healthy living

 Amy Dugas and I are in the same sorority and found we share a love for health and nutrition on our spring break together. We both came to spring break prepared with our Paleo snacks and foods. Although most girls our age were snacking on chips and grilled cheese, we stuck to our healthier choices. Amy surprised me in her determination and gave me hope for others my age. She can you tell you that the Paleo diet will help you avoid the freshman 15. 

As a freshman in college there are many things to be worried about. As a freshman girl in college one of the biggest fears is the dreaded freshman fifteen. For me, a former high school athlete who had been very thin my entire life, this fear seemed unreasonable. I had the mindset that, “It won’t happen to me”. However, by my second semester I noticed that I was already not as thin as I used to be. I was never the type to eat junk for every meal, but I was used to eating large portions, a lot of which involved pasta, because I was always practicing multiple sports.  Just by no longer being active on a daily basis I had gained 10 lbs. While this may not sound like a lot in comparison to other people’s struggles, as a very weight conscious girl in a sorority I panicked.

I tried several fad diets with none of them fitting my lifestyle. I love to cook and am used to GOOD food so eating a little bar as a meal, or warming up frozen junk wasn’t doing it for me.

Luckily I, just like most girls my age, am a Pinterest addict. This is where the idea of Paleo was first introduced to me. I was looking in the “Health & Fitness” section of the app when I stumbled upon a string of posts about the diet/lifestyle. The food looked delicious! I could hardly believe that it was for real.

After stalking Paleo board after Paleo board on Pinterest I decided I wanted to know more. So I did what everyone does when they want to know anything, I Googled it! There it was, everything I could ever want to know about the diet of my dreams. It was so simple, logical, do-able! I was convinced. I started that very day in fear that I may get dragged into the classic diet postponement of “I’ll start tomorrow”.

From then on I was committed to Paleo. For better or for worse, in moodiness and irritability, to love and to stick to; from this day forward, ‘til death do us part. Unfortunately, worse did come before better. I was tired, grouchy, and wanted nothing more than to eat a giant loaf of French bread.  But once the first couple of weeks were over it was nothing but blue skies. I was hooked! My energy was up, I felt wonderful and I never was upset with myself after a meal. As an added bonus, even my skin and hair looked healthier! After a month the weight was already coming off and by being healthy in what I was eating I wanted to make other healthy choices.

It took a couple of months for me to no longer crave carbs but when I did I instead started to crave good things. It was great and people were taking notice. Soon my sorority sisters were asking me what I was doing and they too decided to try Paleo. I was so proud of myself. Not only was I happy to look at myself in the mirror again, but also I was inspiring others to make healthy choices.

Paleo is about more than just losing weight. It’s about becoming healthy. This is not a fad, crash diet. It’s a lifestyle change. It may be challenging in the beginning, but the benefits are exponential. I no longer even feel as if I’m dieting, I’m simply living; healthier, happier, and Paleo for life.

Want to be the next Testimonial on my blog? Send me your story at bravoforpaleo@gmail.com, and I may feature you!