My Personal Philosophy
I fully reject the grain-based, fat-phobic food pyramid that has been taught to physicians, health care workers and the general public for the past several decades.
This way of eating has made (and is keeping) us fat, sick, depressed and miserable; while enabling huge multi-national pharmaceutical companies and food processors to turn HUGE profits from our suffering.
And... the diet and fitness industry has done nothing except capitalize on our suffering. Most times, this industry causes more long term damage than anything. Overtraining and ill advised diets often lead to permanent damage to our metabolism and our endocrine systems. Sadly, these industries are loaded with undertrained, incompetent or uncertified personnel who may present themselves as being credible experts. Caveat emptor.
This way of eating has made (and is keeping) us fat, sick, depressed and miserable; while enabling huge multi-national pharmaceutical companies and food processors to turn HUGE profits from our suffering.
And... the diet and fitness industry has done nothing except capitalize on our suffering. Most times, this industry causes more long term damage than anything. Overtraining and ill advised diets often lead to permanent damage to our metabolism and our endocrine systems. Sadly, these industries are loaded with undertrained, incompetent or uncertified personnel who may present themselves as being credible experts. Caveat emptor.
Why I Do This...
When I initiated my business, I really wanted to specialize in weight loss. I have a history of morbid obesity myself, and I thought that this kind of personal experience plus some formal education would be a killer combination for a career as a weight loss councillor. I was wrong.
It seems like people did not want to hear my message about weight loss by returning to our natural diet and making some real lifestyle changes. Rather, the overwhelming majority appeared to want pills, shakes, HCG shots, cabbage soup diet, Master Cleanse diet, Jenny Craig, or any diet plan that promises fast easy weight loss without changing their habits much, if at all.
I simply can not compete with the lies being propagated by the billion dollar weight loss industry. After one year, I decided to change the focus of my business to promoting the Paleo/ancestral diet and lifestyle and the health benefits that it can bring. Incidentally, weight loss is usually a side effect.
I can clearly see that the government, media, processed food manufacturers and billion dollar pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have taken control of our food supply, our health care system and even public and private education.
Information and research about what really constitutes healthy eating is often altered or hidden in order to serve financial agendas or to maintain a good image to the public.
Worst of all, people are becoming sick, injured and are dying because they trust this advice, which is propelled by money and ego.
It seems like people did not want to hear my message about weight loss by returning to our natural diet and making some real lifestyle changes. Rather, the overwhelming majority appeared to want pills, shakes, HCG shots, cabbage soup diet, Master Cleanse diet, Jenny Craig, or any diet plan that promises fast easy weight loss without changing their habits much, if at all.
I simply can not compete with the lies being propagated by the billion dollar weight loss industry. After one year, I decided to change the focus of my business to promoting the Paleo/ancestral diet and lifestyle and the health benefits that it can bring. Incidentally, weight loss is usually a side effect.
I can clearly see that the government, media, processed food manufacturers and billion dollar pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have taken control of our food supply, our health care system and even public and private education.
Information and research about what really constitutes healthy eating is often altered or hidden in order to serve financial agendas or to maintain a good image to the public.
Worst of all, people are becoming sick, injured and are dying because they trust this advice, which is propelled by money and ego.
Now You Know the "Why". Here is the "Who". Photos and Video At The End...
A marketing professional whom I respect once said to me, “ The people who make the very best drug counselors are people who have, at one time, been drug addicts themselves.”
As a child, I was overweight and so endured nearly daily teasing and social isolation from children and adults alike. As statistics predict, with maturity my weight problem became worse.
By age 30, I was morbidly obese with high blood sugars. I was over 100 pounds overweight. My blood sugars were spiking and crashing and my back was giving out.
Vascular disease, heart disease and diabetes run rampant in both sides of my family, and I had seen the effects of poor nutrition and obesity in several of my relatives, both near and distant. I was becoming increasingly terrified for my future health. I knew that I had to get serious, and it had to be now.
Doctors and dieticians were of no help, and well-intentioned friends and family gave misguided advice. I set about to find out the truth about good nutrition and health. What a "needle in a haystack" endeavour that turned out to be.
I followed the Canadian Food Guide. I ate the Special K and drank the skim milk. I ate whole grains, fruits and vegetables. I ate low fat, then I tried high fat. I tried eating more, then tried starving the fat off by eating 2 apples a day for weeks. I did the “Diabetic Diet”. I did virtually all of the diets… the big ‘diet chains’, the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet. I ate all of the 'diet foods'. I read all of the diet books. I exercised until I vomited. I did hours of cardio, HIIT, lifted heavy weights. In my mid 30's, I even managed to lose enough weight to compete as an amateur bodybuilder at a few local shows. I lost the weight only to gain it back, plus more every time.
I had to un-learn a lot of bad information that I had picked up over the years from TV (now made worse by such personalities as Dr. Oz), magazines, news reports, people around me, the diet industry and even trusted professionals. Plus, like everyone else, my eating habits were engrained from birth.
After completing a Certified Holistic Nutrition program (C.H.N), health and wellness certs and attending seminars and taking more courses in evolutionary biology, I found out that...
The truth was actually not right in front of me. Rather, it was behind me. About 10,000 years behind me.
As a child, I was overweight and so endured nearly daily teasing and social isolation from children and adults alike. As statistics predict, with maturity my weight problem became worse.
By age 30, I was morbidly obese with high blood sugars. I was over 100 pounds overweight. My blood sugars were spiking and crashing and my back was giving out.
Vascular disease, heart disease and diabetes run rampant in both sides of my family, and I had seen the effects of poor nutrition and obesity in several of my relatives, both near and distant. I was becoming increasingly terrified for my future health. I knew that I had to get serious, and it had to be now.
Doctors and dieticians were of no help, and well-intentioned friends and family gave misguided advice. I set about to find out the truth about good nutrition and health. What a "needle in a haystack" endeavour that turned out to be.
I followed the Canadian Food Guide. I ate the Special K and drank the skim milk. I ate whole grains, fruits and vegetables. I ate low fat, then I tried high fat. I tried eating more, then tried starving the fat off by eating 2 apples a day for weeks. I did the “Diabetic Diet”. I did virtually all of the diets… the big ‘diet chains’, the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet. I ate all of the 'diet foods'. I read all of the diet books. I exercised until I vomited. I did hours of cardio, HIIT, lifted heavy weights. In my mid 30's, I even managed to lose enough weight to compete as an amateur bodybuilder at a few local shows. I lost the weight only to gain it back, plus more every time.
I had to un-learn a lot of bad information that I had picked up over the years from TV (now made worse by such personalities as Dr. Oz), magazines, news reports, people around me, the diet industry and even trusted professionals. Plus, like everyone else, my eating habits were engrained from birth.
After completing a Certified Holistic Nutrition program (C.H.N), health and wellness certs and attending seminars and taking more courses in evolutionary biology, I found out that...
The truth was actually not right in front of me. Rather, it was behind me. About 10,000 years behind me.
My Own Transformation...
The photos and video below tell the story better than I can...
To be fair, I lost 110 pounds on my own, and weighed 140 pounds. From there, a trainer was used to guide me through the contest preparation dieting and dehydration. This process took an additional 15 pounds off and got me on stage at 125 pounds.