How I lost 83 pounds on the Modified Paleo Diet in less than 6 months!
Before I begin with diet (Life style change), I just want to tell you it really is not about being thinner. It's about getting your life back. When you are heavy, EVERYTHING has to work harder and you are simply exhausted at all times. It takes longer to get things done and some things you just cannot do at all.
But before we get into the heart of the post, let's get the before and after pictures out of the way.
Above is a picture of me today (literally), sorry the camera did not focus that great, and my wife says the phone skewed my face, but I think it achieves the goal that I am not at all heavy anymore. Today I weigh in around 155 in the morning, I'm just under 6.00' tall, so I have a BMI just about perfect - most charts show this on the lower end of the scale.
Below is a picture a few years back (2013 I believe), on my way to 238 lbs.
Indeed I am a few years older now, but I can do anything that I could do physically when I was 30 -- and some things better! (and that was half a life ago.)
So I really don't want this article to be about me, the hope is that the knowledge gained and the proof positive you see in these pictures will encourage you to begin living again. This series is going to rewind what we did (my wife and I) - who also lost nearly as much weight as I, and how I know you can achieve these same results.
I need to give you just a little background. Being an engineer by background, I really don't accept most of what I read on the internet or see on the tube or even read in so called medical journals. I have to have facts and figures to back up any claims and more importantly, I have to have researched a subject deeply before I make changes to my life that could have such dramatic effects. I tell you this as there are a lot of fad diets out there that make outrages claims, but there is no such thing as a "diet" that will make you skinny, you must change your lifestyle so that eating habits and food choices become absolutely natural, without thought, without plans, without concessions and most importantly without guilt.
To keep these articles of a readable length, I'm going to break them down into pretty short segments. I would really like to address any questions you might have before moving on.
So let's get started.
There are two primary reasons "healthy" people get heavy.
- 1 - Poor food choices and eating habits.
- 2 - Insufficient physical activity.
Item 2 is often largely a natural reaction to item 1.
Eventually "healthy" people who eat poorly are very likely to be overtaken by an onslaught of metabolic disorders with a list too long to publish here, often on a path to type 2 diabetes , fatty liver disease and cancer!
So what is eating poorly?
You are not going to like this list but here it is straight!
1 You simply CANNOT eat processed foods. Foods that are ground up, chopped up, machined with chemicals and components you cannot pronounce, with preservatives (like MSG) and nearly anything in the "fast food" isle of any store. Chips, crackers, pastries, frozen pizzas, most cereals. These foods are TOXIC! They make you feel SICK! -- I'm going to explain why later.
2 Sugary foods with processed or added sugar. Cookies and candies, refined sugar of any kind. High fructose corn sugar might just be the absolute worse thing you can put into your body. More addictive than heroin and just as deadly, it just takes longer to bring you to your death.
3 High carbohydrate foods. Some of these fall under 1 and 2, like sodas (diet or not) but you might be surprised here, when I tell you corn and potatoes need to be avoided like a frosting covered chocolate cake.
(I'll add 4 - 6 a bit later) -- But I know some are already saying -- Just shoot me then, I'm not about to give up my _______ fill in the blank.
But in reality, you don't want to give these things up because of a very stealthy addictive process that the food industry uses to hook you and keep you captive to this toxic mix of compounds they have the nerve to call food.
So, we cannot end this first post on what you cannot eat, what we can and should eat is so much more useful. In fact, if you absolutely cannot give up the bad foods (which you can), you can start out by adding good foods that fill you up and keep you away from the toxic brew.
We all know the good foods.
Fruits and Vegetables (Vegetables are of course #1). High fiber low carb. foods, that you make yourself --- yes really. Nuts and quality non red meats like seafood, chicken, turkey and pork. If you would like to go vegetarian or vegan, then leave out the meat, but we'll need to add some other foods to make sure there is enough protein in your diet.
Now I can promise you this. If you stop eating the processed witches brew, quality foods will begin to taste good, REALLY good! Your palate will become super sensitive to the slightest natural changes in the apple you bite into. Refined sugar will begin to taste NASTY! -- I know this does not seem possible but I can tell you from personal experience, it is simply true. Not only will your palate change so that you crave quality foods, your olfactory senses will also dramatically improve and quality foods will even smell great!
Let's stop here and we'll get into more details in the next post. One thing I want to assure you. If you elect to give life a chance again and give this series a chance, I will promise you, it will not be about going around the day hungry and craving, but just the opposite. You can eat your fill and even eat more often if you like, and so much more than you could ever have dreamed all while you lose weight and feel better each and every new day!
Invest wisely (in yourself) for the future.
Please up vote! Since I am very new to Steemit, your vote is really important!
Craig
woow its veery good
Thanks for the comment. I would love the up vote.
What part was good?
Reduce your weight in a short time.Others can not diet
im soory my english is not good
respect pour toi monsieur.
Thank you. I understand you perfectly now.
You are very correct. Diet is hard, good food is not.
Je vous respecte monsieur
félicitations
Congratulations Craig. I got off the SAD (Standard American Diet) about 5 years ago and went on a Paleo diet, but not to lose weight. I was put on this diet for 90 days by a wellness center to lower my mycotoxins (mycotoxins are toxins caused by fungus) which cause many diseases. The wellness center told me after 90 days I could return to my regular diet, but I liked the results of the diet so much that I'll never go back. The first 40 days were the hardest, but after the 40th day I lost all my cravings for sugar, grains, alcohol and dairy products. My brain fog disappeared and I lost about 30 pounds and my overall wellbeing improved. I'll be 79 in 3 months and not concerned so much with my weight, but I want to stay healthy for as long as I can. You can see my photo at @bobbradshaw. Again, congratulations and keep up the good work!
Bob -- Thanks for the reply!
Your story is very similar -- we did not begin the diet for weight -- we were getting SICK.
We actually water fasted for 7 days to get "cleaned out". Fasting can be so healing and very few people have any concept of how it works and how substantially your metabolic and immune systems (along with multiple others) are regenerated by the new stem cells created.
I'm hoping to tell this whole journey later.
There is no reason to go back to SAD -- Ever. Very happy to hear from the successes of so many others.
Keep in touch.
Craig
Hello! I read all of your story! You are completely right with the diet and lifestyle! We dont need to be on a diet, we just need a healthy lifestyle! Anyways, I encourage you to go forward taking care of your health! I'm happy to hear your wife did it too! it's much easier to make this dramatical changes with the familly. I know this, trust me:) Keep steeming and keep your health up!! :)
Thank you very much for the reply and encouragement.
It has now been 14 months and I can assure you we will never go back to our old way of eating habits, there is nothing to gain and everything to loose!
BTW: Just followed you.
Thank you!:)
We haven't added sugar to anything we cook (some baked goods not included) for a long time and it is amazing how your body quickly adjusts and finds everything is plenty sweet enough as is. The natural sugars that are produced when you cook a vegetable are so much better tasting than refined sugar as well. Great post, looking forward to more from you - followed :) Cheers - Carl
I absolutely agree!
Good for you, glad to hear you kicked the sugar addiction. You are already more healthy!