Today I reached a new milestone … below 280.
I hope that this isn’t a stock-like “double bottom“.
Next target is 270 …
Tag Archives: diet
A picture …
is worth – as they say.
I previously told you I had lost 40+ pounds and was below 300 for the first time in I don’t know when. I think I also told you that I had replaced my size 56″ jeans with 52″ and then 48″.
You may also recall that I have been out of work since last March when I got laid off in the oil patch down-turn. I thought my savings would last longer than they did. I have started aggressively looking for work, but nothing so far.
This brings up the question of interview clothing – can’t wear jeans. What about my old work khakis?
Not quite halfway there – but it is an impressive start when viewed above.
299 and falling
Today marks a milestone. I finally fell through 300 pounds to hit my first goal of 299. Last December I registered 336 on my Aria (Fitbit) scale when I “officially” began my weight loss quest.
I just checked with my doctor whose office told me that the lowest weight they had for me was 315 (fully clothed) back in 2011. I also show that I weighed 345 last April.
Today I was at 296+
My next goal is 286 … 10 pounds down from here and 50 pounds down from last December.
Wish me luck.
The Next Best Thing
Those of you who have followed this blog long enough know that my wife has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis since being diagnosed in the late 90s. It is the reason why the heroine of my serialized sci-fi novel The Nudist War (a new take on the Zombie Apocalypse) has MS.
In the spring of 2014, I posted about my discovery of the Wahls Protocol. The Wahls Protocol, like many other “paleo” diets was not unique. It was but the latest in a long line of “discoveries” that we are what we eat and that diets rich in fruits and vegetables, low in carbs, sugar, and processed foods go a long way toward preserving and even restoring health.
I documented our progress on the Wahls Protocol and have included links below. Go ahead and read them. Most are short. I’ll wait. I promise.
Good. You’re back.
If you read through each of the posts above, you saw how profound an impact a diet high in fruits and vegetables had on our health. If you didn’t bother to read through the posts above … I will summarize: we both saw a dramatic improvement in our quality of life.
HOWEVER – we both found it physically challenging to actually eat the amount of fruits and vegetables – and – drink the amount of water required. Not to mention that a diet that high in fruits and vegetables elevates the term “regularity” to a whole new meaning. By 2015 we had “fallen off the wagon”.
Fast forward to the fall of 2016 (last year). Our diet was poor once again – too much dining out and too much takeout. We had both gained weight and were not feeling our best. While having a late breakfast at the cafe nearest to my house, I eavesdropped on a conversation between several ladies sitting next to me. The topic had turned to the tribulations of dealing with a cancer diagnosis in a loved one. As I got up to leave, I stopped by and offered my support and best wishes. They asked me about my point of reference and I explained that my wife had MS and the road had been a rocky one. One of the ladies asked me what if anything we had done to deal with it other than the doctors, medicines, and hospitalizations. I went on to tell them about the Wahls Protocol, how we benefited from a diet high in fruits and vegetables, our difficulty in actually being able to eat as much as we needed, and our eventual return to our old unhealthy diet and way of life.
One of the ladies asked me if I had ever heard of Juice Plus+.
Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables?
WP – 6 months
Six months into the Wahls Protocol Diet.
The Mrs is now baking, doing laundry, cleaning house, and generally overdoing it. Burning through spoons at an alarming rate, yet feeling generally good enough to be bored and wanting to accomplish things. Her pain level is down and she takes fewer meds and less pain meds.
Saw hematologist today. Her blood work is the best he has ever seen for her.
Confession: We fell off the wagon for a few weeks. The consequences (negative) were immediate in terms of weight gain, water bloat, malaise. But we are both back on again now.
Bottom Line: If you are suffering from any form of autoimmune disease, please please consider Wahls Protocol.
WP41
41 days of the Wahls Protocol Diet
The Mrs continues to get stronger. No wheelchair, walker, or cane for weeks now. Clarity of thought improved and improving. Morale and outlook improved and improving. Reduced need for pain medication. Slow and persistent weight loss. Clothes bought a month ago are too large.
As for me … Slow and persistent weight loss. Clothes bought a month ago are too large. Generally improved feelings of health. Easier to walk on bad knee.
No hunger pangs.
WP14
See WP0 and The Wahls Protocol
WP Day 14
In the last two weeks Mrs has lost 20 pounds, I have lost 4+ (I don’t know what the ‘+’ is because my scale would say ‘0-ld’ until I got down to its limit).
WP11
So a week & a half ago Mrs and I started on the Wahls Protocol Diet (http://terrywahls.com/about-the-wahls-protocol/).
Basically lots (9 cups a day) of leafy greens, highly colored fruits and berries, nuts, seeds, other hi-omega3 things, non-starch vegies, meat, fish, chicken. Almost too much food to consume. No wheat. No milk products. No eggs. No hunger.
WP7
See WP0 and The Wahls Protocol
Seventh Day on the Wahls Protocol
Mrs and I have a combined weight loss of 8 – 10 pounds.
I suspect we are not eating enough, but we are stuffing ourselves and can only eat so much.
We need to eat more meat.
All in all we are feeling the same or better, loosing weight, allegedly getting better nutrition, and definitely not going hungry.
WP4
See WP0 and The Wahls Protocol
Wahls Protocol Day Four
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Me too.
Today is Day Four of the Mrs and me on The Wahls Protocol.
WP0
Wahls Protocol Day Zero
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Me too.
Today is Day Zero of the Mrs and me beginning The Wahls Protocol. No idea what I am talking about? Go back and read my post on The Wahls Protocol.
Terry Wahls is within a year in age of my wife and I. Like Jess, in The Nudist War, Terry Wahls has Multiple Sclerosis. No one … and I do mean no one … knows what causes MS. No one knows a cure for it. Treatments exist, but they are fraught with side effects, nasty organ destroying side effects.
Terry Wahls tackled her own MS by researching the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. needed by our mitochondria. Within a year she went from lying on a reclining ‘zero-G’ chair to riding her bicycle. Seriously go back and watch the video.
As I said, Wahls is the same age as the Mrs. Her MS presented itself at about the same time as it did in the Mrs. When I said that no one knows the cause or cure for MS, I should have said that ‘officially’ no one knows the cause or cure. However I believe that Wahls has a clue, and it’s a clue that applies to ALL of us.
Today the Mrs and I went to Sprouts and bought all manner of fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. We also went to our nearby JCPenney and purchased a Nutri Bullet. This is not an endorsement of Sprouts, JCPenney, or the Nutri Bullet. Just details. In fact the first Nutri Bullet failed to work right out of the box. A bad omen?
What do I expect to see if this actually works?
Feeling better
Loosing weight
Feeling better
I will update you from time to time with our progress.
The Wahls Protocol
From The Nudist War – Day 43
Jess was officially diagnosed with MS ten years ago, not long after she posted for the position at the CDC in Atlanta. She noticed that she had a “floater” in her left eye that didn’t go away. When she saw her Ophthalmologist he diagnosed her with optic neuritis, for which he prescribed a course of oral steroids to reduce the inflammation. “One thing you should know,” he told her, “there is a good chance that you have Multiple Sclerosis. Let me refer you to a Neurologist who specializes in MS treatment. She’s the best one in Atlanta.” After a CT scan, several MRIs and lumbar punctures, the diagnosis was in. “Ms. Munroe, I am so sorry to have to tell you this. The MRI analyses and spinal fluid tests both indicate positive for Multiple Sclerosis.”
Hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook available at:
Amazon
Audible
Apple iBook
Apple iTunes
and other retailers
Maybe I should put Jess on this diet.
Contrafactual 