OMG, I cannot believe that it has been one year since I made the decision to stop being sick and fat and embark on living a Primal/Paleo lifestyle. I have much to reflect on and so many people to thank, and also update my progress numbers and pictures, so you can scroll down for all that stuff and just cut to the info, but I hope you read my reflection because the many people that I have come to call friends, will be all linked up along the post!

I began my journey on 4/28/11.  This after spending all day on 4/27/11 reading Mark’s Daily Apple’s site.  As you know I am a Type 2 Diabetic and was really down and stressed out and wanted so very much not to be taking drugs the rest of my life being diabetic.  The article that changed my life was Mark’s easy to read Definitive Guide to Diabetes (and you’ll understand it).  You can read that here.  After reading that article, I instantly decided that I would give up all grains/sugar/soy/processed foods and begin my new “diet” (no idea yet this would have been a lifestyle).   I had no clue other than being a former Atkins low carb person (which I had the most success with as a diet), but because I believed the conventional wisdom of so many saying it wasn’t healthy or it’ll kill you eating all that meat, I gave that up almost 7 years earlier.  Anyway, after reading the article from MDA on diabetes, and the 8 hours worth of links from all over, I was set, I would never eat grains or junk processed foods ever again!! What the hell was I thinking? No more Pizza, cakes, cookies, diet soda, splenda goodies and all that tasty stuff.  Nope I was done!! I was gung ho, and set that I would do it.  I told my wife that evening that I was going to stop eating all grains, read all this info, and I was gonna cure my diabetes doing it!! Needless to say it was a bit bumpy with my new eating way and I was a bit preachy in the beginning.  (Ok a lot a bit preachy LOL!!)

My wife Kathy being my supportive and understanding wife of almost 20 years now, yes I know our Anniversary date (June 27 LOL!) knowing we couldn’t afford to eat both Primal/Paleo and SAD (budget wise) also would eat as close to what I did as possible.  My sons Jake & Ryan, being 15 at the time, weren’t really on board, weren’t too happy with not having their goodies, but knew that they had to eat whatever was in the house, so as the year went along, after many conversations, and some emotional ones at that, we decided that it would be up to them to make the best choices they could for themselves, and as they are not 100% we still buy a couple loaves of bread and 1 box of pasta a week, but for the most part, they all eat everything I do.  They understand the choices they make with food and when going out, they still will have bread on their burgers, or have pizza, and I am ok with that because ultimately it is my choice to eat this way, and they will figure it out for themselves some day.  Neither of them are overweight, Ryan is on the Varsity Football team and Jake goes with me to CrossFit, and Kathy works out many days a week, so they are all very health and fitness conscious and getting stronger each day!  Everyone has seen the benefits of “cleaner” eating.  Ryan just hit the 1000 club with his team workouts with a 265lb Bench Press, 215lb Power Clean, 350lb Back Squat, and a 7:06 mile run.  1 point is given for every second under a 10 minute mile.  So he earned 174 points for the mile, hitting 1004 total for the 1000lb club.  He was quite excited and his coach is as well.  Jake is also doing very well with CrossFit, he is learning all the lifts, and is strong on his own.  His body is changing and he is consistently beating the old man during the WOD’s, so I have officially relinquished my video game title to them, and while still stronger in some areas, their fitness level is far superior to the old man!! LOL!! I love you boys!! You make me so proud and I’ll keep going as long as I can to keep up with you.  I couldn’t have achieved what I have done this past year without the support and love of my family!! I love you so very much.

Those first few months, I was a sponge (still am) needing to find everything I could on this way of eating.  I read, and read, blog after blog, page after page, Mark Sisson, Robb Wolf, Gary Taubes, Loren Cordain, and countless other bloggers, reading reading reading.  After a couple weeks I was ALL IN.  I was still taking my 2 medications for my diabetes, but after 2 weeks my BG had already dropped 45 points!! I was getting fasting readings in the 140′s!!! I knew then I would never eat any other way again, and I stopped taking my drugs.  It all made sense!

I was a bit down because I only wished I had stuck with Atkins and then maybe I wouldn’t have ever become diabetic, but as I have learned in this life, no regrets, only choices.   We choose how we eat, we are responsible for our actions, and ultimately responsible for finding the knowledge to serve us best in this life.  My eyes had been opened, and I wanted to share it with anyone who would listen, and believe me, it wasn’t many.  I would post info on my profile on facebook, and people would tell me at work I was crazy (however I did manage to get one of my work friends to try it), and so I thought, ya know, I am going to create a page to chronicle my journey and share all the food pics/scientific/primal/paleo info I could find, and if people didn’t like what I posted on my profile, they didn’t have to like my page.  Big Tim’s Primal Journey was born 5/11/11.  On that day I also found the greatest group on Facebook.  The IPMG (International Paleo Movement Group).  I also decided to blog my journey as well, thus this site was born as well.

