Paleo Marine

We are a marketing-conscious society. We love brands: Audi, Yamaha, Apple, HP, Nike, Eddie Bauer, Duluth Trading, etc are all brands that have solid reputations and followers who trust those brands due to personal experience with value, reliability, and long-term support. There are other brands that people don’t understand and are maligned, unfairly, in my opinion: Yugo (they were surprisingly solid and reliable little cars, although very spartan), Ford (ask any Chevy fan), Chevy (ask any Ford fan), and Triumph (their cars were notorious for being mechanically difficult to keep running in the 70’s; their motorcycles are actually really quite good) to name a few. Another maligned brand that is often dismissed without further consideration is Paleo.

When you look at the logic behind the Paleo movement, it’s easy to be dismissive:

The Paleo Diet is an effort to eat like we used to back in the day…WAY back in the day. If a caveman couldn’t eat it, neither can you. This means anything we could hunt or find – meats, fish, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, and seeds. – nerdfitness.com

Personally, I have no interest in living like a caveman. I like air conditioning, computers, and my LCD TV too much. Don’t even get me started on having to discover fire all over again! Seriously though, when it comes to our bodies, they have not been able to keep up with the most important technological advancement in the past 10,000 years: agriculture.

In the grand scheme of things, agriculture is a relatively new technology. Our bodies have not evolved quickly enough to be able to handle the excessive amount of carbs present in grains that are the mainstay of modern agriculture and thus, the modern diet. Grains are not bad for us, per se, but they are packed with a ridiculous amount of carbs that are too easy for us to over consume. For people who struggle with weight and are trying to lose weight, carbs have to be limited. Notice I didn’t say eliminated: I’m not talking about the Keto diet here.

While the Keto diet can be very successful for people who want to lose a lot of weight quickly, it is not without its difficulties. It is very difficult to put the body into ketosis while inversely easy to kick out of ketosis with one high-carb food item. I’ve dabbled with ketosis and had great success with it, but I found it was very difficult to maintain while eating with my wife and family. I settled on Paleo and I have been extremely happy with the weight loss rate and the satiety of the foods and with how much energy I have.

The reason I mention all this is because Paleo gets a bad rap. People hear the word “Paleo” and they immediately think of cavemen (duh!), eating nothing but meat (a common misperception), and they hear the talking heads in medicine and nutrition circles deride any diet that restricts any food group (Paleo restricts grains, dairy, and legumes).

When I talk to people about Paleo, I rarely mention the name of the diet until about mid-way through my pitch. I want people to consider the science, the logic, and the bio-mechanical aspects before they pass judgment on what I’m doing and what may work for them.

The Audi brands of cars used to be known for not being reliable. Today, they are in the top 2 most reliable luxury cars on the market. Perceptions can change. The Paleo diet works, and it works well. It’s easy to adhere to and it is not as restrictive as people may have led you to believe. Give it a try, and don’t fall for the negative hype.

At the grocery store, I overheard a clerk telling a customer that he was using diet to change his weight. He said he was going into the Army and needed to both lose weight and get into shape before they would accept him. The lady he was talking to asked him what he was doing, and the clerk responded, “I’m cutting out high-carb foods by not eating meats like beef and pork.”

I was confused, so when it was our turn to be checked out, I asked him what he was doing, and he repeated the statement about the low-carb meats. As hard as it was for me to not correct him, I didn’t do it. He continued on by telling me that he was miserable and having a hard time with eating just chicken and salads. He said it was tough going, and that he wasn’t sure he could keep it up. I told him that he needs to do what works best for him, and what worked best for me included eating red meat and pork. I told him that he needs to find a diet plan that will allow him to enjoy the foods he eats, be sated, and not miserable. Sherry then said, “All you need to know to get started is Whole30. Go to whole30.com and read. Just learn about foods and then make your decisions from there.”

She was absolutely right. This clerk was receiving some really bad information from a friend he trusted. That friend is naturally thin and the clerk, a heavyset young fellow, believed that if he ate what his thin friend was eating, he too would become thin. The problem with this is that we all have different genetics and foods affect us all in different ways. Someone who has never been fat can eat a lower calorie diet and stay thin while a person who is overweight will struggle with hunger and satiety on the same diet that ultimately will derail that person.

