This success story first appeared on Mark's Daily Apple.
--
My wife Amy and I have been married for 14 years, we have 2 wonderful boys, I have a great job, and a nice home in a quaint city, and over the years we have been slowly falling apart. I’m the kind of guy that carries his weight well, that’s what I’ve been told. I was active all my young life, track, football, martial arts, I could eat anything and burn it off and I always preached the best way to stay fit was exercise; the rest will take care of itself.

Amy was an average weight tomboy kid, an overweight teen and then leaned out again her senior year of high school. She played ice hockey and roller hockey in a men’s league and started to rebuild overweight self-esteem issues. Her weight loss was short lived though once she moved away from home. As a young adult in a new town alone, she returned to boredom eating. Stopping at the grocery on Friday nights after work and picking up a frozen pizza, doughnuts, and ice cream to get through a lonely weekend.

When we met in 1997. I was skinny, I was stressed and unhappy and she changed all that. Being young at heart and mind, our 16 year age difference didn’t concern me. We set up house and that’s when life started to get good. I’m a chef by profession and I’ve been told I show my love through food, by the time our first son arrived; we looked like a whole lotta love. All through her pregnancy I cooked every comfort food in my repertoire, she extreme couponed stacks of Hamburger Helper and junk foods, and I would do my magic with fresh veggies and tomato sauces, pasta 5 times a week was not unheard of and bread was usually on the menu in some form every day. My “sympathy pregnancy weight” ballooned to 225  lbs and Amy hit 250+, but we were happy, remember? We avoided mirrors and settled in with comfy pants with New Year’s resolutions in the back of our minds, until we had a picture snapped of us with our new born son at a Christmas party. It was not us, it was two people in fat suits. Our son was diagnosed with autism at 15 months old which was just another stressor added as we tried to figure out how to cope.

We spent the next 10 ten years yo-yo’ing up and down the scale. When we would try diets, I was insistent that too much sugar was our issue and Amy felt that it was too many carbs – neither us of agreeing with the other at the same time. So we would start off on our separate diets at the same time and inevitably end up sabotaging each other within a week or two – over and over. A second pregnancy and another son diagnosed on the autistic spectrum plus moving our household 5 times for various reasons over the years all factored in as well. I finally moved out of the kitchen and into a management “suit and tie position” where I suddenly found myself in front of a computer and now even the exercise of running around a kitchen had stopped and my weight tipped the 200 mark… again.

The insurance plan I was enrolled in required a physical and I secretly looked forward to it because I had started to feel something was wrong, I felt like I was closer to 70 years old rather than 50. I had problems getting out of bed, hangovers were worse, and I really felt like death warmed over most of the time. My fears were confirmed and my doctor read me the riot act about making changes in my life, so Amy and I made a plan, yeah the New Year’s resolution diet…two weeks later…5 lbs gained..back to drawing board.

February 2011 we came across your site touting a new way of thinking about how our body works and the word “diet”, and it struck a beautiful chord with us. Up until now I had always thought weight loss was all about exercise, and our new way of thinking became about what we put into our body, and sugar AND bad carbs was at the crux of it all. We tossed everything in the house that said sugar, corn syrup, or had any grain in it, and if wasn’t fresh it hit the trash.

Co-workers were less than supportive at first, lots of funny looks, scratching heads, rolling eyes, the laughter and “yeah right, caveman” comments flew everywhere. They offered up cake and candy like body snatcher pods to tempt me back into the fold on a daily basis. The headaches were non-stop; I carried 3 types of aspirin to experiment with for the dull thump of sugar withdrawal.

Life at home was much different and that made all the difference. With all the crap out of the pantry (except the kids SAD food) we had the beginnings of a culinary playground and Amy had recipes and fresh foods waiting for me when I walked in the door. All at once another positive, my creative side renewed itself, it was almost like a market basket competition from culinary school every day, and I had to find new and creative ways to make good food without sugar, bread or opening a box. We purchased several books with great recipes and experimented with eliminating or substituting SAD ingredients with Primal whole foods; it was easy and tasted great. We also started photographing and posting pictures online and the kudos from the paleo community were always welcome.

