I was very athletic when I was younger. From the ages of 16-25 I was active in no less than 2 sports at any given time year-round. I played soccer, basketball, hockey, weightlifting, and martial arts competitively at various levels, with the odd bit of recreational skateboarding and snowboarding (depending on season) thrown in for good measure. I played hard and I ate accordingly, often eating lunches at McDonald's for the extra calories my body needed, and making giant bowls of pasta with a variety of sauces when I was trying to be "extra healthy".

By my mid-twenties I had suffered multiple injuries to both knees and started to realize I couldn't keep up the pace forever. I also met my wife and decided to scale back on the sports to make room for someone else in my life. A couple of years later we were having a baby and I dropped out of my last league team, promising the guys I would come around for pickup games on the weekends when I was able. 

Between dropping out of sports and some sympathetic pregnancy weight, I started to get soft, mostly around the middle. At first I convinced myself it wasn't all that bad. Just a little weight, nothing I couldn't work off. But as the winter months dragged on, the sleepless nights left me too tired to prepare a proper meal, and when I did, I fell back on old standbys, mostly pasta. 

I don't know whether it was the lack of sleep from the newborn baby or just plain denial, but I went from convincing myself I could deal with a little weight to forgetting about it entirely. As I continued to gain more weight without even realizing it, I also started to get knee pain that started out as mild discomfort going up the stairs, and gradually grew to the point that my knees hurt more often than not, and going DOWN the stairs was becoming painful. What awaited me was a harsh awakening. At the age of 30 my doctor was telling me that I had arthritis in both knees and if I didn't lose weight I was headed for the same heart disease that plagued my father's family.

I spent the next couple of years trying everything I knew to lose weight, eating "healthy" - three meals a day following the almighty food pyramid, cutting out sweets, restricting calories to the point that I was constantly starving, just aching for my next meal. I also started trying to exercise more, going for walks in the evenings and picking up P90X on a friend's recommendation. With every effort I initially lost a little weight, usually around 10 pounds, followed by gaining back more than before. My calorie restriction left me so famished that when I finally succumbed to the hunger I ended up snacking constantly, eating far more calories than I had to begin with.

Then one day, providence struck. My mother was diagnosed with celiac disease. Two of my siblings had experienced symptoms similar to hers and went to their doctors, resulting in two more diagnoses. When my mother mentioned it to her doctor he had an interesting response: "all people are essentially allergic to gluten, just not everyone presents such acute symptoms as to be diagnosed with a problem" he said. I told a friend of mine who had celiac all her life about the doctor's comment and she pointed me to a website called Mark's Daily Apple. Her pretense was that my mother would appreciate all the gluten-free recipes on the site, but I think she knew I would figure it out once I saw it for myself. 

After browsing the site a little, mostly looking for recipes with a little casual browsing, I found myself drawn to the ideas that were being presented. They just made so much sense, and were actually backed up by research - real science! Before long I found the Primal Blueprint 101 page and spent every evening reading through the articles until I had exhausted the list. I couldn't believe what I was reading, and at the same time I couldn't believe what I had been doing to myself for so many years.

After a lifetime of a primarily carbohydrate-based diet, I decided to turn the tables on conventional wisdom and follow my gut - and the Primal Blueprint. Some of the best advice I got from the forums before making the transition was: don't go hungry, and stock up on primal snacks to get through the initial carb cravings. 

After my experience, I am firmly in the "carbs are an addictive drug" camp. The first couple of weeks I had intense cravings for carbohydrates, I wanted to stuff a loaf of bread down my throat one day, and thought I could have eaten a whole pot of pasta another. But armed with my new cardinal rule "don't go hungry" and a big pot of Primal-approved trail mix, I was set to surpass all my own expectations. 

In fact, in the first couple of weeks I was convinced that I was actually going to gain weight due to the massive amounts of trail mix I had eaten (it even had dark chocolate in it). So much so that I was afraid to weigh myself. In the third week, however, I started noticing that my pants were getting loose. I had to tighten my belt a notch and my stomach was visibly smaller. By the end of the week I knew I had to have lost weight, so I decided to brave the scale. 

