I don’t trust skinny people when it comes to weight loss

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2014vs2016edgeface
What a difference two years made.

That got your attention, so I’ll explain, because I know this is going to be a little controversial. Skinny people who have never been overweight used to try to give me advice all the time about losing weight and getting healthy. They reasoned that they never got fat, so whatever they are doing must be the right way to get skinny. Only they were, at best, half right. I want to add that they aren’t all wrong, either, but they didn’t know how to approach the subject with me, a fat person, in a way that resonated with me. They didn’t know how to get through in a way that made sense to someone who had serious issues with diet and exercise. They also had no idea about the challenges a fat person has to go through to get back to a healthy weight.

Some people just stay skinny despite the food they put into their bodies. My mom’s husband is one of those guys. He can eat endless amounts of food that are horribad for you and he stays thin. His cholesterol levels? Not so good, but his weight and body fat percentages are impressive. I am not one of these types of people. If I overeat or eat bad foods, my weight balloons along with my pants size.

A good friend of mine told me recently that he ignored (literally, with hands on his ears at times) people who would try to tell him how to eat, what to eat, or how much to exercise to get to a healthier weight. He said that these people were either naturally thin or had never been fat. They didn’t know what they were talking about in terms of weight loss because they never had to LOSE weight. They have been maintaining their entire lives. He said he only started asking me questions about my lifestyle after he watched me lose over 100 lbs in one year.

I understand fully what he felt. I felt the same way. Had my cousin not been the person to tell me about Whole30 and Paleo, I would likely have passed up on both. Only after listening to her did it click to me and make sense. Only hearing it from her, someone who struggled with weight even as an athlete, did I listen and take it to heart. She walked the same walk I walked. She knew the difficulties, the challenges, and the pain. She understood.

I’m a formerly fat guy. I once weighed over 312 lbs. For a guy who is only 5’7″, that’s horribly unhealthy. I know how I got that big, and I know what it took for me to get down to 174 lbs. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t nearly as hard work as some of the skinnies made it out to be. You see, a lot of skinny people believe that all it takes to get thin is to eat sensible portions and exercise a lot. If that worked so well, I would have never gotten as large as I did. At least, not as quickly. I know what it took for me to get down to a healthy weight, and what it took for me to want to get fit. I can’t say the skinny people were 100% wrong, but the way they go about giving advice and the advice they give wasn’t always on-point. At least not for someone like me: used to be skinny, got fat, and needed to get skinny again.

I’m not saying I have all the answers. We are all different, and what worked for me may not necessarily work for you. But there’s a better chance that what I did can work for you if you are a person who used to be thin and is now fat. Heck, my wife was never a thin person and she is now by doing the same thing I did, so if you’ve never been thin, it may work for you, too. But I want to be clear: I don’t have all the answers. What I have are some tips, ideas, and information that is helpful and may get you the same results I had (or better). And this is all coming from a guy who, at one point in his life, was so overweight that he thought he was going to die and there was no way out of that fat misery. I was wrong. So very wrong.

The Sugar Lobby Paid Scientists to Blur Sugar’s Role in Heart Disease

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sugarWell, look at this. The sugar lobby paid scientists to blur sugar’s role in heart disease. This is no big surprise; I’ve been talking about this on PaleoMarine.com since I started this blog. What concerns me the most is how this news isn’t in the US media. Why aren’t we telling people that our nutritional ideas are based on poor or even false science? Could it be that the money behind our media is the same money behind these studies?

No, I don’t wear a tin foil hat, nor do I see a conspiracy around every corner. However, the “low-fat is good for your heart” and “whole grains are good for you” arguments are not holding up in any real scientific testing. I’ve even read a blog that says we need to eat grains because Jesus shared bread at the Last Supper.

Come on.

We need to stick to real science when it comes to nutrition and keep the food lobbies out of science. We also need to reevaluate the studies done in the past to better gauge their veracity.

