Going Primal - My 90 Day Journey to Health

Ok, a google search turned up a bazillion 21 day challenges, many involving strange stuff not health related. Which 21 day challenge?

I have been losing weight by calorie counting and bicycling. 33 pound lost in 90 days. 232 to 199 heading for 185. lower calorie eating leads to more veggies and no bread. Seems to be the secret.

 

Thanks. I have read the Primal Blueprint, and plan to transition to that. I will look up the challenge.

 

Find myself in the position of chunkey monkey... A broken leg and months on crutchs have taken its toll.. So its back to the gym and cutting out carbs again, and going with high protein and eating six times a day... Let me tell you, as you get older (as I am ) the extra pounds come off with greater resistance..

 

Way, way back when I, as a much younger bright eyed feller, I took a trip out to San Diego and found myself in the predawn hours standing on yellow foot prints listening to an impressive fellow speak in VERY loud tones. I was 155 pounds and facing three months of paid room and board.. I did learn how to be in shape. At the conclusion of that period, I left at a trim 156 pounds. Fast forwards many years, I went out Elk hunting in the mountains of Utah and seemed to be out of breath and having to make frequent stops.. Had to face it, I was not that same bright eyed young fellow any longer.. 220 pounds and a less than active life style meant I was well on my way to a coronary event. I made meat my friend and avoided taters and bread.. I dropped the weight to 165 and was able to hike up the mountain with few stops .. Sorry to bore you all with my fat body story..

 

I was on this diet for a long time, >a year. I also did the exercise plan during that time and had the making of six pack abs just like you do now, and I thought everything was great, just like you do now. Until the fatigue hit me. Mixing this with the caveman diet, (closely related) I started to delay my breakfast as long as possible every day, and realized more and more that I felt the best in the mornings before I ate anything. Immediatley after eating lunch however, I was fatigued again. Turns out generals in the old'n days would force their armies to eat vegetable stews even if meats were readily available, because meat was known for making the men slow and tired, and easily fatigued. I basically just started listening to my bodie's nuances, cutting out meat more and more throughout the day and eating it only at night, realizing as I did that it would make me tired and put me right to sleep. Eventually though, my family and I decided to try to cut it out altogether and we have never felt better. I now exercise for strength, speed, agility, power, and stamina, so that I am ready for any sport or activity life throws at me. (Not focusing on sprints anymore) My diet is raw-vegan now mostly, though I do recommend that if you go this route, you do eat a meat meal at least once a month, but try for it to be the highest quality available. I eat plenty of fatty avacados and nuts, get my protein from hemp and vegetable/nut sources, and best of all I don't think about what I eat! Is it raw? yes? Diet approved! You don't have to count anything, or make sure you aren't overdosing on anything. (overdosing on protein is possible and hazardous to your health, as well as prolonged high protein intakes. This is only possible if eating meat protein or taking synthetic protein powders!) I now look better than I ever have, but feel light and can knock out an hour powerlifting at the gym with the best of them or playing basketball or football or anything else. I can go all day and feel rested and recovered the next day. Do you feel like this on the primal diet? Because all the meat I was eating was not giving me anything but a feeling of bloating and fatigue. Remember psychology plays a big role in how you feel, meaning if you look good, you might be tricking yourself into thinking you feel good as well, this is what the caveman diet is about in listening to your bodie's responses to diet and other stimuli. On the raw-vegan based diet, no gas, no smell to your bodily functions fluids or solids, no pains, no acne, no dandruff, no fatigue, we feel just amazing on our raw-vegan BASED diet and we look good too! Maybe try subbing meat for more veggies, just see how it makes you feel, and not dead cooked veggies but raw whole veggies as fresh and organic as possible. Remember just because it's a vegetable doesn't mean that it was grown with any care at all to its nutrient density or organic status. I recommend you read the preliminary results of the China Study research to see why meat based diets are the cause of most cancer and other debilitating diseases. Also, the documentary called "Healing Cancer From the Inside Out" shows the proven techniques that doctors all over the world have used to cure cancers and other debilitating diseases, the main step being to eliminate meats and cooked foods from the diet altogether. Our body responds best to these foods, we just have to tweak the details based on personal preference. Basically the same food pyramid but without the biggest category. Use hemp and dark green veggies for protein and you'll do fine.

