**I want to preface this post by saying – I am by no means claiming one way of eating is better than the other or vice versa** This has been a long time coming but I was trying to get the balls to post it because…let’s be honest, who wants to admit they don’t have it all together ALL the time? Photo on the left (September 2013. Photo on the right-2 hours ago.)

January of 2013 my husband & I decided we wanted to commit 100% to plant-based diet. We are “all in” types of people. When we decide we’re going to do something, we don’t dabble in it..we DO IT. So, no processed foods, plant-based/raw all the way with the occasional treat meal that involved tofu & we’d also occasionally have tempeh but I’d say 90% raw or cooked plant based recipes mainly from books like thrive/etc that were for athletes. Read all the books, did all the research, we were in. We were never turning back baby! I REALLY wanted it to work. I love the concept of being plant-based because I love the environment, animals & think it’s so pretty! I gave it my all, backed it up 100% on my social media & it was at this event in September of 2013 that I decided I had, had enough.

Here are my experiences on a plant based vs paleo diet: I was SWOLLEN, not just bloated but literally swollen. My skin was starting to break out again, I felt like crap, I was tired, I couldn’t concentrate or think and while my vegan friends assured me if I take this supplement or that supplement I couldn’t argue with what my body was telling me. IT WAS SCREAMING & after talking with a few coaches I was working with & professionals I decided that I would start incorporate fish/etc & gradually started eating meat again. But good meat! Local, organic, quality meat. Not just some hormone injected crap you get at Walmart. I started to drop fat, my face started to clear up, I started to feel like ME again. I got a HUGE back lash from my social media following but that’s not what I’m about. I’m not going to preach something that simply does not work for me. No matter what people think, this is MY journey.

I had tried Paleo in the past but did it completely wrong. With my background on plant based nutrition, I started cutting out grains, picked up a few books on inflammation & learned that grains, legumes (everything I was eating) was inflaming my body. It all made sense to me. I also cut out other foods that are linked to inflammation (which causes cancer in the body) like peanuts, night shades/etc…the results were fast but I didn’t want to share this photo because I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to share an ugly photo of me, ha! Who does that help though? No one. So here it is. No one who saw me that weekend would know what I was going through or probably could even tell that I was gaining weight or inflamed but I knew I was & that’s all that matters. How I feel in MY skin. I was the heaviest I had been in a long time & when I don’t like what I see in the mirror, I have to do something about it before it gets out of control.

One thing I LOVE about health, nutrition & fitness is that the journey never ends. Your body continues to change throughout your life. I would say that anybody who says eat 30 bananas a day is “THE WAY TO LIVE & EVERYONE SHOULD EAT THIS WAY OR YOU’LL DIE” has a very strong opinion (and maybe a few screws loose) & it’s just that…an opinion. These results that you see, this is not an opinion. This is my life & my experience & I would still NEVER say “this is the way to live, everyone needs to do what I do to be healthy, strong, fit and lean” because no two bodies are made alike. My advice? TRY EVERYTHING. Take away things, add them back in, keep experimenting to see what works for you. Journal your food, join a support group or a success partner to do it with you. You can even get tests done (which I’ve never done) but there’s WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION out there, so you just have to really put on your blinders and listen to your own body.

That being said, my results as of lately has been a results of a program I started 2 months ago & it has been a game changer for me. You can be plant-based, you can be paleo, you can be anything but if you OVER EAT you’re not going to get results. Portions are important no matter what lifestyle you choose, so if you need help figuring that part out – message me. I’m not going to sway your lifestyle or how you eat & I appreciate that people don’t do that to me because nobody likes to be criticized, accused or questioned. I choose to be a constant reminder to you, to look within for the answers. Everyone is trying to sell something, whether it be a product, meal plan, their own ideals or opinions or beliefs…so just be true to what YOU want, always. Whatever that is. This is what works for me, so it’s what I believe in! Okay? amysilvermanfitness@gmail.com

 

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