Obligatory forum Introduce yourself thread page 388

[PPNaturopath]

Hi everyone

I'm from Western Australia and I'm almost 4 weeks into Primal lifestyle

I've been a naturopath for almost 12 years, although haven't 'professionally' practiced for close to 5 years, I got disheartened by the supplementing nature of the industry and was the only real way to make money, so I changed course and am now post-grad after finishing a degree in politics in 2011. I'm studying humanitarian intervention in foreign countries - a long way from my naturopathic past but Primal/Paleo has reminded me of my original passion! (and maybe 'humanitarian intervention' has something related to 'dietary interventions' after all! haha) But my background in naturopathy has def helped a lot in understanding the rationale as well as the explanations of physiological processes.

I'm still psyching myself up for organ meats!! But I'd say I'm pretty close, maybe 90% primal- no refined sugar and 100% grain free, largely organic/grass fed meats, free range eggs, loads of yummy fats. Yes to a little dairy, mainly organic cheese and only small amounts. And relatively unprocessed foods - olive oil, coconut oil, tinned tomatoes are the processed foods I can think of that I consume regularly. No to coffee and only detox teas, various brands and white tea, loads of rainwater from my parents rain water tank (a blessing!) and quite a bit of San Pell mineral water.

Looong history of reactive hypoglycaemia - i just got fed up with it controlling my life in so many ways. Stumbled across paleo/primal, although I have heard it mentioned many times over the years - it was just time!

Fave food? two at the moment, bolognese sauce (mince, little carrot, onion, garlic, fresh herbs, tomatoes) over half a steamed head of broccoli. Other fave: salad with various lettuces, asparagus, fine chopped red cabbage, diced avocado with a dressing of roquefort cheese in olive oil. - I've only just discovered this and have had it three times in the last three days!

Worst part of primal: feeling so dedicated and into it and harassing my parents to change, to no avail (yet). I must be the most annoying daughter on earth. I will keep trying, haha. I feel like a religious missionary sometimes and it must annoy my friends but they smile and nod.

Best: feeling like i've found the key to the rest of my life as a healthy individual with my blood sugar (and various offshoots from that) under control - I thought it could never happen.

Fave exercise: just being active again and not being a slave to my blood sugar - treadmill, intervals, fitball, dancing around the lounge room.

Happy : )

[Colibri]

The Questions:


Your location: Cork, Ireland

Age (If you want): 20

How Primal are you: Quite a bit, but I can always improve. Getting there.

Do you consume dairy: No milk/cheese. Butter yes, heavy cream yes.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Coffee - gotta be black.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Health, happiness, longevity.

Favorite exercise: Still trying to find that one

Favorite Primal food: Meat! A nice steak always goes down well.

Best part about being Primal: I actually care about my health now and try to promote the primal/paleo lifestyle as much as possible. It's a part of me that I love

Worst part about being Primal: The naysayers. The intolerance people have towards it, moreso when they suffer from treatable/preventable conditions!

[Carlita]

Hello everybody,

Your location: De Pinte (Gent), Belgium

Age (If you want): 39

How Primal are you: Since January quite strict on the diet, will start with the exercise

Do you consume dairy: yes, some full fat milk in my coffee, butter and sometimes cream

Do you drink coffee or tea: 1 to 2 cups of coffee a day and sometimes green tea

Motivator for switching to Primal: someone I know followed the LCHF way of eating and I got very interested, so I started reading on the internet, also read a lot on MDA, bought the books and am now convinced this is the way of living

Favorite exercise: something to sort out. I found out that my vit D is very low, I hope this explains my chronic fatigue and lethargy, and maybe why it's so hard to lose my excess fat. I'm taking Mark's Damage Control Formula, omega's and Vit D. Hope this will give me some energy to go more outdoors and enjoy nature and exercising!

Favorite Primal food: nothing peculiar

Best part about being Primal: knowing that you're doing yourself good, also the end of a long search with conscientious eating and no results. I thought macrobiotics was the best way for me but now I think differently.

Worst part about being Primal: Well, until now (after 5 months) I haven't lost any weight. I'm blaming it on my low levels of vit D, no exercise, lack of sleep or poor quality of sleep and too much wine.

I started at 91 kg, 45% fat, 1m58
Today 89 kg
My goal is 54 kg, so 35 kg to lose!

[Mommabird77]

Your location: Capital District, NY a.k.a Upstate

Age (If you want): 32

How Primal are you: I would say fairly primal

Do you consume dairy: On occasion.

Do you drink coffee or tea: On occasion.

Motivator for switching to Primal: I need to lose weight. I am tired of being tired and feeling like crap all the time.

Favorite exercise: Walking

Favorite Primal food: Steak, a nice big salad.

Best part about being Primal: Being able to eat a good size portion of primal foods and not feel guilty.

Worst part about being Primal: I do miss sugar, lol.

[Azairah]

First, the generic newbie info....

Your location: Northern NY (I could probably throw a rock and hit Canada)

Age (If you want): 25

How Primal are you: Mostly. I just started last week. Some dairy. Organic when we can find/afford it. Absolutely no grains. My boyfriend had a bowl of cereal day before yesterday and said he then felt like crap all day.