Height: 6'
Waist: 33"
Weight: avg. 168lbs

Sam

 

Apologize for the length in advance. First time here as a monkey. I have written for some other blogs in the past and do some independent work for other purposes. I would like to congratulate melbo for finding the path. I have used Atkins since 1980 and the Primal Diet IS an Atkins Diet but the Atkins Diet isn't always a primal diet but it works. One reason people find it harder to lose wt as they age is (conventional wisdom) that you are older and it is a metabolic issue. That could be true, but it isn't necessarily true. We stop moving because we STOPPPED moving and so our metabolism does get slow when we go slow, basically. Another reason we don't lose wt as easily is a disease process. This couples into the next part of what holds up wt loss and that is the drug products we take. I have been as close to Joe Average as you can get, believe that most of the time, the way something is usually done is the best way to do it and has stood the test of time and typically don't fight back, though not always. Well I have been fighting back against this "old" crap and have been miserable for the past 10-12 years and couldn't figure out why. First I am not a doctor so this isn't medical advice, you should be able to do your own research and follow the rabbit hole where it goes. Whatever works for you works. That one particular diet is the best, don't know. I do know if you eat a lot of carbs you swell right up, even so called complex carbs. Too many=FAT. 12 years ago I could work my boys into the ground dark to dark. Hell, I even had a two'fer back in 2004, one night. Then it was like I fell off a cliff, and being a slow learner it took a decade or more to find out (partially) the truth of my problems. The short version is I have had reflux from hell, had neuropathy in and down my legs, myopathic weakness, dry skin, brittle fingernails, no energy, no stamina, cognition issues, mental issues, severe melancholia (I don't use the other word, ever), muscle aches, cataracts, absolutely could not stand the cold, memory issues, my pecker fell off, anger issues (hell, my pecker fell off), and on and on. I have been on a statin since the mid 90s. I have been taking BP meds since then as well. In 2005 before my last deployment to the desert the Army doc said I had borderline hypothyroidism and put me on synthroid. In 2007 I found out that I had no testosterone. I had to have a cataract surgery in 2009. I come from a healthy family, that is long lived, has no endemic heart disease, no senile dementia of ANY kind and no endemic cancer. People that lived till the day they died. WTF was wrong with me? Also couldn't lose weight with a gun to my head???? HHHhhmmnnn done it before, why not now? I have discovered (am still discovering more) that statins and proton pump inhibitors are the two worst combinations of medicines available. I managed to take myself off of Prilosec after 15+ years as I had developed shellfish (iodine) allergies and wasn't gonna let that happen. It went away, however the damage may be done, we'll see. After I took myself off the PPI I found out that my statin (Zocor, simvastatin) was prolly the cause of other issues. I have managed over 18 mos to get off of them (my doc doesn't like it) and will not take them ever again. My strength, stamina, all the mental issues have improved, no melancholia, and MY HANDS DON'T HURT ANYMORE... Last February I hurt my shoulder and waited for it to get better. And waited and waited. Had complete rotator cuff failure and calcification of the head of the humerous which was repaired in August. What the hell is going on? Well statins cause myopathy which is muscle weakness. Extreme myopathy will cause breakdown of muscle tissue, tendons and cartilage??? Well, WTF? I have done well since surgery but hurt myself last year when I was on the tail end of getting off the statins and I imagine if you can ever get better it will take awhile, a long while. Now I find out that I am really hypothyroidic and have also been taking synthroid for over 5 years. Synthroid and Zocor are CONTRAINDICATED FOR CONCURRENT USE on the package insert. I have come to the point that I am pissed. Duh? Anyway I have been "getting better" if my shoulder will heal and will be on the Primal diet this week. My suggestion to ALL is to do your own research on any meds you take. Do take care in how you do your research. I don't do conspiracy theories, don't believe in them. They are like pornography, they appeal to your prurient interests and are habit forming. I don't think the ag corps are trying to poison anyone, that pharma is trying to poison us, that the FDA and USDA is in collusion with them. It is all about money and nothing else. If I was the head of a pharma or ag corp, I would do the same thing. It is all about the bottom line and the investors and the next quarterly report. No more, no less. Now don't get me wrong, I don't eat their crap and take some researched supplements. They aren't doing us any favors. But I use logic, critical thinking skills and science/evidentiary based research for drawing conclusions. I hope to continue to get better, and lose weight and get healthier and have spent hundreds of hours researching both the meds and diet. Please make your OWN decisions. The Primal diet is one of the optimal diets (and to me seems to be the best one) and I have stopped the offending medications and will not resume taking them. Please look into this if you take these 3 drugs, for your own good. I have turned into a monster over this stuff. Hope I didn't come off too strong. I would rather die after feeling good for 5 years than feeling miserable for the next 20. And I have felt absolutely miserable. The average age of my family at death is in the high 80s. You probably thought I was waaayyy old. Just turned 62 this summer. This crap has taken some of my life away from me and I am mad as hell, I only hope it is possible to recover from it completely. I used to be 16 foot tall and bullet proof and now I'm just happy to get out of bed. I am not trying to be young, I am trying to be the way I know I should be. I do have to take testosterone injections and I still take my BP meds...and they are still yet another problem. But, one step at a time. I have seen too many "drag and bag" 45 y/o men that were vegetables from strokes in cat scan, so I won't quit them, just yet. This is for anyone that will read it and it helps them realize "what might be wrong with you". When I get my weight down and can do the rest of my PT I will look into getting off the BP meds if I can get it under control naturally. OBTW, my last military PT in 2009, before I retired, was passed with a 95%. I give it all I have. I hope this helps someone without all the expense I have paid. Take care monkeys.

