keto success

They say if you love something you should let it go and if it comes back it loves you too.  I love food, all types of food.  And because of that love, excess weight came with it.  So I said goodbye to certain foods and hello to a lot of exercise.  I was beginning to think that my extra weight and foods really loved me.  Because every time I let them go,  they always seemed to come back to me.

Relationships with food can be incredibly complicated.  Food plays with our emotions.  Not only does it impact our physical selves, it impacts our psychological selves too.  The wrong food makes us feel good at night and leaves us after a one night stand with a note on the pillow saying thanks for the good time and sorry for any negative consequences I left you with.  For many...this happens night after night.  

Over the course of my life I've gained and lost over 100 pounds.  I'll never forget my first affair with weight loss.  I was 25.  Just married that year to my amazing wife.  We were planning a trip with friends to the beach at the end of the summer.  Myself and some friends decided on a weight loss challenge for the 2 and a half months prior to the trip.  Game on.  I weighed in at 211.  I'm 6 feet tall so I wasn't that overweight.  Although I'm pretty sure I had visible six pack abs 2 years prior.  Commence severe calorie restriction, massive will power and two hours or more a day at the gym or exercising.  Easy to do when you have a flexible work schedule, don't have kids,  and there is money and bragging rights on the table.  It worked, I lost 36 pounds.  Weighed in at 175.   Though, I didn't win the competition.

I can't say I remember for certain what my diet looked like.  I know I didn't give up drinking Miller Lite.  Pretty sure I stuck with mostly vegetables and chicken.  Lots of salads, yogurt and granola.  No fast food but an emphasis on low fat and low calorie.  One thing I'll never forget is that first stop on our trip the Outer Banks.  We all went to IHOP.  I felt lost.  I felt like I was betraying all that I had worked for.  I don't know what I ate, but I remember the feelings.  And after that meal....It was game over.  No more dieting.  I let loose that week on all things food and drink.  In a way, it was good to not stress about food.  But over the next year, my weight crept back up.  I couldn't sustain the work I had done to lose all that weight.   Nor did I want to continue restricting the amount and kinds of food to be had.   This only confirmed what I thought about losing weight was correct,  that I needed to eat food that I didn't really like, be hungry,  and work out a lot to lose weight.

The next affair with weight loss came when a friend told me about this "paleo" thing.  Basically a caveman diet.  So I tried that.  I set a goal that if I got down to 180 I could buy a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes.  My rules were simple.  If a caveman could eat so could I.  Well, apparently I thought cavemen could eat popcorn, salad dressing, cheese and beer.  Regardless, I got to my goal weight over the course of a few months with lots of exercising mixed in.  After I got my shoes, all progress was halted and all weight crept back.

I'm sensing a pattern.  Eat whatever I want, gain weight, get frustrated at weight gain, put a reward out there for me to get, cut calories, exercise a lot, lose weight, get reward.   I had several of these weight loss affairs usually lasting a few weeks and 10-15 pounds at a time.  I never found anything that stuck.  Why could I not maintain?   Why could I not continue?  I assumed it was because I lacked will power.

But I was wrong.  That way doesn't work.  But I didn't know that.  Diet and exercise...it made me believe that was the only way because it worked for me.  But only for a time.  I didn't want to do that the rest of my life.  I thought fat was bad and it made you fat.  I didn't even know what carbs really were and protein was what you ate for muscles.

My next fling I decided to run a 77 mile ultra marathon.  If I just ran a lot I could eat whatever I wanted, right?  I was about 30 pounds overweight at the start of 2015 I started running.  And run did I ever.  Up through August  of that year I had completed about 6 marathon distance trail runs with nearly 15 half marathon distances tossed into the mix.  Let alone all the single digit mileage runs.   And I ran myself right into an injury.   Though having run all those miles...I still had quite a gut on me.  You could call me fit fat.

I had gotten to a point in my life where I had given up.  My wife and I had children now.  We both had careers we were busy with.  We both had life stress.  Food and exercise were the last of my worries.   I wrote off every being fit again and tried to settle into this new life.   At this point food was my drug.  I loved craft beer and whiskey.  I kept Jelly Belly jelly beans with me all the time.  I was really overweight and my mental health was in decline.  I didn't want to give up what I was currently eating.

But in the beginning of 2016 I got wind of this thing called the ketogenic diet.  Give up carbs?  I don't know if I can.  But I knew something had to change.  I was going downhill fast.  So May 9 2016 at lunch time I ate a salad and had a beer and decided the keto diet was what I was doing.   I was committed from day one knowing and believing it would work.  And it did, I lost about 35 pounds in 3 months with most of that coming off in the first month.  I listened to audiobooks and podcasts about the ketogenic way of eating and joined several Facebook groups about the ketogenic diet.  I also co-created a keto Facebook group of my own with over 400 members and we've lost a combined total of over 3000 pounds to date.    For almost a year now I've been maintaining easily.  I eat foods that I enjoy and plenty of them.  Now that I finally learned how the different macronutrients work in your body, maintenance is easy.  I followed a strict 20g of net carbs per less a day for almost a year and have since dialed back a little to around 40-50g of net carbs per day.   Though I'd venture to guess I'm still around 25g.

