Month: January 2026

Why Weight Isn’t Everything in Your Health Journey

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This morning, I hit 188.6 lbs. It may have been 188.4 lbs, but I forget exactly, so when that happens, I take the higher weight (I don’t want to give myself any undue credit). This is significant because now I’m settled firmly into the 180’s. That means I have less than 13 lbs to go before I reach my arbitrary and meaningless weight goal. I say it’s arbitrary and meaningless because in the past, I’ve missed target weights but felt a whole lot better, was healthier, fit into smaller clothing more easily, and felt like I generally accomplished my goals of being at a healther “Size.”

The AI image didn’t tie the laces, tuck them in properly, or properly blouse the boots, but I’m sure someone will comment on this anyway, so I left the image as-is.

The reason why so many people fixate on the numbers is because it’s an easy measure and it’s tangible. What’s less tangible is how much better you feel, how much easier exercise is, how less winded you are climbing a flight of stairs, and how much better those blood test results are during your annual physical. These are the things that really matter. Weight? It’s a simple way to put a number to all these things, but it’s actually not that simple.

Factors for affecting your weight include your height (obviously), age (bone density increases with age making your skeletal weight greater), genetic makeup, and fitness level. As I get more and more back into physical activity, my body becomes leaner but the muscles also more dense and heavier. When I lost my initial 130 lbs, it is only then that I decided to add exercise to my journey. I continued to lose some weight, making it up to 150 lbs lost, but then I started gaining weight even though I was still losing inches off my waist. This was because I was weightlifting and also running which made me much healthier and stronger, but also made my muscles more dense.

Weight, for me, is a snapshot. It’s an easy guide to see where I’m at without looking too much into it. But once I do, and once I take everything else into account, I find that weight is not an accurate measure of success when undertaking a healthier lifestyle. It’s more like a suggestion. That’s one of the reasons why Whole30 doesn’t want you to weigh yourself. Many people can become easily discouraged when they don’t see the numbers dropping (or worse, see them increasing) while ignoring all the positive changes going on in their body and overall health. As our bodies reconfigure from a bad diet to a good diet, the body reacts in weird ways. I’ve done enough Whole30’s to know the process by now, and I’ve made it past the stall that normally happens to me just past week 2. Now, I’m back to making progress as my body is completely accustomed to the good food and the complete lack of added sugars (or heavy carbs in any form). I still have fruit, but it’s blueberries, raspberries, cherries, grapes, and oranges. I may have a banana before my Army Fitness Test on Saturday morning, but that’s just to pump my blood with some easy/quick energy before exertion.

So, while I celebrate the weight loss, I don’t put too much into that. It’s nice, but honestly, the only reason I really care is because the Army still cares about weight, and the new “Fit” standards to measure body composition penalize short people (like me) with unrealistic numbers for people my age.

Two Weeks Down; Two to go

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So, in two weeks, I’ve dropped 2 inches off my waist and 16 lbs. That’s a great success so far. Also, I had to have some medical tests run, and the doctors told me that my numbers across the board were phenomenal for someone my age (and just about normal for a man at any age). I attribute that to 10 years of eating healthy and getting off my tail every now and then.

I’m looking forward to getting back into lifting; hopefully, soon.

There’s one thing I haven’t been putting enough focus on in the past two weeks, though: water. I need more water intake. The doctor confirmed that as well; I’m constantly dehydrated. This hurts not only my overall health, but my ability to lose weight. Ironically, to be able to lose weight as effectively as possible, you need to remain hydrated.

The plan for me is to force myself to drink more water. I don’t like it, but it’s necessary. I’m also working to reduce my caffeine intake. This is going to be harder, because not only do I love coffee, but I’m also addicted. Honestly, black coffee is what got me through the first week of Whole30. But, the doctor told me that some of the health issues I’ve been experiencing can be attributed to my high caffeine intake, so I’ll bring that down a bit. Not eliminate, but reduce.

