OTR

Are you a trucker or other type of daily driver?

Thanks for clicking into this page! Shortly, you’re going to meet a fellow driver, “Shawn the Carnivore Trucker.” After years on the road, I personally have witnessed fat America grow, especially in the lines of work like drivers, firefighters, paramedics, and police, and I sure hope I can help you. I was once very heavy, a driver in many different vehicles from a Prevost tour bus to an 80,000lb concrete pump, a Sheriff’s Dept patrol vehicle when I was a deputy, to a Pierce fire truck as a volunteer FF. And now putting 50-100k miles a year driving a 5th wheel, I’m over the roads of America like never before.

If your career is spent behind the wheel of a vehicle, this page is dedicated to you.

Whether it’s an 18-wheeler hauling cargo, driving a tour bus, sitting in your car all day on a security detail, or delivering people or food with “gig” jobs, we are going to discuss how it’s not just a sedentary lifestyle that causes weight gain.

Let’s begin with truckers

Unless you’re very intentional about what you eat, you are setting yourself up for a health disaster. When you are at a truck stop, your options for eating are many: fast food attached to the convenience store side of the building, hot dog and taco rollers by the soda fountains, or food coolers near the center of the store with “healthy” grab and go items like yogurt parfaits, bananas, and other fruits, premade white bread sandwiches, and more. Never mind the endless rows of snacks like chips, candy bars, bags of nuts, sodas, and other easy-to-handle foods.

I walked into a truck stop one afternoon recently when traveling Texas to Colorado, and I should have taken a photo. The sign on the door greeting as you walked in read: “Comfort food inside, have a seat.”  This is an invitation to eat food that “comforts” you. So what does this mean? First, it’s suggesting that you need comfort. Maybe it’s referencing a bad day, week, month, or life on the road. Perhaps it speaks to loneliness, anger for someone cutting you off, or brake-checking you. Maybe you had a fight with your spouse, or you just really wish you wanted to be any place but right there at the door to a truckstop restaurant.

Regardless of the scenario, the suggestion is that a plate of food will comfort you. Invariably this is very unhealthy food: A large burger on a ciabatta bread or sourdough bread bun with steak fries, a chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, a slice or three of pizza, or perhaps some wings and a side of fries or okra fried in seed oil.  Maybe it’s a splurge day and you go for the giant milkshake. By the time the food hits your table, your mind has been racing at the thought of how good it will taste. Halfway through, you’re full, but the taste is so good, you don’t stop. An hour later, you’re underway, and your body is trying to process it, wearing your energy down.

2-3hrs after eating that meal, you reach for a bag of candy, a package of pretzels or chips, and you find yourself snacking. Maybe you drink an energy drink to get a hit of “wake up” for the next 4-5hrs spent behind the wheel. While this is happening, your body is going into shutdown mode because it can’t possibly process all that you’ve given it. It has no use for the extra sugar you put in on top of the potentially one good source of sugar (the protein), so it stores it in your belly, butt, boobs, neck, back, and face. The inflammatory ingredients of seed oils compound your body aches. Sadly you’ve been conditioned to believe it’s your lifestyle–a mostly sedentary one of driving all day–that makes you believe you’re not feeling well because you’re not moving. And this is where it’s time to start acknowledging the truth.

You’re a gig driver?

You drive for a rideshare program, and you’re typically around town seeking the next gig. This may keep you in food districts where temptations are many. You snack like crazy because you never really take time to sit and enjoy a meal. Or you starve because gig driving barely covers your daily nut, and food is whatever you can afford.

Perhaps you’re a driver for one of the many food delivery services, or that’s just part of the gig brand you work under. How tempting is it to grab something from the same place for yourself? Probably a lot more tempting than most of us deal with, because you’re actually there, inside the establishment, where most of us are able to pass on by. And I’m sure there have been cases where food was unclaimed, leftover, or for whatever other reason, was given to you free of charge. Why waste that?

Are you a first responder?

If you’ve taken note of the many employees of a first responder agency, from ambulance/medic services to firefighting and law enforcement, you’ve probably seen what I’ve seen: people who look like they need the very stretcher they’re rolling someone out on, people who look like foot-chasing a suspect will result in the bad guy getting away, or a person who will struggle to jump down quickly from the seat of a firetruck and able to scale a ladder to the second floor with 75lbs over their shoulder.

