For one, I always felt sick and bloated after eating {especially after eating out}.
But, I thought that was normal.
Two, I wasn't regular and often struggled with constipation.
But, I thought that was common for women.
Three, I had breakouts occasionally, but especially while on birth control pills filled with hormones.
But, I thought that was a normal side effect.
Lastly, I worked out and ran a lot to keep a lean, toned physique. I had been a runner all my life and my knees were starting to kill me after cross country in college!
But, I thought that working out chronically to stay in shape was normal for everyone.
A year and a half ago, my husband heard a podcast interview with Mark Sisson {the same podcast I posted a few days ago}. He was intrigued and told me all about it.
I didn't buy it. If it were true, then everything I had learned in school and our country's knowledge of nutrition would be wrong.
After learning that grains and legumes are avoided in The Primal Blueprint and Paleo diet, I questioned my husband which went something like this:
"But, you need grains."
"Why?"
"Well... I'm not sure, but it's part of the food pyramid."
Honestly, have you ever thought about why we need grains and legumes? Have you ever thought about why the government came out with the food pyramid recommending 6-11 servings of grains per day?
Sure, there's some protein, but the rest is all carbohydrates.
Digression:
If you think about it, our country eats carbohydrates to burn carbohydrates. If you don't have enough, you'll crash--get tired, hungry, fatigued, etc. We are like cars, you need gas to keep going, but what if there is no gas available? What if one day there was no food to consume {drastic, I know}?
Our bodies rather have fat to burn and store, so if something were to happen, we could use the fat to burn for energy. Sounds like cavemen, right? Right.
I like to explain to others the way Mark Sisson discusses eating primally: we are turning our carb burning bodies into fat burning bodies.
Now who doesn't want that?
Back to my story...
I finally did my own research and became fascinated about this Primal/Paleo lifestyle and it made complete sense. So, for the past year and a half I've been eating mostly Primal/Paleo.
Then, I had another issue after trying a low-dose hormone pill for birth control. My skin was not happy to say the least and I was so embarrassed. I decided to take the bull by the horns and really try the Primal lifestyle...no cheating, no every-other-day Primal eating...the real deal.
I started 'The Primal Blueprint 21 Day Total Body Transformation' challenge.
What's 21 days? Nothing. You could do anything for 21 days.
I wanted to see what results I would have and I also wanted this lifestyle to become a habit {ever heard of 21 days = habit?}
My results were transforming and they started to show in the first few days of starting the challenge:
First, I did not have bloating, pain or any other unwanted digestive issues.
Second, I was regular and my abdomen was always flat {again, no bloating}.
Third, I did not have breakouts, my skin felt smooth, the redness and inflammation went away.
{I took a before and after picture of the severe side of my face and, although embarrassing, my purpose in showing this picture is to help someone}.
Last, I did not have to work out hard to keep a lean, toned body. As a matter of fact, it almost seemed like I was doing nothing and still having the results I wanted! I didn't have to spend long hours at a gym, run far distances, work out everyday, and I didn't have to stress over missing a day of working out. I only did quick workouts in less than 20 min and was done {this "less than 20 min." workouts will later lead me to discuss Crossfit}.
Again, I have been blessed with no weight issues, but by day 21 I had lost the extra inches around my abdomen, knees, and arms.
I was stunned and so happy with all my results.
The biggest blessing from eating primally is the energy I feel all day long and simply feeling great.
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