Otherwise, I feel great. My gut feels smaller, my face looks smaller, my pants fit better, and going up the stairs doesn’t feel like such a chore anymore. I will also start my actual workout routine week after next. Why? Because I have drill coming up soon, and I don’t want to be sore for that. I also might have to run 2 miles, and I don’t want to jeopardize my ability to finish that with the best time possible considering I haven’t run in months.

Revitalizing my life with Whole30

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There was a time when everything I did to try to become healthy was wrong. The wrong diets. The wrong exercise. The wrong plans. Even the motivation was wrong. I looked for shortcuts, for tricks: I looked for anything that would help me get healthy. None of it worked.

My granddaughter and I playing. She is an additional motivator in my health journey.

I never had the money for fancy pills, powders, products, or plans that promised the miracle of losing weight and getting healthy. If there was a diet or plan that promised substantial benefits towards getting healthy and losing weight, I tried them. And they all failed.

That’s why when my cousin, a Physician Assistant, recommended I try Whole30, I was incredulous. I thought, “Great. Here goes another plan that is doomed to fail,” but out of respect for her and with a healthy dose of fear that she gifted me through a heart-to-heart conversation about where my poor health and heavy weight were leading me, I was able to convince my wife to give it a try. I had high hopes, but no real expectations for success. What ended up happening was far beyond what I could have even hoped for.

That first month, I lost 20 lbs. Then, for the following 12 months, I lost roughly 10 lbs for a total of 130 lbs lost in one year. I had physicals throughout the year because I wanted to monitor my health as my body was undergoing such a rapid transformation. Each time test results came back, they were better than the last. Heck, the first physical I had just 2 months after starting Whole30, my Type 2 Diabetes was nowhere to be found. It was so confusing to my primary care physician that they ordered a second set of tests; they thought they made an error and received someone else’s results in place of mine. They couldn’t believe the Diabetes was gone. Neither could I.

Fast-forward 12 years. I’ve kept the weight off, the Diabetes is still gone, cholesterol is healthy, and I’m still leaning heavily on Whole30 from time to time. Normally, my wife and I eat Paleo, but as we are human and prone to slipping into bad habits, we need the refresh that Whole30 gives us. What is funny to us is how, once we’ve decided to do another one, we don’t dread it. We actually look forward to the many benefits we know it will provide:

  • Mental clarity
  • Fitting better into clothes
  • Improved energy levels
  • Improved self-image (I like what I see in the mirror or those selfies much more)
  • Last but not least, the smaller number on the scale

I don’t frame Whole30 as a restrictive diet (I never did, actually) although I did have fears that it would be on my first round. Now, I see it as revisiting an old friend, one who feeds me with delicious and healthy foods I don’t have to feel guilty about. Foods that nourish my body without artificial chemicals or ingredients that also taste great. I see it as a rebirth of a good habit: eating better food.

My wife had to remind me one night at dinner after she asked me if I was full (and I responded that I wasn’t really) that I was allowed to eat more. Whole30 doesn’t restrict your serving sizes, although one should still be mindful of over-eating (which is my biggest problem). I ate an additional half serving and then it hit me; I was full and felt sated.

Some things I have to remember and re-teach myself every Whole30:

  • Sleep is important. For me, 7 hours or more a night is key for actual weight loss
  • Serving size is important but not set in stone. Eat until full (or just about full) and stop
  • Fiber is important as I tend to be protein-heavy on Whole30’s
  • Fruit is okay, but be mindful of the amount of sugar (which is why I prefer blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries over bananas)
  • Trust the process

That last one is also key, but it’s become more than a slogan for me. It’s a reassurance. Every single time I’ve done a Whole30, I’ve been successful. The length of time after a Whole30 that I can go without doing another one seems to be 9-12 months, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go on without doing another one (because I have those life-long bad habits and psychological issues around eating), but I no longer dread them. To the contrary, I welcome them and look forward to the positive changes that Whole30 give me and brings to my life.

Seeing the results in the mirror

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It’s one thing to see a number getting smaller and smaller, but it’s another thing entirely when you can see the results in the mirror and feel them in your skin. Another morning with not only appreciable weight loss (another pound, down to 189.4 lbs) but also finally seeing it in my face. Today as I was shaving, I could see it, and it felt great. I haven’t looked at this face in a few years, actually.