Gaining a knowledge about what food is made of, how it is digested and turned into energy, and also how it is stored in our bodies is something everyone should have a fundamental knowledge of. Just like we understand that our cars use unleaded fuel, and that premium unleaded has higher octane than regular unleaded, so should we understand that certain foods have higher ratios of carbohydrates than others.

It’s important to understand that our bodies are built to run on glucose which comes from carbohydrates. That’s why people in the medical profession have a negative knee-jerk reaction to any diet that restricts them. What they miss is that Whole30 and Paleo don’t get rid of carbs from the diet. They restrict foods that are unusually high in carbs that allow people to easily consume too many of them. Going back to the fuel analogy, carbs are the octane in our fuel (food), but in the case of our bodies, too much of it in our food gets stored and weighs us down.

I have said it numerous times before: find what works or you and do it. The worst thing you can do about your weight and health if you are overweight is to do nothing. Whole30 and Paleo worked for me, and I think you should take a look and try them. At least the Whole30, and then decide what’s best for you based on that. You will feel better, and your body will be healthier. And yeah, you’ll lose some weight, too.

I was thinking about it this morning; I’ve lost over 104 lbs since September 1st of last year, and I feel so much better than I have in years. Heck, I feel better now than even in my last few years of active duty in the Marines. My mind jumped to what I used to use as my stock answer when someone would suggest I should lose weight: “But then there would be less of me to love! I can’t have that!” It made me feel good to have a funny answer to everyone who would have the guts to mention to me that my weight was unhealthy. These sweet people cared enough to break the polite silence we exercise when it comes to other people’s health.

A former colleague of mine, a giant of a man, asked me one day while we were driving to lunch together, “How’s your prostate?” I was surprised, but being the immodest person I am, I took it in stride. “I think it was fine the last time I got it checked. How’s yours?” He told me he asked because it’s something guys don’t ever talk about but should. He told me of his friends who had all been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and that one of them caught it too late. When he found out the others also went through it, he was upset that had they discussed it freely, that one friend of his might still be alive. He told me how men don’t talk about their health in the same way women do. It’s a forbidden topic, and it’s more acceptable to practice polite silence on the matters of health.

The vast majority of the time, people practiced that polite silence with me and my weight. I do the same with people I know, whether they are friends or colleagues. I have never pushed my lifestyle on anyone, nor have I advocated anyone else adopt my lifestyle unless they were curious and asked me. Even then, when asked, I gladly tell people what I do and why. I try to explain the science, as best I can, about why this lifestyle works, and what my experience has been thus far. Only when someone tells me that they want to do what I did will I give direct advice on how to do it, what to do, etc.

The only way in which I will break the polite silence is by telling people that I wasn’t always this fit when they point out to me that I don’t have to worry about what I eat, my weight, etc. Yes, it happens to me now: I’m told that I’m lucky my genetics allow me to be thin. AS IF!

I worked hard for this weight loss. Not in sweat (thankfully!), but in discipline. That was the key to my weight loss. My wife did some exercise, but she’s lost the majority of her weight through discipline as well. She had been heavy her entire life and is now fit and healthy due to the change in her diet. We are both examples of two different people: one who was thin and one who wasn’t. We were both overweight and now both of us are normal. We’re not atypical or outliers: we are the norm when it comes to what you can expect when you eat the right foods in the right amounts.

I practice polite silence. We all do. It comes down to our comfort levels as much as it does our cultural norms and what our society finds acceptable. While I don’t think it’s ever right to walk up to someone and say, “You’re fat and you’re going to die unless you eat right,” I think we need to have a conversation with those we love and care about when they’re overweight and let them know that there are options out there that anyone, even those who cannot exercise, can do and they can lose weight. It’s not impossible, and nobody is a lost cause. It just takes determination.

Reach out for help if you’re one of these people who need some extra motivation. Whether you contact me or someone else you know who has lost a lot of weight, get help. My wife and I had my cousin Sarah to bounce ideas and thoughts off of. Sarah received many a text message, email, and phone call from me in the beginning as Sherry and I didn’t really know what we were doing. Now, we’re well versed and into the lifestyle and we can help.

In the most polite way ever, let me say this: If you’re overweight, do something about it. It’s within your power. I know you think it’s hard or that you will suffer, but you are worth it. YOU ARE WORTH IT. And it’s not nearly as bad as you think it will be. That, I can promise you.

