Tag: weight-loss

Why Weight Isn’t Everything in Your Health Journey

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This morning, I hit 188.6 lbs. It may have been 188.4 lbs, but I forget exactly, so when that happens, I take the higher weight (I don’t want to give myself any undue credit). This is significant because now I’m settled firmly into the 180’s. That means I have less than 13 lbs to go before I reach my arbitrary and meaningless weight goal. I say it’s arbitrary and meaningless because in the past, I’ve missed target weights but felt a whole lot better, was healthier, fit into smaller clothing more easily, and felt like I generally accomplished my goals of being at a healther “Size.”

The AI image didn’t tie the laces, tuck them in properly, or properly blouse the boots, but I’m sure someone will comment on this anyway, so I left the image as-is.

The reason why so many people fixate on the numbers is because it’s an easy measure and it’s tangible. What’s less tangible is how much better you feel, how much easier exercise is, how less winded you are climbing a flight of stairs, and how much better those blood test results are during your annual physical. These are the things that really matter. Weight? It’s a simple way to put a number to all these things, but it’s actually not that simple.

Factors for affecting your weight include your height (obviously), age (bone density increases with age making your skeletal weight greater), genetic makeup, and fitness level. As I get more and more back into physical activity, my body becomes leaner but the muscles also more dense and heavier. When I lost my initial 130 lbs, it is only then that I decided to add exercise to my journey. I continued to lose some weight, making it up to 150 lbs lost, but then I started gaining weight even though I was still losing inches off my waist. This was because I was weightlifting and also running which made me much healthier and stronger, but also made my muscles more dense.

Weight, for me, is a snapshot. It’s an easy guide to see where I’m at without looking too much into it. But once I do, and once I take everything else into account, I find that weight is not an accurate measure of success when undertaking a healthier lifestyle. It’s more like a suggestion. That’s one of the reasons why Whole30 doesn’t want you to weigh yourself. Many people can become easily discouraged when they don’t see the numbers dropping (or worse, see them increasing) while ignoring all the positive changes going on in their body and overall health. As our bodies reconfigure from a bad diet to a good diet, the body reacts in weird ways. I’ve done enough Whole30’s to know the process by now, and I’ve made it past the stall that normally happens to me just past week 2. Now, I’m back to making progress as my body is completely accustomed to the good food and the complete lack of added sugars (or heavy carbs in any form). I still have fruit, but it’s blueberries, raspberries, cherries, grapes, and oranges. I may have a banana before my Army Fitness Test on Saturday morning, but that’s just to pump my blood with some easy/quick energy before exertion.

So, while I celebrate the weight loss, I don’t put too much into that. It’s nice, but honestly, the only reason I really care is because the Army still cares about weight, and the new “Fit” standards to measure body composition penalize short people (like me) with unrealistic numbers for people my age.

Two Weeks Down; Two to go

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So, in two weeks, I’ve dropped 2 inches off my waist and 16 lbs. That’s a great success so far. Also, I had to have some medical tests run, and the doctors told me that my numbers across the board were phenomenal for someone my age (and just about normal for a man at any age). I attribute that to 10 years of eating healthy and getting off my tail every now and then.

I’m looking forward to getting back into lifting; hopefully, soon.

There’s one thing I haven’t been putting enough focus on in the past two weeks, though: water. I need more water intake. The doctor confirmed that as well; I’m constantly dehydrated. This hurts not only my overall health, but my ability to lose weight. Ironically, to be able to lose weight as effectively as possible, you need to remain hydrated.

The plan for me is to force myself to drink more water. I don’t like it, but it’s necessary. I’m also working to reduce my caffeine intake. This is going to be harder, because not only do I love coffee, but I’m also addicted. Honestly, black coffee is what got me through the first week of Whole30. But, the doctor told me that some of the health issues I’ve been experiencing can be attributed to my high caffeine intake, so I’ll bring that down a bit. Not eliminate, but reduce.

