My Story

I spent about 30 years of my adult life following conventional wisdom. As a military and commercial pilot, I travelled quite a lot, spent large amounts of time in different time zones, and ate crap because that was what was available most of the time. I was always conscious of my weight and appearance but was always fighting a losing battle. I did drink a lot of beer but usually tried to stick to low fat foods. I hiked and walked all the time and even did a few short distance triathlon races always thinking that I had to exercise to loss/maintain a healthy weight. Of course, that never happened. So for about 30 years, I followed pretty governments advise and ate the SAD (standard American diet) and got fatter and unhealthier!

In early 2012, I looked in the mirror and finally REALLY didn’t like what I saw. I had to change or deal with pending chronic diseases or disorders or die (I know, pretty dramatic!). I started a running program thanks to my wife and slowly got fitter. By mid 2013, I was feeling pretty awesome, lost about 20 pounds, and wanted more. I had started to eat differently, following the Paleo diet and it seemed to work. I also decided to sign up for an Ironman race in Mount Tremblant for August 2014. Very exciting stuff! I hired a coach, upped my training and completed the race in 16 hours. Lots of pain by the end but loved it and fell in love with the sport. My next Ironman race was September 2016 in Chattanooga. It turned out to be the second hottest IM race ever, a third of the starting athletes did not finish and I ended up walking most of the marathon with horrible gut issues due to over hydration, no fun! Still I wanted more and I decided to try and figure out how to race without stomach problems.

Another observation I made during the following months was that I was gaining weight. I couldn’t believe it! Ironman training is roughly 10 to 15 hors of swimming, biking, and running a week. With this amount of exercise I figured I could eat as much as I wanted because of all the calories I was burning…maybe not. Conventional wisdom tells us that to lose weight we need to setup a negative energy balance in our bodies, simple. Eat less, move more, lose weight. Somehow it doesn’t seem to work this way does it. This was like saying Bill Gates gets richer because he earns more than he spends. Doesn’t really say HOW he got rich. Weight lose is WAY more complicated than this! Anyway, this is why I took a very deep dive into nutrition and I began to learn about optimal health.

September 2017, I heard the word KETO for the first time. My eating habits would be transformed for life! I started at 225lbs 7 years ago and am now 180lbs which I have easily maintained for the last year and a half (I was up to 210lbs 2 years ago) without counting calories or worrying how much I ate. I’ve enhanced my body’s ability to burn fat for fuel and have dabbled in intermittent fasting. My last two Ironman races were completed with Ucan Superstarch, salt, and water, both PBs (personal best) and I felt great during and after. My recovery time after these races was greatly reduced. Unbelievable! I sleep better, think better, remember better, feel better, bike better, run better (working on swim!), tan better, blood work is better, blood pressure is better, skin is better. I have not had any negative effects at all. Life changing, can’t sat enough about this lifestyle!

Ok, now this is why I want to health coach and start a business that will absolutely help people. It’s my passion to pass on what I’ve learned to anyone who wants/knows they can do better. I know you probably can feel it in your hearts that the conventional low fat, high grain diet is actually doing more harm than good. You have followed it for years but still struggle with your wellbeing. Ketogenic or LCHF (low carb healthy fat) lifestyles are not only your path to better living, it’s the way humans are meant to eat and live. If your that person who could use a change, a boost, or you’re just fed-up with not feeling great, I can help. I will begin taking clients mid October as I put the finishing touches on my new business. Let me help you extract the most joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment from your lives! Harper Primal Health