Where you a "healthy" weight when you started eating Primal? page

[Oria]

EDIT: please excuse the typo in my thread heading - I think I should perhaps break my (short) fast soon!

Hello everyone,

I'm very new to eating primal, having been predominantly vegetarian (with a little fish occasionally) for around 10 years.

I started university 2 years ago, and I noticed a significant drop in my energy levels and a significant rise in my sugar cravings, and consequently a rise in my weight and dress size. So, I decided to try a new approach.
I've never had trouble in the past loosing weight, but this time around it has been a nightmare, yo-yoing like mad, and the lack of energy is not conducive to being a mother, student, worker, girlfriend, friend, and cognitively healthy, so I went on the hunt for something new.

I am 2 weeks into primal and already experiencing a surge in energy, improved sleep, cognition, and mental health, and some inch loss.

I have never been overweight, my highest, non-pregnant weight at 5 foot 8 inches, is 150lbs (highest pregnancy weight = 161lbs); I am currently about 139lbs. I am aware that this is a healthy weight for my height, but it is not my "happy" weight of about 126lbs, which I was 2 years ago. I suspect that my lack of energy then was to do with my lack of protein and good fats, rather than my weight, as I have always hovered around the low end of healthy weights for my height.

In a short time, the primal lifestyle has already knocked my energy and mental health into shape - which is excellent (no excuse for not being a straight-A student next year!), I just need to sort the weight.

So, my question is, has anyone began primal at a medically healthy weight, but still managed to lose to a lower weight/size they are happier with?

[Wanderlust]

I was medically healthy weight, average body composition when I went primal. I was slightly overweight before, lost most of that on your standard "healthy" grain based diet.

When I started primal I was about 185lbs 14% body fat, 33" waist. Now I'm 180lbs 6-7% body fat and a 30" waist.

[SleepyRoots]

I started primal exclusively for health reasons. I had so little energy I could barely cope with cooking and cleaning, let alone do anything fun. I was also most definitely skinny fat. After being ill for so long I had very little muscle tone left. I think my weight has probably stayed the same. I've definitely got leaner and put on a little muscle here and there.

[Oria]

Hello Wanderlust,

thank you for replying.

I too managed to maintain my happy weight of 126lbs on a grain-based diet, but like you my body fat % was higher, and actually (I just checked back at my old measurements) my waist was at 26.5" and my hips 33" - at 14lbs heavier and 2 weeks primal living, my waist is 27.5 and my hips are 34 - quite surprising actually that 14lbs only equaled an inch difference there.

So, from that, and your results, I guess the biggest difference is in inch loss and body fat percentage.

Hmmm ... TBH, I am more concerned with "size" than weight - the two just always went hand-in-hand in the past for me, so the inch loss and body fat % should cover that if they keep heading the way they are heading.

Good stuff! And thank you again for sharing your experience.

[Oria]

I started primal exclusively for health reasons. I had so little energy I could barely cope with cooking and cleaning, let alone do anything fun. I was also most definitely skinny fat. After being ill for so long I had very little muscle tone left. I think my weight has probably stayed the same. I've definitely got leaner and put on a little muscle here and there.

That is how I have been feeling since my mental and physical activities increased over the last 2 years.
It's amazing how quick your energy increases, eh? I'm pretty fascinated with this lifestyle, it's virtually effortless, unless you count a little more thought when buying messages.

Hmm, I'm a tad worried about the muscle thing, I always felt I had "horse legs"! But, the book says us girls won't bulk up as such, so I'll just go with it for now and see what happens. Leaner sounds nice

Thank you for replying Sleepyroots.

[RichMahogany]

EDIT: please excuse the typo in my thread heading - I think I should perhaps break my (short) fast soon!

Hello everyone,

I'm very new to eating primal, having been predominantly vegetarian (with a little fish occasionally) for around 10 years.

I started university 2 years ago, and I noticed a significant drop in my energy levels and a significant rise in my sugar cravings, and consequently a rise in my weight and dress size. So, I decided to try a new approach.
I've never had trouble in the past loosing weight, but this time around it has been a nightmare, yo-yoing like mad, and the lack of energy is not conducive to being a mother, student, worker, girlfriend, friend, and cognitively healthy, so I went on the hunt for something new.

I am 2 weeks into primal and already experiencing a surge in energy, improved sleep, cognition, and mental health, and some inch loss.

