Primal/Paleo Success

Hi all, I have been eating Primally since May 5th, 2014. When I started I weighed 251 lbs with a BMI of 33.2. I was officially obese.

I also had a disease called Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Basically my lungs were reacting to some past damage and had gone into overdrive creating scar tissue. My lungs were turning into raisins. Outside of a lung transplant, there is no real treatment for this disease. There have been a couple drugs approved that do help some people slow the disease and there are more in the clinical trial pipeline that look promising.

When I started I was on supplemental oxygen for any exertion at all. I used up to 8 lpm continuous flow for moderate exercise. Exercise exertion was limited by my blood oxygen saturation. It really is best to keep it above 90%.

I needed to lose weight. I needed to lose weight so my body didn't waste oxygen feeding fat. I also needed to lose weight so I could be considered for a lung transplant. My lung capacity was less than 50% of normal. My lungs ability to transfer oxygen to my blood was also less than 50% of normal. So basically with each breath I took, I was only getting somewhere around 25% of the oxygen of normal lungs.

Why did I choose the Primal Lifestyle? A couple of reasons really. I already know that my body does not like sugar. Sugary foods made me cough and short of breath. Carbs have helped make me fat. Makes sense to cut out those two foods.

Another reason is that I know a man, Bill Vick, who has IPF and ran a 5K in March of 2014. Bill introduced me to the Primal Blueprint via an IPF forum. Bill and I share a doctor and I can verify that his story is real, gave me some hope.

If you are interested, you can read my [URL="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread106769.html"]21 Day (and beyond) Total Body Transformation journal here.

By October I had lowered my BMI to 28, the maximum BMI to be considered for a lung transplant at UT Southwestern in Dallas. During the transplant evaluation they found that outside of my lungs, I was very healthy. I passed the evaluation and was placed on the transplant list in November. I continued to lose weight, exercise as I could, and try to keep as healthy as possible.

On December 31st I was called into the hospital and early January 1st I received a bilateral lung transplant. The procedure went very well and my recovery was amazingly quick. I was released from the hospital after only 9 days. That is exceptionally quick. Most lung transplant stays are at least twice that. I credit following the PB to my quick recovery. My core strength was good for the condition the rest of my body was in. I had worked hard to build a good gut bug colony, and I think they really helped me out there. I had also lost more weight so it was easier for me to get out of bed and do physical therapy quickly.

I have had some issues. I came home on a feeding tube because of some swallowing issues following the procedure. That was resolved quickly. I also had an acute rejection issue that sent me back to the hospital for a week. I have pretty much recovered from that issue. I am no longer on oxygen and my blood oxygen saturation is normal.

Prior to the transplant, eating Primally really helped reduce the symptoms of the IPF. Cutting out all refined sugars and grains got rid of my IPF cough. The cough can be debilitating for many IPF patients, and mine went away. I also had some skin sores that would not go away until I started followimg a primal diet. Within a couple of weeks they were gone. My acne also went away. Add to these successes my weight loss and increased energy levels, it was easy to stay on plan.

When I started last May I weighed 251 lbs. I wore XXL shirts and size 42 pants. Today I weigh 161 lbs. I wear M/L shirts and very comfortable size 33 pants. I think phase one, weight loss, is completed successfully

Now on to phase 2. [/url]