The goal of this page is one of inspiration, motivation and encouragement. We are all different and our stories will be different too. Perhaps you have a story about improvements in a specific health condition. Or maybe you are just experiencing a renewed sense of vigour and energy. Have you lost weight? Big or small, your story is special.

Let’s celebrate our success and achievement. Please complete the form below if you are willing to share with others what you have gained from switching to a paleo/primal/LCHF way of eating. Once the stories start coming in, I will publish them to this page.

Peter: Type 2 diabetic, now medication free

In 2014 I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes and really struggled with maintaining an acceptable blood sugar reading without taking medication. I know that any medication would have some side efforts, so was determined to get off them. After 3 years of constant battles with very confusing websites, articles and advise, I found your website and decided to start following your advice.

I found your articles simple, your advice on what to eat and what not to eat (your good and bad foods !!) extremely helpful and so easy to follow. There is some really good advice out there, but most of the time it is pretty confusing and a lot of the foods are from specialty stores and either too expensive or not available where I live.

Since the beginning of 2017 I have been medication free and maintain a pretty good blood sugar level which by all doctors is very good. People are pretty amazed by what I eat, especially my scrambled eggs in the morning (2 eggs, grated cheese, milk, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, chilly flakes, salt and pepper) They may not look too great, but man are they delicious !! I cannot tell you the last time I had a Coke or any fast-food and to be honest, do not miss them at all.

So a huge thank you and I have had people asking me about your LCHF diet and they are pretty impressed with your articles.

Once again, a life condemned to medication has been removed thanks to good old fashioned advice and eating “normal” foods.

Kind regards
Peter

Helen: I healed my skin with LCHF

A year ago if you had told me that I would go through months of anguish and discomfort due to an itchy skin rash, then only to remedy it through my diet, I probably would not have believed you. Eating for me has always been a non-event.  I eat to live, not live to eat.

However, I started feeling sluggish and bloated which was often accompanied with serious abdominal discomfort after meals. Then in June of 2013, I developed a severely itchy skin (see my photo below).  It was so bad at times that I would scratch until my skin bled. The scratching would make the rash worse and so the vicious cycle began. Sleeping was also a problem.  Lack of sleep and having the itches left me feeling very stressed and drained.

My journey began with a visit to the GP. I was prescribed oral cortisone and antihistamines.  After no relief, I consulted a dermatologist.  More cortisone and antihistamines as well as blood tests and a skin biopsy was done. Nothing untoward presented itself. I then consulted my gynae.  More blood tests were performed and my hormone levels checked. Results were all normal.

I had gone so far as changing my shampoo to organic, changing my body lotion to dermatologically approved, and I stopped using softener on my clothes.  I gave up drinking alcohol as that also seemed to trigger a reaction! It was a very slow and frustrating process and all the while my skin remained itchy and sore.

I was desperate to find a solution. The cortisone creams and antihistamines were only masking my condition.  It was suggested to me by friend and blogger of this blog, Nicky, to seek help from nutritionist, Sally-Ann Creed. At this stage I was willing to try anything.

My consultation with Sally-Ann was very enlightening.  My symptoms indicated that I was suffering from a leaky gut and further tests confirmed candida.  Whole proteins were entering my bloodstream through the damaged gut lining and causing sensitivities to food.  This auto-immune response manifested itself with the itchy skin rash.

I was put on the LCHF (low carb/high fat) eating plan, cutting out all grains, sugar, processed food and limiting my dairy intake to a minimum. Wow!

I had  remarkable results in a very short space of time. Within weeks of following this eating plan, along with taking probiotics, L-glutamine and candex to heal my gut, my skin has miraculously healed. I am feeling great! It has now been 4 months of having a rash-free, itchy-free skin.

It has been quite a journey but one for which I am eternally grateful.  It has allowed me to take a good look at what food I put into my body. It has pointed me in the right direction of healing my gut and has given me a healthy body again. I am loving the LCHF way of eating and an added bonus is that I have lost a few stubborn kilo’s along the way. Don’t underestimate the power of food. “Let food be your medicine”.

