Category: Scoop

There are many ways to measure success in health and fitness. The simplest and most tangible is weight lost, but once you reach a goal, how do you keep up with success? We need goals to keep reaching toward, and once you reach a certain weight, that simplest of goals is marked accomplished.

Some measures I’ve added and work towards are changes in my body composition that can be measured in my waist size or shirt size. I still have another inch to go on my waist, but that’s more a function of my skin shrinking some more than actually losing any weight. There’s no fat between my skin and my muscles at my waist, so this is a somewhat silly goal, but I still work toward ensuring I don’t gain any fat to make the skin shrink any slower.

My health is greatly improved, and not just on the outside, but inside as well. I am no longer a Type-2 Diabetic, I no longer suffer from fatty liver disease, my vision has improved slightly (due to no longer being diabetic) and I no longer have circulation issues in my feet.

I also measure my success in health and fitness in being able to help, aid, and assist others get healthy and fit. I make myself available to help others for not other reason than I know how it felt to be overweight and feeling helpless. I remember thinking there was no way I could ever lose the weight without a lot of pain. I want to help people realize they can do this by just changing what they eat. Adding exercise when they are comfortable and ready is a great thing, but not necessary for losing weight.

One way I have been able to measure success is by doing things I couldn’t do when I weighed more and was a larger size. Fitting into the cockpit of a PT-19 WWII bi-plane trainer is something I’ve always wanted to do, but never could due to my weight and size. Earlier this year, I was able to realize that dream and fly a bi-plane. It was exhilarating, and a sweet culmination of the work it took to get to that point. I have also been zip-lining, hiking, running, been in a NASCAR race-car on a track, and most importantly, I’ve been able to go back into the military as a Staff Sergeant in the National Guard. All of these are successes that I can cling to and help to motivate me.

The final measure of my success is in staying healthy: eating right, sticking to a strict Paleo Diet in every way I can, and getting exercise three times a week. Sometimes I miss the mark in both areas, but I never give up, and I never consider quitting. I have a lifestyle I maintain now, and I am set on keeping my health and fitness at their highest levels as I can for the rest of my life.

In a word, no. Walking alone will not get you to lose weight. If you don’t change what you eat, you are not going to lose weight. You will get stronger, and your heart will benefit a bit, but it will not get you to where you want to be. The only way to do that is by changing the food you eat from whatever it is you eat now to something healthy. Period.

If I had a nickel for every person who told me that they were starting their new, healthy lifestyle by walking, I’d be retired. I always ask, “And what diet changes are you making,” to which I’ve been told without exception, “Oh, I’m eating moderately. The same food; just not as much.” I usually just nod and tell them, “Good luck!” No, I don’t do so sarcastically; I’m sincere. I really wish them good luck, because they will need it.

Weight loss is 90% what you eat and 10% exercise. Now, if you want to maximize your weight loss and increase your heart health and fitness, then yes, exercise is absolutely necessary and beneficial. However, it’s not necessary to exercise to lose weight. I lost 110 lbs in a year without a single step of exercise. I know it can be done because I did it.

If you’re going to start something, start with changing your diet. You will have much better, quicker, and long-lasting results than by walking alone. I know this from first-hand experience, too. Sadly.

 

This gets my goat. I hate seeing an entire industry profiting off the misery of people who sincerely want to lose weight in a healthy and effective manner. These people have been duped, lied to, and paid through the nose for pills, patches, powders, programs, and even surgery to lose weight, often (most of the time) to find that these plans require a person to also “Eat a healthy diet and get exercise.” Well no kidding. Guess which part of the equation is causing people to lose the weight? It’s the part you are supposed to do in conjunction with the product you purchased and not the product itself.

I lost 110 lbs in a year without exercise and without any diet products or surgery. I did it without being hungry, without cravings, and without any gimmicks. I didn’t ever starve, and I didn’t have to count points, calories, or eat cabbage soup for months. Most importantly, I didn’t have to pay anyone ONE RED CENT to lose weight. How did I do that?

Whole30 and the Paleo Diet.

