TL:DR I stopped eating basically everything except meat, eggs, butter, and cheese.
Of course there is much more to the story and nuances to what I consume and how I consume it, but that is basically it for those who won't be able to get through the entire post....lolol I've been alluding to this weight loss in some of my posts and finally decided to dedicate the time needed to get it down and shared with everyone. This has literally saved my life!
I Got Scared
In early January 2021 it was time for me to do my annual physical and bloodwork in order to renew my prescriptions for cholesterol, hypertension, and eczema meds. Prior to getting on meds my blood pressure was constantly over 200 on the top and my eczema was so bad it my hands and fingers would crack and bleed almost constantly. I was suffering from significant bouts of depression, lethargy, and severe fatigue as well.
I didn't know how much I weighed, but I knew it was north of 400lbs. For the past several years my Doctor's office only had scales that would reach 350lbs and so I would just tell them what I "thought" I weighed at the time. I never weighed at home because I knew I was constantly gaining weight and everything about eating unhealthy was spiraling out of control. I knew I needed to change, but it seemed insurmountable so I would get depressed, which would trigger me eating more. It was a very dangerous and unhealthy cycle. As I was waiting for my name to be called to go back to the examination room, I was just wasting time on my phone flipping though the mindless social media sites and then I heard my name. I arose and headed towards the waiting nurse at the open doorway to the hall where they weighed you and took your blood pressure. As I rounded the corner I noticed there was a new scale and I begin to get nervous. The nurse asked me to step up on the scale and I said it probably wouldn't register because of my size. She said, "Don't worry honey, this one goes up to 500lbs!". 500lbs! I knew I was in trouble and reality was about to slap me into oblivion.
I slowly stepped onto the scales and closed my eyes against the embarrassment of my actual weight. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the number 452 flashing over and over again. My inner voice screamed into my soul "You're going to die!". I knew that this day would be a turning point, I knew my habits had to stop. I knew things had to change or I was going to die. I don't remember the words the Dr. spoke and barely noticed his smile and slap on my back as he renewed my meds for the next year. I don't remember making it to my car or driving home, I just remember sitting in my home office still in shock at what just happened and trying to figure out what I was going to do about it.
The Journey Begins
The very first thing I did was cut out all refined sugars and processed foods. The area that was going to be the hardest for me was in sugary drinks and snacks. At the time, I was going through 5 or 6 Mountain Dews a day plus 4 to 5 cups of coffee with about two or three spoons of sugar in it daily. My junk food snacking was out of control and I was spending 6 or 7 hours a day on my off days gaming. It was nothing for me to go through an entire box of Little Debbies, bags of chips, and fast food.
I decided to start with a keto based diet as I had lost weigh on it before so I cut out the majority of carbs except for leafy greens, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini. As a way to fight my sugar addiction, I bought several varieties of "keto bombs" snacks which are made to resemble deserts but with lower net carbs and no sugars. I ate this way for the remainder of January and while a lost a small amount of weight, I was still struggling horribly with cravings and withdrawals from carbs.
About this same time, I had a Sgt. working for me who just returned from a defensive tactics instructor school and he told me about a fairly new non-profit program that was helping cops pay for Brazilian jiu jitsu training. I got the info from him and the program and non-profit turned out to be Adopt-a-cop which was founded by former Navy SEAL and supplement entrepreneur, Mitch Aguilar. The program pays for law enforcement officers who attend at least 1 class a week at an affiliate BJJ gym all the way through their blue belt (1 to 1 1/2 years). I had been fascinated with BJJ ever since just after high school when I watched the very first UFC and saw Royce Gracie dominate against every size and type of fighter. I started the application process with Adopt-a-cop and was accepted into the program quicker than I thought and I started trying to make mental excuses to why I wouldn't be able to do it.
It just so happens that one of the affiliate gyms was about 5 minutes from my house and I reached out to the owner through Facebook messenger. He was immediately so hyped about having a cop join because the one cop that was there quit due to a schedule change and there was no one taking advantage of the Adopt-a-cop program. I immediately started to backpedal telling him how concerned I was about my weight and size and not being able to do it. He shot down every single excuse I made and even offered to teach me in private for free until I felt comfortable. He was so adamant about just getting me through the door that I followed through. This was towards the end of January and I planned to start BJJ the first part of February.
As I was researching Adopt-a-cop and keto I kept seeing a weird connection between people practicing bjj and eating a carnivore diet. I was also seeing snippets about the carnivore diet on people I held in high esteem and was discovering that it was not only allowing people to lose significant amounts of weight, but also alleviating some pretty sever medical issues as well. The video I remember most vividly was a conversation between Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson on the many benefits of a carnivore diet. I was extremely intrigued and delved into learning all I could about it. This led me to Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Paul Sauldino, Dr. Shawn Baker, and Laura and Chris Spath. What did they know that I didn't and how come I never heard of this way of eating before?
This is probably a good spot round out part one of this journey. I hoped you enjoyed reading about my weight loss journey so far and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me in the comments!
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien