One Chef’s Journey to Health and Happiness

Cornville AZ (September 9, 2016) – Chef Harry Olson has been the chef and owner of restaurants in Chicago and Arizona for the past 23 years. When he started he says, “I was kind of like a kid in a candy store. I gained on average about 9 lbs a year for 10 years and found myself weighing in at an impressive 317 lbs! I was told by doctors to “do” something or bad things were going to happen.” So how does a Chef face his own healthy eating and lifestyle? This is how Chef Harry met the challenge head-on and changed his life.

Doctors pronounced him “pre-diabetic and borderline high blood pressure,” but no specifics on diet or exercise or anything were mentioned to Harry as a place to start. He was essentially left on his own to lose weight and “get better.”

So, he went on a no-starch diet and joined a health club, a reasonable beginning, going to the health club between lunch and dinner shifts. Harry lost 30 lbs and got into aerobic shape through lots of hours on the treadmill and elliptical machines (He emphasizes the word treadmill.) There was not much fun involved with this course of action, so of course, he gained some weight back and stopped the health club. As his weight yo-yoed for the next ten years, Harry became Type II Diabetic and was officially diagnosed with high blood pressure. He was discouraged and feeling lousy, too.

In July 2014, Harry weighed around 296 pounds and was taking a Type II diabetes medication called glipizide, a pill called losartan for high blood pressure, and omeprazole for a constantly queasy stomach with acid reflux. One of Harry’s big surprises was not being able to eat bacon anymore because he couldn’t stomach the smell or taste of it!

Harry was taking all these pills and still feeling terrible, although he had good blood pressure readings, his blood sugar was “under control” and he wasn’t so queasy anymore. It seemed from the medical community standpoint that was enough. Doctors considered him “cured” because no follow-up was scheduled, but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth! Harry wondered what was the root cause of all the health problems and not feeling well, in general?

Harry took it upon himself to do some research.

Chef Harry, “zeroed in on fixing my gut first.” As a Chef, his thought was that everything starts in the gut. He read some books by Dr. Alejandro Junger and proceeded to sign up for a 21 Day Clean Gut Repair program. This regimen consisted of a protein shake for breakfast, a salad with some protein for lunch and a second shake for dinner. No gluten, no sugar, no dairy, no alcohol, no caffeine and there were a lot of other no’s too, but these were the major ones. The regimen included lots of supplements, digestive enzymes, probiotics, liver support and blood sugar support taken at each “meal.” By the middle of the second week, Harry felt great and stopped taking the omeprazole. By the middle of the third week he was feeling significantly different enough so that he asked the coaches, “what do I do next, the program’s almost over? What do I do for the rest of my life?” One of the coaches suggested to Harry to “go Primal and visit marksdailyapple.com.”

PRIMAL MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Harry enthusiastically says, “I did and I did! Best move I ever made (besides marrying my wife of course)!” Harry bought the books and started reading, cooking, tasting and eating in a whole new way. Harry found that Primal food was delicious and easy to prepare. Just by eating Primal, he started losing weight. In his then physical condition, when he started cooking and eating Primal foods, Harry couldn’t do any exercises, sprints, or even jumping jacks to warm up. He was feeling, “…just too out of shape with too much stuff jiggling around and it hurt! I really thought I’d never be able to run again and I was just 62!”

But the weight kept coming off and little by little he started getting in much better physical shape. At that time, Harry joined a 21 Day Primal Challenge that runs on Vimify.com every month. He noticed right away that program really helped him stay focused, motivated and on track to be fully Primal. The online community there was very supportive and he continued to lose weight. Harry’s blood sugar was under control and his high blood pressure was coming down. Recognizing the meaningful changes in his own health and well-being, Harry became a mentor for the online challenges. In October of 2015, he took the online courses to become a Certified Primal Coach. 

The results are in, but they are not final. Harry still has some way to go, but he’s lost 70 lbs, is off all his prescribed medications, his blood pressure is normal and his A1C (blood test that measures Diabetic tendencies in the body) is going down. Harry’s doctor is impressed! And to Harry’s great satisfaction, he’s back to eating bacon, lots of bacon and loving it!

Chef Harry has a website called Harry’sPrimalFood.com. He offers Primal Specials in his restaurant, Harry’s Hideaway in Cornville, Arizona. He’s developed an online 21 Day Primal Food Challenge that’s running on Vimify.com right now with recipes and videos. And according to Harry, “Life is Primal and life is good!”

Chef Harry says he owes his good health to Mark Sisson and the Primal Blueprint people. Unlike any other “diets” he’s been on, this truly is a way of life and something he’ll be doing for the rest of his (hopefully longer) life!

For more information about the Primal Challenges, go to Harry’sPrimalFood.com or attend one of Harry’s Cooking Classes.