Otherwise, I feel great. My gut feels smaller, my face looks smaller, my pants fit better, and going up the stairs doesn’t feel like such a chore anymore. I will also start my actual workout routine week after next. Why? Because I have drill coming up soon, and I don’t want to be sore for that. I also might have to run 2 miles, and I don’t want to jeopardize my ability to finish that with the best time possible considering I haven’t run in months.

Revitalizing my life with Whole30

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There was a time when everything I did to try to become healthy was wrong. The wrong diets. The wrong exercise. The wrong plans. Even the motivation was wrong. I looked for shortcuts, for tricks: I looked for anything that would help me get healthy. None of it worked.

My granddaughter and I playing. She is an additional motivator in my health journey.

I never had the money for fancy pills, powders, products, or plans that promised the miracle of losing weight and getting healthy. If there was a diet or plan that promised substantial benefits towards getting healthy and losing weight, I tried them. And they all failed.

That’s why when my cousin, a Physician Assistant, recommended I try Whole30, I was incredulous. I thought, “Great. Here goes another plan that is doomed to fail,” but out of respect for her and with a healthy dose of fear that she gifted me through a heart-to-heart conversation about where my poor health and heavy weight were leading me, I was able to convince my wife to give it a try. I had high hopes, but no real expectations for success. What ended up happening was far beyond what I could have even hoped for.

That first month, I lost 20 lbs. Then, for the following 12 months, I lost roughly 10 lbs for a total of 130 lbs lost in one year. I had physicals throughout the year because I wanted to monitor my health as my body was undergoing such a rapid transformation. Each time test results came back, they were better than the last. Heck, the first physical I had just 2 months after starting Whole30, my Type 2 Diabetes was nowhere to be found. It was so confusing to my primary care physician that they ordered a second set of tests; they thought they made an error and received someone else’s results in place of mine. They couldn’t believe the Diabetes was gone. Neither could I.

Fast-forward 12 years. I’ve kept the weight off, the Diabetes is still gone, cholesterol is healthy, and I’m still leaning heavily on Whole30 from time to time. Normally, my wife and I eat Paleo, but as we are human and prone to slipping into bad habits, we need the refresh that Whole30 gives us. What is funny to us is how, once we’ve decided to do another one, we don’t dread it. We actually look forward to the many benefits we know it will provide:

  • Mental clarity
  • Fitting better into clothes
  • Improved energy levels
  • Improved self-image (I like what I see in the mirror or those selfies much more)
  • Last but not least, the smaller number on the scale

I don’t frame Whole30 as a restrictive diet (I never did, actually) although I did have fears that it would be on my first round. Now, I see it as revisiting an old friend, one who feeds me with delicious and healthy foods I don’t have to feel guilty about. Foods that nourish my body without artificial chemicals or ingredients that also taste great. I see it as a rebirth of a good habit: eating better food.

My wife had to remind me one night at dinner after she asked me if I was full (and I responded that I wasn’t really) that I was allowed to eat more. Whole30 doesn’t restrict your serving sizes, although one should still be mindful of over-eating (which is my biggest problem). I ate an additional half serving and then it hit me; I was full and felt sated.

Some things I have to remember and re-teach myself every Whole30:

  • Sleep is important. For me, 7 hours or more a night is key for actual weight loss
  • Serving size is important but not set in stone. Eat until full (or just about full) and stop
  • Fiber is important as I tend to be protein-heavy on Whole30’s
  • Fruit is okay, but be mindful of the amount of sugar (which is why I prefer blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries over bananas)
  • Trust the process

That last one is also key, but it’s become more than a slogan for me. It’s a reassurance. Every single time I’ve done a Whole30, I’ve been successful. The length of time after a Whole30 that I can go without doing another one seems to be 9-12 months, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go on without doing another one (because I have those life-long bad habits and psychological issues around eating), but I no longer dread them. To the contrary, I welcome them and look forward to the positive changes that Whole30 give me and brings to my life.

