As with any major lifestyle change there is usually a catalyst, a reason that makes changing the way you go about your day worth while. If you have read my bio you know I'm kinda a nerd. And by "kinda" I mean, there are few out there more so than I. I have been in sports my entire life, even when I was the fat kid. I'd show you a picture of me that way, but I think I've managed to destroy most of them out of sheer embarrassment. Despite drastic weight loss between the age of 19 and 20 (50 pounds), I still didn't look fit. I exercised but it was not a lifestyle. I still don't regularly hit the gym 5+ days a week 2+ hours a day unless I have a specific goal in mind. I DO regularly (because consistency is key) go to the gym 3-4 days a week for 45+ minutes. Your body NEEDS a routine. Your body needs consistent sleep (I'm not leading by example on this one), a consistent diet and consistent exercise. Just because you let your porch plants get to the edge of death and bring them back to life with a couple days of care and watering, doesn't mean that the fruit they produce will be its best. I don't know about you but I don't want to be mediocre fruit. You know those kind of red tomatoes that are giant at the supermarket but have a gritty texture and no taste? Why eat it? The same goes with your body. You only have one. Take care of it.
So what was my motivation you ask? Spandex. You heard me. Spandex. I was going to attend my first "nerd convention" and I have had fun in the past with LARPing, so yes, I was going to do cosplay. I wanted to go as a Blue Lantern, and as we ALL know, the costumes are generated by their ring and they tend to be form fitting. So what did I need to fit into? Spandex. Thus, my motivation. I had three months to design, make, and feel confident enough to step out in to public with every curve of my body (tastefully) on display. And you know what? I rocked it.
When I first started Paleo I took measurements of my body so I could compare and see just how much of a difference this was actually going to make. I figured, hey, maybe I'll lose ten pounds, after all my caloric intake is about to sky rocket compared to all of the fat-free, sugar-free, low-fat, low-carb way I had been eating over the last several years. If I work my rear off at the gym, maybe I will lose 15 pounds.
I lost 18 pounds, and that wasn't the drastic part.
At week six I had to take my skin-tight costume IN. It was baggy! I lost an inch everywhere, calves, hips, waist, bust.... but I had lost 7" in EACH thigh! Another four weeks later I had lost another 1" everywhere and 2" more in each thigh. The cool part is, I wasn't starving because I was eating things like bacon-wrapped lamb chops and meatballs that have enough fat to keep those hunger cravings away.
Why am I an advocate for Paleo? It works.
This first picture is me in December of 2012. I wasn't fat, but I wasn't happy, and worse! I was hungry! The second picture is me after 90 days of Paleo. I have confidence I never dreamed I could have and I don't think about (eating) food 24/7.
And after,
Ta-da.
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