I'd like to know what convinced everyone to make the switch? page 3

[Narcolepticjenn]

I'd heard of Paleo from CrossFit, but thought it was too weird/ extreme to work (because i didn't understand it). I was going to the workouts three times a week and getting much stronger, but not seeing the muscle definition I wanted. When I topped 160 lbs at 5'6" I realized I must be doing something wrong. The whole grains etc. weren't working. Snacking every 3 hours wasn't working. My attempt at Weight Watchers definitely didn't work. I decided to read more about the Paleo/ Primal approach, and the testimonials here on MDA convinced me to try it. I was especially drawn to the stories of people curing other problems with this diet. I already sleep great and to my knowledge have no major issue with gluten, but I would love it if this way of eating could help my adult acne, persistent eczema, and allergies. That would be miraculous.

[MissJecka]

I discovered the book Wheat Belly after having some heartburn and acid reflux issues. I'd lost 37 pounds in 2 years due to calorie restriction and when I started eating to maintain my weight, heartburn began (something I'd never had before). I decided to go vegan, as my veggie friends told me that it helped them with their own GI issues. I convinced myself it was helping me, but it really made things worse, and I had gained about 10 pounds back even while running and training for endurance races. I just didn't get it.

I saw a doctor who prescribed me Prilosec until the symptoms went away and told me to keep a food journal when I stopped the medication so we could figure out what was actually causing my reflux. She said that it wasn't diet-related because I ate lots of good stuff (SAD things like oatmeal, breads with vegan margerine, soy products, etc.) but a friend of mine with a wheat intolerance told me to read Wheat Belly. After I did, I looked up other wheat-free diets and discovered Primal and Paleo lifestyles.

I was hard-core Primal, following PB to a T, last summer when I first joined MDA. I fell off the wagon in November but now I'm back after getting blood test results showing that my cholesterol levels are better than ever and that my hormones (which were something that my doc said could be messed up in the past) are perfect. So, this Primal thing is doing my body good!

And, that's that.

[specsAreGrok]

I had resigned myself to being fat because I thought the only way I wouldnt be fat was with 3hours of cardio a day (which worked in a previous life when I had freetime). then I keep reading all these success stories from fellow libertarians proclaiming it much like a miracle. Also the evolutionary aspect appealed to me. But with an italian wife... I kept mentioning it and hinting at it for a few months, kept reading the success stories and finally put my foot down and told here I was gonna try it and didn't care if she cooked pasta for dinner as i wouldn't be eating it. We gradually ate more and more primal and the results just continued to improve. wish I had done it years ago.

[itchy166]

I was developing a series of seemingly unrelated health issues.

Headaches, dizzyness, GI trouble, acid reflux, depression, panic disorder. I've been very slowly but steadily gaining weight as well. (2-3lbs/year might not sound like much, but I intend to be around for another 40) I was looking for a way to naturally improve my overall health.

I found Primal/Paleo in a backwards kind of way, first reading Tim Ferriss (not really Paleo, more of a Paleo hack). That lead me to Robb Wolf, and then Mark Sisson. I now read as much research and as many Primal/Paleo blogs as I can find. The science makes sense to me.

My wife and I both went Primal Jan 1.

[AngryKiwi47]

Long story short.

I was diagnosed with coeliacs disease. Gluten free food on the market tastes like crap. I researched plenty of gluten free recipes, most were crap. Located some goodies on Paleo sites - loved them. Researched Paleo. Liked what I saw, but didn't want to restrict dairy (hey, I already lost my brownies, didn't I?). Researched Paleo and dairy, found Mark's Daily Apple.
Then, I kid you to, the very next day I found the Primal Blueprint in a Hospice shop. It. Was. Awesome. Don't know who the idiot was that gave it away, don't care. Been Primal ever since.

