Getting Stronger and Leaner | The Survival Gardener

When I lived in the Caribbean, I could barely keep weight on my bones. It melted away, and I often weighed less than 160lbs. Expensive junk/convenience food kept me from eating chips or other garbage, plus no air conditioning, plus lots of walking up and down hills – all combined to make staying lean easy, though it was not easy to build extra muscle mass, despite all the hard work I did.

After moving back to the states, we suddenly had a wide range of good food at really cheap prices, plus friends that ate a lot of high-carb Southern classics. My weight started to creep up. Then I caught the Death Flu , which kept me from doing much labor for a month. Then, as I recovered, I ate whatever I liked, though food didn’t taste all that great.

By January, I was up to 168lbs. A friend said “you’re getting fat,” which is just what I needed to hear. I am a big fan of fat-shaming, at least directed at me.

Now I knew I wasn’t really “fat” by most standards; however, I was definitely feeling a bit heavy and un-fit. So I switched to low-carb, eschewing grains, sugar, etc. I also fasted for three days to help clear my system of the after-effects of the virus. At Lent, I switched to full carnivore, not even eating dairy. Just bacon, eggs, steak, more eggs, hamburger patties, chicken breast and the like. I also quit all alcohol and tobacco.

That was the ticket! Now, a month later, I am down to 161 and have re-achieved some “cut” to my stomach and more definition in my chest. I also have a ton more energy. Last week I signed up for a gym membership and am pushing it hard. Combined with my spring farm labor, that is really making me feel strong.

I never wanted to be one of those middle-aged guys with a gut. Not gonna happen!

Now my goal is to gain weight via adding more muscle mass. Rather than just remain thin, as I have generally done in the past, I want to actively bulk up with muscle and get looking great instead of just fit. I’ve added dairy back in and am consuming lots of protein to fix my muscles between workouts. For now I am still carnivore, as that really seems to keep me feeling strong. Not having alcohol helps a lot, too. I’ve found it sucks my energy away. I had a Martini last week as a “cheat,” along with some ice cream, and that made me feel weak the whole next day. No more. I am getting too old for those youthful excesses and need to be strong for my next few decades.

If I can build a pound or two of muscle each month while staying lean, I should be in great shape by summer. Already I am feeling way better than I did back at the end of 2020.

If you’re having trouble losing weight, I highly recommend going full carnivore. It certainly takes the pounds off while reducing inflammation and boosting testosterone. Eating just meat does take some getting used to – and it’s expensive, compared to cheap carbs – but it’s worth it.

In gardening news, we’re expected to get some terrible weather today. Hope it’s nothing too serious. Hail, high winds, tornadoes and thunderstorms are all possible. Ought to be an interesting day to look out the windows!

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