Paleo Marine

Seeing others making progress while not making any yourself is tough and can be discouraging. I know, because from time to time, I watch Sherry lose weight while mine stays the same or even goes up. Then, it’s the opposite; I lose weight while Sherry stays the same. It’s much more fun being on the losing weight side of the equation, but what do you do when you watch someone else do exactly the same thing you’re doing yet they are finding success while you’re floundering?

Here are two things to consider. First is the fact that weight is only one measure of success in getting healthy. While I haven’t lost much weight in the past week, I’ve lost about an inch off my waist. My shirts fit better, and I’m having to consider new pants. Second, even if you are not losing weight or losing size, your body is reconfiguring itself and you are making progress toward getting healthy. You won’t stay stalled forever and eventually, your body will let go of the fat and you will lose size.

I keep my chin up by reminding myself of any of a number of successes:

• I’ve lost weight
• I’m making progress
• I’ve adopted a healthier lifestyle
• I’m actively taking control of my eating habits
• I’m making good choices in which foods I put into my body
• I’m wearing smaller clothing
• I’ve donated a bunch of clothing to charity
• I’ve helped others get healthy and to lose weight
• I’ve never gone off the Lifestyle for more than a single meal at a holiday or party
• When I do eat off-plan, I get right back on at the very next meal
• I’ve not had alcohol but three times in the past ten months
• I don’t snack
• I don’t eat desserts
• I don’t eat foods that hurt my body or my health

Some of these are redundant, but as I find more and more reasons to celebrate, it takes my mind off the negatives and the deflated feeling I get when I see the same weight day after day.

As luck would have it, I lost 2.5 lbs since yesterday’s weigh in. That’s after about a week of not losing weight, and accounts for nearly half of my weight loss in the past 30 days. This made me exceptionally happy this morning. I can also feel a difference in my pants; I had to close my belt one hole tighter.

The last point I would add to the things I remind myself is that there will be a day when I get to celebrate and be happy about my weight loss. If I lost weight every day without effort, the days I do lose weight would become commonplace and wouldn’t be special. It’s kind of nice to have those success days. It’s nice to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Current stats:
Weight: 186.7 lbs (Started 289.9 lbs on 9/1/15)
Body fat: 19.7% (Started 47% on 9/1/15)
BMI: 29.3 (Started 45.4 on 9/1/15)

I know there’s got to be fatigue on my Facebook page for people who see my posting daily about Paleo, Whole30, and my weight loss. This is a little harsh, but it’s true. I used to feel this way when I saw posts others made about health, fitness, or nutrition: It’s a constant reminder to those who rare not doing something that they know deep down inside that they need to do. It’s a feeling we would rather avoid, so we keep scrolling (or worse, they unfollow me). I know this feeling of fatigue well: that used to be me.

I remember reading posts on Facebook from people who were losing weight or exercising. I would try to be supportive and “Like” their posts, but every time I did that, it was a reminder to me that these people were doing something I was refusing to admit to myself that I needed as well: cleaner living. Healthier living.

Seeing these posts or reading their posts didn’t do anything to make me want to diet or exercise. If anything, it strengthened my resolve to stick with my unhealthy lifestyle. I remember once while reading a post someone made about eating healthy, I had a Taco Bell burrito in my hand. I raised my burrito as if making a toast and said, “Well, you can have that horrible food while I eat this!” and I took a huge bite and savored it. Better to mock them than to join them.

What can someone say to those who really need to do something to save their own life? That’s the million dollar question. Heck, maybe even the billion dollar question. If I had the answer, I could solve the obesity epidemic our society is currently experiencing. Some people think legislation is the way to go: make it illegal to drink from a 20 oz soda cup. I think this is misguided. Further legislation aims to eliminate soda from school cafeterias. This is a good start, but kids still bring their own lunches and will bring their own junk food and sodas.

Doctors tell their patients all the time that they need to lose weight or risk their health or even their longevity, yet people leave the doctor’s office with nary a thought to really making a change. Most people will only do something when faced with imminent mortality. By then, it’s mostly too late and the damage to our bodies is done and irreparable. That’s what I’m trying to avoid, and that’s what I’m hoping to help others avoid.

As of last Wednesday, I’ve lost over 100 lbs in ten months, and over 120 lbs overall. It’s a huge accomplishment that I’m proud of, and one that took a lot of mental hard work, but it was doable and in retrospect, it feels magical. Magical in the sense that I didn’t suffer along the way. Well, not eating pasta and bread may be considered a special kind of suffering, but hunger and pain were not two things I suffered or suffer from. Sure, I get hungry at mealtime, but I don’t get the crazy cravings anymore. That freedom has really allowed me to stick with it.

