“What you eat overtime, is a determining factor in the quality of your health over time.” – Scott Harker.

Here is an article which tells of one person’s changes in life after switching to the Primal or Paleo Diet/Lifestyle:

My weight struggles began when I was in my early 20’s. I was 183 cm tall and weighed in at about 110 kgs, and didn’t feel at all good about that. I felt worse when I overheard friends comment on the excess weight I carried. I decided to do something about it and went on a severely reduced calorie diet. Living on lettuce leaves (literally) by mid-1983; I weighed considerably less and ran a marathon to celebrate.

That year I changed careers and joined New Zealand Police as a constable. I was 78 kg when I went to the Royal New Zealand Police College. I was 27, and was second top fitness in my recruit wing of 43 people.

We have a Physical Competency Test (PCT) in New Zealand Police. This involves pushing a trailer 15 meters, carrying a wheel assembly 15 meters, a 200 merer sprint, hurdles (over and under), balancing beam, ‘window’ to climb through, a seven foot wall and an eight foot fence. I was always a top performer until about 10 years ago, but not because of maintained times, more because the required performance is age related (you get more time the older you are).

Every second year we are required to undergo a Physical Health Analysis Test (PHAT); based around body fat level and weight primarily. My records show that, like most that lose weight by reduced calories, I steadily regained weight. In April 1986 I weighed 78.4 kg with 13.4% body fat. It was all downhill from there! By August 1986 I weighed 86 kg, with 15% body fat. By May 1994 I weighed 92 kg and had 20% body fat. By 2000 I was back to where I started in terms of weight: 110 kg.

I tried to lose weight during 2012, managing to drop back to 107, then to 102.3 kg (see photo below). I didn’t feel great about being this size.

I didn’t have any real health problems as such, probably because of good genes (both parents are in their 80’s and in good health) and basically because I did keep fit. I was running two to three half marathons a year until about 2000. From 2009 on, arthritis in my right hip affected mobility.

I have been a Commissioned Officer at the rank of Inspector since 1998 and as such was not required to do the PCT. However the Commissioner of Police ruled in late 2012 that no member of Police could be deployed operationally (to events like the Christchurch earthquake) unless they held a current PCT.

Come 27 March 2013 I decided to do the PCT. I was way above time (by 22 seconds) and at one point fell. It was embarrassing to say the least, almost shameful.

This, combined with the pep talk my doctor gave me at my February 2013 checkup (“You are killing yourself”), was also life changing.

The Physical Training Instructor gave me a copy of Allan Carr’s book Lose Weight Now. It changed my whole attitude to food, but not wanting to go vegetarian I looked for an alternative. The answer was in the paleo food movement, and The Primal Blueprint especially. Why The Primal Blueprint and MDA? Because they outline a lifestyle, not a diet, and I wanted a new lifestyle that included diet. I subscribe to MDA and follow it avidly. Of I was looking for two words: ‘sensible’ and ‘works.’

On 2 April 2013 I went Primal/paleo.

I chucked my doctor’s advice to “eat less fat and more whole grain!” Now knowing that doesn’t work.

The photo on the left was taken in 2012; I weighed about 107 kgs. The photo on the right was taken in February 2013. At the start of my paleo journey on 2 April 2013, aged 57 years, I weighed 102.3 kg. My waist was 107 cm, hips 105 cm and chest 117 cm.

I lost weight quickly; by June I was 92.6 kg (waist 101 cm, hips 101 cm, chest 113 cm). The lowest I went was at the end of November 2013: 89.3 kg (waist 97.5 cm, hips 99 cm, chest 108.5 cm). But I had just had a hip replacement and was basically doing no activity. By Christmas I was back exercising, just like The Primal Blueprint recommends (lots of walking, some heavy lifting, a bit of biking, and recently, I started sprinting on a cross training machine). As I exercised, I increased weight and have stabilised at about 91.3 – 92.3 kg (waist 99 cm, hips 99 cm, chest 111 cm). My eating hasn’t changed, so I put the kilo or so added down to the increased muscle mass in my right leg following the hip replacement and exercise programme: the muscles in that leg are now noticeably bigger and more defined. I am the same weight I was 20 years ago.

