Overcoming Life’s Obstacles With Primal Living

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One of my greatest passions since early adulthood has been health and fitness. Yet, I can honestly say that my health has had its fair share of ups and downs over the last 35 years.

My generation played outside…we didn’t have computers back then. I participated in sports, I was very active, and I was lean and strong. My work was also very physical, so I stayed fit until my early 30s. A progressive shoulder injury ultimately led me to a sales career. I then discovered a hidden talent: the ability to pack on weight…60 pounds in less than 3 months. This also led to foot, ankle, knee, hip and lower back issues.

In 2002, I became a personal trainer. In 2003, I also started coaching. In the beginning of my career, I took my clients through brutal workouts, but over time I switched to workouts designed to alleviate pain and correct muscular and skeletal imbalances.

In 2009, I discovered The Primal Blueprint. This was the greatest health and fitness concept I’d ever come across, and it took my health and fitness to an entirely new level.

At the time the Paleo/Primal diet flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Ten years later, it’s practically mainstream…because it made perfect sense and because it flat out works! Over the next 5 years, my strength and energy levels increased as the body fat decreased. Life was good.

And then suddenly, it wasn’t.

From June 2014 – May 2015, I was crushed by some major life challenges. As a result, I suffered from depression and emotional eating and drinking. I had officially hit rock bottom! By May 2015, I had lost most of my strength gains and a lot of muscle mass, but I had ballooned up to 220 pounds. At this point I had enough. I needed a change. I needed to start over.

In July 2015, I moved to Portland, Oregon, which proved to be one of the best things I had ever done. I started working out again, and I became extremely active. I was back on track!

I found myself adhering more and more to the Primal Blueprint Laws once again. After going Primal again, by November 2016, I had lost 90 pounds of body fat, and I added back some muscle. For the first time in my life I had 6-pack abs…at the age of 53! And I’ve kept it off!

In the fall of 2017, I discovered Primal Health Coach Certification program. I was officially certified in early 2018. Since I already had a fitness background, this was an absolute no-brainer for me! The Primal lifestyle changed my life, and I decided to make it my mission to help others as well. I’ve overcome many obstacles: physical issues, chronic pain, rapid weight gain, depression, emotional eating, food addiction and alcoholism.

Since receiving my certification…

What I have learned through the Primal Health Coaching program has allowed me to serve all types of clients, with different needs, at a higher level than I ever dreamed possible. Since graduating, I’ve been building my health coaching business, creating my website, posting on social media and reaching out to friends, family and past clients for referrals. But the best thing I’ve done is to network with a local chiropractor. One of my areas of expertise is pain reduction, so this was a great fit for both of us.

— Rick Stype, PHC

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