Paleo Marine

That used to be me. I used to watch others start diets, new lifestyles, or fitness regimes and I would stay in my comfort zone and not change a thing. I would watch these people transition from their former selves into the new versions of themselves, typically healthier and in better shape. I would think back to when they started and think to myself, “If only I’d have started something then, I’d be where they are now.”

That used to bother me. As a 50-year old guy, I’ve watched lots of people through the years start one plan or another, and sure, some fail, but when people succeed, it’s motivating and also a little disappointing when you realize that the success that person is having could have been you. It’s part of what motivated me to finally get off my butt and do something about my health.

I remember stepping out of the shower and looking at myself and realizing that I was not just horribly out of shape, but incredibly and morbidly obese. I had to do something. I thought about the people I knew who all started doing something about their health and fitness, and how they left me behind. I could have been right there with them, but I chose to do nothing.

And that’s the point: you chose to do nothing. It’s an active decision to decide to not be an active participant in your own health, fitness, and wellbeing. Watching what you eat, cooking foods from whole ingredients, eating only foods that are made from whole ingredients, avoiding chemicals and artificial ingredients, eating right-sized portions, and getting some activity are all things we should be doing naturally. Instead, we choose to shovel anything into our faces that appears or that tastes good and is easy to prepare, or worse, prepared for us at a fast-food place.

Getting the ingredients for healthy meals takes time and effort. Cooking for yourself takes time and effort. But guess what: that time and effort is good for you. It’s meditative, it teaches you about the food you’re eating, and most importantly, it is healthy for you.

I can think of no fewer than a dozen people I’ve seen over the years transform themselves from unhealthy to healthy, and I recall feeling defeated because I had the same opportunity to start when they did and I chose to not do so. I am glad I chose to be an active participant in my health and to do something about it. A whole new world opened up, and I am no longer on the sidelines or on the couch.

Diets, meal plans, and lifestyles. There are many out there, and some have more rules than others. Personally, I’ve followed Whole30 and the Paleo Diet to the letter, and after some time on them, I’ve adapted to the changes I’ve felt and seen in my own body and health to optimize the effects I got out of both. On Keto, I didn’t monitor my macros as closely as most people, yet I was able to maintain moderate ketosis easily and comfortably for over a month.

I took some criticism in the past when I did my last Whole30 because I didn’t eat much fruit as allowed under Whole30. I explained that my body is very sensitive to all sugars including natural ones, and that I had decided that for my own health to limit my sugar intake. The same goes for Paleo. I limit my sugar intake to minimize it as much as possible.

Now, Sherry and I have adopted a combination of Keto/Paleo that seems to be working well for us. Our weight is maintaining at a good place, we feel great, and our health is strong. My workouts are fueled properly and I never feel exhausted or unable to complete my runs. In a nutshell, I am properly fueled for the activities I undertake. And that is, afterall, what food is for. Fuel.

I do recommend starting with any diet, meal plan, or lifestyle by sticking to the rules. Then, after you see how it affects you, make the appropriate adjustments and then take stock of what those adjustments impacted. Wash, rinse, repeat.

We are all different. Our genetics play a large role in how our bodies respond to different foods, and because of that, we have to work within diets and lifestyles to find what works best for each of us. What works great for me may only work marginally for you. Find what works and stick to it and don’t worry about sticking with a diet plan to the letter. Sometimes, you use the cookbook as a guide that leads you to something better.

There are some weird observations I’ve made as I transitioned from morbidly obese to being thinner as it pertains to crowds of people at meal times. When I was obese, other obese people felt like they could open up to me about eating a lot of food, how delicious it was, how much they enjoyed eating certain things, and their dismay at society’s pressure to lose weight, eat less, or eat right. As I lost my own weight and downsized, people who are obese stopped talking to me about those things and their discussions around food changed to them justifying the food they are eating. They tell me they are eating so much because they skipped a meal, had a light previous meal, or because it just happens to be a favorite food they never get a chance to eat anymore. Deep down, it makes me sad, because I remember doing the exact same thing, saying those exact same words.

I was a ravenous eater when I was morbidly obese, and I could easily finish an entire bread basket by myself when we would eat out for lunch. I had to use a lot of self-control to not eat all the bread at the table when it was brought out to me and my co-workers. I would often leave lunch still hungry because I wouldn’t eat enough to avoid embarrassing myself among my peers. Worse, there were those moments I would catch them glimpsing at me and the food I was eating. Not only would I get the looks, but sometimes, someone would ask me, “Are you really going to eat all of that? How can you eat that much food? Are you going to eat dinner, too? Isn’t that too much food?” It all hurt. Maybe they thought they were helping or offering help, but it had the opposite effect. I would lose myself in more food as a way to compensate for the embarrassment or the hurt I felt.

