Paleo Marine

There are days when I REALLY don’t want to run. No matter how much I know I need to, even knowing fully well that I need to train for an upcoming APFT, sometimes, I just feel like being lazy and not running. When the weather is bad and I don’t feel like running, I’ll seize on that opportunity to be lazy. But when it’s 75 degrees out, cloudy, with a nice cool breeze, and I don’t feel like running? I do it anyway. And today, I’m glad I did.

I got my second fastest 5k time ever, just missing a new personal record by 6 seconds. SIX SECONDS!!! AAAAAAH!!! As for the run itself, I actually felt pretty good, and my heart rate was well under my max.

The lesson I take from this experience is that most of the time, the lead-up to an exercise session, a run, or anything else we know is difficult is worse than the actual task itself. For every run I’ve had in the past three years, this is definitely the case. Sometimes, those most dreaded runs become the most memorable or momentous. In my case, I almost had a personal best while feeling really great during the run.

What did it take to push me past not wanting to do it and just getting it done? Integrity. I told myself that if I want to claim that I have integrity, that I need to exercise that integrity with myself and just get the work done. Besides, it’s under 30 minutes of effort, so it’s really not all that long of a time to be uncomfortable. 60 push ups and 3.11 miles later, here I am, feeling great, eating a delicious food-prepped stuffed mushroom lunch, and having a nice cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee (unsweetened). It feels good.

I had a conversation with a neighbor about weight loss. She’s been trying to lose weight through a lot of running (and I mean A LOT of running). She asked me how I had lost my weight, and when I told her that I did it mainly through adopting a healthier lifestyle and managing my diet by avoiding sugar, grains, dairy, alcohol, legumes, and soy, she told me that there was no way she could give up grains. She doubled down: she said that she would be able to lose all the weight she needed to through running. I (sincerely) wished her the best of luck, and told her that I’m always here to help with advice on how to get healthy and lose weight.

She had known me at this point for seven years, and when she met me, I was morbidly obese. She saw me go through the transition from unhealthy to healthy, from morbidly obese to average size. The results I had achieved didn’t lie, and neither did I when I told her that I accomplished all of this through the use of diet alone.

I am not saying (nor did I say to her) that my way is the only way. There are many successful people out there who have lost weight and become healthier through the use of different lifestyles, many of which include insane amounts of physical exercise. I get it; it’s possible. If you put in enough work, you can achieve results. My point is, was, and will always be that I lost all the weight (150 lbs) with LITTLE/MINOR/TINY AMOUNT physical effort. I felt as if I’d found a cheat code to life with as easy as the weight was coming off me (in relation to the amount of physical exercise a lot of people I knew went through to lose weight).

Maybe (and I just thought of this) it comes down to the kind of hardship you are willing to accept. Some people (like me) are more able to deal with utilizing discipline, self control, motivation, and perseverance to lose weight while others are better suited for using extreme, hard, and difficult physical exercise and conditioning to create a caloric deficit required to lose weight. Again, to each his/her own.

I took the way that was easiest for me to not only wrap my head around, but allowed me the greatest chance of success. I chose changing my diet and my lifestyle, and over three years later, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. In fact, I feel the opposite; my new lifestyle has allowed me to achieve things that I thought were well past my ability to achieve at this point in my life. I’m also in much better shape, and definitely much healthier. For me, I believe I made the right decisions. After all, the results don’t lie.

This past weekend was a three-day drill for me in the National Guard, and now it’s time for me to get back to my schedule of proper eating, no alcohol consumption, and exercise.

It’s not that I don’t eat right during drill weekend; I do. It’s just that I tend to eat a big lunch, and then after dinner, I end up imbibing alcohol with the men and women I serve with. It’s not that I drink too much (I don’t), but it’s that I drink at all. I shouldn’t, but I know that whatever weight gain I get from the water retention due to drinking will be gone within a day or two afterward, so I allow myself the indulgence.

I am now working toward an APFT in October. The APFT stands for Army Physical Fitness Test, and I will need to run two miles and do a maximum number of push ups and sit up within two minutes each. I can pass it now, but I want to get faster and stronger to get a better score. I also need to make sure I’m well beneath my maximum allowed weight when the APFT is held. Not because I can’t pass the tape portion (where they use measurements to determine your body fat percentage) because I am well under the maximum allowed, but because I prefer to not even have to be taped.

