Month: January 2018

Day 9 was an interesting one, to say the least. I had fewer hours of sleep than I normally prefer, yet I felt energized and wide awake. Also, my weight was at its lowest again for the third day in a row, and considering I ran last night and did my push ups, my muscles feel remarkably good.

My meals for the day were:

Breakfast: Two eggs sunny-side up and two slices of bacon with coffee. I know, the photo shows ham and eggs. It’s a photo I took a few months back because I got right into my food before I could snap a photo. I think it’s a pretty picture, though.

Lunch: Moroccan lamb roast with mashed cauliflower. This is a new recipe that I really enjoy, and I hope Sherry puts it into our rotation. I can’t say enough of how much I like this dish!

Dinner: Sherry and I went out for dinner to a local Mexican restaurant and had a grilled snapper dish that was served on a bed of spinach with grilled vegetables on the side. It was amazing! Best of all, it was completely Whole30 compliant! We left satisfied, and it was absolutely delicious!

It’s a treat to be able to go to a restaurant and eat Whole30 compliant foods, but if you look hard enough, typically you can find at least a few dishes on the menu of restaurants that actually prepare their food from scratch.

I don’t know what motivates you, but I know what motivates me. I love my family, and I love my friends, and doing anything that hurts them goes against everything that is important to me. When I realized that my being overweight and unhealthy was affecting more than just me, it made me really take a look at my priorities. It had never occurred to me that being overweight and unhealthy was being selfish.

It’s not that my being overweight was affecting anyone directly. Well, unless you consider friends having to wait for me when we vacationed together and I needed to catch my breath anytime we climbed stairs or a big hill. Or unless you consider friends and family needing to make sure they picked places for us to go that could accommodate someone of my size and lack of fitness. Or of course, unless you consider the fact that I wasn’t going to live much longer being as unhealthy as I was, and I was going to impact them negatively through an early departure.

There’s a cute movie called, “Blast from the Past” with Brendan Frasier and Alicia Silverstone (with an amazing supporting cast that includes Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, and even Nathan Fillion). In one of the scenes, Troy (played by Dave Foley) is explaining to Eve (played by Alicia Silverstone) that Adam (Brendan Frasier’s character) defined what a gentleman is.

Troy: You know, I asked him about that. He said, good manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them. See, I didn’t know that, I thought it was just a way of acting all superior. Oh and you know what else he told me?
Eve: What?
Troy: He thinks I’m a gentleman and you’re a lady.
Eve: [disgusted] Well, consider the source! I don’t even know what a lady is.
Troy: I know, I mean I thought a “gentleman” was somebody that owned horses. But it turns out, his short and simple definition of a lady or a gentleman is, someone who always tries to make sure the people around him or her are as comfortable as possible.
Eve: Where do you think he got all that information?
Troy: From the oddest place – his parents. I mean, I don’t think I got that memo from mine.

This sticks in my mind, because I was taught by my parents to be a gentleman. It was a “Thing,” so to speak, and it was a goal to which I was expected to aspire. To that end, I was to always be kind, courteous, and to consider other people’s comfort above my own. It was my duty, as a gentleman, to make sure people around me are as comfortable as possible. It was being considerate.

When my health and weight impacted others in negative ways, it was incumbent on me to change that. It was unfair of me to expect others to continue to cater to special needs that were created through my lack of caring about myself. While I was being defiantly content with being overweight, I was negatively impacting my family and friends.

Ultimately, it was the love for my family and my friends that caused me to seek out information about getting healthy and losing weight. It was my desire to be around as long as possible for them that I undertook what has become the most important journey of my life: staying healthy. That decision led me to places I never expected (enjoying running and joining the National Guard) and has made my life richer.

It wasn’t easy, and the changes didn’t happen overnight. But looking back now, it does seem easy. It feels like the changes occurred overnight. It’s the weirdest thing. Going through the process felt like it was taking forever, yet now, being in maintenance mode, it feels like I am where I am supposed to be, and that the 20 years I was overweight were more difficult than my life is today.

Find your motivation to get healthy, or to stay healthy, and draw upon it when you need it. In those moments when you are tempted or are having problems with motivation, think about your motivators. For me, it’s thinking about those I love and how my health affects them. Whatever it is, use it and cling to it. Sometimes, it’s the difference between success and failure.