Now that I’m thinner, when eating with people who are also thinner, there’s no judgment or strange looks. There is nodding approval when I tell the waitstaff to hold the croutons, or when I decline the bread and ask instead for some vegetables. I don’t think it’s a conscious thing: it just happens. However, one thing is for sure: people are a lot nicer to me when I eat at a restaurant now than they were when I was morbidly obese.

I always tell people I’m not the Paleo Police, and they don’t need to justify their food choices to me. I don’t ever want people to be uncomfortable around me when they eat, because their food choices are as sacred to them as mine are to me. I would never judge them as I hope they will not judge me. I never offer or volunteer food advice at the table while people are eating. I hated when people did it to me, and I remember how long those words, while possibly well-meaning, would linger for hours, and sometimes days.

My point is this (in case I didn’t make it obvious): be careful with the words you use at the dinner table. Realize the gravity they have, and the effect they have on others. The consequence of your well-intentioned advice can have the opposite effect based on the setting.

Alternatively, if you receive some of this (hopefully) well-intentioned advice, and it’s difficult to hear, embarrassing, or misses the mark, you have two choices: ignore it, or ask the person if you were to ask them the same question, would they find it appropriate or welcome? Most people don’t realize just how horrible the things they say are sometimes until they are forced to confront them.

I’ve learned a lot as I went from morbidly obese to healthy. I wasn’t prepared for the shift in attitudes, and I never quite realized how much body type impacts conversation at the dinner table.

The only person whose opinion really matters is your own. This is true. Do you know what else? People can only affect you if you let them. Those two pieces of information freed me from caring what others thought of me and allowed me to become my best self.

When I started my first Whole30, people began noticing my food choices. When I told them what I was doing, they began criticising me and the diet. “You have to eat a balanced diet! You have to eat dairy, grains, and beans! You’re going to do more harm than good! You’re going to end up with more health problems than you started with!” They would tell me that it’s just a fad, it’s not good for me, and all kinds of other things. They were judging me and my choices and being quite vocal about it. Mind you, these were not friends, but acquaintances or strangers. My friends and family not only understood, but watched carefully as I dropped 10’s of lbs month after month. Most of them adopted the Paleo Diet or some form of diet akin to Paleo.

When I transitioned to the Paleo Diet, the same happened. However, I noticed that as I lost more and more weight and got visibly thinner, fewer and fewer people made comments. They just assumed I’d always been thin, and that I was just some health nut. So, what I don’t understand is that when someone is obese, it’s okay to tell them their diet is wrong and that they are doing more harm than good to themselves, but if you’re thin, it’s okay to eat a less conventional or widely accepted diet?

If I would have wrapped my head around that too much, it would have bothered me, but I didn’t let it. I ignored all those people and their negative energy. I didn’t allow any of their words to cut to the core of my soul. I smiled, nodded, and thanked them for their concern and then promptly ignored what they had to say. I am the final arbiter of what goes into my mouth, and then, into my body. I am the one who controls my health, and I am the one who is ultimately responsible. For those reasons, it is my opinion alone that matters when it comes to my health, my diet, and my fitness. As the old song goes, everyone else can just kiss off.

I had a successful drill weekend this past month, and I’m coming up on another one very soon. Drill weekends involve a lot of physical effort as well as stamina and mental strength. We stay up long hours, perform arduous tasks, accomplishing tasks that we have to practice to enable use to perform those same tasks in hostile environments. It takes good physical fitness to be able to perform these tasks, and as someone who is over 50, that means my body is really put to the test as compared to the 20-something year olds.

How did I do? I held up. I kept up. In many cases, I led the way. I am, by no means, the strongest, fastest, or most fit, but I am near the top. I strive to lead from the front, and to lead by example. That means lifting heavy things, running to and from tasks, and being proactive when something needs to be done and not just waiting to find a Soldier to perform a task.

Three years ago, there would have been no way for me to even step food into the boots I’m wearing today. I was so obese and physically unfit that just getting from the hardball (roadway) to the camp area would have killed me. Now, I walk that distance easily with a full pack, gas mask, and weapon while wearing a helmet and protective vest. The strength I possess today eclipses where I was three years ago.

I definitely feel younger. Sure, there are moments when I’m sore or aching and wondering what the heck am I, an old man, doing out there playing with the young kids. But then I remember that I am only as old as I allow myself to feel, because when I push myself and my body, I am able to do as much, if not more, than I did when I was 30. I feel great, I feel strong, and I feel capable. That my physical abilities back up how I feel is a wonderful thing.