So, over the next month or so, you will see a heavy focus on running and strength exercises from me accompanied by a renewed sense of urgency to eat right. I’m looking forward to it! I had a great/faster run last Wednesday, and I’m going to continue with that level of effort over the next four weeks to make some progress and to bring my run times down.

In February 1986, I swore an oath that would lead to my enlistment in the Marine Corps. On September 23rd, 1986, I left on a Southwest Airlines flight bound for San Diego, CA for my final destination: Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego. It would be my home for the next 13 weeks with two stints at Camp Pendleton for rifle training and field training.

When I left, I was a soft civilian who weighed around 145 lbs. I could barely run three miles or do more than 5 pull ups. When I graduated from boot camp, I could run the three miles in 19 minutes, I could easily do 20 pull ups, and 80 sit ups within two minutes. I weighed around 138 lbs. I was in the best shape of my life up to that point.

While in the Marines, I kept up with my physical fitness until a surgery about a year prior to my discharge. That surgery had lasting complications that kept me on convalescent leave for half a year, and that led to me getting over the official height/weight standards. I left the Marines at the end of my term of enlistment with one month shy of 11 years of total active duty.

After my discharge, I continued to gain weight and become unfit. I didn’t do any exercise at all, and my weight ballooned, topping out at a whopping 312 lbs. That’s morbidly obese for someone of my short stature: I’m 5’7″ tall.

Fast forward 20 years. I decided that enough was enough. I took control of my life, my health, and my fitness. I changed my lifestyle through Whole30 and adopted the Paleo Diet. I began walking, then jogging, and finally, running. Three years later, I am still a healthy 51 year-old within the DoD height and weight regulations, and I easily pass the Army APFT.

Today, I look back at that day 32 years ago and I’m humbled by the memories of the great Marines and Soldiers I’ve had the honor of serving with. I am the man I am today in large part due to their guidance, motivation, and mentorship (and sure, maybe a few butt-chewings here and there).

People often ask me if I had to do it all over again, would I still join the Marines out of high school instead of going to college? If everything I’ve lived through, experienced, seen, and done led me to where I am today, and to who I have in my life today, then the answer is clear: I would not change a thing. It may not have been the easiest road, but it is one that got me here, and I am happy with who I am and where I am. That wouldn’t be possible without the ups and downs that got me here.

Drill weekends can be hectic for me, and this morning, instead of having my usual bacon and egg breakfast, I had a few small bars. They are good, and from a caloric standpoint, they are pretty much the same as if I’d eaten my bacon and eggs, but gosh darnit, I miss my normal breakfast!

With that said, my weight has been up a bit the past few days after reaching a motivating low, but I’m not letting it deter me or slow me down. I’m keeping motivated, keeping active, and continuing to eat right. I had two small shots of alcohol last night, but aside from that, it’s all sticking to the plan.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

So, the last two nights, I didn’t get much sleep at all for one reason or another. That means no weight loss. It’s very predictable for me: no sleep = no weight loss. There’s also the matter of not having regular bowel movements for the past few days and, well, I’m heavier: 3 lbs, to be exact.

It’s annoying when I’m making good progress to have the scale tell me that I weigh more when I know I’m still doing everything right. That’s the real struggle and the test of working toward losing weight. Right now, I’m in weight loss mode, and it’s these little speed bumps that used to derail me. Now? They make me more determined than ever.

The way I see it, or at least the way I’ve trained myself to see it, it’s like my weight is a foe that I need to defeat. It works for me. Different people need to find their motivation and what works best for them. My goal weight is more than just a number. It’s also where I feel physically at my best, where I fit my uniforms and my clothing the best, and I feel the most nimble. Running is easier when I’m lighter, and I’m much faster. I am just between 9-11 lbs away from my goal which, according to my schedule, I should hit sometime by the end of November if I can sustain my rate of loss.

I will continue to do what I need to do: trust in the process, keep eating well, keep exercising, and continue to keep motivated. Perseverance is key. I’m in this for the long haul, and this is a long-term process. Short-term gratification with bumps in weight loss are nice, but it’s not what the game is about. It’s about getting to my goal safely, and steadily, even if my weight bumps up a bit every now and then. It’s all a part of how this game is played, and I’m going to continue to kick it’s butt.

Some days, I get hungry on my way home. This isn’t a good thing, as it means that I didn’t eat enough at lunch. What makes it worse is that typically, Sherry gets home about an hour after I do, and since I like to eat dinner with her, I  have to wait. Enter exercise.

