From January, 2012 until now, January 22, 2013, I have lost 27.3% of my body weight.
However, I only lost 2.3% of my body weight from January 2012 to September 15, 2012.
The vast majority of my weight loss, 25% of my body weight, happened in just 4 short months, from September 16, 2011 to January 22, 2013.
What happened on September 16, 2012 that accelerated my weight loss so quickly?
No, I didn’t starve myself; I didn’t go on a liquid fast. I didn’t do anything extreme. I simply began following the Paleo diet, and the results have been amazing.
The Paleo diet, for those of you who don’t know, is a diet where you eat lots and lots of healthy vegetables, fruit and grass fed, lean protein. You can also eat eggs and nuts, in moderation.
If you are following the Paleo plan, you don’t eat grains or beans (including peanuts because they are considered a legume).
My Weight Loss Struggle
I have battled my weight since I was 14 years old. After my first child was born in 2004, I thought I would never be able to lose the weight again. My BMI put me in the obese category (though I didn’t feel THAT bad, I thought).
I think I had a permanent subscription to Weight Watchers. I would join, follow the program religiously, have good success for a few weeks, and then I would overindulge in carbs and derail my progress. Sweets and carbs were my biggest obstacle. I just couldn’t quit craving them.
Time for a Change
After two years of feeling progressively worse and worse physically and being told by my doctor that my intestinal issues and odd body feelings weren’t a medical condition, I found a doctor who truly listened to me and believed my problems. He ordered one simple test that determined I had a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth that was responsible for my intestinal issues and my many food intolerances. I got the test results back on September 16th, 2012, and my life changed radically from that point on.
I went on what was essentially the Paleo diet to starve the yeast in my intenstines. I thought I would be on the diet for a few weeks, but when I discovered my many food intolerances, I knew that I would be on the Paleo diet for a year, if not longer.
Watching the Weight Drop Off
I don’t know about your experience, but every time I go on a diet, no matter what the diet is, I am hungry. I crave carbs and sugar, and I dream about foods I can’t have. I feel miserable all of the time.
But I don’t experience an incessant hunger on the Paleo diet. I don’t count calories or points. I eat until I am satisfied, and then I eat again when I am hungry. The carb cravings are long gone. (Yes, the first week or two was rough, I won’t lie, but now that my body has been off of starchy carbs and sweets for 4 months, there are no cravings.) I love that I don’t have to count points or calories.
A typical meal for me is a grilled bison patty, a cup of steamed collard greens, and a bowl of rustic bacon and pumpkin soup. I only drink water. When I am hungry, I eat again. I generally try to have meat comprise only 1/3 to 1/4 of my meal. The rest is vegetables. I eat fruit once every day or two.
Drawbacks of the Diet
The only drawback of the diet for me personally is that my groceries are now more expensive. I can no longer rely on cheap fillers like beans and bread to stretch the grocery budget. However, even if our grocery budget has gone up, I am guessing that I am breaking even considering how much I used to spend to attend Weight Watchers. Don’t forget all of the diet tools like a food scale and points measuring cups that I used to purchase. In addition, we almost never go out to eat now, so we are saving substantially there, too.
Seeing My Goal Weight
Since September 16, my BMI has dropped 9 points.
Instead of being unable to imagine myself obese, I now can see a goal weight in sight.
All told, I would like to lose a grand total of 44% of my body weight from where I started last January, so I still have to lose 16.7% more of my body weight, but I can see it happening sometime this year.
Have you tried the Paleo diet? Have you considered it?
That is amazing!
I started doing Paleo on Jan. 1 and lost about 6 pounds in three weeks. It was my husband’s 30th birthday this weekend though and we both went crazy on alcohol and sweets. We both felt so so sick. I am amazed by how great I feel on Paleo, and also how full I feel. I love that I don’t have to count calories and I only eat when I’m hungry. I’m looking forward to really making this a lifestyle change…although I agree that our grocery budget takes a bit of a hit.
Good for you! I personally don’t like diets that restrict any one thing and think carbs are a needed nutrient for development which is why I like ‘diets’ like weight watchers. I also love carbs too much 🙂
The carbs were hard to get rid of, but I feel much better without them.
Your story is so inspiring! Going gluten-free healed me from a bad fibromyalgia diagnosis, but paleo healed me and gave me life back.
Wow. I’d love to see some results. I really need to do something that will make a difference. I’ve tried just about Atkins, byetta shots in my stomach and the only thing that has worked at all was the SouthBeach Diet where I lost 60 pounds in about 16 months. However once my body met the cold Midwest winters, the majority of the weight returned, sad face. I try to watch what I eat and exercise but between low metabolism thyroid issues and not enough exercise it’s not good.
I wonder if this diet would help. I’ve also considered gluten free. I’m goung to research this a little more to see. Good luck on your continued goals and congratulations on your success!
Way to go!!! So proud of you!
Congratulations! You have done a great job! My best friend eats Paleo and she has lost 134 lbs. I have never done Paleo, just counting calories and eating good foods in moderation and exercising when I can. I have lost 82 lbs, so it is working for me. I have never tried Paleo, but I truly believe everyone has to find what works for them. Again, great job! U must feel amazing!
I’m so glad it’s worked for you. Why does the meat have to be grass-fed? I was wondering if organic would be good enough.
Organic is a good step in the right direction because the animals aren’t being fed GMO corn and soy. However, from what I understand, grass fed is better because it contains more omega-3s. Corn feed meat has a lot of omega-6, which isn’t good for you and can lead to inflammation. I am trying to reduce my inflammation, and since I am eating quite a bit of meat (compared to what I used to eat), I want it to contain good for me fats.