My Whole30 PLUS Journey

[curtintex]

I posted this on the Workout Accountabilty thread, but didn't want to muddy up that great thread with my stuff. I don't post this being prideful, but hopeful that some other lazy-*** will get up and get committed to fixing your situation too.

Over the last few years, I've gotten lazy. It was like I turned 50 and the **** wheels fell off. I'm super disciplined in every aspect of my life....except my health. If I treated my businesses like I do my body, it would be a bad situation. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and I was indulging in too much good food, too much good wine, and too much good whiskey. I was neglecting to workout and was seeing the affects of such. My flexibility is trash. I was losing the raw strength that I've alway had. I'd gained about 50 pounds over the last 10 years. It sneaks up on you when you only average 5-7 pounds per year. I found myself ashamed of the way I was feeling and the actions that caused it. I needed a change.

My wife is very focused on health...especially mine. She's convinced I had a foot in the grave and one on a banana peel. The biggest obstacle was when I recently got recommended to take BP meds to lower my BP. She said she didn't marry me so that she could live our Golden Years alone or taking care of sick old man. She's bossy, but pretty hot, so I listened.


We got a late Start, but on January 15th, We decided to get serious and committed to 30 days of discipline.

-Weights Every Morning (Rest on Sunday)
-30 Min Cardio Every Afternoon
-Cold Plunge Everyday (She's a great negotiator)
-Pray together Everyday
-Read Everyday
-Journal Everyday
-Sex Everyday (I too am a great negotiator)
-No Alcolol
-No Sugar
-No Dairy
-No Processed Foods
-No Grain
-No Legumes
-No Gluten
-No Weigh-ins

Basically a Whole30 eating plan which only allows clean protein, vegetables, fruits, etc. The reason for that eating plan is just support for my wife, who's trying to figure out what is causing her stomach issues. I figure it won't hurt me to eat right either. Been eating a lot of Elk, deer, potatoes, eggs, veggies, chicken and fish. Been taking my lunch to work instead of hitting the local restaurants. Drinking only coffee (with date syrup for sweetner) and water. I'm trying to keep a calorie deficit of at least 500cal per day, but so far it's been closer to 1000cal per day. I'm not tracking macros yet, but with what I'm eating, I'm pretty satisfied that I'm in the range I want to be to build muscle and lose weight. This week has been pretty easy besides the soreness and the cold plunge which is a mind****.

Today is day 10 and I'm killing it. I feel great, but but last week I was pretty sore. I haven't had any of the withdrawal symptoms that some do, and that's surprising considering that I like whiskey and wine and sweet tea and sugar in my coffee and I thought I missed tortillas until my wife made some using cassava flour and olive oil....**** they're good. I check my BP everyday, and I **** you not, it has gone down almost every single day. The day I started, it was 167/111. Yesterday it was 134/84. I'm still taking the BP meds, but my goal is to be shed of them by March.

I'm committed to the 30days, but I'm really trying to create good habits that I once had and let slip away.

Workouts are:

	Mon/Thur
Bench Press/Incline Bench Press	4	12
Cable Tricep Extensions	4	12
Shoulder Press	4	12
Wrist Curls	4	12
Cruches	4	12
	Tues/Fri
Squats/Sumo Squats	4	12
Calf Raises	4	12
Romanian Deadlifts	4	12
Reverse Lunges/Donkey Kicks	4	12
Leg Raises	4	12
	Wed/Sat
Curls	4	12
Lat Pulls	4	12
Seated Rows/Mower Cranks	4	12
Shrugs	4	12
Cruches	4	12

Keep ole Curt and Jennie in your prayers. God knows we need the prayers and you probably need the practice.

[WItoTX]

Nice work! Always love hearing folks get healthy. There is no need to spend our older ages going from malady to malady!

On your cold plunge, what is your set up?

You won't believe me. But after a month, the "fun" wears off, and that is where the rubber meets the road.

Good luck, looking forward to updates!

[OleTomTalker]

Well played sir!

[7sdad]

Hiking in the mountains let you know real fast how had of shape you're in.

[TildenHunter]

Congrats. Will make Elk season a hell of a lot more fun!

[SaltwaterSlick]

Great job Curt!! I did similar to you a little over a year ago... shed over 2 sacks of corn!! For you who don't have an idea of how it feels to get fit, next time you go to fill feeders pick up a 50 pound sack of corn under each arm and carry it around with you for a while. That's what I was toting around with me 24/7/365... I have more energy, feel better and my old worn out joints feel so much better from my feet to my neck! Mine all started with blood pressure issues too... med that I'd been taking 15 years quit working and docs started to "experiment" with new and additional meds... I was helping my bride with all this gardening and we were growing good, healthy food... It finally hit me, "well dang stupid, eat what you're growing instead of grazing out of a box or package from HEB!! Guess what, it worked!!

I applaud you Curt, both you and Jennie.... Edie and I feel like newly weds, and at 71 that's no small task!! We thank the Lord every day for that! Will include you two in our prayers too, please add us to y'all's list too!

