The Unconquerable Dave
Dave first emailed me about a year ago. He had just bought the Primal Blueprint Cookbook and was seeing some real results. Occasionally I’ll get an update from him. One can really get a sense of Dave’s energy and excitement for life from his emails (often written in all caps), which I’ve reprinted below. Read on to catch a bit of Dave’s enthusiasm and spirit. It’s contagious.
If you have your own Primal Blueprint success story and you’d like to share it with me and the community please contact me here. Have a wonderful Friday, everyone, and thanks for reading!
September of 2009…
March 19, 2010…
HI MARK
JUST GOT YOUR BLUEPRINT AND AM AWAITING THE COOK BOOK. WHICH I INTEND TO TRY TO ADD TOO!
AFTER 25 YEARS OF RAISING A FAMILY AND NOT DOING THE “GROK” ANY MORE IT SHOWED BIG TIME….
TALK ABOUT “THE LIVING DEAD”…
I’M A SUPER COOK AND BAKER AND JUST ABOUT SLAYED US ALL….LOL
IT’S BEEN ABOUT 3-4 MONTHS OF EATING AND THINKING MORE PALEO… IF I CAN’T KILL IT- FIND IT-OR GATHER IT… I DON’T EAT IT…. SO IT’S REAL EASY TO EAT WELL. JUST THINK ABOUT GROK AND WHAT YOU’RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT. SIMPLE!… AND THE WIFE AND KIDS STILL AROUND ARE IMPRESSED WITH MY NEW ATTITUDE AND LOOK.
HAVE LOST AT LEAST 20 POUNDS OFF A HEAVY BONED HUGE BEAR FRAME…
6′-1″ AND HEADED FOR THE LOWER 200′S. I HAVE 18 “ARMS AND THICK CHEST AND THE ABDOMEN AND CORE ARE COMING RIGHT ALONG…!!!
LEGS ARE FEELING STRONG AGAIN. ASS IS TIGHTENING UP AND I’M INTO A 38 JEAN.
YOUR BODY TELLS YOU WHAT IT WANTS, AND IT WANTS REAL AND STRONG AND ABLE.
WHICH = SMART!!… HEAD AND BODY ARE TUNING IN WELL…
TIME TO BUY NEW CLOTHES…ALMOST!
LATER BROTHER
STAY IN THE LIGHT
GROK RULES!
DAVE PARSONS
April 22nd…
40 LBS LIGHTER IN 6 MONTHS…no problem and lovin’ it!
53 Y.O.
6’1″-240LBS AS OF 4-20-10
AND STILL SHEDDING THE EXTRAS….36 JEANS…AIMING FOR 34′S.
and a solid 220 of all muscle!!!!
YOU are ONe…of MY Two INspirations!!!!
Thanks Mark…
and if you don’t get enough hugs brother…
davegrok sends hug to Mark!!!
Illumination……..so much fun to re-learn again….still…always….
Grok on
July 18th…
HI FOLKS-
OCTOBER 1ST 2009 TO JULY 10TH 2010.
FROM 280 LBS DOWN TO 210 LBS.
JUST FROM THE PALEO DIET AND MILD EXERCISE.
ROCKIN’ THE HOUSE!!!!!!
ALL LEAN MUSCLE MASS AND NEVER LOOKIN’ BACK….THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE INSPIRATION-GUIDANCE-AND ONGOING WAY OF LIFE.
DAVE
September 9th…
IT HAS BEEN AN EXCITING AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT YEAR NOW.
I HAVE GOTTEN IN WAY BETTER HEALTH. LOST 80 POUNDS. CAN RUN AND CLIMB AGAIN. AND AM GOING ON 54 YEARS OLD. LIFE HAS THROWN THE CURVE BALLS. THE UPS. THE DOWNS. ALL THE WORK AND LIFE RELATED “FOR BETTER- OR FOR WORSE” ISSUES…YOU GET IT. BUT THE DAILY APPLE AND THE PRIMAL LIFE GOES ON…EVERYDAY. IN ALL THE CONFUSION…IT REMAINS A SOLID PLATFORM TO WORK WITH AND ON. I READ THE APPLE….EAT THE APPLE AND EVERYDAY YOU JUST MAKE IT OKAY TO BE WHO I AM…AND BE A MEMBER OF THE PRIMAL LIFE CLAN….
NO MATTER WHAT COMES ALONG…
I KNOW SOMEONE OUT THERE IS MY FRIEND AND WE THINK ABOUT THE SAME STUFF.
THANKS MARK
THANKS BEES
THANKS TO MARK’S WIFE FOR BEING ABLE TO HANDLE THIS!
YOU HAVE NO IDEA …….OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME.
I SALUTE YOU ALL
DAVE
December 10th…
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND ALL THE CREW!!
Santa got a lot thinner!…hohohohoho!
Dave
January 3rd…
primal work outs…. your approach (WAY BETTER) and actually more of a primal way than a gym gorilla. I have my Paleo gym of trees and rocks and stuff….
check it out…54 in a month and 6 ft and 205 lbs.
a 404 lb dead lift…kickButt!!!!
Thanks Mark
January 26th…
DEAR MARK AND ALL THE PRIMAL PEOPLE OUT THERE,
I’M NOT GOOD WITH SPEECHES SO I FIGURE IF A PIC IS WORTH A 1000 WORDS.
I WILL BE 54 THIS FEB. 8TH.
TALK ABOUT PRIMAL. THAT’S ABOUT 300…DOWN TO 200…RIGHT THERE TODAY JANUARY 19TH…AND THERE AIN’T MUCH LEFT TO LOSE…..SIZE 44 TO SIZE 34.
