Howdy

I'm ready to begin...

For the fourteenth time. Or so it feels like.

A bit of backstory, yes?

My weight loss and subsequent gain has been on a rollercoaster for eons. Most recently and by recently I mean about three and half years ago I lost nearly 50lbs. My third and final baby had turned one and I was finally fed up with carrying around 180lbs on my 5 foot 4 inch frame. I embraced a very strict diet and ran five days a week. I started out with three miles and worked my way up to ten miles. I competed in races. I only ate junk or drank alcohol on my cheat day. I had a pretty fast 5K time under my belt. I whittled my weight down to almost 125lbs. Then I hurt my knee. Repetitive running injury for the win! I went to the local gym for rehab and got into lifting a bit. I gained definition but also gained weight.

And then I got burned out.

I never completely stopped running but I let go of that oh so very strict diet and began to drink a lot more. The weight crept back. My clothes were tighter. Over the past two years I have put on 20lbs. And you know what? I am really and truly angry about it. I'm ready for a change. And I have a plan.

Here goes.

Paleo and primal style eating came into my radar over a year ago and I slowly shifted my diet that way. I expected to lose that weight I had gained back with little to no effort. It didn't happen. Why you may ask? I asked myself the same thing. The answer is simple really. I never let go of the sugar and the alcohol and the occasional cheat day. My husband began primal eating last Christmas and has lost 15lbs and gained definition although he doesn't work out at all. So the first part of my plan is to embrace primal and paleo full on. No cheating. No more beer. Minimal dairy. Cut out the sugar. Even the good ones for a while to try and break through the plateau.

Part two entails my exercise. I am going to decrease my long distance running. I can't give it up entirely because I do believe it has major psychological benefits and I there is nothing I love more than an early morning run watching the sun come up over the beautiful mountains where we live. A crossfit type of at home workout is going to be added in the mix. I will detail that in a later post. Yoga is a must. It makes me happy and healthy and keeps me limber and loose. Hiking as a family is also a must. While that doesn't happen everyday its a great way to be together and get some Grok type exercise going on.

Part three is sleep. Sleep! Man that might be the most important thing. When I was so addicted to running that I got up at 5am to run 9 miles, I would be in bed by 9pm. Every single night! In the last few years I have been going to be about midnight or later. Rewiring my sleep system is a must.

So why Primal Hippie?

Primal because I honestly subscribe the most to the eating habits of Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple. I have read him for a long time and truly believe that a bit of full fat dairy, some dark chocolate, or a few glasses of red wine won't hurt you. I love the act of moving a lot during the day, doing some sprinting, and some heavy lifting. He also details the importance of sleep and wraps all his philosophies up in a character called Grok.

Hippie because about four years ago we discovered our son has food allergies. I wrote about this in detail on my other blog. Long story short he is allergic to artificial flavorings and colors and certain chemical preservatives. This caused us to completely overhaul our diet to foods free of these additives, and organics specifically when we can. We still hadn't cut out grains but did eat very healthy for people who still ate bread and pasta. This caused us to look at other areas of our life and begin to work on them as well. Recycling, reusable bags, natural body care products, composting, gardening, keeping chickens, etc. etc. etc. I use hippie in a very loose way. It doesn't mean what it used too. In our area when you call someone a hippie it just means they try to live a very natural peaceful life.

And a bit about that area. Our family lives in a very very tiny rural Arkansas town. We own a grocery store and are very lucky in that. We have access to the food we want and need to feed ourselves the way we are meant too. But there is no crossfit box in town. No yoga studio down the street. We can't pop in a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods after work. We have to work hard for our primal food and life. But in some ways its easier. There aren't many temptations keeping you out after dark. We live close to beautiful mountains and rivers and can hike and run outside whenever we want. It makes the hippie lifestyle a bit easier.

So as I said, I'm ready to begin.

This was my weight a week ago. Then we went on a week long vacation and I am proud to say I didn't gain a pound. I weighed myself this morning and the scale hadn't budged. I plan on posting some before pictures this week. I'm scared but they are needed.

Please join me on this journey. Support is needed and much appreciated. I'll share my plans, my workouts, my food. I love to cook and share what I'm eating. Follow me on Instagram. I'm @primalhippie. Tell me your stories. Where you are and what you're doing to be a better healthier person.