Sick of Counting Calories, Now Hooked on Primal

It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

Hi Mark,

First, thank you for your website and books. They have changed me.

I love that you post success stories. I read them when I am having a hard week to help me stay on track. I met my weight goal a few weeks ago and would love for my story to encourage someone to try paleo. I am still working on just being strong and healthy.

I grew up on the American diet and often had unresolved digestive and blood sugar health problems. I can’t blame the doctors since I know they said to keep a food diary (and didn’t jump to expensive procedures).

Leah - Before PrimalYears later I think so many foods were the problem I didn’t see that it was a diet problem (sugar, wheat, pasteurized dairy). From puberty through high school I was always at the top end of my weight range. University (plus lots of fast food) hit and I think I gained 30 lbs during the 1st  year, and more so by fall 2007. I was somewhere in the 190 lbs on my 5’ 2” frame.

My now husband introduced me to the world of organic food and eventually I became vegetarian. Well, giving up the fast food and a lot of personal stress, my weight dropped off. At 155 lbs a year later, we got married and I started birth control. As soon as I started it the weight loss stopped and I gained it all back. I went off of it a year later at 175 lbs and was never able to make it under the 160s.

While working at an International school in Africa for the last two years, I tried distance running and ended up very ill twice, thwarting my running progress. I gave up during dry season and came home last July for a month. After I realized I had gone up to 177 lbs again and seeing pictures from that summer I started running again. This time though I was continually hungry. It was impossible to make enough health foods, so I started a vicious cycle and if I didn’t run I still ate like I was. Missing a run would set me behind and I just got too overwhelmed dealing with it.

Leah - Before Primal

Don’t ask me who told me about paleo. I think I read the name somewhere and looked it up online since I was sick with counting calories. I came across your website and it just clicked. I never liked Atkins because it seemed like non-organic meat and cheese (that didn’t seem healthy), and I watched a lot of people lose and gain it right back. Living in Africa, I would think about what we would have eaten before farming culture. Wouldn’t that make sense? So I got my husband to agree (he hasn’t fully joined) for a month. After that month I was hooked. I was losing and FEELING FULL and great. My skin and hair changed and my blood sugar is great. I rarely feel nauseated and haven’t gotten sick since I started last September.

I started CrossFit around 140 lbs. I seemed stuck there for a bit, but in two months I lost the last 10 lbs plus some. I hit my weight goal of 130 and then continued to lose to 125.

Thank you, Mark, for you website. It changed my life.

This was the last picture taken before I got pregnant. I am 20 weeks along now and so far I have had a perfect pregnancy.

Leah - After Primal

Leah

TAGS:  guest post

About the Author

If you'd like to add an avatar to all of your comments click here!