On the days that I run, I find that no matter how hungry I am, as soon as I begin running, the hunger I’m feeling dissipates quickly. This effect lasts for about 30 minutes after my runs which is good, as I usually take a .75 mile cool-down walk, and post-run shower. By the time I’m done with this routine, an hour has passed, and either Sherry is already home or will be home soon, and I’m ready to eat.

I’ve also started to drink more water in the evenings when I feel any hunger pangs. While I don’t get them often, there is the occasional evening where I start feeling a bit peckish, and the last thing I want to do before laying down for sleep is to grab a bite or have coffee. The water does an exceptional job of taking the edge off my hunger and allowing me to carry on with my evening or go to sleep.

Reading is another activity I’ve found has been really good for taking my mind off hunger. My kindle seems to get a lot of use when I’m being very good with my eating and I find that I quite enjoy reading more often. Another option has been video games that I allow myself to get engrossed with. The time flies by very fast, however, and I have to be careful to not let myself get carried away.

As a very last resort, I may eat 5-7 almonds. I try to never snack, as all this does is reinforce a bad behavior. I need to get out of the habit of snacking, and while it’s not a habit of mine per se, it’s something that’s very easy to slip into. I used to eat a Paleo chocolate chip cookie after every dinner for months, and it was a hard habit to break. I don’t want to have to fight a snack habit.

There are many ways to combat hunger, but one of the best is to just eat slowly at mealtime. Just make sure to not over-eat, and ensure you have a good amount of fiber in your meal. Not only is it good for you, but it will both fill you up and help keep you regular (which is important, especially since many people tend to under-eat vegetables/fiber when trying to lose weight).

After my run yesterday, I weighed myself in at 174.1 lbs. This is the second time I weighed 174 lbs in the past few days, but I didn’t count the first one because I thought it was a scale mis-read. Turns out, it’s possible I am weighing in the 174 range. And this is great news.

I planned/plan on progress of 2.5 lbs per week. I’m in my third week, and I’m ahead of schedule. I started this latest round of discipline at 183.8 lbs, and as of last night, weighing 174.1 lbs gives me a total loss so far of 9.7 lbs. That puts me at just .3 lbs from this week’s 2.5 lbs goal.

Sherry and I were discussing weight loss last night after my run, and we both noted how we both either lose weight or size, but not both at the same time. I went through a 3-4 day period of not losing any weight, but noticing my trousers getting looser. Then, 4 lbs went away almost overnight, while the clothes still feel the same. She’s experiencing the same thing right now: clothes are getting looser although she’s not shedding the weight.

If I can keep this progress moving, I’ll be happy. If I can get to 172 lbs (or somewhere close) by the end of this week, I would be elated. If not? That’s okay, too. After all, these are goals, not hard numbers I must hit for anything other than peace of mind.

Remember the following:

• Goals are nothing more than tools used to motivate. If you don’t reach one, analyze your process and the goal itself. Was it realistic? Was it aggressive? Did you do everything in your power to reach it?
• Weight and size very rarely are lost at the same time. For me and others, it’s one or the other, and is like a pendulum swinging back and forth. Don’t fret losing one and not the other. It’ll come.

I escaped the weekend mostly unscathed by a bit of alcohol consumption. My weight was still very good Monday morning (176.1 lbs), but I can’t help but to think of how much better I would have done if it were not for that night of drinking Scotch with a good friend. Although Sherry and I are not officially on a Whole30 right now, the food we are eating this month is all Whole30 compliant with the exception of the occasional meal in a restaurant that is Paleo, or the odd occasion when a good friend from out of town comes in to visit.

With that said, my biggest disappointment with last week and in myself is that I didn’t exercise nearly as much as I planned and or need. I am suffering from a bout of the “I don’t feel like-its,” and I need to get past it. I will be running after work today as long as it’s not raining (and it’s not forecast to be raining today), and hopefully I’ll be back on track this week.

My goal is to be at 174 lbs by Friday. Sherry prepped some amazing foods for us this week, and I look forward to all my lunches being amazing, delicious, and healthy. I have drill with the National Guard this coming weekend, so that means packing my typical drill weekend lunches which are Epic bars, Larabars, RXBars, and That’s It! bars. I’m fortunate that I will be able to eat breakfast and dinners at home, so at least there’s that.