Meet the Old Mike.
I have been primal for almost a year now and let me tell you it has been life changing! First off I want to thank you for everything, with you your site and the hard work everyone put into it I would not have reached my goals!
Let me give you a little back ground. I am 25 years old and I am a cancer survivor. When I was 11 years old I was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), I went through intense chemotherapy for 6 month and continued with chemo for a while after that. I have taken so many drugs in my life that I couldn’t even begin to name them all. All these drugs kept me alive but at the price of possible liver, heart and other damage in the future. Needless to say I went into remission on September 11th 2001 (I will never forget where I was that day, such a strange sensation of relief and grief at the same time) and lived the rest of my life like a normal teen.
Fast foreword now to last April, I was sent to a liver specialist because I have a high level of an alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzyme in my blood work(which I still need to go for every 6 months). The enzyme is a marker for liver failure and because of my medical history my doctor wanted me to see a specialist ASAP. I also had high cholesterol, triglycerides and high iron. This scared me so I rushed to this doctor and was told I have a fatty liver and the beginning stages of Metabolic Syndrome. All these signs were pointing to overeating and obesity. Now I would not say I was obese, but I would tell you that I was overweight and not happy with myself.
I was very active, I went to the gym all the time. I was (and still am) an avid cross-fitter but I was gaining weight constantly. At the time of this doctor visit I was 6'1" 265lbs.
Something needed to be done. The doctor wanted me on this experimental high cholesterol medicine. I was 23 years old and needed to be on medicine? That was not the answer. I was complaining to my Dad about this and he told me about the Primal Blueprint and how it changed his life and got him healthy. He gave me the book and that was the start of it.
I started with a two week trial, two weeks and I was sold. I remember feeling like I had endless amounts of energy, I slept so much better and fell asleep faster, that bloated feeling? Gone. Constant burping after meals? Gone. Weight? Down. I made a commitment, I was going Primal and not looking back.
April-May. May-June, June-July, by August I was down to 230lbs and feeling amazing. My friends and I signed up for the spartan sprint for September and one of my main goals was to get down to 220lbs by the time the race rolled around. That would have been 5 months and 45lbs. Now most people might think I am losing muscle mass, that no one can lose that much body fat so fast. Wrong again. I was breaking PR's (personal records) left in right, with time, reps and weight.
September comes and its race time and I hit my goal weight!!
In 5 months I went from 265lbs to 220lbs and increased my muscle mass. What about the blood work and the doctors? My Cholesterol went from 260 (very High) to 193 (desired). My Triglycerides went from 450+(about to die) to 67 (wow that's low).
The liver specialist didn't believe me when I told her I accomplished this by eating whole eggs, red meat and no carbs... needless to say I never went back to her again. Almost a year later and I am still going strong. I have started writing a blog to track my progress and all of my friends and family love it!
I have always wanted to give something back, I remember how inspirational those success stories where for me (and still are) and I want to share mine with people. I want to inspire someone and help them. Thank you again and Grok on!
Let me give you a little back ground. I am 25 years old and I am a cancer survivor. When I was 11 years old I was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), I went through intense chemotherapy for 6 month and continued with chemo for a while after that. I have taken so many drugs in my life that I couldn’t even begin to name them all. All these drugs kept me alive but at the price of possible liver, heart and other damage in the future. Needless to say I went into remission on September 11th 2001 (I will never forget where I was that day, such a strange sensation of relief and grief at the same time) and lived the rest of my life like a normal teen.
Fast foreword now to last April, I was sent to a liver specialist because I have a high level of an alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzyme in my blood work(which I still need to go for every 6 months). The enzyme is a marker for liver failure and because of my medical history my doctor wanted me to see a specialist ASAP. I also had high cholesterol, triglycerides and high iron. This scared me so I rushed to this doctor and was told I have a fatty liver and the beginning stages of Metabolic Syndrome. All these signs were pointing to overeating and obesity. Now I would not say I was obese, but I would tell you that I was overweight and not happy with myself.
I was very active, I went to the gym all the time. I was (and still am) an avid cross-fitter but I was gaining weight constantly. At the time of this doctor visit I was 6'1" 265lbs.
Something needed to be done. The doctor wanted me on this experimental high cholesterol medicine. I was 23 years old and needed to be on medicine? That was not the answer. I was complaining to my Dad about this and he told me about the Primal Blueprint and how it changed his life and got him healthy. He gave me the book and that was the start of it.
I started with a two week trial, two weeks and I was sold. I remember feeling like I had endless amounts of energy, I slept so much better and fell asleep faster, that bloated feeling? Gone. Constant burping after meals? Gone. Weight? Down. I made a commitment, I was going Primal and not looking back.
April-May. May-June, June-July, by August I was down to 230lbs and feeling amazing. My friends and I signed up for the spartan sprint for September and one of my main goals was to get down to 220lbs by the time the race rolled around. That would have been 5 months and 45lbs. Now most people might think I am losing muscle mass, that no one can lose that much body fat so fast. Wrong again. I was breaking PR's (personal records) left in right, with time, reps and weight.
September comes and its race time and I hit my goal weight!!
In 5 months I went from 265lbs to 220lbs and increased my muscle mass. What about the blood work and the doctors? My Cholesterol went from 260 (very High) to 193 (desired). My Triglycerides went from 450+(about to die) to 67 (wow that's low).
The liver specialist didn't believe me when I told her I accomplished this by eating whole eggs, red meat and no carbs... needless to say I never went back to her again. Almost a year later and I am still going strong. I have started writing a blog to track my progress and all of my friends and family love it!
I have always wanted to give something back, I remember how inspirational those success stories where for me (and still are) and I want to share mine with people. I want to inspire someone and help them. Thank you again and Grok on!
Meet Mike Today.
What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
Stop eating Pizza
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?
Just make the commitment and do it, stop saying you could never give up grains because when you do you realize how easy it is to give up and how much better you feel
Stop eating Pizza
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?
Just make the commitment and do it, stop saying you could never give up grains because when you do you realize how easy it is to give up and how much better you feel
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Tried a paleo or low carb diet? Join Today and contribute to a better understanding of this way of eating!
View our Marketplace of paleo and low carb experts that compete against eachother to help you lose weight and get healthy!
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