The walk has ended. For additional information:
info.ketogump.com
What, or rather, who is Keto Gump? It is my intention to be the Forrest Gump of ketosis. In the movie, the character, Forrest, just decided it was time to run. He ran all over the country for many years. I am only attempting to walk 327 miles from Austin to Houston, through San Antonio, this October. Though much smaller in scope than Forrest's epic run, I hope it will still have a large impact.
Most of us have been told that we must eat foods containing carbohydrates to keep our energy up and for our brain to function. The human body is quite capable of producing enough glucose internally to run your body and brain. Though vegetables and fruits may contain beneficial nutrients that can promote health, many people argue that they are unnecessary to support life. I will do this walk being fueled on almost exclusively on fat and protein to demonstrate that a person's body can endure extreme physical exertion without the consumption of high amounts of carbohydrates. If I can survive hundreds of miles of hiking over multiple consecutive days, any person should be able to make it through the day without relying on many, if any, carbohydrates to get them through.
Why would I do such a thing? I want to raise awareness of the low carbohydrate, whole foods, nutritional approaches to eating that can address many of the chronic diseases that are plaguing our society today. To hear an interview of me discussing why I am doing this, look for Vinnie Tortorich's podcast "Fitness Confidential" (episode 1142) in your favorite podcast app or listen to it on his website. I have also been interview by Amy Robison show "Thrive Life Radio" on the Vinyl Draught Radio network and you can see that interview on YouTube.
Why 327 miles? A recent study shows that the US national cost of diabetes will be $327 billion in 2018. That's right, we will spend almost one billion dollars a day on direct medical costs and lost productivity at work due to diabetes. I do not want to only point the finger at diabetes though. There are a multitude of chronic conditions that can be prevented, controlled or reversed simply by changing the way we eat. These diseases include cardiovascular disease, some cancers, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's to list a few.
Why do this in Texas? Texas is my home. Also, Texas is home to 6 of the top 100 fattest metro areas in the country for 2018. There are currently about 3 million adults in Texas with pre-diabetes or diabetes and about 1 in 4 of them do not even know it yet. Beyond that, some estimates claim that over half of Americans already have diabetes or are insulin resistant which will most likely lead to diabetes or other chronic diseases eventually. Texas, specifically Houston, also holds the dubious honor of being the home of the first case of type 2 diabetes diagnosed in a 3 year old child. For reference, until recently, type 2 diabetes was colloquially referred to as "adult onset" diabetes.
How can you help? Below are several options to support people and organizations that are working on spreading the message on how important nutrition is to our health. Please consider financially supporting their efforts. If you cannot support them financially, you can share their information with those around you to help spread their message.
As you will be donating directly to any of these groups below, there is no way for me to track how much is raised from my efforts. If you do donate, please take a screen shot and post it to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #ketogump so that I will be able to see it and thank you for your donation. For the poster offer from Jim Abrahams, that will be the only way for me to determine who the largest donor to the Charlie Foundation is.
- Low Carb Houston Conference
- Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, dementia and cancer have increased because of modern diet and lifestyle. The Low Carb Houston Conference at the University of Houston-Clear Lake on Oct. 25-27 has been organized to address and examine nutritional strategies to improve chronic disease. Health care providers, scientists, nutritionists and other experts in the field will examine many facets and nuances of carbohydrate restriction to improve metabolic consequences and chronic diseases arising from a standard American diet.
- Read more about it in this press release.
- Check out the agenda.
- Register
- Weight loss expert Vinnie Tortorich and award-winning filmmaker Peter Pardini have already started work on a documentary film that exposes the widespread myths and lies around healthy eating, fat, and weight loss. Their vision is to make a powerful and effective film that creates a paradigm shift in how the world thinks about diet, fat and weight loss. Doctors, scientists, and nutritionists from around the world will participate to discuss the issues.
- Official Trailer
- Donate
- There are many incentives available at various donation levels.
- The Nutrition Coalition
- The Nutrition Coalition is actively building a broad and diverse coalition of scientists, health-care practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and concerned citizens to fight nutrition-related chronic diseases in America through rigorous science, education, and effective communication. Their mission is to ensure the federal government’s nutrition advice is based on comprehensive, systematic reviews of the most rigorous nutrition science available and to encourage additional research where that science is lacking.
- Donate
- The Charlie Foundation
- The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies was founded in 1994 to provide information about diet therapies for people with epilepsy, other neurological disorders and select cancers. The Charlie Foundation is now in its 25th year of advancing awareness of Ketogenic Therapeutics.
- Donate
- Jim Abrahams has offered to donate a signed poster from his hit movie "Airplane!" to the person that donates the most to the Charlie Foundation (this offer is over and has been awarded).
How can you follow my progress? I will be posting updates on my Instagram profile @awokelife. They will be co-posted on my Twitter account @awokelife as well. I will be posting some training updates along with other info about why I am doing this before the actual walk begins. Once the walk begins, I will post information about how it is going and the people I meet along the way. Additionally, I will post a link where you can track my live GPS location.
What route will I take? I will start my journey at the state capitol building in Austin. From there I will be stopping for the night in the following locations:
- 10/5: Austin to San Marcos
- 10/6: San Marcos to Bulverde
- 10/7: Bulverde to East San Antonio
- 10/8: East San Antonio to Luling
- 10/9: Luling to Schulenburg
- 10/10: Schulenburg to Sealy
- 10/11: Sealy to Katy
Along the way I will be stopping at courthouses, city halls, and The Alamo of course.
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I will need some help to achieve this goal:
- Share this page on social media. Here are some suggested social media friendly posts:
- Starting 10/5, David from @awokelife, will walk 327 mi. from Austin to Houston in 8 days, while in ketosis, to spread awareness about the impact that type 2 diabetes has on society and how a #LCHF #Ketogenic diet can reduce that impact. #KetoGump ketogump.com
- Follow David from @awokelife as he walks 327 mi. from Austin to Houston in 8 days, while in ketosis. He is spreading awareness of the therapeutic benefits that a #LCHF #Ketogenic diet can have on many chronic diseases plaguing society today. #KetoGump ketogump.com
- Follow David from @awokelife as he walks 327 mi. from Austin to Houston in 8 days, while in ketosis. He is spreading awareness of the impact on health that food choices and improperly developed government policies. #KetoGump ketogump.com
- If you have contacts with news organizations that may be interested in covering this story, reach out to them and have them contact me through this blog. Here is a blurb you can send them
- Starting October 5th, David Casebeer, a Houston resident, will be attempting to walk from Austin to Houston, through San Antonio (327 miles), over an 8 day period. He will be spreading awareness about the financial and personal impact that type 2 diabetes is having on our society and how a low-carbohydrate diet can be used to reduce that impact. He will be doing this while eating a diet low in carbohydrates in an effort to demonstrate that the daily consumption of high levels of dietary carbohydrates is unnecessary and that you can have plenty of energy to get through the day eating mostly fat and protein. More information is available at his website: ketogump.com
- I will also be looking for places to refuel and rest along the way. Once I finalize my route I will publish it. If you are located on it and you would like to offer food, water, a shower or a bed, let me know.
- I am paying for all of this out of pocket so if you would like to help me cover the cost, you can go to my donations page. I just ask that you donate to one or more of the organizations above before you donate to me.
More to come...
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