Paleo Marine

One factor in weight loss and improving my health that I’ve overlooked in the past has been sleep, or rather, getting the right amount of sleep. It’s a part of any weight loss program that is rarely discussed. In the past ten months, I’ve kept track of my sleep with a Fitbit Surge, and I’ve been able to reliably track down the times I’m not losing weight by looking at some inputs: How much food did I eat, what type of food did I eat, how much physical activity did I do, and how much sleep did I get? These four factors make up the formula for successful weight loss.

(Food volume+food type)² – physical activity (-sleep amount)² = weight loss

We’ll call that the PaleoMarine Formula for Weight Loss (I put it into some fancy formula formatting because it looks pretty cool). I’m certain that the real formula is far more complicated and takes into account far more factors, but for our purposes here, these are the factors we have under our control and that most greatly affect our weight loss success. In order of importance, they are:

1. Food type
2. Food volume
3. Sleep
4. Physical activity

Just like with any formula, if you throw in a bad value into any of the variables, you will get weird or bad results. The same is true in weight loss. If you eat a reasonable food volume, eat good food, and get in some physical activity but not enough sleep, your body will not lose weight as well or as quickly. If you get lots of sleep and physical activity but eat a lot or eat bad foods, you won’t lose weight. Food volume and food type are the more important parts of this formula, in my experience.

How much sleep is right for you? That depends on many factors including your age and sex. I’ve found that for me, while 6.5 hours of sleep is enough for me to feel rested, I don’t lose weight unless I sleep for at least 7 to 7.5 hours a night regardless of how well I ate the day before. My non-scientific reason for this is that sleep deprivation greatly affects what happens to the food you eat the day before on a metabolic level.

According to PaleoLeap:

Study after study has shown that if they’re allowed to choose their own diet, sleep-deprived subjects will eat more food, especially more junk. Assuming you aren’t living in a metabolic ward, you too have the ability to choose your own diet – and you too will likely go for the “comfort food” in the face of sleep deprivation. Specifically, sleep deprivation is a huge risk factor for sugar cravings and overeating high-carb junk food (think cookies, pretzels, pasta bowls…)

As for sleep and metabolism, PaleoLeap has this to say:

• Reduces insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity is the metabolic capacity to handle eating carbs – to use them for energy, instead of storing them as fat. A reduction in insulin sensitivity means that you’re more likely to store food as fat (and then still be hungry afterwards).

• Changes the composition of the gut flora. Nobody is totally sure yet exactly what the relationship is between the gut flora and obesity, but we know there is one.

• Creates inflammation. In this study, for example, either sleeping 5 hours a night or sleeping at the wrong time (the shift work pattern) increased markers of inflammation. This study makes it even clearer: “sleep deficient humans…exhibit a proinflammatory component; therefore, sleep loss is considered as a risk factor for developing cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis).” Nothing that promotes diabetes is helping you lose weight.

It’s interesting to see that sleep deficient humans exhibit a proinflammatory component: I find that my fingers are puffy when I don’t get enough sleep. Now I know why! Perhaps I can use that as another indicator as to whether I get enough sleep the night before or not. I will start checking the fit of my wedding ring in the mornings after sleeping to see if I can collaborate this as well.

Adopting a Paleo lifestyle is a change. Part of that change should be getting enough sleep. Some things you can do are:

• Set a “Do Not Pass” time for when everything is done at night. Do not go past this time with any tasks. This leads to the next step.
• Set a bedtime and stick to it. I did this, and it’s helped me get more sleep every night.
• As part of that bedtime, have a routine that you stick to. Mine is to make sure the doors are locked, lights are off in the house, and once in my bedroom, I make sure things are laid out so I can find them easily in the morning as efficiently as possible. I then raise the back of my bed slightly (helps eliminate snoring for me) and then I turn out the lights as I tuck myself into bed.
• During the bedtime routine, eliminate electronics device usage. Studies have shown that using electronics before bed can cause you to not get good rest.

I know, we feel like we need to finish things before we go to bed, and many of us don’t want to keep putting things off, but perhaps look at how much you procrastinate earlier in the day. If you find that you put things off earlier in the day to try to get them done before you go to sleep, perhaps start writing lists of To-Do’s so you can tackle these tasks earlier in the day to allow yourself an earlier bedtime.