The weeks ticked by quickly and the first 30 days ended, and instead of feeling like Lent was over it felt more like jumping off the high dive, the headaches were long gone, food tasted better, my mood had improved, and I was pissing off the candy crowd. The fat suit was still wrapped around me but I felt lighter, quicker, and faster. I wasn’t having the 2:00 PM snooze desires anymore. I was actually thinking about how I could be spending my empty minutes…exercising? We added sack time and with only a few exceptions religiously cut off electronics and TV at curfew for a nine hour sleep date every night.

I think it was right about the 6-month mark was the beginning of my “aha” moment. We were eating fresh/ organic foods, grass-fed meats when we could, I was exercising at least 3 times a week, our SCOBY was getting thick and the kombucha recipe was perfect. The pictures of us were showing different people, but we were changing, too. A renewed interest in how we cared for each other and our kids was beginning to find its way into our home, and problems at work didn’t piss me off, I just solved them. I smiled more, a helluva lot more. Everything we had read was coming true and weight/diet wasn’t important anymore. We still wanted to look good naked, but everything else we were doing became the focus and weight became the by-product. We had been sitting on our asses getting heavier and letting life slip away from us, no longer wanting to fight back, and that was taking its toll on every aspect of our lives.

 I can say for a fact that this past year and a half has been one of the most exciting years of my life, doors have been opened in more ways than I can say here, and I only see it getting better for the rest of our lives. I wanted to be fit and happy at 50, instead I was sick and depressed. At 53 now, I consider myself to be healthier than most 25 year olds I know and I’m still getting stronger every day. Amy looks radiant, I can’t keep my eyes off her and she grows younger and more beautiful every time I look at her. As a couple we have turned our lives around completely, and we live fearlessly now knowing we can face any challenges thrown our way (look out Mudders and CrossFitters). I can’t think of any more perfect way to spend the rest of our lives together, eating well, playing and exercising, and loving each other and our kids.

Thanks to Mark Sisson for all your help and wise words, and thanks to this wonderful community we’ve become part of, I know we’ll spend our lives “Paleoing it forward” until everyone gets it like we did.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
being in the food industry always having SAD foods within reach, learning to not p/u and throw food into my mouth

What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
most importannt to me, the 30 day challenge, if you can do it you can make the change

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
Finding things to eat when not at home

What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
Understand the science but realize that dealing with your own body is an art.

I moved to Hawaii in 2002 with my husband for grad school. I slowly gained weight until I was at my peak- 175 (that's the highest I ever weighed myself, I may have weighed more at some point). I got engaged in 2005 and in 2006, my friend and I shared a New Year's Resolution to get healthy. First we started walking during our lunch breaks, then later that year we joined a paddling team and started to go running. She convinced me to start counting calories, so I kept a food journal and began to research what "healthy" food was. I began moving towards whole wheat everything and diet sodas. Luckily I never bought totally into the low-fat craze. I've always believed that eating "real" food would be the best way to lose weight and stay healthy. I just didn't know what the right foods were. I lost lots of weight and by the wedding in 2007 I was at 130 pounds. I started to gain it all back soon after. I fluctuated as I counted calories, then stopped, then counted calories, and on and on. 

In 2010 a friend in New York, who was into Crossfit started a Whole30 challenge with some other friends and I made a last minute decision to join her on New Year's Day, 2010. I was at 155 at that point. I stayed strict, lost 25 pounds and then had to deal with the "do I stay strict paleo or can I have some of the other foods back" stage. I've varied with my strictness over the last year and a half, but I notice that when I eat grains or dairy I have immediate bloating and I start to feel lethargic after a few days. It is a challenge for me to stay away from alcohol and that is the toughest part for me, however, every cell in my body tells me that I am healthier, much healthier now than I was when I was counting calories. I am stronger, I have more energy and I stopped taking Prozac, which I had to start taking in 2009. There is no going back for me, even if I don't always stay on the strict path. I will always return to eating this way.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
The comfort foods I grew up with had to be replaced. Bread with everything. Creamer in my coffee. Pasta. Rice. I had to be creative in how I replaced the food "vehicles" as I call them. They are not nutritious, but they hold your food and make it easier to get your meats, veggies and sauces into your piehole.