Seeing the results in the mirror

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It’s one thing to see a number getting smaller and smaller, but it’s another thing entirely when you can see the results in the mirror and feel them in your skin. Another morning with not only appreciable weight loss (another pound, down to 189.4 lbs) but also finally seeing it in my face. Today as I was shaving, I could see it, and it felt great. I haven’t looked at this face in a few years, actually.

I have more crows feet around the eyes when my weight drops, but I’m okay with that.

Right after I went on my deployment, I injured my shoulder. That kept me out of the gym which in the past really helped me stay slim while eating right, and the resulting sadness over losing that outlet made me a little less diligent with my food choices. I didn’t go crazy, as I never got past 200 lbs, but I hovered in the high 190’s for the past two years.

Fast forward to January 2026. The shoulder still has pain (I’m seeing the specialist tomorrow, actually), but I finally decided enough was enough. The weight gain wasn’t due to lack of exercise, but a lack of restraint in what I was eating. Whole30 was needed in more ways than one.

Usually when I’m on my Paleo diet, I tend to be a little loose on the weekends. This causes a yo-yo with my weight: I gain about 2-2.5 lbs on the weekend and then lose it by the next weekend, only to start the process all over again.

While on Whole30, however, that doesn’t happen. As I stick to the plan, I don’t allow myself even the slightest wiggle room. In the long run, this is far better for me not only physically, but psychologically. It allows me to stay in the right mindset and honestly, it makes everything related to eating and my health easier.

I have drill later this month, and the only difficulty will be in finding Whole30 compatible foods. I know I can probably find some Mexican places for Fajitas, some steak places for steak and sweet potato, and all breakfast places will have bacon and eggs, but the bacon will be suspect as the vast majority of places use bacon with sugar. I might do some research and try to find some Whole30 compatible frozen meals I can buy when I’m in Austin and just have in my hotel room as necessary.

But this I know: I will feel great in my uniform, I already feel better in my civilian clothing, and when I look in the mirror, I get a jolt of motivation because the face looking back at me is no longer bloated from excess water weight or wearing the extra weight which was the result in a lack of discipline.

Revamping My Diet: Success with Whole30

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So, no; it’s not another, “New Year, New Me” post or plan. Doing a Whole30 every now and then is something my wife and I do after we’ve let our diet slip out of Paleo into See-Food (we eat whatever we see fit). The result of that see-food diet has been me getting up to (GASP!) 205 lbs. That’s WAY too much for me. So… Whole30 time.

I started at 205 lbs. 205.6 lbs, to be exact. That weight was taken on Day 1 (also known as W1D1 in W30 parlance). The first week is always the hardest for me, specifically the first three days, and this time was no different. Fortunately, I had things to do to keep my mind off of the discomfort (like being daycare for my 13-month old granddaughter) and by the end of the first week, I had lost (this is crazy) 13 lbs.

Now, for the W30 purists, I know: You’re not supposed to weigh yourself DURING the W30. You’re supposed to weigh in at the beginning, and then again at the end. BUT… this isn’t my first W30, and I also know what motivates me past cravings: knowing my progress. I know: the W30 isn’t about the numbers alone. I get that. Coincidentally, all my clothes are fitting beautifully again now, and I FEEL so much better. My stomach isn’t extending outwards anymore which thrills me. But being that I’m still in the military, the weight is important for me as it’s a measure of our physical readiness (and I have a weigh-in later this month).

As I am now in the middle of Week 2, I am still seeing and feeling progress. I’m now down to 190.2 lbs which is well over 15 lbs. That’s 15 lbs in a week and a half. Absolutely incredible. The best part? The food. My wife makes AMAZING W30 foods, and if you want to make some too, check out her site called “Our Daily Bacon.” It’s 100% free, no registration required, and we literally live off the diets on that site. When we find things we love (that are Paleo or W30), she adds them to the site. It’s a mix of links to recipes elsewhere, or when they disappear, she finds the recipes and then posts them on her site. Super resource for those looking for delicious and easy foods to eat on W30 or Paleo.