I quickly felt that I found nirvana!! All these paleo/primal people, led by Karen Pendergrass of Paleo Approved.   Every one sharing their stories, asking questions, sharing info, progress pictures, recipes, food porn and wow I belonged here!  I would answer questions based on my (extensive 2 + weeks of research) LOL,  and I got to talking with Karen and we became friends, and after about a month, she saw how active I was in the group and asked me if I would help her Admin the group.  I happily accepted.  I posted my facebook page and people were coming and liking, and commenting, and after 1 month, I had almost 300 likes!! I couldn’t believe it.  People want the info I’m sharing, they like what I have to say, it’s surreal!! It’s Awesome!! I also found and friended George Bryant of Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.  George is an active duty United States Marine sharing his love for food, cooking and now photography with his loyal followers 21,000+ now on his facebook page, and the thousands who follow his blog, and he has become one of my best paleo brothers.   We have shared recipes, collaborated on a few, and he is responsible for introducing me to Megan of MM Livestock where we get our awesome Pastured meat and BACON from!!  (More on that in a bit).   I thank you each and every day George for your service and our friendship.  You are an amazing inspiration and hell of a good guy I am proud to call a friend!

I also found James Gregory and Kristin Jekielek’s Fast Paleo.com  A recipe sharing site for Paleo people!! How cool was this idea?!  Wow, I uploaded several of my recipes and they would feature them as their ROD’s recipe of the day!! I thought that was the coolest thing ever!! I shared them,  blogged about them, they would share it to my page, more and more people would like my page, and it was such a network of internet sharing, I was amazed how fast things move.  James and Kristin have been such awesome supporters, and while they have gone their separate ways with James continuing to build fast paleo, and I wish both of them amazing success as you follow your dreams!!  You are my friends and we shall meet some day!

Speaking of meetings, as I said, George introduced me to Megan McDowell of MM Livestock Co.  We started chatting through facebook, and set up a meeting where I would go down and see her farm and talk about the operation of getting me some Grass Fed meat, oh yea and Bacon!!  I went down in the middle of July, and met with Megan, toured her farm, and she gave me some samples of meats and bacon, and I bought some steaks from her too.  Got home, made the steaks, and wow, really, this is what Grass Fed meat is??!! I couldn’t believe it.  It was amazing.  And the Bacon, whoa!! Nothing has ever tasted so good.  I ordered 1/4 cow from her, and I have been getting my meat from her ever since.  We have also begun talks for me to help her with her business side of it, and hopefully that will get going here soon.  She is becoming very popular, and it’s time to take it to the next level.

As I continued to share things, post results, pictures of food, more and more people liked my page, sent me friend requests, and I am proud to have so many in my “Paleo” family whom I consider friends.  Even virtually, I love you all, and thank you for your support and conversations.  You help motivate me as much as you tell me that I do the same for you.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

So….get to the point already!! RESULTS!!

After 30 days I dropped 17 lbs, dropped 65 points on my fasting morning blood glucose numbers, and I was no longer taking any meds for my diabetes!! I knew then that I could beat this disease of stupidity. (my own).  As I said earlier.  I’M ALL IN! For the first 7 months I made progress, and at month 7, I was down 50 lbs.  Wow!! This was 11/28/11.  December started off great, I dropped another 4lbs the 1st 2 weeks.  Well, I wasn’t sure how the holidays were gonna go.  I knew I wasn’t gonna eat like I did in previous years, the endless treats, cookies, chocolate, parties, alcohol, bad food, but I did attend a Christmas party and had a bit too much to drink over the weekend of the 17th and that wasn’t a good thing the next day…LOL!!  Well that kind of spiraled into the rest of the month where even though I still was eating mostly Paleo, I was a bit lax in my food choices, too much cheese & dark chocolate, along with my wife making some awesome Paleoish treats, cookies, some primalized pecan pies, lemon cheesecakes, and I even had my mom’s traditional spritz cookies (she brings me a tin every year just for me on Christmas day), so yea while I was better than any year previously, it wasn’t strict by any means.  The last 2 weeks were the start of my plateau.

My parents, my brother and sister in law came over for Christmas Dinner and it was totally Paleo.  Tri-Tip, Turkey, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus and garlic mashed sweet potatoes.  Everyone LOVED it!! No one was bloated, or over full, we took many pics, had lots of laughs, and it was just an awesome day.    But, overall for December, I gained that 4lbs I had lost in the early part of the month + 3 more by the end of the month, and saw my first regression in progress so far.  :-(

In January, February, March, I kept dropping and gaining the same 10lbs over and over.  I was officially STALLED.  Many factors (EXCUSES) during that time contributed.  The first 2 weeks of March were really hectic, I wasn’t working out as much, wasn’t super strict with my food, and on March 12th  I started a Whole 30 program with my Full Force CrossFit box, and we had many interested in starting a paleo challenge, and I was strict for 2 weeks.  Dropped that stubborn 10lbs and was finally back at my 50lb point at month 7.  CrossFit has changed my body in so many ways and I thank the many awesome peeps at my box for helping me achieve amazing things!!

After 2 weeks strict, we moved on the 31st of March (not proud to say we had to short sale our house, but hey shit happens), and the stress of the move and getting everything into storage and the new place took it’s toll, and I started eating dairy again, and I had managed to stay right around the 50 down mark thru the end of March when we moved on the 31st.The first couple weeks of April, I was drinking a lot of coffee, drinking tea all day long, eating lots of cheese and dark chocolate,  and I started to itch quite a bit.  My skin on my chest area has a hive type rash and I said, I had to give up caffeine and dairy for good, (or at least for a good while) I saw George’s post on his 21 Day sugar detox results with Diane Sanfilippo’s 21 Day Sugar Detox program, and he was gonna go for a 2nd round.