Nothing I write will make you change your lifestyle and adopt a Paleo lifestyle. Nothing I can say will convince you. I know that. What I also know is that just by being here, by putting myself and photos of myself out there is helping people. I hear it daily. That’s why I do it. That’s why I post progress pictures, pictures of the fat me, and pictures of the new me. It’s why I write some of my innermost thoughts, fears, and challenges: because I want you to know that I’m going through it all myself, and that you’re not alone. There are others out there who are in your shoes that have made a difference, and you can do it, too!

No single post makes a difference, but each post I make is like a drop of rain. After enough of those drops, we get accumulation and eventually a flood. I’m hoping to be that flood that wipes away your bad eating habits and ushers in a healthy lifestyle for you which, in turn, means a longer and healthier life.

I was asked what I thought about someone going right into Paleo without doing a Whole30 first. My answer to that question is this: it’s better to go Paleo and skip doing a Whole30 than not doing either. The Paleo lifestyle doesn’t require a Whole30 first. I know many people who went Paleo without doing a Whole30 and they have reaped the rewards of a clean lifestyle of eating good, wholesome foods. I know people who have done Whole30 and stuck with it permanently. It’s all about finding your path and being comfortable with it.

My wife and I are happy on Paleo and while sometimes it can be hard to make the food for the week on Sundays, we find that by working together, we can get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time. I try to be her sous chef to allow her to concentrate her efforts on the actual cooking. Besides, it works well for us; she loves to cook and I like chopping things. Et voila!

As it pertains to the bigger picture, taking any step toward better health is better than not starting. I began my weight loss journey almost three years ago by cutting out sodas and trying to moderate the amount of foods I ate. I wasn’t nearly as successful as I have been in the past ten months, but I did lose 19 lbs in that 26 months. It was a start, and while not as successful as the past 10 months have been for me, I wouldn’t be at 190 lbs right now had I not done that work to lose the first 19 lbs.

Anyone who starts doing anything at all to make their health better is working toward a goal in the right direction. If you take baby steps toward your goal, that’s a positive. It’s better than nothing. Once you get started and you start seeing some success, you may be motivated to take the next steps. Whether that’s adopting a Paleo lifestyle or taking part in a workout program, at least you are working in the right direction.

Don’t feel bad because you can’t go “All-in” like I have. Feel good that you’re doing something constructive and positive. Feel good that you care enough about your life and your health to make changes  you can live with. Feel good that you’re not one of the people who ignore their health and the way food affects them.

Sorry for the clickbait title of this post. I just couldn’t resist; I hate clickbait because it always works on me!

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I thought about it while I was sitting on the back porch smoking my pipe (an activity that I don’t do very often) in the Texas heat. It was around 94 degrees outside, and a family member said, “How can you stand it out here in the heat?”, yet there I was, smoking my pipe and enjoying the cool breeze. Was it really a cool breeze?

Now that I’m 100 lbs lighter than I was in September of last year, I find that my body is far more efficient at dealing with the heat. When I sweat, the cooling effect of the evaporation from my body cools me enough to keep me comfortable. What’s more, I don’t over sweat. My shirts aren’t soaked, and I don’t feel overheated.

Of all the benefits of losing weight, this was the least expected and possibly the biggest surprise. Improved mobility? Yeah, I expected that. Better flexibility? Expected that too. Diabetes going away? I hoped, but when it happened, it was more of a vindication of the idea that my weight and/or food choices had played a role in getting Diabetes in the first place. Improved vision? Not necessarily expected, but logical when the blood sugar went down. Improved vascular health? Sort of expected this one too. But feeling cooler when outside in July? Total surprise.

It shouldn’t have been such a surprise, however. I am no longer wearing a 100 lb coat made of fat all over my body. I shed a layer of insulation that kept me hot, not just outside in the summer, but even in the home. We kept the temperature of our house chilly in the past because both Sherry and I were fat (or insulated) and to be comfortable, we needed the temperature to be low. Now that we’ve lost the weight, we found ourselves turning the temperature up. Some evenings, I still wear a sweat jacket in the house to keep myself warm as other family members don’t seem to be as affected by the cold as I am, but I’ll take that as a happy reminder that I’m no longer morbidly obese. I still have some weight to lose, but I’m already in the normal range for my age and it’s so good to actually fell normal.

I now understand how people could survive Texas in the summertime in the time before air conditioning. If you look at photographs from the “Olden Days,” the people were thin. Thin people don’t suffer nearly as much as fat people do in the heat. That’s part of why I think so many places have the AC set so low; so many people in our society today are fat.

So, there you have it. If you want to feel better outdoors in Texas in July, lose some weight. The difference it makes in the quality of life outdoors is immense and can’t be overstated.

