Paleo Success Story: Competitive Drive
It’s one thing to read about why eating Paleo foods and living a Paleo lifestyle is great for you. It’s another to constantly see the changes that people just like you are achieving. “Success” is bracketed because it’s different for everyone, and in the end, it’s all about the journey rather than the destination. This guest post is from Lindsay
Like everybody else, I’m pretty busy.
I work a full-time job, I’m attending school at night to get my MBA, and I try to fit in regular Crossfit workouts. Oh…and life happens, meaning that something else seems to come up every day.
Trying to fit eating better into my life has not been automatic, then, but it has been amazing. This is my “success” story.
About Lindsay
My name is Lindsay, and I’ve been pretty strictly Paleo since January 2013. I’m in my late 20s, live in Pittsburgh, and am married with no kids.
Growing up, I played a lot of sports, from basketball to softball to soccer. But as I started working and going to graduate school, my activity level dropped off quite a bit, and my diet was certainly less than ideal.
Why I Went Paleo
In 2012, I started Crossfitting. I’ve always loved sports and physical activity, so I immediately loved Crossfit.
At first, I was at least a little bit reluctant to believe that I needed to change the way I ate. I didn’t think my diet was particularly bad, and although I was a little out of shape, I was definitely making gains even while eating less than optimally.
But I’m competitive. I would look around my box and see other athletes performing at much higher levels than I was, and I wanted to be able to perform at that level. There wasn’t a single moment that it clicked for me (I’d been dabbling at eating Paleo), but in January 2013, I decided that I needed to be much stricter with my diet.
For me, performance was goal #1. I didn’t do it to lose weight or cure any illness, although I’ve definitely appreciated the weight loss.
Lindsay’s Results
Going strictly Paleo has been amazing for me, no matter how you measure it. I’ve made significant gains in my Crossfit workouts, I’ve lost at least 25 pounds of fat, and I feel like I have more energy than ever.
Although I started a strict Paleo diet with performance in mind, the results have been much greater than I expected. In particular, I sleep better than I used to, and I have a much more positive outlook on a daily basis.
The Hardest Part
Fitting in time to cook and prepare meals is always a challenge, but the hardest part for me was dealing with a family illness in April. It was extra pressure on me in terms of both time and stress, and I definitely fell off the wagon for a few weeks.
Fortunately, I was able to pretty quickly right the ship and get my diet back in order, but I’m sure that there will be times in the future that will again test my ability to stick to a strict Paleo diet. Still, I’m confident that even if my diet is less than perfect for a few weeks, I’ll always find the motivation to get back on track.
The Best Part of Going Paleo
I absolutely LOVE inspiring friends and family. And since I’ve gone Paleo and really changed my body, I constantly get asked by my friends and family to “tell them more” about what I’m doing.
For me, that’s the most rewarding part, even more than improving my performance at the gym.
My Future Goals
In the future, I have a few performance goals that I haven’t yet achieved, such as getting 1 unassisted pullup and getting 30 straight double-unders. In addition, though, I want to better plan and schedule my food and meals ahead of time.
Because I’m constantly under time pressure, I know that having a solid food schedule will help me save time in the long run and make it easier for me to eat as well as possible.
I still feel like I’ve been at this only a short time, but the results have been fantastic, and I’m definitely looking forward to continuing this journey.