Category: Scoop

On Saturday morning, I weighed in at my new low: 180.2 lbs! This puts me just 5 lbs from my penultimate (there’s my favorite word, again!) goal, and only 15 lbs from my final goal! I’m excited to be so close.

Also, today is the one year anniversary of the start of our new lifestyle that has lead to my weight loss and improved health, and I never dreamed that I could get this far so soon. I hoped, but I didn’t really think it could be done.

Yet here I am.

When I set out to do this, I had lofty goals, but no real expectation of getting there. When I met my first goal, I was happy and surprised. When I hit my second, third, and fourth goals, it was intoxicating. I wanted to hit that next goal!

As it turned out, I missed the deadlines I had set for myself for my last two goals, but I’m okay with that. Losing over 105 lbs in the period of one year is a great accomplishment, and I’m proud of myself and of my wife on her loss. We’re both feeling great, and we’ve improved our quality of life.

You can do this, too. A year goes by quickly. I can’t believe I’ve come this far in so short time.

Adhering to a lifestyle like Paleo can be tough for people who are new to it, especially for those who have not very seriously looked at their relationship with food and how it effects the choices they make in their diet. Personally, I find the Paleo Lifestyle to be full of delicious, satisfying, and diverse foods. I no longer miss grains, dairy, or sweets. Honestly. I’ve learned to not only live without those, but to savor and enjoy the plethora of foods I am able to eat without consequence.

When Sherry and I began Paleo, we added foods to our diet that included Paleo-friendly sweeteners like honey, dates, and coconut sugar. We thought, “It’s Paleo: we can eat it!” What we found, however, was that while these were Paleo-friendly, they slowed or halted our weight loss progress. For me, I could count on at least a three day cessation in progress anytime I ate one of these Paleo-friendly “Treats.” I learned quickly that just because it’s Paleo doesn’t mean it’s okay while trying to lose weight.

That brings me to something that I missed early on in my own journey that I’m hoping to clue you in on: there’s a difference between Paleo for weight loss and Paleo for health and nutrition. Technically, they involve the exact same foods and rules. However, I have modified it a bit to suit my mission.

For weight loss, I restrict the amount of foods made with any kind of sweetener at all, even if it’s Paleo-friendly. Sugar is sugar, even if it’s natural and unprocessed. In my experience, it’s hitting the same craving hot spots in my brain, and eating some of these Paleo treats makes me want more of them. Thus, I have concluded from my own experience (and Sherry has echoed this) that even the natural sugars bring about the cravings. This is bad, especially when you’re trying to lose weight and eat well. What’s worse is that my weight loss slows or stops completely when eating these Paleo-friendly treats. No thank you!

For health and nutrition, Paleo is sustainable and the Paleo-friendly treats don’t have the same effect if you’re looking to maintain your weight. I will introduce more of these muffins and treats when I’m at my goal weight, but for now, I’ve asked Sherry to avoid them for us. She’s also noticed the same thing with her weight loss, so it was an easy sell.

I will admit that we are both looking forward to hitting our goal weights so that we can start enjoying more Paleo treats. For now, however, we just have to pass.

Thank you for reading this site. Seriously. All of you who read this site, comment, send me messages and emails, or talk to me in person: you’ve changed my life.

Through my posting, website, Twitter, and Facebook posts, I’ve become sort of a role model for people who are no longer content with being overweight, unhealthy, or are looking for a way to eat healthy foods without starving or sacrificing flavor and variety. It’s humbling, exciting, and terrifying all at the same time.

I make every effort to point out to people, whether in person or here online, that I’m not a nutritionist, a doctor, or medical professional and that I’m not saying that my experience and results will be the same results anyone else will get. I do say, however, that my results are pretty typical for people who are as strict about sticking to the lifestyle as I have been, and that it has worked for me and very well might work for them, too. I know that it’s not easy, and I don’t judge anyone who is unable to follow my lead. It’s okay. We’re all different, and I know first-hand it’s not easy. I will do what I can to help you if you ask.

As someone who struggled with weight for so long, I’m humbled when people congratulate me or celebrate my loss. When they tell me their stories, of how they struggle or the challenges they’ve faced, I remember my own challenges and struggles. When they tell me they look to me for inspiration and courage, I can’t help but step up to the challenge and help. Some awesome people did that for me (Matt and Sarah) and I feel it’s my responsibility to carry that torch that’s been passed to me through my success.

I do enjoy talking about the journey and the process; sometimes a little too much. It’s easy to get excited about success, especially in something that is perceived as being so difficult. I am excited when someone reaches out to me for information: it’s as if you’re seeing someone finally get the blinders lifted off their faces and they finally realize that a healthy life is not difficult at all!