I had stopped weighing myself months before, mostly out of shame and disappointment, so when I stepped on the scale this time I was convinced it was broken. Something had to be wrong, the number I saw wasn't possible. The last time I had weighed myself I had weighed 245 pounds and I was sure I had gained more weight since then, having added an extra notch to my belt with a carving knife in the meantime. I stepped off the scale and recalibrated it twice just to be sure, but when I stepped back on each time the number came up the same - 220 pounds. 

I had lost (at least) 25 pounds in the first three weeks. I knew I had a lot to lose, but at that point I was 100% sold, any lingering doubts were gone. The Primal Blueprint was my new way of life. Over the course of the next year the weight loss continued at a more moderate but steady pace until I weighed 180 pounds and friends and family couldn't stop themselves from commenting on how good I looked every time I saw them. 

One friend who had watched my progress, and struggled with her own weight over the years finally approached me to ask more about the Primal Blueprint and how it worked. It just happened to be the same time Mark's Daily Apple was gearing up for a Primal Challenge, a chance to participate in 30 days of following a Primal program with dozens of other people online so I invited her to sign up and ended up agreeing to do it with her, so we could compare notes and meal ideas. 

I thought I had already lost everything I needed to, but decided to take the opportunity to make my own improvements, cutting down further on fruit and starchy vegetables, and looking for more varied sources of healthy fats, especially the coveted Omega-3s. I also looked to improve my exercise habits, as I had barely done any at all along the way. As it turned out, the result of the additional tweaks was losing another 10 pounds, finally settling at 170 and feeling more energetic than I could remember feeling since high school.

More than a year later I still weigh 170, and still have more energy than anyone else I know at my age. My doctor no longer worries about heart disease, and I have no pain at all in my knees. I am free to play with my growing kids, and enjoy life without anything holding me back.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
-initial carb cravings
-some resistant family members were convinced I was going to kill myself by not eating "properly"...if only they knew.

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?
1. Don't. Go. Hungry.
2. Prepare your meal plans in advance. Make sure you identify what you are going to eat for a healthy source of good fat, of protein, and what in your meal consists primarily of carbs. Awareness of what you are doing is absolutely key.
3. Having Primal snacks on hand to fill the gaps (especially at first) is key. I slowly phased out of the snacks over the course of the first year, but at the beginning when I was floundering trying to figure it all out, having grain-free snacks was crucial - mixed nuts (no peanuts), mixed seeds, dried cranberries, and dark chocolate chips were my best friend, and actually helped me lose a lot of weight (while also eating grain-free, low carb meals).

This is a guest post by Julian Hooks:

We live in a very busy world and it’s really not an easy task to add fat burning workouts to our daily routine. Most of us only have time for work and barely have time for personal activities let alone exercise. This is not a good sign, being inactive can increase the risk for heart disease, diabetes (type 2) and even cancer.

With the fast-paced life most of us live in, who does have time to go to the gym for an hour of exercise? You don’t really need to work out for 1 hour just to get a good workout. Truth of the matter is you can actually benefit from an exercise within the first 20 to 30 minutes and even in the first 10 minutes if you put in the right amount of intensity. If you only have 5 minutes available, there is also a fat burning workout routine that is just right for your needs. And yes, it’s guaranteed to give you good results as well.

Interested to know more? Read on.

The following workouts can be beneficial to any individual who wishes to begin their journey to fitness as it takes only a few minutes to complete, and it’s guaranteed to work. These are intense workouts that works you out for a short period of time but shows results like you worked out for hours. So here‘s a list of quick fat burning workouts for the super busy person:

Squat Thrusts

This is one of the hardest exercise routines and almost everyone hates it. Undoubtedly, it’s quite intense but it is a very effective means of burning fat and burning it fast, besides, it gets easier once you get used to it. Here’s what you need to do, step by step:

1. Stand with feet apart
2. Squat Down
3. Place both hands on the floor
4. Kick both your feet behind (placing you in the push up position)
5. Bring your feet back in
6. Stand back up
7. Repeat

Push Ups and Squats

The next quick fat burning workout includes doing push-ups and squats for 5 minutes. If you are keen, you can use a stopwatch or any timer so you can time yourself. The best way to go about this exercise is to do 2 and ½ minutes of push-ups immediately followed by 2 and ½ minutes of squats. During this time, do as many as you can during the allotted time. In order to make the workout more challenging as you progress, try to beat the total number of reps done from the previous time every time you repeat the workout.