There’s no real revelation in the article I posted. It echoes the previous links I’ve posted about the evils of sugar and how the sugar lobby paid for the studies to ignore how bad sugar is for us.

I’m hoping because you’re here reading this that you will read not only the link I posted here, but some of the other links about the evils of sugar. If you are going to change just one thing about your diet this year, make it eliminating processed and added sugars in your foods. You will be shocked at how much better you feel, how your health will improve, and yes, how much weight you will lose. It’s that big of a deal.

How I deal with disappointment in lost progress

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Like you, every now and then, I eat either something I shouldn’t have eaten, or I eat far more than I should have. It’s this pesky thing called living life to the fullest and not skipping out on experiences or adventures. Fortunately for me, I believe that I have gained a healthy balance between these off-plan meals and every day eating. I allow myself treats every now and then, and only in strict moderation. However, this doesn’t alleviate the natural emotions I go through in regards to seeing the numbers creep up on the scale or the pants feeling tighter than usual.

When I see the numbers on the scale go up, I get mad. Not at the scale and not so much at myself, but just angry. I feel it. I use that anger as fuel to stick to my eating plan in a very strict manner. If I’m running that day, I run an extra mile, or maybe I will run a little harder/faster. I make sure to eat just enough to fuel my body but not enough to feel stuffed. It’s good to be full. It’s not good to be stuffed.

When I go for days or weeks without seeing the numbers on the scale get smaller, I feel disappointed. Not in myself, because I know I’m doing most everything right. I do, however, take a closer look at my eating habits and try to analyze what I’m doing wrong. The last plateau I was on, I found that I was not eating enough. I was actually cutting back too much, and I put my body into starvation mode. This was bad. I adjusted, and sure enough, I was rewarded with more progress on the scale.

One thing I never do is contemplate quitting. There is no quitting a healthy lifestyle. There is only making adjustments to fix the formula to get the results I want. I also never get upset at myself. The past is the past. I can only change the future, and I make plans and do my best to stick to them.

I’m no Jedi or super person. I do not possess anything special or different than you. We all have willpower. We all have the ability to be motivated. It is incumbent on you to find your strength and motivation and stick with it. You can do it. Use that energy for good.

Paleo and Running

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file_000-71These two things are not friends with each other. For distance runners, they’re almost at-odds with one another. As a light runner, I don’t have issues, but I know others who long distance runners whose bodies need carbs while running have a hard time doing Paleo.

I don’t do the long distance stuff, so I won’t comment about that other than to say that I have read about Paleo people who do distance running, and while it’s a challenge, it’s do-able. I will talk about my own experience: running for fitness.

I run 5 miles or less typically every other day. On the days that I run, I do allow myself a little more food for breakfast, typically a piece of Paleo banana bread or maybe an extra slice of bacon. I find that my running doesn’t otherwise tax me otherwise. I don’t get hungrier, nor do I feel any other sort of discomfort.

Eating Paleo for someone like me doesn’t seem to have any detrimental effect on my running or my ability to keep running. The food fills me up and fuels me sufficiently to keep running. Since I’m only out running for 30-45 minutes at a time, my body doesn’t run out of fuel. At no point do I feel like I’m going to crash. I’ve never felt light-headed.

As far as water goes, I don’t drink before or during a run. Again, my runs are short, and the water fetish Americans have with hydration is really based more on marketing and less on real science. I don’t “re-hydrate” after a run, either. I drink normally at breakfast or dinner, whichever meal comes after my run. Again, I have experience no negative effects from this.

For someone who runs like I do, 3-5 miles every other day, Paleo is very doable. For someone who runs more often or longer distances, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t have first-hand experience with that, and I don’t want to lead you down the wrong path. If you do find out, though, let me know. I’d be interested to find out from someone who is Paleo and is doing long distance running.

