How I did it: I was getting fed up with feeling bad all the time. And, for whatever reason, I started fearing getting diabetes. I used to think I felt bad because I was obese (I started this goal at 231 pounds).  The weight wasn't a cause of feeling bad... it was a symptom of eating too many grains and sugars. Other symptoms: depression, headaches, heartburn, fatigue, IBS. Yuck.

I'd done a low carb diet several times and even got within 1 pound of reaching this goal before. But I'd always fall off the low carb wagon. I think because, in my mind, my diet was about restricting myself from eating whatever I want for the purpose of losing weight. After a while, I'd rebel against that... making the excuse that it doesn't matter if I'm overweight as long as I'm happy. And eating what I like makes me happy. The key difference this time, is that I've internalized that eating grains and processed sugar makes me feel happy, but it also makes me physically and mentally ill, too. I still eat them sometimes, but I know in regular doses they are poison to me. I am so used to feeling good now, that I can feel the negative changes in my body and mental attitude when I eat those things.

But How Did I Do It? My first step this time was taking "The Primal Blueprint 30-day Challenge":http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-blueprint-30-day-challenge/ and continuing with those principles after the 30-days were up.

Lessons & tips:

• Fill your house with the foods you can eat.
• Eat at home 90% of the time (meaning... learn to cook!)
• If you eat something you shouldn't, don't give it a second thought. Just eat something you should the next time.
• If you don't like to exercise, don't make exercise a huge deal in your mind. Just walk around your neighborhood a few times a week and go to a park or hiking trail every once in a while.

Resources: I first heard about eating Paleo from Dan Benjamin of the "5by5 Podcast Network":http://5by5.tv

Other resources, products and services that helped me:

• "Mark's Daily Apple":http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
• "Greenling.com":http://www.greenling.com (fills my house with wonderful produce each week)
• "Emeals.com":http://emeals.com/ (the low carb plan helped me learn to cook simple things)
• "Black and Decker Personal Blender":http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Single-Serve-Blender-Jars/dp/B002EJHEPO/ (for fruit smoothies with a raw egg and spinach for a tasty protein breakfast before work. you can't taste the egg or the spinach)
• "Full English Cafe":http://www.fullenglishfood.com/ (hold the bread and their big British breakfast is a wonderful primal treat)
• "Madam Mam's/Sap's":http://www.yelp.com/biz/saps-fine-thai-cuisine-austin (several primal friendly dishes including Tom Kha Gai (coconut soup))

May 06, 2012, 10:15AM PDT | 0 comments | 12 cheers