3M-TA3 Taking The Primal Plunge

The biggest deficiency in my preps, by far, is the condition of my number one do it all tool - that being myself. In my teens and 20's I was in great condition and could run a quarter mile without even breathing hard. I did jobs that were mostly active manual labor, and did things like going on firewood runs on the weekends. I'm 5' 9" and in those days my lean (as in zero) percent body weight was 198 lbs, so had a healthy weight of 215. I just come from a family that builds muscle mass easily, and the way the muscle was distributed looked more like 175.

At 28 I realized my career needed to go in a different direction and cut back on my job to part time while I went to school full time. Soon, the lack of exercise and bad eating habits started a cycle of weight gain that resulted in an extra hundred pounds in the three years it took to get my Bachelor's degree. Next came sedentary jobs that and a mobile lifestyle that did nothing to help matters. At 40 I weighed nearly 400 lbs.

A friend at work mentioned that I was probably having blood sugar issues, as I needed to constantly drink coffee to power myself through the day. He had had similar issues, and made some adjustments before getting his weight and health back under control. I did some research, and found Atkins. Over the next five months I dropped 70 lbs and began feeling much better. I began to reintroduce some carbs back into my diet. Between then and now in my mid 50's though I've continued to maintain that weight loss, my diet has shifted back to mostly crap, and I see things now like edema in lower legs and feet if I don't exercise. I've also become diabetic, and I'm seeing other things start to crop up.

It's time for a change. That, or accept an early death and feeling crappy until it happens.

SM turned me on to Primal through the journals of all the monkeys who have given it a go. Reading through the plan, the balance of protein, fat, and carbs is very close to how I implemented Atkins, but there are still some things about Primal that differentiate it and IMO are an improvement. Things like the very doable exercises that are easy to fit into any schedule, and concepts like avoiding poisons. Primal isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle.

For the last few weeks I've been easing my wife and myself into the dietary portion by replacing the carb intensive and other bad foods with Primal foods as we use them up. I felt this would help my wife adjust more easily as she is a sugar junkie. Worse for her, she has some health issues that make it difficult to get any exercise. I truly fear for her life, and the decision for this change was be more for her than for me.

Last night I got home from work to find that she had relapsed back into carbs and had bought several types of bread. Our situation is complicated by my Mother In Law living with us who will not be following Primal, so those types of food will be available temptations. I decided that I was going to "flip the switch" and go all the way, and hope that my success will help to inspire my wife. I've been reading through a lot of Primal recepies, many here, and will start cooking them as regular meals without even bring attention to that fact. Yes, I am subversive by nature....

Prior to arriving home last night I decided that yesterday was the day I would start the exercises. Saturday is wind sprint day. The other days alternate between walking and lifting exercises. I'm starting small and going from there - there is no way I can do even a single pull up at 325. Instead I'm going to simulate the muscular load as best I can until my weight drops enough and my strength increases enough to do it. My walk yesterday made me feel good the rest of the evening, and no edema this morning.

I'll be updating this thread as I progress or stumble. Part of this is to make a public commitment that will help to get me through the tough parts that I know will be ahead.

I'm also documenting by taking pictures and keeping stats. Those will be part of the updates. More to follow.

EDIT:
I'll be keeping my before and current photos and weight here to show progress (or lack thereof)

Before - 311.1 lbs - August 6, 2016:

 

Good luck Brother!! Attitude is key, and I think you got this..........

 

Best of luck to you 3M-TA3.. I have witnessed the damage that can result from poor dietary choices and increased weight.. I also know that you can not change someone else, however, you can influence them by example if they are incline to change their life styles.. So, Continue set the example!

 

I agree - this is the best way to handle it. She is an adult and I'm not going to micromanage her. I believe in leading by example and through encouragement. The positive is that I do a lot of the cooking, so when it's my turn we all eat Primal. Otherwise, I'll do my own cooking when they want something else.

Having her take my picture each month will also mean a comparison to the previous pictures which should at least keep planting that seed.

