Primal Mom Success Story: 70 Pounds Lost, No More Lupus or Fibromyalgia Flare-Ups... And New-Found Confidence!

Thank you, Candy S., for sharing your journey with me! This is Candy's REAL life journey to HEALTH, weight loss and an amazing new confidence!
Candy, you serve as an inspiration to so many people! I am so extremely proud of you and cannot wait to see all of your goals continue to become a reality!

Here is Candy's story"

 

"Last year, I was struggling with ways to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle.  I was getting sick a lot! In the years before, there were times I could not get out of bed from Fibromyalgia and Lupus flare-ups. The pain was so severe, it was difficult to work and live my life. I began to do some research on how to begin to eat right and help cure my health conditions, plus lose unwanted weight. 

 

I stumbled across Primal Mom's page and, in October, I emailed Amber and asked to start on her detox and meal plans.  I began the detox on October 20, 2014. That first week I lost 5 pounds and felt great, so I decided to continue on the primal journey. Now it is June, eight months later, and I have lost 70 pounds! 70! I have more energy than I have ever had. Plus, I haven’t gotten sick or suffered any fibromyalgia or lupus flare-ups! Not One!

I started doing crossfit almost 3 weeks ago, which I would not have been able to do half of the workouts I do now, if I did not cut out the processed food, sugars, and grains. I have also developed a confidence I did not have before and am beginning to succeed in other areas of my life. I just got a promotion and a raise at work, because I was assertive and went for it. In the past, I would have just assumed I was not good enough for it.  Now I know I am worth it, I am good enough and I choose to treat my body and life like the temple it is, rather than a shack. Taking that first step and emailing Amber (aka Primal Mom) was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life!!

 

Candy S."

Primal Mom Success Story: From Years of Fertility Issues to 27 Weeks Pregnant with a Healthy Baby Boy

Thank you, Melissa M, for sharing your amazing, raw, unedited, uncut, REAL LIFE journey with me. I get so excited to see your weekly pregnancy posts and cannot wait to meet Baby Mateo in September!

Here is Melissa's story:

"Amber asked me to share my story with you all. I am a primal & essential oil success.

I have lost a pregnancy every year since 2011. I've tried naturally, I've tried fertility treatments (clomid, femara, follistim injects) and got tired of Reproductive Endocrinologists & Obstetricians telling me I'm fine to keep trying. I obsessed, researched, read books and combed forums & finally decided to fly to Chicago to see a reproductive immunologist in August 2013. She diagnosed me with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, blood clotting factors (Pai-1, beta fibrinogen, compound heterozygous mthfr), elevated natural killer cells & cytokines,a to name a few. She gave me prescriptions for metformin, lovenox injections blood thinner injects, prednisone, metanx & recommended I spend thousands upon thousands on Intravenous Imnune Globuline infusions, which insurance denied to cover. I had an ectopic pregnancy June 2014, which led to emergency surgery and I lost my right tube.

I was forced to take a break for minimum of three months to heal. I quit all prescribed medications & knew, deep down inside, I needed to do the one thing I hadn't tried.....change my eating habits. Not only for my autoimmune disease, but for my overall health. I tried and failed to cut gluten several times before. I researched autoimmune paleo and other similar ways of life.....it was so overwhelming. I told myself I couldn't commit... Until I saw a post about Primal Mom.

Amber makes eating real food simple and easy: Eat until you are full, eat real food, no counting calories, no starving yourself & recipes/shopping lists are so simple.

Long story short - I purchased her meal plan at the end of August and started in September. I  noticed my frequent migraines started to happen less. I no longer felt sluggish & I started losing weight (hard to do with thyroid issues). My thyroid specialist even asked what I'd been doing, as my thyroid antibodies had dropped from 7,323 to 245 and my thyroid panel numbers had never been so in tune.
In November, I started using an essential oil blend for natural progesterone support.
I purchased meal plan 2 &, most recently, Amber's Crockpot Digital Recipe Book, as well! I have LOVED everything and I felt like I could finally cook! haha. That says a lot for a woman known to make a mean spaghetti & boxed Mac-n-Cheese!
Overall, my TMJ and migraine issues have continued to improve, I feel better, my skin looks better, I have vastly improved digestion & my sweet tooth has disappeared.

BEST part of all, thanks to the above lifestyle changes, I got the surprise of a lifetime in January! Random positive pregnancy test, which led to the best ever HCG levels I have ever received, out of FIVE pregnancies. Here I am, getting choked up at 27 weeks pregnant, with my miracle boy, due in September. All the tears, the heartache, the brokenness, the crushed dreams, and money spent on fertility treatments ONLY to have eating real food heal me.

I'll forever be grateful to Amber for her help.

Don't wait, don't make excuses, don't continue to eat crap food thinking it's not you who has "that" problem. Make a change for the better and live the best life you can.

If you've tried everything else under the sun and nothing has worked....there is a reason! Can't never could!

Melissa G. M."

Breakfast Hash

Author: Amber Butcher-www.primalmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2 organic sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed in small pieces)
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• 1 lb natural ground pork sausage
• 1/2 lb bacon: chopped (minimally processed: no sugar added, uncured)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In an oven-proof dish, add the cubed sweet potatoes, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 30 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, cook sausage. Set aside
4. Cook the bacon pieces. Set aside.
5. When sweet potatoes are done, add the cooked sausage and the cooked bacon and mix together. You may cook the mixture an additional 10 minutes, but it is not necessary. This additional 10 minutes, crisps the mixture.
6. Cool and store in an air-tight container. Refrigerate.

