Down 110 pounds after going paleo

MEET THE OLD FAIRUZ

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.

MEET FAIRUZ TODAY

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. 

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