Obligatory forum Introduce yourself thread page 353

[Miss Yoko]

Lets do it!

The Questions:


Your location: Chicago, IL moved here from Paris, France in 2008 (Its why my English is full of mistakes )

Age (If you want): 42

How Primal are you: Just started 4 days ago (even if I went primal a few years ago without calling it primal) so my goal is to be 90 or 100%. My goal is to make my husband switch to primal too!

Do you consume dairy: I avoid for now, but I love cheese to much

Do you drink coffee or tea: both

Motivator for switching to Primal: Strugelling with weight gain recently after quitting smoking. Not being able to stop that weight gain even working out, trying to go healthy getting plenty of whole grain stuffs. Nothing worked...
I started to get really depressed... found something about the Primal Diet by accident... it took me not more than 10 mn to go for it and even more... I am always shy about dieting and stuffs like that... but not now, I told my husband right away that I am going primal.

Favorite exercise: Riding my bike, walking.

Favorite Primal food: I love spinach!

Best part about being Primal: Like I said, I just started, but as I did it in the past, looking awsome without starving!

Worst part about being Primal:Bread!!!! I love bread... but I can deal without it!

[BootstrapsOnMyFivefingers]

Hi Everyone! I'm female, 43 and live in the Washington, DC area. Pre-kids, my husband and I would swim with a masters swim group, run with a local running group, bike frequently (sometimes home from work - 26 miles from The Capitol and in nice weather 30-40 mile bike rides on Sundays). Oh yeah, and we did the ocassional running race or triathlon. Then, we had kids and everything changed. I weigh the same, in the 130's (at 5'7"), but my doctor no longer says "you don't look like you weigh that much!" Now there's a spare tire. I've had people ask me when the baby's due (okay, not since turning 40, but you understand the image I'm trying to paint).

I still exercise consistently - mostly weights a few times a week and walking/running (definately trying to follow Mark's exercise recommendations, which is a lot less running). The whole family tries to fit in a walk/hike on the weekend. Also, as an unemployed (i.e. recovered lobbyist, by choice) busy mom, I rarely sit down. I'm the Jack-of-all-Trades around the house - fixing, painting, cleaning, cooking, "gathering", gardening, volunteering at school. I'm usually wiped at the end of the day!

In addition to being active, I really love cooking (a self-admitted foodie) and I'm a bit of an information geek (I love listening to NPR's Science Friday on my MP3 while working around the house).

I found MDA while searching for a natural solution to Seasonal Affective Disorder (also SAD, and probably related to our non-Grok way of life). Mark wrote a great blog about increasing serotonin through eating more eggs, meat, etc.

I went primal in March but got derailed just before the 21-day mark because of a 10k race. My primal diet and an hour of running were NOT mixing well together. I was so tired, my arms actually felt heavy. Since then I learned that I wasn't eating enough fat. So now I'm walking more than running. I'm eating primal (Day 2 today). I'm also planning to start a journal, for motivation and inspiration, so look for me there.

[Oola]

Ok then lets get started.

Hello Everyone

The Questions:

Location: Elizabeth Colorado

Age: I'm a young Cave Girl of 50

How Primal: well that is up for consideration. About a year ago my husband (Grog) and i went total paleo and were doing really well. Both of us lost great amounts of weight and felt great but then something led us to that ever familiar slippery slope and we slid out of the cave. We are trying to climb back in and the commitment and drive are stronger than ever. We both know the benefits and how great we feel when we are living the right way.

Do I consume dairy: unfortunately yes right now but I know better. I seem to be somewhat intolerant but the cheese is oh so good sometimes.

coffee or tea: Coffee

Motivator: I am struggling with the weight gain and I just feel like if I don't get back on track that there will be other issues that some doctor will want to prescribe stuff for. I have recently had knee surgery and can't get back to the gym just yet but in a few weeks I will be back there. I just know how great it feel to feel good and I so need to get back to that. Any and all support is greatly welcomed.

Favorite exercise: Well it was Zumba and some light weight lifting. Not sure how soon I will be able to get back to it but I do love Zumba. It's just fun and I can laugh at my self and still get a workout.
Favorite primal food: Meat! (Mostly chicken and bison)

Best part about being primal: Feeling great and soon looking great and having the most fun of my life.

Worst part: Getting past the addiction to the bad stuff.

I'm really ready to get back on track. I have the tools and the knowledge. I just need to get off that slippery slope. I can do this. I do know how. I am looking forward to exercising again and eating right. I will be starting a journal hoping for some inspiration and motivation.

[rjanderson10]

Your location: Atlanta, Ga.

Age (If you want): 27

How Primal are you: just getting started so we'll see!

Do you consume dairy: yes

Do you drink coffee or tea: coffee if i drink it, but rarely do

Motivator for switching to Primal: overall health and high triglycerides

Favorite exercise: like the soreness of a lower body workout

Favorite Primal food: meat and fruit

Best part about being Primal: losing body fat

Worst part about being Primal: i have a huge sweet tooth

[Dangerousnikki]

Hello, I'm Nikki.

Your location: Brooklyn, NY

Age (If you want): just turned thirty.

How Primal are you: pretty primal- no sugar, no grains whatsoever

Do you consume dairy: Yes, 1/8 cup of whole milk a day with my coffee, a little hard cheese and some greek yogurt.