Diane runs Balanced Bites, and she has given so much to this community inspiring so many with her podcasts and free info, and I wanted to do the challenge with George so last Sunday 4/22/12 I got Diane’s program read it from beginning to end, and I stopped all sugar (dark chocolate) caffeine, dairy, no cheese, no heavy cream, milk sugar is still sugar!  Well during this week I dropped another 5lbs, to get to where I am right now, and I have a ton of energy and feel great.  My rash has calmed down, but not totally gone away yet, but I see progress.  This is always an evolving process and I will continue to improve and grow and I see myself hitting my goal of 220 by my birthday in July  I am currently studying to become a Nutrition and Weight Loss Consultant, and will achieve my certifications by the end of the year, and I have so many people to thank for helping me realize that this is what I want to do in my life.  I want to help as many people as possible be the healthiest they can be.

So, I’m getting close to linking my stats, but I want to share the most awesome story of all of this.  You all have seen how my Blood Glucose numbers have dropped doing my journey, I have never really had super low morning fasting numbers right when I wake up.  I had always had the “dawn phenomenon” that many diabetics have, where most normal people their sugar is lowest as soon as you wake up.  Well for some diabetics, this isn’t the case, my BG was always higher when I first woke up.  My numbers I posted were always right before I ate my first meal which would be up to 6 or so hours after I got up.  This was always my lowest reading.  When I first got up it was always 20 to 30 points or so higher.  Strange, but true.  I actually hadn’t taken my BG for at least a month while we were moving.  I knew from previous months, I would be normal under 100 within a couple hours of eating as my readings had been good for the past 10 months or so.   Anyway, yesterday morning I said ok, If I’ve truly beaten this disease, I know my BG would have to be lower when I first got up.  So yesterday I took my reading just 30 minutes after I awoke…and what did that reading show?????? HOW DOES 83 SOUND??!!! HOLY SHIT!! I couldn’t believe it.  I had never pulled that low a number right after getting up.  I took my readings all day Saturday, and they never got over 100 all day even after eating.  97 was the highest reading of the day.  So as of now, I consider myself a former diabetic.  I have found what works, what beats this, and as my friend Steve Cooksey “The Diabetes Warrior” has done and shown on his website, it is possible to beat this disease with a Primal/Paleo lifestyle!!  I plan to set up a doctor visit after my birthday in July to get my full work up, with cholesterol numbers.  (Trust me I’m not worried!)

So are you ready yet for the numbers…and pictures yet?? Yes!!!! OK, NOPE, not yet, almost there I promise!!  I thank you so much for following along and I hope you share this with as many people as you can to find who might be interested in my story.  Nothing I can say can change everyone, but the results speak for themselves, and I know that EVERYONE would benefit from this lifestyle just by giving up Grains/Gluten/Sugar/Soy and Processed packaged junk fake food.  I close with a quote that has been passed around now for a few months since I wrote it in my 9 month post.

“The only person who can be the Expert of you, IS YOU!!  All the advice that anyone gives you must be questioned and tried out on you, by you, in order to make an informed decision to decide if that was RIGHT or WRONG for YOU!!  No special schooling is necessary, you don’t need a college degree or a medical degree, or a nutritional degree to eat real food and see if it works or not.  Self experimentation is the only way to truly know what works FOR YOU!!”

I am PAF FOR LIFE!!

A very special thanks to the following people who inspire me every day. I am sorry that I can’t list everyone I’ve met and talked to, however you are all special, and I enjoy interacting with everyone on Facebook, the IPMG and the various groups that I belong to on Facebook.  I am lucky enough to have been in the right place and right time with this community, and as the overall movement was in it’s infancy as a “known” way of life.  Everyday I am honored to interact with so many new folks who finally found it as well curing things they never thought they could be rid of!!

“Papa Grok” Dave Parsons, Ian Lucas, Nichole Wherry, Laurie Anne Gomes-Skonieczny, Shirley McLean, Barry Cripps, Dean Dwyer, Judith Ruder, Shelly & Tim Good, Tiana & Calvin Babers, Jennifer Huda, Joe Salama, Cale Shultz, David Craig, Carol Burns, Justine Rhyne, Malika Duke, Michelle & Keith Norris, Tony Federico, Orleatha Smith, Nick Castrellon, Jenice Johnson, Sergio Ominetti, Joe Leonardi, Randy Brummit, Jack Kruse, and the over 3200+ fans who follow me on my page.  I am proud to have your support and friendship.  We are all achieving the greatest thing we have as humans…Our health!!

Eat well, sleep well, get some sun, move smart, Don’t Stress!! That’s the key to all of this!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Tim

Tim 1 Year Paleo Stats <<< Link to spreadsheet!!

Paleo

As

F***

FOR

LIFE!!!

1 Year Progress Pics.

Left is 4/28/11, Right is 4/28/12

I was asked by my buddy Dean Dwyer if I would like to get a copy of his new book and to check it out (read it) and do a review of it.  Well yes of course I told him that I would be more than happy to digest the info, and can’t pass up the opportunity to give my opinion!!  I received my copy of Make Shi(f)t Happen last Saturday afternoon.  I sat down and read the book Monday for 3 hours straight, had to pick up the boys from school and go to CrossFit and I finished the last few pages Monday evening.

I have never read a book cover to cover in one day that I didn’t have to cram for a test on hahaha!! It is an amazing and inspiring read!

