I would guess that most SurvivalBlog readers would agree that the mind, including state of mind and skill set, is one’s most important asset during TEOTWAWKI. Additionally, I would argue that being physically fit runs a very close second place. I have always been a prepper to a certain degree; even before I had ever heard the term. However in the back of my mind I knew that my body would not make it far even if my family’s survival depended upon it. In addition to being pre-diabetic, I was taking medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I subtly tried to acquire a stock of my medications from my doctor, but was unable to secure more than a few months’ supply. I also spoke to my doctor about my weight and he mentioned that I should take a look at the South Beach Diet. I bought the book and the ideas sounded reasonable. However, I failed to act upon the information until in January 2010, when after several years of working in front of a computer monitor, I hit 300 pounds. I decided that day that I would not gain another pound and I would do everything in my power to regain my fitness.
In my youth, I had been a muscular 200 pounds at 5 foot 11 inches, and I thought that I would never see that level of fitness again especially now that I am in my forties. After all, I had eliminated soda, and started eating more salads and less fatty foods all to no avail. A few years back I had lost quite a bit of weight while on the Atkins diet, but the way I had implemented it was very unhealthy. In fact I developed gout from the all of the red meat I was eating. Once I went back to my old habits, the gout never returned, but I regained all of the weight I had lost and more. Exercise had proven to be even more of a challenge because I was perpetually tired. It’s amazing how just a day at the office can exhaust you when you are carrying an extra hundred plus pounds.
In my mind diets always represented a short-term state. The problem is that as soon as you stop dieting, even if you had reached your goal, you begin to regain the weight because you go back to your old habits. In order to be successful at permanently losing weight, I knew I would have to make lifestyle changes. I studied the Paleo diet and the South Beach diet. I even revisited the Atkins diet, which had even been revised since the time I had tried it to be more healthy. I found a growing body of evidence that avoiding fast carbohydrates and embracing good fats in moderation would cause you to lose weight, balance blood cholesterol as well as blood sugar. In fact, the low-fat, grain based diet that has been advanced by the FDA, which I had believed in as gospel, could actually have been working against me.
The main concept of this movement (at least to the extent of my understanding) is that your body will burn carbohydrates first until they are gone and then it will burn the fats. The more carbs you have in your diet, the less likely it is that you will burn significant amounts of fat. When your body absorbs carbs it produces insulin to break down the sugars, and if you intake a significant amount of carbs that can be quickly absorbed by your body your blood will get a huge spike in insulin to help burn those carbs. Once the carbs have been processed you still have the insulin in our blood, which will cause you to crave even more carbs. The resulting situation can be self-perpetuating and quite addictive. Some sources of quick carbohydrates that I expected to see were sugared soda and sweets. Other sources were more of a surprise such as white flour, white rice, potatoes and fruit juice. As it turns out, while fruit juice is much healthier, it puts just as much sugar into your system as soda and just as quickly. Once you have stopped yourself from riding this carb pendulum, your body will start to process fats, which will naturally lower cholesterol and help you to lose weight.
I started by eliminating almost all carbs from my diet for the first two weeks to break myself from the carb addiction. Meals consisted lean meats, cheese, and lots of green vegetables. I avoided anything made from grains, beans, fruits, and milk. During this time, I was not concerned that I probably ate even more calories than before I started. I felt that I was missing something from my diet and I was trying to make up for it. By the end of those first two week, I had lost 10 to 15 pounds without counting a calorie or working out, and I was starting to get used to the staples of my new way of eating.
After those first weeks, I started to add a serving of slow carbs each day such as beans, a slice of 100% whole wheat bread, a bowl of oatmeal, brown rice. Be careful with bread and especially more processed foods. Many “wheat” breads still have enriched white flour in them, and most processed foods have an incredible amount of added sugars and other hidden carbs. If you are not eating a whole food, it is imperative that you read every label. You will be absolutely shocked at what you find. I also tried to avoid any carbs first thing in the morning, which helps to lower the possibility of a spike in blood sugar.
By the first couple of months, I had lost about 40 pounds, and began eating smaller portions. I was still not counting calories or letting myself feel starved. If I had cheated, then I just restarted the next day. But, I didn’t cheat that much because I was seeing some serious results, and I wanted to see more. Additionally, I was feeling much better, had more energy, and started to walk every day. A visit to my doctor around this time revealed that my blood pressure had dropped and my cholesterol was spot on for the first time since it had been measured in spite of my long history of taken satins to lower it. As a result the doctor took me off of half of my medications for blood pressure, and reduced the amount of statins that I was taking.
About this time, my wife, who was seeing similar results, and I decided to plan a backpacking trip for midsummer. We knew we would have to work hard to prepare, but all of the hiking and workouts we did in preparation started to seem much more like fun than work. Just before leaving for our trip, I visited the doctor again. By this time I had lost about 70 pounds. My blood pressure was perfect as was my cholesterol. I was allowed to discontinue both medications altogether as long as I promised to self-monitor my blood pressure and go in for regular check-ups to monitor the cholesterol. To this day both my blood pressure and cholesterol are right where they should be without the help of medications.
As it turns out, our backpacking trip went without a hitch, with one exception: we had significantly underestimated how fit we had become, and could have traveled quite a bit more distance than we planned.
Today I have lost a total of 95 pounds, and I have added weight training in the last few months. I find that I actually enjoy exercise now that I have energy and my body has become used to it. The remaining weight has been a bit more difficult to lose, but I am building lean muscle. I am within five pounds of my original goal, and I can comfortably hike all day with a 40 pound pack. Well, okay, I am mostly comfortable. I still get sore feet and am glad to sit down at the end of the trail, but the hike is enjoyable and not a strain.
Now that I am close to maintenance weight and have started weight training I have been changing my diet to reflect that fact. I now eat 2 or 3 servings of slow carbs a day including whole fruits. I also try to limit the meat portion of each meal to the size of a pack of cards while each plate is ¾ vegetables. In fact I now eat much of the things that we have in our food storage, such as dried vegetables, canned or in season, dried or canned beans, whole wheat, whole oats, and dried, frozen or canned meats. The closest we come to eating processed foods is bread, which we still eat in moderation.
I intended this article to show others what is possible. It was not possible in an article of this length to fully cover all of the topics you will need to be successful. If these ideas sound interesting, please spend some time studying how to implement a healthy low-carb diet, and discuss your findings with your doctor. I have found The South Beach Diet