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Who's new to the Paleo thing and/or 50+ Lbs to lose?


Jessica M.

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In my annual Christmas Time search for the new year's solution to my bad habits and ideas of how to improve the lives of my family and be a good example to my kids, I found 100DaysOfRealFood.com and through that blog, "It Starts With Food," and so, my 1/2/13 Whole30 start. Day 21 for me today. It's been ok. I think I need to commit myself to way more than 30 days to see the changes I want to see. I am just 5'1" and was 209 starting the Whole30. So, obviously, a major goal for me is weight loss. Even in High School I was chubby, 135-ish. It's been up, up, up from there. Down ten, up twelve. The usual yo-yo stuff.

Thankfully I have avoided MAJOR health issues thus far. I turn 40 this year though, and since I haven't gotten control of my body and my health yet, I definitely see this as the year I MUST do that. I have a 10 year old son and an 8 year old daughter, and am married to my HS Sweetheart for 16 years now. We live near Tampa, FL, but are from Queens, NY, so I am a city girl at heart.

The boards are very welcoming in general, and I am loving the sense of community here, but I am looking for a few kindred spirits who have not eaten Paleo already, have never been in a CrossFit gym, are looking to BEGIN the journey here. I'm sure many have been there, so I welcome their wise words as well. I love me some inspirational stories. :-)

Thanks,

Jessica :D

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I've known about Paleo for about 1 1/2 years but haven't committed like this before. I'm 5'4 and weight 201.2 on 1/1/13. I might turn it into a Whole45. My birthday is 2/26 so I'd like to have some sort of coconut milk ice cream with not-sugar in it, so I probably will make something myself. I'm going to try to get my husband to do a 21 Day Sugar Detox with me on March 1.

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My weight has fluctuated for years. I did lose 70lbs about 4 years ago, but have only maintained half of that. I have another 50 to go to my goal weight. I am on day 9. It is my very first time doing the whole30. It has been great so far. I am down 7lbs. I know lots of that is water weight but it is still 7lbs I don't ever have to carry again.

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I have never even heard of Paleo until I came upon this site. And not that I am thinking about it, I don't even remember HOW I came upon this site. I was most likely "googling" some weight loss miracle. I have been overweight since my second son was born. Not horrioble overweight, but enough to make my doctor comment that I should start working towards it. I tried weight watchers which helped me lost about 5 pounds and that was it. Plus I was MISERABLE while I did it. Starting in June of last year, I was at 179. When I started this program 10 days ago, I was at 173. I have been sticking to this 100% as well as TRYING to incorporate my Zumba DVD's when I have time. I am now down to 166. My husband, who is on this journey with me, started at 222 and weighted in Saturday at 215. We both have a ways to go to get back down to "ideal" weight, but we are extremeley focused and determined to do it!

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Hey Jessica, welcome! I'm definitely a newbie here --- haven't ever eaten Paleo. My Husband and I are on Day 10 of our first Whole30 and loving it so far. In the past year I've lost about 75 pounds and I have another 50 or so to go until I'm going to be satisfied enough to not stress over any extra pounds I should lose. I started out around 290 (at 5'7) so I'm no stranger to being overweight.

It'll be a long journey ahead, but the important part is that you're starting! The first step is usually the hardest. I can definitely say that I've noticed a difference in my short 9 full days on the Whole30. I sleep better, I can tell I've lost weight (although I'm not sure how much), I have loads of energy to work out and people have commented that I seem happier --- which I am. For the first time in my adult life (I'm 28), I feel healthy. Healthier than I did when I was 20 and weighed 150. I don't think 30 days will do it for me either, so I'm considering extending --- but I'll make that decision when the time comes.

I have done CrossFit, but had to stop two months into it after I fractured my foot. I'm cleared to go back in February and all I can say is that if you're considering it --- definitely give it a try. I never thought I would be able to do it and thought that I would feel that typical feeling of being the overweight pathetic person in a gym full of hard bodies. That is not the case at all. While I can't say I've decided my box is the one for me yet, it is definitely an encouraring place to work out, feel like part of a unit and get the positive support you need.

Looking forward to checking in with a bunch of people who seem to be at the same point I am. It's nice to hear success stories of people so physically similar, and I hope at the end of this we'll all be telling our own.