Optional: You can add other ingredients, to taste: peppers, onions, apples, etc.

Primal Mom Apple Chips

Author: Amber Butcher-www.primalmom.com

Servings: 1 apple makes approximately 20 chips.

Ingredients:

• Apples (organic)
• Ground Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200.
2. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. Slice apples into thin slices (approximately 1/8 inch thickness).
4. Lay apple slices in a single layer on parchment paper. Do not let slices touch.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
6. Bake for 2 hours.

Optional: These will turn out crisp. If you want chewier apples, cut apples into thicker slices.

Why you should let your child "starve"...

Your. Child. Will. Not. Starve.

Please, please, please show me a case study, research or a personal story where a perfectly healthy child sat at the dinner table, in complete protest against eating unprocessed foods, and, literally starved to death. You can't? I didn't think so... Children will not let themselves starve. I do not care how much they love and live off chicken nuggets and french fries only. Throw a hungry human being into a pack of other hungry human beings and nature will kick in... those "chicken nugget only eaters" will fight over a piece of raw broccoli! I guarantee it.

I often spend so much time catering to young moms that are trying to make better choices for their Littles, that people often forget that I do have an almost 17 year old son! When we made the decision... errrrrrr... when I made the decision (because no one else was on board!) to change our diet 3 years ago, my son was 14. You think you have it tough trying to convert a squealing toddler to eating only unprocessed foods? Take that adorable little toddler, add 100 pounds, 4 more feet, a much louder voice and throw in some "teenage logic"... That is what I was working with!

At one point, that teenager summoned his grandmother (my mother-in-law) to have an intervention, because I was "starving" him. Yup, there's that word... starve. Someone call Child Protective Services (which, ironically, is where I worked, as an investigator, prior to staying home with my Littles),... I was S.T.A.R.V.I.N.G. my child. So... my well-meaning mother-in-law, sat us all down and made us listen to my teenagers "logical" points of why he needed grains, why he should be allowed peanut butter, why he needed donuts and ice cream and yada-yada-yada. Guess who won that conversation? #primalmom

So how do I do it? How do I get my children to eat this way? I just do it! They don't have a choice in the matter. I am the parent and I am in control of their diet. It is my job... no, it is my responsibility... to ensure I am giving my Littles and my Teenager the best possible diet. Do I have to deal with fits? Of course! They eventually become less and less and quieter and quieter... The key, for me, is to not keep [insert cringe-worthy "food"] in the house. If my Little wants to throw a fit over a snack, it is between grapes and oranges, pistachios or almond butter. They wouldn't know what it is like to open our pantry and make a decision over whether to eat ding-dongs or donuts (or are those the same thing? I cannot even remember). They have no clue what apple juice and grape juice are. Their options are water, coconut water or coconut milk in our house.

YOU JUST DO IT! You just wake up one morning, just like I did, and throw everything boxed, packaged, processed, labeled, canned and toxic item in the garbage and never bring those things back into your house. That is it. That is my secret! Be prepared for tantrums... and stay the course.
Your child will not starve.

Blessings!

Primal Mom Brussel Sprout Chicken Salad

Primal Mom Brussel Sprout Chicken SaladAuthor: Amber Butcher- http://primalmomintheburbs.blogspot.com/

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• brussel sprouts: stems removed and quartered
• 2 pounds chicken thighs (boneless, naturally raised, free roaming chicken)
• 1/2 pound bacon (minimally processed, uncured with no sugar)
• 2 avocadoes
• 2 limes
• dried cilantro
• 1/2 T garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper chicken thighs, to taste.
2. In a large skillet, cook bacon. Set aside.
3. Using left over bacon grease, cook chicken thighs, approximately 10 minutes per side. Cut chicken thighs into pieces. Set aside.
4. In the same skillet, add your quartered brussel sprouts. Sauté brussel sprouts for 5-10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, add avocadoes, lime juice and garlic powder to a blender. Puree into a dressing.
6. Plate the brussel sprouts and chicken thighs. Top with dressing and crumbled bacon. Sprinkle dried cilantro over salad. Done!

Optional: Add other unprocessed toppings: diced tomato, onion, fresh olives, etc.

Primal Mom Crockpot Orange Chicken

Primal Mom Crockpot Orange Chicken
Author: Amber Butcher- http://primalmomintheburbs.blogspot.com/

Servings: 4 with leftovers

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs chicken breasts (organic, free range, boneless, skinless): cubed
• 4 T organic orange juice: approx. 4 oranges squeezed
• ½ cup coconut aminos
• ½ cup raw honey
• 4 T sesame oil
• 2 T garlic powder
• 1 T onion powder
• 1 T garam masala powder (fresh blend only!)
• 1 T ground ginger
• sesame seeds
• arrowroot powder (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large crockpot, place the cubed chicken.
2. In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients (except arrowroot powder). Mix well, leaving no clumps. Dump liquid mixture over the chicken.
3. Place lid on crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours, until chicken is done. Cooking time will vary, depending on the size of your chicken cubes.
4. Serve over cauliflower rice and top with sesame seeds. Done!

OPTIONAL:
If you want a thicker orange chicken sauce (pictured), when the chicken is done, transfer the sauce to a saucepan. Add 1-3 Tablespoons of arrowroot powder. Mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, until sauce gels. Mix it back with chicken to serve over the cauliflower rice.


SUGGESTION:
I mix broccoli and green onions with my cauliflower rice, sautéed in grass-fed butter.