Do you consume dairy: Very small amounts. Cottage cheese for breakfast every once in a while, and very slowly finishing off the gallon of milk we bought the day before we started eating primal.

Do you drink coffee or tea: Yes, unsweetened green tea. We always keep a jug of freshly brewed tea in the fridge.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Oh, man, so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that I've always struggled with my weight and exercising has been a chore (and not a fun chore). I've never been one to try fad diets, I know they don't work and are only based on very narrow and/or incorrect scientific studies. The other main reason I decided to go primal is that it just MAKES SENSE. It makes all then sense in the world and looks at the whole picture of health and fitness.

Favorite exercise: Sprints

Favorite Primal food: Bacon and eggs

Best part about being Primal: Eating things I've been avoiding for years.

Worst part about being Primal: Walking by the bakery section in the grocery store. Smells amazing but I know it's bad news.


My boyfriend and I went Primal about a week ago. Neither of us have had "carb flu" yet, even though we lived pretty heavily on cereal and sandwiches. We both have a lot more energy and I'm downright perky during the day. I just started a new job last month and every single day when I got home I just wanted to sleep. Being awake just sucked... Until last week. The increased energy in both of us happened pretty quickly. I actually got a text from my boyfriend during work today saying "Do you want to go for a jog when you get home?" Wait, what?? Really??

Today we went for a very brief jog since neither of us have jogged in quite some time. It was a much of a chore as I remember. I've always hated jogging. Towards the end we decided to try sprinting... and it was really awesome. If you'd told me yesterday I would enjoy sprinting I would've told you you're off your rocker.

So, we're really excited for what the future holds for our new lifestyle and I'm so happy that this seems like a very supportive and informed community of people so far

Hopefully you'll be hearing more from us and we can be an awesome before/after story.

-Liz

[skyegirl]

OK, here goes:

Your location: Scotland

Age (If you want):42

How Primal are you: keeping it as primal as I can, can't afford grass fed meat though. I do buy all my meat from my local Co-operative and they have high welfare standards for their meat and poultry and I also get their free range eggs, so I do the best I can. I don't eat anything processed. Keeping it very low carb as I am very carb intolerant

Do you consume dairy: only butter

Do you drink coffee or tea: black tea

Motivator for switching to Primal: long term health and fitness ( I don't have a pension fund so primal health is my insurance policy!)

Favorite exercise: walking/sprinting

Favorite Primal food: eggs, coconut, all food, since starting on this primal journey, I am loving cooking and experimenting with real food!

Best part about being Primal:feeling great and eating great food

Worst part about being Primal: hard to get some primal ingredients where I live, especially coconut products

[CourtTuttle]

Your location: Orem Utah

Age (If you want): 34

How Primal are you: Very. I eat 99% whole foods. Every once in a while I eat desserts for fun.

Do you consume dairy: I eat clarified butter and I eat cheese a few times per week.

Do you drink coffee or tea: No.

Motivator for switching to Primal: Chronic fatigue, lack of appetite control.

Favorite exercise: CrossFit

Favorite Primal food: Roast beef

Best part about being Primal: Having a strong body, performing well at the gym, gaining confidence, having control of my body, getting rid of binge eating.

Worst part about being Primal: Dealing with people who want me to live and eat like them.

[greatcod]

Your location: Seattle

Age (If you want): 30!

How Primal are you: A beginner working on finding the willpower to embrace this strategy. How will I say no to the waffle my boyfriend will want to make tomorrow?

Do you consume dairy: Yes

Do you drink coffee or tea: Yep

Motivator for switching to Primal: weight loss, optimal health

Favorite exercise: hiking, kayaking, swimming

Favorite Primal food: avocados

Best/worst part about being Primal: I'll tell you when I have been at it a little longer!

[WhiteWave]

Your location:Cambridgeshire , Uk

Age (If you want):33

How Primal are you:80% aiming for 90%

Do you consume dairy:yes, trying minimize

Do you drink coffee or tea:yes

Motivator for switching to Primal:Weightloss, PCOS

Favorite exercise:Yoga, swimming, walking in the Fens or on a beach

Favorite Primal food:Steak

Best part about being Primal: Weightloss, energy, feeling alive really!!

Worst part about being Primal: still struggling with the sugar

[ClaytonRayG]

The Questions:


Your location: Just moved to Austin, TX

Age: 24

How Primal are you: Just hit Chapter 2 of the Primal Blueprint and am at the moment Juice Fasting for two weeks before starting Primal.

Do you consume dairy: I love dairy, however I understand that I must make sacrifices to gain my health.

Do you drink coffee or tea: On occasion I drink coffee, I drink tea on an almost daily basis.

Motivator for switching to Primal: I've been gaining body fat steadily for the last six years. I graduated high school at a weight of 220lbs (I've never been in optimal shape) and am now at a weight of 314lbs. Weight loss is not my primary objective, though it is a welcome side effect.

Favorite exercise: Swimming, lots of it. My parents used to get mad at me as a child for taking off my life jacket constantly.

Favorite Primal food: Salmon, Tilapia... Other than that I am not sure. Just began the research recently.

Best part about being Primal: Not sure yet, will get back to you on that.