On the second day of my fourth Whole30, I didn’t get enough sleep. I was tired that morning, and it was all my fault. I will pass some of the blame to video games, but at the end of the day, the buck stops with me, so it was my fault. I did the same thing Sunday night, the sixth day of my Whole30. I guess I need to learn to get to sleep earlier.

Sleep is an important and often overlooked part of any healthy lifestyle. I rarely see it mentioned, yet I know when I get enough sleep because my body sheds weight as I sleep (as does everyone else’s). When I don’t get at least 7 hours, it’s impossible for me to lose any weight. Once, when I was stuck in a plateau, I realized that I wasn’t getting enough sleep. As soon as I changed that and started getting a minimum of 7 hours a night, the weight loss started anew.

One rule I am breaking (again) on this Whole30 is I weigh myself daily. I am doing this to make sure I’m eating enough, as I tend to undereat when I’m on Whole30’s. It’s not that I’m trying to hold or maintain a weight; I’m not. The the contrary, when I don’t lose weight on a Whole30, it’s typically due to one of two reasons: either I didn’t get enough sleep, or I didn’t eat enough and I am putting my body into starvation mode.

I don’t feel hungry today, but I do feel tired. Yesterday, I did have some cravings due to the unhealthy snacking I was doing over the holidays, but I got through them by playing video games. I also did some gunsmithing, and a little organizing in a closet, but the point is that I kept my mind busy to keep from eating. Oh, and coffee helps, too.

If you want to ensure your success in weight loss, get your sleep. Burning the candle at both ends is actually counterproductive to weight loss (which seems counterintuitive to me). Some people need more sleep. For me, the sweet spot is 7.5 hours. If I can guarantee that much sleep each night, along with good eating habits, I can almost guarantee some weight loss.

If you’re like me, when you were  young, you thought your body was pretty resilient and tough, and while you’ve heard people say things like, “Your body is a temple and should be taken care of,” you ignored that and ate whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. You skipped exercise, and as a result, you put on some pounds. Well, time has a way of catching up with us, and so does a lack of care for our bodies.

I was terrible to my body. I ate anything and everything. I ate to excess, often to the point of feeling stuffed. I remember leaving restaurants and feeling the food in my stomach sloshing around. I used to think that was great. I didn’t realize just how much damage I was doing to my body until the doctor told me I was diabetic, prescribed medication to control my blood sugar, and then told me I had fatty liver disease and needed to lose weight.

I know people who never became overweight and unfit. They took care of themselves through diet, exercise, yoga, or any combination of those. I’m not talking about people who stay thin regardless of the abuse they put their bodies through. Science has shown that these people, while appearing skinny, actually are doing just as much damage to their organs as overweight people. They just don’t store fat the same way. No, those people who kept up with their health and fitness have a leg up on me, and they have my respect. I used to think it was a fool’s errand to limit one’s food intake and to expend energy to be fit. How wrong I was!

Someone asked me once why they should take my advice about health and fitness when I was so outspoken against both in the past. I argued that it is because of my transformation, my change of heart, and the first-hand experience of going from unhealthy to healthy that lends veracity to my advice. I know what it’s like to be obese, to feel helpless, and to think that there is no hope for me to ever be healthy and/or fit ever again. I know what it’s like to make the changes, to commit to a new lifestyle, and to follow through with the work necessary to make it all happen. Most importantly, I have learned that what works to keep some people thin and healthy just didn’t work for me, and they were not what was necessary to lose the weight.

All of our journeys are unique to each us, yet some of us travel the same roads. If I were driving between Houston and San Diego, I would consult not only the Internet for directions, but I would solicit the help of people I knew who have travelled that road before. People who fly between those two cities would not have the same experience, and their advice would not be as helpful. The same is true for people who have always been healthy giving advice to those who are overweight and trying to lose weight.

Be good to your body. Eat better, and try to get some exercise. But know that losing weight doesn’t need to involve exercise, and it doesn’t need to involve counting calories or depriving yourself of delicious and filling foods. Take a look at the information in the sidebar here to read more about how I lost 110 lbs in a year and look up Whole30 and The Paleo Diet.

I was thinking about this the other day as I was falling asleep: I’m glad I buckled down, changed my lifestyle, and lost all the weight and became healthy. I’m glad that I am now fit enough to experience all the things I have been able to do in the past two years. Without having lost the weight and regained my fitness, I would have missed out on many great experiences.

