Where The Big Dog Started

I’m not completely sure when it started.

Really… life just happened.

I (Gerald) worked too much, the 9X5 was more like a 10X7 and I ate to handle the pressure. I had two missing discs in my back, bad knees, a messed up neck and the bigger I got the more I hurt and the less I could do.

Now, why “The Big Dog”? Well, I’m 6’5″ and I eventually hit my top weight at 527 pounds (see the picture below) and while I had the nickname before that… I thought it was appropriate here.

Way back in the day, one employer was so curious to find out how much I weighed that he took me to a truck scale to verify it (hmm… dehumanizing?)… and I wasn’t even at my biggest at that time.

At 527 I was miserable and in constant pain… I had also spent the better part of 20 years researching weight loss and every diet + work out plan known to man. As a former HS wrestler, collegiate FB player, and a Power Lifter, I knew my way around the gym. I knew the literature around every “serious” diet and most of the “trendy” diets as well… and I’m pretty sure I tried them all.

<Quick Rant>

All of you people at the “Chrome Gyms” who do more sitting around exercise equipment than using it and whom enjoy ridiculing “big” people as the “waddle” into the gym… all of you are clowns. That person worked harder and went through more pain to just get into the gym than you will during your entire workout. They are trying to better their lives and you are trying to fatten your ego…

Now STFU, step away from the treadmill and let a person of substance get their sweat on!

<End of Rant… back to story>

And then, while almost at the end of my rope, I had a doctor and a specific nutritionist recommended to me. The doctor was not a vegan but the nutritionist was. Together they came up with an elimination diet designed specifically for me. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!! Talk to professionals about this health and fitness stuff not some fat guy on the internet.

The diet was essentially 75% veg, 25% protein, no carbs outside of what I get from the veg, no simple carbs (no sugars, no potatoes, no fruits, no grains, no pastas, etc.). And fats? Yes please.

My nutritionist pushed me more and more towards eating plant based proteins, really a more complete veg diet but was very understanding (especially given the blood tests) of how I was reacting to the diet and provided a ton of fantastic education.

I also didn’t worry about micros, macros, or even calories. I did take some supplements and had my blood tested every other week… and 18 months later I had lost 280 pounds (127 KG, 20 Stone) resulting in a low weight of 247 pounds (with all of the extra skin a fat man brings with him).

And along the way I started, really just started, to have fun cooking something other than just BBQ (which is still waaaay freaking’ fun).

The Big Dog’s Kitchen is simply a continuation of exploring cooking for fun and for health. (Not always for health… sometimes fun is the priority here)

Now about my diet. After I hit my goal weight I had to transition into something sustainable. I honestly still don’t count caloeries… I also eat very few carbs and almost no candy (I actually love Atomic Warheads… can’t eat them often). I have gotten to a point where I am moving closer and closer to a plant based diet but I’m not there … and may never get there due to health issues that I am still under a doctor’s care for.

At this point I am referencing my diet as Plant First Whole Foods. So when I design a menu, for an average meal and not a party/holiday/celebration, I think of what Veg I want to eat, and then I think of how I am going to supplement that with protein.

The one thing we really try to avoid is overly processed foods. As my nutritionist said “If you pick up a box of food in the store and it has more than 5 ingredients, put it back. If it has more than 2 ingredients that you can’t pronounce, put it back.”

Does it still work? 5+ years later I’m still within 8 pounds of my low weight and I have a disgusting amount of extra “balloon skin” that will never let my BMI read anything other than “porky”… that’s ok, we’ll keep on keeping on.

I also have three other people in my home who are very much omnivore and whom I have to consider when planning meals. Most of our meals will slant toward an omnivore diet… but we are eating more and more vegan type meals… and the frequency of vegan meals at our home will most likely increase.

Why Vegan and not Vegetarian?

That’s due to my friends and my attempts to entertain Vegans and Vegetarians. Basically if A Vegetarian comes over for a BBQ I can feed them Vegan food. If a Vegan comes over for the same party I can’t feed them Vegetarian food. So the bulk of my dietary research has been on the vegan diet so that I can feed both Vegans and Vegetarians while avoiding having to make considerations for a never ending number of dietary considerations.

The Big Dog’s kitchen will have all kinds of recipes. We’ll have recipes for meatheads, veg heads, comfort foods, weeknight meals, part foods…. but there is one thing you won’t see here on The Big Dog’s Kitchen… Kale.

Kale is for people who have no joy in their lives. If you eat kale I hope you find the support you need to escape its clutches.

With that… take care and remember… you may bnot be able to change the world but you can plant a seed and you should NEVER underestimate the power of planting a seed!

The Big Dog – Gerald