A few months back, I talked about a family member who was told by a doctor to adopt a low-fat diet, and that carbs were “Just sugar, and okay.” At the time, I was incensed and felt that the advice bordered on the criminal considering the health issues the patient was being seen for. However, it was just another example of how the medical community is stuck in the dark ages as it pertains to nutrition and diet. The irony is strong considering I am more nutritionally enlightened as a Paleo adherent than the majority of health professionals out there today.

I stumbled across this great article about six reasons they don’t trust mainstream organizations about diet and nutrition, and they echo exactly the same six reasons I have. These are the six reasons I give people verbally when we talk about diet and nutrition. I could restate it all in my own words, and I have over the course of many blog posts and conversations with people, but Kris Gunnars did such a good job, I feel it’s just smarter for me to link to their article than to write my own.

Go read it. I’ll keep today’s post short so you can devote your PaleoMarine time (haha, as if you actually set aside time for this!) to reading this great article. It’s so important, I’m going to post a link to it in my Required Reading section of this blog.

My wife and I are currently on a Whole30 right now, and one of the things we had forgotten was that the portion sizes should fit into the palm of your hand. I know Whole30 says eat until you’re full, but it also recommends eating portions that could fit into the palm of your hand.

For me, it was important to learn to eat less. I also had to learn to slow down when I ate. Now, I eat my smaller portion and wait a little bit to see if I still need more food. Most times I don’t. For those few times that I do, I either eat just a little bit more, or I eat a few strawberries.

Eating the strawberries is good because I could use more fiber in my diet, and they’re full of water. They are also very low on natural sugar, so that’s a bonus.

Whole30 and Paleo are both great because they focus on good, whole foods that your body benefits from. The carbs you do eat tend to be better quality carbs from foods that are also packed with nutrients. I think it’s equally important to learn to eat the smaller portions as well, though. Eventually, your body adjusts, and your stomach actually shrinks. My own stomach now has smaller capacity than it used to. I ate wings last week and was stuffed after 7 of them. In the past, I could easily eat 15 and still be able to eat dessert.

No, I’m not talking about Charlie Sheen’s brand of winning. I’m talking about the mindset it takes to accomplish a goal. I am going to make an assumption, but you, the reader, has probably accomplished something great in your life. Not great as in conquering Ancient Asia or something (so I’m not talking to you, Ghengis!), but great as in graduating high school, boot camp, college, or perhaps attaining a certification, skill, or trade. You accomplished this through hard work, determination, and sticking through the tough times. There were times you wanted to give up, but you didn’t; you saw yourself through to the goal, and now your life is better for it.

Your health is no different.

So you’re overweight. Heck, might even be what you call fat. You are out of shape. You have poor-nutrition related illnesses, or they’re starting to creep into your life. If any or all of the above applies to you and you haven’t yet done anything about it, it’s not because you can’t. You already have a demonstrated ability to reach a goal. You’ve already proven to yourself that you can be a winner.

When I was a Marine, I had a hard time getting my run time down below 21 minutes for a three mile run. I have short legs, and for me to get fast, I really had to work hard. I didn’t really put in the extra effort after boot camp to get below 21 minutes until I became a Sergeant. Then, as a leader of Marines, I felt I had to push myself harder. I ran twice a day for months until I could finally break that 21 minute three-mile run. Then I broke 20 minutes. I got into the 19:40’s when we had an annual Physical Fitness Test (PFT). The PFT went well for me: I maxed my pull-ups at 20, my sit-ups at 80 in two minutes, and then we did the run. When I finished, the SgtMaj was standing there with the stop watch and called out the time as I crossed the line. He looked up at me and called me over. He told me something that transcended the PFT and has stuck with me for life: “You’ve proven to me that you can do this. I will now accept no less from you.” I didn’t just prove that I could run a sub-20 minute three mile, but that I could make my mind hard, that I could accomplish anything that I set it to. I had the winning mindset.

When I set about getting healthy last September, I adopted this mindset: I was not going to fail. I was going to give it my all. Whatever the Whole30 and Paleo lifestyles said I needed to do, I was going to do it perfectly. I was going to give them every chance to work because I needed the change in my life. Lo and behold, they both worked exactly as promised, and here I am, over 101.5 lbs less in ten months.

