I had the f*cking potatoes.
Lunch break at the fitness startup I'd just joined. Everyone heads out together. A new restaurant, again. Coaches, trainers, one guy who's vegan. All of them in amazing shape. I stay at my desk, almost alone in the office, with my sad Primal meal out of a container. Thinking I'd discovered the secret to optimal health. I had a Primal Health Coach certification. I'd been through Paleo, Primal Blueprint, keto. All by the book. And I couldn't figure out how these people ate out several times a week and looked like that. It felt unfair. I'd lost weight on every one of those diets. I'd also lost muscle, strength and my libido. I got anxious every time someone suggested eating out. As a nutrition coach, I was a fraud. I was optimizing everything, and I still didn't look or feel like I thought I should have. But that wasn't the worst part. I had no peace. I couldn't sit down to a meal and just be okay. I didn't know enough, I didn't understand enough, and I had no system that let me land in any situation and still thrive without overthinking it. The potatoes Then came a long-overdue dinner with my wife. A French restaurant. I decided: not today. No low carb tonight. I had the fucking potatoes. By the end of the meal my muscles felt fuller (glycogen finally got replenished). My energy was back. One meal, and I thought: "Oh my God, this is what I should be doing." And then, anxious, I went right back to my Primal diet. The blood test The symptoms didn't go away. When my libido hit the floor, I finally admitted I wasn't doing things right and got my blood checked. LDL cholesterol at 360 mg/dL. Testosterone at 330 ng/dL. Didn't take Sherlock to figure out what was responsible. So I did what I should have done on day one. I asked the nutritionists I worked with. They weren't married to any one way of eating, and they coached me properly. Carbs came back. Saturated fat came down. A year later, my LDL was 118 and my testosterone 540. By 2024, 663. The guru I almost became Here's the origin story of nearly every nutrition guru. He feels bad. He tries an elimination diet. He feels better. He thinks he's discovered America. Then he hunts for every bit of evidence that agrees with him, ignores the rest, and turns the diet into his identity. I was halfway down that road. I even had the certificate. What saved me was a plate of potatoes, a bad blood test, people around me who knew better than to make a diet their identity, and the real nutrition education that followed. Today I lift four days a week, eat proper meals (restaurants included), and I'm still getting stronger and building muscle. And my libido isn't an 80-year-old's anymore. I've held 12-15% body fat for years without thinking much about it. Don't get me wrong, my shit still stinks. But the best part? I finally got rid of that debilitating anxiety around food. I can sit down at any table, be fine, and focus on the people around me. What this means for you Maybe you're on plan number five. Keto, then fasting, then whatever your buddy swears by. Each one starts as a diet and slowly becomes who you are. Until it breaks, and you go looking for the next one. What's missing is a system that's yours. One you trust enough to stop thinking about. If you're done hopping from plan to plan, let's find what keeps breaking for you. To your last restart,
Bart Cagara Helping founders get in shape one last time. When you're ready, here's how I can help: | ||||||||
