I hadn’t always been overweight. In fact, it wasn’t until I went to college at 16 that the weight started to creep on. I’d always been physically active, but neglected to join any sports activities in favour of spending more time socialising in the college cafeteria, stuffing my face with various junk foods. Inevitably, the slow and steady decline into obesity began despite the repeated expressions of concern from well-meaning family members. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with my appearance but chose, instead, to hide it in unflattering clothes and indulged in comfort foods that only made the issue worse.
A few years later, during my university years, I began to suspect I had a dairy intolerance but didn’t give it too much thought as I didn’t always have trouble with dairy and figured it was more likely to IBS. So, I carried on eating copious amounts of the stuff with no regard for the damage I might be causing. Fast forward another couple of years and things have gotten worse. I’d recently graduated and was suffering with crippling stomach cramps that I slowly started to form a solid link with dairy. I briefly eliminated dairy from my diet and experienced instant relief. However, I slipped straight back into eating dairy shortly after and spent many years experiencing terrible IBS symptoms whilst never quite being able to cut out the source of my problems.
Over the years I had also developed eczema and my immune system seemed to be in decline. I had gained 6 stone from the weight I had been at my most body confident and had received a diagnosis of PCOS and it was suggested that I consider a low carb/low GI diet to help manage my weight and symptoms which I, sadly, ignored. It was only after my youngest daughter was born and things took a turn for the worse that I decided enough was enough.
One night, when she was just two weeks old, I went to bed experiencing what I believed to be a bit of discomfort in my back. I woke a few hours later to the most uncomfortable nagging pain in my back and chest that persisted for 16 hours with no relief. An emergency trip to the doctor led to a diagnosis of reflux and it was suggested that I should take long term medication, at least until my daughter had stopped nursing and I was no longer at the mercy of muscle relaxing hormones which they believed may be causing the issue. The diagnosis didn’t seem to fit and I didn’t want to take the medication, my research showed that it was linked to an increase risk of stomach cancer, stomach infections and… interestingly, reflux! Many trips to see various doctors and lots of tests later revealed nothing more, perhaps reflux and perhaps gastritis. Nobody seemed to know what was going on.
However, in that time I had slowly started to manage my symptoms naturally. I finally cut out dairy for good and 21lbs fell away with ease. I was musing that my dairy allergy might have been keeping my weight on with a friend who suggested I consider cutting out wheat. The idea, frankly, horrified me. I had no idea what I would eat, cutting out dairy had been hard enough and such a large part of our diet contained wheat. I assured her I’d consider it whilst simultaneously brushing it off, but something was niggling away at me and I decided to look into it. The more I read, the more horrified I became with what I had been putting into my body. I read success story after success story, people losing incredible amounts of weight and curing themselves of issues ranging from high cholesterol to diabetes and even cancer! My inner sceptic refused to believe all of the purported benefits, but weight loss and reduced GERD symptoms really appealed to me. So, I set about cutting wheat from my diet much to the horror of my partner who had been cajoled into giving it a try.
The first few weeks were torturous. We experienced withdrawal symptoms ranging from headaches to gastric distress. We were hungry a lot and everything we ever ate seemed to contain wheat in some form. Even sausages and stock cubes… the list was endless. All the while, I was still reading. I stumbled across the Mark’s Daily Apple site (www.marksdailyapple.com) early into my wheat free journey and learned about primal living. In a nut shell, primal living is about going right back to our biological roots. Eating low-carb whole, clean foods. Walking a lot. Sleeping more. Stressing less. After experiencing a 5lb weight loss in my first wheat free week, I decided to cut back even more and try going primal. I cut out rice, potatoes, sugar and whole heap of processed foods that I had previously considered healthy in some way. I’m not going to say it was easy, my partner has struggled with the change until very recently and our children aren’t fully primal as we practice Unfooding with them, it has been the greatest challenge of my life in fact. But, the benefits have been everything I ever dreamed they would be and more.
I am finally in control of my stomach problems. The IBS completely disappeared, my GERD/gastritis is slowly healing, my eczema is greatly improved and I have lost over 70lbs. I am the same weight at 25 that I was at 15 and I look and feel amazing. I have not been ill once in the 9 months I have been eating primally and I have boundless energy to run around with my children and, crucially, I no longer suffer with debilitating anxiety symptoms. I have taken back control of my life, of a wide range of problems that I considered to be separate issues, by changing one simple thing: my diet.
When my youngest decides she is ready to stop nursing, I plan to begin the GAPS diet. It is a primal style of diet that is a little more restricted and aims to heal the gut completely. It may resolve my lingering dairy intolerance and, after years of anti-biotic use, vaccines and general abuse, my body and stomach could really do some drastic action to make me the healthiest I possibly can be. At first, these drastic changes really scared me but now I feel I can take on anything.
I also learned to cook a broad variety of meals that involve only whole, natural ingredients. It seems silly to me now that I was worried about giving up grains and potatoes, wondering what I would eat. The variety in my diet now is incredible, the foods I eat are flavoursome and I am always creating new recipes. Looking back, I truly don’t miss the stodgy foods that once comprised the bulk of my diet. Now, they seem so bland and samey.
I decided to write my story up in the hopes that it might inspire others to take similar steps with their lives. It is never too late. My dramatic change has inspired many of my friends and family to try going primal too and the results have been incredible. Even my vegetarian aunt who was madly in love with bread for many decades has made the switch and is feeling fantastic. I encourage everyone to consider looking into going primal, especially if you have any nagging health issues. It might just change your life.
For more information, check out: www.marksdailyapple.com
