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Need to Lose Weight? Get Inspired by These 7 Paleo Success Stories

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Paleo Weight Loss Success Stories

First, I want to thank the many people who submitted their Paleo weight loss stories for this article. There were so many amazing transformations and it was very difficult to choose which ones to publish.

With that said, here are seven incredible Paleo Transformations that will blow your mind.

Read about 7 people who lost weight and regained health on a delicious #Paleo diet. Such amazing transformations!

Transformation #1

I have struggled with weight loss my whole life. I don’t care to think about the number of times I lost 50+ pounds only to regain it again and again.

I have always been a carbohydrate and sugar junkie, and after I stopped drinking alcohol to excess… sugary foods were the next logical step. I moved from one addiction to another. When I realized what had happened, I was all the way up to 215 pounds. That was in 2004. My back was such a mess; I could hardly get out of bed in the morning. I went to the doctor and he told me if I kept doing this yo-yoing with my weight, I was going to kill myself. He said I may as well just stay fat. I set out to prove him wrong.

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I started walking, a little bit every day. The more I did, the better I felt. So I looked for an eating plan I could live with. I changed my diet and lost 70 pounds in about 9 months and found racewalking. I never knew I had a competitive bone in my body… now I was racing regularly and have even won a few walking competitions.

Fast forward to January 2, 2011, driving home from Phoenix after completing 100 miles in this third attempt at the distance. I was ready to give up on my goal of walking 100 miles in a 24 hour period because I had let my food addictions take over yet again and was back up to 170. I was 30 pounds overweight, and yes, I did just walk 100 miles, but it took me 45 hours of a 48 hour race. The more I trained for ultra marathons, the more crap I ate. I was desperately trying to keep my energy level up.

Trapped in a low fat, high carbohydrate cycle, I gained all the weight I had lost back on a Mediterraneanesque diet, a couple of pounds at a time. I mulled this over and finally posted something silly on Facebook about the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. If they would count the 30 extra pounds I am carrying around, I could just add a 5 pound pack and enter the heavy division of the marathon. A new, awesome friend saw it and sent me a private message about Paleo, and the rest is history.

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January 12, I flipped the switch and removed everything containing sugar from my food intake. It is amazing how when I set my mind to NO SUGAR, I was able to just quit, cold. January 18 2011 I quit grains. It took a couple of weeks to learn to eat when hungry and to stop obsessing over food logging, and I lost 6.5 pounds by January 22. It was so easy; I didn’t even feel like I was depriving myself of anything. My energy level had increased dramatically!

I didn’t start my serious training until after I had lost a total of 12 pounds, which was January 30. Can you believe it? I lost 12 pounds in 18 days with little effort, and this time, I can actually see the weight coming off my waistline. It’s like a miracle for me, as I have ALWAYS been fat, even when I was thin. I know a lot of people who read this will understand that statement.

Today is February 5, 2014. I am in the 140 pound range, but care less what the exact number is anymore. I have not been near a scale in quite some time. I finally had blood work done last May. Before Paleo, my HDL was around 36 and my total cholesterol was 98. No amount of endurance exercise could bring it up. After Paleo, my HDL is 72 and the total cholesterol is 170.

I still find it hard to believe that my weight loss happened so effortlessly and was so easy to maintain this time.

Transformation #2

I finally decided enough was enough. I saw a picture of myself where I really looked big and it struck a cord. I knew I had to do something. I had weight problems as a kid eating lots of sugar and lost my “baby fat” in high school due to being more active and watching how much I ate. I worked out and went into the Army. Boot camp and Infantry school really whooped me into shape. I got out and stayed pretty lean until my mid 20’s.

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Then the weight started to creep back on. I couldn’t eat crap and get away with it anymore. I went from a lean 175 up to 220, at my heaviest in my middle 30’s. I decided to do some research on losing weight and having success with the Atkins diet earlier, I started with the low carb diet. I downloaded a Jimmy Moore podcast and one of the first one’s I listened to was with Mark Sisson. I bought Mark’s book, The Primal Blueprint, and that’s where it all started. I made a lifestyle change and learned all I could about the Paleo or Primal way of eating.

I eventually found your podcast and learned a lot from listening you your show. I went from a very chubby 220 down to 180 pounds with not much effort! My heartburn, sore joints, bad skin (pimples) and other health issues disappeared. Once I went Paleo the fat started melting away and there it was, the muscle I knew I had! I was lean again and felt and looked much younger than I am. Many guys my age don’t look anything like they did in their early 20’s but going on the Paleo diet will give you that body you once had. Give your cells the right fuel and they’ll do the rest.