I have never been overweight, my highest, non-pregnant weight at 5 foot 8 inches, is 150lbs (highest pregnancy weight = 161lbs); I am currently about 139lbs. I am aware that this is a healthy weight for my height, but it is not my "happy" weight of about 126lbs, which I was 2 years ago. I suspect that my lack of energy then was to do with my lack of protein and good fats, rather than my weight, as I have always hovered around the low end of healthy weights for my height.

In a short time, the primal lifestyle has already knocked my energy and mental health into shape - which is excellent (no excuse for not being a straight-A student next year!), I just need to sort the weight.

So, my question is, has anyone began primal at a medically healthy weight, but still managed to lose to a lower weight/size they are happier with?

I was relatively healthy, even had visible abs, eating a hybrid lower-carb/CW-healthy diet. I never consciously "went" primal, but the more "research" I did (keyboard hero/internet surfer), the more I came to the conclusion that the whole grains, and chem-lab vegetable oils/soy proteins/etc... weren't doing me any good.

And I did get smaller. I cut grains out entirely while training for a 135-pound amateur MMA fight, and I was LEAN when I made that weight. But I guess I was still inflamed and puffy to some extent. Because I've since fought at 130, which I made with relative ease, and am right this minute discussing an opportunity to fight at 125, which I have no doubt I can make.

[namelesswonder]

Yeap. Started out around 135lb at 5'6". I'm down to about 120lb now, but look about how I did at 115-118 in high school and college (more ab definition though). I wasn't actively trying to lose weight (adjusting macros or anything) or exercising hardly at all. It took several months.

[Leida]

I am 5'7" and dieted CW my whole life without much problem, holding 118-125 lbs range. I always trended towards 130 lbs, so always watched what I ate (in accordance with CW), and tried to work out (Buns of Steel and lots of cardio). After I have had my child, something broke in my methabolic make-up. My pre-preg weight was 135 lbs (I was advised to gain 10 lbs to help me conceive), I gained the healthy 35 lbs (up to 170-174 lbs), and then I 'stuck at 150-155 lbs. I looked like a behemoth. 2 years of blissful motherhood later, I finally saw a picture of all the fat rolls, and it dawned at me that I am not going to lose the weight doing nothing. So, I lost weight in 18 weeks of brutal CW and got back to 118 lbs, but then...

as I said, methabolism was out of whack after preg and child-birth. I was starving, binging and over-excersising. I was re-gaining weight by a pound a day...

I was at the end of my rope. A traditional nutritionist told me that 'of course you are going to be hungry', and suggested to increase fibre intake. Seeing I lived on toast and oatmeal at the time....

I picked up one of the whole food books (Hyman's Super-methabolism) on sale in the library. The moment i dropped bread and pasta and added some fat I stopped being mad with hunger. Then I went towards paleo-primal, but did not lose any weight. I was stuck at 125 lbs.

I did Ultimate Diet 2.0, and lost down to 117-118 lbs. Did second round of UD, got down to 113 lbs (OMG, flat stomach, SWEET!!!!) but could not hold. Too old, too gluttonous... who knows.

Now, i am trying very hard to keep myself under 120. It is hard, but it is no torture as the CW was. less workouts, more food. Downside: to not count calories and curb hunger I have to drop fruit. SUCKS. So, i go through phases of counting and eating fruit and being hungry, and being full, fruitless, depressed and not counting. I am afraid I am regaining anyways. So, dunno. probably have to count. Then i will get to eat fruit.

I don't think Primal is a magic that lets you lose weight to the point when you look good in swimming suit, not in its happy incarnation of "just eat real food: fruit, veggies and meat". But, most likely, Primal will help you keep steady at the "look Okay in clothes" level without having to do much counting and working out (in other words a couple of hours a day of sane movements combined with lifting and short cardio).

[Wanderlust]

So, from that, and your results, I guess the biggest difference is in inch loss and body fat percentage.

Actually going from 14% to 6% body fat for me, was basically losing 15 pounds of fat and gaining 10 pounds of muscle. This is why scales are dumb. I "lost" 5 pounds, but lost 15 lbs fat....big difference.

But the motivation was I'm also gluten-sensitive, IBS, mild acne, etc.

[Dirlot]

I was 193lbs but have dropped to 182lbs with about 13% bf so healthy and healthier....grin.