I REMEMBER THIS….I WAS THIS SIZE WHEN I WAS 18 YEARS OLD….I THINK I MAY BE STRONGER NOW!
GROK ON AND THANK YOU FOR THE ILLUMINATION!
DAVE PARSONS
—
To steal words from Walt Whitman…
“I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world.”
A transformed man, arms to the sky, wearing flip flops in the snow. If ever there was an image of the verve and indomitable spirit of going Primal, this is it. Dave, today half a million people heard your YAWP. May it echo to half a million more. Grok on, brother. GROK ON!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Dammit, this is inspiring as hell!! A big, manly bear hug to both of you!!
You became very strong very quickly!! It is absolutely astonishing.
WOW. WOW. WOW. Must share with many. WOW.
That’s my reaction exactly. Wow times 100.
Easily THE most amazing transformation I’ve ever seen! And no sagging skin, which supports this theory by Ron Brown that, given time and steady fat loss, “sagging skin” resolves by itself: bit.ly/fi6Gkh.
yeah that was what struck me too – no sagging skin – amazing!
Wow! Perfect timing…I’m working to get my dad started on the plan. I’ll be going to his house next week to set up all the food and work with him…but I started having my doubts…then this shows up! Dave, you look just like my dad- even the beard. I’m hoping he’ll have a great after picture in a year too.
He looks just like my dad too! LOL
Absolutely astonished at “no sagging skin” and admittedly a wee bit jealous!
I think part of the saggy skin issue has to do with how quickly you gained all the weight. If you gained all the weight too quickly and got stretch marks, then you’ll probably have some saggy skin after you lose all the weight. The stretch-marked skin won’t “snap” back into place as easily…. Just a thought anyway!
I noticed that, too, and came to the same conclusion that steady weight loss combined with muscular development avoided the problem of loose skin. Given Dave’s age, this is a remarkable testimonial to the elasticity of our skin.
I more agree with Amanda that it’s more important how fast you gain the weight than how fast you lose it. If there’s no reason for the fat to be there then it probably doesn’t matter how fast it gets gone–what really determines elasticity is the presence or absence of stretch marks, which comes from weight *gain*.
I will probably have sagging skin when I get done because I’ve already got the stretch marks. It is what it is. I don’t need all the extra fat, though, and I don’t care how fast it goes.
Thanks for this link Ed. I’m thrilled to finally see this explained so well. Now I’m off to read his take on the anorexics.
Aloha!
who is Ron Brown? I’d like to read more on his theory about sagging skin.
Go here for Ron Brown. It also agrees with Mark:
http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm
“the droopy appearance of folds of skin is most probably caused by crash diets that sacrifice large amounts of supporting muscle, or lean body mass. Even less severe diets and weight loss from bariatric surgery can result in a substantial amount of muscle loss over time. Perhaps future scientific research will show a correlation between loss of lean body mass on a diet with the development of redundant skin.”
Hmm… Ron Brown was never a 5’2″ woman who had five large babies…not convinced. (But WOW… Dave, you look great and are a huge imspiration)
LOL Milemom. I know what you mean. I only had 3 large babies but that was enough to cause me problems. It has deformed my stomach muscles and I’m still having trouble getting rid of the droopy skin syndrome
Have you been able to make any progress with the sagging skin? I had two fairly big twin boys almost nine years ago and I’m wondering if there’s any hope of having a tight stomach again…
Mark & Dave,
This made my day! Your spirit is truly contagious! I want to go run out in my 10-foot Iowan snow drifts barefoot and howl, now!
Thanks so much for putting a smile on my face!
Grok out!
-AndreAnna
I’ve done quick barefoot runs err dashes in snow. Cold….refreshing….
Way to go Dave.
Awesome results. Shows you are never too old to Grok On! Thanks for the inspiration!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this story! talk about motivating!!!! You Go Dave!!!
Just downright FANTASTIC Dave! Adding you to my hero list!!
What an incredible transformation and inspiration! Grok on, Dave!!
That is just an awesome post. A little willpower and determination, coupled with a dash of knowledge and information, can really go a long way. Awesome.
Dave has an awesome beard. Looks a ton better now too!
Congrats and thanks for sharing.
This is your ultimate self-esteem boost day Dave. Enjoy – you deserve it!
God Bless you Mark..!!
and Dave..!! – WOW – unf**inbelievable
I agree with the others. Awesome!
Wow. Amazing Dave. Amazing. GROK ON!
Looking good, big man.
I thought you were saying that you were 40 at first and was about to (politely) call BS.
Unreal! What a great story!! It must be surreal looking in the mirror now, haha.
Well done Dave!!
GO DAVE
Ha! I love this guy…
Excellent Dave! Your pure joy in life is a wonder to hear! Your post made me smile. You have come a loooong way brother! Excellent! (I was going to post this reply in all caps, in honor of Dave, but I restrained myself.)
WOW…love this story and the transition this man went through. Very inspiring! Side note: he really loves the snow
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is amazing! I’m sending this to my parents. Way to go man.
Oh my gosh,Dave! Your belly transformation is simply amazing. What a different life you will have now–truly “golden years”. So happy for you!
Whoa, Dave, what an amazing change. Congratulations.
Very inspirational! Great great work!
OMG!!!! I love you Dave!!!
Incredible!! Very, very inspiring. I LOVE these posts!
Amazing! I can’t really say it any other way. Dave is a new inspiration for me!
I love Fridays on MDA! The emails were truly so full of energy, it’s amazing and inspiring! Thank you so much, Dave, for sharing your journey with us!
Wow wow wow wow wow. I just buzzed through the pictures. Now have to go back and actually read about this amazing change!
On the other hand, a picture is worth about a million words in this case!
You should be so proud of what you accomplished! You cannot take care of others until you take care of yourself!