About

Hi there! My name is Amy, and I live in Seattle with my husband, Michael. We believe that eating real, whole, and natural foods will make you the healthiest you can be.  For many people it is sugar, modern grains, and fake stuff like processed foods, and partially hydrogenated oils that make us fat and unhealthy, not natural fats, and I am happy to say I lost over 10 pounds almost 3 years ago, have kept it off, and have never felt better! I’m no longer constantly bloated, with puffy feet, and tired all the time. Is it always convenient or “easy” in our grains, sugar and low fat centric society? No. But I feel so much better when I do it so it is worth it! We follow the Primal lifestyle because that is what works best for us, but we’ll just call it “low carb” for now – it fits with my blog title the best! (Note: A “Paleo” or “Primal” lifestyle is not necessarily “low carb”, although will generally be lower than the standard American diet aka “SAD” diet. Some people do better with a higher percentage of carbs from high quality, nutrient dense sources such as starchier vegetables like sweet potatoes, or fruits – you have to find the ratio that works best for you. Check out Chris Kresser’s “Paleo Template“). Basically we are all about food quality and want to eat foods as close to nature as we possibly can, grass fed beef, pastured chicken/eggs and organic veggies/fruit as often as we can with what is available and we are not afraid of eating lots of natural fats (aka grass fed butter, coconut oil, olive oil, lard etc.)! We avoid grains (especially those with wheat & gluten), legumes, sugar, and processed and partially hydrogenated oils (aka vegetable oil, soybean oil, canola oil, margarine) as much as possible. As for excercise, we are Crossfitters! (My husband has been at it awhile, I am a recent convert and will never be seen at a regular gym again) Below are some good links for more information and to get started.

Mark’s Daily Apple Primal Blueprint 101

Robb Wolf Quickstart

Chris Kresser Perfect Health

Protein Power Dr. Mike

Are we always perfect? No. I do have my favorite, french fries, occasionally, and we certainly ate some pizza and pasta on our honeymoon in Italy, but this isn’t about being perfect, it is about taking it day by day and doing our best to eat what we know our body really needs, not what “conventional wisdom” and the government has been telling us with their skewed food pyramid for the last 50 years. In the end so much of our government’s advice is based off money and who it is coming from. You can see here who is funding the ADA for instance…

I highly recommend watching the movie “Fathead” (you can see for free here on Hulu) which is available on Netflix instant queue and reading the book by Gary Taubes “Why we get fat: and what to do about it” as well as checking out the getting started links above.

Now, onto style part of my blog. I have always loved fashion, and have a Bachelor’s degree in Clothing, Textiles, and Fashion Merchandising from New Mexico State University.  I believe that taking pride in your apperance is important to show you have respect for yourself and for those around you. This doesn’t mean you have to be a supermodel – it means developing a style that showcases who you are, and that makes you feel confident from the inside out! No costumes, no sloppiness, and no pajamas outside the house! You don’t have to like or share my style, and sometimes, I will have bad days that I put together something that just doesn’t feel right, but I’m trying and that’s what matters. Hopefully I will inspire you to work on your personal style everyday as well! You can also check out my wardrobe consulting businesss website at www.smartstyleseattle.com.