I’ll be the first to admit when I’m wrong. I always have been. Wanna call me out on one of my goof ups? I’m good. I’ll own it.
When I’m wrong, I’m wrong.
Let me tell you a story. Hang on, there’s no short way to tell this one. I’ll try to keep it brief. I make no guarantees I can prevent it from being boring.
In 2009, I kept getting hints about going vegetarian. Articles I read, videos I watched, all warned of the dangers of animal meat flesh and touted the numerous benefits of vegetables. I was just retiring from competing in powerlifting and had stopped my 8000 calorie a day diet. I needed to change. Have you ever seen what happens to an athlete who stops competing and still eats like a competitor? I didn’t want that happening to me, already being a little chubby.
So, the week my dad died in 2010, I said goodbye to meat. I became what is called an ovo-lacto pescetarian. This means I ate nothing with feet. I chose to eat eggs, fish, and cheese.
I thought all was going well until 2020, when the bomb dropped. Cancer and diabetes in the same month. I didn’t look forward to insulin the rest of my life – and my doctor was already poking me with a stick about metformin and once-weekly injectables. (side note – every TV ad mentions that the side effect of most of these injectables is bacterial infection on the perineum. Then they tell you what the perineum is. The space between your genitals and your anus. That’s a Taxes sized nope for me)
Being a holistic health practitioner, I started looking for alternatives. I added dozens of books to my audible account and dove in. I learned about the keto eating plan and fasting. Kid you not, in two months my A1c dropped from 12.7 to 4.6 and my sugars dropped to a steady 95 every morning. I lost weight and kept it off. I fasted 36 hrs twice a week.
Did I stop there, nope. I kept researching and listening to more books. This led me down a rabbit hole to plant based eating. I read the China Study and all the books about the dangers of animal products, saturated fats, and cooking oils. June 1, 2021 I officially switched to the plant based life style. They often call it S.O.S. which stands for no salt, oils, or sugar.
During the last 3 years, I have gained 25 pounds, and my bloodwork has gone in a different direction. My last bloodwork was September 2023. My triglycerides were 150 and my HDL was 50. I didn’t know any better.
I was also feeling tired all the time, I had constant diarrhea (I admit, they removed my cecum, ileocecal valve, and 6 inches of colon during my surgery they didn’t tell me was cancer for over 3 weeks – so that might contribute to the runs)
I decided to start my research once again. I remembered that both times I tried keto, I lost weight and felt great, so I filled my audible account and went to work.
My journey over the last 6-8 months has taught me a lot, including how wrong I was about a great number of things.
Many diets are based on the "energy in – energy out" matrix. This means that if you eat more than you burn, you get fat. This just isn’t so. Many diets are based on the idea that fats are bad for you and you are better off without them. This is also just not so. Calorie restrictive diets just do not work. Countless clinical studies have proven this.
Did you know that fats do not create triglycerides? I didn't either. Sugar creates triglycerides.
Most diets work at first because most diet plans encourage omission of manufactured foods. All of these sugary, oily, flour-based products are complete dog shit. Especially the products in the brightly colored bags and boxes sporting labels like “heart healthy,” “low (or no) fat,” “sugar free,” “low calorie,” and the like. All dog shit. Just stop it.
I’ve already complained to you about the dangers of industrial cooking oils so I won’t go into that diatribe again. But it was right after I wrote the article about oils that mentioned olive oil that I began my research. And this is where I made one of my mistakes.
High quality extra virgin olive oil actually is quite good for you. But only if you find REAL high quality actual extra virgin olive oil. Most of what comes out of Italy is adulterated by cheap nasty seed oils. While good olive oil is healthy for you, you shouldn’t cook with it. Just don’t.
After reading (okay, actually listening) to nearly 10 books on fat and diet and keto and carbs and all that, I have learned that we have been lied to. NO, I mean really lied to, to our faces. For money.
The food industry has learned they can make tons of money selling you garbage cooking oils by convincing you that fats are bad. This was based on a bad bit of research from a guy who was biased by fat and paid off by cooking oil companies. Ansel Keys. I’ll spare you the details. Just go do the 6 months research like I did, or just trust me on this one.
Saturated fat is good for you. Numerous studies have proven this. Lard is good for you, REAL butter is good for you. Red meat is good for you. I was a good boy and believed everything I the government and all these researchers have said about saturated fats being horrible for you and you shouldn't eat butter and lard and you should eat thing wonderful products created in a laboratory for your health. I was wrong because I was lied to. And so were you.
Some folks have asked me why I haven’t shown my meals on Facebook recently. This is why. I have changed back to keto. But not the vegetarian keto I tried in 2020, but real meat keto. I eat fresh farm eggs everyday, cooked in real butter. I cook in bacon grease, that I collected after making bacon. Yup, I haven’t had bacon since before 2009 because I read somewhere that it’s bad for you. But I’m honestly a little pissed that I’ve missed out on all that yummy goodness for so long.
I admit, I was wrong. But I believe this plant based journey taught me a few things about basic nutrition and how to make a few delicious dishes that I might not have learned any other way.
Eat meat. Real, grass fed beef, real farm pork, real chicken. Eat real butter and lard and beef tallow. Stay away from grocery store meats unless you are certain of their origin. Eat your veggies. Eat berries and a little fruit. Eat less bread unless you make it yourself. Eat zero, and I mean zero, of anything that comes in a brightly colored box or bag that contains ingredients. Just eat real ingredients - that you assemble yourself.
I’m going back to keto. I plan to try this for a while to see where it takes me. If I’m wrong again, I’ll be the first to admit it.
Funny thing. My wife was “not happy” which is a euphemism for “pissed off” when I suggested going completely plant based. Now she is wary of going back to meats. She never was much of a meat eater to begin with. I guess that leaves me with all the juicy steaks, lol.
I was wrong. I’m admitting it. For some, plant based is a great “intervention” plan for overcoming illness or being overweight. For some, keto serves the same purpose. For others, veganism is the only way to go. Fine. Just do what works best for you, as long as it's real, natural food.
But for now, I’m going back to what worked before, eating a whole food, balanced diet of real ingredients (not junk made from ingredients).
Let’s see where this takes me. Hopefully, this will take me to much lower numbers on the scale.
I’ll start showing off my meals again, but they’re going to look a lot different now, lol.
Love to you all,
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is a Board Certified Massage Therapist, Holistic Health Authority, Reiki Master Teacher, Herbalist, Metaphysician, and Empowerment Coach. He combines bodywork, energy work, and coaching to improve quality of life by healing from the outside in and from the inside out.
Weeg sells Nature’s Sunshine Products, Pure Herbs Ltd., doTERRA, and Juice Plus+. Weeg suggests lifestyle changes and provides herbal remedies to his clients so they may build new habits for long life and vibrant health. He teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.
I have spent a lot of years trying to eat healthy! In hindsight, I feel like the attempts to follow the science is constantly thwarted by the food industry. I remember learning about the idea of eating low fat based on the difference in calories per gram of protein and carbs as opposed to a gram of fat. It made sense and was easy to do. It was years later that I became aware that the low fat versions of many favorite foods were actually full of added sugar. This seems to happen with every trend and I agree that it is only when we get back to eating whole, real foods that the science actually applies. Now that plant…