These photos were taken February 2014.

My blood tests tell an amazing story. I have a routine checkup every February. It’s all improved!

Going primal has been life changing for me. I am about 95%: I’ve had about 3 croissants, a couple of muffins and a couple of slices of genuine sourdough bread, and a couple of gluten free Easter buns over the twelve months. I’ll have the occasional ice cream, iced coffee or smoothie, or slice of gluten free cake. I have no trouble following the lifestyle; I embrace it.

One reason is this: lots of grass-fed livestock – quality food at a good price.

Photo taken by me, January 2014, Central North Island, New Zealand.

So what’s the Primal lifestyle done for me?

• I eat better quality food
• I have lost 10 kgs
• Got a new wardrobe!
• I am more mobile and fitter than I have been in the last 20 years
• A heap more energy – all day! (I have a one hour commute by train into Wellington; I haven’t gone to sleep on the way home for months)
• Enhanced credibility (as I’m no longer a fat cop!)
• I can keep up with my 9 grandchildren
• I feel great!

I have yet to do the PCT – I’ll hold that until one year after the hip replacement. However, having been a bushman and hunter for 30 years, on 22 April 2014, I got out into the bush for the first time in 14 months. The photo below shows me visiting a stationary boiler used for log hauling in the 1930s (Tararua Forest Park, New Zealand). About 1.5 hours from the road end, a major river to cross, generally off trail. Wearing my aqua five fingers. It’s great to be back.

Go the Primal lifestyle!!!

Joe Green
Paraparmumu, New Zealand

Mark’s Daily Apple

More On Primal Diets A Primal Burn Fat Burner System is based upon health and weight loss information obtained from extensive research in this field. The exercise structure of the program has two sections that are designed for various fitness levels. It also includes an “absolute beginner” workout so that those who are brand new to short duration and high intensity exercise can learn gradually. The program also incorporates a plan which includes eating foods that speed up a sluggish metabolism to help lose weight quickly. Primal and Paleo Resources “PaleoBurn: Primal Burn – Paleo Burn Fat Burner System – PaleoBurn restores the natural balance of our systems with a simple and easy-to-follow diet and exercise plan that replicates the natural food sources and activities of our ancient hunter-gatherer ancestors. Primal Burn – Paleo Burn Fat Burner System” “Paleo and Primal Recipes – Fastpaleo Is Chock Full Of The Top 100 Paleo And Primal Recipes, And Includes Four Amazing Mini-ecookbooks: Fastpaleo Top 10 Cookies, Fastpaleo Top 10 Ice Creams, Fastpaleo Top 10 Muffins And Fastpaleo Top 10 Smoothies & Beverages! Fastpaleo Recipes” Indeed, Primal Burn is a program that incorporates all of these things through safe nutritional guidance that results in weight loss without starvation. The book also addresses exercise, which is vital to losing and maintaining weight, by offering safe and effective routines to supplement the nutritional plan for people at all levels of fitness. No matter your current weight and figure, this formula can help you burn fat fast, set your metabolism right into a fat burning state, reach your optimal weight, develop more energy, reduce cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, and improve your overall health. It is an easy to use guide including step by step pictures, diagrams and schematics show you how everything is done. It works for both men and women as well. So if you need to drop 10, 20, or even 50 lbs of fat, then try the Primal Burn Fat Burner System! Primal eating refers generally to the diet eaten by Paleolithic people up to about 10,000 years ago when agriculture was first introduced. Primal eating weight loss is the resultant natural body fat loss that occurs when you feed your body its intended diet. The terms primal diet and paleo diet are used interchangeably. A primal or paleo lifestyle aims to follow the example of this role model (not by grunting and dragging your mates around by their hair) insofar as it is possible in our high tech, polluted and pre-packaged world. Sounds great, right? A lot of it is fantastic. The framework of this diet/lifestyle is built around the idea that humans have not evolved so much since Paleolithic times that our gastronomic needs have changed. In other words, we are not built to eat things which did not exist at that time, but we are built to move and move a lot!

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