Ann

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Thanks for saying hello, everyone. Waiting till I have more energy to work in the exercise. Need to at least take my doggies for longer walks. Hubby and I managed to exercise 6 days a week for all of July and start of August, and when the school year started we pooped out and got lazy. We were doing the "Power90" dvd and it was kind of fun, though it kicked our butts. :-) Hoping to get back to that or one of my dusty yoga VHS tapes. ;-)

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Hi Jessica,

Welcome! I am realatively new to paleo - 1st whole 40 started Aug 21, 2012. Mind you I had been dabbling in it unknowingly for a few months prior. I started a "getting healthy" journey July 1st 2012. I was sick tired of being sick, overweight, and tired. all. the. time. I am 5'9" and weighed in at 255.5 lbs on July 1st. And had problems with numerous health issues everything from 3-5 day migraines once a month to exzcema, painful boils, and other random stuff. I have been paleo (sometimes stritct, sometimes not) since the completion of my first whole 40 and I have clear skin, no boils, cut migraines to half a day, and lost 27lbs! This isn't the quickest way of loosing weight - but by far the Best!

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Today I was telling myself-- I am rebuilding my body stitch by stitch. A year from now, I want people to say "WOW, you look completely different!" I will feel strong and confident. I will be happy in my own skin for the first time ever. I will be a wonderful example to my kids and hubby, and their health will be increased too.

I've said it before. I have to make it stick.

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You can do it, Jessica. Setting your intention is the first step.

This year I was really like, gosh darn it I need to get my act together. I need to get a handle on my 40's, and nourish my body and soul like I used to when I was a young mother in the early 30's. For me this means eating well, making fitness goals, meeting my fitness goals, and finding time to make art. I'm going to let myself love deeply, and not be distracted by negative self doubt.

I think I have to lose 50 pounds. That would put me at a serious fighting weight. Honestly, I would be satisfied with 40 pounds though.

Weight loss has been so difficult for me since I turned 40, and I am super guilty of yo-yo dieting ever since I can remember. I was in the 5th grade when I went on my first diet, it was the West Point Diet. My mom, my sister, and me- we all went on it. I lost a little weight quickly and could buy a new pair of Gloria Vanderbilt hot pink hot pants (otherwise known as skinny jeans in this era), and I have been hooked on the yo-yoing ever since.

So like you I am on a journey.

I had heard of Paleo eating for awhile, but confused it with Atkins. My doctor even recommended Paleo for me. A friend was raving about ISWF on Facebook, and I decided to just buy it. When I was reading, everything was all *click* *click* *click*. The science makes perfect sense to me. I knew innately that it is the right way for me to eat. Not from "diet attraction", but because the science behind it is real, which is why my Dr recommended it in the first place. The health of my ancestors includes everything that can go wrong with a person. I can't really afford to mess around with my health and be overweight like I am now.

So far, I have been very satisfied with how I feel. I'm on day 10 today. I'm feeling comfortable being a little hungry in between meals while I am at work. The desperately hungry feeling is gone. I did get a wicked craving for anything salty when my peri-menopausal hormones decided to poison me, but a few pickles seemed to do the trick. Surprisingly, I'm not craving any sugar which I am so psyched about! Sugar has always been the albatross around my neck. I am kicking the sugar albatross' hiney. Having been a big lover of dragon mythology since forever, I will not be slaying any sugar dragons. Instead I imagine myself flying on a dragon when I am thin enough to not hurt it's back.

Today I was not perfect, but will clean it up tomorrow. I ate all compliant foods today, but I grazed which is a no-no. It didn't feel as good at the end of the day. I ate too much protein and fat, and not enough veggies. By dinner, I was not hungry at all. So that experiment failed, and I will remember not feeling as good at the end of the day when I grazed.

I was thinking for this (my first) W30 I would focus on nourishing myself the way I am supposed to be nourished, and not worry about weight loss. I kind of went into this knowing that I have probably messed up my hormonal responses enough that I will probably need a W60. If I need more then I need more. After this month is up though, I would like to focus more on weight loss, but I have no idea how to adapt this diet for that. It's hard for me to trust the process, but this time I'm trying to just trust it.

"Nourish yourself like the Goddess that you are." Someone wrote that to me when I was in my 20's. I was studying midwifery, and we were discussing nutrition. We all had to write down what we had eaten the day before. I still remember what I wrote down: Odwalla strawberry/mango smoothie, plain whole wheat bagel, popcorn, beer. That is what I ate the whole day, but heck, I was 24 and thought I was doing fine. Did I listen to that good advice then? Nope, but I wish I had. I figure it's never to late to start.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Day 9 brought me some sort of euphoria, so I talk even more than before. :)

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Since I was writing about the What I Ate Yesterday list, which I actually haven't thought about in a long time, here is my present What I Ate Yesterday list:

1: Spaghetti squash, kale infused tomato meat sauce, 2 eggs fresh from the coop, drizzle olive oil.