Dean is so genuine with his approach, and mind you, he is not a “weight loss expert” in the clinical sense, he is an Expert of HIM and what worked for him.  In the technical sense, given his dramatic transformation, Dean is absolutely what I would consider “An Expert” and has a bright future in this Paleo movement.  His enthusiasm throughout the book with the many other Non-food related anecdotes really make the book that much more enjoyable to read, (obviously if I finished it in less than a day!)  He is a well read individual, and through his extensive experience he conveys his message very well.  As you will see, Dean is very detail oriented, and he runs his body like a business.  This is a great idea, and one that far too many of us do not do including myself.  This is just one of the reasons that makes Dean successful in life.

The 20 Life-Changing Shifts are done in a specific order, in what I think is order of importance.  However, Shift # 20 “Do Something Seismic” is just as important as Shift # 1 “Go Paleo” because it is all encompassing, and each shift really incorporates all the other shifts making all 20 necessary to achieving the ultimate goal.

The Foreward of the book had me laughing right away.  Again, Dean is not a typical expert (which he talks about in Shift # 19 Ignore Most (But Not All) Experts), he thinks differently, and because of that, it makes him unique.  He is just telling his story, and what worked for him, and ultimately if what he did can change one person’s life by applying one, two or all 20 of the shifts to their own life, then he has again succeeded!

“Typically this section of the book is for the foreword: you know, the section where I get some big name to exaggerate how flipping’ awesome I am.” – Dean Dwyer

What a great line! He immediately goes on to say why he ditched that theory, and makes the reader feel great by not having to roll their eyes on the first page of the book!!

Dean’s humor is present in timely places throughout the book, and he is humble at the same time.

After the last Shift is presented, Shift #1 Go Paleo, (which surprisingly was the 2nd favorite part of the book) Dean presents the story of Laurie Anne, whom I happen to be friends with through Facebook, and my own journey, and have had many conversations with her through my own page and Facebook groups. Her story is equally as incredible as Dean’s and he breaks down her testimonial in an interview with her, and applies questions that make the Shifts he presented understandable and user friendly in a real world scenario, of which Laurie Anne indirectly and directly used many of the techniques Dean used in her very own Journey.   She has had an amazing transformation, and continues to lead life by example, and while her family was not on board during that interview, they currently are now and are all thriving!!  That is what true change is!!  Congrats to you Laurie Anne as well!!  You are a superstar and I am happy to call you and Dean both Friends.

At the end of the book (no I’m not spoiling anything) Dean lists an amazing bunch of references, books, blogs, podcasts, and people who have helped him succeed on his journey, and as a Paleo Blogger myself, I know just about everyone of these people and can say as Dean did, what an incredible community we truly have, and our impact on this world is changing lives daily!!

It is with great pleasure that I highly recommend everyone picking up a copy of Dean Dwyer’s MAKE SHI(F)T HAPPEN.  I wish you continued success Dean, and look forward to when we meet in person some day!!

Tim

Get the book!!

Amazon.com Paperback

Amazon.com Kindle Edition

Visit Dean’s websites

Make Shift Happen.org

Being Primal.com

Follow Dean on his Being Primal Facebook page

And on Twitter @beingprimal

You all know my Primalized Chili as one of my first posts I did over on fastpaleo.com in my early days of living this way.  Big Tim’s Primalized Chili

I have been making that recipe for years prior to Primal/Paleo life using beans, and just adapted it Primal/Paleo with no beans.  Well I decided to revamp the original, and wow I must say it’s better than ever. So here goes, you can scale back the amounts, for smaller batches, but here it is New and Improved Primalized Chili!

This recipe calls for 6lbs of meat!! I tried it a few weeks back using just 3lbs of stew meat, and it wasn’t thick enough came out more like a chili stew, so I added in the ground for this new and improved version, and it was the perfect chili consistency!!

3 lbs Grass Fed Stew Meat (chuck or brisket cut into bite sized chunks)
3 lbs Grass Fed Ground beef
1 white onion chopped (food processor works best)
4 tbsp of minced garlic

Brown meat, garlic & onion in a big stock pot.  Drain most of the fat (not all!! Gotta save some in there) when completely browned.

Wet Ingredients

4 CUPS of my homemade Salsa, (this is the major change that takes it over the top)
Previously I used whole tomoatoes in the food processor, but having all of the ingredients of the salsa mixed in with the chili made it more AWESOME!!

5 TBSP Worchestire Sauce (not totally paleo but necessary)

4-6 TBSP Tobasco Sauce

Dry Ingredients

7 TBSP Dark Chili Powder

1 TBSP Sea Salt

1 TBSP Black Pepper

1 TBSP Cayenne Pepper

1 TBSP Cumin

1 TBSP Paprika

2 TBSP Italian Seasoning (I use a combo that has Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram, Oregano, Basil) all together.

1 Tsp Ground Mustard

4 TBSP 100% PURE POWDERED CHOCOLATE!!! (Had seen it in other recipes, and it really mellows out the heat and acid of the tobasco flavor) Who knew??!!

Mix all of the ingredients together in with the meat.  Get it all nice and mixed in.  It will be super thick.  Add 1 to 1.5 cups of water more or less to your desired thickness, and get it boiling.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 2 hours.  With the chunk meat, it does needs to cook longer for the meat to be totally tender.  I transferred it to the Grok Pot and simmered another 6 hours on low before serving!!  When done adjust accordingly to your tastes in case it needs some more salt, or heat to your liking

Serve with your favorite chili toppings…Cheese, Onions, Sour Cream, Avocado, or just eat it plain!!  Below was on top of Spaghetti Squash with some avocado and cheese!

