I’m Pat.
I always use to eat crappy (lots o’ fast food, alcohol, sugar, bread) and managed to stay in ok shape.
When I hit about 23, things started to break down. WIth the onset of a bunch of financial stress, my health deteriorated quickly. Google IBS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, GERD,Depression, High-Triglycerides, Arthritis and ADD.
I had those.
So, tried to get better by eating “healthier.”
I ate 5-6 smaller meals a day, lots of whole grains, fat free everything, egg whites only, white meat only once a while with a side of soy milk.
The things I told you to google earlier…they got a lot worse. My dog Dom (on the left) and his bromance Henry (gf’s dog) were pretty worried about me.
After about a year of “a lot worse” I was fortunate enough to stumble on Mark Sisson’s Primal lifestyle and the diet specifically did wonders for my health. I’ve only gotten healthier thanks to information put out by other gurus like Robb Wolf, Chris Kesser and Dr. Paul Jaminet to name a few.
Eating whole, local foods along with high intensity exercise (I am a very willing member of the “cult” that is Crossfit) and mindfulness have reversed just about every health condition I’ve ever been confronted with and have led to a quality of life that I honestly didn’t even know was possible. Due to my newfound energy, I spend a lot less time on the couch and a lot more time on my feet, most notably in the form of mud runs like the Rugged Maniac pictured left.
I’ve come to realize that I can expect a pretty rough night’s sleep after consuming gluten. This was not always the case. I’m pretty passionate about finding out why my sensitivity to grains seemed to be exacerbated by stress. I can also sit down and relate just about every significant health issue I’ve had in the past to high grain, low fat, high sugar consumption.
I do avoid most grains and gluten as much as possible, I watch my sugar intake and I avoid processed foods because they always contain lots of the previous in addition to other neolithic crap. I also only rarely eat nuts. Nuts contain a crap ton of pro-inflammatory Omega-6′s and a lot of unneeded Omega-3′s (if you’re eating good meat and fish.)
My lovely girlfriend Jessi (pictured below) and I get most of our meat, eggs, veggies, raw honey and dairy and seasonal fruit from the local farmers market. We also enjoy white rice, coconut in all its forms, bone broth and saturated fats in all their natural glory. We are both amateurs when it comes to cooking but are learning quickly. Check out the Paleo Recipes page for the chronicle of the kitchen.
I feel the best when I eat real food and the worst when I eat fake crap. This doesn’t prevent me from indulging in the occasional pitch black beer or meat lover’s pizza however. I love all foods but not all foods love me. I have been and will constantly be experimenting with my diet, my skills in the kitchen and being a blogger.
I’m just another n=1.