My wife and I had 45 minutes to kill on Sunday morning after we arrived at the Farmer’s Market too early, so we decided to drive around our part of town to find something to do. As I was driving, I realized that all the places I normally would have taken us to prior to us having adopted the Paleo lifestyle were all cafe’s, bakeries, or restaurants. This made me think about how much our culture revolves around food as the center of our social lives.

The reality is that it’s not just the center of the American culture; food is at the center of all cultures. Regardless of which side of the world you are from, food plays a central role in our social gatherings. Whether it’s the big family-style meal of the Italians, the roasted pig in Filipino culture, or the barbecue cookout style of Southern Americans, a common theme is the feast. I love family gatherings, but the temptation of all-day grazing can be very hard to overcome, especially if there are Paleo-friendly offerings. During our Fourth of July party, all the food was Paleo, yet I grazed all day. Each time I grabbed some food, I justified it by telling myself, “This is good for me. I can have just a little bit more.” And then I ate a little bit more. And then a little bit more again. This can be troublesome.

Of course, one day of eating a lot won’t kill you, nor will it derail you, but it will slow your progress, if you’re working toward a weight loss goal. It can also be demoralizing to someone who is trying to eat better. It can make one feel like they were weak and failed in being resolute to eat not just good foods, but the right amounts. All of this is okay; as I’ve said in previous posts, you have to live your life and socialize. From time to time, you have to take part in our culture’s events, and they involve food.

But what about when you want to go out with your spouse, friends, or workmates and just have a little fun? If you ask someone if they’d like to go somewhere to hang out, most of the time it’s assumed that you want to catch lunch, dinner, or drinks. Typically, I can find Paleo options almost anywhere, but it’s not fair of me to expect others to always go somewhere I have options. Some of the most “fun” places people want to go have no Paleo options. This puts some severe limitations on the types of places we can go to socialize or kill time as the overwhelming majority of these places are definitely non-Paleo. Of those that are, they typically offer a subset of food that are Paleo compliant, or are quite expensive. What is the Paleo adherent to do for fun on a Sunday morning?

Aside from the farmer’s markets that are a Paleo toy store, my wife and I have found shopping, or more precisely, window shopping to be a good option. Of course, this can become expensive when you find something you absolutely couldn’t live without. There is also coffee and tea, but as my wife isn’t a big fan of either as a form of relaxation, this isn’t a good option for us. There are museums, historical sites, parks, and other activities that can be taken part of that don’t involve food, but these involve more planning, more distance, and money.

The bottom line is that if you want to do something socially in our culture, it likely will involve food or drink, and most of the available options will be non-Paleo. It will test your resolve, and you will be tempted. From time to time, it’s okay to have some non-Paleo food. It won’t kill you, and it won’t make you lose all the progress you’ve made overnight. Just remember that moderation is key in both the serving sizes of non-Paleo dishes you eat, and in frequency of allowing such non-Paleo eating or drinking occurrences.

Do you have any suggestions for Paleo-friendly activities to help you kill time? Pokemon Go! has been fun, but in the Texas heat, it’s mostly a nighttime activity.

I used to love eating just for the sake of eating. Even if I wasn’t hungry, eating was a way to alleviate boredom, or to get some quick satisfaction. If something was bothering me, eating would make it better. Stress? Solution: eat! If I had some time to kill, a good way to do it was to eat. Now that I only eat three times a day, this has been a weird thing to get used to.

Some people subscribe to the “Eat many meals throughout the day” idea of nutrition. While there were studies that suggested it might be better for people to eat to ensure their metabolism was high as the person ate all day, all subsequent studies have shown that this is not the case. Your metabolism is what it is regardless of whether you eat once or seven times a way. What matters is the total amount of food you eat be equal or less than the amount of energy your body needs through the course of a day.

The reason I mention the “Eat many meals throughout the day” idea is because it would seem that this would be a solution for people like me who used to love eating for the sake of eating. I disagree. I think it would be more akin to putting a bandage on an amputated arm. Changing the behavior is what will allow us to get past using food as entertainment, and changing that behavior means eating at normal, set times.

I do not snack anymore. Ever. I will replace a meal with another meal if necessary, but I do not snack between meals. I refuse to do so because I recognize in myself that it’s a slippery slope. It really is an addiction for me; I love eating. Even when I eat my regular meals, I have to eat slowly to allow the signals from my stomach to make it to my brain so that I can feel full. If I eat too quickly, I find myself still hungry. After I complete a meal, I drink some water to help my stomach feel full. I then set my mind to not eating until the next mealtime.

So far, it’s worked for me. I also attribute my successful weight loss to the fact that I don’t snack and I don’t “cheat,” or as I call it, sabotage my progress. I know people who do have snacks in the afternoon, and if that works for them, then cool. It doesn’t work for me. It’s not an indictment on anyone else who is a snacker; I just can’t do it. It literally derails my mindset and opens the door for more consumption, and I can’t allow that to happen.

