College: I Showed up and Smiled, but I was Sick and Suicidal.

My college experience was a far cry from frat parties, beer pong, and studying abroad. I wrestled with demons in my head and skin conditions no doctor could explain - but with the perfect vision of hindsight, it’s easy to pinpoint the cause of my suffering. My lifestyle choices caused inflammation to surge throughout my body, manifesting in a variety of immune disorders which took years to properly resolve.

The good news? Now that I know better, I do better. And so can you. Here are the real lessons I learned as an undergraduate.

I’ve always described myself as not just type A, but type AAA Energizer bunny - especially in the area of academic performance. Earning good grades as a child was the way I bought love and affection from my parents, and this carried through into my college experience. I was driven to perform academically and pushed myself to perfection despite the damage to my physical and mental health that resulted.

On top of taking 22-24 credit hours per semester at Furman University, an academically rigorous private institution in the Upstate of South Carolina, I was also on the leadership of a libertarian student organization and spent nearly 30 hours a week on writing, hosting guest speakers, and engaging in activism.

Something had to give.

That something? Just my body. No big deal, right?

I had a dark, dark secret.

I routinely consumed a Pizza Hut dinner box, aimed at feeding 4-6 people, by myself. That’s two pizzas, breadsticks, dessert, and a 2 liter soda. I’d chase that down with a can of frosting and graham crackers for dessert. Anytime I made brownies (from a boxed mix of course) I didn’t even have the patience to allow the oven to come to temperature before scarfing the batter down as if it were just a cup of yogurt. It was a stress coping mechanism - and I became a carbohydrate addict.

I stole food from my roommates when they were asleep. I tried to keep myself from binging by throwing food away and pouring dish soap on it, only to come back later and eat the salvageable portions out of the trash.

On top of this gluttony, I didn’t get any exercise. I spent my days sitting in class or holed up in the library studying; my evenings were occupied with attending lectures or hosting political events. If a visitor to campus had asked me where the gymnasium was, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell them.

I was overfed yet undernourished - and my body cried out for help.

My Body’s Rebellion

Weight gain was truly the least of my problems. At 5’5” I clocked in at 220 pounds, a BMI of 36.6. I’ve scoured my records for photos, but can’t find any at my heaviest - likely because I avoided them as much as I could.

I developed what doctors called idiopathic urticaria, hives all across my body that itched like the devil and whose origin couldn’t be explained - or so I was told. On the good days I’d scratch until I bled and scabbed over. On the more debilitating days, I rolled up in the fetal position and rocked back and forth in my shabby twin bed, sobbing. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t get relief, I couldn’t attend classes. If I managed to venture outside, I wore the same hoodie and sweatpants regardless of weather to conceal the blemishes.

My doctor, unsurprisingly, assaulted the problem with an array of medications - everything from Accutane to Adderall. Yes, you read that right.

Instead of suggesting lifestyle changes to remove inflammation from my body, my doctor drugged me with amphetamines.

Although I have always been a rebellious libertarian, the thought never occurred to me to question my physician. After all, doctors are experts…right? Their primary concern is my overall well being…right?

So I took the medications as prescribed and followed his instructions to the letter - only to continue in the downward spiral of depression, anxiety, and physical pain. I was seriously contemplating suicide.

The Awakening

One day, while sitting in the courthouse waiting to find out if I’d been selected for jury duty, I heard Tom Woods interview Mark Sisson on his podcast. Back then (about 2014), Mark was a proponent of the Paleo diet, a concept foreign to me but one that seemed reasonable. Heretofore my nutritional “knowledge” consisted of the conventional dietary wisdom: eat less, move more, avoid fat, and for God’s sake NEVER eat red meat because you’ll instantly die of a heart attack. In fact, my cardiologist father banned red meat from our home growing up and at age 22 I had never eaten a steak. (That’s a story for another blog post).

I gave the Paleo diet a test drive, and I also joined a local women’s gym for aerobics classes three times a week. I began to feel better almost instantly - within a week - and started researching more information on nutrition and exercise.

I saw improvements on a Paleo diet, but it wasn’t until completely eliminating plants that my mental health began to improve.

This blog post is more about the contrast between college and today, so I will take the time to write the full story of my transition from Paleo to Keto to Carnivore another time; however, suffice it to say that as I continued to eliminate toxins and plant foods from my diet, I saw my skin conditions completely clear up. When I went Paleo, I was still eating large amounts of sugar, particularly in the form of dried fruit. Once I realized this sugar acts the same way in my body and eliminated it, my mental health improved almost overnight.

Today, I have no skin problems, and while there are occasional days where depression or anxiety attempt to worm their way back in like a needy ex, I’ve never before been blessed with the happiness and sense of purpose I have now.

So whether you’re a veteran carnivore like me (since 2018) or hearing about it for the first time, know this: you can heal. To what extent and to how quickly, I don’t know - but the healing begins when you begin making changes. Of course, the best time to begin was ten years ago - but the second best time is this very second.

I’m the strongest and happiest I’ve ever been - and I give all the glory to Jesus Christ who saved my soul and the nutrient-dense meats that fuel my body.

Work with me today! Schedule a free consultation here and let me help inspire and empower you to design a life you look forward to living every day.