What a journey it has been so far. I truly feel like Benjamin Button. Not only have I shed a lot of body fat, but I have turned back time at least 10 years. This dude in the picture has to pinch himself daily just to check that this is not a dream he is going to wake up from. If anyone tried to convince me last year December that something as small as a change in diet could have such a colossal effect on a person's health, I would have nodded, smiled, and left that crazy person to mingle further with his imaginary friends. And here I am!
I have never committed to anything as focused and dedicated as I did with this 500-day challenge. What I see amongst the people I share life with, is that we have stunning dreams of endless possibilities, we present beautiful plans carefully tailored through years of passion and thorough thought and we also desire honest and lasting relationships, whether they are rock-solid friendships or romantic ones straight from a Hollywood winning script. Although these dreams, plans, and relationships are absolutely possible, we more often than not erase them from our stars ourselves, ripping the asphalt from our own paths and ending up frustrating our days by plonking along on unnecessary self-inflicted pothole-ridden gravel roads. This, in turn, invites depression, unhappiness and anxiety to the table, feeding us with feelings of failure, disappointment, inadequacy and worthlessness. This all drives us straight to the nearest drugstore for a little something to help us cope and get through our days whilst resembling someone still in possession of almost all their marbles! To make things even worse, we stuff our faces with everything our bodies hate and can't cope with, making it absolutely impossible for these stunning bodies we were born into and in which we travel around Earth, to pick ourselves up and start conquering again. We withhold its high-quality fuel, we poison our muscles and brains, we sink our dreams and eventually, we just don't give a shit anymore. I was there. Almost everyone is there. This was me just a few months ago. Not anymore. I am not the same, my whole being has transformed.
Change does not take years. Weight loss does not take years. Turning back the clock does not take years. Getting fit again does not take years. All it takes is ONE decision.
You do not need to be sick. You do not need a bag of medication every month. You do not need to be depressed. You do not have to live alone. You do not have to be tired every single day. All it takes is ONE decision.
No change will ever come by continually making the exact same choices as yesterday. You have to change something, and TOTALLY remove another in order for permanent change happen. Bad habits can not be harboured and then still think the change you hunger for will stick. It SHALL return in a time of weakness and, like an evil Deja Vu, you will again walk the same disappointing roads you were trying to escape from for so long.
I had to change 3 things in my life: zero alcohol, zero carbs, daily exercise, and daily sun. Zero alcohol because it makes me take stupid decisions, it is unhealthy, it makes me sick for days, it turns me into an asshole which was bad for my relationships with my wife, kids, family and friends and it stole decades of joy from my life, destroyed my businesses and wasted so much of my money and time. Zero carbs because my body was getting sicker and sicker, I was getting weak, I was mentally not in a good place, and carbs were busy destroying me. Fitness was absolutely critical, I was losing muscle mass, couldn't play with the kids anymore, and my joints were giving in...things had to change and change fast. After another few years of living like this and the damage I would've done to myself would have been irreversible.
That one day in December 2022, I made a decision that was different from any I have ever taken. It was a no-turning-back point in my life. And here I am. Just back from my 8km run/walk. I haven't been sick in almost a year. I have not had any physical ailments in 100 days. I have not skipped training even once. I have still not put any sugar or carbs in my mouth since January the 1st and zero alcohol entered my body.
It has been so easy, to be honest. The only thing standing between anyone and a life-changing choice is addiction. Thats all. Feeling great forever is as close as next week. Choose against the addiction and everything will fall into place. Full stop.
I chose addiction over health and happiness for too long.
This is my training for the journey so far. I am almost averaging 50km running per week. I incorporate some core training, knee exercises, and pushups. I am still very strict on my MAF training, religiously keeping my heart rate between 119-129bpm. I am improving my speed very slowly, yet it improves weekly. The lovely thing about MAF is the almost zero risk of injury and overtraining. Looking forward to the next three months.
Meal wise I am still only eating meat, eggs and butter. My high energy levels and the change in my skin are absolutely astounding. I miss no other food. Stop worrying about cholesterol, the above book was a great read.
I don't cheat with:
- food: strictly unprocessed meat, eggs, and butter only
- training every day: minimum of 30min runs/walks per day and pushups
- sun exposure: every sunny day I do 50 minutes in shorts, 25min front, 25min back
- no soaps, deodorant, detergent, etc
- no alcohol, soft drinks, juices, etc
Now my next target is day 150.
Be strong, and live hard! Thanks for reading 🥩🥩
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