Back Camera

I’ll never go back. Now that I learned what the human body does with certain foods it’s easy to say no to sugar and grains. I feel better at 41 years old than I did at 26, it’s amazing. I try to share with anyone ready to listen. It was a great journey learning all this new information and I still am hungry for more, we can never stop learning.

My wife has been a huge support for me and we do it as a family, kids and all. It can be tough sometimes with treats in school and the constant sugar that is thrown at our kids now a days but we keep up the good fight. Thanks for doing what you do Chris! I enjoy your website and can’t wait to read your book.

Transformation #3

I had resigned to being overweight forever. I steadily gained weight until I reached 25 years of age and weighed in at 313lbs.

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My wake up call was a photo of me that a relative posted on Facebook. It was then that I realized my denial and I decided to make a permanent change. I created a blog to chart my journey and began seeking information regarding effective weight loss strategies. I found a podcast via a “diet and weightloss” search on iTunes. The Rebooted Body w/ host Kevin Geary was my gateway into the Paleo world.

From there I subscribed to dozens of other great podcasters like Jimmy Moore, Dave Aspry, and Robb Wolf just to name a few. I’m definitely still learning and I’m still working on losing more weight but so far I’ve lost 111 lbs since I began my Paleo lifestyle back in May 2013 (a little over 8 months of eating clean).

Losing weight has been incredibly easy and fun. I’ve averaged a 14 pound loss per month and I’ve gone from a size 28 to size 16 in pants. I don’t see food the same way anymore. I’ve trained myself to filter out processed junk and I find joy in eating healthy whole foods. My kitchen is now my favorite place to be. New recipes make me giddy.

I would have never guessed I would ever be the type to get excited about a new cooking pan or fresh spices. Before going Paleo, the extent of my cooking skills was warming up a hot pocket in the microwave.

Transformation #4

I found out about the Paleo diet shortly after trying the vegan diet for a very short period of time. Something just didn’t feel right to me about the diet so I started reading articles and books about food/nutrition and that was when I really made the connection with Paleo.

Learning about grassfed meats and what it meant to eat meat from pastured animals just made sense to me, so I quickly abandoned the vegan thing. It was never an ethical issue for me although I completely detest the inhumane way animals are treated in these factory farms.

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During that time I had heard about Paleo from other people but really didn’t pay it any attention. Once I started to research it more it just started to make sense. I jumped into it very slowly but in a way that I could commit to. Before I made any changes to what I was eating I asked myself if it was sustainable and something I was willing to commit my entire life to.

Over the next couple of years I had already learned quite a bit about nutrition so combing my knowledge with the Paleo lifestyle, everything just started coming together. I was very active and feeling very healthy and it was just a snowball effect. The weight started to come off very easily.

I’ve never enjoyed counting calories or keeping track of my macronutrients so one thing I really enjoyed about Paleo was not having to do that and still seeing results. I have to recognize that Mark Sisson and his awesome blog really helped me understand what foods to avoid and how to make lifestyle changes that were conducive to becoming lean and healthy.

Although I don’t even like to label the way I eat, the majority of my eating is Paleo-like. For the most part I don’t eat grains, bread, beans, processed foods, sugar, etc. However from time to time I do indulge in all of these foods. Some of these types of foods I’ve lost interest in entirely, however I don’t deprive myself from things I still do enjoy and I eat them when I want, it just happens to be very little these days.

I think having a healthy relationship with foods means being able to eat the things you enjoy however the awareness that comes with it is what’s important. My goal is to eventually have NO interest in these foods but everyday my diet/lifestyle evolves and I let things these occur naturally.

The icing on the cake in my story is that this journey has also been my wife’s and although I’m the one with more of an interest and passion in this area she is right along with me and I attribute a lot of my success to having her as a willing and supporting partner.

Transformation #5

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Last year I was 35 years old (I felt like I was 50, though) and about 50 lbs overweight. I have hypothyroidism due to a goiter, so my thyroid levels are never quite right. I was extremely tired ALL OF THE TIME!

At the time, I wanted to find a new endocrinologist because I felt my current one wasn’t very helpful. I found a new doctor who performed various tests, and found that not only was my thyroid still not acting right, but also that I had Pre-Diabetes! That doctor’s visit was a wake-up call for me, to say the least. I decided then and there that I was going to get healthy no matter what.

I had tried Weight Watchers in the past and had success with it, though it was a slow process, so I thought I would just do that. At the same time, my husband happened to mention to a co-worker how unhappy I was with my health and my thyroid problems, and she gave him a book for me to read that she had read when she discovered she had a gluten allergy. That book was Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution. And the rest, as they say, is history. TOTAL LIFE CHANGER!

