Meet the old Tim.
I was a functional fat kid. Meaning- Although I had to shop in the "Husky" section at Sears, I was a good little athlete. So much so that the first diet I remember being on was one that my 5th grade football coach needed me to partake in so that I could make weight limit to run the football. I recall it pretty well. I hated salad, but choked it down every now and then, and then ate a lot of watermelon to curb my sweet tooth. Between that and running for hours in a rubber suit or with my pads on, I made weight limit every game. But an even greater lesson I learned was one of will power and sacrifice- if I wanted to be in shape and athletic, it took starving plus buckets of pain accompanied sweat! From that point on, I was a yo yo with periods of food indulgence followed by periods of starvation.
By the time I got to college I had found the greatness of Ephedrine! I was 5'7 and 145lbs; never mind the, less than spectacular, results I had on the baseball field my freshman year, I was at my BMI!
Anyhow, in the next four years along with my degree pro football players started dropping from apparent ephedrine use. Soon after it was taken off the shelf and my weight started creeping up. Buy 29 I was still 5'7 but over 200 lbs for the first time ever. My back killed me at night, had bad seasonal allergies, a few sinus infections a year, and my labido was pretty darn low. My diet? Well, lets just say I enjoyed morning donuts, night time ice cream, and everything between could be found on a pizza hut menu.
That year I decided to not go into my 30's fat and sick and started a new home made diet. Give up Burgers the first week, pizza the next and so on. I ended up giving up bread and pasta and lost about 30 lbs in less than 6 months.
At 175 lbs I felt and slept a ton better but was working out a couple hours a day and pretty much hit a wall.
A year later my bother introduced me to Crossfit which meshed perfectly with my masochist view of fitness. With the help of the daily WOD I got stronger than ever at about 165 lbs, and was happily killing my self on a 3 on 1 off rotation. While Crossfit did not turn out to be the Holy Grail like I thought it was, it did introduce me to Robb Wolf, and about 3 years ago, I went Paleo.
Right away Robb's podcast and then his book helped me figure out my seasonal allergies and sinus infections. Plus the whole, Ancestral eating thing just made sense. Anyhow, I am now 34 and only wish I could have played baseball in college with the knowledge I have now. I am 180 lbs at about 10% body fat; with energy and strength I thought about trying to get out a bottle back then. And it is easy!
I enjoy food, and I am not neurotic about it. I don't count calories except for the occasional day to see where I am at and if my calories intake is aligned with my goals. I eat until I am full and eat when I feel like it. I let activity dicate how many starchy carbs I eat and enjoy the protein and fat all the time. The only hard part is constantly telling people what I do only to watch them turn to the latest diet trend.
I guess I'll leave it at this; Paleo, Primal, Ancestral, or what every you want to call it works to the degree you are willing to do it.
By the time I got to college I had found the greatness of Ephedrine! I was 5'7 and 145lbs; never mind the, less than spectacular, results I had on the baseball field my freshman year, I was at my BMI!
Anyhow, in the next four years along with my degree pro football players started dropping from apparent ephedrine use. Soon after it was taken off the shelf and my weight started creeping up. Buy 29 I was still 5'7 but over 200 lbs for the first time ever. My back killed me at night, had bad seasonal allergies, a few sinus infections a year, and my labido was pretty darn low. My diet? Well, lets just say I enjoyed morning donuts, night time ice cream, and everything between could be found on a pizza hut menu.
That year I decided to not go into my 30's fat and sick and started a new home made diet. Give up Burgers the first week, pizza the next and so on. I ended up giving up bread and pasta and lost about 30 lbs in less than 6 months.
At 175 lbs I felt and slept a ton better but was working out a couple hours a day and pretty much hit a wall.
A year later my bother introduced me to Crossfit which meshed perfectly with my masochist view of fitness. With the help of the daily WOD I got stronger than ever at about 165 lbs, and was happily killing my self on a 3 on 1 off rotation. While Crossfit did not turn out to be the Holy Grail like I thought it was, it did introduce me to Robb Wolf, and about 3 years ago, I went Paleo.
Right away Robb's podcast and then his book helped me figure out my seasonal allergies and sinus infections. Plus the whole, Ancestral eating thing just made sense. Anyhow, I am now 34 and only wish I could have played baseball in college with the knowledge I have now. I am 180 lbs at about 10% body fat; with energy and strength I thought about trying to get out a bottle back then. And it is easy!
I enjoy food, and I am not neurotic about it. I don't count calories except for the occasional day to see where I am at and if my calories intake is aligned with my goals. I eat until I am full and eat when I feel like it. I let activity dicate how many starchy carbs I eat and enjoy the protein and fat all the time. The only hard part is constantly telling people what I do only to watch them turn to the latest diet trend.
I guess I'll leave it at this; Paleo, Primal, Ancestral, or what every you want to call it works to the degree you are willing to do it.
Meet Tim Today.
What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?
USDA
What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
Don't jump in the deep end. Replace your grains with roots and tubers and slowly try and get down around 100 or less carbs a day.
USDA
What advice (if any) would you give to someone interested in trying a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet? Were there any obstacles that you overcame that could help future dieters?
Don't jump in the deep end. Replace your grains with roots and tubers and slowly try and get down around 100 or less carbs a day.
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Tried a paleo or low carb diet? Join Today and contribute to a better understanding of this way of eating!
View our Marketplace of paleo and low carb experts that compete against eachother to help you lose weight and get healthy!