I continue to eat well and exercise to keep my body ready for duty. It seems kind of funny some days when I’m running and I think about the amount of effort I put into being fit for that one weekend a month and two weeks out of the year. It seems like I’m doing more physical activity outside of drill then I do at drill, but then these field exercises happen and remind me of why I do all those runs and push ups. Why I do the kettlebells. Why I eat right.

And do you know what? I’m glad that I do. I wouldn’t trade how good it feels to not be limited by a lack of physical fitness in the field. It feels glorious.

This is a hot topic these days, as more and more people are going from obese to healthy. I’ve spoken with people who have actually decided against eating healthy because they fear loose skin more than they fear an early death. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’ve literally heard the words, “I’d rather die early than have loose skin” on more than on occasion. I just don’t get it. I have some loose skin, and it’s not so bad.

Warning: this post shows nudity (mine) and a lot of skin (but no private parts).

Continue reading “Body Image and Loose Skin” →

So many people tell me they wish they had my motivation, dedication, strength, or determination. My wife says she thinks it’s my military training that allows me to set goals for myself and single-mindedly accomplish them. However, I don’t think that is the reason why (although my military training has definitely helped me in the goal-achieving department). What it comes down to was realigning my priorities.

I used to place a large priority on sating my appetite and cravings. Whatever I craved, I had to have. If I wanted pizza, I’d order a large one. If I wanted bread sticks, I’d order two or three bags of them. If I wanted chocolate, I’d get a big bag of Dove chocolate and eat them. Regardless of the craving, I satisfied it in big ways, because that was my priority.

Health and fitness weren’t even on my radar. Ultimately, when my health started to fade and my fitness became so laughable that I had to hold my breath to tie my own shoes, I realized something had to happen. I took that long, hard look into my soul and had a conversation with myself that helped me re-align my priorities. I had primed the pump, so to speak, to get healthy. All I had to do was find the way. Weeks later, through the help of my cousin, I found Whole30 and Paleo.

I had to make my health my top priority. I didn’t add fitness to my priority list until an entire year after I started (almost to the day). But once I made my health my top priority, a strange thing happened: it became easier to let go of the things that were ruining and impacting my health in negative ways. Foods that to me before were comforting were now troubling. I changed the paradigm of what good food was to me, and also the paradigm of what food was for. I changed it from entertainment and comfort to fuel.

If there’s any single hack I used on my brain, it was this: changing my priorities and changing the paradigm of what food is for. Those two are the foundation upon which everything else sits: motivation, determination, discipline, perseverance: all of them mean nothing until you’ve made health your top priority. It becomes easy to resist temptation and to stay on the diet or lifestyle when it is your top priority.

But it has to be real, and not just lip service. Once you truly commit, the rest will fall into place easily.

My wife and I did Whole30, adopted the Paleo Diet, did a few Whole30’s here and there, and recently did Keto for a little over a month. After all this, we decided that a modified Keto/Paleo Plan was probably best for us. We figured we’d try it out and see how we felt and how our bodies responded.

I am happy to report that it seems to be going well. We’ve learned that our bodies are very sensitive to sugars, even natural ones like honey, agave, and maple syrup, so we’ve eliminated those and started using erythritol instead. We’ve learned through the keto resources that erythritol doesn’t spike blood sugar, and is very low on the glycemic index. Judging by how much better we feel without the sugars, this makes sense.

We have also strictly limited the amount of fruits we eat, and have even cut down on root vegetables due to their high carb content. We eat a lot more leafy greens, cauliflower, asparagus, and squashes.

As for meat, this remains the same: beef, pork, chicken, and fish of all sorts. We just make sure that the ingredients used in things like sausage leave out sugar and are reduced sodium with no or few nitrates.

One area that we’ve added to our previous Paleo Diet is dairy. We allow ourselves lactose free dairy like cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese, but we do so in moderation. We have found that our bodies are okay with dairy, but it’s the lactose we have issues with.

Otherwise, I feel like the food I’ve been eating has been enough to keep me satisfied and fueled, and I’m not gaining weight (although at this point, I’m not really losing any, either). So, solid maintenance on the Keto/Paleo Plan.

This is just a short little entry that marks something significant for me. For the first time in over two and a half years, I didn’t gain weight after a holiday!

Yes, I ate a lot; much more than I should have, or much more than I normally do. How did I avoid the weight gain? Well, I decided I’d try something different. I ate a very small breakfast, and then just ate what was offered during our holiday lunch meal. I felt so full for the rest of the day that not only did I never got hungry, I ended up not having to eat dinner that night.

Something I did to make sure I felt full the rest of the day was I drank coffee or iced tea, and I made sure to engage my brain and do some maintenance around the house and then when I was done with those tasks, I occupied my mind with a video game. The net result was not even a tenth of a pound gain! I’ll take it!