If anyone in these lines of work needs to be in top shape, it’s these folks. Don’t get angry with me because I’m pointing out a relevant fact, especially if this out of shape employee is you. This isn’t shaming you. This isn’t mocking you. This is very real: what good are you if you can’t hoist the weight of a person going into the ambulance? What good are you if you can’t catch someone running away from you? What good are you if you collapse from a heart attack at a fire scene? We aren’t talking about delivering food or driving a taxi. This is life-saving stuff, and if you aren’t saving your own life, why are you helping others? Look, I used to be a 185lb cop with a bulging gut. Not huge, just bulging. It was still enough to be upset about “having a gut.” It was still enough to get in my own way.

You sit in a patrol car, possibly eating a very discounted or free meal. You drive around town in an ambulance, waiting for the tones. You prepare food in a firehouse, also waiting for the tones. 

Of all the people I’ve just discussed, firefighters have the greatest chance to remain healthy. After all, the only thing they do is grocery shop, wash equipment, work out, and sleep, right? I kid. But there is a lot of truth spoken right there. They move, so at least they have a chance to burn off some of the calories they eat.

Unfortunately, in the first responder life, most people believe they can “eat healthy” garbage like salads loaded with toppings, potatoes with their proteins, drinking diet soft drinks, and work out to lose fat. But this isn’t the proper approach. It begins at your plate!

The Solution?

This is going to be much more difficult than you may be prepared for, but you’re in control of yourself, and you must tuck your head down, and tough it out. You chose the driver’s life likely because you prefer to control your life. I don’t mean you’re a “control freak” but I do mean you like being your own boss, being told only minimally what do do/where to be. Give you a load and a destination, you can handle the rest. So you can control a 50,000lb rig and load, and navigate streets of people with sirens blaring, but can you control yourself? The question is: how badly do you want to be healthy? Just like having a deadline to get the celebrities in the back of the bus to the venue, getting a reefer full of perishables to the loading dock, or getting someone delivered on time, you have to place as much importance on yourself. If you don’t, nobody will get anywhere because of you. The saying “You have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first” becomes increasingly important now.

Typical meal broken down

This is entirely about choices. When you sit down at any restaurant, you should have a clear mindset to not eat the following: sugar, seed oils, and processed foods. Easy enough right? What exactly does this mean? I’ll break a typical meat and 3 plate down for you:

  1. Protein (Salisbury steak patty, chicken  fried steak, fried chicken, baked chicken breast, meatloaf, etc). If any of those are fried in seed oils, or prepared atop a griddle with seed oils, there’s your first concern. The seed oils cause inflammation, making you feel bloated, giving you sore joints, your skin feels tight, itchy rashes, brain fog, back pain, fatigue, irritable mood, sinus congestion, heartburn, GI inflammation (IBS), gout.
  2. Three Veggies. If prepared in seed oils, see above. If covered in cheese, what’s in that cheese? Is it processed? If so, guaranteed it will have seed oils. Did you get a salad as one of your three veggies? If there was any kind of dressing, likely it is covered in seed oils. Again, see all the symptoms listed in the proteins section.
  3. Did you get a bowl of fruit, an ice cream cone, or a slice of cake or pie? Sugar on top of seed oils, all likely highly processed (except for the fruit).
  4. What was your drink? Diet soda loaded with processed chemicals? Tea (a diuretic, full of oxalates, can cause kidney issues)? Regular soda jacked full of sugar and chemicals?
Now let’s offer a healthier option:
  1. Protein: seek steak, burger patties without buns, baked chicken, or baked fish. Specifically ask to have any of these cooked only in real butter, but absolutely not in any kind of “oil.” Yes, there may be oils on the griddle, but if they’re cooking with an oil, insist only on butter, beef fat (tallow), or bacon grease.
  2. Skip the sides, double up on the protein. Seriously, the sides are what are likely hurting you because of the hidden ingredients such as the oils they’re prepared in, or the harmful contents of the sides themselves. You’ll have to seek other text in this website to see the details about the harmful nature of veggies.
  3. No dessert. You don’t need it. The sweet tooth doesn’t need to be satisfied, any more than you need to numb your brain with a 12 pack of beer or bottle of whiskey.
  4. Water is your friend. Your body composition is approximately 60% water. Trying to drink your water through sodas, teas, and more is like putting gasoline in your diesel fuel tank. Yes, they’re liquids, but they’re clearly not the same.