Categories PT

January Reboot: Whole30 #3

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Sherry is starting her third Whole30, and I’ll be starting it with her. I don’t feel like I need a reset or will gain anything from this other than perhaps getting back to basics and cutting out any additional sugar that may have crept into our Paleo lifestyle, but more importantly, if she is doing this, I will do it with her. She was there for me when we did our first. I will be there for her on this one. Wish us luck!

paleosherry's avatarOur Daily Bacon

Ok folks, it’s Jan 3.  If you’re like me, you got on the scale this morning and cringed.  Clothes are just a bit tighter, energy levels are down, and wouldn’t some maple syrup-drowned paleo waffles be awesome right about now, even though you just finished your healthy breakfast a couple of hours ago??

Time for the proverbial January kick in the ass.

Time to throw away or freeze the paleo goodies (or the ones your friends brought over), and reset.

Time to give the maple syrup, coconut sugar, and local raw honey a rest.

It’s time for another Whole30.

I know, I know – you were pretty good over the holidays – you avoided the egg nog and milk-laden hot cocoa (mostly because you knew what  it would do to your stomach), and you only ate one or two regular cookies at the holiday party – but I bet if…

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Lose weight or get healthy? What’s your real goal?

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File_000 (39)I was afraid I was going to die young due to poor health. If things kept going the way they were going, it was going to be an early end for me. I decided that I wanted to get healthy, and weight loss factored into that for me. I didn’t set out to merely lose weight. It was a big part of it to be sure, but it wasn’t the main goal.  The main goal was to not die young, get healthy, and maybe even get fit.

When we start a diet plan for the reason of losing weight, we tend to watch the scale very closely for feedback and we base our success or failure on the numbers. When the numbers don’t match our expectations, we are much more likely to give up and fail in adopting the new diet or lifestyle. That’s why I always say that the scale is just one measure of our health and progress. There are many times when I go through days or weeks (and in the past few months, bunches of weeks) without any loss of weight. But during these lean times where the scale didn’t reward my good eating habits, my waist did by losing almost 4 inches, and my overall fitness levels have been rising as I’ve been running now for over three months.

I have friends who are using many different methods to get healthy. Some see great weight losses and others see the loss come at a slower pace. We all have our own journeys, and we can only truly commit to them when we are able to come to terms with the sacrifices required. That’s totally okay. That Sherry and I were able to commit to a much more rigid lifestyle than others doesn’t mean we are any better at it. It just means we set our minds to it to a different level; nothing more. You have to be comfortable with your level of commitment or the change in lifestyle won’t work for you. Again, like I always say, do whatever program you want to do, but do it to the best of your ability.

With that said, for 2017, I recommend setting a goal of getting healthy, not losing weight. Weight loss will be a healthy and welcome byproduct of getting healthy. Our bodies are made to be thin, so getting healthy will bring your body back into balance, and you will get weight loss. Just don’t look for weight loss to be the only measure of success. There are so many ways to look at it, and your body will give you constant feedback in different areas. You just need to know where to look.

Some Days I Don’t Want to Run

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It’s weird. I have found that I enjoy running, yet there are days I really don’t want to do it. The reasons can range anywhere from, “I’m just not feeling it,” to “My knee has some pain in it that I don’t want to exacerbate.” Today, I’m just not feeling it.

But I’ll do it.

I feel horrible if I don’t run now. I’ve developed the habit of running, and I do enjoy how I feel after a run. The day after a run is even better: my legs feel strong, I feel vibrant, and physically able to tackle anything. Also, as much as I’m not feeling it today, as soon as I get done with my push-ups (I’m up to 60 pre-run push ups now), I’m ready to go. I usually decide on a minimum of 3 to 3.5 miles, and depending on how I feel at mile 2, I may go for an extra half or even mile and a half. My longest run to-date has been 5.23 miles, and while I don’t do that often, it’s a new benchmark for me to pass up at some point.

But probably not today.

