From Broken Couch Potato to 100-Mile Ultra Athlete – Episode 2
From broken to building: how one man turned blood markers, burnout, and big goals into the fuel for a 100-mile journey.
What happens when you go from a body breaking down to a body breaking limits? This episode dives into the messy middle—where discipline meets doubt, and where a former athlete learns to rebuild from the inside out. You’ll hear how metrics, mindset, and modified carnivore meals became the scaffolding for a brand-new identity. If you’ve ever wondered how to trade excuses for resilience, this is your roadmap.
Key Bullet-Point Summary
From Breakdown to Breakthrough – After years of pain, inflammation, and metabolic chaos, Dr. Dave committed to a 100-mile ultra as the ultimate accountability tool.
Why He’s Doing This – Leading by example for his kids: showing them resilience, discipline, and how to face hard things with intention.
Early Struggles – Walking was painful, running only lasted minutes, and health markers like triglycerides were dangerously high (near 700).
Habit Before Science – The first 6–9 months weren’t about performance; they were about building the daily habit of showing up and moving.
Rapid Progress – Once habits were locked in, base training accelerated weight loss (25 pounds in 30 days), improved running pace, and stabilized energy.
Data as Motivation – Monthly blood work, DEXA scans, and Garmin metrics became accountability anchors and a way to see long-term trend lines.
Nutrition Shift – Modified carnivore diet (meat, dairy, honey, fermented foods) stabilized blood sugar, improved biomarkers, and fueled training without hunger.
Strength Training Matters – Powerlifting-style routines added lean mass, protected against breakdown, and supported long-term healthspan.
Family Buy-In – Homeschooling, shared meals, and farming projects made the journey communal, with his wife and kids improving their health alongside him.
Bigger Vision – Beyond the Javelina 100, Dr. Dave sees ultra-endurance as a gateway to future challenges, resilience practices, and redefining healthspan.
Five FAQs
1. How can someone go from severe health problems to training for a 100-mile race?
By starting with small daily habits like walking, then adding base training, strength work, and nutrition changes. Progress comes from stacking consistent habits over time.
2. What diet helps with fast weight loss and stable energy for endurance training?
A modified carnivore approach with meat, dairy, honey, and fermented foods can stabilize blood sugar, reduce cravings, and improve cholesterol and triglycerides.
3. Why track blood work and DEXA scans during a health transformation?
Monthly testing provides accountability, shows long-term trend lines, and keeps motivation high by confirming progress instead of guessing.
4. How does strength training support ultra-endurance athletes?
Lifting heavy with squats, deadlifts, and presses preserves lean muscle, boosts resilience, and prevents injuries from overuse.
5. How do families successfully join a health and fitness journey together?
By sharing meals, creating active routines, and building habits around health as part of daily family culture—turning training and nutrition into something everyone participates in.
Resources & Mentions
Dr. Dave’s Energy Bucket FAQ Page
Dr. Dave’s Catalyst Journal FAQ Page
Dr. Dave’s Cybersapien Book Page
Key Quotes & Takeaways
“I wasn’t trying to hack performance at first — I was just trying to tie my shoes and walk out the door. That small win was everything.”
“Seeing two older men run past me on a mountain trail lit a fire in me — I wanted to be that person at 60, not broken at 40.”
“Progress didn’t feel like fireworks; it felt like compounding small steps, stacked one on top of another.”
“When my kids saw me changing, they started changing too — health became contagious in our house.”
“Data doesn’t lie. It forced me to be honest with myself when excuses used to win.”
“Habit change science comes before peak performance science — you have to build the routine before chasing the metrics.”
“Modified carnivore eating with meat, dairy, honey, and ferments stabilized blood sugar and reversed high triglycerides.”
“Strength training three times per week protects lean muscle during weight loss and boosts endurance resilience.”
“Tracking blood work and DEXA scans monthly shows true health trends instead of misleading snapshots.”
“Starting with low-intensity, time-based running builds the foundation for safe ultra-endurance progress.”