You’ve already proven to yourself that you can set your mind to a task and see it through completion. You know what the concept of delayed gratification is about, and you’ve experienced it. You know how to set a goal and do what it takes to get there. The last remaining ingredient in your recipe for success is to make the decision to start and just do it. There’s no time like now. Make the decision, commit, and do the work. You know you can do this. I know you can do this.

I was asked by a friend if it’s possible to be Paleo and vegetarian. They were curious because everything they’ve seen or have been told about Paleo involves eating lots of bacon and meat. While my diet is Paleo and includes meat, there are many who have adopted a Paleo Vegetarian lifestyle successfully.

What makes being a Paleo Vegetarian so difficult? As Matt Frazier from nomeatathlete.com puts it:

What’s not allowed: All grains, including wheat, rice, barley, oats, rye, and corn; grain-like seeds, including quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat; all legumes, including beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, and soy; starchy tubers such as potatoes; dairy, alcohol, most sugars except in fruit.

I’m not going to go into the detailed reasons for what’s allowed and what isn’t.  The basic explanation: Pre-agricultural man (and woman) ate a lot of the staple foods, and had very limited or no access to the disallowed foods.

The page is well written, informative, and I think overall the entire site is a really good resource for vegetarian-specific Paleo information and recipes. I recommend visiting this site for anyone interested in the Paleo lifestyle and is currently or considering becoming vegetarian.

Eat right. Period.

Eat good food + don’t sit all day = be healthy.

It’s that simple.

Notice, I’m not saying eat Paleo. I’m not saying go Whole30. I’m not saying become a vegetarian. I’m not saying become a gym rat. Just eat good food and don’t sit all day.

I am a Whole30 and Paleo evangelist, but I’m not myopic when it comes to nutrition and good health. I know and understand that we all have different bodies, and those different bodies have different nutritional needs. Where my body reacts negatively to grains and sugar, there are those who thrive on grains and whose bodies react negatively to meats. I know people who have tried Paleo and didn’t have the same results as me or the many others who have gotten healthy because their bodies don’t run at peak performance on the foods in the Paleo diet.

My blog is called PaleoMarine. I do Paleo. I’ve lost 104+ lbs in ten months and I’m healthier than I’ve been in over a decade. Paleo works for me. However, I know it won’t work for everyone. So, find what does. Don’t give up. If Paleo isn’t for you, then find what is.

I can tell you what won’t work: pre-processed foods, foods with added-sugar, and unbridled eating. Portion control is a farce unless you have Jedi-level dedication. Pills, patches, supplements, powders, etc are all not enough to get you to good health. It all starts with the food you put into your body.

Find your diet and stick to it. Stop eating trash. Remember the one smart thing they taught you in school about nutrition: you are what you eat.

I read an article by Joanna Davis in New Zealand about how her devotion to the Paleo Lifestyle was undone by a donut. I can see going easier on the lifestyle once I get to my goal weight, but on my way down to it, I don’t even allow that as an option. Her reasons are her own, and while I am not so tempted, I can see how some foods are such a draw for some people.

What’s crazy are the comments. It only verified for me what I believe most people are thinking when reading about the Paleo Lifestyle when they haven’t really considered it. Many people talk about how “Limiting” Paleo is. While it’s true that we exclude grains, legumes, and dairy, it’s amazing how many other foods there are that we eat normally that exclude these foods. Some people try to argue that eliminating “Food groups” is bad for us, but this is based on more of the flawed science and bad education we received back in the 60’s, 70′, and 80’s. The food pyramid and 4-4-3-2 has all been proven to be bunk.

There are those who say they just can’t give up certain foods like pasta, bread, or rice and beans. There are so many delicious options to replace those things out there, but people are closed-minded and won’t even try them. No, they won’t be 100% replacements (spaghetti squash doesn’t taste like pasta!), but they are good, wholesome replacements and better for our bodies.

Some people mentioned the fact that “Cavemen never made bread with almond flour.” Of course they didn’t! But almonds are far healthier for us than grains, so if you really want some bread, why not use an ingredient that is far healthier for us?

“Cavemen didn’t live long. We stopped eating the caveman diet when we started building huts.” This is so untrue it’s funny. People ate what we call the Paleo diet, for the most part, until modern times. We ate lots of meats and vegetables with some exceptions depending on geography. Most American dinners before the 1920’s was meat, potatoes, and a slice of bread. Most meals in Western civilization center around meat and vegetables. Sure, some grains are there in places like Italy (bread, pasta), France (bread) and Asia (rice), but with few exceptions, the grains are not the primary source of nutrition. Only in the 20th century has sugar and grains become such a large part of our diet.

