Hi, my name is Lauren and I’m a fourteen-year-old Primal teen. My mom switched to the Primal lifestyle a year and a half ago after reading The Primal Blueprint. I decided to try it with her, not for weight reasons (I’m 5’8” and 120 lbs) but to help with some annoying acne issues and to try to be stronger and healthier.

Since about fourth grade (I’m in eighth now) I have missed around twenty-five days of school each year from colds, ear infections and other minor infections. What should have been little illnesses somehow put me in bed for a week at a time. I ride five days a week, give riding lessons to younger kids, and show once or twice a month, so I was missing things that I love to do and always ended up feeling weak. I also had these small clusters of annoying pimples that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I washed my face or used drying lotions.

Until a year and a half ago, I ate like most of my friends. Breakfast was something easy to grab, like cereal, a bagel, yogurt, or a muffin. Lunch was whatever school served that day and my mom cooked dinner most nights.

The first two weeks were pretty hard, I missed certain foods, and I felt kind of tired and hungry all the time, but after that, switching wasn’t too bad. Mom makes sure that there are always plenty of snacks around like nuts, fruit, beef jerky, and deviled eggs (my favorite, especially with roasted prosciutto on top). I do miss bread in the morning, so sometimes Mom makes things from coconut flour or almond meal that I love. I take my lunch to school everyday because it’s easier than trying to make a Primal meal from the school lunch line, and dinner is some kind of meat and veggies. Sometimes I want dessert, so I will have dark chocolate or berries with whipped cream. For a treat, Mom will make ice cream sweetened with coconut sugar.

The first thing I noticed is that my pimples went away within a week! I mean totally gone! These pimples had been on my face for months and would not go away and suddenly they disappeared. Sometimes if I eat the wrong things, they come back a little, but never like before.

Also, after the first two weeks passed, I felt stronger and more energetic. Which really helps when I’m at the barn. I always ride my own horse, but I ride other horses at the barn too. I usually give at least six riding lessons a week, so I am in the saddle behind little kids or running along side them on the ground. It’s a long day and takes a ton of energy, but it’s my favorite thing to do in the whole world! I am also raising and training my next horse so I have to take care of her after I finish at the barn.

The one thing I hadn’t expected was the change in my health. I didn’t notice it at first, but then after about four months I realized that I hadn’t been sick, not one cold or anything!

Certain things are harder for me than others, like holidays, parties, sleepovers and traveling to horse shows. I like the foods that I used to eat and sometimes I can’t resist. I haven’t been perfect and a have gotten off track a couple times, but I usually end up sick and my acne comes back, so my mom helps me get going again. She never pushes me, she says it’s my decision if I want to eat this way, but she does everything she can to support me. She says it’s harder for kids to be Primal because they aren’t really in control of what they eat. They don’t get to grocery shop and most other people never ask what kids want to eat, they just assume pizza or fast food will make them happy. I’m learning to make the best choices I can, even in difficult places like gas stations or fast food restaurants, which is usually where we stop when I travel to horse shows with my barn. I want to learn to cook now so that when I go to college, I will be able to stay healthy and fix Primal meals for myself.

I love the Primal lifestyle! It makes me look and feel better and I definitely like being healthier all the time. It might be a little harder for kids because they need an adult in their life help them out, but there is always a way to make it work!

Lauren

Make sure to check back on Tuesday for the very special release of Paleo Girl, a book written specifically for young Primal women!

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