Paleo Marine

I hate to admit this, but I actually pulled a lower abdomen muscle on Monday when sneezing. Yes; sneezing. This getting old is growing old.

What does that mean for me? It means that I had to take a break from exercising this week. All my weightlifting is with free weights which require a lot of core strength, and the abdomen is the base of that core and I couldn’t risk continuing to injure it so close to an ACFT. So, I did something I am not so good at; I took some extra time off from exercising to let it heal.

I’m happy to say that as of this morning (Saturday), the pain is all but gone. That means on Monday, I can start back up with my StrongLifts 5×5 and my running.

I know the de-load is going to psychologically be a bummer, and I also know that my run time will be atrocious. But, I will be happy to be back out there and making progress again. I like how I feel AFTER my workouts, although truth be told, I actually enjoy weightlifting. Running? Not so much. I’d rather be riding my mountain bikes, but the Army doesn’t care about that; they want me to run, so I will run.

When I left for training two weeks ago, I weighed a lot more than I wanted to. A LOT MORE. 200 lbs, to be exact. That’s the heaviest I’ve been in nearly 7 years. How did I get there? A vacation to Hungary and Christmas/New Year. I let myself eat anything and everything and the toll it took on my body was immense.

At the end of December, my wife and I resolved to do a Whole30 (we decided it wasn’t going to be a real Whole30, but more of a strict Paleo with Whole30 rules). I don’t know why we decided that, but here we are. The sticky part was that I was having to attend military training for two weeks in January which would make it difficult for me to eat Paleo. The food in the military is notoriously carb-heavy and MRE’s are the least healthy thing you can imagine putting in your body, so I had to think back to how I kept my Paleo diet during training in the past.

Enter the EPIC Bars, RX Bars, and Lara Bars. Between these three products, I had lunch every day that was clean and healthy. As for breakfast and dinner, I only stuck with foods that didn’t have grains, legumes, dairy, or added sugar. On the days when I couldn’t escape those things, I ate from my own lunch stash or I was fortunate enough to go out of the training area to get food from the local economy.

I was fortunate that the vendor who was catering our exercise noticed that I was ignoring certain items and after about the fourth day, if they had something very carb-heavy or completely un-Paleo, they would make me an option I could eat. It was very nice of them, and it was greatly appreciated.

What was the end result of the January not-so-Whole30 Whole30? I’ve lost around 14 lbs. I want to lose another 20 before May, so I’m sticking with the diet. I’m sticking with my exercise which consists of running and StrongLifts 5×5.

Consistency and dedication got me to where I am today, and it’ll keep me going towards my next goal.

Different people succeed in getting healthy through different diets due to many factors including genetics, culture, beliefs, preferences, etc. For my wife and me, Paleo works.

My biggest challenge is portion size. Even if I eat the right food, I’m always tempted to eat a lot of it. The reason is that I derive pleasure not only from the flavor or texture of foods, but also the quantity. This is incredibly hard to control, but it’s something I work on with every meal.

My wife and I had a conversation last night and she told me that she knew her portion sizes were right when she only got hungry right around mealtime and was slightly hungry at bedtime. I never thought of it, but she’s right.

Eating a healthy diet is important, but so is the amount. The most basic rule of weight loss is a calorie deficit = weight loss. Healthy foods in excess can still be unhealthy. This is something I need to remind myself of all the time.

Strategies for eating correct portions is something I’ve had to learn. First, I try to eat only as much as would fit into a bowl created with both of my hands. If it fits into that, then it’s the right size; any less, and it’s not enough. Any more, and it’s too much.

I also needed to learn to eat slower. I tend to eat very fast; it’s something I picked up from a childhood of activity where I tended to hurry through meals to get back to doing what I was doing prior. It was cemented at Marine Corps boot camp where we had to eat entire meals as quickly as possible. This didn’t do me any favors in controlling my portion sizes.

A strange psychological barrier I also face is that if it’s on my plate, I MUST eat it. I can’t just leave food uneaten on my plate. This is due to my childhood and being punished for not finishing everything on my plate. I know a lot of kids grew up with this same experience, and I honestly think it’s partially to blame for obesity.

My wife helps me with portion sizes by giving me my meals and during meal prep by packaging our meals in proper portion sizes. Somehow, when I receive my meals this way, I don’t have problems eating the right amount. I see the portion size and I try to slow down to enjoy it as much as possible and also to possibly allow my body to register the meal to eliminate hunger.

When I’m left to my own devices, I tend to over-size my portions. Following the “Hand bowl” rule helps, but I’ve been known to cheat. This is where the final ingredient to eating proper portion sizes comes into play: self-control. I have to be in the right mindset to use self-control, and right now, I’m there. I am very motivated to get back to my healthier weight and to increase my fitness levels. Motivation is strong, and fuels my self-control with portion sizes.

These are my challenges and how I overcome them. I’d be curious to learn how you deal with portion size.

OK… so it wasn’t THAT big of a run, but I started off 2023 with a three-mile run. This may sound minor to most people (especially runners), but I haven’t run three miles since at least last February. Instead, I rode mountain bikes almost exclusively with the exception of two-mile runs every other morning while on active duty at Fort Sill.

I decided yesterday just before my run that I’d go back to three+ miles for my runs because I remember how much better I felt running that distance. Also, the ACFT (Army Combat Fitness Test) is a two-mile event, and I prefer to train longer distances to make the ACFT seem like a “Short run.”