I’ll likely do my 3.53 mile course and be happy with that. The weather is a little warm today so I’m going to wait until it gets dark before I hit the road. Then, when I get back, I’ll shower and eat dinner. Tonight is lobster night. I think it’ll be a good celebratory meal after getting out there and getting it done even when I didn’t feel like it.

Update: I did run. It ended up being 3.53 miles (as I predicted) and I felt great running today. As a matter of fact, it was probably my best run since I got sick back in early December and couldn’t run for nearly two weeks. Even though I was able to get back into running after being out of it for those two weeks, it’s taken me nearly a month before I was able to really feel good on a run. I’m glad that the good feeling is coming back. It makes my runs so much more enjoyable!

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Categories PT

New Years Resolutions: The Truth

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I’m not a believer in New Years Resolutions for myself. I’ve never been one to make a resolution based on the year changing. As a friend recently said, there’s really no magical difference between one year and the next, and I agree.

With that said, however, New Years Resolutions do seem to be a thing, and a thing that works for some people. I won’t belittle anyone for making one. If that’s your thing, DO IT! But if you make a resultion, then there’s something very important thing you need to know. Most of them fail.

The reasons for this are many, and I am not going to go into them. I will dovetail off the last post I made and tackle one such reason: realistic goals. Many people make resolutions to exercise three or even five times a week. They make a resolution to eat healthy. They make resolutions to lose weight. All of these are very difficult to do when going from a lifestyle that doesn’t incorporate any of these already.

Make whatever resolution you want to make, but make it realistic. Make it more generalized. Make the goals attainable. Instead of saying, “I want to lose 50 lbs by July,” say, ” I want to be healthier by the summertime.” Instead of saying, “I will work out five times a week,” say, “I am going to adopt a plan that allows me to get into exercise in a healthy way that encourages me to want to exercise more on my own” or “I want to get into the habit of exercising.”

When Sherry and I decided to do our first Whole30, we didn’t wait for New Year. We started a week after our decision was made. We took that week to get rid of food we already had by either eating it, donating it, giving it away, or throwing it away (it’s surprising how much bad food we had in our pantry and refrigerator!). When we did our second Whole30, it was again, something we felt we should do to reset things, and we just did it. We are about to start our third Whole30 in a few days, and it has nothing to do with New Years Resolutions and everything to do with the fact that we need to get back to smaller portions and eating good, whole foods. Our Paleo diet has been super awesome, but we’ve allowed some non-Paleo things to creep in here and there, and we don’t want to backslide. So… Whole30 #3, here we come!

If you’re a resolutions type of person, make a realistic one. For the rest of us, there’s no time like the present to make a change. That it happens to be a New Year shouldn’t stop you. If someone asks if your changed diet or exercise plan is a resolution, you can tell them it is and be done with it or tell them it’s a coincidence. It really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you make a change, set realistic goals, and stick with it.

Happy New Year’s Day!

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If you took my advice yesterday, you ate, drank, and were merry! Today, your head may hurt a little and you may feel badly for having eaten a bunch of food that wasn’t Paleo.

Like I said yesterday, don’t. The past is the past. We celebrate holidays with friends and loved ones rarely, and it’s important to be a part of your social circle.

Just let it go and make the next meal a good one. Maybe hit the gym or go running later today or tomorrow if you’re up for it.

I hope your celebrations were safe and fun! Let’s make 2017 a great year of health and fitness!

Happy New Year’s Eve!

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Tonight is a holiday celebrated around the world. This holiday typically includes a lot of hors d’ouvres and alcohol, so it’s a night that people who are trying to eat well stress about.

Don’t.

Just eat, drink, and be merry! You can’t do any real damage to your health or weight loss in one night. Sure, you can stall it for a little while, but you won’t ruin everything. Enjoy the evening, have some fun, and hit the ground running on New Year’s Day. That’s what I’ll be doing.

I wish all my readers a Happy New Year, and I hope that 2017 is everything you hope it will be!