Meet Shawn the Carnivore Trucker

The Carnivore Trucker

Shawn is a 30-something OTR trucker, putting about 180,000 miles a year under his butt. Since Jan 1 2023, he’s shed 40lbs with minimal exercise, and being a strict carnivore. His most exercise happened in April. He first learned about the Carnivore life through Thomas DeLauer. As he went down the rabbit hole, he discovered Dr. Ken Berry, and the rest is his success history!

He found me through an interview I did with Dr. Shawn Baker, and I’m glad he did, because for so long I’ve wanted to help truckers understand there is a better way to life through proper food intake. Shawn is the most perfect example of someone who figured this out!

I point you towards Shawn because he speaks the language of career-driver. He knows 100% all of the elements of a driver’s life, he has the miles to prove it, and he has been on both sides of the healthy/unhealthy life. He made a choice one day after growing tired of being fat and bloated, and that choice became a daily series of making that same choice. He will tell you it’s not easy with all of the distractions on the road. The stressors don’t change. In fact, people driving 4-wheelers are only getting more stupid, more brazen, more distracted, and less sympathetic to the needs of truckers. The dispatcher is treating you like a second-class citizen, giving better routes to a cruddy co-worker. Your significant other is giving you a hard time. All the while, the food choices are getting more plentiful, with several establishments offering multiple lines of fast food in one super-size truck stop. If a donut doesn’t meet your need, a roast beef sandwich and curly fries might. If those don’t work, a taco or sub sandwich made of highly processed ingredients may hit the spot. Or you’re in such a hurry, that grab-and-go items are your only option. You believe a yogurt with granola and fruit is healthier for you, so you eat one of those, only you don’t realize it’s loaded with sugar.

Shawn deals with all these things on a weekly and daily basis. If you turn to his page and videos, he will show you how you can eat as a carnivore on the road, and thrive. As soon as you begin to feel better, the weight will fall off, and you’ll find yourself with the kind of energy that needs to be burned off by walking around the truck stop parking lot, rest area, or loading dock will do. You’ll find yourself doing pushups in the parking rows, wrapping elastic bands around parts of the trailer, or even seeking an Uber to take you to a local gym. You may find space onboard your vehicle for a bicycle or even a small weight bench in the sleeper. Your snacks are either fried pork skins, unsweetened beef jerky, or nothing at all. You swap out all of your liquids for drinking water. 

How do you do this?

 

Just as you have schedules to follow, routes to stick to, and rules to operate by, your body has all the same requirements. If you’re an OTR trucker, you know you have to adhere to specific rules of the road, or people could get hurt, cargo could get destroyed, and you could lose your job.

Let’s place that same level of importance on your own life. Make a plan, and stick to it. The plan looks like this:

When you’re hungry, stick to proteins, animal fats, zero sugar, zero fried foods, and zero processed foods.

When you’re thirsty, drink water. And with water replenish your minerals with electrolytes like Redmond Re-Lyte.

When you feel the need to snack, either don’t, or opt for unsweetened beef jerky. Learn how to make healthy snacks and carry those with you.

Try to eat in a style called intermittent fasting. This is eating during a short window of a day. If you’re a person who doesn’t work overnight shifts, then eat between 10am and 6pm. Try to set a window of eating in an 8hr period, known as 16/8. This means for 16hrs of a day, you’re not eating. Eat all of your calories during the 8hr portion. If you find yourself hungry, push through it. Teach your body to accept that just because you can stop at any food joint, you don’t.

Lean into others who can help you. This may be your own mini support group of fellow career folks. It may be sending me or Shawn or others a message, seeking support or an answer. It may be just screaming at the top of your lungs when you have the urge to consume a bag of chips or cookies. Whatever it takes to get yourself to the other side, short of hurting anyone else, do what you need to do.

When does this begin?

 

Right now. You’re not having to assemble a daily food diary. You’re not joining a membership club. You’re not counting points. You’re not having to answer to anyone but yourself.

You are going to take control of your choices.

You are going to start feeling better.

You are going to start losing weight.

You are going to become the best person you’ve ever been.

You are going to be better tomorrow than you are today.

Welcome to the right side of your life.