Obligatory forum Introduce yourself thread page 208

[Mark_B]

Your location: Central Virginia

Age (If you want): 29

How Primal are you: Just starting out, I learned about this the past few days

Do you consume dairy: Yes

Do you drink coffee or tea: Coffee

Motivator for switching to Primal: It makes sense to me

Favorite exercise: Pullups

Favorite Primal food: Steak

Best part about being Primal: Everything I have read so far

Worst part about being Primal: My wife makes the best Chocolate chip cookies

[oliviascotland]

Your location: Forfar, Scotland

Age (If you want): 46

How Primal are you: Newish, but having been getting more Primal since January

Do you consume dairy:some

Do you drink coffee or tea: Yes, too much coffee, small amounts of tea

Motivator for switching to Primal: originally on VLC diet for weight loss, then moved to Primal to feel healthy (and still lose some weight)

Favorite exercise: lifting heavy things, long walks with the dog and family ,running up the stairs

Favorite Primal food: slow roast leg of lamb with sprinach and brussels sprouts


Best part about being Primal: Feeling healthy!

Worst part about being Primal: Trying to persuade the family to join me.

[Blurgetrigree]

wtf? I do not believe

[anniesmyth]

I'm Annie and I've been primal for about 9 months. In that time I have lost 50 pounds and feel so much better (I have 20 more to go).

Your location: Philadelphia, PA

Age (If you want): 42

How Primal are you: Pretty darn primal! I stopped using regular shampoo (I use the Wen), and I don't use soap. I also follow Dr. Mercola, who really advocates taking the chemicals out of your life.

Do you consume dairy: Not a lot anymore, but I haven't cut it out completely.

Do you drink coffee or tea: I drink organic, Swiss water processed decaf with coconut oil, stevia (Stevita brand), and half & half.

Motivator for switching to Primal: FAT, but now it's more about being healthy and fit.

Favorite exercise: Right now it's yoga and kettlebells

Favorite Primal food: Really into the grass-fed meats right now. And turnips!

Best part about being Primal: I feel like I am finally free of the food vise I was in. I wasn't addicted to FOOD, I was addicted to GRAINS and SUGAR. So nice to not have to worry about "falling off the wagon" and gaining all of that weight back. It's very freeing! Who the F wants to count calories and portion control?????

Worst part about being Primal: Going one way when EVERYBODY else is going another! It is so much easier to eat as the Muggles do!

xoxo

[silent]

Your location: Nuremberg, Germany (my english got a bit rusty after i left school. feel free to correct my grammar ;o)

Age (If you want): 38


How Primal are you:

I am on a "smooth transition". I try to knock down one target after the other because wanting too much doesn't work for me. In the last weeks i made good progress, but there are still some things i have to get out of my diet.


Do you consume dairy: Yes. I think small amounts won't hurt and i can get fresh milk, yoghurt and butter from mostly grasfed cows.


Do you drink coffee or tea: Completely stopped it. After a few weeks of PB i'm feeling awake and powerfull without them.


Motivator for switching to Primal:

My father and my grandma both suffer from diabetes and other health related issues. One day i realized i had to change some things to not end like them. Loosing weight was the main target zu start PB. But now i discovered a lot more benefits from it.


Favorite exercise:

I like hiking and cycling.


Favorite Primal food:

A nice grilled chicken breast with ratatouille


Best part about being Primal:

Loosing weight and feeling better every day.


Worst part about being Primal:

Eating out can be a little boring when you have to choose salad most times.

[grouchybastid]

Age (If you want): 39

How Primal are you: Still getting settled into it, I've only been at it for a few weeks. Dropped 12 lbs already, however!

Do you consume dairy: Yup, though not as much as I used to. Mainly Greek-style yogurt in smoothies, and cheese on occasion.

Do you drink coffee or tea: I've been a decaf drinker for a few years now, no change there.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Got tired of carrying around an extra 45 lbs, and didn't feel like other methods would work, or made any sense at all. I'm a pretty technical guy so the science behind primal eating really cemented it for me.