Throughout this journey I've done very minimal exercising for the purpose of losing weight.  I exercise for fun now, as it should always be.

Ketosis and the Ketogenic way of eating has been a life saver for me.  My energy levels have stabilized.  I can enjoy long runs and bike rides without having to worry much about fueling.  Inflammation is a thing of the past.  Mental clarity is astounding.  Plus a plethora of other benefits that came along with it.   Whether you are trying to clean up chronic conditions, autoimmune disease, or just looking to lose weight, I highly recommend learning the ways of KETO!

Going to School with Josiah

This is not the first time I’ve sat in a coffee shop.  Today is different.  My daughter Anne is with her Grammy.  She’s in heaven when it’s just her and either of Grandmothers.  My wife who just worked hard all weekend catching babies is at home in a quiet house getting some rest.  



But today.  Josiah, my son, started Kindergarten.  Full day Kindergarten.  I’m still processing how I feel about this step into parenthood.  I feel different today sitting at this coffee shop.  I should be getting some work done establishing my health coaching business but that can wait a few minutes.

 

Josiah is one of the most inquisitive boys I know.  He’s always asking questions.  Even at his young age of 5, we’ve had many conversations about the world, about life, about spirituality and many other wonders.  I don’t know what makes me think I’m qualified at all to answer any of these questions.  As hard as it is, I try not to give him any definitive answers about the complex stuff.  So much of life we don’t actually know if what we believe is true.  Just that we believe it.   So much of life I thought was true is now up for debate as I get older.  Even now I try to reconcile if it’s even ok to believe in something even if it’s not true.  How do we even know for sure?   I don’t know that I’m mentally capable to do any of that.




Life is easier if you just settle into it.  Find the flow they say.  What happens when you find the flow but don’t like the direction it’s going?  The answer to that, I’m still trying to figure out.  



Yesterday I took the kids on a hike.  Kind of ironic that we ended up on a section of trail with a small creek.  Naturally, we built a dam.  It’s a great place to learn about the flow.  About redirection.  About persistency.  About the ripple effect of every action.  What happens upstream, what happens downstream.  So much you can learn from piling rocks up in the middle of a small stream.   




Here’s to you Josiah, I hope I’ve done a good job helping you adjust your sails in preparation for the flow of life.  I know you’ve definitely adjusted mine.  Love you buddy.

Boycotting the Boycott

I will not be boycotting the NFL this year.  And let me tell you why.

As far as I know the reason for this boycott is so Colin Kaepernick gets signed.  It's alleged that teams will not sign him due to his demonstrations both on and off the field promoting social justice.  Many complaints are that teams have no problem signing rapists, abusers of women, former convicts and many other people of questionable character.   Many teams are saying they just don't need him.  If he was good enough to be an NFL quarterback he'd be one.  Just like Tim Tebow.

Now, I don't think Kaepernick is what he once was, but I think he's at least good enough to be a back up.  Just like Tim Tebow.  Maybe Kaepernick doesn't want to be a back up.   Just like Tim Tebow.   I'm making no other remarks about Tebow.  Other than that he also got extra famous for kneeling too.  Just like Colin Kaepernick.

Anyway.  So what if the boycott works and Colin Kaepernick gets a job.  Then what?  Does that really change anything?

Nearly every place you patronize has some level of questionable ethics involved with the business on some level.  There are people somewhere along the line treated poorly and less than.  I'm not ok with that.  But I also know that a boycott could negatively impact a countless number of people that have nothing to do with those decisions or behaviors.

The NFL is a HUGE business.  And remember, that's all it is.  A form of entertainment industry.  It's VERY successful multi billion dollar industry that employs millions of people from the players and coaches all the way down to the person selling sodas at the food stand.  Do you want to put all those jobs in jeopardy?  What would the consequences be on the economy if the NFL fell apart?  Are you ready for that?

Honestly, if the NFL did fall apart because of this (which it won't), I'd be ok with that.  But I don't want that to happen.  I also want people to be treated fairly.

There are problems with EVERY industry that gets as large as the NFL.  You can boycott it if you want to.  Really.  Just don't forget about everyone along that way who feeds their family because of the NFL.

What am I missing?  Should the NFL be boycotted for this?  There are things much worse that Kaepernick not having job that go in inside the inner workings of the NFL.  Find out what they are, and boycott for those reasons too.

The Problem

Over the past few weeks I've tried to get into public when I can.  Usually this involves local coffee shops where I'll sit and sip a brew and catch up on online goings on and observing people.

