Beyond the Beard - Part 2: The Journey Begins

- Shaun Six
Three years ago (and for many years prior), I was overweight, out of shape, and in poor health.  I was a technology consultant, traveling full time, living life on the road and succumbing to all the traps that go along with that.  Why order a salad for dinner when you can have steak and lobster on the company dime?  End of the work day happy hours with clients and co-workers led to full course dinners with wine, which led to a visit to the bar for a nightcap or two, which led to a late bedtime.  Wake up the next morning too tired and foggy (read hungover) to exercise, then sit around a table in a conference room for 8-10 hours and do the same evening routine all over again.  Years of that kind of living had taken its toll.  I knew I needed to change, and tried many times - but I just couldn’t make the changes stick.
One morning I was in the gym making what would normally be yet another failed attempt at turning things around, but this time was different.  As I slogged away on the treadmill, I was listening to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.  Joe’s guest that day was Dr. Mark Sisson and he was sharing his story.  What Dr. Sisson described about his earlier life struck me - it was like he was describing me and my life.  It was so spot on, I couldn’t believe it.  Then, he explained how he turned things around, essentially curing himself through diet and exercise.  His solution was the Keto diet.  I made up my mind right there to go learn all I could about the Keto diet and lifestyle.  Now, 3 years later, I’m still on the diet and learning all that I can.  I’m 40 pounds lighter, have plenty of energy, and just plain feel better.  If you’d like to learn more about getting started with Keto, I’d suggest Dr. Sisson’s website https://www.marksdailyapple.com. He updates his site often and keeps current on all things "Paleo" and "Keto". Just use the search feature to dive in.  
I’ll talk more about Keto in future posts, but in the meantime, here’s something to get you started.  They say the best way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.  For years, my nightly habit was pouring a glass of scotch.  Certainly with booze, a big part is the buzz, but studies have shown that another big part of it is the ritual. Grabbing the glass, filling it with ice, removing the bottle from the cabinet and pouring the precise amount.  Replacing this ritual is more than half the battle.  In my case, I’ve replaced the ritual of pouring a scotch with the ritual of making myself a matcha latte.  Here’s my recipe:
  • one scoop of macha (https://amzn.to/2oT9rUN
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (listed above, it's important to work up to 2. I'd start with 1 every few hours and get my way up to 2 after a few weeks of adapting) 
  • 1/3 cup of vanilla milkadamia milk (https://amzn.to/2oQBdkW
  • 2-4 drops of NOW's "Better Stevia" (https://amzn.to/2CCxX6l) (I actually get the 2oz bottle because it's easy to travel with and carry in my bag) 
  • Fill remainder of cup with boiling water (we make a lot of tea and use the Hamilton Beach Glass Electric Kettle for quick hot water, https://amzn.to/2N2oxpm
  • And froth :) 
  • Optional: I've been "spicing" mine up lately with pumpkin spice and it's amazing (https://amzn.to/2oUCDLe
Cheers,
Shaun

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