Obligatory forum Introduce yourself thread page 354

[tnaprimal]

Your location: Edgerton, WI

Age (If you want): me: 33, hubby: 38, daughter: 5, son: 3

How Primal are you: About to begin with the WHOLE family

Do you consume dairy: Very little. Mostly cheeses and just started Goats Milk as I've always had an issue with cow milk giving me tummy aches as a child and NO ONE would test me for allergies!!!!!

Do you drink coffee or tea: We drink tea (& water). Have drank other things that aren't so healthy in the past, but that is the past. Time to change everything!

Motivator for switching to Primal: My husband & I (mostly I) are overweight. I'm an emotional and stress eater. I eat if emotional over something cuz it calms me and if I get stressed, I always grab for something.

Favorite exercise: stretches, walking, some of the exercises on the Wii Active 2 are really fun I especially love the ones with the stretch band.

Favorite Primal food: Fruits and veggies

Best part about being Primal: I should lose most of the weight I need to with the Lifestyle change alone AND I can get rid of my long-time sinusitis, my daughter's constipation problems, My daughter's, son's & my allergy issues we are just discovering, my becoming a diabetic if I'm not already, decrease my chances of getting cancer............ Did I leave anything out?

Worst part about being Primal: It's going to be difficult to find ways to "treat" ourselves on birthdays and eating with extended family on holidays. We are HUGE on celebrating. Cakes on birthdays, christmas & thanksgiving pies & such. I'm not planning on telling the school that the kids CAN'T have treats from others, but I will specify that they can't have a lot of candy. Sugar and gluten is the biggest problem for their allergies to work up and getting constipated.

My husband also has an issue with gluten. He hadn't had much nerve feeling in his fingertips and he sweat profusely before he tried the primal last year. Once he stopped ALL gluten, he stopped sweating so much and could feel the hot pot in the oven with his finger tips.

[Sunshiny]

Your location: So Cal

Age (If you want): 33

How Primal are you: 80% ish

Do you consume dairy: a cup of yogurt 3-5 times, a few oz of cheese a week

Do you drink coffee or tea: coffee and sometimes tea

Motivator for switching to Primal: being healthy and eating a diet humans evolved eating

Favorite exercise: yoga

Favorite Primal food: just one? ribeye steak

Best part about being Primal: healthy feeling and no pseudo processed foods are going into my body

Worst part about being Primal: knowing that cake is junk food and I can't eat it every single day!

[Moushka26]

Hi everyone!

I've been eating Primal since January 9, 2012, and have lost 25lb. I'm thrilled with the way I feel. Thank you to Mark and all the others who have contributed so much terrific information to this website.

My Location: just east of Toronto, Canada

Age: 62

How Primal? About 85-90%

Dairy? Yes. Definitely eat too much cheese (mmmmmm St. André, parmesan), some Greek yogurt, butter, organic cheddar. Trying to cut down on the soft cheeses.

Tea, coffee? Tea, black or green.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Lose weight, feel/be healthier.

Favorite exercise: Does pounding the keyboard count? Seriously, getting moving is my next goal. I've been sedentary for too many years due to health problems. I'm determined to make Primal a way of life.

Favorite Primal food: Berries, berries, berries, and steak.

Best part about being Primal: Huge increase in energy, not feeling guilty about what I eat.

Worst part about being Primal: I find the extra shopping for fresh produce and meat a little daunting, but not impossible. My weight loss and improved energy level make it worthwhile.

[zomo]

Your location: Montreal, Quebec

Age (If you want): 50ish

How Primal are you: 90 %

Do you consume dairy: Yes

Do you drink coffee or tea: Yes Coffee I limit to 2 a week (trying to keep the cortisol down) Tea Yes

Motivator for switching to Primal: Hashimoto Thyroid ( I know that a grain free diet is the best for me )

Favorite exercise:Yoga, Walking

Favorite Primal food: Cheese

Best part about being Primal: Cheese

Worst part about being Primal: Love my natural Honey and Maple Syrup also dates

[Robinscats]

Hello all, I'm Robin. I've very much enjoyed "lurking" on the forum for the last couple of weeks.

Your location: New Mexico

Age (If you want): 48

How Primal are you: 95% ish

Do you consume dairy: Greek yogurt, some cheese. Just recently gave up milk.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Hot tea every morning.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Lifelong weight issues. I was born at 10 pounds and it just all went down hill from there. My mom was diabetic and her poor choices killed her. My older sister was diagnosed as being diabetic last year and I started doing a lot of reading and realized that if I wasn't diabetic, I would soon be or just simply hadn't been diagnosed, and at the very least I had significant insulin resistance. I came across MDA and the light bulb came on over my head.

Favorite exercise: Huh? You mean I'm supposed to LIKE exercise? Rats.

Favorite Primal food: All of it, really.

Best part about being Primal: I feel better already and the puffiness has gone away.

Worst part about being Primal: I still dream about toast and scones for some reason. Weird, since I never ate toast all that often and rarely ate scones, though I do like them.

