It has been sometime since I last posted on my blog, however I’ve recently had an unusual experience which has inspired me to sit down and write out this short blog post.
So I feel I should give a bit of background to the story.
In 2018 I weighed a colossal twenty stone plus, I was a big boy, certainly wasn’t concerned about my weight or any form of exercise.
I was, however, concerned with eating and enjoying all of the finer foods in life, you know, like pizza, kebabs, alcohol and whole lot more, sometimes in a single night.
One would think that the birth of my son in 2013 would of woken up to the reality that I was getting bigger by the day, only it didn’t, in fact as you can see it took 5 more years before I finally started to take action.
Sowing the seed
I won’t bore you with all the details, so I’ll give a rough outline.
2018, weighing over 20 stone, I started on the couch to 5k journey, I could barely run a single minute.
My diet still wasn’t right, I was still eating burgers, massive rolls of bacon, eggs and hash-browns all of which just seemed too difficult to pass-up.
I had to get serious, and so I dived into high fibre foods, low to no fat and slowly made healthier choices. I gave myself one job, if I lost weight one week I’d buy myself a 32g bag of chocolate buttons, and that’s how it went on for 12 -18 months.
Over the next 6 years I’d invest time, money and resources into turning my weight from a 20 stone fat ass into a man, that today, likes to think he has more muscle than he does fat.
I invested in workout gear, gym sessions and a PT. I experimented with my diet, high fibre wasn’t cutting it anymore, so that got kicked and over time I began to eat more and more meat, high fats, high protein and low carb foods.
I found myself not only thinking clearer, but having more energy, feeling stronger and more confident in both my mental health and physical wellbeing. My focus at work improved.
3 years later…
Hell Fresh
This week I wanted to see if there were alternative ways to getting high protein meals into my system.
I did a Google search and up popped Hello Fresh, I thought great lets give them a whirl, made my choices, high protein, high fat, low carb and paid my £17 for the first sample box.
My concerns were first realised when I took the items out of the box, the meat you could hold in your hand. In with the meat was also all the parts you needed to make the sauces to accompany the meat.
I should add, I didn’t check the nutritional information, had I of done, I probably would have saved myself time and the discomfort that would follow.
Sunday night, myself and my fiancee gave the first dish a go, the Honey Sesame Beef Stir fry, it was really easy to make and the smells were like something you’d expect to get in a Chinese restaurant, honestly the food smelt divine.
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It was good, the high carbs did concern me, but the amount of protein in this meal I thought brill let’s see how we get on. That night I was bloated to hell, and that night was up and down to the toilet, urinating. I persevered and thought lets give tomorrows dish a go.
Monday night I dived into the Tandoori Spiced Chicken Tikka Masala with all the rice, again another lovely meal but my god was my stomach protruding.
The run
Each morning I either run or workout, this morning it was a run day and as I started to walk, I still felt bloated, the night before I had been up and down to the loo, urinating sometimes twice an hour.
I had already had thoughts that perhaps eating Hello Fresh wasn’t a good idea, and as I ran I began to think about the sauces, the amount of carbohydrates, stabilisers and other ingredients within them. It would certainly explain the urination all night.
As the day went on, I began to feel more and more sluggish, urinating hadn’t slowed down, I felt muzzy headed, in fact my head was hurting. I began to realise I had felt this way before, 6 years ago when I was that twenty odd stone fat ass, back then I’d simply have a nap or tuck into a a bag of jellies . I drank over a gallon of water to replace the fluids lost and ate nuts and a banana to try and stabilise whatever was going on.
This evening, I pulled the plug on my Hello Fresh experienced, headed to Tescos and grabbed myself the biggest steak and avocado I could find.
The impact was almost immediate, I didn’t feel as tired, I started to feel a little sharper and more focused so much so that I was able to do this blog post this evening.
Conclusion
For me, Hello Fresh isn’t an option, I have realised that over the years I have converted my body into a full on carnivore.
Not only do I feel good on a high protein, high fat, low carb diet but I also lose weight and over the years have built muscle and endurance.
It has helped me in business as well by staying focused on tasks until they are completed, able to work longer and harder and do so much more with the energy that a carnivore diet can provide.
My body isn’t a temple, at least not yet, but if this trial of Hello Fresh has taught me one thing, it is that there is no way back to being 20 odd stone.