What this all tells me is that people will do anything and say anything to convince themselves that cutting sugar and carbs from their diet is a good thing. They will find any reason they can to allow them to eat bad foods with a clear conscience. Humans are funny that way.

I have a friend who is as fit as fit can be. He eats fried chicken and Jimmy John’s sandwiches on the Saturdays that I see him. How does he get away with that and stay remarkably fit? He eats good, whole foods the rest of the week/month. Those Saturday sandwiches or Thursday night fried chicken meals are treats. The rest of the time, he’s not only eating well but getting exercise. He’s also at an ideal weight and in good health. I’m not quite there with either yet, so I’m still in very strict adherence mode.

Will I get to the point that Joanna Davis got to, where I loosen up my stranglehold on my food options? I can foresee myself being more like my friend in some regards, allowing myself the treat here and there, but I will never quite go off the rails and go back to eating what I used to eat before. I remember well what happens when you eat anything you want, and I never want to go back to that again. I prefer the “New Old Me.”

You’ve probably seen the “Dad Bod” meme online, whether it was on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or a blog. I’ve seen people joking about how awesome a Dad Bod is. If you don’t know what that means, the Dad Bod is defined by The Urban Dictionary as:

A guy who has kids and was once in shape and still has guns that can crush beer cans but also with a belly that says I drank those beers and I can eat 6 slices of pizza in one seating.

I guess I had a Dad Bod Deluxe as I had an epic belly and could eat an entire pizza in one sitting. My arms were decent (but in retrospect, they looked bigger than they really were due to the layer of fat surrounding my arms).

It’s easy to celebrate and make fun of those things we are not happy with about ourselves. It’s the easier option to make light of a situation when contemplating the effort into changing our situation is untenable due to perceived hardships. I get that. But it’s not doing us any favors.

So, you say that you feel better in your fat suit. But do you really, though? I know I used to tell people all the time that I felt fine; I was doing great! I would tell people that I knew how to lose weight, and that one of these days, I’d just do it, but that day hadn’t come yet. I was coming up with every excuse in the book to avoid the unsavory truth that I was unhealthy and that I was leading a lifestyle that wasn’t sustainable or conducive to living a long life. I would poke fun at my “Buddha belly” and tell people to rub it for good luck.

Whatever it took for me to look past the real problem of my lifestyle, I would do it or say it. The problem was, eventually, I realized that I was lying to myself and actually killing myself in doing so.

Something’s gotta give

At some point, we reach a breaking point. Whether it’s the marathon runner who hits the wall or someone pulling an all-nighter studying for tests reaches the point where they pass out. I finally reached that point one day in July last year after my 48th birthday. I stood in the shower and looked into the mirror. I didn’t like what I saw. More to the point, I was horrified. I had become something I never wanted to be: obese. I stared at my stomach, and felt empty inside. There was no rationale nor joke that could make this okay. I had to do something drastic and immediate.

Eventually, I found Whole30 and Paleo and have lost over 101.5 lbs in ten months and I am no longer obese. I still have a ways to go (another 23 lbs or so) until I reach my final goal, but at least when I look in the mirror, I like what I see. I’ve made astounding progress in less than a year, and I did so while eating well and enjoying all the foods along the way. There are some behavioral issues I still contend with, but I’m learning every day about dealing with them and conquering them.

I have a sense of humor when it comes to all things. Sherry knows that I’m really sick or something is very wrong when I lose my sense of humor. It’s a great defense mechanism and keeps our ability to persevere intact. When I stopped joking about my weight, Sherry knew that there was a real problem. We need to be aware that sometimes, our automatic defense mechanism is doing us harm, especially when making light of our unhealthy lifestyles or heavy weight. At some point, we need to drop the humor and get serious and do what it takes to get healthy. Our lives literally depend on it.

As for daily status, I lost another .9 lbs last night! The last plateau was a long one, but it looks like the ledge after it is a steep one. I’ll take it!

Current stats:
Weight: 185.8 lbs (Started 289.9 lbs on 9/1/15)
Body fat: 19.7% (Started 47% on 9/1/15)
BMI: 29.2 (Started 45.4 on 9/1/15)