to see what I can do next!
Nikki
P.S. I am looking forward to taking a Primal Blueprint Certification course through Mark’s Daily Apple…hoping you have one in the works…wink wink.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
What a great testimonial, Nikki! These commenters are correct; the change you’ve made in your life and your family’s IS inspiring, and IS moving others in your community to better their own health, and the health of their families. Thank you for everything you’ve done….Madame
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Your story is next Madame. I can’t wait to see the inspiration you will give. Xoxo!
What a transformation of body and mind!
I understand completely, I have always been wound up and anxious, it’s been a struggle my whole life. I realize now that our mental health begins and largely flows from our physical health. The mind follows the body.
What you described here strikes me as perhaps the greatest success one can realize in life. Finding the path that frees one from self-limiting unconscious behaviors and opens up one’s full potential, the freedom to be the unfettered and dynamic person within. It’s the ultimate self realization.
Congratulations on your breakthrough!
Wow. Thank you so much.
great story! I’m curious how your children took to being primal? I’m and undecided about having my two eat primal along with me. Thank you for your story, I am happy that the anxiety is not with you now.
They are young, 3 and 1, and we are expecting our third, so it was an easier adjustment for them then children who are set in their ways. But, that is almost more the reason to steer them towards a healthier lifestyle. Lead by positive example. That’s the best thing you can do. I offered delicious, healthy meals and they came around eventually.
Amazing story! So glad you can enjoy the life you are living!
I loved your story! I have not had wonderful success yet with the fat loss (still working on that..) but have CURED my anxiety and depression. I wish more people knew that there was a better way than either dealing with it or going on meds.
Hang in there Amy, health is wealth. Weightloss is highly variable, we are not all clones. Nikki has found such wonderful peace that allows her to truly enjoy life, it’s a gem we should all be looking for, with body shape being a side benefit.
On my journey, I started by giving up sugar, and although I didn’t lose any weight during that phase, I was euphoric, I couldn’t believe the elevation of my mood, and I didn’t think I was glum! It motivated me to keep searching to find Primal living. In my case I think I am slowly accepting I will never be thin (never have), but I will be well, and enjoying life. I’ve lost 13 kgs, put 1 on and stopped, but I will never change from this lifestyle now, I’m home, and you will be too.
Cheers
Well said!
Your story is so inspiring. You are so brave to share such a personal account of your life. It is stories like these, and people brave enough to tell them, that are instrumental in changing people’s lives. Congrats! Keep inspiring everyone!
Thanks Shay! People have to be more open about anxiety and depression. I know from experience that when others opened up about it to me, it helped me realize I wasn’t alone. I knew deep down it was important that I sent my story in…and support from family and Best Friends was important too.
COngrats! And I love the title of your story. After all it is what we all really want: to look at our reflection of photograph and see that it shows who we are inside!!!
So true!
Great story. I have gone through much of what you describe (educator, ‘successful’,active, anxiety, aching joints [Ialso had GERD, OA],etc. I have found, on-the-job as a curriclum developer, MDA and most if not all the written material related to paleo/ primal diets and disease. My work in the last few years involved researching about cancer and chronic disease preventon and nutrition. As I learned more, I decided 1.5 years ago to eliminate grains, legumes, etc. We already had mostly a local-product diet, but I had huge cravings for bread and any form of carbohydrate that would give a fast, high energy boost, especially at the end of the work day.
So I became a pretty good baker, using unbleached white flour sparingly and experimenting with recipes using whole grains…eating a lot of it, aches, pains, GERD, etc., and then more cravings, etc. a continuous cycle.
Back to my research…when I decided to quit grains for good – it was a Sunday -two days later (Tuesday), I had no more aches and pains, no more GERD, no more cravings for anything, and so on.
Reading your story, although there are decades of age between us, inspires me to keep on the journey to wellness (fructose is a problem for me). I am so happy that a young family like yours has found this lifeway.
Aili- a fellow Canuck:)
Such a great share! Thank you for sharing your story, so many inspiring details!
Nikki, I am so very happy for your success! I volunteer for a search and rescue team and heard about Mark’s Daily Apple. As soon as my husband and I checked out the website, we changed, in April of this year and cold turkey. Although we have just now located where to find free range meat and have an order in for that. I have noticed a difference in my health, but not in my weight. We are active and have incorporated a lot of the physical aspect of Primal into our daily lives and although I try not to get discouraged, I am stuck with the weight aspect. Sooo, I would like to know what your daily food consumption looks like.
Three good meals a day, a good quality protein, the rest of the plate veggies. We don’t really fuss over it really. (Portions, I mean) I eat until I am full at meals, and this got easier as our Journey unfolded. We just focused on eating real, Primal unprocessed food. I didn’t really pay attention to amount of food. It just felt so natural to us, we didn’t have to monitor it…AND WHO WOULD WANT TO! It would have drove me nuts! But, to each is own.
This is one of the best Friday success stories I’ve read. I love how all the things we would never equate with diet end up being resolved when we go primal. I am so happy for you and your family that your anxiety problems have disappeared — that is huge. : )
Keep up the good work, and I will keep trying on my end, too.
Congratulations! I am only 12 days into this primal way of eating/living, so it’s very encouraging to read a story as this! Thanks
What an amazing journey! You have an absolutely beautiful family, and you are all definitely glowing in the last pic!
What a terrific inspiration! Congratulations!