Favorite exercise: I've always liked weight lifting, large muscle-group stuff. I lift for strength, not to be "ripped". I also walk a lot, always have.

Favorite Primal food: I'm a bigtime carnivore, so any animal flesh makes me happy.

Best part about being Primal: Waking up feeling fine on a daily basis. No afternoon sleepiness, improved mood....what's not to love?

Worst part about being Primal: Haven't really found one, yet. Reworking a lifetime of conditioning about meals (meat, veggie, starch on the plate) has been interesting, but I wouldn't call it bad.

That's me. Glad to be on the forums!

[tsd]

Hi, I'm Tim, just into my second week going primal and loving it so far.

Age (If you want): 27

How Primal are you: i'd say 90% maybe, getting rid of grains was easy, but while i've been very good about lots of meats, eggs, and vegetables, it's not always the organic kind (but i'm working on that)

Do you consume dairy: sometimes, a little cheese with the salad

Do you drink coffee or tea: never been a coffee drinker, but i do enjoy a cup of tea on those cold winter mornings

Motivator for switching to Primal: i've always been relatively healthy but never extremely fit. looking to shed this extra body fat and get lean. plus PB just makes too much sense to ignore. hoping that i can have some success with this and inspire others to make the switch as well.

Favorite exercise: racquetball and basketball. i used to be a runner though, so very much looking forward to swapping that 30+ mile/week training plan for some quick sprints.

Favorite Primal food: BACON

Best part about being Primal: more consistent energy levels, no after lunch crash, feeling perfectly satisfied and never hungry

Worst part about being Primal: trying to find primal accepted foods when going out to eat with others. and explaining PB to others that don't get it.

Happy to be here!

[Primal Greenie]

Your location: San Diego, CA

Age (If you want): 31

How Primal are you: Is this a test? Will I get kicked out if I'm not "primal" enough? Ok, seriously, I'm on a journey, everyday I find something new to simplify or improve my life. I've got the diet down. I didn't eat red meat for 11 years, out of fear of saturated fat, and to rebel against industrial ag. Just recently went in on a 1/4 free range steer and have eaten red meat everyday for the past month. Wow! So with that I'm now focusing on cleaning up other issues, like stress, and removing unnecessary objects from my life that steal my energy and time. Oh, and I recently quit my job, which was a major step forward in removing mind clutter!

Do you consume dairy: I make my own kefir, and its been wonderful for me. I only make it, using raw milk, about 1 wk/mth

Do you drink coffee or tea: Coffee no, Tea sometimes, Herbal teas all the time

Motivator for switching to Primal: It was the next logical step. I have been moving toward a "primal lifestyle" without ever associating a name to it. About 2 yrs ago I had a very stressful worklife for a while, and pretty much had a meltdown. And I developed throat issues and the worst headache of my life that lasted for over a year! I went through testing and my PCP told me I was fine, and it was all in my head. Ya, really, obviously that's why I have a headache! It literally felt like someone was taking an electric probe to my brain. It was so scary! I went to an integrative health doc, and every time he tested me I came up positive with water and carbohydrate issues (oh and liver/gallbladder "blockages", probably from drinking and abstaining from fats for so long). He recommended first, a 3 week detox (basically raw food diet), and then a low carb, high fat diet. And then my life started getting better. I got myself researching more and I learned about coconut oil and saturated fats, and all about proper preparation of grains, nuts and seeds. Well, despite my efforts to eat sprouted/ fermented grains and such, I still felt bad so I eliminated them all together. And from there I just kept learning and making tweaks in my diet and lifestyle. Eventually my throat issues cleared up, and my headache gradually faded. I'm still healing. The hardest part about all of this? Nobody believed me. Everyone said I was fine. So switching my diet and firmly saying "no" to sugar and alcohol has been very hard to do in my social circle. It's refreshing to find this community and to be able to reinforce my beliefs, and to confirm my doubts on CW....."a calorie is just a calorie," chicken skin, chronic cardio, my "high" cholesterol, walking barefoot, etc

Favorite exercise: Hot Yoga. I love breaking through barriers, the confidence building, the mind soothing, and the sweat. I do it 2x wk/ max then mix it up with strength training, walking, cardio intervals (I use the Insanity DVDs...holy s*^t those took some getting used to!). I used to be a chronic cardio, no worse, chronic gym rat. I quit the obsessive compulsive workout routine, and I learned how to exercise without a gym and without a set schedule.