Do you drink coffee or tea: coffee.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Research into diet-fixes for my boyfriends cronic IBS, heartburn, minimal appetite and hypoglycemia lead me to try this. We agreed to do it together. After 12 years of vegetarianism, I'm learning a lot.

Favorite exercise: urban hiking

Favorite Primal food: I'm still getting used to this. I'll go with bacon?

Best part about being Primal: virtually never feeling like im starving to death.

Worst part about being Primal: Finding a whole new portion of the population that wants to get up in my business about what I am or what I am not eating. I swear- people sure do what to tell you you're not eating the way they want you to.

[canuck416]

Hi Everyone...My name is John and I started following the Paleo lifestyle on March 4, 2012 at 213lbs. I now weigh 187.4 lbs which is a weight loss of 25.6lbs. in about 6 weeks. Here are my answers to the posed questions.

Your location:Sebastopol, CA

Age (If you want):60

How Primal are you:95%

Do you consume dairy:No (with the exception of goat cheese crumbles on a salad from time to time)

Do you drink coffee or tea: Black coffee in the morning - 1 Cup

Motivator for switching to Primal: Read several books and became convinced it was the right diet for me.

Favorite exercise: Repeat hill intervals

Favorite Primal food: Steak

Best part about being Primal: More energy, better workouts, quick weight loss

Worst part about being Primal: Having to deal with people who can't get their head around the fact that eating fat is healthy and grains are unhealthy.

[agconnors]

Hi all...I'm Amanda

Your location: 1/2 year in Texas, 1/2 in Africa

Age (If you want): 35

How Primal are you: I'm just getting started. I work half of the year in Africa and we don't have contol over what we are fed so it is difficult to be primal here. But heading back to the states permanently soon so this hurdle is only short term.

Do you consume dairy: just cheese really. I have a hard time with cow's milk so switched to soy a long time ago and then on to coconut milk after I was diagnosed hypothyroid a year ago.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Tea sometimes...I never drink coffee

Motivator for switching to Primal: just a desire to be healthy and full of energy. I miss being full of energy.

Favorite exercise: biking, walking, playing, was a competitive swimmer when I was younger.

Favorite Primal food: Shrimp, asparagus, summer squash

Best part about being Primal: The last time I was in the states, I did go without grains and dairy for 3 weeks. I felt so good and I ate great food...beautiful food. Looking forward to feeling good again.

Worst part about being Primal: Being the minority...lack of restaurant options, etc.

[PLewis]

Your location: Midwest region

Age (If you want): 30

How Primal are you: I'm about 90%

Do you consume dairy: Yes

Do you drink coffee or tea: coffee

Motivator for switching to Primal: Losing these last few lbs (I lost 30 from running and calorie counting)

Favorite exercise: Running. I'm running the Chicago marathon this year.

Favorite Primal food: Bacon

Best part about being Primal: I feel 100% better! It's amazing. I will never go back to the way I was eating.

Worst part about being Primal: Expensive

[serenity]

Hi everyone, my name is Serenity, and I just went primal eleven days ago. I've been frequenting MDA for a while now and tried going primal two years ago. But I didn't try hard enough (ate out all the time and didn't bother figuring out whether the sauces I was consuming contained massive amounts of sugar, which they probably did). Since nothing really changed, I just stopped after a while. But this time, I'm a lot more determined.

Your location: Northeastern U.S.

Age (If you want): 30

How Primal are you: Just started. I try to be pretty primal with my diet but not super primal with other aspects of life yet.

Do you consume dairy: Cheese and yogurt (in moderation) and butter (in larger quantities). No milk.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Yes, coffee more frequently than tea.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Fat loss

Favorite exercise: Running (not primal, I know) and weight training

Favorite Primal food: Bacon, butter, avocado

Best part about being Primal: Don't know yet

Worst part about being Primal: I'm still having trouble figuring out how to fuel my runs--I just posted an entire long-winded post about this problem last night.

[JulieC]

Hi, I'm Julie

Your location: Virginia (DC Metro Area)

Age (If you want): 29

How Primal are you: Just started this week, so I am still working on how to stock the fridge/pantry, especially when it comes to organic foods, but am aiming to be 100% strict on the diet part.

Do you consume dairy: Normally, I eat a lot of cheese and enjoyed an occasional glass of milk or half and half in my coffee. So that will be a tough one to give up.

Do you drink coffee or tea: I drink coffee daily (sometimes all day long), but now that I have to drink it with heavy cream and stevia, it'll be easier to cut down!

Motivator for switching to Primal: I have these icky 10 pounds that I would like to get rid of and have long been suspicious about all of the junk in the processed foods that we eat. Lately, I have been very irresponsible about my diet and want to make a change. Several members of my friends and family have gone primal (or very close to it) and the more I read, the more sense it makes.

Favorite exercise: I love exercise. . . I actually teach Body Pump (not sure how primal that is) and often do the P90X workouts in addition to playing a lot of flag football and softball. I also love to hike, although I don't get too many opportunities to do so.

Favorite Primal food: Avocado, steak, macadamias

Best part about being Primal: No feelings of guilt over what I eat (yet), the feeling of doing something that is good for my body!

Worst part about being Primal: Still haven't kicked that craving for sweets!!!!