4 Month's of Paleoism and PRESTO! HE'S KICKING BUTT!

Just about 4 months ago I had a friend of mine write me up an amazing blog post about his beginnings with the Paleo diet. You can read all about my buddy Zech and how his start with his own primal journey began here. I am happy to report that not only has Zech stuck with the Paleo diet for 4 months, he has DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED HIS HEALTH! In fact, the changes are SO DRAMATIC (emphasis required) that I had to dedicate an entire blog post to this guy. Zech and I have been friends for nearly 7 years and he is basically my brother from another mother. Zech has been a great friend, mentor, and all around awesome friend who always keeps me motivated to press onward to my goals. Without further adieu, I’d like to had over the attention to Zechariah Johnson for his amazing 4 month update. Zech, TAKE IT AWAY!

“Since I last wrote about my fitness journey, a lot has changed… for the better. It has now been 4 months into my fitness journey, and I have to say this has completely changed my life in every aspect. Let me show you exactly what has been going on.

Like I had said in my last post, I have a genetic disease and for the past 4 years, nothing had been working to reverse it. I had been getting sicker and sicker and 4 months ago I began my fitness journey with the Paleo diet. Since then, my life has completely changed for the better. 4 months ago, my cholesterol level (which is a huge part of my disease since my body cannot regulate it) was at 900. To give you an idea of how dangerous that is, doctors prescribe statins (a cholesterol-lowing medication) when the level is 200 or greater. My level when they found my disease was 2100- over ten times a lethal amount. People with cholesterol-related heart attacks have levels of around 200. So needless to say, I was very ill.

Since beginning the Paleo diet, I know I have definitely felt better, but I wanted more proof. About 2 weeks ago I had a checkup with my doctor and they ran bloodwork to see what my levels were like. The big thing I didn’t tell my doctor is that I stopped my medication in July- I felt I no longer needed it and the side-effects of statins and fenofibrate are TERRIBLE. They got my labwork back 2 days later and voila, my levels were down to 135- well within normal range.

That’s it for the numbers and such, but what about the effects of Paleo dieting for me plus exercise?

Since beginning to do this, I have been training hard to get my body healthy. Due to the demands of work and not having a vehicle until recently, I was walking and biking EVERYWHERE- I probably put nearly 30 miles into walking a week, and close to 8 miles a week on my bicycle. As of recently I acquired a vehicle and no longer have to walk everywhere, but my training continues on. I train with a 15 pound kettlebell (light in weight, but everyone starts somewhere!) and a 35 pound dumbbell. My training sessions last about 28-34 minutes and I train a maximum of 4 times a week. Before I began training, I could barely lift the kettlebell 5 times from the floor without getting winded. Now I’m able to do some fairly impressive (at least in my eyes) workouts which have been steadily increasing my strength and endurance. This training coupled with the diet I have has transformed my body from being unable to climb 3 flights of stairs to being able to run up 4 flights with ease. I still have weight to lose yet, but I’ve made some impressive progress- I’ve lost 30 pounds of fat in 4 months, and gained about 5 pounds of muscle.”

HOW FREAKING AMAZING IS THIS!?!?!? This just goes to show you that the moment you take a step in the right direction, amazing changes can take place for the better of your health! Zech, great job! I am so proud of you!

Remember to eat smart, train hard, and enjoy your life!

Love Always,

Janelle