Month: October 2016

This year was my first Halloween weighing less than 200 lbs since I was on active duty. My wife and I have been hosting Halloween parties for our friends for 14 years, and I was looking through some pictures the other day and found a few that really highlighted how far I’d let my weight soar.

Two years ago, my wife and I were characters from the video game Diablo III. We took a photo in which I thought we both looked pretty good (except for my skull cap: Sherry wouldn’t let me shave my head for the party). I still think we looked great! But then this year, as vampires, I think Sherry and I really hit it out of the park!

We always have fun at our Halloween parties, and I don’t regret any of the costumes or looks we put together. I am happy that I can now do more, and I think I look better now, too.

I find I eat and drink a lot less at the parties now for a few reasons. First, as hosts, it’s important for us to be able to perform our duties such as greeting, introducing, and feeding. Second, even though the majority of the food we serve is Paleo-friendly, neither of us wants to over-eat. It makes us feel physically bad to eat too much now.

Paleo has changed a lot of things in our lives for the better. Who knew Halloween could be one of those things?

Last night, Sherry called me and said that we have a lot of sides pre-prepared in the refrigerator, but no main dishes. She asked me for suggestions on what she could pick up to make that we could eat and I suggested picking up some chicken at El Pollo Loco. She said, “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. We haven’t had that in a while.” When she got home, she told me that it was the first time she had gone through a drive through since we started our Whole30 last September. She said she almost didn’t remember what to do, where to go, and her driving skills inside the thin lane were out of practice.

I didn’t realize it, but it’s been over a year since I myself have gone through a drive-through. Everything we’ve eaten has either been prepared by us or at a sit-down restaurant and Paleo-compliant. I guess that’s why today I was called a “Skinny guy” but a group of gentlemen. I felt proud and happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that.

There are varying degrees of adopting a lifestyle. Some are mostly good, which is better than not at all, while others go scorched earth and follow the book to the letter. I don’t judge: I feel it’s better to be mostly good than not good at all.

Being all-in means sticking with Paleo and not allowing non-Paleo foods into the diet. Now, with that said, I can’t say Sherry and I are 100% Paleo. We use butter instead of ghee, and we sometimes allow cheese on our salads or in some foods (although I always pay the price with my digestion tract!). Otherwise, we’re pretty strict. We have found a balance that works for us and keeps us where we want and making the progress we want to make.

I don’t have the answer for everyone’s weight loss plans. I had the answer for me, and with some luck, the same will apply to you. However, the one thing I’m certain about is that if you don’t do anything, nothing will change. You have to do something to lose weight and get healthy. Find your path and take the steps to make it a life-long journey. Just don’t be taken in by the marketing that tries to sell you on products that claim to make it easier. They don’t. There are only two things that will make you lose weight: diet and exercise. In my opinion, anyone who says they can’t lose it through those two things aren’t all-in and are likely eating foods that don’t promote good health. There is no such thing as eating healthy if that includes grains, soy, sugar, or dairy. Those foods have been proven to be harmful to us, and using the flawed nutrition information from the 70’s-90’s does more harm than good.

Stick to the following as closely as you can and you will do well:

1. No grains
2. No dairy
3. No soy
4. No Sugar
5. No pre-processed foods

Eat meat and veggies with a smattering of fruit and you will be surprised at how well your body will respond.

It’s no secret that my weight loss success started with Whole30 and has been due in large part to adopting the Paleo lifestyle with my wife, Sherry. However some people have mistakenly equated Paleo with Adkins. They both are low-carb, but Paleo has a few distinct differences.

1. No grains. No rice, no pasta, no bread, no breakfast cereals, no corn, no quinoa, no oatmeal. Adkins allows some of these things in small quantities. In Paleo, we avoid them entirely or find non-grain alternatives.
2. No refined sugar. Never.
3. No dairy. We sometimes break this one, but mostly adhere to it. The exception is butter/ghee.
4. No soy.
5. No pre-processed foods. We make everything ourselves.

Adkins was designed as a weight-loss diet; something you do for a while, and after you lose your weight, you go back to eating as you did before (until it’s time to lose weight again). Paleo is a lifestyle that is meant to be adopted for life. It’s also not designed for weight loss; it’s a lifestyle that promotes good health through eating foods that are natural and similar to the diet humans ate for thousands of years.

Am I saying that cavemen were healthier than us? Not necessarily. Modern medicine has helped us eradicate many diseases and control maladies that would otherwise kill us. However, our bodies operate much better when eating meats and vegetables and fruits that occur naturally. Grains are very high in carbs which are easily processed and stored in the body. When we get overweight, our bodies get out of sync and health problems occur. Many of these are controlled by medicine, but why turn to medicine when all you have to do is eat right? No, eating right doesn’t solve everything, but it does help avoid a host of medical issues that are exacerbated by being overweight.

I lost over 100 lbs in a year eating Paleo foods. My wife lost 65 lbs in that same time period. I did no exercise until six weeks ago. Adopting the Paleo lifestyle has changed my life and made it better. I am fairly certain it can do the same for you!

My son gets sad when he sees me talking about my former self as, “Fat.” He says that he never saw me that way, and that he always just saw his dad. I appreciate that, and my son has a huge heart. However, when I see old pictures of myself when I was fat, I get sad.

I didn’t see myself as fat when I was at my largest. I knew I was overweight, but I would take photos of myself and look at them and think, “See? That’s not so bad!” Looking at them now, I’m horrified. I was huge and unhealthy. I’m lucky I escaped my largest phase without any serious health issues. What scares me the most, however, is how easy it was for me to see myself as normal when I was anything but.

It’s easy for us to make peace with our overweight selves. It’s easy for us to say, “People need to accept me for who I am regardless of my weight” and that’s all well and good. I don’t think we should shame anyone for being overweight. That’s not right. Placing judgment or shame on anyone for their health, weight, or any other reason is wrong. But gently trying to advise people to get healthy is a tricky and delicate subject. Especially to those who don’t see the need.

I am sad when I see people posting on Facebook about how people “Just need to accept me for who I am.” They are right, but I wonder: do they think they are healthy at their heavy weight? The myth of the healthy fat person has been debunked. There is no such thing as a fit fat person. Yes, I’ve seen the videos of the overweight people doing yoga, running, etc. The fact of the matter is that they are not yet healthy, but they are on their way. Our bodies are not meant to operate for long with excess fat.

I eat right now. My body has found its natural equilibrium in regards to calories in/calories out. That’s why I run now: I want to spend more calories to push that equilibrium point down further to a lighter end weight for myself. I didn’t have to do crazy amounts of exercise (or any at all for the first 100 lbs!). I just had to eat right.

Does that make me hate my former self? Not at all. It makes me sad for my former self. Sad that I thought I was okay. Sad that I didn’t take my health seriously. Sad that I sat on a couch or in a chair for so many years and didn’t have the energy to be the person I wished I could have been for my kids and my wife. I did the best I could with what I had, but I could have been better.

You can do better. You have all the discipline inside you that I have. It’s in you. You just have to listen to yourself. Trust in yourself. Don’t give in to temptation. You know that voice that says, “Oh wow, I really shouldn’t eat that…” THAT’S your DISCIPLINE talking to you. Let its voice be heard. Let that voice grow into a roar. You can do it!