So, here I am. Again. On another W30. And you know what? I’m loving it. I love how I feel, how I look, and I love that I will soon be able to exercise again (which I haven’t been able to do for two years due to injuries and surgery).

10 Years of Healthy Living

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When I first started my new lifestyle with a Whole30, I happened to have an annual physical scheduled about 45 days later which I went to. They drew blood, took vitals, and after the doctor admonishing me for partaking in a “Fad diet,” I went home. Three days later, I was called by the doctor’s office telling me that they had made a mistake and I needed to re-do my bloodwork. They said my blood was somehow changed with someone else’s, and the tests had to be re-done. I went in and they drew blood again, but this time, the results were the same as before, so the doctor called me in to talk about them.

These photos were taken exactly 1 year apart at an annual event.

He told me that he’d never seen someone go from being Type-2 Diabetic to not having elevated blood sugar at all. My blood pressure was normal, and with the exception of one of my lipid counts being a bit elevated, everything else looked normal. This was not the case for me before which is why they initially thought that my blood had somehow been exchanged with someone else’s.

After a year and 110 lbs lost, the doctor told me that he had also done a Whole30 and transitioned to Paleo and that he was advising all his patients to do the same. He said he’d never seen as successful of a transformation as mine and I was the inspiration for him to change his life and the lives of his patients struggling with weight and weight-related health issues.

We often hear that most people who diet to lose weight gain the weight back and then some within a year or two. First, Whole30 and the Paleo Diet are not fad diets. Second, I adopted a healthy lifestyle, not just a new diet. After my initial year of weight loss, I incorporated a lot of exercise and activities that are physical (mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, and re-joining the military). Eating sensibly and being cognizant of portion size coupled with limiting non-compliant foods as much as possible, I’ve maintained my weight loss for over 10 years now.

There are times when my weight fluctuates; typically when my wife and I go on a vacation and we sample local foods that are non-compliant. We mitigate the impact by sharing meals and limiting portion size, yet the weight still sticks to us. The butcher’s bill is usually between 6-10 lbs for a two-week trip. Fortunately, a lot of that is from water weight, and the vast majority is lost within a week of returning home and eating compliant foods again. But for the most part, I’ve stuck around the 185 lbs mark for over 10 years now.

I would prefer to be 170 lbs or less, but my body has other ideas. For whatever reason, it seems like this weight, because no matter how much I exercise or how closely I follow my diet, the weight seems to stick between 188 and 183 lbs.

Has it been hard? Not really. I still get to sneak the occasional dark chocolate or croissant without any significant impact on my health and weight, but otherwise, the Paleo Diet has become not only my new normal, but the new normal for my entire family and even close friends. There are many Paleo recipes we even prefer now over their non-Paleo counterparts as we find them even more delicious.

I don’t miss being winded walking up a flight of stairs. I don’t miss having pain in my legs when I wake up in the morning. I don’t miss not being able to tie my shoes because my stomach was so large it got in the way of me bending forward. I don’t miss the feeling of always being tired, and of always being over-heated even in air-conditioned spaces. For all those reasons, I stick to my diet happily and continue to be physically active as much as possible.

On Month Two of SGL-1

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People have been inquiring: how has it been going with SGL-1? Well, I’m into my second month, so I will report on my first month.

My dose was 5u, which is very small. However, my body responded very well to it very quickly: I felt a change almost immediately. My appetite was greatly reduced, and I started feeling full much sooner than I ever have in the past. Honestly, it was a very welcome and refreshing change!