2: Broccoli/cauliflower/green bean/sweet potato/onion/spinach coconut green curry, with chicken.

3: Mini-meal experiment over my 13.5 hour work day in the hospital- a little gound pork, some black olives, and raw spinach.

4: Same as meal 1, except minus the eggs and larger portion of meat sauce, arugala salad. Cara Cara orange with a splash of coconut milk and spoonful of coconut flakes.

There. Goddess fed.

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Sounds like a yummy day, Holly!

I've been trying not to worry about portions or fat. I can't trust my body's signals though. I ate my way through a bag of almonds over the past 2 weeks. That was not eating for nourishment, that was "food without brakes"... learning. Learning. Learning.

Nice to "meet" you. :)

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I wish we could get some of the weight loss stories from here out in the media so people realize that doing like "The Biggest Loser" does isn't the only way (or the best way, since they end up making themselves walking-around-malnourished). That you have to have discipline but eating low fat processed EVERYTHING isn't the way to lose weight. That eating FOOD, not chemistry experiments, will be how.

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I think just getting them to people by word of mouth is a great start to getting them out there. I heard about Whole30 from a friend and since starting I've gotten 5 more people interested in it. 3 have already started their Whole30s and 2 are about to start. It helps that I'm already seeing awesome results and they see that.

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Not new here, but wanted to say Hi, Welcome, and You're doing the right thing.

I've done 2 Whole30s since last May, but the lessons didn't stick hard enough. I spent the last 10 days of my first Whole30 planning what off-plan food I would have for my first meal after. Not the proper mindset. I made it more a test of willpower than a change in habit. I also didn't really change my typical SAD, I just cut out the things I couldn't have without adding anything new and interesting. More willpower needed to fight the feeling of deprivation.

Needless to say, I quickly went back to my old ways when it was over. A few months of that, and all the good changes I had seen, like the lessening of joint pain, sounder sleep, etc. disappeared too.

Second Whole30 in Aug/Sept was the game changer. I embraced the new way of eating, indulged my love of cooking, started using more exotic recipes, and generally enjoyed my food choices much more. I did great until the holidays.

Fortunately, I can now recognize my pattern, and that's the first step to fixing it. I was headed for the same type of yo-yo dieting I'd done all my life, and it needs to stop. I was doing this: Whole30..........little cheat...........bigger cheat.............huge cheat.........off the rails...........Whole30.

This time around, I am doing a Whole100 with a group of ladies who all have similar stories. We all know the benefits of this program as a permanent lifestyle, We all know how terrible we feel when we go off plan, but we admit to being hard-headed in the lesson-learning department. We're hoping that the 100 days will help to make the changes permanent. I know I'm hoping that by then my physical reactions to wheat, sugar, and dairy will be so strong that they will reinforce--permanently--why I no longer want them in my diet.

Good luck, ladies. I, too, did all the popular diets and never felt satisfied on any of them. Even if you mess up at some point, you can always get back on the wagon. The group of us that are doing the Whole100 are also realizing that after a couple of tries, when you've got the complaint eating part down, when healthy cooking and a bunch of easy, delicious go-to meals are automatic choices, there's a lot more room for personal growth in other areas.

I've never set foot in a gym in my life, and I'm 57. The first 30 days of this journey have been dedicated to getting enough sleep. I still have trouble putting myself to bed on time, but I'm getting better. The next 30 days will be about incorporating exercise. I will stop by my local CrossFit on Monday when I'm off. The thought is terrifying, but it's the logical next step in leading the healthiest life I can.

Don't worry about the weight loss. It will come. I lost weight each time. But we're trying to change our unhealthy obsession with the scale and the numbers. Some people find they lose 10-15 lbs during a Whole30, but afterwards, if they remain paleo if not this strict, they continue to lose a couple of pounds a month. That doesn't sound like much to those of us accustomed to crash diets, but if you eat what your body was meant to eat, your body will seek it's own ideal weight with no manipulation from you. When you start tweaking the plan to get more loss out of it, you interfere with your body's ability to do that and it becomes just another fad diet.

Good luck! I look forward to checking in and seeing how you're all doing.