Great left over, the longer it sits, the better it gets!! Store up to 2 weeks in the fridge, or freeze it for longer!

Enjoy!!

I grew up like many of you eating oodles and oodles of noodles in the form of Spaghetti & Meatballs.  Well living a Paleo lifestyle makes pasta noodles a thing of the past.  No more Gluten or Wheat, no more carb crashes or bloating after eating way too much pasta over the years.  Ultimately it comes down to the real good parts.  The Sauce and the MEATballs!!  So here is my soon to be famous with all of you trying it and loving it as much as I do Sauce from scratch, and Meatballs.

Sauce (makes 5-6 quarts)

1 Medium White Onion
3 Heaping Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
24 Organic Roma Tomatoes
3 6oz cans Organic Tomato Paste
4 Tbsp Sea Salt
3 Tbsp Black Pepper
4 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
3 Tbsp Basil
3 Tbsp Oregano
2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
1/2 cup Red Wine (I used Merlot) Cab will work too.
2 Tbsp Pure Cane Brown Sugar (optional)

In a large stock pot, add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and turn on heat.  Chop up onion very fine using food processor or your mad chef skills like they do on TV if you are so inclined Food processor is faster! Throw the chopped onion, and the garlic into the pot and it should sizzle in the oil.  Sweat the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes stirring till onion and garlic browned.  Turn off heat.

Cut off the stem end of the Roma tomatoes and toss all into food processor and process to your desired consistency.  I like a puree thinner sauce so no big tomato chunks for me.  Add tomato puree to the pot.  Next add the 3 cans of organic tomato paste to pot.  Add all seasonings, red wine & remaining 1/4 cup of EVOO to the pot.  Stir until the paste is mixed and you have a thicker sauce now.  Turn heat back on, and bring to slow boil.  As soon as you see first boil bubbles, turn heat down to low, stir and cover, and let simmer slowly for 60 minutes, checking and stirring every 20 min.

After 60 minutes, start your taste testing.  Add whatever you think it may need.  This is the time where I added the optional Brown sugar.  I always remember my grandmother adding lots of sugar to her sauce and it was always very sweet, but oh so good when I was a kid, so just adding 2 Tbsp is not much, but I can definitely tell it’s there since my sweet taste buds know how amazingly little sweetness is needed.  If you don’t want to use any sugar don’t, this is my touch to remind me of my grandmother’s great sauce Most likely not much, but maybe some salt will need to be added, and it never hurts to add more garlic either haha!! Keep on low and let all the flavors meld, it can be cooked up to 6 hours.

Meatballs (Yields 40+ 1.3 oz meatballs)
I got 47 in this batch 

4 lbs Grass Fed Ground Beef
4 Eggs
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Granulated Garlic
Onion Powder
Italian Seasoning

In a large bowl, take the meat, each one was a 1 lb package so combine all meat together into a big ball in the bowl.  Flatten the meat into a giant hamburger patty, think big 4 lb burger! Flatten it to about 1/2 inch thick.  I have no measurements for the seasoning as I seasoned the meat just like I would a burger.  Sprinkle the Salt over the whole burger patty, then pepper, garlic, onion powder and italian seasoning.  Flip the burger patty over, and season same way on other clean side

Take your 4 eggs and beat them like you were gonna make scrambled eggs, just combine yolks and whites together.  Pour the eggs onto the meat patty in the bowl.  Get your hands in there, and mix the egg in well until all the meat is combined and the seasonings are all mixed through with the egg and meat.  It should be a little wet, but mostly not.  Now to test the mixture, take a small piece of the meat mixture, toss it in a pan flatten it and cook it for a minute on each side and taste it.  Adjust your seasoning to desired taste with your big meat mixture at this point.  Tasted awesome to me, so no extra seasoning was needed.

Now depending on how big you want your meatballs, these were small/medium sized.  To get an idea how big, take your hand and make an “OK” sign.  Pull enough meat to make a ball that size I got 47 meatballs out of the 4 lbs of meat used.  Averages about 1.3 oz per meatball if you weighed them.  Now line 2 baking pans with foil, and drop the meatballs in the pans.  Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, and bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes.  These were done at 22 minutes.  You can also fry them up in a pan with some coconut oil or avocado oil, however for less mess, baking them is ideal

Finished Dish

I put 10 meatballs in a bowl, and topped with plenty of sauce, and crushed up all the meatballs and ate it like a chunky meaty italian tomato soup.  I added more sauce because it was that good, and was extremely satisfied and had no bloating or heavy feeling after being done because as we all know that doesn’t happen to us anymore not eating grains!!

The flavors of the meat and sauce together work well all by themselves, but if you wish you can top this over spaghetti squash, or any other vegetable you wish, and the sauce can be used for just about any tomato dish you like.  I have several jars left over which should keep in the refrigerator for a month or so.  It won’t last that long

Thank you for viewing, and I hope you give this a try with all of your favorite meats like beef, bison, elk, boar, venison etc.  Meatballs are quick and easy snacks if you have them leftover!

Have a great day!

