BEST LIVING NOW

For about a year and a half, Alison, the boys and I were on the Primal Diet. Ali and I lost weight and thought that was the ultimate sign of good health. Did we have much energy? No. And considering we live in Cambodia, you can imagine how not being able to eat rice impacted us socially. So we backslid into the Standard American Diet (SAD) and gained it all back, and then some. Sooooo we decided to go Keto.

About 2 years into Keto (Ketogenic Diet) we had lost a ton of weight. Sure, we were tired, and my fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome were a wreck, but we weighed less. And that’s all that matters, right? And, of course, we can ignore the other health issues that had crept up. I was basically using anti-inflammatories and prescription pain medications to push through.

Then we travelled back to the US for a few months, enjoyed all the American foods, went on a cruise, celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with family, and gained a lot of weight back. Basically, we went carb crazy! During all of this yo-yo dieting, my health had not gotten better and my migraines never improved.

In January 2022, we flew back to Cambodia and I ended up in the ER then the ICU. 47 years old, I’m laying in a hospital bed with my blood pressure at 191/115. I was having Alison bring the boys in one at a time to tell them that I love them, I’m proud of them, and no matter what happens that day, always remember that God is always good. I was telling them goodbye. It looked as though I was having a stroke, heart attack or aneurism. Praise God, none of those things happened! But I was going to have to avoid my usual pain management meds. They weren’t safe with my blood pressure meds. What was I going to do?

I took to Google University, and did research on the best natural ways to fight fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue/migraines. Every search brought me to the Mediterranean Diet! Alison and I had taken a 7 night cruise to the Greek Islands and an additional several days in Venice, and had lost weight during the trip, so my attention was piqued. But my question was, how to cook Mediterranean food in the jungle? Guess what? We figured it out! We followed the guidelines even when we weren’t eating Mediterranean food. And we learned how to make what we couldn’t buy.

Am I at my best adult weight yet? No. But I also can cheat a little and not gain weight back! My health is tremendously better. My flare ups are few and less severe. I’m enjoying amazing food that even my pickiest kid can enjoy (he just skips the sea food). Alison and I are enjoying great wine. We are having fun. And its working for us.

Is the Mediterranean Diet for you? I don’t know. I’m not a doctor, I’m not a nutritionist, I’m just a guy that it is working for. And I will say, most people we met in the Mediterranean looked great!