A few days ago I noticed a man sitting right by a door in a coffee shop.  Every woman that walked in he made verbal contact with.  Usually it was a simple, hello beautiful.  And attempt at a wave or other compliment based on her exterior appearance.   At first I didn't think much of it.  But I noticed he was also following many women with his eyes as they walked past.  I also noticed he didn't even make eye contact or an attempt to say hello to any male that walked in the door.   I didn't say anything that day.   

But today.  He was back.  Seemingly innocent.  And I certainly don't believe he meant any ill intent.  But the first woman who walked through the door he leaned in, "hey beautiful, how are you doing today?"  After having observed this man on a prior occasion and again this morning, I got that feeling.  That, "you need to say something" feeling.  So I did.  I asked the young woman how it made her feel.  She simply said she just semi ignored it, smiled politely and moved along.   

I then asked one of the workers about him.  It's a tough spot to be in for them.  No one complained.  He's a paying customer.  But is his behavior acceptable?  I didn't say anything to the man.  I wanted to ask if he gave a thought to how his behavior would make others feel.  Knowing he didn't treat men the same way.  I can't believe he was just trying to be friendly.  Or maybe he has deep phycological issue where he is afraid of men.  I don't know.  But that still doesn't excuse only interacting with passer-by women.  

I moved coffee shops.  Sitting outside watching the world go by and I notice a group of men all dressed in suits.  They were walking down the sidewalk.  4 of them, walking 2 abreast.  And not one of them moved an inch when a women had to all but get off the sidewalk to avoid their quick pace.  

Do people even realize what they do?  Would they be open to hear a critique of what was observed?  Would I be open if someone did the same to me?  

Not done yet.

I hear people often say that eating healthy is expensive.  At first, I agree.  It seems as though healthy food is more expensive than say, a box of twinkles, 6 pack of ramen, 4 boxes of macaroni, frozen chicken nuggets and 24 pack of soda.  I don’t even know how much that costs anymore, but probably about the same as a bottle of kombucha with chia seeds and a salad.   



The problem with this is that the focus is on quantity and not quality.   I’d even make the argument that health food isn’t expensive.  It’s actually fairly priced.  It’s the other foods that are inexpensive. Cheap.  Poor quality.  There is a long term cost to consuming “cheap” foods in excess that needs to be accounted for.  Have you ever stopped to ask why these “foods” are so cheap?



I think some assume that companies that produce the healthier foods are greedy and want to put a high price tag on “health” foods because they can.  In reality, I believe they try to make them as cheap as possible given the extra time and work needed to produce the quality foods.  Whereas the companies that manufacture cheap foods only focus on the bottom line, make the foods as cheaply as possible, and sell them at the maximum amount possible before people stop buying them.  I would be willing to make the claim that the markup on the cheaper foods is much larger than the more expensive healthier options.



Does it cost more money to eat healthy?  Maybe.  But that’s entirely up to you.  You can eat healthy on a budget.  But you’ve got to change how you think when it comes to food.  You need to change your relationship with food.  Instead of living to eat, you must learn to eat to live.  It is there you will find that you don’t need to eat nearly as much food as you think you do.  



Granted…I’m speaking mostly to Americans here.  Food supply and demand varies greatly from country to country.  And quite honestly, I’ve never had to follow a strict food budget.  



Another example of something similar that I thought of the other day.   Health Insurance.  I can’t even begin to count the number of people who have said that the cost of their insurance skyrocketed under "ObamaCare".  They said they paid as little as $50-100 before the ACA and then they paid upwards of $500 a month or more on healthcare.   Wow!  That's a hefty price increase.  But everyone always wonders why it costs so much and rarely do I hear anyone ask why it did cost so little before.  They are only focusing on one thing, the high price tag.  Maybe the lower price wasn't sustainable.  Maybe it was to cheap and you were being duped into thinking it was such a great deal.  Maybe at the same time it was costing others an exorbitant amount.   Maybe the new cost was equal across the board and should have been that much the whole time.  It just seems expensive since you were used to being undercharged.

Everyone always thinks the people that charge a high cost for things are just trying to get rich.  They aren't.  They are charging a fair amount for a quality product or a service.  

Here's another one for you.  When you buy a box of tissues at a grocery store for $1.50 or you buy the same exact box of tissues at the hospital for $8.  Why does one individual packet of tylenol cost $15 when you are a patient at the hospital?

Interesting that I bring up the hospital part.  Because if you continue to eat unhealthy meals simply because they are cheaper, that's where you'll end up.   There is a connection between the food industry, health care industry and pharmaceutical companies.  I promise you that.   The cheap, poor quality foods are emotionally satisfying but destroying our physical selves.  And it seems as though many in the health care field start out with the best of intentions but for whatever the reason it becomes fixing the symptom instead of curing the disease.  It's what can we treat it with instead of how can we fix it.