Benefits

When I started with eating paleo/primal my main goal for doing so was weight loss. After all, isn't that why most of us change our eating habits? Most of us do something different to lose that weight that creeps on you like a cat on your bed at night. Silent, but heavy and unwilling to get off you. I knew I had to change what I was doing because I was never heavier and more miserable in my life. So I stumbled upon paleo/primal and found myself reaping the other benefits I wasn't aware of.
These are the benefits I have experienced so far.

1. Energy
2. Better sleep
3. Clear headedness
4. Clear skin
5. Satiety
6. Very little hunger
7. Loss of puffiness/bloating

These were definitely a welcome surprise that I wasn't expecting so soon. With my narrow-minded focus I only saw losing weight as why I wanted to change, but honestly, all of the rest became just as important to me.
About a year ago and a half ago I started experiencing pain in my upper back and what felt like heaviness in my chest as if someone was sitting on me. My brain quickly went to heart attack. I was panicky and took myself to the ER. I was diagnosed with panic attacks and anxiety. Uh, fun. I felt lucky that I didn't have a heart attack, but I knew that I wasn't too far away from experiencing one if I stayed fat. It was only a matter of time.
So with all of these benefits I began thinking. I sure as hell want to be thinner and live longer, but is living longer any good if your quality of life isn't great? I read something that said, "Add life to your years, not just years to your life."  That made total sense to me. What good is it to live til your 80s and 90s if you have chronic degenerative diseases, and no energy to do anything? Julia Child and her husband lived to be in their 90s. Now they were by no means paleo/primal, but they did literally suck the marrow out of life. And animal bones. They weren't afraid to eat saturated animal fats, butter, cream, cheese and meat. They had the good fortune to live in a country that appreciated good,whole foods and not the crap that our own country shills out. They ate well and  got some exercise and took joy in life and friends and family. Putting it simply, they LIVED. And paleo/primal or not that is the key of doing anything worthwhile, LIVING WELL. I want to live well. Since eating paleo/primal I have been living better. Weight loss is now my side effect to living well. It has made all the difference.