Great story Nikki, well done on the changes you have made for yourself and your family. I have suffered anxiety for some 15 years now and have been eating mostly primal since February. I have lost weight, gained energy and changed body shape but I still get some panick and still getting PMS in a bad way, mostly as mood swings and anxiety/ depression. Just wondering if you stayed off the dairy and what does your diet look like? Do you follow the primal fitness plan? I am only walking, not doing much heavy lifting, besides two young children anyway. I do love butter and cream and don’t get gut problems from dairy. Would love some advice.
I did avoid dairy for the most part. I just felt better when I did. I love cream in my coffee once in awhile, and I love my ice cream, so I would indulge when I wanted to. Again, our diet is pretty simple, in a delicious way! Real, unprocessed Primal food, good quality protein, lots of veggies, good fats…delicious eggs from our chickens…there are so many amazing cookbooks and websites out there, (as you must know because you are onMarks!) with delicious Primal and Paleo recipes. The possibilities are endless.
Shell,
I just finished reading the mood cure by Julia Ross and felt it answered a lot of my mood questions. Diet and basic supplements are critical, but the book help to explain how unique we all are and that some of certain eel better by adding specific amino acids. I can simpathize with your complaints. It’s very frustrating to feel sad for no reason and feel you just aren’t trying hard enough to be upbeat or see the positive side of things. Best of luck!
Sooo happy for you and your family! It is transformations like yours — health, happiness, mental health, fitness — that will continue to inspire so many others. I am surely not the only one who will be sending this link to many friends and acquaintances.
Always enjoy the success stories, but please emphasize that they need to test for celiac. At least get the kids tested. Dangerous stuff, glluten.
Congrats on your successful lifestyle change and beating the anxiety! You look amazing and I especially love the photos of you with your family.
+1
This is such an awesome story! I’m 100% primal and i’ve been trying to get my wife to get on it as well. She suffers from some of the same symptoms but hasn’t taken the plunge. Hopefully one day she will…
I love your story Nikki. I can identify 100%. I hope to be where you are soon (went primal this summer but have had some set backs). Stories like your’s is just what I need. Thank you:-)
You look and sound so awesome and more than anything so HAPPY! I too love the title of your story. You have given your children their real mother and a healthy lifestyle – the best gift of all. I too echo the surprise resolution of problems we didn’t even know we had. I am 54 and the other day my son said that last year I was starting to look old, and this year (9 months 80% primal) I look young again. That’s good enough for me! Next thing is to get that 100% primal happening – I could end up 21 again! Congratulations Nikki……from the other side of the world in Oz.
Amazingly inspiring! Thanks for sharing! I am curious- have you completely cut out dairy now? You seem to have lost so much of the bloat- I am primal a year now and still struggling with that. I’m thinking that may be the key- appreciate your feedback and way to go!!
Nikki, Your dad & I never really understood this “Primal thing” until we saw with our own eyes the wonderful transformation you have experienced. We always supported everything you have accomplished but this is the “Ultimate”. Always very proud of you.
What sweet parents!
I had no idea that this PB stuff was going to help so much with my anxiety problems when I started, but it has done wonders. When reading your story, it sounded so much like my own I actually started to cry! I still have my moments, but they are much less severe, and a lot less often. I wanted to congratulate you on your success
You are doing your family right – not only in teaching them to eat for optimum health, but sparing them all the fun that people living with an anxiety ridden mom get to endure :-/ I wish I had found it sooner….
wow what a great story! congrats! you have a beautiful family
My family and I have been primal for 3 months. I am “using” cream and a bit too much 72% dark chocolate, but even these cravings are starting to fade quite a bit. I have a long way to go and I just want to say how great your story is, especially about the mental health side of it and how much I am hoping to be able to write my story up here in 18 months or so!
Have you tried 85%? I find that’s satisfying with less. Alter Eco’s Blackout is my favorite–really smooth and a little bit fruity.
Amazing story. You look beautiful and happy!
I have been primal for 5 months, but struggeling with giving up milk, especially in coffee. Everytime I do though, I feel much better, loose weight, better skin, happier and so on. This morning I had coconut milk (Aroy-D) in my coffee, and it tastes surprisingly good.
Anyway, back to the chocolate problem: I mix coconutoil, honey, lots of cocoa powder, and roasted haselnuts and eat it just like that or as a desert on a banana. I don’t have it often, just once or twice a month (if even).
Congrats on finally being in control of your anxiety. When I went primal a year ago, I took my family with me. My then 5yo son was always so filled with anxiety about trying anything new, doing school work, etc. I was so surprise and happy to see the changes in him. He is now able to enter new, unfamiliar situations with no stress. He sits down to read or do math without crying about how much his stomach hurts. It was a benefit I didn’t expect, but it’s almost the best one we’ve seen.
Love your story. Thank you for sharing. I think it’s so great that you are getting other people to take notice and sign up. When people ask me how I lost weight and I explain that I gave up grain and sugar their eyes glaze over. I have not been able to convert one person! Sucks for them! Go Nikki!
Awesome story! This really is why we all do it – to live the life we were meant to for ourselves and our families.
So many people suffer these symptoms (I was also one of them!) and I applaud your efforts to get the Truth out there and help others. I’ve been trying to find ways to that in my own community.
Well done and Grok On!
I can relate to your story so much! I’m only 2 months in and have felt such a change in my emotional well being!
I’d love to hear how/where you teach your Primal classes! Community Ed?
Thanks for sharing your story!