It seems that I have always been active and health conscious. I grew up in a family that strongly believed in eating well and supplementing with high quality vitamins as necessary. During my early university years, I lived in residence and put on several pounds. I remember how I felt when the scales reached a 152 pounds. Although to many this may not seem like a drastic weight gain, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and began the quest to return to the 128 pounds I weighed in high school. I am 5'7" tall and have never been a light weight, but have always carried my weight well. By the time I married at 29, I weighed 134 pounds and actually felt great. Post kids, I have always hovered between 138 and 143 pounds and have longed to get back to 134. Over the years, I have tried a few different weight loss programs and several intense exercise regimes. My weight has consistently bounced within that range and I can never seem to break through and lose those last few pounds, despite my efforts. For the most part, I eat healthy, regardless of whether I am following a particular program or not, but do admit to having an intense sweet tooth.
Recently a friend introduced my to The Primal Blueprint and thus began a new and exciting journey. On January 6, 2013 I cleaned out our cupboards and informed my family that we would be doing Mark's 21 day challenge. This seemed very drastic and I must say, I was excited and terrified all at the same time. I emptied my cupboards of all foods containing grains and sugar, according to the recommendations in Mark Sisson's book and proceeded to carry the 6+ box loads of food down to my basement to be stored (and hopefully never returned to my kitchen). After reading his book and the research on grains and the effect it has on our bodies, I just knew this was something we needed to strive to do. Our cupboards are bare, but our fridge is stocked with fresh meat and veggies and we are off to a great start 4 days in.
My 8 year old son has had the most difficult time. He is an active growing boy and would often snack on toast or a bowl of cereal between meals and before bed. Giving up bread, toast, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes and waffles transformed him into a vicious monster over the first few days. I was able to witness the sugar/carb withdrawal symptoms as his body adjusted to the absence of sugar and grains in his diet. Now, 4 days in, his mood is more consistent throughout the day and we no longer see the melt downs that we used to witness when our kids seemed over hungry (often despite having just eaten). Our meals are now sustaining us in a way that I have never experienced before. I am finding that I am not nearly as hungry as I normally am and no longer have the need for snacks between meals.
I have also experienced the craziest feeling in my stomach. My husband doesn't believe me, but through the night, when I am not taking in any calories, I can actually feel my body working. It is almost as if I can feel it using up or burning some of the fat stores in my body. We are very early into this adventure, but so far I am absolutely loving it. I can honestly say, my taste buds are changing. It seems as though my taste buds have become more sensitive and that the healthy foods we are eating have this incredible flavour that it lacked before. I know this seems really weird, but I think that the sugar embedded in our regular diet actually desensitized my taste buds. I am now totally satisfied with something that has just a hint of sweetness, as opposed to the sweet tooth I once fought against. I am so excited! I weighed in at 140 lbs on Sunday and was already down 2 pounds by Wednesday morning. I can't wait to see how we will all feel by the end of the 21 days. I already feel like I have more energy and a very "clear" head. I have not yet started the recommended exercise program, but I can't believe that I can reduce my chronic workouts and actually make more headway in my quest for a healthy weight. My family will be home for supper shortly and I am so excited to be serving them 3 completely Primal recipes we have not yet tried. I will have to let you know how the lasagna, biscuits and banana bread all turn out!