My biggest problem when it comes to eating well is that I overeat. I know everyone loves food, but for me, it goes deeper. I absolutely love not only eating, but eating quantities of food. This brings me as much satisfaction as the flavor itself. With SGL-1, I’m finally free of that. Since I feel so completely full so quickly, I have to eat much slower to really enjoy food, and even then, if I eat slowly, I tend to feel fuller more quickly.

For a month, I stayed at 5u but the last week I felt I needed a little more of a punch. Fortunately, my prescription was increased to 20u. Immediately, I felt this increase as well. The first day after my injection (which I do on Thursday evenings), I don’t have much appetite at all and anything I eat brings me to feeling full very quickly. What happens if I go past feeling full? A weird feeling I can only describe as akin to nausea. It’s not really nausea, but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. But, after that first day, I can eat the following sample diet and feel COMPLETELY full after each meal:

Breakfast

1 egg, over-easy
1 slice of bacon (sugar/nitrate free)
4-5 grapes (seedless, green)

Lunch

2 barria tacos (aka street tacos)

Dinner

5 chicken wings
Half serving of sweet potato fries

As for amount of weight lost, it’s over 10 lbs so far, but what makes me happier is that I look healthier, I’m wearing shirts and pants I couldn’t wear just 2 months ago, and I’m already feeling so much healthier.

Some people don’t need SGL-1 because their appetite stops them from over-eating, but I’m not one of those people. I need all the help I can get. I used to use will power alone to keep me from eating larger portions, but for some reason, it wasn’t cutting it anymore. Do I think I’ll need SGL-1 forever? I hope not. But for now, it’s definitely helping, and I’m very happy to be on it.

Overcoming Appetite Challenges: How SGL-1 Transformed My Weight Loss Journey

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One of the biggest challenges for me is feeling full after eating. It’s become easier with Paleo, but my problem is emotional: I just love to eat large quantities. The eating of food is pleasurable to me, even if the food is mediocre. If someone were to keep putting food on the plate for me, I’d keep eating it.

Enjoying an iced spiced peach tea at my favorite coffee shop, Barbarossa Coffee Roasters in Spring, TX.

One of the biggest challenges for me is getting the right amount of food per serving. The weird part is that if I make a small serving, it will sate my appetite as much as a large plate. Finishing the meal is such a rewarding feeling for me, stemming in large part to my upbringing and being told to finish everything on my plate as a kid and being rewarded for it. This served me well as a growing child, but now as an adult, it led me to obesity and a life-long eating disorder.

Now that I’m in my 50’s, it’s strange to think that behaviors in eating I learned as a child still haunt me today. Yet here we are. In the most recent Whole30, I was able to drop around 10 lbs (YAY!), but once back on Paleo, my weight loss stalled. This called for something drastic and dramatic, and something I’ve been avoiding.

SGL-1

Semaglutide, or also known by its name-brand, Ozempic. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but after trying for over a year to get back down to a weight I wanted with no success, I realized I needed something else. Exercise and good eating weren’t enough because no matter how hard I tried, my appetite was working against me. No matter how healthy the food was or how much I tried to have reasonable servings, I would get to a point at a meal where I just couldn’t stick to a small portion because my appetite was too strong.

So, I did it. I took the plunge and went with a company that had the best reviews and price. I received the medicine and followed the instructions and surprisingly found that I immediately felt its effects. With the very first dose, I felt the slight nausea, and then the greatly increased feeling of being full after eating just a little bit of food. Then, I didn’t get as hungry as quickly, and when I did, it was a legitimate hunger. As I went to sate the appetite, I quickly hit a wall where I felt I had eaten enough.

This was revolutionary for me. I don’t remember ever feeling full so quickly. I’m on my third week now, and I’ve already lost an additional 5 lbs. With the extreme limitations on my physical activity right now, this is amazing. I’m hoping to continue with this drug for a while and dropping more weight. I’m hoping it helps to reset my eating habits, too. That’s the most important part of it for me: I need to be psychologically okay with eating small meals or with eating only half or a third of what I’m served (which has now become the new norm for me when my wife and I eat out).

