Paleo Marine

I’ve had a terrible cold for the past six days. I’ve had a fever, stuffed sinuses, running nose, and a cough for a week. It’s finally getting better, but it’s been a miserable holiday break from a health standpoint. My largest disappointment: I’ve been unable to run.

With all the progress I’ve been making toward my distance and run times, I feel emotionally wrecked. I enjoy my running, and I was really enjoying seeing the times come down, the pace come up, and the running getting easier. Now, a lot of that is getting erased due to some stupid illness.

I’m hoping to be back at running on Tuesday morning. I’ve been very patient with not pushing myself to run before my body is over this cold because the last thing I want to do is prolong it or make it worse. I need to let my body use all its strength to fight off this bug.

So, here I sit, with muscles that are screaming to me, “Let’s get out there!” It’s so hard to ignore, but I need to be smart about this.

I will get back out there, and I will run. I will hit my distances, and I will work back to my best pace and crush past it. I just can’t do it right now. And I hate it.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by the website manvfat.com, and that interview went live today. You can read it here. It was a really fun interview, and I thought the questions asked were really good.

I’ll be answering questions on their site as well for anyone who asks. Check out the site; it’s really cool with lots of folks who have all made huge changes in their lives through diet and exercise. We didn’t all take the same path, but we’re on the same journey and getting to the same destination: better health and fitness.

Yep. I ate a lot. It was all Paleo, but it doesn’t matter. The amount of food I ate greatly exceeded my normal intake for food in the same period of time. The result: up five pounds. I expected this, and I knew that it would be a psychological hit. And yeah, I hate it. But, I was around great people that mean the world to me for two glorious days, and I enjoyed foods that they made with love. So yeah, I overate, but that’s because I was enjoying myself and living. I was in the moment.

Now, that moment has passed, and I need to get rid of the five pounds I gained. Admittedly, a lot of it will leave me in the next day or two naturally. I’ve yet to have my post-gorging bowel movement, so there’s that. As for the other two pounds, I’ll lose that by being really good at portion control. And then there’s also this thing I try to do every other day: running. I’ll put in an extra mile every day this week, most likely. Not that it’ll help me lose the weight, but it’ll help my mind with the psychological damage done by gaining so much weight in so little time.

The clothes all fit the same and I still look the same, although my gut looks a little softer today. I figure within a week or two, I’ll be back at my lean look and working toward 165. Until then, I will savor the memories of the great Thanksgiving we had this year, all the laughs and the stories, and of course, all the delicious foods we ate.

I was asked recently if I’m still Paleo since I’m running every other day (and sometimes back-to-back days). I answered that of course I am!

I know that many runners, especially distance runners, eat lots of carbs to load up on energy for their bodies to use on those long runs. I, however, am not a distance runner. I run to be fit. I enjoy it, and I find myself working toward new personal bests, but running long distance is not a goal of mine. I just enjoy running and the feeling I have afterward. So far, I’ve been able to run successfully without eating an abundance of carbs.

Eating Paleo has been the best thing to happen to me in regards to my health. I lost over 110 lbs in a year and it’s allowed me to begin running. I’m not not only thinner but healthier and getting fit. I can do 50 push ups and run sub 9-minute miles, all while eating Paleo.

Paleo isn’t some weird fad. It’s based on solid science. Sure, there are some strange parts of the Paleo movement that I don’t necessarily concentrate on or even agree with, but when it comes to getting rid of grains, sugar, soy, and dairy, that all makes solid sense to me, and the improvements in my health, my wife’s health, and in the health of all who have followed me have proven that the Paleo diet is much better for us than man other diets out there. And by diet, I mean long-term eating habits and not a program for weight loss, because weight loss programs are not long-term sustainable.

My wife’s blog has many great recipes, and by doing a Google search, you can find hundreds of thousands of great Paleo recipes. There’s a Paleo option for nearly every type of food out there. Check them out. We’ve found that the vast majority of them are delicious, filling, and good for you.

I hope that everyone is having a happy Thanksgiving today, and that you are with the people you love and mean the most to you. My wife, children, and closest friends are all here with Sherry and I today, and for that, we are very thankful. We keep in our hearts those members of our family who were unable to be here due to distance and commitments.

