Hi Robb( & whoever else may read this),
At the end of February I had had enough. I was feeling awful- no motivation to move my body at all, a general sluggishness and talking crap to myself about how I was having a hard time getting back ”on track”. I am not sure what ”track” I was talking about since a couple of years had gone by since my last weight loss effort. And yes, I had gained back all but 10 or 12 pounds of the 40 I had lost.
I had re-joined weight watchers a few times and never got back in the swing with the program- I really did not want to keep track of food and my eating that way. The only thing that was positive was that I was moving my body regularly- just not enjoying it as much as I had. I am an avid hiker and found myself needing to push myself out the door for a hike. At the end of February I knew I needed to do something… and the something had to be about health and not some stupid number on the scale.
At the same time, I connected with a group of women online and one of them kept talking about the Paleo way of eating and Crossfit. I finally got up the nerve to ask her about this Paleo stuff and she recommended your book. Then I was in our local outfitters store and the gal who helped me mentioned the Paleo way of eating. I was intrigued and bought your book… and read it all in one sitting. And then I thought about what you had written and about the recommendations you had made- cleaning out the kitchen, photos of myself (this was a frightening thought!), and at first I said things to myself like- well, I can just do the food part and skip the rest. Then I sort of hit myself over the head and said ”suck it up cupcake”, if you are really going to do this then do what the man says.
That weekend I prepped my kitchen and my family to start eating Paleo. It did not occur to me to try to convince them- I just let them know what I was doing, and when I was cooking for us it would be Paleo meals only. I did offer to let them read your book though. I am grateful that my husband pretty much said ”I’ll do whatever you decide to do” no questions asked- pretty cool!!
The first two weeks were hard- I felt weak at times and tired. I was grateful to have a coach who said to me ”I love Robb Wolf” and so had fantastic support from her. In many ways I think of her as a female version of Robb- she is right there to help me out, but does not look favorably on whining or pathetic excuses. It was what I needed- I had a choice and I decided to make choices that would support my health.
When I decided to eat a Paleo diet I followed the plan strictly… well, I will admit that I did weigh myself on day one. However, I did not get caught up in what I weighed or if I would lose weight. This change was for life (if all worked well at the end of 30 days) and it was about health, not weight loss. I really wanted to have a feeling of health and after I finished my 30 day challenge I had that feeling.
The funny thing was that I actually forgot about the 30 days and just kept going with it. I felt so much better eating Paleo- that it felt quite natural to continue. At the start I remember thinking about what I would eat or drink on day 31- but when day 31 arrived I did not really want those things.
Then I made an exception and had a bit of something. Things were ok for a week. But this past week I have made more exceptions and now feel the yuck starting to creep back in. I actually think this is great! Why? Because it affirms that eating in a Paleo manner is what my body needs to thrive. So, my two weeks of non-Paleo explorations are OVER!
I am going to do another strict 30 days and when I reach the end, well, it will not be the end because Paleo will be just how I eat. I am also going to be much, much more careful when I make a choice to eat something non-Paleo. I feel so much better physically and mentally eating this way and that ROCKS!!
Thank you Robb… you have helped me to change my life in a very profound way. I am beyond grateful.
~Tracy
I love this! Paleo can totally become “just the way you eat.” There’s no way calorie restriction can become just the way you eat.
Hi,
I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?
Jillian
Hi Tracy, great story! Congratulations on finding a way of living that nourishes your body and mind. I wish my husband was as easy to get on board as yours was. We’re still in the debate and denial stage….
I already save this as a bookmark and send it to my husband. I hope that your story will give impact to his life. He’s so lazy to discipline himself when it comes to eating and diet. I tried convincing him to join me in my diet plan (lemonade diet max) but he said its not his passion. With this article, I think it will start as an eye opener for him. Thanks for this helpful article.