I have more crows feet around the eyes when my weight drops, but I’m okay with that.

Right after I went on my deployment, I injured my shoulder. That kept me out of the gym which in the past really helped me stay slim while eating right, and the resulting sadness over losing that outlet made me a little less diligent with my food choices. I didn’t go crazy, as I never got past 200 lbs, but I hovered in the high 190’s for the past two years.

Fast forward to January 2026. The shoulder still has pain (I’m seeing the specialist tomorrow, actually), but I finally decided enough was enough. The weight gain wasn’t due to lack of exercise, but a lack of restraint in what I was eating. Whole30 was needed in more ways than one.

Usually when I’m on my Paleo diet, I tend to be a little loose on the weekends. This causes a yo-yo with my weight: I gain about 2-2.5 lbs on the weekend and then lose it by the next weekend, only to start the process all over again.

While on Whole30, however, that doesn’t happen. As I stick to the plan, I don’t allow myself even the slightest wiggle room. In the long run, this is far better for me not only physically, but psychologically. It allows me to stay in the right mindset and honestly, it makes everything related to eating and my health easier.

I have drill later this month, and the only difficulty will be in finding Whole30 compatible foods. I know I can probably find some Mexican places for Fajitas, some steak places for steak and sweet potato, and all breakfast places will have bacon and eggs, but the bacon will be suspect as the vast majority of places use bacon with sugar. I might do some research and try to find some Whole30 compatible frozen meals I can buy when I’m in Austin and just have in my hotel room as necessary.

But this I know: I will feel great in my uniform, I already feel better in my civilian clothing, and when I look in the mirror, I get a jolt of motivation because the face looking back at me is no longer bloated from excess water weight or wearing the extra weight which was the result in a lack of discipline.

Revamping My Diet: Success with Whole30

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So, no; it’s not another, “New Year, New Me” post or plan. Doing a Whole30 every now and then is something my wife and I do after we’ve let our diet slip out of Paleo into See-Food (we eat whatever we see fit). The result of that see-food diet has been me getting up to (GASP!) 205 lbs. That’s WAY too much for me. So… Whole30 time.

I started at 205 lbs. 205.6 lbs, to be exact. That weight was taken on Day 1 (also known as W1D1 in W30 parlance). The first week is always the hardest for me, specifically the first three days, and this time was no different. Fortunately, I had things to do to keep my mind off of the discomfort (like being daycare for my 13-month old granddaughter) and by the end of the first week, I had lost (this is crazy) 13 lbs.

Now, for the W30 purists, I know: You’re not supposed to weigh yourself DURING the W30. You’re supposed to weigh in at the beginning, and then again at the end. BUT… this isn’t my first W30, and I also know what motivates me past cravings: knowing my progress. I know: the W30 isn’t about the numbers alone. I get that. Coincidentally, all my clothes are fitting beautifully again now, and I FEEL so much better. My stomach isn’t extending outwards anymore which thrills me. But being that I’m still in the military, the weight is important for me as it’s a measure of our physical readiness (and I have a weigh-in later this month).

As I am now in the middle of Week 2, I am still seeing and feeling progress. I’m now down to 190.2 lbs which is well over 15 lbs. That’s 15 lbs in a week and a half. Absolutely incredible. The best part? The food. My wife makes AMAZING W30 foods, and if you want to make some too, check out her site called “Our Daily Bacon.” It’s 100% free, no registration required, and we literally live off the diets on that site. When we find things we love (that are Paleo or W30), she adds them to the site. It’s a mix of links to recipes elsewhere, or when they disappear, she finds the recipes and then posts them on her site. Super resource for those looking for delicious and easy foods to eat on W30 or Paleo.

So, here I am. Again. On another W30. And you know what? I’m loving it. I love how I feel, how I look, and I love that I will soon be able to exercise again (which I haven’t been able to do for two years due to injuries and surgery).