Various Standing Exercises

Complete 5 various standing exercises, 1 minute for each, immediately switching from one exercise to the next one. The idea is for you to continuously do the exercises and not stop, but if you are not able to do it the first time, don’t worry, you can try to shorten the gap between the exercises as you progress in your quick fat burning workout plan. The exercises to complete are as follows: Mountain climbers, burpees, Jumping Jacks, vertical jumps and jogging in place. Complete these exercises in order or order them according to your preference, as long as you complete them, you will be alright.

Static Holds

The main goal of the exercise is to build up your muscles’ isometric strength. Examples of the exercise includes wall squats, side and regular bridges/planks. There are a good number of these types of exercises but the examples noted are the most common. Isometric strength is built allowing the muscle to contract without motion, this is done by holding a particular position either in mid-range or near end-range of motion for a set number of seconds or to push hard against the wall or an immovable object.

These are just a few options for you to take into consideration when you are looking for quick fat burning workouts that you can easily do at home and does not require any equipment for you to complete, yet offers a quick but effective way to lose fat. With these quick workouts now at your disposal, even for a super busy person, you don’t have an excuse not to exercise.

For more from Julian, see his workout routines here.

My story is probably similar to many others out there, but I have been successful since going "Paleo" and am proud of my accomplishments. During my high school years, I was active in sports (football, some basketball, and baseball) and lived a normal lifestyle. Growing up I never really thought about nutrition and if I did, I had the mindset that if I stay active enough I won't get fat. 

Getting fat is exactly what happened to me. After 1 year away from daily exercise I put on 20 pounds without much thought. I could tell when looking in the mirror that my physique wasn't quite as good as before but I could easily justify it...I was in college and it didn't matter anymore. During my freshman year in school, we had to give a presentation on how to do something. Instead of giving a presentation on how to change the oil in my car or cook an egg, I decided that I would give my speech on how to gain 20 pounds. The speech was a mild success; I was able to get people to laugh and I got a decent grade.

Over the next few years I started skipping classes, worked a few jobs, and eventually left school for a time. During that time, I married my "high school sweetheart" and started living what I thought was the typical American lifestyle. A year or so into our marriage I started a new job which I thought would be great...it was an office job! Sitting at a desk all day and not having to sweat and be outside in the weather was my definition of the perfect job. Heck, I would even have the weekends office to sit on the couch and watch football! What more could anyone ask for, right? During my time working in the office, I looked like a balloon and continued to pack on the weight. It didn't help that we were eating terribly at home. I recall a dinner one night where we ate french fries and macaroni and cheese. If we only knew.

One night on my way home from work I started to feel light headed, but passed it off as having "low blood sugar." After getting home and nearly fainting, I decided that I was going to go to the doctor the next day to have him take a look at me. Doc recommended for me to have a lipid profile completed, which I did. The results aren't all that shocking now, but to a 22 year old who had relatively good health before, this was quite depressing. My cholesterol was sky high (320) and my triglycerides were just as bad (390). HDL was 36 and LDL was out of this world. He immediately put me on a statin, which I begrudgingly took over a 5 month period of time. 

At that point in time, I was 5'6'', 208 lbs, but my cholesterol #'s were coming down...life was good. Well, it actually wasn't good. Around this time, I never had any energy, we continued to eat incredibly bad, and we then found out that my wife was pregnant (not exactly planned). Immediately, I was determined to lose weight and get fit. My mindset was: there is no way that I want my child to see me this fat. 

To get in shape and lose weight, I got a membership to the YMCA and went to the gym 4-5 times per week; all the while, not paying much attention to my diet. After 2-3 months and a small amount of success (losing 5-7 lbs), I started researching ways to eat "healthy". I started eating "healthy" cereal (whole grains are great for you, right?), cut almost all of the fat out of my diet (turkey bacon, turkey burgers, etc), and loaded up on protein. 2 months into this eating style and I was feeling just as bad as I did before, but I was starting lose pounds, which was all that mattered to me. Before our son was born, I stepped on the scale and felt pretty good about myself, I was 20 pounds lighter and looking good. 