Tim

9 months, that’s a lot of processing that has to go on to become a human.  In 9 months we go from a single organism to the complex bunch of cells, nerves, tissue, bone, muscle and fat to become what we call human!!  Pretty amazing if you ask me.  The human body is the most complex and forgiving machine on the planet.  We spend years torturing it with bad food, over bearing exercise, and crazy activities that push it to the brink of breaking!!  Some are better at breaking it than others, and some while they may look fabulous on the outside, they really are not so fabulous on the inside.

It takes some longer than others to finally reach that breaking point to where they finally say “I am broken” and then make the harder decision to actually want to “heal” from the inside out.  I got to that point on 4/27/11.  So today 9 months ago, I told myself, deep down, honestly and truly, “I am BROKEN and I am sick of it, and I will do whatever I can to become a better human!”  Thankfully I found the answer and spent 8 hours that day reading and researching, and came to the conclusion that Primal/Paleo living WOULD BE THE ANSWER!! I started the way of eating the next day 4/28/11

To all of you who have yet to give this lifestyle a try and think it’s just a fad, or a gimmick, or a bunch of crazy people who think we should all live in caves if this is what we call our “diet” I say to you “WHAT ARE YOU REALLY AFRAID OF?” Are you afraid we are right? How can you argue with the many results, issues, diseases, afflictions, conditions, aches, pains, and problems that we have all lessened and even healed? That your doctor, nutritionist, or government couldn’t possibly be wrong? Could they?!!! They are the “Experts” and the “Experts” are NEVER WRONG!! The medical community has made unbelievable strides in procedures that can fix many things, and they have a place for the major things that simple diet cannot fix.  However relying on drugs to fix common issues without even exploring the possibility of maybe something you ate is causing your problem, and prescribing food first instead of the latest drug, that is where I take issue. Don’t you want your doctors to be up on ALL THE LATEST RESEARCH instead of just what they are told to tell you?  This is what always baffles me about conventional wisdom and reminds me of a famous quote from an evil man.

Joseph Goebbels wrote the following paragraph in an article dated 12 January 1941

The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.

 It has been used many times as…If you tell a lie big enough and often enough, everyone will believe it.

Well guess what!! I’m here to tell you that we have been fed the lies by the by the book, Conventional doctor/nutritionist/government in today’s definition of “healthy living.”  They are unwilling to admit their MISTAKES and the LIES that we have been told for fear of losing YOUR BUSINESS!!  That’s right, THE BUSINESS OF SICKNESS, ILLNESS AND CHRONIC PAIN!!  ”They” don’t get paid if you are well!! It’s eat this low fat, low cholesterol, high carbohydrate diet to lose weight, and take this statin for your high cholesterol, this pill for your high blood pressure, or take this drug because you “can’t get it up.”  Well guess what…most everyone I speak to, have none of these problems because of living this way.  Pretty freaking amazing actually.  Check out these statistics from the start of the “low fat craze” in 1977.

http://www.gnolls.org/1086/the-lipid-hypothesis-has-officially-failed-part-1-of-many/ 

The only person who can be the Expert of you, IS YOU!!  All the advice that anyone gives you must be questioned and tried out on you, by you, in order to make an informed decision to decide if that was RIGHT or WRONG for YOU!!  No special schooling is necessary, you don’t need a college degree or a medical degree, or a nutritional degree to eat real food and see if it works or not.  Self experimentation is the only way to truly know what works FOR YOU!!

If someone tells me they CAN’T ever give up Bread or Pasta or their beloved Oatmeal, they never give a reason other than “Oh I could never do that, or eating meat will give you cancer, or all that fat will make me fatter, or you’ll get high cholesterol eating all those eggs.”  That is where the world has been fed a great big lie!!  All those who still believe it (because they haven’t been convinced otherwise by trying something new) They are the ones that truly need the most help.  They are in such a brainwashed state of denial that they are UNWILLING TO EVEN TRY to get past the thinking, past that “you are afraid of me being right” stage.  As my good friend Joanne Ellett of Bellatrix Nutrition posted one day “I can’t means…I Certainly Am Not Trying”  Those words ring in my head every time I hear someone say I can’t do something.

Get past the DOGMA people.  If you never attempt to live this way, you will never know if it’s right or wrong FOR YOU.  Don’t just say it doesn’t work, or you could never do that, because that just means you are afraid of being wrong.

One thing I have learned on this 9 month journey so far.  If you never fail, then you can never truly heal!!  IF YOU DON’T TRY IT, YOU CAN NEVER CLAIM IT DOESN’T WORK!!!  If you don’t get up after falling down, only then will you fail!!

What have you got to lose in trying something for 30 days??  Your pride?  Your stubbornness?  Stop making excuses for what you are afraid of!!  Get out of the comfort zone of your sugar processed life and learn to EAT REAL FOOD!

I heal myself on the INSIDE AND OUTSIDE with each meal, each workout, and each night’s sleep.   What are you going to do to truly “HEAL” YOU??!!

I posted a couple months back my version of “The Primal/Paleo Template in my own words”.  Check it out and begin your NEW Journey TODAY!!  Think of what you will reflect on in 9 months as a “NEW” human!!

Thanks for reading and much love to you all!!

Tim

Another month, 7 now in the books, and the ride isn’t stopping anytime soon!! Another positive month, and a couple of huge milestones hit.  1st, that 50 lbs down mark!! I have not dropped that much in a consistent time frame ever in my life of dieting, and as you know I’ve done them all!! 2nd, I put on a pair of size 36 shorts!!! Size 36, are you freaking kidding me??!! LOL!! I have not been a 36 since I was a teenager.  I am pretty darn stoked about this!!!

