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A difference of 40 lbs.
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Adventure and Beyond!
I'm an explorer at heart. I love looking around the nooks and crannies, boldly treading into uncharted terrain, and seeing what's just over the next hill.
When I was in high school and college, I was moderately active with soccer and martial arts. I was pretty fit and healthy.
After college, I became a couch potato. Not knowing how to prepare healthy meals for myself, I ate huge portions of restaurant and fast food meals. I didn't know that the average restaurant ...
I'm an explorer at heart. I love looking around the nooks and crannies, boldly treading into uncharted terrain, and seeing what's just over the next hill.
When I was in high school and college, I was moderately active with soccer and martial arts. I was pretty fit and healthy.
After college, I became a couch potato. Not knowing how to prepare healthy meals for myself, I ate huge portions of restaurant and fast food meals. I didn't know that the average restaurant meal has 2-3x serving sizes. Being raised to 'clean off my plate', I ballooned to 160 pounds. On my 5'0" frame, that put me solidly in the obese category.
Starting in about 2004, I turned it around. I lost 30 pounds by the summer of 2005. I learned to make healthy meals for myself, and exercised regularly.
While I lost 30lbs, I just could not lose the remaining 10. It was exceedingly frustrating because I seemed to be doing everything right. Tracking food, eating clean, and being active. And yet I couldn't break the barrier from overweight at 32% bodyfat into normal at 28%. Why couldn't I lose the fat?
I started doing some research with bodybuilders, not because I wanted to be one, but they obviously knew something about shedding fat. I stumbled on the answer: insulin. Insulin is the hormone that turns on fat storage and turns off fat burn.
That lead me to research paleo diets. I eventually found the answer I was looking for with Drs Eades "Protein Power" and Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat". I successfully found the key to the weight loss that eluded me: the lower carb diet.
I pretty much eat the same clean eating I was before with protein and vegetables. The only exception is I no longer try to fit a starch or grain portion with every meal. Simply cutting back starchy carbs and grains was enough to get my weight loss moving in the right direction.
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My recipe blogs here at Spark have received very good feedback, so I've decided to start a new cooking blog called "Shortcut Menus". It's geared towards singles and couples who want to make quick, healthy, single serving meals. I decided to move it to it's own domain because it will allow me some additional creative freedoms on the format and content that I can't do at Spark. Please visit at shortcutmenus.com!
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My Ticker:
| Body Fat %: 27.6 |
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Profile
Member Since: 7/3/2007
SparkPoints: 16,117
Fitness Minutes: 12,839
My Goals:
You have to eat to live, but I don't believe that food should be mere sustenance. Food should be a pleasure to eat as well as healthful. I love to travel, and I don't buy designer bags or clothes - I enjoy regional cuisine and adventure! I want to be able to enjoy food, explore the countryside and be healthy doing it.
My Program:
Low grain/starch and exercise.
- Home cooked meals. One dining out option per week.
- 90g protein minimum
- 80g carbs maximum
- Clean eating - high quality vegetables, protein and fruits
- Minimal processed foods
- Low to no sugars
- Low glycemic fruits
- One serving of breads or starches per day, if desired
- Sweet treat weekly
- One glass of wine or beer per day, if desired
- 30mins moderate exercise 4x per week
- 4 hours extended exercise on weekend (hiking, biking, kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, etc)
Personal Information:
From Colorado originally. I lived 6 wonderful years in Seattle. I am currently located in Savannah, GA.
Other Information:
I'm a software engineer.
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