There are times when it’s terrifying in ways I never would have expected. I feel the pressure to be a perfect role model, which is a good thing, but I worry a little too much about foods with ingredients that are non-Paleo or treats. I know they won’t kill me or derail me, but I worry about the slippery slope of allowing treats into my lifestyle. I am also terrified of backsliding into the life I led before. Pizza, hamburgers, and cake aren’t any less delicious today than they were for me a year ago. They are every bit as enticing now as they used to be. It’s for that reason I need to stay away from them. Thankfully, there are many Paleo analogues for these foods so I can sate my desire for them, but that fear remains. I’m also terrified of letting people down by not being understanding or patient enough. I try hard to be both.

This post may seem silly to some folks, but it’s all from the heart. I am sincerely honored to be someone people look to for inspiration in losing weight and getting healthy. I take that responsibility very seriously, and I strive to always be the example people can respect and look up to. I’m not perfect, and my way isn’t necessarily the best way for everyone, but it’s the best way for me, and I’ve been fortunate to have friends and family who have done the same and achieved the same results I have.

So, once again, I thank you.

While I’ve lost only 4.6 lbs in the past month, I’ve lost more in my overall size and lost 2 lbs this week alone! My shirts are now a solid size medium after being sort of in-between sizes for a while. My trousers are sub-34″, although 32’s are a little snug, I’m sticking with the 34’s for now. I think I should be able to last another month in 34’s before moving on to 32’s.

As I have been losing weight, I’ve had to buy quite a bit of new clothing. I haven’t worn anything this small since I was in my late 20’s, and any of those clothing are now long gone (and out of fashion!). I’ve been doing a lot of shopping at Kohl’s as well as the Outlet Mall. It’s helped curb the expense a bunch. I’ve also resorted to getting only a few pairs of trousers and shirts as my weight keeps dropping.

It’s weird: I’ve been a little cranky about my lack of weight loss, but after visiting the store last night and getting a few new shirts that are mediums, I feel much better. It’s progress I can see and feel, and it’s reinforcement to the fact that the results keep on coming. All the work I’m doing with my eating habits continues to pay off. Adding the push ups seems to have boosted my weight loss, too.

The point of all this is that sometimes, progress is slow or even unnoticeable, but progress is being made nonetheless. I still feel great, my body is leaner, and I’m able to do some exercise without dying.

As my friend Elaine has noted, every small victory counts. I’ll take smaller shirt sizes and loosening pants any day.

I’m currently at 182.1 lbs; almost into the 170’s!

As someone who sticks to a very strict Paleo diet, alcohol is something I do only in extremely rare situations. This past Saturday was one such situation: our friends Steve and Anita came over, and we decided to have some wine. While Sherry and Anita had some Moscato, Steve and I drank some Rudy’s Red, a chocolate-infused wine that we buy on the Bluebonnet Wine Trail at Peach Creek Winery. I love that stuff. I love it so much that I drank all but one glass worth of the bottle.

I was fully expecting my weight to skyrocket the next as it had in the past anytime I drank alcohol in large quantities, but it didn’t happen this time. My weight held steady. This was a huge victory, and I think thanks in large part to the fact that I kept my eating in-check.

Normally, when I drink, I end up eating not only more than I normally would, but also foods I would normally avoid. My defenses against temptation are weakened when I drink, and I think that’s why my weight soars.

I’m not going to be adding alcohol to my regular consumption list anytime soon, but I think I learned something about how I deal with food and temptation a bit. This will help me deal with food while imbibing alcohol in the future, and will keep me from doing any more damage than necessary to my progress toward my final weight goal.

At the grocery store on Sunday, Sherry and I saw a bunch of big people there who were all trying to eat well: low-fat, whole grain, and organic fruit juices were among the items in their carts. These people actually believe that eating that food is good for them. It’s what they’ve been taught their whole lives, and by God, they’re doing their best to “Eat right.” To me, this is criminal. Our system, our health professionals, and our government have let these people down. What’s worse is that the food lobbies pay for professionals to keep spewing horrible nutrition advice to keep selling their horrible foods.

In the grocery store, it’s amazing to see how little of the food is actually good for you. I would estimate that nearly 85% of the items on the shelves for consumption have some kind of sugar in them. A lot of that comes from wheat, rice, beans, dairy, or straight-up sugar like corn syrup or other sweeteners. It’s morbidly laughable how many of these items sell themselves as “Heart healthy,” or “Gluten Free” (as if Gluten Free meant it was somehow better for you).

I don’t blame fat people for being fat. I know how easy it is to get to that point where you’re 50, 60, or even 100 lbs overweight. It creeps up on you like a ninja in the night. I blame our government, our education system, the majority of our medical and nutrition professionals, and I blame wholeheartedly the food lobbies and food manufacturers for outright lying to us about what is healthy and what is not.

The problem is that this won’t change anytime soon. There’s too much money to be made selling horrible food to people. The profit margins on fries, pizzas, and hamburgers is too high to give up. Breakfast cereals? How much money is made on breakfast cereals?

The breakfast cereal industry has gross profit margins of 40-45%, 90% penetration in some markets, and steady and continued growth throughout its history. -revolvy.com

I don’t see any of these companies giving up on these types of profits anytime soon. After all, the only thing they care about is shareholder value. The heck with us and our health as a nation.