Chuck has asked me to share my story of how eating like a
caveman has changed my life. I have put
it off because I didn’t think I could fully encapsulate my transformation into
a single post. I can’t even say it’s a
totally new me, but a return to the old me I thought was all but lost.
About six years ago, I remember Chuck talking about some
websites he had read and how he thought thet could really make a difference in my
particular situation. He knew I was struggling with infertility due to PCOS. He
mentioned something about eating like our ancestors ate and how grains were
actually bad for our bodies. He cited research, to which I remember quickly
dismissing and throwing out the line, “Well if they’re so bad for us, why do
they make up the base of our food pyramid?”
Chuck just smiled and didn’t say another word. However, I do recall him
pulling out a glucometer and checking my blood glucose level one morning (which
happened to be over 200 before I ate
breakfast).
Well, the years passed and my list of anomalies grew. I had Hashimoto’s (for which half of my
thyroid was removed), I went through unsuccessful infertility treatments that
resulted in an ectopic pregnancy and the loss of one of my fallopian tubes,
severe eczema, uterine polyps (that had to be surgically removed twice) and I
was hospitalized for hemiplegic migraines.
These migraines caused me to have all the symptoms of a stroke. I was
35, I felt like I was 70 and I thought I might be going insane. I hardly had enough energy to work. I was taking multiple medications daily and
worse than anything was how different my mind felt. Due to the type of
migraines I had, I felt like I was losing myself…losing who I was. My lowest
point was the day I had taken 11 pills and 2 shots for my migraines, and still
did not feel relief. To say I was a
train wreck was putting it mildly.
I contacted Chuck and let him know that I was going to
finally give this Paleo thing a try.
But, I wasn’t giving up my multi-grain toast with peanut butter for
breakfast. I would do it my way. Again, my dear cousin-in-law smiled and sent
me The Paleo Solution and that Blood Glucose Monitoring System we had
played around with six years ago.
Well, I devoured the book.
I couldn’t read it fast enough.
It was as though Robb Wolf had personally written it for me. I felt as though he were literally speaking
to me. (Who knows, I was on so many meds at that time, it could have been a
hallucination, but I swear he called me by name.)
On July 1, 2012, I dove head first into the Paleo life-style
and haven’t looked back since. Within
two weeks (yes, 14 days), I immediately felt a difference. I hadn’t had to take my reactionary migraine
medication one time. And, energy, by God I had energy again. It was almost as though I were on speed! I felt almost super-human. Also, my blood glucose level was staying
between 90-100 all day long. And, most
importantly, I felt like the true Bridget was coming back. For the first time in years, I felt like I
was finally beginning to be me again.
I used all the resources I could get and Chuck was
definitely my number one resource. I
would text him specific foods with a question mark and he would respond yes or
no. I asked about grocery shopping, recipes, ways to cut costs, anything and
everything that came to my mind and he would answer all of my questions and
more. I think having him as my support
system made all of the difference in the world.
A few weeks ago I went to my endocrinologist for my yearly
check-up (she handles my PCOS and thyroid issues). She couldn’t get over the weight I had lost
(over 20 pounds), how amazing my thyroid numbers were and how energetic I
was. I told her I owed it all to my
Paleo life-style. She said I was doing
so well I no longer needed to see her.
My family doctor could handle my synthroid prescription and she wished
me well. I hope I didn’t offend her for
giving so much credit to this diet.
Regardless of the reason, that is one less doctor I need to see now.
Well, at the beginning of this post I said I wanted to be
succinct. And believe it or not, this is
succinct for me. Thanks to our ancestors
and the diet they started well over 10,000 years ago, I have found myself
again. Actually, I’m even better than
that woman I had longed to be again for so many years. Who would have thought
that a caveman would be the key to finding myself in the 21st
century?
CP
CP