Both of these are free, and you can find 100% of the information necessary to complete a Whole30 and adopt the Paleo Diet online. They do sell books and there are literally tens of thousands of products that are available around Whole30 and the Paleo Diet, but it’s not necessary to purchase them. You can do it all without paying anything extra.

In the most simple terms, eat meat and vegetables and avoid anything with added sugar and grains. It’s that simple. Now, the difficult part is sticking with it, but that’s why I advocate the Whole30. It gets you past the sugar cravings, resets your body and your nutrition, and allows you to start the Paleo Diet on a clean slate. Your success is almost assured if you can make it through a Whole30 and then stick with the Paleo Diet.

Bonus Pro-Tip: DO NOT celebrate completing a Whole30 with non-compliant meals. Once you go off-plan, it becomes easier and easier to justify non-compliant meals and food items, and before you know it, you’re back to eating what you ate before and would need to completely start over again. Why jeopardize your progress by drinking a sugar-filled Starbucks drink?

Don’t buy the shakes, smoothies, or subscriptions to diet meals. Educate yourself with free materials online, buy good, wholesome foods at the local grocery or farmer’s market, and make the food yourself. You will lose weight, get healthy, and buy more time on this big, blue-green marble.

So, smoking is something that some people don’t consider to be Paleo. There are concerns about the risks of carcinogens that may be in the smoke that cooks the meat. However, I believe that in any Paleolithic cooking, there was probably a lot of smoke from the fuel used to cook foods (wood, coal, etc), so I’m okay with smoking. Besides, it tastes great, and it’s a great way to slow-cook meats.

As part of our food prep routine on Sundays, we smoke at least one type of meat to be used throughout the rest of the week. This week, it was pulled pork; one of our favorites. It’s very versatile. Primarily, Sherry uses it to make a breakfast casserole that I love that also has apples and bacon in it. We also eat it on its own or sometimes in a sweet potato. It also finds its way into other dishes as well. Having some pulled pork around really opens up quick-fix options for when we don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen making dinner.

Other times, we smoke ribs, brisket, chicken, or salmon. The flavor of these foods is fantastic, and the smoking helps to preserve the meat naturally and without nitrites or other chemicals. Did I mention it tastes great?

There are many options available for smokers, but I got the 30″ Masterbuilt 30 smoker which is available just about anywhere including Amazon and Walmart. Wood for smoking is easy to find as well, and popular woods include apple, cherry, oak, mesquite, alder, and hickory. Each type of wood imparts a different flavor, and it’s fun to experiment with the different woods and the different meats to find a smoking pair you really like.

Give smoking a try. It’s a really easy way to add some delicious meat to your weekly meals without doing a lot of work. You just do a little prep for the meat (typically some sort of rub or marinade), put it into the smoker for a bunch of hours at an appropriate temperature, and then voila! Delicious meat!

In two years, I went from being a big guy to being known as the “Thin guy.” While I don’t think I’m really thin, I’m definitely thinner, and much healthier (and fit!). These two photos are a reminder to me of just how far I’ve come in two years. On the left is the most recent photo of me at our 2017 Halloween Party. On the right was 2015. I was Grizzly Adams, and I had already lost roughly 20 lbs when that photo was taken.

It’s staggering to see the changes in just two years.

Waist 2015: 46″ Waist 2017: 31″
Shirt size 2015: XXL Shirt size 2017: S
Weight 2015: 290 lbs Weight 2017: 165 lbs

That doesn’t even get into all the health benefits and maladies I no longer suffer from.

You can’t achieve your goals if you don’t start. Stop putting it off, and start by making a plan and then putting that plan into motion.

Veracity is defined conformity to facts; accuracy or habitual honesty. I write from experience, and through information I’ve learned either first-hand (mostly) or from reading online. I strive to convey as much good information as I can through the blog posts on this site, and I work hard to answer questions as quickly and honestly as possible. Heck, I’ve even posted photos of myself all but nude. I’m an open book, and I do my best to be as completely honest about the information I give here as I can.