I am very often asked about eating at holidays: what is a Paleo person to do? Sherry and I have found that there are many foods that are Paleo-friendly that we can make for our friends and family that taste either nearly identical or outright identical to their non-Paleo counterparts. Sherry even found a Paleo stuffing that is delicious!

There are times, however, when you will find yourself in an environment where the food is non-Paleo. That’s okay. It’s okay to eat non-Paleo food every now and then, especially on holidays and extra-special occasions. Thanksgiving qualifies as both. Just remember that if you’ve been eating Paleo for any amount of time, your body will react negatively to things with lots of dairy, grains, or sugar in them. Those rolls will be as tasty as ever, but your stomach will not feel very good afterward, especially if you over indulge. The same goes for stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and mashed potato (if made with all the additional traditional ingredients).

A strategy I use is to try to limit my serving size, not because I worry about the carbs, but because I worry about the physical discomfort. After the meal, just go back to eating your normal Paleo food. You may see a spike in your weight, or you may feel a little bloated for a day afterward: that’s okay. It’s not a step back; it’s just a reminder from your body that your Paleo lifestyle is much healthier, and that your body prefers your Paleo food.

From our family to yours, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

That’s how it feels for me. Honestly. It’s almost unnerving.

There are times I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and I don’t recognize the person looking back at me. Well, I kind of do, but it’s the ghost of a person who I remember peering back at me in mirrors over 20 years ago. That person has long been gone. I thought he was dead forever.

I have security cameras at our home, and I often look through the footage to see if there is any need for concern, persons peeking into windows, etc. Sometimes, I catch glimpses that startle me; a stranger walking in our home. Upon closer examination, I find that the person is me.

My joints still have the occasional ache of a 49 year-old, but otherwise, I feel more vibrant, energetic, and able to do anything I want.

Walk up stairs without being winded? Check.

Run to the mailbox in the rain without my heart thumping out of my chest? Check.

Run after the dog while he plays with me and actually wear him out? Check.

Bend down to tie my shoes without having to hold my breath? Check.

Sit in an airliner seat with room in front of me and even on the sides of me? Check.

These things all used to be normal for me when I was young, but I thought it was age that was keeping me from them. I also thought that it was impossible for me to regain the ability to run, go up stairs, or sit in small spaces without being uncomfortable. I didn’t count on losing all this weight.

Sure, I hoped. I set my mind to it, and I did everything that I was told to do, but I didn’t expect for it to succeed. I especially didn’t expect to be able to start running regularly and that I would enjoy it, or that I would actually look forward to it. Yet here I am.

I read a lot of sci-fi, and I’ve read a few tales in which people’s brains are removed from their sick or feeble bodies and placed into younger bodies that were cloned for that sole purpose. Those people feel rejuvenated and describe many of the same things I’ve experienced. What many fail to go into are the emotional aspect of this change.

I find myself afraid a lot. Every time I eat until my body feels full, I become afraid that I will gain weight and go back to what I used to be. It’s a very palpable fear, and I hate it. I weigh myself daily, and when my weight climbs for any reason, I analyze what I did the day prior to get to that point. I work extra hard to bring it back down. Now that I’ve begun losing weight again, it’s not quite so bad, but when my rate of loss slows, I get that fear: will I get fat again without wanting to?

The logical answer is no, I will not. I am doing everything I can do avoid gaining the weight and staying fit. I know that I can’t put over 130 lbs back on over night, and since I get pretty freaked out at 2 lbs gained, the chances of me gaining more is pretty slim. But yet, the fear persists.

I also worry about something happening to me that forces me to have to eat foods that I know are harmful to me. I don’t know what would cause this to happen nor can I imagine scenarios in which this happens, but the fear is there.

I am extremely happy for my weight loss and very proud of the results I’ve achieved. I try to help anyone who asks, and I hope to be an inspiration to those who are following in my footsteps. I take this very seriously, and it actually fuels my motivation to keep strong.

I also feel so much better, that the vast majority of the time, it’s a joy to be in this new body. The experiences I’m having now would have been impossible 14 months ago. Heck, even 6 months ago! These last 4 months have been amazing, and I don’t want to give this up for anything. Yet sometimes, I feel like I’m in someone else’s body. I hope that sensation goes away at some point.