Expanded Summary
Overcoming Adversity and Finding a New Path
The journey began not with a race goal, but with a collapse. Health had spiraled out of control — triglycerides soaring, inflammation wrecking daily life, energy gone. Walking just twenty minutes caused pain, and the dream of being the kind of father who could lead by example seemed far away. Then came a turning point: seeing two older men run effortlessly up a mountain. That moment reframed the future. The choice wasn’t about chasing easy comfort; it was about committing to the hardest thing possible. Running a hundred miles became the improbable but undeniable goal — a way to rebuild health, reclaim identity, and prove that change is possible even from rock bottom.
Building Habits Before Chasing Performance
The first months weren’t about mileage, speed, or heart rate zones. They were about behavior science: tying shoes, walking daily, and proving that consistency was stronger than motivation. These “pre-pre base” months built the scaffolding for what came later. By starting with time-based training rather than pace goals, the process focused on habit rather than outcome. Once routine was in place, the compounding began. Minute by minute, step by step, running time doubled. Energy shifted. Instead of chasing short bursts of intensity, the body was being rebuilt to sustain. This foundational approach laid the groundwork for long-term performance and resilience.
Data as Accountability and a Source of Hope
Data turned into both mirror and motivator. Garmin metrics tracked runs, recovery, and daily activity buckets. Monthly blood work revealed biomarkers transforming: cholesterol dropping from 300 to 90, triglycerides from nearly 700 to under 70. DEXA scans confirmed lean mass gain while visceral fat shrank around vital organs. Even x-rays — showing structural issues like compression fractures and hip impingements — became part of the story, not excuses. The message was clear: dysfunction exists in everyone, but progress is possible if you build habits and track trends instead of chasing isolated numbers. Data kept the journey honest, turning setbacks into signals rather than dead ends.
Nutrition, Recovery, and Strength as Multipliers
The choice of a modified carnivore diet wasn’t about following a trend; it was about solving real metabolic problems. Meat, dairy, raw ferments, and controlled sugars stabilized energy while fueling rapid fat loss. Strength training three times per week preserved muscle mass and improved functional power, ensuring that weight loss didn’t strip away resilience. Recovery tools — sauna, stretching, foam rolling — became rituals to refill the “energy bucket.” Nutrition, movement, and data combined into a system that supported healthspan, not just finish lines. Homemade foods, like raw-milk ice cream, became family rituals that reinforced consistency while still feeling rewarding.
Family, Vision, and the Future of Longevity
This wasn’t a solo project. Family life shifted in parallel. Kids watched and mirrored habits: stretching, moving, and eating differently without being told. Meals became community time, with steaks and herbs from the family farm turning into connection points. Homeschooling aligned with health, teaching grit, problem-solving, and real-world resilience alongside science and language. Looking forward, the vision extends beyond the Javelina 100. The ultra journey is a template for life: small steps compounding, adversity reframed as fuel, and longevity pursued as a shared mission. This is more than training for a race — it’s training to lead by example, to expand healthspan, and to show that resilience is built one habit at a time.
Podcast Transcript: [From Broken Couch Potato to 100-Mile Ultra Athlete – Episode 2]
0:00 – Opening and Welcome
Host: Welcome back to another episode of the Human Performance Outliers podcast. I’m your host, Zach Bitter. Today’s episode is special — we’ll be catching up on training, health, and the mindset shift it takes to prepare for something as audacious as a 100-mile ultra.
Dr. Dave: Thanks for having me back, Zach. I’m excited. These conversations help me anchor my progress and keep the bigger “why” in focus.
5:00 – From Collapse to Commitment
Host: Last time, we talked about where this journey started. You weren’t just out of shape, you were really broken down. How has that changed since then?
Dr. Dave: A year ago, my triglycerides were close to 700. I was foggy, inflamed, and honestly a mess. I should’ve been hospitalized. Just walking hurt. At that point, I couldn’t even imagine running. But then I saw two men, both in their 60s, run past me up a mountain. That flipped a switch. I thought: I want to be like them when I’m older.
That’s when I set the most ridiculous goal I could think of — run 100 miles. Not because I had experience, but because I knew I needed something so big that it would force a transformation.