I was a thin and fit guy when I was young. I was an athlete. I joined the Marines and continued with good health and fitness until about half-way into my enlistment when I let my weight climb and my fitness levels decline. Although I maintained my height and weight standards and never scored below a 1st class PFT in the Marines, I wasn’t nearly as fit as I should have been. After leaving the Corps, I allowed myself to gain a monstrous amount of weight, becoming obese so quickly that my stomach and sides got stretch marks. Almost 20 years later, I got serious about my health and changed my lifestyle. The result was I lost 110 lbs in a year without exercise and another 40 lbs in the second year after I began running.

Today, I’m a healthy 50 year-old Staff Sergeant in the Army National Guard. I run at least three times a week for a minimum of 3 miles each time, and I stick to the Paleo Diet as closely as I can. From time to time, I will imbibe some alcohol with friends at a social gathering or have a dessert at a celebration, but otherwise, I’m very strict with my diet. My health has improved greatly: I am no longer a type-2 diabetic, my blood pressure is normal, my resting heart rate is (on average) between 43-47 on any given day, and I no longer suffer from fatty liver disease.

I say all this because I want you to know that I’ve walked the walk: I was a person who was healthy and allowed himself to become obese and then, through smart eating and light exercise, I lost 150 lbs and got healthy and fit again. If I could do it, a guy who all but gave up on ever being fit and healthy again, then I know you can too. That I did it without pills, patches, powders, shakes, meal plans, surgery, or any other gimmick is that much more remarkable. You don’t need to pay anyone to lose weight. You just have to use discipline, motivation, perseverance, and have patience.

If you think you can’t do it, you’re wrong. I know you can. I used to think it was impossible, too. I would have done a Whole30 and adopted the Paleo Diet years ago had someone told me about them and how effective they were. Knowing how good the food is on Paleo, and how most of the food is stuff I have been eating all my life which allows me to feel full and satisfied after meals and to experience no cravings between meals would have allowed me to take back my health sooner.

If you have questions, please feel free to message me. I don’t ask for anything but honesty.

Life is all about choices. We make choices all the time. Some are easier than others, but one thing they all have in common is that whatever choice we make, we have to live with the consequences. Some folks have told me in the past they feel like they have no choice, but the fact of the matter is that we have choice in everything. It’s just that some people aren’t willing to accept the consequences of their decisions.

Adopting a lifestyle that is vastly different from one you are accustomed to is no small task and is not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of perseverance, and a lot of discipline. On top of that, you have to be patient and allow the process to work, to allow the weight loss and improved health happen naturally. These are outcomes many people aren’t willing to accept.

What amazes me is that, given the outcomes from choices like eating without regard for health and allowing one’s self to be obese which will result in health problems and likely an earlier death is acceptable to people, but putting in effort to reverse bad health and to lose weight isn’t. It’s just not logical.

I made the choice to change my life for the better. I knew that some of the consequences of this decision included no longer being able to be careless and carefree about my eating decisions, having to do more preparation and planning for every meal, and eventually needing to do some exercise. I would have to become diligent about the ingredients in all of the food I eat, and I would have to forego eating foods I’ve lived an entire life enjoying. It wasn’t going to be easy. I was going to go through some discomfort, but I was okay with this. The alternative was continued health problems and death. The consequences of doing nothing to me were untenable.

The choices you make regarding your health have lasting effects on not just you, but your loved ones. If you decide to let your health go, you’re not just affecting your own life, but the lives of those around you. From your kids who look to you for guidance and look up to you as an example to the friends and family who would care for you and comfort you as your health declines. You have the power to change that. You control your destiny.

Make the choice to improve your health. If you already made the decision to live healthy, help others make the choice to live longer through better health and fitness. Sometimes, they just need someone to give them a nudge or an encouraging word.

Good news: it’s possible. Heck, it’s actually easier to do than you may think. Just eat right. Does that mean low calorie, low-fat food? No. Actually, the information we’ve been fed (sorry for the pun) for the past 40 years has been completely wrong. Let me break it down to you simple-like.

1. Weight loss is 90% diet, 10% exercise. I lost 110 lbs in a year through diet alone. Not being ON a diet, but by CHANGING my diet.
2. You cannot exercise away bad eating.
3. Counting calories will leave you hungry and unsatisfied.
4. Low-fat is actually bad for you. Your body uses fat for all kinds of good things like vascular repair to brain tissue development in children.
5. Sugar is evil. In nearly every form, sugar is killing us and is the cause of the obesity epidemic that is plaguing the US.