[rut-ro]

Need to hit it hard. Ill join ya Curt

[Chew]

Nice work, Curt & Jenn! I'm in the same boat. My doctor told me to do what Curt is doing. I told him that I didn't think Curt and his wife would appreciate me at their house every day. Keep it up and looking forward to the updates!

[salth2o]

good plan.

wake up. kick ***. repeat

[curtintex]

On your cold plunge, what is your set up?

We have a cold plunge tub, that my wife has had for about 3mo. However, our pool has been between 45-55deg the last two weeks, so that’s been our cold plunge.

The tub is really nice though and keeps it a constant temp. Had to drain it for the freeze, so the pool was a nice backup.

[lanceodom]

Attaboy!!! Whole 30 works!!!

[rut-ro]

We have a cold plunge tub, that my wife has had for about 3mo. However, our pool has been between 45-55deg the last two weeks, so that’s been our cold plunge.

The tub is really nice though and keeps it a constant temp. Had to drain it for the freeze, so the pool was a nice backup.

How do you plunge after the tub? What brand you got?

[Drycreek3189]

Kudos to you, but edit your post. Take the word “pretty” out of “pretty hot” and add “really” before your wife sees this or you may never surface after the plunge !

[Hogmauler]

I like it. Our gym has a new machine. Used it about 20 minutes and was sick. Great machine though It had chicklets M&M,s Baby Ruth’s and every kind of chip you can think of!

[Michael]

Way to go, Curt (and Jennie!) Kudos to Charlie, as well! I alluded to it in the other thread, but I started working on my health and nutrition last April and fairly promptly shed 30 pounds. I've modified my goals and processes over the past 9 months, but I feel like I've (mostly) dialed in my habits...although after reading through your list, I may need to renegotiate one specific item!

If you haven't already, I'd recommend you add the book "Outlive" by Peter Attia to your reading list. It changed the way I look at exercise, nutrition and medicine as I get older (especially the need to add muscle mass and increase endurance (VO2 max) while I can.)

Initially, I was "results oriented" and simply wanted to lose a lot of weight as quickly as I could. I knew that seeing tangible results on the scale would keep me motivated. I essentially ate OMAD for the first two months (strict "clean" keto the first month and then more of a low carb Mediterranean "style" after that.) I stopped OMAD after reaching my target in order to get more distributed protein intake (I'm shooting for 1g per pound of body weight daily.)

I had already been doing a lot of walking/jogging/rucking but I stepped up the intensity, mostly by increasing my running volume and also adding weight to rucks (partly in anticipation of my Colorado elk hunt.) I sprinkled in some occasional lifting, but I found it was easier just to just go for a 30-60 minute run and call it good. By the last couple of months of 2023, I was running 12-15 miles per week.

For 2024, I decided to emphasize adding back some muscle mass, while still trying to improve my VO2 max. I started that process in earnest on 1/8, with the goal of lifting fairly heavy 4x per week (2x lower/2x upper) and running 3x per week (weather/travel have hampered my running more than I'd like.) I also have a goal of 15k steps every day (I'm averaging about 13k per day YTD.) I was also challenged to do 100 pushups per day for January. I've done that every day, and actually bumped that to 120/day on 1/15 and 150/day.

I'm no longer following any specific "diet", but I am focusing on simple (but specific), nutrient dense, WHOLE foods that provide me with the micronutrients that my body requires. A few specifics that I'm targeting include:

• Rehydration first thing in the morning
  • I drink 12oz glass water with ACV, another 12 oz glass with fiber and wash it down with a third glass of water very first thing every morning
  • Electrolyes - I make a large cup (Rtic mug) of ice water with electrolyes (Jocko Hydrate or LMNT) to drink throughout the morning
• Creatine - 5g/day (typically mixed in with my electrolytes)
• Grounding
• Morning sunlight exposure (if it'll ever quit raining)
• No coffee/caffeine before 9am
• 150-180g protein (spread over 4-5 feedings)
  • try to eat 2-3 farm fresh eggs every day
  • sardines/salmon at least 3x during the week
  • venison liver at least 1x per week
  • I eat quite a bit of ground venison, sausage and made a lot of jerky for protein snacks
  • supplement with clean whey protein for additional intake
• Emphasis on healthy fats
  • Avocado pretty much every day
  • yolks from egg consumption
  • I typically cook with a good olive oil, some grass fed butter or rendered tallow
• "Earn my carbs"
• Daily probiotics - usually kefir or sauerkraut
• Daily "movement" goals
  • 15k steps
  • 100 pushups
  • 100 air squats
• Lift 4x week
• Run 10-12 miles/week
• 5 or less alcoholic drinks/week (I usually don't drink at all during the week)
• Sleep 7+ hours/day

These are some of the things that I have found are pretty sustainable for me. I try to adhere to these pretty strictly during the week, but I also give myself permission to deviate a little when I'm in a social, work or family setting where I wouldn't want special accommodations.

Sorry for the long winded post, but it helps me keep myself accountable when I can put it down in writing. Thanks for posting this thread, Curt. It (along with the others that have contributed) helps keep me motivated to keep working on my health!