Paleodyssey

Hi, I’m David. I’ve set up this weblog to share my journey toward a healthy, strong, capable lifestyle.

I’m 48 years old and I live near Worcester Massachusetts (USA). Two years ago I was a typical overweight (in denial) guy who had once been in shape but was slowly slouching toward my first heart attack. In January 2010 I changed my eating habits toward a paleo/primal/ancestral eating pattern, and it changed my life drastically for the better.

I’m 5’8″ tall (173 cm). Within a few months I went from 184 to 150 lbs. (83.5 to 68 kg). That’s 10 lbs. lighter than I’ve ever been in my adult life, with a BMI of 22.8. It’s now hard to find pants and belts sized small enough at the waist. That change in body composition happened without effort, and I’ve kept the weight off easily since then. I’ve incorporated other aspects of an ancestral way of looking at health—all of them for the better.

Other benefits:

• I look better naked.
• Exercise and high levels of activity are fun rather than a chore. Recovery is also faster.
• When I chase my 5 year old son around, he gets tired before I do.
• I have more capacity to walk, run, lift, jump, carry, swim, climb, and fight than I have had since my 20′s.
• Blood lipid numbers are now all at Low or Very Low risk levels, despite lots of “artery clogging” saturated fat and a complete absence of “heart healthy” whole grains in my diet. LDL (bad cholesterol) in particular, dropped by 60 mg/dL. The last measured ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol was 2.93.
• The rashes in really unpleasant places that had plagued me for a couple of years prior to this way of eating are now gone (they come back if I eat any wheat).
• The eyestrain I’d been experiencing is gone.
• I get colds a lot less often and get over them a lot faster when I do get sick.
• The osteo-arthritis in my right shoulder is almost gone, as are lots of other aches and pains. I had not really noticed some of them until they weren’t there any more.
• My teeth are stronger, they no longer hurt, and my gums don’t bleed when I brush my teeth.
• No more acne.
• No more dandruff.
• A lot less gas.
• I don’t remember what heartburn feels like.
• I don’t sunburn nearly as easily (I’m a light-skinned Caucasian with ancestry from the British Isles).
• Insomnia now hits once a month instead of once a week.
• Seasonal allergies are still there, but I have the same symptoms now without medication that I used to have with antihistamines.
• I’m calmer, have more energy, and can focus better.
• I honestly feel about 10 years younger than I did.

This makes me want to jump up and down and make everyone I know give it a try. Alas, most of them would just find that annoying. My wife, at least, seems to be slowly coming around.