To me, losing 20 pounds was awesome, but I still weighed 185 pounds and my triglycerides & LDL were way too high. Shortly after my son's birth I decided to go back to school and finish my degree. My weight over the next few years yo-yo'd up and down. I had a very basic mentality about fitness...your total health = total weight. So, losing 15 pounds meant getting that much more healthy! Or at least I thought. At a point during my last semester of school, I was again weighing 170-175 and thought I was on top of the world. For some reason, though, I couldn't maintain very well and it was very easy to shoot back up to 185. And that's exactly what happened. 

I was fortunate enough to have a job lined up immediately following school. Again, this was an office job, but I convinced myself that if I watched my calories and went to the gym then there wouldn't be any problems. A year and a half into my job (July 2011) and I was hovering around 195 pounds. Once again we received the good news that my wife was expecting. And again, I told myself that I'm going to lose weight so my soon to arrive daughter would never see her father look so bad. 

To cut weight, I setup an elaborate workout and meal plan (standard American diet low in fat and high in carbs) to keep me on track and provide structure. Most mornings I would get to the gym around 5a, run for 15-30 minutes, and lift weights for 30 - 45 minutes. This seemed to be working for me (remember, I believed weight loss was paramount). From July 2011 - November 2011, I shed 20-25 pounds and improved my lipid profile. 

Something strange happened around November, however. I came down with a sinus infection that started just after Halloween. As is typical for me, I didn't go to the doctor for it because I thought it would go away. During this time, I continued to exercise and eat normal. Mid-December rolled around and I continued on with the sinus infection. Thinking that there could be more to my illness than originally thought, I broke down and went to the doctor. He prescribed azithromycin (z-pack), which I took until gone, but the pesky cold wouldn't stay away. Basically, from November 2011 until mid-January 2012, I had some form of cold and/or sinus infection. Even though I had been overweight for much of the past 8 years, I rarely got sick, and if I did it would clear up fairly quickly. 

In mid-January 2012, I decided I'd had enough of the job that I was in and went to a different company. My 3 month long cold now gone, I felt rejuvenated, and ready for a fresh start. During this time, I stumbled across some "crazy" people doing Crossfit and eating this weird (and dumb) "Paleo" diet. Really!? Who loses weight and gets healthier by eating fat and getting rid of whole grain!? 

After researching the eating habit for a month or so and stumbling across MDA (ask my wife, Mark and I are on a first name basis ;) ), I dove right into the paleo diet and haven't looked back. Unlike my previous bout with getting health (aka - losing weight), I actually felt good this time around. And, FINALLY, I figured out that there is much more to being healthy than that number that pops up on the scale.

Recently, I had my blood work done and I am happy with the results:

TC: 249
HDL: 60
LDL: 148
Triglycerides: 123

Of course there is room for improvement in those results, but I have never previously had HDL above 40 and triglycerides under 200. In 5 months, I've made great strides and feel tremendous doing it!

Now for a few numbers:

July 2011 
Height: 66 inches
Weight: 195 lbs
BF%: +20%
Waist: 35.25 inches

July 2012
Height: 66 inches (damn, I still haven't grown!)
Weight: 145 lbs
BF%: 10-11%
Waist: 29.5 inches

Although my wife is absolutely sick and tired of me talking about my diet (she's still holding on to bread), she is proud of me for changes I've made. And, yes, I still have people look at me like I have 7 eyes whenever they ask me how I lost weight, "...you eat bacon!?...are you now a caveman!?...I could never give up pastas,etc!...."

While I understand that we're facing an uphill battle in our fight against a terrible American diet, littered with disease, progress is being made.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
The hardest part is trying to deflect the constant criticism (mostly well intended) from friends and family. They normally are unable to fathom how eating butter, egg yolks, fats, etc can be beneficial.

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 "diet" has been pretty simple for me. I love eating meat, fruits, and some veggies. If someone is going to start eating primal, then they will have difficulty if they eat out a lot, as there are not a lot of healthy options.

Hooray!

It's amazing to think how quickly this registry grew. From 0 members on January 1st, 2012 to over 3,000 a year and a half later. And second link on google when searching for "weight loss registry."

Thank you to everyone who has registered and helped spread the word.