Some people (myself included) have medical issues that can preclude them from getting a good night’s sleep. I had sleep apnea and used to wear a CPAP at night to get a good night’s rest. I believe my weight had a lot to do with my sleep apnea as now that I’ve lost the weight, I don’t snore or suffer from sleep apnea anymore. However, there are lots of people who are not aware they have medical issues that keep them from getting a good night’s rest. If you do all of the above steps to try to ensure that you get a good night’s rest and you still can’t, perhaps speak with your doctor or physician’s assistant to see if you qualify for a sleep study to try to identify the reason(s) for your lack of quality sleep.

Get enough sleep. Make time for it. I know you’re busy, and I know you have stuff to do. We all want to get as much done in a day as possible, but sleep is important to our overall health.

Current stats:
Weight: 190.5 lbs (Started 289.9 lbs on 9/1/15)
Body fat: 20.2% (Started 47% on 9/1/15)
BMI: 29.9 (Started 45.4 on 9/1/15)

It looks like Sherry and I have inadvertently started a Whole30 again. We started on Wednesday last week, the day after my birthday. We were talking Thursday night, and we both realized that as we both rededicated ourselves to sticking very firmly to the rules of the Paleo lifestyle, every meal we ate has been Whole30 compliant.We had been planning on doing another Whole30 in September, but the more we talked about it, the more it seemed like a good idea to just do it now. Also, she’d reacquired some bad habits mostly in the form of snacking and eating more and more foods with sugars in them, so she felt it was time. She has always been such a strong supporter of me and my health that I decided that I was going to do this with her. Besides, I could use a reset, too.

This time around, it’s been a lot easier for us to get into. Since we have already eliminated foods with added sugars in them, and we very rarely ate anything sweetened with honey or maple syrup, we aren’t experiencing the sugar withdrawals. Sherry has had some snacks here and there while I have not, however, and this round of Whole30 is going to help her reset her cravings and her food amounts.

For me, it’s more about just reiterating the fact that food is fuel, and that I need to stick with the basics. I thought about this while eating my two eggs and two slices of bacon this morning. I realized that I felt satisfied and full after eating, it made me think of how far I’d come in the past ten months. It also reminded me that if I eat slowly, and I eat good, filling foods, I will be fine and my body will be sufficiently fueled until the next meal.

I haven’t picked up any really bad habits in the past nine months since my last Whole30 other than perhaps eating past when I feel full or satisfied (I’m looking at you, baked sweet potato!), but I figure it can’t hurt to be a little more strict with my diet for a month. Doing a Whole30 once a year may be a good thing. We’ll see what my results are afterward, and if I feel any different. I am predicting that I won’t really feel as much of a difference this time around, but it’s a good exercise to go through to just reset things a bit.

So far on this Whole30, I’ve lost all the weight I gained over the holiday weekend and I’m once again back to my lowest weight. I’m ready to get into the 180’s and then onto the homestretch. I have two more months to go before my one year anniversary, and I’d like to have this done by then. It’d be a great accomplishment, and one I will be very proud of.

I have a friend from high school who likes to post pictures of non-Paleo foods whenever I post a photo of some Paleo meal I ate, and this last time, he posted a photo of some rice and beans with the caption, “I have to have my rice and beans at least once a week.”

I get it. I love rice and beans, too. Heck, one of my favorite foods EVER is Hungarian bean soup (bubleves). I used to think I couldn’t live without it, too. I used to believe that if I can’t have certain foods in my life, it’s not a life worth living. I used to justify all the bad food I ate by thinking I wasn’t as unhealthy as other people. I looked fine. I was a little overweight, but nothing that serious.

In the photo above, on the left side, is Sherry and I in 2007. I thought I was healthy and just a little big. I had convinced myself that this whole “Eating right” thing was for other people, and that they were making a big deal out of nothing. Then, the doctor said I have elevated levels of a liver enzyme that is indicative of non-alcoholic fatty liver in my blood. The next year, I was what he called, “Pre-diabetic.” The following year, I was Type-2 Diabetic. My eyesight began to get worse at an alarming rate. I began having nerve pain in my leg and numbness in my toes. Throughout all of this, I had to have my rice and beans, too. And bubleves.

I discussed at length the reasons I decided to do a Whole30 and go Paleo, so I won’t rehash that here. However, I do want to address something here and now that I think anyone who dismisses good eating does: delusion.

