About two years ago my now boyfriend introduced me to a book that little did I know, would have a big impact on my lifestyle.  That book was “The Primal Blueprint” by Mark Sisson.  I also started reading his blog at http://www.marksdailyapple.com.

 

I am not a dietitian or nutritionist so I am not going to get all scientific on you.  Eating primal (very closely related to paleo) is based on eating and moving the way our ancestors did….yes cavemen.  Which is why this is often called “The Caveman Diet.”  After reading the book I decided to give it a try and started eating a new diet that consisted of mainly:

• Meat, Fish, Poultry
• Eggs
• Nuts
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• Minimal Dairy

 

I removed from my diet the following:

• Simple Carbs (White bread, flour, rice, etc)
• Processed Foods

I began to see improvements within just the first month.  I lost some weight, nothing drastic, but it felt great.  I definitely gained more energy too which of course helped me want to stay active most days of the week.  This new diet combined with new activities including yoga and crossfit have put me in the best shape I’ve ever been in.

Humps to get over

When I tell people about my diet they are often pretty skeptical.  When I first started eating primal the hardest part was that I was starting to eat FAT.  Yes animal fat…from steak, from chicken, and from a lot of BACON!  I thought “no way.” If I was eating all of this FAT then I was going to gain weight, right?  Wrong.  Cutting out carbs and processed foods re-programs your body.  It will start to burn the fat you are introducing.  Think of the fat as your fuel.  This is the fuel humans were created to run on and burn.  Okay, that’s about as scientific I’ll get!

2010

 

2013

The pictures above may not even look that different but all I know is adopting a primal lifestyle has made me the strongest and healthiest I have ever felt!