[Marcie]

I have been on many diets but never reached my goals. I love to cook but by the time I get home it was always easier to take a quick run to the drive thru. I have been checking the site regularly and am jumping in and figure it out as I go. I would love to see my success story featured one day! That is my ultimate goal.

Your location: Saskatchewan, Canada

Age (If you want): 45

How Primal are you: I need to figure it out

Do you consume dairy: yes, but that may change

Do you drink coffee or tea: coffee

Motivator for switching to Primal: weight loss, general health

Favorite exercise: I guess I need to figure that out too

Favorite Primal food: bacon, steak, avocado

Best part about being Primal: good food

Worst part about being Primal: not sure yet

[John.McKenzie]

Your location:

Age (If you want): 19

How Primal are you:
Overall I would say about 90%. There are some times I will stray from the Primal diet such as Sunday (a nice meal that isn't 100% Primal) and then on very rare occasions a friend's birthday if I can't find something Primal friendly.

Do you consume dairy: Yes, but mainly just fresh cheeses.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Coffee mainly but not in an addictive every morning way.

Motivator for switching to Primal:
Leading a healthy lifestyle and becoming the best version of me I can. For the greater part of my life I was overweight and I do not like feeling held back or self-conscious because of weight. Also being healthy is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Favorite exercise:
Anything and everything from working with weights, springs, bodyweights, etc.
Favorite Primal food:
I love a good steak and some roasted asparagus/steamed broccoli. Or omelettes/ a nice egg-scramble.
Best part about being Primal:
The health and being energized; I feel so great all of the time.

Worst part about being Primal:
Probably the cravings at first. Then realizing that some of my old favorite foods make me feel terrible now! My sweet tooth had the hardest time adjusting. Also getting my family (who need to live this lifestyle) to comply. I do not think that this is something you can force someone into trying but I do know it would greatly help them.

[Graycat]

I'm in Georgia, near Atlanta
33 yo
I'd say I'm 99% primal. I've been doing Atkins since March of last year and I'm 3 - 4 lbs. away from the maintenance phase. I think I want to do Primal from now on. However, I'd like to learn more about the PB. I don't think both plans are that different.
Atkins is so much about tracking, percentages and rigid rules. I want to get a little more relaxed after doing all that for so long, but maintain my current weight of 124 lbs. Or lose few more lbs.
I work out 5 days a week. Mostly weight/strength/resistance stuff. I do plank exercise as well.

Low-carb, wholesome natural foods is the way to eat. I have chosen this for life. The health benefits, the mood ''highs" and energy are simply amazing.
The worst part: sweet cravings during PMS.... sigh...it's only a couple of days a month, so I can deal with that.
Everything else is super easy and a second nature to me at this point.
Nice to "meet you" all!!!!

P.S. I am interested to learn about the differences between Atkins and the Primal Blueprint. Do I need to start a new thread with that topic? Thanks!

[Trevettes]

Your location: Burnie, North West Tasmania, Australia

Age (If you want): 42

How Primal are you: I am trying to be as Primal as I can be...currently that is about 99% - been going for 10 days.

Do you consume dairy: yes, love my milk! like cheese and yoghurt.

Do you drink coffee or tea: yes, tea.

Motivator for switching to Primal: health benefits, plus weight reduction. I have IBS, PCOS, under-active thyroid, hiatis hernia and am borderline diabetic...and over the coarse of the years have gained 25-30kgs more than I should be...at only 4'9" (145cm) tall, that extra weight makes me look like an oompa loompa!

Favorite exercise: I don't like exercise (I overheat very quickly due to my weight & PCOS), but am hoping that changes and I get more motivated with my new life-style change going Primal.

Favorite Primal food: Being able to eat the fat on the lamb chops and the rind on the bacon without feeling guilty! They are the yummiest bits!

Best part about being Primal: I have been sticking to around 50g carbs per day for 10 days and I feel so much better inside - not stodgy, and have better clarity of mind and a huge reduction in afternoon lethargy! During that time I have lost 3.1kgs and am over the moon!

Worst part about being Primal: There is none, altho' it is hard for other folks to understand or grasp that carbs are no longer my friend...I loved my pasta and rice and like heaps of others out there, thought I was eating healthy foods with consuming oats and muesli for breakfast, eating wholemeal bread for my sandwiches and having all the low-fat options CW advises are the best for us... Thank God a friend told me about the MDA website - thanks Jane!!

[DrH5310]

Your location: Moving to Michigan

Age (If you want): 27

How Primal are you: Was following Primal a little more than 80/20 a few months back...don't know where I went wrong.

Do you consume dairy: Chocolate Milk after workouts

Do you drink coffee or tea: A cup or two a day

Motivator for switching to Primal: When I was on primal I felt amazing. Now, not so much and my pants are getting tight

Favorite exercise: Crossfit

Favorite Primal food: Primal Spaghetti made with cauliflower and organic beef

Best part about being Primal: How great I feel while on it. So I'm working to get back on it.

Worst part about being Primal: BBQ!!!!! and BEER!!