Now when we go out to eat, my wife and I regularly share single dishes, and even then, we find ourselves taking home leftovers. It’s amazing to me that I can feel full so quickly. My wife and I joke that this is what it must feel like being my daughter (who eats like a bird).

So… while I don’t believe in the weight loss pills, powders, or even gastric bypass surgery (too much risk and too many people end up becoming obese by stretching their new smaller stomach back to a large/normal size), I do see the benefits of SGL-1 in reducing appetite and helping those (like me) who have a psychological need to eat more food.

I’m not a doctor, so I would never recommend this for anyone, but for me, it works. It’s been a game-changer, and it’s changed my life. Whole30 started me on this healthy journey, and Paleo has allowed me to keep my weight under control, but SGL-1 is helping me with eating the right amounts. For me, it’s a great combination that’s bringing me amazing results.

Ten Years

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Ten years (to the day) difference in these photos.

I remember when I started my first Whole30. People were only mildly encouraging. Most told me, “You know, most people gain all the weight back and then some after doing fad diets.” I persisted despite the negativity and embraced not a fad diet, but a change in lifestyle. I knew that the key to success long-term was not the mindset of losing weight but of changing my lifestyle to get healthy. I wanted to make changes that were permanent and, most importantly, sustainable forever.

Whole30 led me to Paleo which has been my diet for eight years now. While injuries have led me to not be as active for the past 6 months, I’ve still managed to keep the weight off and to remain healthy.

The key to keeping the weight off is to embrace the lifestyle change and to have the mindset that there is no turning back. There is no being unhealthy. There is no accepting sabotage. There is only success.

I am so much better off today than I was 10 years ago. Heck, if I hadn’t made the changes, I might not even be here today. I had fatty liver disease, Type-2 diabetes, and circulation problems in my legs and feet. Even my vision was declining due to the diabetes. All these things were reversed within the first year of doing my first Whole30 just due to diet change alone.

Set your mind to it. Stop putting it off. Commit to being healthy and do the work to make it happen. Once you embrace the lifestyle, it gets easier.

Quality of Life Transformation: From Whole30 to Paleo Diet and Exercise

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I never would have thought of myself as being the type of person who could stay on a specific diet for any period of time to allow me to be successful long-term in getting fit and healthy. I thought that I was a slave to food, and that I would forever be doomed to eating too much, eating the wrong foods, and honestly, to die young.

Whole30 changed that for me, and transitioning into the Paleo Diet was super easy. Once my sugar addiction was broken and I learned to eat foods made from whole ingredients and avoiding anything with added sugar, grains, dairy, and legumes really made me feel better and improved my health significantly in measurable ways.

Initially, the incredible improvements in my health fueled my desire to stay strictly on the diet and to avoid sabotabing my process through cheat meals or days. Then, the more weight I lost and the healthier my body was getting, the less I wanted to go back. I saw every temptation as sabotage which made it easy to avoid. Then, once I started exercising and added fitness to my plan, I didn’t want to eat anything that would hinder my progress in getting stronger, faster, and more able to do long-term exercise.

In the end, now I am motivated by how I feel followed by how comfortable I am in doing things like mountain biking, hiking, walking up flights of stairs, wearing clothes that I like, and even getting in and out of my Porsche (which would have been impossible at my heaviest). All these things are quality of life (QoL), and my QoL is so much better with a healthy lifestyle than it ever was before.

Do I miss eating anything and everything with wild abandon? Absolutely! I love eating (still), and one of my biggest behavioral issues is that I have a very hard time with portion control. The more I eat, the happier I am, so it’s a struggle I fight still. But when I’m tempted to eat more, I remind myself that I feel great and I don’t want to sabotage that feeling and all the work I’ve done to get there with short-term satisfaction.

At the end of the day, health and fitness are things that you can’t buy; you have to earn it the old fashioned way: by putting in the work.