Here are the latest numbers.
7 Month Progress

I will not post pics again till I hit the one year mark. I am only 42 lbs from my goal weight, however since everywhere from here on down will be new territory for me, I am well within that reach in the next 5 months!! The food is the easy part now!! With the support of my wife and kids, the Paleo community and my CrossFit family I have no doubts that I will reach and most likely surpass what I thought was previously impossible!!

Thank you all for your love and support between my blog here and my facebook page!! Keep the comments and posts coming!! You motivate me more than you can possibly know!!

Have a great holiday season!! Christmas is only 27 days away!!

Tim

It’s cold and raining here in Sunny Southern California today, so what’s a Primal/Paleo guy to do…soup? chili? Nah!!! Ice Cream!

I have on several occasions made homemade ice cream trying different things and flavors, and this one so far has turned out the best.  Creamy and refreshing without being overly sweet.  I was quite pleased at the results.

Primal Strawberry-Banana Ice Cream.

Having all ingredients as cold as possible makes this much easier.

2 Cans (14 0z) Trader Joe’s Light Coconut Milk  (you can use what ever coconut milk you like, this just happens to have no extra junk in it)

2 egg yolks

1 TBSP Coconut Oil (it’s cold out so just put in a small bowl and melt 15 sec in microwave so it liquifies) This adds the fat back in from the “light” milk.

4 tbsp Pure Vanilla

1/8 cup Raw Honey

1/8 cup Pure Maple Syrup

3/4 cup frozen strawberries

2 ripe bananas

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender till it’s like a smoothie consistency

Pour into your ice cream maker and let go for 30 min.

It will be soft serve consistency when done, transfer it to a glass or stainless steel bowl and serve if you like it that way, or put in freezer for an additional 30 minutes or longer for desired consistency.

Enjoy!

I wanted to help clear up the confusion some may have in living this lifestyle.  I get many questions and comments from people who are just confused by all of the varying opinions that people have to “being Primal or Paleo”.

There are no different schools of thought, there are only varying opinions. There is a template for following the Primal/Paleo lifestyle. People choose to eat things as part of the template based on their goals/needs/feelings/reactions to foods. Nothing has changed in that everyone agrees on the basics.

If one chooses to be low carb and not eat veggies, there is not a different template for that. It’s just an elimination of another acceptable food based on that persons needs.

Meats (Beef, Chicken, Pork, Fish, Game meats like Bison, Elk, Deer, etc), Eggs, Fats (coconut products, Extra virgin olive oil, avocados), Non starchy Veggies, Fruits, Nuts.

The Standard American Diet or SAD as it’s known is a diet of inflammation.  High levels of Omega 6 fatty acids in the diet due to the inflammatory foods such as all Grains (Wheat, Corn -yes corn is a grain not a vegetable and is Genetically Modified, Rice, Barley, Oats), Legumes (Beans, Peanuts -yes a Peanut is a bean not a nut), SOY (also evil Genetically Modified substance),  ALL Packaged Processed foods (if it has anything on the label you can’t pronounce, DON’T EAT IT), avoid it.  And finally Processed and artificial Sugars (all artificial sugars are bad. if it has “ose”, “dexterin” ,” itol” in it, it’s sugar), Fruit sugar (fructose) while natural, should be treated the same (sparingly see below)

Those are the basics. Almost Everyone in the Paleosphere agrees on this (see opinion).

Everything after that list above is Opinion, and what works best for you. Your level of what you tolerate and react to, should be in what you figure out works best for you.  Some choose white potatoes, or white rice, Healthy people can eat these things…Metabolically deranged people (those who have T2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases such as celiacs/coeliacs) cannot.

Fruits and Nuts on occasion (insulin resistance-high sugar content/high omega 6 content) varies this consumption of these foods.

Sugar in the form of Fruits, Raw Honey, Pure Maple Syrup or Raw Stevia -not the processed Stevia in the Raw you find in the store (that has Maltodexterin or Dextrose- corn sugars mixed with it) you want the pure leaf Stevia or ground Stevia…read your label!! It should say Ingredients, Stevia or Raw Stevia ONLY!!  These are natural sugars!!

These natural sugars can be incorporated when you need something a little sweet to flavor some recipes.  You can also use various blended fruits to sweeten up things too, however based on your tolerances, and goals, sugar is sugar in any form.  It still breaks down in the body the same way and will store as fat if consumed in excess.

If you are living a more Primal lifestyle (according to the experts), consuming Raw Dairy, butter, ghee, cheese, milk (if tolerable) is acceptable.

Red Wine can be incorporated into a healthy Primal/Paleo lifestyle as well.

The quality of the meat matters!! What your animals eat is just as important as what you eat!! You may not think it matters, but to those with gluten intolerances, cannot even consume food that has been fed grains or soy!!  I have a friend who thought she was allergic to ALL MEAT…turns out she was an undiagnosed Celiac who became so intolerant to Grains that what her meat ate caused her reaction!  She now thoroughly enjoys Beef, Pork, Wild Boar and other meats and eats them EVEN RAW now too because she buys all grass fed/finished/pastured/wild meat!! NO GRAIN Fed at all!!

