It’s been almost a year since I wrote on The Kneeslider and I needed the time off. The many years of sitting at my desk had taken a toll on everything from my physical condition to my mental attitude and I needed a break. Yes, I’ve done some work in my garage and around the house, read a lot of books and in some ways relaxed, but I’ve also regrouped and made a tremendous positive change in my physical health and well being which has likewise caused a dramatic increase in my mental energy.
For those of you who may be interested in how I made those changes, it’s not complex, but it takes a commitment. To begin, though my diet was not terrible, it wasn’t ideal, so I adopted a ketogenic diet, very low carbs, no sugar, moderate protein, high fat and I take a range of carefully chosen supplements. At the same time, I’ve been exercising every day for the last 10 months and this isn’t a walk around the block. The best way to describe my routine is modified CrossFit. Heavy weights, Assault Bike, Concept2 Rower, kettle bells, serious work and the results of all of this are nothing short of amazing. From my highest weight, which was some time before I started this, until now, I’ve dropped 50 pounds and my max lifts in the weight room are what I was lifting literally decades ago. If you’re a baby boomer and feel your best years are behind you, I have news for you, you can make dramatic changes in your strength, health and well-being, but you have to do the work. It’s totally up to you. Avoid doctors and prescription drugs like the plague. No alcohol. Take care of yourself and expect to live a long and healthy life. I’ve watched too many people my age who begin to decline who think it’s a natural process and there’s nothing they can do. Nonsense! Be positive, make the change and you can tell me how great you feel next year and ten years after that.
On another front, I have always been one of those guys who loves to learn about everything and in today’s world, no one is stopping any one of us from doing that. Just to give you an idea of where my mind has been, I’ve been reading a lot about physiology and various studies dealing with health, diet and chronic disease (a natural offshoot of my own intensive physical training). I've been studying physics and energy as it pertains to generating electricity plus the related engineering covering everything from power plants to the grid and right now I’m diving into a lot of programming with JavaScript. There's more, but you get the idea. It’s constant, it’s invigorating and I’ve never understood why so many seem to coast through life and then act surprised when life passes them by. What I’ve learned will obviously show up here from time to time.
While The Kneeslider was idling, I kept my eye on what was going on and some very interesting things have been happening. I’ll be commenting on them one by one as the days go by, so stay tuned.
There will also be some changes in what I write about and focus on. As to what those changes are, I’ll just let the posts speak for themselves.
I don’t usually get this personal about my own life, but it gives you some insight into the recharge process I’ve been through. I’ve been bouncing off the walls lately and I told my wife how much better I feel and how much energy I have and some of that will spill over here. I hope it has an effect on you, too.
OK, enough about me and my time away. Let’s get this party re-started.
John Byrd says
Looking forward to the “new you” stories !
Whitmore Robert says
Excellent personal post Paul
Totally agree with what you have said👍
I have been OMAD for 14 months best thing I
ever did, and keto like diet.
Congratulations- glad the Kneeslider is back better
than ever.
Robt
Royal Burke says
Congratulations on your transformation! You’re an inspiration.
Duffey Wolvin says
Awesome!
But don’t skip the doc, just find one that is up to date.
Gil says
I’ve been missing your posts. Glad you are back.
0417293995 says
I checked in just yesterday to see if anything was happening, and this morning this.
Looking forward to the new posts!
Cheers
Steve
Roger B says
Really enjoyed your posts
Harley Springer says
It’s quite true Paul we are in charge of our own well being, and can be whom ever we wish to be, so choose the best and enjoy the remaining days of our life
I’m lucky my partner is an kinesiologist that also practices touch for health so with real food
(organic) vegetables – nothing from a supermarket and good exercise life does become fun
Keep the page going please as it’s awesome to hear of others that believe in them selves
in whatever they decide to do – I have just got my own page happening with jacaranda Gallery and am loving what people think of my creations
Self belief is a powerful tool, and it costs nothing to own it – just look inside- listen and go
and yes stay away from the medicine machine unless you want to remain a crash test dummy..
todd says
It’s good to have you back and quite an inspiration. I’m not a boomer but I still feel I should be doing something for my health. We’ve been eliminating gluten from our diet and it has had quite an impact on how I feel. We’ve also been eating a “paleo” diet. Simple, non-processed foods, mostly meat and veggies (most people mistake many fruits as “vegetables”), and low on grain/starches. We hike quite a bit since we live near extensive forest lands. Having a dog really helps with that.
I look forward to see what you’ve been reading about.
Rodney Block says
I am glad Mark Twain was right. Welcome back.l always looked forward to opening my emails when the knee slider was there.Staying fit and healthy late in life allows me to enjoy motorcycles more than when l was young.
Dodga. Western Australia
Bob says
Excellent!!!
Justin Belshe says
Bravo! I look forward to the output from the new and improved you!
neal says
As old, Oat Willie was known to say say…” Onward thru the Fog”
Paul Crowe says
When anyone makes a big change as I’ve done, it’s easy to want to talk about it all the time and quickly wear out everyone’s patience. I could start another web site and focus on nothing else, but my experience isn’t really extraordinary, people all over, including some of you, are doing similar things, so I’ll try to keep references to health and fitness under control, but I gotta say, it’s really a game changer. Can you do it? Yes. Should you? Yes. I’ll probably write a post with my recommendations at some point, but for the time being I’ll cover other topics. In the meantime, as they say with CrossFit, “Off the carbs and off the couch.”
John says
Loooking forward to your postings, good advice for us old fogies, ha, ha. Stay active.
William Davis says
Just one more glad to see you back
Drew Marteney says
Glad you’ve been taking care of yourself! As a nurse, I talk to people all day every day who complain that their blood sugar and weight and cholesterol aren’t under control, and just want someone to take care of it for them. It’s frustrating to continually have that conversation and repeatedly tell the same people that they alone have the power and responsibility for improving their health. Looking forward to seeing your new posts.
Pedro Couto says
Great news!! bring it on! 🙂
I was missing Kneeslider 😉
Dude says
welcome back!
For those that are hovering around 50 and up, and if you not aware, lifting weights helps more than just muscle and bones. It helps you maintain sex drive, which your spouse will encourage 👍🏼