Let me reiterate the most important points: weight loss is 90% diet, and sugar is evil. If you take anything away from this site, it should be those two things.

How do I know that weight loss can be done so easily without exercise? Because I did it.

Will you get abs without exercise? Probably not, but all I do is push ups and run every other day; nothing crazy or excessive. Heck, I don’t spend more than 30 minutes on my runs, and I only do them three times a week (sometimes only twice!).

You can do this without exercise. You just have to eat right, and by eat right, I am saying you need to adopt a lifestyle that is conducive to good health. For me, that is Paleo, but Whole30 got me there, and Keto is a viable option, too (albeit much more difficult to maintain properly).

You CAN lose weight without exercise. I did it. You can do it too. Just change your eating habits.

I believe in being nice to people. You might not get that from reading my blog sometimes, but when it comes to dealing with people, I like to do so with respect, and with integrity. I don’t think it’s right to make fun or or to insult someone based on their sex, age, religion, weight, race, etc. It’s just not right. However, enabling bad habits in regards to obesity is something that is overlooked for fear of “Fat shaming.”

Let me be clear: calling someone fat isn’t fat shaming if they are obese, although overly sensitive people will see it that way (this belies a deeper problem with them refusing to face the root of their weight problems). What is fat shaming? Calling someone a fat bastard or a fat fuck is fat shaming. Saying, “You’d look so much better if you lost 45 lbs” is fat shaming. Making exasperated or disappointed faces at an obese person about to sit next to you on a flight is fat shaming. Shaking your head in disapproval at an obese person eating ice cream is fat shaming. None of that is okay. None of it.

But, I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again: we have gone too far with political correctness when we won’t offer feedback to others to address their health. It’s a sensitive subject, and yes, having been on the receiving end of it, I know first-hand it’s uncomfortable. But it needs to be done, and yes, the fact it is uncomfortable makes it more effective. Why?

IT. NEEDS. TO. BE. SAID.

Did one person make me change my mind? One person tipped me over the edge from inaction to action, but they were the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had many friends, family, and loved ones come to me over the years pleading for me to do something about my weight. My grandmother, who I miss every day since she passed, told me every single time we spoke, “You need to lose weight. I will never forgive you if you die before I do.” Those words scared me, but not enough to change my lifestyle. Yet, the seeds were planted. They just needed some watering.

Enter my cousin Sarah and my friend Matt. Matt had been doing his best to educate me about the evils of sugar and the low-fat myth. This education from Matt was reinforced when my cousin Sarah told me about Whole30 and Paleo. There was the water needed for that seed to grow, tipping me from being skeptical and without direction into being a person who has now lost over 150 lbs successfully and has kept it off for over two years.

I would not be where I am today without those people taking the initiative to have the uncomfortable conversations with me. I’m now healthier than ever, no longer suffering from Type-2 Diabetes,  a resting heart rate of between 43-47, running 5+ km every other day, and no longer suffering from fatty liver disease. Heck, at 49 years old, I joined the National Guard to complete my 20 years of military service.

Never give up on your loved ones. If you really care, you need to have the uncomfortable conversations with them about health. Encourage them to do some reading, and to make some changes in their lifestyle in regards to eating that can yield some really amazing results. Notice I didn’t say fitness. Most fat people can’t and won’t consider any plan that requires lots of fitness in the beginning because of so many social stigmas attached to overweight people exercising coupled with the extreme discomfort that comes with it. I didn’t start running until I had lost over 110 lbs (and I’m very happy with that decision, thank you!).

If you’re on the receiving end, know that the people who talked to you about your health love you and care about you so much, they risked your being angry or upset with them to give you a message you need to hear. You may not want to hear it, but it needed to be said. Instead of being angry or upset with them, think about it. Do the research. Start eating right. That’s all you have to do. It’s not easy, but it is simple. Give it a try. All you’ve got to gain is your health, and perhaps more years of life.