5'3" female -60lbs... Heavy lifting ~ Whole foods eating.

I am still a work in progress, but I have accomplished a lot by going slow and really making the effort to change one thing at a time. I've learned that this is not a race, and I have all the time in the world to make these changes, I have no time goals and no weight goals, I do have a vague size goal, but most importantly, I want to look fit and healthy when I get there.

When I first started this journey - I was on the low calorie, low fat, chronic cardio bandwagon - after all, it's how I'd lost weight so many times in the past. It wasn't long before I realized I was going to burn out - just as I had always done. The phrase: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten," really comes into play here. More than anything, I wanted this time to be different.

More than anything - I wanted to make this work for me, I wanted it to fit with in my lifestyle and I wanted the changes I was making to work with me instead of against me. So, I stopped everything I was doing, and started reasearching... I researched food, excercise, heavy lifting... Everything. The first thing I gave up was my soda addiction... I replaced it with sparkling water and a lemon/lime squeezed in... and I just kept moving forward... Finding healthy (read: non-processed) foods to replace my old favorites, eventually giving up the ultimate in processed foods - sugar and grains - all grains... And moving into more of a Primal lifestyle.

Two books changed my life drastically...

New Rules of Lifting for Women... It taught me to eat to fuel my body and taught me how to change my eating habits from being an emotional eater to eating to sustain life and my body image goals. I have reread this book countless times - my copy is ragged, but whenever I feel I need to refocus - I pull this book out and read it again. Even if you never have any desire to lift heavy, it's still an excellent read. I also highly recommend the lifting routines - this is a great starting point for anyone looking to build muscle - after all, I think it's pretty common knowledge that lifting heavy does not make you bulky.

Also, Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson... Really anything by Mark - but PB really catapulted me into another realm of eating and caring for myself. I read his blog almost daily, and lurk in his forums... I have learned a lot. I firmly believe by ditching processed foods and following a more Primal way of life has changed not only my body, but my way of life and outlook on life. Countless people have told me I've turned back the clock and I look so much younger - I firmly believe that living Primally is a huge factor in this.

As I said above, I am not at my goal yet, but I have achieved so much - and I really wanted to share my story - in the hopes that it makes someone realize it's not just about "losing weight" there is so much more to it than that - it's about finding what works for you and your body, even if that means you are doing what no one else is doing. I've had countless people laugh at me for doing this in a non-conventional way, but I just keep moving forward. After all, this is my journey and no one elses.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.