[Annieh]

Maybe they had read it so often they knew it by heart? Anyway, their loss is your gain. Think I'll check out my hospice shop tomorrow

[NZ primal Gwamma]

In recent years I have had some awful illnesses where I have been hospitalised, many times.
I have had at least 13 episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea within the last 10 years. (that no-one else in the family gets – so its not food or hygiene related)
The feeling of wanting to be sick comes on very suddenly, almost no warning.
I know to get to a bathroom and also to get down on the floor in the recovery position. I always faint either when or just before I vomit.
I have woken up in a pool of vomit many times. If I am found by my husband, this is generally when I am hospitalized. If I am not found, I continue vomiting, am in and out of consciousness and am slowly able to rehydrate etc… over the course of 48 hours.
When my husband finds me, he is often unable to rouse me, sometimes I am fitting with the whole clenched teeth thing going on, and sometimes I am not breathing. This usually only lasts for 30 sec to 1 minute.
By the time the ambulance arrives, my B.P. seems not too bad, although not always. However I always seem to have an incredibly low temp. Around the 35 degrees with an ear thermometer.
I am totally unable to sit up or raise my head without a horrendous feeling of vertigo and nausea. And this usually lasts until anti-emetic drugs and fluids are given

3 years ago I went to the doctor extremely unwell, and was diagnosed with cytomegalo virus, glandular fever, the mumps and a very nasty strep throat. I then ended up with a suspected spider bite/rose thorn infection in my arm that tracked up into my head. I was one sick puppy and remained in hospital for eight days, unable to sit up, eat or function very well.
Three years later (June 2012) I still ache, have terrible restless legs, ulcers in my mouth every other week, having to get up and pee in the night, awful vomiting/diahorreah bugs, waking up with the most incredibly sore body that continues to ache all day, very high blood pressure 140+/100+, swollen feet, bloated stomach, terrible indigestion that required medication, migraines and a feeling of general unwellness.
My Doctor fobbed me off several times. Time will heal he repeatedly told me!!!!!!

I started experimenting with foods, and that was the beginning of my journey, to where I am now.
I started to notice a link between sugar consumption, and the feeling of heaviness and general lethargy. So I started to cut down my sugar.
I noticed that my indigestion increased with the grains that I ate. So I cut down my grains.
I started to really analyse what was going into my mouth.

Our Chch paper ran an article by Robert Lustig, the bitter Truth about sugar.
This led to Loren Cordain, Robb Wolf and Mark Sisson.
I have been eating this way since June of last year. I haven't lost a huge amount of weight (7-8kg), but I feel well, and healthy.

........... the nicest thing is to wake up each morning feeling alive !!!!!

[Annieh]

Thanks for sharing your story!

[whitegirlinasia]

I was naturally skinny. I had moved to Asia and suddenly gained a lot of weight over my study abroad there. (All that rice.) I also suddenly developed bad acne and a few other health nasties. When I came back to America for a brief year I was able to lose some of the weight. I'd been trying for years to get it all off, but always failed to restrict calories because I'd get blood sugar crashes and have to eat more.

One day about 6 months ago I stumbled across Taubes on Audible.com. I listened to it, and was so angry how badly I had gotten lied too. Looking back, my mother had to change her diet when I was in high school due to an auto-immune disease. She had always been fat but when she switched her diet (thanks to a naturopath) she instantly dropped tons of weight and currently looks fabulous. And her symptoms largely cleared up. All this time I had thought that her metabolism was just screwed up because of food allergies (of which she has many), but reading Taubes I realized that we all have the same problem. Hers is just more pronounced. And she had been eating primal food for years, she just didn't use that label.

I started looking for any piece of information I could find on the topic of low carb eating. Found Paleo. The evolution stuff really made sense to me. All the websites said "Just try it for a month. If it doesn't work, you can always go back". So I said what the heck, why not. Lost 10 lbs, blood crashes gone, acne gone, hormones back to normal, and I'm a good looking 25 year old again.

[Winterbike]

It worked, so I stuck with it.