I will start integrating some sprints sometime in February as my next ACFT is in March prior to an upcoming deployment, and I don’t want to do poorly on it. A lot of eyes are always on me due to my age, and I can’t let my age group down!

Today is a rest day, but tomorrow I’ll be back in the gym for my StrongLifts 5×5 followed by my next three-mile run. I’m actually not dreading it, as I thought I’d be really sore today but I am happy and surprised to find that I am not. To the contrary, I feel more energized and ready to take on my day, my week, and to keep working toward better fitness.

Today is my rest day. I started my workouts yesterday, and as predicted, I’m sore. This was to be expected (it’s not my first rodeo), and I knew it was coming. But, I also know how important rest days are to the growth and development of new muscles, and how important it is for the healing process of the body moving forward as I get back into the swing of things.

When I was younger, it was easy to go day after day. Heck, I plan on getting back to that once my body is accustomed to it again. But for now, I’m implementing rest days to help keep injuries at bay and to allow my body a chance to gently glide back into exercise.

When I went to USMC boot camp, we didn’t run every day; we did it every other day. Why? Because running every day is counter-productive for people who are new to exercise. Once we got in shape (about three weeks in), the tempo of our exercise became greater, and the distances longer. But in the beginning, they were especially careful to keep us from being injured. Nothing good comes from injuring recruits.

I take that experience and use it today to get the same effect: conditioning the body to get used to exercise before turning up the volume and distance.

The weightlifting went great; it’s funny how that’s not what made me sore. It was the run. It doesn’t help that I’ve never been a fan of running, although I have to admit (grudgingly) that I do love the feeling after I’ve completed a run. Even though my legs are worn out and I may be sweaty and out of breath, that rush afterward is pretty sweet.

So, even though it’s rest day, I did do a few rounds of push-ups. I can’t stay completely still… or leave well-enough alone.

A lot has happened in the past year. I became a Warrant Officer in the Army National Guard, and then I attended the Warrant Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, OK and graduated as a certified Field Artillery Targeting Technician. It took a lot of hard work, both physically and mentally, but I got through it, and I’m now ready to move on with the training I’ve received and keep pushing forward.

I was fortunate that I lived in a small apartment on-post, and I was able to cook my own meals and to meal prep. I typically ate my usual breakfast: two slices of uncured/no-sugar added bacon with two locally-sourced farm fresh eggs. On the days I was short on time, I’d have a bowl of Keto cereal with Califia Farms “Better Half” which is a half-coconut milk/half-almond milk creamer for coffee that happens to be amazing with cereal.

My lunches were usually my meal-prepped boxes with something like Paleo Carnitas, roast beef, or pork roast with some sweet potato, vegetables, or in the case of the carnitas, Paleo tortillas (from Siete).

Dinners were usually something I made fresh in the apartment like steak with sweet potato or some other grilled meat with vegetable, but I would also often eat dinner with fellow warrant officers and when out, I’d eat a 6 oz filet with sweet potato or a cauliflower crust pizza with lactose-free or dairy-free cheese. Every now and then, I’d treat myself to a burger at S&B Burger in Lawton, OK with the gluten-free bun. It was likely not Paleo, but after all the hard work and studying, I needed it!

I stayed physically active. Aside from the morning work-outs (either running, weightlifting, or riding my bike), I did a lot of mountain biking. The trails around Mount Scott near Medicine Park were my most visited trails, but I really loved the trails in Wichita Falls, TX, as well as the trails at Lake Thunderbird State Park in OK. There were a few others we visited as well, but those three were my favorites.

Staying fit and healthy wasn’t difficult. Actually, it was easier than I thought, and I had a great time with it. I was fortunate that the Commissary on post had a lot of healthy food options, and I was pleasantly surprised with the Paleo options as well as the amount of organic and free-range selections. There was also a healthy food outlet off-post called Green Acres Market that kept me stocked with harder to find Paleo items. For anything I couldn’t get locally, Amazon was a solid backup.

So, that sums up eight long months of military schooling. I’m glad to be done with it, but I also miss my classmates and the active duty environment. I feel fortunate to have been able to complete this course at my age, and I never take it for granted.

As I’m currently on active duty in the Army (I’m a Warrant Officer in the Army National Guard currently attending the Warrant Officer Basic Course on Fort Sill), my nutrition is completely dependent on my own choices and preparation, and as an officer, the exercise regimen is largely left to our individual judgment. This is very good for me, as I’m 54-years old, and undertaking a physical fitness plan designed for Soldiers in their 20’s would likely leave me injured or worse.

As I live in an apartment on-post/on-base, I do meal prep on the weekends to make lunches and dinners. There are occasions where I will eat dinner with friends and classmates, but even then, I do my best to make the most healthy choices I can. Steak, sweet potatoes, grilled salmon, and pizza with cauliflower crust are my go-to’s.

Back to my fitness; I lift weights in the gym here in the mornings (Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays, currently) and I run or ride air bikes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When weather and time permits, I also mountainbike in the afternoons. Just today, I rode my mountain bike with a friend in Wichita Falls, TX.

I thought maintaining a healthy diet would be difficult here, but it has been surprisingly easy with a crock pot and healthy ingredients I get from the commissary or a local health food store. I am fit, I am healthy, and I’m getting stronger/faster.

Whatever your situation, don’t let your environment affect your healthy plans. There are always creative ways around the problem, and it’s up to you to find them and to put them into action. Your success belongs solely to you.