With my new found love of instagram, I’ve found some amazing girls that are living the Paleo Lifestyle at a young age. Today the Michelle will share her story. Find her on instagram @paleogoddess
I officially “started” a Paleo lifestyle at the beginning of March this year, and in only a few months, I’ve seen so many benefits from it, especially as an athlete. My journey to a healthier lifestyle began a little over a year ago, when I decided to change both my eating and exercise habits.
Truthfully, I just wasn’t happy with the way my body looked or felt. I was a few pounds overweight, and I always felt tired and lethargic. Playing competitive volleyball had started to take a toll on my body, and I visited my chiropractor once a week to adjust my back and address any other strains and sprains that may have popped up. After living like this for a few months, I decided to try and change it by losing weight. I started counting calories, exercising twice a day, and eating a low fat diet. However, this just made me feel miserable and even more tired. It was my chiropractor that then suggested I adopt a gluten free diet, because he believed that my inflammation problems were directly linked to a sensitivity to gluten. Reluctantly, I accepted his thirty day gluten free challenge, and that is what changed my life. In those thirty days, I lost between five and ten pounds, which I had been desperately trying to do for quite some time, and felt more energized than ever! Over the summer, I trained really hard at a local gym that’s similar to CrossFit, where they recommend a diet consisting of mainly vegetables and meat. After training there for nearly a year, I decided to adopt their diet plan as well, and saw even more benefits as an athlete. I could lift more, jump higher, and train for longer, all while improving my body composition. I thought to myself, there had to be more to this than what my gym is sharing with me. That’s when one of my trainers introduced me to The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, and thats when I learned why all this was working, and how it could work better.
Through reading, cooking, and training I’ve learned to appreciate my body and be more aware of how I’m treating it. All of that comes with a lot of challenges as a student. When I’m not studying or practicing, I can usually be found cooking and prepping food for the following few days. It does take some time away from spending time with friends or relaxing, but I’ve come to love cooking and I know that it’s what’s best for me. My boyfriend and family have been super supportive, and have even started to make some Paleo changes!
After learning and understanding how the human body biologically and historically is made to react with certain foods, I will always nourish my body with the foods that it’s meant to eat: healthy fats, meat, fruits, and vegetables. Even though it’s not the easiest path to take, especially for a student athlete, it’s the one that will make my life better in the long run.
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