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Welcome Jessica (and everyone else) -

Great advice from all - but I wanted to add my $.02. Weight loss and longterm maintenance of goal weight is only achievable by making changes in your diet that you are committed to. I'm not saying that you will need to be 100% compliant 100% of the time, but you do need to get to the mindset that this isn't a 30 or a 60 or a 100 day challenge and then magically you're cured and off you go to eating the way you used to that got you to where you are now. I lost most of my 135 pounds over 2.5 years, first merely by tracking what I ate and meeting a calorie deficit with moderate exercise. I got to within 10-15 pounds of my goal weight and I needed to pay more attention to macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein, etc). Basically in the end I was eating about 80% paleo not even knowing what it was, but still had protein shakes and bars in my diet and an occasional bread item. Then I decided to train for a full marathon, and it just threw my entire world upside down - 3 days of restrictive eating followed by a bolt the cupboards closed, I'm eating everything I can find kind of day. I ended up 8-10 pounds above goal weight and have been trying to knock that down ever since last June.

Happy to say, I started my Whole30 on 12/27 and have been 100% compliant on types of food - I'm still having a problem with trying to find the best amount of food that will satisfy me so I'm not snacking between meals, and I think I'm going to have to go to 4 meals, especially since I'm ramping up half-marathon training soon. I haven't weighed myself since I started, and I'm not sure if I've really lost any weight, but my body composition has certainly changed, and I no longer am craving sugar, the night-time waking up stalking the kitchen is gone and my energy level is constant throughout the day. If on 2/1 when I step on the scale, and I don't like the number, I might start tracking my food just to get my number to where I want it for running. I started out at 270 and I'm 5'3". Hit 135 in November 2011, and what I'd really like to maintain is 138-142 or so. When I weighed in initially I was at 147, so if I'm near the low end of 140 I'd be thrilled at the end, but if not, so be it, I am now way better prepared to attack a few pounds without the sugar demon on my back. I plan on eating this way indefinitely, and will more than likely be strict Whole30 until mid-February when I have a trip planned to New Mexico and then friends coming into town for a brewfest and Dropkick Murphys concert where I definitely want to have some alcohol.

Anyways, welcome and good luck with the challenge. There are great resources all over this website to answer any questions you may have, and the moderators on the forum are very quick to respond to questions in a very knowledgeable way.

Michelle

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Michelle, good for you! I think what you talk about is a good example of making life changes, as opposed to quick or temporary changes. That is my focus now, the total picture as opposed to just the smaller dress size.

"friends coming into town for a brewfest and Dropkick Murphys concert where I definitely want to have some alcohol"<----Ha! I love the DMs.

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Candice, the only problem I had in the first week was not eating enough at mealtime in the first few days. I decided to listen to the meal planning advice and not be afraid of the fat recommendations. It helped. Planning ahead and cooking ahead of time has been crucial for me.

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So.... Day 27 for me. Not feeling tons of energy yet, but I think I am coming from a bad place metabolically. Had to weigh myself this morning (I know, I know). Yesterday I had the odd feeling that I was slightly less fluffy in my saddlebag area of all places. Down 7lb so far. Not too shabby for all this food. 7 out of, ohhh, 90? So this is just the start of my journey, but I am learning so much. :-)

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Hi. I have 50+ lbs to lose :(

Just signed up yesterday and am scheduled to start on Monday......eeek!

Anyone have tips that got them thru the first week?

Yay! Congrats! I hope it's going well!

For me, it was all about planning the meals--every. single. one. And then have extra food on hand (cooked chicken, hardboiled eggs, washed and prepped veggies, homemade mayo or sunshine sauce), because you'll eat even more! Drink lots and lots of water. I caved and had Tylenol because I had some pretty wicked headaches. Also, schedule LOTS of sleep!

I'm on Day 27 of my first-ever whole30. I bought the book after Thanksgiving, and had never even heard of paleo before that. I'd like to lose about 70 lbs total. I can tell I've lost, and have cheated and weighed :unsure: , but this is the first time I've done a plan that feels sustainable. Granted, I've also been daydreaming about what I can have on Friday, but when push comes to shove I truly think that most of the junk is just not going to sound that good. But there will be some noncompliant items, with a big focus on making sure those choices are totally worth it. :)

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I am new. 50+ to lose. Starting this with hubby on Feb 1. I don't do the cooking or shopping, so dragging him along for the health benefits (he is skinny, but has high BPA & cholesterol). Heard about this at the gym.

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