When the early stages of puberty hit around age 8 I went from a scrawny little kid to a fat little kid over the summer. My folks said that it was like I had discovered food for the first time. Since both my folks were overweight it was normal. I spent my childhood semi active, but overweight. Never active enough to counter my parents need to never let us go hungry. They were babies in the Depression, and then made it through WWII on hand-me-downs and ration cards. My mom spent WWII in an orphanage even though she was not an orphan. Lots of starving going on back then. All that resulted in two kids being raised with seconds and thirds of what ever was made for dinner. Being kind of poor middle class we ate lots of game/fish, gardens where we could, and lots of pasta.
When I left home to go to college I went from 165 down to 143 by Christmas. All the old fat ladies on Adak were mad at me and wanted to know what my secrete was. I was more active mostly rather than eating healthy. Over the next several years I fluctuated from 150 up to 165 every few years. Then came a year in the gym with a college friend that was a personal trainer. She stuck me on a regulated food system based on basic sports nutrition programs. Eating based on workout timing and types. In seven months I was the fittest I had ever been. The hardest part was getting up at 5am to get to the gym before work. I was sexy. The women noticed. I got married. She changed her mind about marriage and walked away. Downward spiral until I was north of 250. Self medicated my depression with pizza and beer.
The first couple of years of being obese were easy, but then came strange health issues. Back problems. Headaches that did not respond to pain killers until I was at overdose levels. My doc was pretty much useless. The medical testing showed me to be healthy. How can a morbidly obese man have medical tests showing he is healthy? Doc just shrugged it off and showed no curiosity about my health issues vs the great test results. At this time I was eating what I would call SHAD - standard healthy american diet. Vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, brown rice, etc. I was no longer gaining weight but was still obese. I did eat out too much as my divorce killed my love of cooking.
When my mom became seriously ill from diabetes and had to be put into a home, I started to do more research. I found enough positive mentions of the paleo diet having resolved similar health issues to mine that I decided to buy a book and give it a shot. In just the first week everything changed. I was completely shocked. "Health" cannot be this simple.
My mysterious health issues like the headaches were just the first signs of insulin resistance. Another indicator of insulin resistance was being famished or starving with massive hunger pains a few hours after eating a meal that included carbs. Step one in becoming a diabetic. Weekly issues gone in a matter of a few days of changing what I ate. In May 2012 I had a BMI stating I was just shy of morbidly obese at 248. By September I was 203. I went from being uncomfortable walking/hiking more than a mile, to being able to do walking lunges for 50 yards across a field - multiple times a day. Air squats were easy. And then during an 8 mile long beach hike while bear hunting I learned the younger guy with me was struggling to keep up.
I continue to be healthy, but have found the hidden issues with paleo. Its too easy and I eat too many nuts. Those are the only issues with it. Now I just need to be more physically active to support the fat loss. It has repaired my love of cooking as well.
I could post up a hole bunch of info on paleo, but I won't. It will not be complete data, and thus not helpful. I recommend getting a book. Either
Mark Sisson's or
Robb Wolf's.. Then check out Dr. Peter Attia at the
Eating Academy. I also recommend The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Dr. Phinney and Dr Volek. This book is awesome.
Actually "check out" is the wrong thing to say. You have to get a book and read it. Checking things out will not help you. Solid factual information will.