Favorite Primal food: Garlic butter. Everything is perfect in this world with fresh crushed garlic and butter.

Best part about being Primal: The eye-opening opportunities. Restoring my health and sanity. Oh yes, and seeing how others drool and stare in awe when they see me drown my food in pure garlic butter, knowing they think I'm setting myself up for a heart attack

Worst part about being Primal: At first, I was constantly battling CW with anyone who would let me have 2 seconds. It was stressful and lonely during a time when I needed support and lots of de-stressing! Now I don't bother unless asked. I'm doing what's right for me.

[linzasaurus]

Your location: Philadelphia, PA

Age (If you want): 21

How Primal are you: Four months in!

Do you consume dairy: No. I am lactose intolerant anyway, so it makes it very easy to avoid.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Coffee, occasionally some tea. Probably the only two things non-paleo I digest.

Motivator for switching to Primal: I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience. Thus, I learned many things about the neuroanatomy of the brain, how it metabolizes & stores its nutrients, and most importantly, how, evolutionarily, we came to be a distinct, self-realizing, cognitive species. One primary reason for it is based on our diet change. Then, I started learning about the major deficiencies that occurred during the agricultural revolution, and saw photos of skull shrinkage, and bone deterioration. FINALLY, I came across the diet via interwebs, and slapped myself in the forehead for not thinking of it myself (I was a vegetarian for five years...)

Favorite exercise: I love to run. Nothing makes me feel better!

Favorite Primal food: Coconut "breaded" chicken. It is to DIE for.

Best part about being Primal: I used to nap at LEAST 5 hours a day - whether I wanted to or not. I would sit down, and wake up hours later only to realize that it was already night time. This caused me to feel very depressed, that I was wasting my life. Now if the idea of a nap even comes across my mind (an incredible thing!) I only sleep for an hour, tops. Also, I used to get pretty bad acne. Now, I can roll out of bed and never wash my face, and it is flawless. I haven't seen my face without a pimple since young childhood. That is one of the most immediate things I saw, even only four months in. How can anyone refute that??!? Carbs and processed vegetarian foods were really destroying me physically.

Worst part about being Primal: Getting dogged about my dietary choice by surrounding vegetarians....;p

[Miel822]

Your location: At the moment, Chile. Usually, New Orleans. On breaks, Albuquerque for a bit.

Age (If you want): 20

How Primal are you: Gluten-free and trying hard to cut down sugar. Honestly not primal yet, since I made the decision to go for it while living with a host family who cooks for me. But I'm psyching myself up to dive in come the end of the semester!

Do you consume dairy: Cultured forms of it, usually. A little bit lactose intolerant.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Tea. LOTS of tea.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Some issues (ranging from mildly annoying to actually detrimental) resulting from a few too many trips abroad where I drank the water ;-) After hopefully getting rid of another parasite, I'd like to shape up my digestive system. Primal also seems to give benefits in all the other systems as well, so I'm excited to see what it does for my workouts and those stubborn love handles, as well as energy levels. I've already seen the improvement cutting out gluten. I also struggled in freshman year of college with binge eating, and have been improving my attitude towards food ever since-- I want freedom from the vicious carb/sugar cycle!

Favorite exercise: Swimming. I get extremely cranky without my pool at least 5 days a week.

Favorite Primal food: I was actually vegetarian until I went gluten free this semester abroad, but I had an AMAZING steak in Argentina that I've been dreaming about ever since. There's lots of bargain-hunting for filet mignon in my future.

Best part about being Primal: Not qualified to judge on this one, but I'm anticipating the fat-burning and freedom from cravings with impatience.

Worst part about being Primal: I told my mom I was going primal when I got home. She thought it was 'bunk'. I can see a few headaches coming on.