 

Good luck Brother. Funny is my wife is just the opposite, she is super skinny and is starting to have health issues from that. It dosn't help that she eats like a bird, so we decided she needs to eat more and change how she exercises. We share the cooking and the Primal thing looks good to both of us,and I think we are going this way very soon. Junk food hasn't really been an issue, it's been the carbs and sugers for both of us! Ice cream after dinner, or fresh berry pie, and bread, lots of bread and butter! Have to cut way way back, then there is Cheese, If it kill's me, We have to cut back on the cheese, Maybe just a little at first LOL

 

Good luck 3M, but I hope you have a very rigorous PT program, a membership to your local Y will do more wonders than a good diet.

I am a couple of weeks short of my 51st birthday, I am at my Y at least once a day, most days it is two or three times a day. My routine consists of 30-60 minutes of heavy cardio along with both endurance and strength training programs. What I have discovered is that by making my Y a second home, I do not count calories, but exclude all refined carbs(White Rice, White Bread, White Sugar) from my diet.

At 51 years old, I can still pass the AFPFT in the 18-25 year old group. Physical fitness is the cornerstone of any true survivalist, patriot, or III% way of thinking. Putting up to an hour a day on an elliptical/lateral elliptical along with a heavy weight training program is definitely not for the arm chair warriors that want to believe they are a part of the above groups.

 

We will see how that goes, but for now a rigorous PT program would likely put me in the hospital. Right now I'm like a rusted out broken down car, relatively speaking. Going straight to NASCAR without a hella lot of work first would be a one way the great junkyard in the sky. For now I'm sticking to the Primal exercise plan and will likely go beyond that with "play" activities when my health and energy get em there. I currently do weight training by handling my rifles and lugging ammo cans around.

 

I do 4 days a week at the local High School pool before the kiddies show up for school. I do my 2 mile warm up, do 25 man makers, then do a 2 mile cool down! It's a nice full body cardio with out the impact of running or lifting weights. I do lift three days a week, but it's low speed, not trying to add any thing, just to keep things nice and loose! A good three mile hike every day with the dogs and that rounds out the work out for me! I have been a swimmer for 40 years, and it's by far the best work out you can get!

 

Congrats sir. You can do it.

The thing about the Primal Blue print lifestyle exercise is "move slow and lift heavy things".

My Wife and I just walked 2.5 miles a day (5 days min)while following the lifestyle

I dropped 16+ lbs in the first month.

Read the successful stories on Www.marksdailyapple.com for motovation or come back here and post.

After I dropped the 40 lbs I started working out at Orangetheory Fitness | Gym | Interval Training Center to comtinue to drop and get in better shape.

@62 yo, it was time to,make a change.

 

Thanks for the encouragement - I've been all over marksdailyapple like white on cauliflower...

 

Good on you! I know you can do it, and I hope that you're wife can too!

BTW, you called it right! You are indeed, a number one tool!

 

At least everybody calls me a tool...

 

Don't worry, man. It's a good thing!

 

Good Luck Brother!!!!

 

Where is this Primal diet ? Back in December , I jumped on a set of scales in the local wally world . I pegged in at 310 , with , boots wallet, pocket knives, change . I'll be 55 in a short bit , So I started one of those juicing diets . For 6-8 weeks , nothing but juice and vegetables . I dropped to about 250 lbs . I'm starting to put on a few pounds now , relapsing a little on my eating habits . But that juicing diet is time consuming , and not easy to do if you're on the run all day like I usually am , and not close to home .

 

Here is the main website of success stories
www.marksdailyapple.com/category/success-story-summaries/

you can buy the books here.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_7?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=primal+blueprint&sprefix=primal+,aps,215&tag=survivalmonke-20

 

3M-TA3 You can do it! Small steps, little at a time! Go jump in a pool and start out easy with a few laps, then just float or tread water ( which is a great work out for the lower end) for 10 min, and then swim some more laps! Just do 1/2 hour to start! Then as you start building up, start holding your breath a little bit, before long, you will be able to add more to your swim! Combined with this diet, the pounds should just slide right off ya!

 

Ok , thanks , I will look into this