Primal Qi (Chi) page

[Tom B-D]

Hi All,
I'm a newbie, went Primal February 12, 2012, and am greatly enjoying this journey, in large part due to this excellent, supportive community and website. Thanks, Mark and everyone! I'd like to share my story in brief:

I'm 47, an architect with my own office, and father of 2 (7&9 yrs old), great kids, with a wonderful, incredibly supportive wife (literally the day I read PB she went out and bought me virgin Coconut Oil etc.) My exercise 5 years ago was almost entirely competitive tennis and occasional strength training. About 4 years ago I started having injuries (tennis elbow, lower back) and illnesses (colds, stomach complaints) with alarming frequency. I had just started my own business, and we had learned at the same time that our son has Cystic Fibrosis. Needless to say, the stress was monumental. My search for health led me to acupuncture (tennis elbow), and fortunately the practitioner I found was well-versed in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which looks at the mind-body-emotion makeup (sleep, digestion, stress). Due to my "spleen chi deficiency" she suggested I eat a diet primarily of cooked vegetables, eliminate wheat and dairy, and have moderate meats and low fat; she also suggested I sleep more and generally take it easier on myself--my Qi was low, and getting lower!

I had no trouble eliminating wheat and dairy (oats mostly as well), and this began a radical transformation--I went from 195lb. to about 180 over the course of some months (wasn't really keeping track), and started practicing Tai Chi and Qi Gong to get a better handle on stress. I was lucky to find a Qi Gong master who teaches that the practice should help put us in touch with the universe--or, as I like to think of it now, our Primal Self!

But I still felt something was lacking...although I slowed down on the tennis, my back troubles didn't completely go away, and I didn't feel I quite had the energy to strength train. I was still eating a lot of rice, and eventually went back to wheat, and my weight crept back up to mid 190's. Energy up and down...you know the drill. Then I found PB, and it all made sense. That's what I love about it--like the TCM model, it embraces food, emotions (play!), sleep, exercise...taking care of yourself all around. It makes sense intuitively, and fortunately for us (living near Chicago), high-quality foods are readily available.

I'm a few weeks in and have lost about 4lb.s, but the big thing is the energy--it's so consistently strong I almost can't keep myself from going to the gym, wrestling with my kids, charging up and down hills! I still practice Tai Chi and Qi Gong, along with a lot of walking and biking as part of my daily activities. On the other hand, when I get to the end of a busy week, I really hear my body telling me to rest. I feel like living Primally has made me even more aware of my internal energy, a step beyond the awareness that started with my TCM experience. It is incredibly empowering--thanks to everyone who is helping make this easier through inspiration, recipes (!), and knowledge.

[kkarrolle]

Welcome, you seem to achieved a lot to date.

I am not into Qi Gong but was introduced to it and other Tao practices while at Tao Garden in Chiang Mai. I am more of a casual visitor for the clinic and the relaxation, but a lot of followers go there for the various workshops.

[Tom B-D]

OK, using this thread of mine as a bit of a journal--because the last few weeks' experience might be of interest to others going primal. When I wrote the first post, about 1.5-2 weeks in, I was on an energy high, but shortly after that I fell into a bit of a slump: I felt like I was hungry almost all the time, and was eating a lot of nut snacks to keep myself satisfied between meals. My energy had dropped a bit overall, sometimes like take-a-nap-now, otherwise fine but not great. In retrospect, this may have been simply adjustment from carb-burning to fat-burning, but it may have also been due to the high level of stress as I was finishing up two concurrent deadlines.

Now it's been 3.5 weeks and I feel like I've turned a corner. Hunger feels more like a quiet reminder, not an insistent nag; my energy is strong and LEVEL. I used to never be able to exercise just before lunch because I was craving energy (carbs), but now, even hungry, I can push it PBF style. Say, 1/2 hour of You Are Your Own Gym type stuff, or a 1/2 hour walk.

As for the weight, I dropped that initial 4 pounds, but then held steady--probably the nut-snacking and stress counteracting the PB eating. (I haven't been tempted to sweets, just the occasional 88 percent dark chocolate.) But my wife has noticed less around my middle, so with more exercise building muscle, I'm not worried about the pounds. I can feel that everything is working like it should and that over time my weight will come down. I know it's right, I can feel it.

What has really amazed me is that my lower back pain has gone away. It wasn't major (though the bulging disk 2 years ago was major pain), just nagging with most exercise or exertion. I can't explain it...maybe an inflammation thing? I've been eating more leafy greens (Terry Wahl's video was inspirational) and being sure to get good Omega-3 quantity.

[Scott777]

Hi Tom I love Qigong and I am also a Pranic healer and Reiki Master I was a vegitairian for many years and got heavy
Went Primal about 5 weeks ago have lost 14 lbs or so and a lot of inches
I also exp an energy high at fist then had a few days of a slump but now feel back on top
Who is your qigong Master? I always want to learn more qigong
Peace

[Tom B-D]

Hi Scott,
Glad to know others have experienced the ups and downs--and congrats on the pounds and inches!
My Qigong master is Xie Ling Welch in Oak Park, and her studio is called Hug The Moon Wellness Studio. She is such an inspiration--I hope I'm that fit when I'm in my mid-60's! Her method is Dao Yin Yang Sheng Gong, and we change sets with the seasons. Right now it's Kidney channel and Heart.
Now I'm going to go read about Pranic healing--sounds fascinating.
Peace back to you!

[Scott777]

Great Tom thank for the info if you have any questions on Pranic Healing let me know

[Tom B-D]

Now 4 months in, down to 179lb., looking and feeling more fit than I can remember, and best of all, able to do so much more with my kids due to better energy and strength and lack of pain. Health is a relationship between all these elements--diet, sleep, stress, relationships, exercise...and PB greatly helps put it all together.

I've been walking 10,000 steps a day 5 days a week, sprinting 1/week, and am 9 weeks into the First Class 10 week program of You Are Your Own Gym. Up to 10 pull ups now!

Eating: not really counting anything, though I measured on FitDay early on to get a sense of carb level; with the HIIT and walking I wound up feeling better with more fruit. Often have to remember to have enough fat (whole, not half the avocado!) which keeps me from wanting to snack a lot. Have been doing 16/8 IF usually 2-3 days per week with mixed results: sometimes feeling clumsy at my keyboard and not as sharp.

Now looking forward to 175 lb and increased fitness.

[Tom B-D]

Journal, cont'd
Coming up on one year! Bottomed out (weight-wise) in September at about 173, which was my random goal weight. Now I seem to be holding steady around 175-177...still a great weight for me. Energy is great, and I've been keeping up with the fitness. It's nice at 48 to have pretty much the body I wanted in my teens...though there is that little bit of fat that doesn't seem to want to go away, but I'm not going to obsess over it.

The main thing I've realized is that sleep is vitally important. I always heard it said, but somehow though I could get away with not always getting those 8 or so hours. But if I have stretches of less sleep, the weight creeps on, I want more sweets, and libido drops. Not good!!

Through the fall I didn't feel up to intense workouts or IF, so I treated it as active recovery period. In December I got back into the YAYOG Master program and am working on those 1-arm pushups and 1-leg squats and such. Gotta figure out a sprint workout for when it's wet and muddy like it's been much of this winter.

I've also been more susceptible to feeling the ill-effects of overindulging--too much food and wine at dinner can mess me up the next day. I need to be more cognizant of when to stop, especially when having a good time with friends!