 

Congrates Clyde...

 

30 days, plus or minus in, and I am down 20 pounds.

 

You know, I should clear the air a bit. Paleo was around before Primal, and there were many variations. I actually have been following Primal, we consume dairy, fermented foods (like sauerkraut), and some very dark chocolate (the darker the better) in moderation. "

My youngest son was born with severe allergies to cat dander, milk (!!!), and peanuts. We looked into it and transitioned into "Paleo" in 2009. Three months after we went Paleo, my son had an appointment with his allergist. He was re-tested for his allergies, and they were gone. We have remained a non-peanut family, but my son is no longer allergic to cats (we have 3), and milk, cheese, and yogurt are some of his favorite things. I lost over 60 pounds, and my wife lost 40 - all without any exercise beyond the normal walking and other physical activities we partake in.

When I lost my job in 2010, we had limited income, and were forced to transition back to "normal" eating, and the pounds piled back on. We kept it as organic (locally grown) as possible, but within a year we were miserable.

We have gone back to the Paleo way and are happy as pigs in slop. YMMV

Some great reading:
The Naive Vegetarian

 

Wife has me captured in the city right now, recovering from a broken leg, and have gained enough weight that I can just squeeze that button over to do my pans up.. Lookin forwards to spring, if I survive..

 

It's time I put by fat ass on the line and adopt a new form. I've been up and down and around trying to loose weight but at 57 years young, my body just doesn't want to cooperate with my ideals. I believe that this may prove to me the answer to my frustration in getting control of my weight. I still have a lot of learning to do in the form of research, but I am encouraged by your testimonial and looking forward to starting this very soon.

 

I did it before by taking what the body builders do to drop weight.. six meals a day of protein and control the carbs and fats.. And work out with weights daily.. Oh, and I am 59 right now..

By the way, I like the chart and it is accurate..

 

What are you folks drinking besides water. To be honest, I started this diet on Monday and I am already sick of only having water to drink.

To be completely fair....before Monday I was strung out on Diet Cokes averaging 5 or 6 cans a day so maybe this is just a mental thing telling me that I don't like water.