Hi, my name is Ania and I’m an ex-Standard American Dieter.

Although I understood many health concepts and ate a notch above the average person, I still had an affinity for Doritos, frosting filled donuts, and white bread. I knew that I should eat healthy, but I didn’t truly understand why. I didn’t connect the way I felt to the food I ate.

Then one day, I got sick.

And we’re not talking a cold…months of fatigue, dizziness, nerve pain. Lyme, Fibromyalgia—these are things my doctors mentioned with more or less a conclusion of “Sorry, not much we can do.”

I quickly learned there are a lot of things mainstream medicine fails at. Vague symptoms and blood tests clearly showing inflammation and autoimmune markers didn’t seem to faze the doctors—I wasn’t sick enough for them, but I was struggling to function. I knew something was wrong with me, and wasn’t appreciating the “Maybe she’s making this up” looks I would get. They weren’t going to fix me, so I finally took my health into my own hands.

That’s when I came across Mark’s Daily Apple, the Primal Blueprint, and the entire ancestral movement. I had heard about paleo/primal diets, but never looked into it or thought much of it. I finally read what it actually was (spoiler: it’s not just eating a lot of meat) and it clicked. Thinking about diet and lifestyle from a natural perspective instantly resonated with me.

I grew up loving nature, leading backpacking trips and hiking whenever I could. I remember nights staring at the stars away from civilization and connecting with nature in a variety of ways…but somehow:

• I never made the connection that food should come from nature
• Or that exercise should be based on the natural movements of our ancestors
• And even though I was resetting my circadian rhythm out there in the forest, I didn’t know it, and would return to a world of bright lights and late nights
• When it comes to health, I failed to connect the dots about how far removed we as modern humans are from our ancestral roots

Because of my existing relationship with nature, when I realized there was a diet and lifestyle based on what nature intended, I was converted on the spot. I read books, blogs, podcasts…everything I could get my hands on. I went to Paleo f(x) and found my tribe.

It’s been close to five years since I’ve come to this realization. I had “dieted” many times in my life, never more than a month or two, and here I am, effortlessly maintaining a healthy lifestyle (okay, almost effortlessly). It’s because I connected the dots. I finally understood why something was good or bad for me. Many of the things I once thought were true were not. I didn’t have to eat low calorie garbage to lose weight, I just had to eat real food. And you know what? Real food tastes good.

And I felt better. A good 80% better. Nutrition and lifestyle changes fixed 80% of my health problems. The fact that nature can do that for you is incredible. I’m still on a healing journey, but I can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t made an abrupt turn to strive for optimal health.

Healing myself and seeing firsthand how much this way of living has helped others, I knew that I had to make it a larger part of my life. I knew I wanted to be part of the movement to lower chronic disease and change lives. But I also knew I wouldn’t be going back to school for years, and even if I did…would I just be taught government mandated and industry influenced guidelines?

I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but didn’t think I had realistic options to incorporate my passion for health. I had many ideas but nothing with any real traction. And then one day, I came across an article on health coaching. What is that?!

I delved into this new world I didn’t know existed, and of course, after researching many health coaching programs, I settled on Mark Sisson’s Primal Health Coach Institute program. And now I’m a certified Primal Health Coach and a health focused entrepreneur!

I’ve since realized there’s so much more I can do than coach! Along with blogging at Live Clean Nourish, I’m doing what I love—teaching. I recently released a 10-week online course titled Paleo Lifestyle Bootcamp (Try week 1 FREE with The Paleo Mindset). I’m a mom to a toddler, so making my own rules and helping more people was the right choice for me. The options with the program are endless—I can’t believe I waited so long to get started!

My favorite part about being a Primal Health Coach? I look forward every day to spending time learning and collaborating in the Primal Health Coach graduates Facebook group. Community is so important to success (and sanity). I live and breathe this world and I’m so happy to be a part of it.

My name is Ania and I’m proud to be a primal living junkie.

– Ania Drosnes

Websites: livecleannourish.com, paleolifestylebootcamp.com
Facebook: livecleannourish

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