A strategy I’ve used to move past the craving to eat because it’s fun (and not because I’m hungry) is to keep busy. Whenever my mind wanders to eating between meals, I find something to occupy my brain. While at work, it’s tackling another project. If I’m at home, I find something to do, whether it’s home maintenance, cleaning something up, or engaging in an activity I enjoy. Either way, as long as I’m actively engaging SOMETHING, it gets my mind off the desire to eat as entertainment, and before I know it, I’m not craving to eat anymore.

I want to point out that this is different from the sugar cravings. When I get one of these eating cravings, it’s based on boredom and not on hunger. My stomach isn’t wanting food; my brain wants the entertainment value from eating. It took a while for me to learn the difference, and by the end of my first Whole30, I was able to recognize when the sugar cravings ended and where the boredom cravings began.

I still enjoy eating. It’s still one of the most pleasurable things for me, but I limit it to mealtimes. I am very strict about it, but it’s what works for me. It’s up to everyone to find what works best for them, but don’t be surprised or complain when your weight loss is slower or stalls if you’re snacking. Another reason I don’t snack at all is because I noticed a correlation between afternoon snacks and my progress slowing during my Whole30. I found I was able to do without a snack after three days. It felt weird the first few days, but after the third day, I was able to get past it and not die.

None of this is easy. That’s why so many people struggle with it. But it is within your grasp, and well within your power to eat to live instead of living to eat. Try to stick to the three meals a day, and power through the afternoon snack craving. After a few days, it gets better. It did for me and many others I know. You can do this.

I remember reading about or hearing about friends or family members who started a new fitness regimen or eating lifestyle and I would nominally consider doing the same but invariably passed. Then, weeks or months later, as these people would start posting or talking about their successes and progress, I would think to myself, “Well, here I am, and the same amount of time has passed for both of us, yet they have improved their life while I’m no better than where I was.” The point was that had I also started something, anything at all, I would have been better off as well.

Today, I was talking to someone who mentioned that they couldn’t believe how much weight I’d lost in so short of a time period. I told them that it didn’t feel like it was so fast to me as I went through it. I didn’t really notice a difference in how I looked until I had lost 80 lbs; that change seemed to me to happen overnight. Before or since, I don’t see much difference nor do I feel much difference. However, the point of it was that they happened to say to me, “Wow. If I’d have started something when you did, I’d probably weigh a lot less than I do now.” Hearing that reminded me of that voice I used to hear in my head every time I came across someone I knew who was in a similar situation as I was health or weight-wise and then they experienced a transformation while I did nothing and stayed the same.

The reasons for eating better are myriad (another favorite word of mine; I like that I had an opportunity to use it here) and can be quite personal. I have mentioned my own reasons, and I received messages from people who said that they were in the same boat. I also received numerous messages from others who told me that their reasons were very different, but in the end, they ended up in the same place I did: lost a bunch of weight and got healthier.

Rock the boat

The easiest thing to do is nothing at all. If you are overweight or suffering from weight-related maladies and you do nothing, you’re going to keep having those problems until one of two things happen: you decide to do something about it, or you die. Our health doesn’t magically improve on its own. Medicine will keep symptoms at bay, but if you’re heavy and unhealthy, you will stay unhealthy as long as you’re heavy.

The more difficult thing to do is to take action. However, there are varying degrees of action you can take, and my experience involved very little in the way of physical work. Of course, it did mean a lot of mental discipline, motivation, and dedication toward a goal, but in my experience, it’s the easier way to go. Coupled with the fact that weight loss is 90% diet and only 10% exercise, it only made sense for me to concentrate on the 90% first.

The best thing to do is to take action through diet, exercise, and a good sleep pattern. Of course, people who are unfit due to being overweight will have a tougher time with the exercise, but believe it or not, just walking when you’re overweight expends a lot of calories. Getting any exercise at your heaviest is better than sitting on the couch. I tried to at least get in 7500 steps a day from 290 lbs to 190 lbs. Now, I do kettle bell swings and try to get in some walking and light jogging when I can.

Find it within yourself

I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect anyone to adopt a strict lifestyle if they’re not ready. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect anyone to make any change at all if they don’t believe in their heart they are ready for it. You have to be ready to commit fully to reaching your goals otherwise you will only waste your time and be disappointed in your lackluster results. If you aren’t ready to go all-in, wait a bit. Make a plan, think about your reasons, and when you are ready to fully commit, do it with all your heart.

Whatever it takes, get there. Find the motivation and dedicate yourself to it. Life is worth living when you’re healthy and able to do anything you can think of. I can’t imagine nor would I accept gaining back the weight I carried before. I don’t ever want to feel that limited ever again in my life.