I’ll admit it, I’m the last person I ever thought might be able to embrace a primal lifestyle. Really. I have been aware of this style of eating since as early as 2004/2005. I always thought it was crazy.
I was raised on Burger King, McDonald’s, Chef Boyaradee, Kraft Mac n Cheese, Spaghettios and abundant amounts of take-out. My mother did not like to cook and by the time I was 8 or so, she rarely cooked. It was a once-a-year treat if she made lasagna or something that complex. She wanted me to eat well but she suffered from severe depression; diet ended up taking a back-seat to merely being able to function. Whenever we were sad or down, we’d ge Dairy Queen, Baskin-Robbins or some sort of treat from the grocery store–almost a daily occurence much of the time. It was not uncommon that by the time I was in Jr. High I could eat an entire pack or Oreos or carton of ice cream in a day. We had horses and I was responsible for their care, so I was active enough that I only gained and lost the same 5 pounds over and over. I also often walked to my bus stop a mile or so from home….that helped too. My mother did Medi-Fast a few times, to the point of getting very unhealthy, and she always regained the weight. I was confident I had a better metabolism and would never be obese like her. Turns out I was wrong.
When my husband and I were dating, he always wanted to take my car cause I usually had a pile of snacks and treats in the back-seat! I was well-stocked! I continued to eat mostly fast food (especially Arby’s 5 for $5 sandwiches or the 2/$1 hot dogs at the Arco station…oh, and let’s not forget Jack-in-the-Box tacos!!) for years and years. In the early years of our marriage we often lived on Kraft and other convenience foods–and we were big on dessert…we’d often spend a good portion of our weekly food budget on ingredients for baking cookies! When my oldest kids were little, there were days we’d eat fast food more than once! It just seemed normal to me–it was the way I was raised! T wasn’t raised that way but he loved the junk food I introduced him to, so he wasn’t complaining.
By the time our second child was born we were both significantly overweight. My general health was fine but T has had high cholesterol since his early-20’s. I developed insulin-dependent gestational diabetes in 2006 with my fourth pregnancy and my health has gone downhill since. That baby just turned five and I’m not at my highest weight ever, but close to it. I’ve tried so many diets over the years and I’ve been off and on Weight Watchers so many times it is not even funny. I tend to lose 15-20 pounds and then gain it back despite staying on plan. I have PCOS, mild hypothyroidism, stage 1 hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high diglycerides (cholesterol is great though) and terrible insulin resistance as well as severe B12, D and folate deficiencies. Obviously, I need a big change. Finally going on meds for all these conditions, after resisting for several years, I’m motivated to do things like give up my beloved bread (and tortillas!) since I’m finally willing to sacrifice those foods I love in order to maybe get off these meds some day soon! I was perfectly happy to be a fit and healthy fat person, but I’m not one of those (at least not anymore!).
Highest weight: 256 (as of April 2010, lost 29 pounds by summer 2010 but gained it back)
Weight as of July 31st: 248.4 and current BMI is 39 (was 229 post-WW in March but then my mom died and I quit WW and gained ~20 pounds)
Weight as of August 14: 240.2
5% Goal (calculating from 248): 236
10% Goal (from 248): 223.6
15% Goal (from 248): 211.2
20% Goal (from 248): 198.7
I don’t really have a goal beyond my 20%, for now. I’ll have to re-evaluate when the time comes. I’ve tossed around the idea of 175 as a long-term goal…I am large-framed, but only 5’5″, so 175 is still overweight yet no longer obese (gets the BMI under 30). I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it, which hopefully will be in about six months. I’m not concerned with aesthetics at all really…I just want to feel better and improve my health. It’d also be nice to be able to buy clothes more easily. Currently I can wear Old Navy’s Misses’ XXL, which is nice, but I’m plus-sized in most brands. Being able to shop Misses’ in ALL stores would be WONDERFUL!