Before and after pics

Looking' good, Cantare.

You look great, Cantare. I like your new glasses too. :cool:

Great job Tim, I remember you posting your last update. Can't wait for the next one.

[QUOTE=cantare;915087]I've never posted in this thread because I thought I'd eradicated all possible 'before' pics, which I could barely stand to look at myself, let alone show to others. But I was working with an old backup today and suddenly there they all were...a real low point in my life; I was basically killing myself with pasta & bad haircuts.:(

I've been low-carb since April 2011 and more or less Primal since November 2011--diet and slow movement, mainly. There's a lot more work to do: probably 30 more pounds to lose, and I've still got to implement resistance training and sprinting in a consistent way. But I'm very glad to be where I am after 16 months, and this thread has been a major source of inspiration, so here's hoping I can give a little back!

[CENTER][URL=http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1309/16months.png][IMG]http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1309/16months.png[/IMG][/url]

[B]on the left, a 4XL shirt ... on the right, XL[/B]
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Holy crap, good job. I assume no money fan in the right picture because you had to spend it all on new clothes.

Damn, cantare, nice work!

[QUOTE=Baloo;915210]Holy crap, good job. I assume no money fan in the right picture because you had to spend it all on new clothes.[/QUOTE]
Nah, that all went for grass-fed beef! I suck at buying clothes, always want to bolt from the store after a couple of minutes.

money fan: I miss the $2 bill, so every now & then when I happened to go into the bank I used to get a whole bunch and spend them normally. More trouble than it's worth...some people have never seen one & think they're fake.

I am beyond impressed. You need to stand on your soapbox and tell people how you got well, Cantare. Amazing.

Awesome transformation Cantare! Do you feel a million times better than before?

BTW - just noticed you live in the bay area. Any awesome primal favorites you have around here - restaurants, groceries, hikes, etc?

Thanks to [U]all[/U] of you for your very kind words!

[QUOTE=jammies;915460]Awesome transformation Cantare! Do you feel a million times better than before?[/QUOTE]
Incomparably better. I have a private journal, more of a disorganized jumble really... it paints a picture of a person I don't even recognize anymore, someone who struggled just to put on socks or walk up a flight of stairs, who took 6 or 7 Rx medications and was still sick all the time, who sweated constantly even in winter, who was chronically tired and nodded off while driving. I sure don't miss any of that.

[QUOTE=PHaselow;915454]I am beyond impressed. You need to stand on your soapbox and tell people how you got well, Cantare. Amazing.[/QUOTE]It's really nothing you haven't read a zillion times: switched the diet to big salads and meat, with lots of fat and few carbs. Then started walking, a few blocks around the neighborhood at first, now it's 7-10 milers in the hills. I also gravitated toward daily 20-hr IF--apart from morning coffee, all eating happens in a 4-5hr window in the evening after walking on an empty stomach.

[QUOTE=jammies;915460]BTW - just noticed you live in the bay area. Any awesome primal favorites you have around here - restaurants, groceries, hikes, etc?[/QUOTE]Well, restaurants have been a casualty of going primal. I do Indian once in a while, Espetus Churrascaria (SF, San Mateo) is nice for a meat blowout, but otherwise I just view it as part of the 20% and order steak or fish. For shopping there are good farmer's markets in RWC, Menlo Park, Palo Alto etc but mainly it's just Whole Foods & TJs. I'd join a meat CSA if I had room for a chest freezer!:D

We're spoiled for outdoor stuff here, can't go wrong with just about any hike in the Peninsula OSP's, Strawberry Canyon/Panoramic Ridge above UC Berkeley, GG Park & Lands End in SF... My regular route is Black Mountain (2812') from Rhus Ridge trailhead in Los Altos Hills near Hidden Villa. Steep, dusty jeep roads and often way too hot, but at 4.5 mi each way and 2400' elevation gain it's the longest sustained climb I've been able to find within easy reach.

How about you, any hot bayarea tips? I definitely need to branch out some...total creature of habit here.

I can't wait to figure everything out. I still have some issues I'm worried about. I started at 285 went down to 244 and went back up to 277 than back down again to 248. I have knee pain that occurs mostly when I've been standing at work generally but other times to.

I hope my knees can work themselves out without surgery...I can't believe I had that bicycle accident...was so stupid. My knees didn't have issues until I applied too much break on a curve around a park...I could have just went into the road...there weren't cars coming and could have slowed down more that way but it was a split second decision...didn't think I would have to use too much pressure. I did though and fell over and hit both knees.

Oh well its nice to see some positive things happen for people...maybe I'll have to have surgery...guess I'll just try to save just in case.

Sorry for the downer post...just feeling a bit down reading all the positive and wondering if I'll ever get there.