There’s more to life than can be seen from a couch or easy chair. I used to be content with being overweight and unfit. I would tell myself that it was okay, and that all those people out there, running, sweating, and being active were just kidding themselves. I told myself that I was being academic, and pursuing activities of the mind. What I failed to realize is how much richer the academic and mental activities are when you’re fit and healthy.

I love history. I love reading about the past, but there’s something incredibly moving about being able to go to a remote site or location and experience the history at the site it occurred. To be able to smell the air, see the sights, hear the sounds of these places that lived only in the history books when I was unfit and unhealthy really makes the history come alive in a way that would be otherwise impossible.

I love flying. I used to fly Cessnas, but I now fly radio controlled scale airplanes. My wife thought it’d be cool to get me a flight in a WWII-era training biplane as a present, and I was not only able to fly in it, but I was able to pilot the plane for a good half hour. This is something that would have been impossible at my pre-healthy weight. I literally would have been too heavy to fly in the plane, let alone fit in the cockpit.

Hang-gliding, zip-lining, hiking, climbing up and down stairs in castles, squeezing through tight spaces inside submarines and ships: all things that would have been impossible for me before.

These experiences have made my life richer and fuller. There is always time for sitting on the couch and curling up with a puppy and a book. But those are cold, or rainy days. The rest of the time, I like being outside, exploring, having adventures, and experiencing as many things as I can while I can. Some of it I was able to do when I was obese, but it took a toll on me and my body. Now? I can do just about anything without effort and fully enjoy the experience.

Like many people who were overweight, I tried diet after diet and failed each time. In the beginning, I would see some good results, but as time went on, I would end up eating more, eating foods I shouldn’t, and eventually just giving up entirely. What are reasons I was able to succeed this time versus all the others?

1. Variety of food. The amount of Whole30 and Paleo diets available either in great cookbooks or online is staggering. I think it’s impossible to find a new recipe for every day and you can probably go your entire life without repeating a recipe twice. The great news is that these foods are all healthy and made of natural, whole ingredients. That brings me to the next important point.
2. Delicious food. One of the main reasons I would fail at previous attempts to lose weight was because the food just wasn’t all that good. A person can only eat so much baked chicken breast before getting palate fatigue. If I want to eat chicken breast and salad, I can, but I prefer not to. There are so many delicious Whole30 and Paleo options available, I never have to eat bland, boring foods again.
3. Feeling better/energy levels. Once I got past the sugar dragon, I felt amazing! I wake up with a clear head, with lots of energy, and I feel like I’ve actually rested (and yeah, you still need 7+ hours of sleep. Eating well doesn’t negate the need for good sleep). I feel better throughout the day, and this next point is huge.
4. Eliminated cravings. Tied to the previous point, once the sugar dragon is kicked, the cravings go away. Now, when I feel hungry, it’s likely that I’m either genuinely hungry (as in I didn’t eat enough at my previous meal) or I’m bored. Typically, a glass of water, tea, or coffee and finding something to do makes the temporary hunger go away for a little while. In worst case scenarios, a handful of almonds, cashews, or pecans goes a long way to staving off hunger for a bit.
5. Mindset of changing lifestyle permanently. This is one of the most important things I’ve done toward succeeding in losing weight and improving my health. Before I did my first Whole30, I realized that I needed to make a permanent, life-long change. I couldn’t go back to how I used to eat. That had gotten me obese and unhealthy. I didn’t want to be that way anymore, and I changed my relationship with food from thinking of it as being entertaining to thinking of it as fuel. It’s okay to enjoy the food you eat (heck, I’d go a step further and say it’s important), but it’s not okay to use it as a source of entertainment. There are better, healthier activities to use as entertainment.
6. Perseverance. Along with the previous point, I realized that the changes wouldn’t happen overnight. Things would not go perfectly as planned, and there would be bumps in the road. There would be temptation and there would be setbacks. I knew this going in and expected them. When I experienced something that would have caused me to stop eating healthy in the past, this time I knew it was all part of the journey. I embraced my failures and decided to learn from them instead of allowing them to define me. In the end, I persevered and got through the worst so that I could experience and appreciate the best.

There are many different diets within the low-carb/high-fat realm. Ancestral eating is another term used for these types of diets. Regardless of what you use or how you apply it, it’s hard to argue the results that I and many others like me have experienced. Regardless of what method you choose, going into it with the right mindset and realistic expectations is going to be key in your success. Arm yourself with the best information you can get: read, read, and then read some more. Then commit, and make it happen. It won’t be easy, but the results will be well worth the effort.