Primal Journal (RMS) page 50

[Pebbles67]

Great Job!

[RMS123]

I'll tell you my success story, but it may only serve to depress. It's taken me forever to get here. You can call me the little train that isn't giving up! DH says I'm like fine wine - I keep getting better as I age

Some days, I get depressed. I read this story: Success Stories | Clackamas Physical Conditioning. How did it take her only 4.5 months to go from a size 16 to a size 4? Even when I was crossfitting regularly and eating strict paleo, I got nothing even close.

Okay, pity party over. It's just not going to work like that for me, so might as well get over it. Some day I'll get to where I need to be!

[demuralist]

Well since I already know I am not gonna do it in 4.5 months, hearing of people who persevere is much more inspiring to me. I am actually suspicious of the incredible stories of quick loss. makes me wonder what the heck they were doing before they started?

[athomeontherange]

honey.. anyone can do it if they have no job, no family and no life..LOL checking out the article though cuz.. really??!!! I want that!

[RMS123]

155.4. No change. That's okay. I'm still down almost a pound from my last low. I "lost" a week during PMS week, which seems very typical. If I can keep to 156 next Wednesday, I'll have lost 3 pounds this month. I had hoped for 4, but 3 is okay. Today is weight lifting, so I'll be up for the next several days.

So, my story. It all begins with childhood... Okay, that's really not what you want to hear (although it really does all begin with childhood) I'll summarize all that to say that I've been overweight since I was 6 or 7. I'm not physically inclined and did very little - especially once I learned I could escape my life through fiction books. I got to college and kept gaining weight. I was a very overweight bride. I didn't know how to even try and lose weight. Sounds crazy, I know, but I didn't know how people lost weight. For a smart person, I wasn't very smart in this area!

After I got married, one of my coworkers suggested Weight Watchers. We didn't have a lot of money, but we made it work so I could attend. It took me about 2 years, but I got to about 147 and made lifetime. I was hungry a lot. I ran 6 days a week. I ate a lot of fake sugars and fat. Looking back, there was hardly any protein and certainly very few veggies. Anyway, then we moved and I got my first real job. I couldn't maintain at 147, but stayed between 155-160 (which, looking back, is not so bad considering we moved to Austin, TX and I indulged regularly in TexMex). We moved again, and here I was probably 160 or so. I picked up spinning. Couldn't seem to lose again, even counting points, but I was fairly stable.

Another move (Indiana wasn't for us). This time, to Denver. Got a job I thought I was going to love. Life was good at first. Still around 160. We were active. Hiking on the weekends. Spinning a couple of times a week. The job was good. Then, the honeymoon wore out. We bought a house and my commute doubled. The boss became emotionally abusive (one day he would say in front of everyone "you're so stupid, I don't even know why I hired you, I should fire you" (and since he fired a lot of people, this was not an idle threat), and the next day he was say "the client loves you, so I've decided to give you a $10k bonus"). DH commuted 1.5 hours each way. Our yard was massive. We got a puppy. I started drinking 6 diet cokes a day. We started to pick up fast food for dinner - every night. No more hiking. No more spinning. Traveling for work to New Orleans. Not only did I pop up to about 180, I started to not feel well. I was exhausted all the time. I finally decided that job had to go. The stress - especially emotional - was too much for me. I was taking things too personal.

Got another job. Thought life would be better. Husband got a job with a shorter commute. Life should be better, right? Not so much. I dropped a lot of the stress, slowed down to 1 diet coke/day, ate better, picked up the gym again. I was getting worse, though. Weight still coming on. Counting points not working. I got to the point where I was in such a mental fog that I stopped driving. I could barely manage to go to work. I could do nothing when I wasn't working. Went to many doctors, who all thought I was lying about how much I was eating. They didn't think anything was wrong with me. Finally went to a naturopath (sp?). She thought I had thyroid problems. Went to an endocrinologist. I literally almost cried when she said that after a very extensive bloodwork analysis that my thyroid was fine. BUT, my hormones were really screwed up and she decided I had PCOS. Had never heard of that. Got a 2nd opinion. It was confirmed. The treatment? Diabetes meds. I didn't lose any weight, but I could at least function. I could drive again. Started working on my PhD while working full time.

Took a transfer with my company to Texas. Started working 60-80 hours/week. Traveling a lot. Life out of balance. Again. Got to 240 (maybe higher - I stopped weighing). Nothing seemed to work. Counting points did nothing. Annual exam. Weight about 240. Swore to my doc that I could not lose weight. She promised I could. Told her again that I could NOT. She said she would prove it to me. I'm ashamed to admit this. No one but DH knows this. She put me on weight loss meds. She let me lose 15 pounds and then pulled me off. She said "see, told you could lose weight". Now, exercise, cut calories, and lose weight. Okay, she was right. I could drop pounds. I started working out 2x/day, as prescribed by Dr. H's book (from the Biggest Loser show). I wasn't as consistent as I could have been (still working crazy hours and traveling like mad). This took awhile. Maybe 2 years, I got to 195?

