Success story from Cindy

Understanding the science behind the diet is one thing, but hearing about real-life people who’ve achieved success with dietary and lifestyle modifications is often much more motivating.

Here are the questions I’ve asked:

• How did you hear about the Paleo diet?
• For how long have you been following the diet?
• What were the biggest challenges in switching to and following the diet?
• What changes/progress did you experience as a result of following the diet? How long before you started seeing those changes?
• What does your version of the diet looks like? What do you eat on an average day?

Keep in mind that these stories reflect specific points in time. As the stories are read into the future, the people associated with them will probably have been on the diet for much longer.

If you have a story that you’d like to share with the rest of the Paleo community, feel free tocontact me and let me know about it.

Success story from Cindy

How did you hear about the Paleo diet?

I heard about the Paleo diet through the Crossfit Gym. I had just joined Crossfit on October 1st and on October 24th they held a Paleo challenge. We were to eat Paleo for one month, tracking all our meals and workouts and turning them in weekly for points. Points were deducted for “cheat” meals or snacks. We all had a professional body fat test on the first day of the challenge.
I am 5’9″ and 52 years old and a size 12 most of my life–not fat, not thin. However, I had been fighting a significant and discouraging weight gain around my waist and thighs that happens a lot to women at this age. With the intense workouts at Crossfit I had dropped 7 pounds in 3 weeks even though my eating habits had not changed.
However, the Paleo challenge has changed my entire approach to eating and even though the contest ended November 24th, (and I won), I can’t quit eating Paleo.

What changes/progress did you experience as a result of following the diet? How long before you started seeing those changes?

First, I noticed within a week that I felt better and that my clothes were fitting better, particularly around my waist. When the trainer came back after four weeks, she was amazed at my progress. In four weeks of Paleo, I had lost 3.6% body fat and 2 1/4″ around my waist. I’m seeing my youthful figure coming back. That is exciting!
Second, throughout my entire adult life I have suffered noticeable hunger pangs and would get irritable and nauseous if I didn’t eat meals on time. I also had blood sugar lows that made me feel lethargic and sometimes it would drop so low I had to take a short nap. No more. Eating Paleo I found I can even skip a meal–no problem. I have more energy, less hunger.

What were the biggest challenges in switching to and following the diet?

My biggest challenge in following a Paleo diet has been coming up with meals that don’t have pastas, breads, potatoes, and rice as part of the meal. I love cooking and have always prepared home cooked healthy meals. Eating vegetables was not a problem, but now I found myself preparing 2 or 3 different vegetables in place of grains and pasta. This was a new thing for me–getting full on vegetables. I always thought I needed food with substance like potatoes and bread to feel satisfied, but meat and vegetables do the trick. It is also challenging eating out, but it CAN be done. I found most restaurants very willing to substitute more vegetables in place of the baked potato, etc.

What does your version of the diet looks like? What do you eat on an average day?

My average Paleo day looks like this:
Breakfast – 2 egg omelet (from cage free chickens) with red and green peppers, mushrooms, onions, and a bit of feta cheese for extra flavor. 1 fresh pear and a few fresh blueberries.
Snack – 1/2 apple, handful of walnuts
Lunch – Spinach and red leaf lettuce salad with 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato, cucumber, feta cheese, red and green pepper, sliced turkey (or chunked chicken breast or tuna).
Snack – pecans or almonds
Dinner – Broiled blackened salmon, steamed zuchini and summer squash, steamed green beans, small salad.
During the day I drink only water or unsweetened almond or coconut milk.
Paleo has changed my life. I eat smarter now. I am hyper-aware of carbohydrates and am amazed at how many carbohydrates are in a typical American diet.