What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
The first week is super tough, and then for me there is always bad dreams 2 weeks in to going strict after veering off the path. Dreams of downing donuts and pie and other crap that I haven't eaten in years and then feeling super guilty about it, knowing you'll have to tell all of your friends.

I have been overweight my ENTIRE life. One of my first memories is being weighed at school and the other kids being astounded at how much heavier I was. My parents were always trying to help me lose weight in their own way because they knew it bothered me, but it ended being hurtful sometimes. I remember my mom letting my siblings get ice cream and then telling me I didn't need any. Or forcing me to go on walks with her, or making me try out for sports teams. I have never felt comfortable in my body. 

In high school I started dieting. I did what I called the "Ethiopian diet" where I wouldn't eat for as long as possible and then binge on everything in site. Of course this didn't work at all, and through the 4 years of high school I gained at least 75 lbs more. Going into college it was my first time on my own. I went to a college in the mountains, and my dorm room was literally on TOP of a mountain separated from the rest of campus, any time I wanted to eat I had to go up and down 400 steps to the dining hall. This paired with not having a car and having to walk everything resulted in me losing a substantial amount of weight without even realizing it in my year there. After the first year I decided I wanted to be closer to home, and transferred to a local college. Finally realizing I had lost a substantial amount of weight it gave me the motivation to keep it going. I started the Atkins diet, and did it off and on for a couple years. Reaching a low of 220 lbs. I wasn't ever able to maintain it for long periods of time, because the carb count was so low, I felt like all I could ever eat was meat and cheese. If I had to guess from my high point until 220, I probably lost between 70 to 80 lbs. 

Then I met my future husband. Happiness and eating together made me gain an initial 10 lbs back. Then we hit some rocky times and broke up and got back together maybe 4 times over the course of a couple months. Being completely unprepared on how to deal with this emotional rollercoaster, I turned to food. Within a couple months I was back up to 280 lbs. We got back together and then got engaged and got married. Throughout all this I was turning to diet pills to help me lose weight, but they never actually worked. After the honey moon we settled into married life. Finally my husbands birthday rolled around, and of course there were pictures taken. These pictures are what made me realize that I needed to get serious, and fast. One of my friends mentioned something about MyFitnessPal on Facebook and I decided to check it out. I joined 8/5/11 and I have been hooked since then. It has been a really useful tool to understanding how much I can eat and still lose weight. I started losing weight slowly....a couple pounds a month. 

By December 2011, 4 months later I had lost about 30 lbs. They have a pretty activity community on there and in some of the forums I kept seeing the Primal Diet mentioned. So in December of 2011, I checked it out on marksdailyapple.com. I started following sort of halfheartedly but I begged my husband to get me the Primal Blueprint as an early christmas gift. He did, and I read it in a couple days. Since mid December 2011, I haven't had any grains other than an occasional miller lite here or there. Since starting the primal diet, I have lost 80lbs in 8 months, making for 110 lbs lost in a year. Today is 8/1/12, so I only have a few days until my anniversary of starting the first diet I've ever stuck too. I don't think I would have stuck to my new lifestyle or succeeded so well with this weight loss without finding the Primal Diet. It has done so much more than help me lose weight. It has taught me how to fuel my body. I have been able to lose the majority of my weight without feeling hungry, or deprived. In fact I've been enjoying delicious meals, comprised of real foods. I want to be Primal for the rest of my life. 

I have gone from a size 24 to a size 10. I still have around 20 lbs to lose, and want to down to 160lbs for a healthy BMI. Up until this point I haven't exercised at all. I really hate it. But the after effects of losing weight so quickly (saggy skin) is making me want to look into lifting heavy things to try and tighten what I can up. I hope to reach my goal and maintain by my one year anniversary of starting the primal diet in December 2012.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
Other people not understanding. Trying to get you to break your diet. Eating out. Not being prepared for meal times. Being super hungry and still realizing that you are going to have to make something, no fast food options available.

What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
Always always be prepared. Have snacks, plan your meals for the day. Look up restaurant menus before you eat there. Have one day a week where you cook side dishes or meat that you can just reheat quickly. Not having something immediately available was teh hardest thing for me, and almost got me to break diet a few times.