We delude ourselves in thinking, “Health problems from eating lots of sugar and carbs will happen to the other guy or girl because I’ve been eating this stuff all my life and I’m fine!” We delude ourselves in thinking, “Well, I’m only 50 lbs overweight. That’s not that bad.” Delusion is how we defy logic. It’s how we drown out that voice at the back of our heads that says, “You really should eat better food,” or that says, “You know, you could stand to lose some weight.”

I was delusional for a long time. I thought I was healthy. I thought I looked normal. The worst part is that even when looking at myself in the mirror, my mind made me look thinner to myself. This is not an uncommon thing among people who are overweight, and a recent study even confirmed this.

It’s a harsh reality, and it’s tough to swallow, but not giving up a high-carb lifestyle will end your life sooner than if you eat good, healthy foods.

Eat better. Cut the carbs. Stop deluding yourself. I’m not asking you to give up everything good forever. Just greatly reduce it from your diet. Rice and beans once a week? Maybe if your body fat is 15%. I’ve got a ways to get there, and when I do, I will reintroduce a few treats into my routine perhaps more often than I allow myself now, but I will never go back to the “Old ways.”

I read the sensational report a few months back about how 14 of 15 “The Biggest Loser” contestants had experienced a massive reduction in their rate of metabolism which made the majority of them regain the weight. I read this (and this article was sent to me by more than a few people) and I have to admit, I was a little concerned for a moment. But then that moment passed, and I realized that I did not do what those people did, nor did I lose the weight as quickly as those people did. My body has had time to absorb the change and to get used to it. I lost my weight naturally.

Now, when I eat more, I gain weight. When I eat right, I lose weight. I have not yet reached an equilibrium point where my intake matches my caloric burn, but I do know it’s coming. At that point, I’ll either have to reduce my intake or increase my activities to burn more calories. Knowing me, it’ll be more of the former than the latter.

However, I am also starting a kettle ball program this week to work muscles in my body, and Sherry and I are going to start more active walking/jogging/running very soon.

The main point is, however, that I’ve noticed that my body responds quickly to changes in diet. It’s predictable and reproducible. My results are not out of the ordinary or unusual; they echo the results many people I know are experiencing as well.

Eat right and your body will treat you right. Eat badly and your body will go bad. It’s pretty simple. I’ve nearly lost all the weight I gained after the long holiday weekend just by being careful, and NOT by starving or depriving myself of anything. I’m just watching my portion sizes and not eating treats. It’s neat to see it work so well.

It sounds kind of funny; camping on Paleo. I can picture a caveman looking at the modern equipment we have for camping today and saying to himself in some caveman language, “Wow. Look at all this stuff!” The thing that the caveman would find in the average modern cooler would be the most shocking; none of it would resemble the food he was familiar with. Looking at packaging, containers, and even food items would be perplexing to him. He might even throw it away, not aware that it was edible.

My friend Steve and I were talking about his upcoming camping trip, and he was lamenting the fact that it would be difficult for him to stick to the Paleo lifestyle while camping. I had to laugh, because at least to me, camping is sort of reaching back to our Paleo backgrounds, isn’t it? Sleeping under the stars, close to nature, and with some luck, catching some food to eat.

With some standard staples that will store well at room temperature or in a cooler, it’s quite easy to go camping Paleo-style. Some ideas I gave him were:

Breakfast

• Bacon and eggs
• Paleo pancakes (if he takes the ingredients which are mostly dry)
• Sausage and eggs
• Fish omelette (assuming he can catch some fish!)

Lunch and Dinner

• Steak
• Fried or baked fish
• Vegetable packets (carrots, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc)
• Burger wraps
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Pork chops
• Sausage (no added-sugar)
• Chicken
• Chili (needs a little more prep, but with a pot, can be done)
• Veggies on skewers

And that’s just a list to start with to get the ideas flowing. After we discussed it, he was happy that there were options and in a way, hearkens back to the cavemen making their food from whole ingredients.

I added a link in my Blogroll (on the right side of my site if viewing on a PC or tablet) to my wife Sherry‘s recipe page. It contains links to our favorites, and she has also marked all Whole30 compliant recipes as such.

Whenever I post about a delicious and filling dinner that she or I made, there is a good chance you can find the recipe there. It’s well worth taking a look at if you’re wondering what kind of foods you can eat on Paleo and Whole30.