Then, I started getting stomach problems. TMI ALERT**** Diarrhea 2-3x/week. Not feeling well in general. I ask my doc whether I'm stressed, or it's allergies, or maybe something else. She says more than likely I'm gluten intolerant. Huh? What the heck is gluten? How can I develop an intolerance after 30 some odd years? I'm mad. What am I going to do without bread? I stew. I reduce my portions of bread. Still feel like crap. One day, I finally decide I need to try an elimination diet. I don't tell anyone. Not even DH. I go without gluten for 2 week. Then, I have 1/2 a roll. Diarrhea immediately. Yeah, the doc was right (again). Gluten and I are no longer friends. Okay, maybe this is what I need to lose weight. Maybe I should do Atkins (though no bars or shakes). Start Atkins. Meanwhile, there's a girl on one of my PCOS forums that lost a ton of weight and keeps talking about paleo/primal/MDA. I kept reading it, but then not acting on it. [Here's a summary of her pics - she's one of my heros! ]PCOS Message Board. I liked Atkins well enough, but was looking for more healthy. I finally decided to poke around MDA more. Then, I ordered the book. It made sense. It all did. And, hey, since I was gluten intolerant, might as well give it a shot. We ate steak 3-4 a week for the first couple of months. I added in CrossFit. I went from 195 to 170. It wasn't fast (maybe a year or 1.5 years?). But, it was pretty easy. Traveling was no problem. If I wasn't losing, I was at least maintaining (I maintained at 170 for a REALLY long time -- that's when I found y'all and started this journal). In that time, I also did a Whole30. Super strict. By the book. Found out I was dairy intolerant. Not to the extent of gluten, but still (the doc also told me this was likely to happen.) Sigh. Found out my body really likes heavy lifting. Like I said, I then stalled at 170 for a long time.

Then we moved to New Mexico. Travel, almost non-existent (hooray!). Still, a pretty long stall. I tried a lot of things. I tried high fat (gained a bit). Tried VLC. Felt terrible and gained a bit. Tried leangains style fasting. Did nothing. Did some fasting - lost what I gained trying high fat and VLC. But, then no more. I was frustrated. I was reading the forums. I read both of PaleoBird's threads on calorie counting. Read what you all said about the SPEED book. Debated for a long time because I did not want to count calories. Hijacked Chris's tread, ordered the book, and started the day after Thanksgiving.

It's been a bumpy ride, but I've gone from 171.5 to 155.4. I've gone from a 14 to mostly 10s. I've added 9 servings of veggies. For the first time in almost 10 years, I have energy again. Primal/Paleo helped a lot, but I was still unnaturally tired. The veggies are a miracle. I'm still losing. For the first time, I actually feel confident that I can at least get to 145 and, with perseverance, 135. But, more than anything, I feel that I have my life back. I take no meds. Blood tests would not show PCOS. I have energy. I have some sex drive (I expect this will keep coming back as I continue to heal this abused body). And, I think I'm looking pretty good

There you have it. The long and winding road from 240 to 155.4. Stay tuned

[Pebbles67]

That was very tiring to read...but awesome as well. Your story reinforces what I have learned. Each of us will have to figure out exactly what is wrong with our bodies and how to fix it. It will not be fast or easy for most of us, but if we persevere we will find the answers.

Right now I feel as if I am on the verge of finding my answers. I can say that even though I had my recent setback. Maybe my body is fighting to get better. Who knows?

[demuralist]

I am impressed that you persevered through long maintenance. Although I did WW and maintained a 40 pound loss for 4 years (bad news is I was still trying to lose and that is a pricey way to maintain if you have not hit lifetime).

It is definitely a story of finding what works and sticking to it! Thanks

[RMS123]

156.2. Up .8. Not unexpected. Yesterday was stressful. We had Rudy's, which meant too much salt, too much fat, and not enough veggies. Today is a day where the scale did not bother me. It's just a number.

We met with the personal trainer yesterday. Based on caliper measurements, I have 39% body fat. Yikes. Only 95 pounds of lean body mass. He thought that I carried the weight amazing well. When I dress right, I tend to agree The good news? There's a lot of room for improvement. It also confirms what I kept thinking - although I'm getting close to a reasonable scale number, I felt like I still had a lot of fat. I'm going to start working on building a little more lean muscle. I'm not sure one can actually lose weight and build muscle at the same time, but I'm going to give it a whirl.

Funny story. The trainer is talking to us about goals. He says "85 percent of what you will achieve [relative to your goals] will be determined in the kitchen". I say, "I think I eat pretty darned clean". He smiles and says, "tell me what you eat in a day, Ruth". I smile. "For breakfast: 8 oz, raw weight, extra lean grass-fed ground beef, 3 cups (raw) spinach, 2 cups (raw) coleslaw mix, 2-4 oz kelp noodles. Shall I go on?" Trainer, "yes, please do". "For lunch, another 6-8 oz of lean beef, often grassfed, plus another serving or two of veggies, dinner, another lean source of protein, plus veggies, though usually smaller portion because I'm not as hungry by them. Some days a piece of fruit. Occasionally, I get into the nuts or pork rinds, but that's about 1x/week or so." His jaw dropped. "Yes, you really do eat very clean. M [that's my husband], do you eat as well as Ruth?" He couldn't believe it. Of course, when I eat this way, the scale moves in the right direction. I just need to hang with it, and I'll get to where I need to be.

[Pebbles67]

It will be fun to see how much your body changes due to the change in workout. I love that you took the personal trainer to school.

[RMS123]

My challenge is going to be to take the scale in stride. I can bounce as much as 3 pounds after a tough workout and mentally that can sometimes be taxing. I'm about to take half-naked pictures and I took measurements. Body comp is more important to me than the scale (though I would like the scale to be lower than 150 so I'm not called "overweight" anymore).