Twins - Diet and exercise matter!
This post comes from a close friend of Clint Greenshields. It illustrates the roll-on effect that changing your lifestyle can have where you least expect it. I met Jase briefly while he was visiting in France but I can’t claim any of the credit for his improvements in health and appearance. It was a 6-week holiday travelling through Europe with Greeny that has given Jase another option in life. He can now choose a path of health or return to his old ways. If you keep reading my blog and other sound health advice eventually you will face the same decision. Choose health or choose sickness.
Enjoy Jase’s story and if you have any questions or comments for Jason please post them below.
In order for you to understand why I so strongly believe in a Paleo diet I need to give you some background information on how I got to where I am.
Life for me as a teenager involved a lot of sport. I was playing football for both our local club and the school team and between training and playing I enjoyed touch football, boxing, surfing, bike riding and pretty much any outdoor activity.
When I was 18 I was riding my dirt bike with a group of friends in the bushland near our hometown of Sawtell when I came around a corner at high-speed and slammed straight into a meter high tree lying across the track. This resulted in me sustaining a shattered left patella which required immediate surgery. I ended up spending 3 ½ months on crutches which seen me go from a highly active kid to someone who only got up to crutch his way from the lounge to the fridge. When I finally got the OK from the doctor to remove my braces I had a further 6 months of hobbling around while I was doing my rehabilitation.
In the 10 months I spent sitting around I took up eating from a deep fryer and washing it down with beer which resulted in me going from a lean 82 kg to 104 kg. After a lot of taunting from my mates and comments from anyone and everyone about my excess baggage I thought it was time to start shedding some of the weight. I got back into to the gym, running, riding, boxing swimming and basically everything I could to keep myself active without getting bored with repetition.
Jason 15 Kilo's ago
That along with what I thought was a healthy diet (high carb, low-fat) was how I lived up until 12 months ago when I was introduced to a Paleo diet.
In that time I slowly reduced my weight but never got back under 90 kgs and only got within 90 kgs once for around a 4 month period when I was running like I was training for a marathon.
My weight fluctuated constantly and was normally in the range of 90-95 kgs.
In 2011 my girlfriend and I decided to travel Europe for 12 months and in our travels we spent some time with my close friend from Australia Clint Greenshields who is currently playing professional football in France for the Catalan Dragons. Through Keegan he had been introduced to the Paleo Diet which we discussed quite a bit and eventually Clint had me wanting to give this cave man diet a go. He put me onto a book called Paleo Solution by Rob Wolf and after reading that book I was fully on board.
Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf
Eating a Paleo diet can be challenging to begin with even from home let alone travelling but over the next 6 months I managed to stick to it about 80% of the time. I mean give me a break, who can say no to the occasional pizza and bottle of wine when you’re travelling through Italy.
During our travels my training was limited to a set of dumbbells, my bodyweight and hiking/walking. With that as my limits of training and an 80% Paleo diet I went from 94 kg to 87 kgs in the first 8 weeks. You could say that some of the weight loss was due to muscle loss which was true to an extent but my muscle mass didn’t change dramatically and I was leaner than I had been in 10 years, even my pants were getting pretty loose around the waist.
Wild Turkey is on the Paleo menu : )
For me Paleo was initially a way to get my weight back down to a healthy range but I also suffer from Asthma, hay fever and my family has a history of diabetes and heart problems. After reading The Paleo Solution it was pretty evident that I should give it a chance.
Since we have returned to Australia I have been keeping up my Paleo diet almost 100% of the time only weakness being on occasion minimal dairy and a few times I have had a couple of beers. (You have to have a beer on Australia Day)
I have maintained my weight of 87 kgs in the 3 months we have been back even with additional weight training and I can even see my abs again which at 29 I thought I would never see again. I don’t wake up sneezing every morning and I feel 100% better than I ever have.
As I mentioned Paleo can be challenging to begin with but once you find what works, do some experimenting you will start to compile a lot of dishes and cooking becomes normal with Paleo ingredients. I have been exposed to a lot cooking having my partner’s family being a family of chefs. We even worked in their restaurants on our travels so I love cooking which made the transition for me a bit easier.
My advice to anyone wanting to get on a Paleo Diet is to be prepared before starting. Eating a piece of meat with a serve of fresh vegetables will only get you so far before you get bored and start to crave some of the foods from your old diet. Not being prepared with a variety of meal ideas could be setting yourself up for failure. Clean your non Paleo foods out of the house. Get online and get a hold of a few E-books that contain Paleo recipes. The Web has plenty of forums and if you’re not on Facebook it’s not a bad source for someone on a Paleo diet. I realise some people don’t want to have Facebook for social aspects but you can use it purely as a forum for Paleo among a lot of other health subjects. There are pages set up that will give you new recipes everyday and advice about following the diet.
One of the things that I noticed was that it was harder to snack. You can’t just grab a loaf of bread and the cold meat and make a sandwich anymore. In saying that I have never been more in touch with my food, food preparation and what I am putting into my body in all my life. Most of my meals are made fresh and it’s not a bad life skill to be able to prepare good quality fresh meals. In fact I have never eaten as well before as I do now on a Paleo diet. I get asked a lot “what do you eat for breakfast every day” as this is where most people associate a meal that contains cereals and grains. When I tell them that everyday is a weekend for me and I cook breakfast each morning they don’t mind that at all. Gone are the days that I only have eggs on a Sunday. Each morning I normally have one of my many different flavoured omelets. Normally with something on the side like spinach, sweet potato, beans or any green vegetable, breakfast is actually my favourite meal at the moment. I can name different omelets like Bubba naming shrimp on Forest Gump.
Lunch is a bit harder which is where my meals are made with good fresh ingredients but normally a few days before and I freeze them up to pull out to take to work. Good meals for this are Thai meals with meats, vegetables and coconut milk or a Paleo Spaghetti Bolognese (substitute the pasta for shredded Zucchini).
Coconuts - Paleo and great in Thai food
Dinners at the moment for me are really influenced on a mixture of Thai and Indian cooking. I have been using a lot of green vegetables and stir frying them off at high heat for short periods to basically heat them up but keep them mainly raw and still crunchy. Top it off with fresh herbs like coriander, mint, lime leaves, chilli a splash of coconut cream and a squeeze of fresh lime and some lean beef or poultry. It’s quick, easy and satisfying.
I have had quite a few people comment on how much better I am looking these days and if they ask I’m only happy to tell them about my change in diet. I have had a few people even come onboard after seeing my results and they are also seeing some results after a short period with weight loss and just feeling better overall.
After all the years I spent following the recommended dietary guide lines and training to only see minimal results a few things are evident to me,
– A Paleo Diet is beneficial to weight loss and overall well-being.
– No matter how hard you train your diet is most important
– Sleep = Results
TS Wiliey
My recommended reading list would be Paleo Solution by Rob Woolf and Lights Out by T.S.Wiley. If you read these books and give the Paleo diet a trial you will see results and Paleo won’t be a diet you’re on it will be a way of living. Your old diet will no longer exists and any temptation for those old foods will be gone. Give them a read and enjoy.
If you’re interested in giving the Paleo Diet a trial check out my Paleo page – Stay tuned for more Q&A on Paleo borders and other great diets like GAPS and Weston A Price’s conclusions.
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