10:00 – Building Habits First
Host: So it wasn’t just about training — it started with habit change.
Dr. Dave: Exactly. For months, it wasn’t running at all. It was just tying my shoes, walking every day, and proving to myself that I could stick to something. No fancy metrics, no chasing pace. Just time on my feet.
That’s something I think people miss — the science of performance is different from the science of habit change. You can’t jump to the elite strategies before you’ve built consistency. That’s what those first nine months were about: building scaffolding.
15:00 – The Role of Data and Progress Tracking
Host: You track a lot — Garmin, blood work, DEXA scans. How does that play into motivation?
Dr. Dave: For me, data is accountability. My cholesterol dropped from 300 to 90, triglycerides from 677 to 70. My DEXA scans show visceral fat melting away while lean tissue goes up. That keeps me honest.
Even my x-rays — showing compression fractures in my neck, hip impingements, arthritis — I don’t see them as excuses. I see them as reminders that dysfunction is normal. Everyone has problems. The question is whether you build habits that keep you moving anyway.
20:00 – Nutrition Choices and Carnivore Experiments
Host: Let’s talk diet. You’ve been using a modified carnivore approach.
Dr. Dave: Yes. For me, this started with a continuous glucose monitor. I learned how my body responded to different foods. Meat, dairy, raw ferments, and small amounts of honey or maple syrup worked best. That stabilized my energy and let me drop 25 pounds in 30 days.
Later, I tightened it down to strict carnivore — meat, salt, and water — just to see what happened. But the point isn’t labels; it’s finding what works for your metabolism. And for me, eating that way gave me steady energy and recovery.
25:00 – Strength Training and Preserving Muscle
Host: A lot of endurance athletes skip strength training. But you leaned hard into it.
Dr. Dave: Absolutely. Muscle is the number-one predictor of longevity. I lift three days a week — heavy squats, benches, deadlifts. I treat it like a bodybuilder, not a rehab patient. That’s kept me from losing lean mass while dropping fat.
When you lose weight without strength work, you lose muscle, too. And that’s a two-year uphill battle to get back. I’d rather preserve it along the way.
30:00 – The Family Connection
Host: What role has your family played in this?
Dr. Dave: A huge one. My wife and I both shifted our diets. The kids eat real food with us. Dinners have turned into community time — steak on the cutting board, herbs from our garden, everyone eating together.
And the kids mirror what I do. They stretch more, they’re outside more, they joined track and field. For me, this is about leading by example. I want them to see discipline, not just hear about it.
35:00 – Homeschooling, Farming, and Lifestyle Design
Host: You’ve built more than a training plan — you’ve designed your whole lifestyle differently.
Dr. Dave: Yes. We homeschool, and everything is play-based and project-driven. My daughter taught herself Japanese because she wanted to, and we set a goal to take her to Japan. My kids are in track, science competitions, and creative projects.
On our property in Austin, we built a hobby farm — herbs, peppers, composting, and soil making. It’s a sanctuary. Every day, I get my hands in the soil. That grounds me. This lifestyle is intentional — designed around energy, recovery, and family.
40:00 – Lessons from Training and Progress
Host: Let’s talk training results. How much progress have you made?
Dr. Dave: When I started, my easy pace was an 18-minute mile. Mostly walking. Now, I can run 10 miles at an 11:30 pace and feel great. That’s huge.
But the key was starting small. For months, my “progress” was just going from two minutes of running to four minutes. From walking in pain to walking an hour without pain. That’s what people miss — the compounding effect of small wins.
45:00 – Looking Ahead to Javelina 100
Host: You’ve got the Javelina 100 circled. What’s the mindset?
Dr. Dave: Honestly, it’s not just about finishing a race. It’s about proving that transformation is possible. I burned out before, lost my health, lost my way. This journey is my way back — to energy, to resilience, to leading my kids by example.
If I can go from broken down and pre-diabetic to running 100 miles in the desert, anyone can start their own staircase to health. It begins with tying your shoes and walking for five minutes. That’s how it all starts.