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When I did Weight Watchers in the past, it took me 1 year to lose 25 lbs. In doing the Paleo diet, plus exercising, I lost 50 lbs in 6 months! I have NEVER felt better in my entire life! I have energy that I never thought I could ever have. I feel better now than I did in my 20s. Paleo has been a huge blessing in my life. I look great, I feel great, but more importantly I have learned how to live healthy forever.

P.S. My husband also started the diet with me and lost 30 lbs.

You’ve tried the Paleo diet and are now a total believer. Share the knowledge you’ve gained on your journey and inspire others by becoming a health coach. We need health coaching today more than ever before to help turn the tide of obesity and stop the chronic disease epidemic. Join the revolution.

Transformation #6

I started the AIP diet (a stricter version of
Paleo) when my son was about eight months old. I gained 30 pounds with my pregnancy and not only did I not lose the weight, I actually gained more after he was born. I was at the heaviest I had ever been and felt terrible. My health was in decline and I was despondent. The weight just wouldn’t come off and nothing I did worked.

Paleo Weight Loss Transformation - Beth Chen

Once I started the AIP diet, the weight started coming off. It was just a few pounds a week, but by the time he turned one, I was definitely starting to feel better. By the time he was two, I not only had lost all the baby weight but an additional 15 pounds. It was incredible. It was the first time in my life I didn’t have to exercise to the point of exhaustion and count calories.

Paleo Weight Loss Transformation - Beth Chen

For me, as long as I stuck to the Paleo template, it felt effortless. I didn’t feel deprived in any way. Additionally, my health started to rebound. My anxiety around my weight started to disappear and I finally felt comfortable in my skin. I had energy and could keep up with my very active toddler. For the first time, I felt like parenting was a joy, not a strain. The AIP diet changed the trajectory of my life. I was so inspired that I started a blog, bonaippetit.com, that’s all AIP and Paleo recipes.

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Transformation #7

Big fan of your site and during those first few months in hell, your guidance, alongside others like Dr. Hyman, Whole30, Dr. Meyers, really helped me recover. If you were to stop reading right here, know that the Paleo diet is the correct diet for curbing obesity and strengthening your entire system.

At 36 years old (2018), I had given up on ever being thin again. I was 208 lbs; my weight had not changed much throughout my 30s. Always heavy set, always trying to lose—nothing worked. Even when I starved myself, worked out everyday, I had only managed to get down to 180 lbs (around age 34). Given my height is 6 ft, I was still—even at my lowest weight, still overweight—and it showed. And it was all gained back in less than a year.

The symptoms, or I should say, the physical health problems that manifested towards the end, was the impetus to this change to Paleo dieting. I had epigastric pain to the point of thinking I had esophageal cancer. My bowel movements could be summed up in one word: splatters. My sleep was five hours a night, if that. My mental facilities were dwindling. I could literally feel myself slipping (forgetting simple words, not able to keep track of days, short-term memory completely shot).

Paleo Weight Loss Transformation - Jesse

After my endoscopy, which revealed chronic gastritis, the doctor put me on an eight-month course of PPIs and told me to lose weight and to follow an acid reflux diet. “How do I lose weight?” I thought. I read about the acid reflux diet and it made sense, so while I was healing I followed this diet, but I found that it didn’t resolve all issues I had—more so, it just helped the healing of the epigastric issues. The problem with this diet, I soon found, was that it still allowed for plenty of refined carbohydrates—in fact, it was part of the diet! Bread, rice, noodles, etc. all were cool.

Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to give Paleo a try. After a lot of research, I put together meal plans and a list of foods that were higher pH so I could continue healing. I had given up drinking alcohol entirely a few months before and that seemed to help relieve some of the acid reflux, but there was still some pain after meals and bowel movements were only okay.

Paleo Weight Loss Transformation - Jesse

In a matter of maybe three months I had gone from 208 to 170. So, I continued strict Paleo dieting for another three and added intermittent fasting. I bought recommended supplements like reduced glutathione, methylated vitamin B, etc. I got into fermenting my own foods and making kombucha.

All of which literally turned me into a caveman. My lowest weight was 152 in May of 2019. Now that I had lost the weight, it was time to gain muscle. Easy enough, I kept on a modified Paleo diet, adding back in some legumes, lowering meat intake, but upping overall protein and vitamin intake through plants and supplemental shakes provided by Parsley Health. I am currently 160 lbs, cut from marble, and, most importantly, my physical health problems subsided.

Because of Paleo, I am not the man I was in 2018. I wasn’t even the man I was at 31. I feel like my physical age is somewhere around 26–28. People think I am in my 20s just based on looks. This is all thanks to the Paleo diet.

These stories are truly inspiring. Now I want to hear from you: Do you have a Paleo success story? Send us an email if you do and want to share it.

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