It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!
Dear Mark,
My wife Helen and I (both 58 years old) have enjoyed MDA for about two years now, but have been following a ketogenic, Primal lifestyle for approximately three years. We are getting better at practicing it, understanding it, promoting it and feeling its health benefits by the day.
We not only eagerly await your daily posts, but the weekly success stories as well. They are motivational and inspirational, but also sometimes quite emotional, too. We have not only one, but many success stories within our circle of family and friends. Here is my attempt to relay my experiences to you as briefly as possible.
Helen and I were so excited to read your beautiful interpretation of what it means to be Australian. The news of your upcoming conference in Sydney sent us into a dizzy spin of anticipation. You see, 15 years ago we (including our three sons aged 17, 15 and 11 years of age at the time) “chose” to become Australians by leaving our birth country, South Africa. So, being Australian means even more to us than those who were born and bred into this wonderful country and lifestyle. Immigration isn’t an easy experience and it comes with many challenges, which can subsequently lead to many hidden health issues—even though outwardly one might think that he is healthy.
In order to satisfy some fairly harsh visa requirements, I had to start a new business when I first arrived in Australia in July 2000. Fortunately for us, things turned out well. However, the pressure of ensuring a successful result for my family was not without its pressures. One goes through a massive learning curve and a severe amount of stress. I was always happy, motivated and driven, but over a period of time, found less time for exercise and put on some extra weight (about 10kg). I found myself in an onerous office situation, sitting behind a desk all day with little time for exercise. This eventually took its toll on my health.
The medication I had been taking for hypertension (since the age of 19) was no longer keeping my blood pressure controlled. “Let’s add some new medication,” the doctor said! Then my cholesterol was too high. “Let’s introduce statins,” the doctor said. Frightening panic attacks during the night became so severe and debilitating that I dreaded bedtime. I was now in a deep state of depression too. No problem, said my GP. That’s easily managed with anti-depressants. Then a severe bout of acute bacterial prostatitis landed me in hospital for a week. Aches and pains in the joints…”OMG—now I have arthritis, too!”
A HUGE downward spiral! “But how can this be happening to me? I’ve always been fit and active, carried no extra weight, my wife has fed our family a healthy diet (yes, moderate carb, low fat, low dairy, plenty of healthy vegetables and fruit) for all these years!”
As an Optometrist (in my South African days) with a reasonably sound paramedical background, I decided to query and challenge this Conventional Wisdom. I had to get off this roller coaster of what now was surely a road to disaster for me. I kept thinking of what I was going to have to endure for the rest of my life and I wanted no part of it!
In the early hours of the morning, after experiencing another horrific anxiety attack, I started browsing through the Internet to attempt to find a solution to my problem. I came across a man by the name of Joe Barry (Barry McDonagh is his real name.) He had published a book called Panic Away, which I purchased immediately that morning. This publication, I believe, has gone a long way into getting normality back into my life.
Each sentence I read was as if he were describing my very life. He described in absolute detail how to deal with and overcome my challenging experiences with various techniques. Take a look at his Youtube presentation here.
About five years ago, my middle son, Warwick, introduced me to The 4 Hour Body, written by Tim Ferris. I read it voraciously and, like for so many of your other readers, one idea sparked off another. I now had some ammunition—what weapons could I find to fire it with? And so my research started to unfold.
Some highly recommended books I have read recently are:
1) Cholesterol Clarity, followed of course by Keto Clarity, both written by Jimmy Moore and Dr. Eric Westman.
2) The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney.
3) The New Atkins for a New You by Doctors Eric Westman, Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek.
4) Deep Nutrition by Dr. Catherine Shanahan.
5) The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz.
As an ex South African, one day I avidly watched a televised ultra-marathon, which took place annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The marathon is called the Comrades Marathon. The man who, for years, has been commenting on nutrition and training techniques is Professor Tim Noakes. He was all about carb loading before these events. Amazingly, his change of view in the past four or so years has been met with a huge amount of criticism and skepticism in South Africa and around the world. Read his book Challenging Beliefs if you can.
However, the book that takes pride of place on my bedside table is of course: The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.
Mark’s views are practical and real. I find it a simple approach to how everyone should conduct their lives. As a family, we have turned our lives and health around by reading, absorbing and practicing what Mark preaches. I, in particular, have done a fair amount of reading and research. My family and friends (those who want to listen) have, as a result, followed many of his suggested resources and successful Paleo/Primal gurus.
Here are some of our family success stories:
1) My blood lipid tests (cholesterol and inflammatory markers) are now all within normal—not necessarily conventional wisdom’s—limits. You should see the concern on the doctor’s face when he discusses the blood pathology results with me…but do I care? No more medication—after 40 years of religiously taking my daily high dose of beta blockers in an attempt to control idiopathic hypertension!
2008
2010
2014
(Note that in 2008 and 2010 I was still fully medicated with statins, hypertensive therapy and antidepressants, whereas in 2014 I was medication-free.)
My average BP reading is 125/75 and my pulse rate on waking varies between 55 and 58.
