The Progressing Pilgrim

Insights for developing a healthy body, mind and spirit

My Ketogenic Diet Journey Part 1: Keto Is Red Hot! Here’s Why

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PURE studyI’ve been on a ketogenic diet for about eight months, and I’m absolutely amazed at the results. So far, I’ve lost 4 inches off my waist, I’m full of energy and I haven’t lost any muscle mass or strength.

Now throw into the mix that I’m never hungry and it sounds like the perfect diet, doesn’t it? Well, no diet is perfect because we are all individuals with different needs. But if you need to lose weight, want to heal from a particular illness, or are an athlete looking to fuel your body in a more efficient way, the keto diet might be for you.

In this series of posts, I’ll tell you why I’m following a keto diet and how I’m doing it. [Read more…]

The Dangerous Definition Of Life In Star Trek: The Next Generation

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The Dangerous Definition Of Life In Star Trek: The Next GenerationThis week I watched another stellar (pun intended) episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). I’m still new to TNG so most of these episodes are first timers for me.

Once again, I was stunned by the willingness of the writers to delve into questions that probe the very basics of humanity and morality. That’s something few movies or shows attempt to do today.

This particular episode (The Quality of Life), examined two important philosophical questions: how do we define life and is all life equally valuable? It may seem that these questions are better left to be discussed in the halls of academia. However, how you answer them can have crucial consequences in the real world.

Throughout history, the way societies have answered these questions have influenced views on slavery, civil rights, the equality of genders, and whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice.

Bravo to TNG for raising these questions for consideration. However, the way in which they answered them raises more questions than even they were prepared to deal with.

What is life and are all lives equally valuable? TNG answered both incorrectly. Let’s take a look. [Read more…]

Why Evolution Shouldn’t Be Used To Support Dietary Theory

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On my journey from the Standard American Diet to my present ketogenic diet, I went through several diet phases. In order, these consisted of a gluten-free diet, intensive juicing, paleo, low-carb healthy-fat diet (LCHF), and finally a very low-carb ketogenic diet.

While moving through each phase, I became progressively healthier. Thus, experience told me that the diets were helping to heal the chronic fatigue syndrome and inflammation that had plagued my body for nearly 30 years.

As I became more familiar with the science behind an LCHF diet, the more I realized that it was a metabolically superior diet. The hours I spent studying the research done by brilliant scientists like Phinney, Volek, D’Agostino, Rosedale, and Feinman have convinced me that the empirical data confirms that an LCHF diet is the healthiest diet not only for me but also for millions of others.

However, I’m dismayed when good scientists appeal to non-empirical evidence for the diet’s efficacy.

Many if not most LCHF experts continually rely on macroevolution as a reason for the success of an LCHF diet. “It’s the way we were evolved to eat,” they say.

I disagree. Evolution had nothing to do with the way we eat because macroevolution doesn’t exist. And it’s time good scientists stop appealing to bad science to strengthen their theories.

In this post, I’ll show how many LCHF scientists use evolution to bolster their argument for an LCHF diet and why it’s bad science to do so. Then I’ll reveal one of the dirty little secrets evolutionists don’t want you to know. This secret should destroy anyone’s faith in evolution.

[Read more…]

How to Recompose Your Dad Bod in Less Than a Year (Even if You’re in Your 50s)

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How to Recompose Your Dad Bod in Less Than a Year

Okay, guys. You’ve put your kids through school. Your mortgage is almost paid. Your job… well, we won’t dwell on that. It could always be better, right?

You’ve come to that place in life where you can finally start to think about living the dream.

But then you start to notice little things about yourself. You’re a little (I’m being kind here) larger around the waist.

And you’re not really comfortable in a bathing suit because of your moobs and all.

You can’t bound up a flight of steps like you once did. And you hope none of your friends asks you to help him move because you know your back won’t stand the strain.

Then the reality of mortality really sets in. You visit your doctor, and he says to you, “Your cholesterol and blood pressure are a little high.” And, then he drops the final hammer, “Your blood sugar is high as well.

He doesn’t give you any medicine this time, but he tells you that if you don’t lose weight and your numbers don’t come down, he’ll have to give you a prescription for ___________ (you fill in the blank) at your next visit.

What do you do? If you gain weight or even keep the status quo, you’ll probably end up on a statin, BP meds, or a diabetes med for the rest of your life. And, remember, those meds don’t come without some adverse reactions.

And even if those meds reduce some symptoms, chronic disease will eventually take its toll.

Fortunately, you can pursue another course of action.