Desiree: 7 kilos down in 2.5  months

I have always been a relatively slim, active girl (wow, that makes me sound young!). My weight tends to fluctuate by 2 or 3 kgs, but nothing serious. My blood pressure is generally slightly high, but so is my dad’s. I blame genetics. Or I did. Being a woman, of course my weight and figure is always something that plays a role in my self-image. I like being considered to be thin. It’s good for my ego. I have mad respect for those people who can be happy with themselves no matter what they weigh, but I am unfortunately not one of them.

The process of falling pregnant resulted in an extra 4kg, the pregnancy itself in another 18! I kept telling myself I was eating well and I would worry about the extra weight after I gave birth. Of course, after you have a baby there is no time to worry about what you eat between feeds, nappy changes and putting baby to sleep. Not to mention trying to sleep yourself! So what happens? That vision of the beautifully thin and healthy mom sipping on green tea and nibbling on carrots turns into grabbing whatever topping there is to slap on some toast and swigging soda out of the 2l bottle while you wrangle the baby with the other arm. Eventually life goes back to normal (kind of, as normal as life ever is with a baby in it) and you have a bit more time to worry about your appearance. And so my usual cycle of carb-deprived-craving began, again.

I started exercising more and eating less while feeling STARVING absolutely ALL of the time. And the weight started to slowly drop. It was then that a great friend of ours, and our son’s Godfather, came for a visit. Looking spectacular! “What have you been doing?” I asked, desperate for the magic trick that he clearly had stashed up his sleeve. I mean he is an active guy and had always looked pretty good, but THIS was another level! The explanation, as it turned out, was LCHF (Low Carb, High Fat). So I figured, “Why not?” I’d already just about eliminated the carbs (although I had about another day and a bit left until the deprivation would drive me to eat) so what was cutting out a bit of sugar and eating a bit of bacon? Mmmmm, BACON!!

This all happened two months and 6.5 kg ago, and I haven’t looked back. It is the first time in my life that I have managed to stick to an eating plan for longer than a month (most of the time I get to about 2 weeks), and I’ve noticed a few key differences with the LCHF way of doing things compared to my usual miserable diets:

• I have plenty of energy
• I can eat as much as I want, no restrictions. BONUS!
• For the first time ever, I feel my body telling me that it’s full, and at that point I can’t eat any more, no matter how yummy the food looks, tastes or smells
• Overall, I am eating less in quantity and staying full for longer. #WINNING

I’d be lying if I said that I NEVER had a moment where I thought about having a nice can of coke, or eating a sliver of that cake in the office for someone or others birthday. But it is easier, SO much easier, for me to say no to those things now. I’m looking good, and more importantly I’m feeling GREAT!

Here is a link to Desiree’s blog.

Joe: I changed my life and my waist size

My weight creeped up from 155 @ Age 18 to 170 @ 23 to 180 @ 28 to 195 @ 35 to 219 @ 41. Consistent excess of calories emphasizing late night junk food lead to steady weight gain. Limited periods of exercise and diet  would mitigate the damage at times but it was always temporary…

UNTIL September 15 2013. I had been studying the benefits of a Low Carb diet and other techniques for quite some time and when a co-worker organized a weight loss contest I jumped on the opportunity. I was to bring in my scale and roughly 8-10 of us would weigh in. Cone Monday nobody seemed interested, so I weighed in alone and again the next morning at my home. 218.8 LBS in the skin at a height of 5’8.

I started eating high fat and low carb and lost weight immediately. I graduated to using intermittent fasting techniques, eating only one large meal each day. This HFLC/IF combo lead to a 53 lb weight loss by Feb 1 2014.

With a weight hovering around 165 lbs I decided to add exercise for the first time. I began weight training and since then I have added considerable lean mass while dropping body fat. My weight remains between 163-165 as I “Recomp” my body composition. I continue to FAST but have added 1 additional meal prior to training but maintain just a 4 hour window of LCHF eating. I maintain a 75% fat 20% protein, and 5% carb macro breakdown. I emphasize meat, coconut oil, almonds, grass-fed butter, hard cheese, dark chocolate, avocado, natural whey protein powder, etc…

This journey has changed my life and not just my waist size, 38 inches down to 30-31… I have changed both mentally and physically in a short 6 months. One of the most fulfilling benefits has been to encourage others BY EXAMPLE to try themselves. Thank you for the space provided here to share my experience. Joe-