Grass Fed/Finished, Pastured, Free Range, Wild Caught, all are optimal for the human system.  They are high in Omega 3 fatty acids and the animal fat is optimal for consumption.  If you cannot get your meat from a local farm source or catch/shoot/spear it yourself, then buy the best quality you can for your budget…remember being Primal/Paleo is not a weight loss plan, it’s an anti-inflammation reset of your system! Weight loss just happens to be an Awesome side effect!!

Support your local farmer/co-op/farmers market/organic producer whenever possible.

If you have no choice but to eat meats you buy in the grocery stores, buy the leanest cuts you can.  (fat is not your friend in regular meat due to the high Omega 6 ratio in grain fed animals)  You may possibly consider taking a high quality Omega 3 fish oil/krill oil/cod oil supplement if you consume lots of store bought meat.  This will help balancing out the ratios.  Omega 3 good..Omega 6 not good. Try and limit the amount of Omega 6 foods you consume as much as possible.  There is much dispute about amounts or toxicity of even good Omega 3 levels, taking a supplement at the recommended dosages may or may not offer any benefit, but of course this choice is up to you the individual to understand and research.  I take a high quality cod liver oil supplement, and have found it useful for me.

Make sure you get your play in, (exercise/sports/fun), get some daily sun 15 minutes a day no sunglasses (if possible, your geographic location will determine this) SLEEP 7-8 hours every night, Lower your stress, and you should be on your way to being the healthiest you that you can be!

I seriously recommend that each person get a blood panel done from their qualified technician/doctor for cholesterol, blood glucose, vitamin D levels, have your thyroid checked, and get every internal test you can get when starting out living this way.   Take photos of yourself, and measurements, and don’t worry about a scale number!! Stress causes stalling or gain!! No need for excess stress.  The scale is just one tool in how you feel!! Don’t make it your crutch!!

Like I said, everything is Opinion after the basics!! You need to find what works for you and live that way!! Life is about living, enjoy it, don’t make your food so strict that you can’t enjoy life once in a while.  You know what you can tolerate and what you cannot, I cannot indulge in the things I used to eat, and find pleasure in a good steak, or some pastured BACON LIFE IS WAY MORE THAN BREAD AND SUGAR!!! Steak and Bacon sounds better anyway (to me at least)!!

I am not here to argue with anyone, everyone must find their own path and choose the best foods they can for themselves and their families.  Many don’t agree with my opinion or lifestyle, particularly in the Non Meat eater category, that’s fine.  Live and Let Live!! You thrive your way, I’ll thrive mine.  It’s not a contest, it’s a difference of opinion.  WE are not that different.  I like many vegetables…I happen to like Real Meat more.

Fat does not make you fat.  Consuming cholesterol does not give you high cholesterol! Grains/Sugar/Legumes/Soy all are inflammatory foods…Inflammation causes heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer! Sugar feeds cancer cells.  The research is out there.  Now I’m not gonna fill this blog post with hundreds of linked articles, as you can easily search on Google for anything with Inflammation in it, and find plenty of information to back up what I say.  I spend my day researching a lot, and others should too because I care about my health now after neglecting it for way too long!!  Once I found the answer for my diabetes and am reversing it living this way, it doesn’t take any more convincing than real world experience!! DO YOUR RESEARCH!! There are “cures” for diseases that no one wants you to know about!! The system is corrupt, don’t believe them!!! Take your health in your own hands, and realize that the system doesn’t want you healthy, they don’t make money on healthy people!!

“Let your food be thy medicine and your medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

My theory is this…If it comes from an animal, and you tolerate eating it, eat it.  If something makes you sick, bloated, makes you break out with acne, gives you headaches, or sweats, causes you to have brain fog, or generally not feel yourself…it’s probably something you shouldn’t be eating!! Pretty simple way to live really.

I am Paleo for Life!! or PAF for Life!! as my tribe in the IPMG (International Paleo Movement Group) know!!!!

If anyone has just started living Primal/Paleo and is confused about anything after reading all this, then please click on the IPMG link above and join our group on facebook!! Greatest bunch of knowledgable real world experience, been there done that with every diet on earth type people you will find!!

You can also find me at my page Big Tim’s Primal Journey on facebook as well!! Thanks for reading my quick post that turned out not so quick.  I love you all!

Tim

I posted a huge note in facebook, so please click on the link and check it out…complete with pics too!!

Big Tim’s 6 Month results!!

Inside is the spreadsheet link to Google…so after you check out the pics, check out the numbers!! or if you don’t want to see me in all my glory…just click the link here

6 month spreadsheet

So many people inspire me every day!! Many of them I follow on their journey’s too!! Check out their blogs in my blog roll!! So many people posting great info!!

I love you all!!

Tim

Anyway, it’s almost that magic time where new numbers are due out this coming week, so will definitely be posting the 6 month progress!!

For now, here’s a super collaborative effort on an awesome Short Ribs Recipe that I did with The Civilized Caveman!! Please go check out this one!! I am so very grateful to have this guy as a friend and in my corner, and his generosity and kind words in the post prove what a great dude he really is!! I thank you so very much George for all you do, and your service to our country as an active duty U.S. Marine, is truly respected by me!!
Thank you!!

Here’s the recipe!! Try it!!! You will not be disappointed!!

Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations : Crockpot Simple Short Ribs 

Hope you all had a super awesome weekend!! Eat well!!

Tim