You can take control of your health and in the process transform that dreadful dad bod into a lean, metabolically healthy machine, similar to the one you had years ago or (if you’re like me) into one you never had. [Read more…]

Why I Needed To Recompose My Body At 60-Years Old: The Skinny-Fat Problem

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When I started strength training three and a half years ago, my main goal was to regain some of the muscle I had lost from years of inactivity due to chronic fatigue syndrome.

After my initial two and a half years of barbell training, I accomplished that goal and more. Not only had I improved my muscle mass, but I had become stronger than I’d been in the previous 27 years.

However, what I had failed to do was eliminate 40 years of excess fat around my abdomen and chest.

Here’s something I learned after three years of lifting. If you’re in my age range, you won’t lose significant pounds by simply weight training.

If you’re a serious lifter or doing a lot of high-intensity training you might induce weight loss if you’re burning huge amounts of calories.

But if you’re an older guy you won’t lose weight. Sorry, exercise doesn’t produce significant weight loss.

Now here was my specific problem. The excess fat I was carrying around posed a significant health risk.

Even though I wasn’t terribly overweight my waist was approaching obese territory. And it was out of proportion to my legs and hips. Also, I was carrying around a disproportionate amount of fat to muscle.

This is called a skinny-fat body type and is considered by health professionals to be metabolically unhealthy.

With that in mind, my goal now was not only to continue to get stronger but also to become leaner and healthier.

In part 1 of this series, I’ll discuss the problems associated with a high waist measurement and excess body fat.

In part two I’ll explain how I was able to increase my strength and lose body fat and significant inches off my waist.

[Read more…]

My Cholesterol Level Part 2: Examining My Need For Statins

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My Cholesterol Level Part 2: Examining My Need For StatinsIn my last post, I examined the efficacy and safety of statins. They’re the cholesterol-lowering drugs that tens of millions of Americans are currently taking.

The genesis of that post was my refusal of statins from my doctor.

After reviewing my lipid panel, my doctor said I needed statins because my cholesterol was high, especially my LDL-C. He believed this increased my risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

He assured me, “Statins will lower my LDL-C and my risk of CVD.”

I subsequently refused his offer and gave him three reasons why.

I told him I believed that statins are often ineffective in lowering CVD risk, they’re dangerous, and I don’t need them.

Further, I explained that basing my CVD risk primarily on LDL-C levels was not in accordance with current scientific research.

Ooooh… I got such a look. [Read more…]

My Cholesterol Levels Part 1: Why I Rejected Statins

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I’ve now been on a low-carbohydrate healthy-fat (LCHF) diet for about nine months.

Outwardly, the results have been amazing. I’ve lost about 25 pounds (currently 168 lbs.), my BMI is 23.43, and my waistline is down to 35”. Also, my energy levels and weightlifting totals have not suffered.

However, I wanted to know how my LCHF diet was affecting my body on the inside. So I decided to see my M.D. for some baseline blood tests. 

The tests I was most curious about were my cholesterol levels, especially my LDL-C. [Read more…]

My Friend Jerry’s Fight With Diabetes And Obesity: Part 2 Winning The Battle

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A few weeks back, I wrote about my friend Jerry’s (name changed) ongoing battle with heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. See part 1 here. He’s been out of the hospital for about six weeks.

I spoke to him today, and he says he’s lost about 30 pounds, his blood glucose is under control, and he feels great.  

While Jerry is not currently dieting, he has started to adopt a new way of eating. He’s laying off the refined carbs as much as possible. He knows that indulging in bread, pasta, and potatoes aren’t going to help his cause. [Read more…]

Adjusting My Programming As A Masters Intermediate Lifter – Weekly Workout 9/18

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Strength coaches will tell you that strength training programming for us older guys and gals can be difficult.  If we’re not careful, excess volume or intensity can wear us down very rapidly.

Since we don’t recover as well as 25-year-olds, the danger of over-training for us masters lifters (45 years old and up) is always something to be critically aware of.

However, under-training can also be problematic as it often leads to stagnation or regression.

Finding the proper balance between overtraining and undertraining requires experience and self-awareness. [Read more…]

My Deadlift Injury And The Starr Rehab Program- Weekly Workouts 8/28-9/4

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This week was the first time I wasn’t able to complete a lift session because of pain. On the 5th rep on my second working set of deadlifts (235# 1 x 5), I felt a shooting pain travel down the left side of my lower back.

Because it hurt a lot more than an ordinary back spasm, I thought I had torn a muscle. As it turned out, I hadn’t, but the experience reminded me that I had to pay special attention to how I lifted going forward.

I had suffered three episodes of bad back spasms in the last two months, and now I had the worst one during a lift. Something wasn’t right.

It was time to reevaluate my lifting program. [Read more…]