GOODBYE to the antidepressants, low dose aspirin, statins, anti-inflammatories and antacids.
HELLO to SERF (Start Eating Real Food), sleep and clear thinking.
WEIGHT LOSS AND MAINTENANCE (those 10 kgs) was an added bonus!
Our family practices a wonderful movement and exercise program, which includes some relaxed cycling, Game Fit (tennis circuits and rotations twice a week), monthly hikes with our children, occasional sprints and beach walks.
This picture was taken together with my three sons at the Noosa triathlon on the Sunshine Coast in November 2014, in which we all participated.
With some encouragement and gentle persuasion, our sons (now aged 32, 30 and 26), together with their partners, are addressing their individual health needs.
2) I must mention that my wife has happily supported each and every one of us in our endeavours for better health. She too has benefited by the changes we’ve made in our lifestyle. Helen is a potter and sculptor. She not only does her own work, but runs a teaching studio too (from home at her numerous standing desks!) Out of most people I know or have met, she truly experiences what you have referred to as Arbejdsglaede or “work happiness.” She is genuinely Primal in her work as, unlike most people, she works with the earth (clay). She affords her students the same opportunity and peace that comes with this creativity and vocational fulfillment. Slowly but surely, students and their spouses have noted the changes in us all and questioned about what’s going on. And so the Primal Lifestyle “ball” continues to roll.
3) Our eldest son, Bryce, has lost 25 kilograms (105 kgs down to 80 kgs) since the beginning of 2014 following a kidney stone scare. Once he changed his nutritional lifestyle and incorporated exercise into his daily life, his energy levels are through the roof, his attitude and outlook on life are amazing, and he has progressed as a wonderful husband and father to his daughter and son.
4) Our second son’s partner, Anna, has overcome chronic urticaria (hives).
Now she knows exactly how to manage her situation to avoid or reduce the frequency of the outbreaks. The occasional rash she experiences is now of short duration and extremely mild.
Doctors were at a loss as to what to suggest, other than prescribing a variety of cortisone products that were mostly ineffective. To have experienced first hand the anguish, pain and suffering she went through physically and emotionally was horrific.
I must mention here that our son Warwick has been very supportive of Anna in her quest to cure herself through a Primal lifestyle. He too is totally Primal, with and for Anna (except for the odd beer), but the results speak for themselves. Not only has he lost weight (12 kg), but he has more energy and more motivation. They exercise daily and their favorite activity is their sprints. He’s become more adventurous in the kitchen and they enjoy “foraging” for good, healthy food options together, all of which strengthens their relationship.
5) Our youngest son, Wade—although still making the occasional blunder in his food choices—has taken his exercise efforts to a new level and enjoys every moment of it. From a schoolboy who thought that jogging 500 m was going to kill him, to recently (with the help and motivation of his fiancé, Kirstine) competing and quite capably finishing the Sunshine Coast Half Ironman is commendable. Oh! And I forgot to mention he did this fueled by electrolytes alone! No nasty GU’s or gels strapped to his bike. His interest still remains in triathlon and cycling, but a new approach to eating and training is underway. He looks forward to seeing what his body is capable of doing in the coming years.
6) My brother-in-law, Hugh (also 58 years old), has been a type 2 diabetic for the past 10 years. In the last year he has slowly made the transition to a Primal lifestyle. It took a long while for him to be convinced, but now that his blood sugar readings have come down from 264 (on Metformin and Januvia) to 108 (no medication), he is extremely motivated to take up the challenge of conquering this avoidable disease. However, this is another success story which is still a work in progress. We’ll encourage him to share his story with you, one day, when he’s ready.
My ambition is to continue studying, researching, encouraging and attempting to suggest alternative choices people may wish to embrace for the betterment of their health and lifestyle.
My perspective on Primal living is that it first provides you with the necessary tools to improve your mental, physical and emotional condition. Once these elements of your existence become adequately addressed, the extra bonuses in life follow on pretty simply. Weight loss is merely a byproduct of fueling your cells with the correct nutrition.
I completed the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification in January this year, and look forward to spreading the word in nutritional health. I concentrate heavily on the Primal Essential Movements and Helen and I are diligently following these activities. It’s amazing to discover the various weak areas in one’s body!
My admiration and gratitude goes to my wife for all her encouragement through those tough years. Without her consistent support I know that I would not be around today, writing this story. In November 2014, we attended the Low Carb Downunder Seminar in Brisbane with guest presenters Dr. Stephen Phinney and Jimmy Moore. How exciting and enlightening! Now, the excitement, enthusiasm and anticipation is building as Helen and I look forward to attending Mark’s Thr1ve seminar in Sydney, Australia, March 13-15. Two of our sons and their partners will also be attending the seminar. How wonderful that will be!
Grok On, Mark, along with all your other healthy, “unconventional” friends and Primal community.
My aim is definitely to “Drop dead healthy.”
Sincerely,
Les Davey
(Our Motto: A family that strives together, thrives together!)
If you'd like to add an avatar to all of your comments click here!
Ⓒ 2023 Mark's Daily Apple
