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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Cholesterol: We are dumb

Cholesterol: We are dumb
Read this on cholesterol...

Sometimes, we forget how simple things are, and fall prey to greedy pharmaceutical companies "fast talk".

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Barbarian fitness and nutrition!

Another designation I have always had for Paleo Quick Start nutrition and exercise is "barbarian fitness".
I know that this just makes people think somewhat negatively about the concept: I mean, weren't barbarians just stupid, and not really "civilized"?

Well, that's right!

Think of barbarians as living on the "outskirts" of ancient civilizations; primarily Rome.  Germanic tribes were predominant, but there were others; the Celts, the Thracians- many others.

I imagine that they respected the civilized achievements of those Romans, but were highly suspect of the other, what they would have seen as decadent aspects of that same civilization!

I think, as Paleo folk, we are kin to the barbarians:

Living on the outskirts of a civilization that we realize has become... decadent.
Poisoning the environment, lacking in morals, even eating foods that are sadly lacking in the nutrition needed by vital, active humans- barbarians are willing to AVAIL themselves of the benefits of civilization, but are also all too aware of the drawbacks of the lifestyle- the Neolithic grains, the relinquishing of basic human rights to an aristocracy and priestly class- the subservience of civilized stratified life!

So, as "barbarian fitness" practitioners, we should imagine ourselves as living "on the edge" of a corrupt empire, taking advantage where we can from it's bounty, but also cutting ourselves off from the many corrupt shortcomings that have settled into it's workings...

Take the BEST of civilization, and PRESERVE the best of our hunter/gatherer forebears_

This is the role of the BARBARIAN!

To take the best of both worlds.  A kind of hunter/gatherer- civilized person amalgam.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Movnat!

movnat.com

Check out the above link!  Erwan LeCorre is the originator of the Movnat, or "move naturally" movement.
His idea is that modern humans of civilization have become "Zoo Humans", functioning in an artificial, man-made environment.  This deprives us of much of our natural habitat, meaning the natural world, i.e. woods, fields, grass, etc. that our ancestors dealt with for millennia, and which would have been profoundly instrumental in determining how we evolved, and why we are now built and think the way we do.

Take a zoo animal out of the wild, and he is "out of his element"!

We, children of Western civilization, are physically at least, "out of our element".

At Movnat, they have classes that teach people how to move, both themselves and other objects in nature with efficiency and natural elegance.  This is great!

But I believe that we all have within us the ability to "relearn" what we need to do... naturally!

Each Sunday, I have been moving naturally around my several acres...  jogging, walking, and then sprinting!  All barefoot, and mindfully, meaning that you simply pay attention totally to what you are doing, and live in the moment!


That alone is enough to return you to an ancient "play space" that is so important to the human genome- play is where we get in touch with who we really are.

After I sprint several times, I am winded and tired, almost like doing high reps of heavy squats in the old days...
but, instead of being "totalled", I am energized and happy!


And then,  I go and throw some boulders and stones around, for distance, chin myself from tree limbs,  and walk and run more for fun...


I feel free; not like a "zoo human" at all.

The perfect Paleo Quick Start Exercise protocol?

Just move naturally!  Around a park, around your yard, even around a ROOM!
Crawl, jump, chin yourself; just explore natural movement.

Outside in real, honest-to-God nature is by far the best, though!

Through rain, sleet, snow, and dark of night...


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life"- Socrates

Obviously, this cat is not suffering from "busyness"!

Most of us are; oftentimes, me included.

We are not meant to be "busy", but are meant to be USEFUL.
Deliberate, practical steps are required of us-

Planning and cooking our meals
Planning and doing our workouts
Planning on getting enough sleep and relaxation to function optimally

Being "busy" makes these important steps hard to achieve.

Mindfulness is the point.  Live in the moment.  Savor what you have, and are.

You are not cold, starving, or enslaved.  You are free!

And so, you can take steps to make sure you are fulfilled as a person.

Eat the best you can!  No junk- meat, good fats, vegetables and fruits.
Train briefly, and intensely.
Sleep well, interact with others, be positive.
Meditate, and PLAY!  Whatever you like: golf, music, sports (NOT spectator sports!!), frisbee; whatever!)  Just meditate on your own, and play with others.

And now, rejoice!  Your life is not "busy"!

It is FULL!


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Real food, real music!

Our modern world has become "disconnected" to reality in the past 50 years or so. This process has been accelerating of late even more, to the extent that:

1. Most modern Americans eat increasingly less and less... REAL FOOD!
Instead, packaged, pasteurized, processed sugars and grains in pretty packages are replacing our traditional diet of meats, fats, vegetables and fruits.

It is amazing how much modern marketing can accomplish, in getting us all to give up what has worked nutritionally for many, many thousands of years! And what has this substitution of foods given us in return?

Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, acne, dry skin, failing eyesight and cataracts,,, most of the diseases of modern civilization!

2. Most modern Americans don't produce their own music any more- and what they listen to is not really music, per se! More like "Techno screaming" would be my term for it- nothing like the around-the-campfire, "roots" based singing that has sustained us spiritually since at least Homer's time, and undoubtedly long, long preceding.

Again- hype and marketing can obscure what is really good to us, making us think it is corny or "old fashioned". And what has this substitution of really music given us?

Moral breakdown, crime, idolization of criminals, destruction of the work ethic, family disintegration- all the moral and mental decay of modern civilization!

The solution to both problems is surprisingly simple:

Return to real music, and real food!
So, no wheat and no sugar. No "fake" processed foods. (Colas, juices, etc.)

Likewise, no "rap", hip-hop, or heavy metal; no "techno screaming" fake music.

A good summation is this:
"Don't eat or listen to anything that your great grandparents would not eat or listen to!"

Monday, August 1, 2011

Paleo Quick Start- Now formatted for Kindle!



Yes, Paleo Quick Start, by your inimitable Paleojay, is now available from Amazon, for the Kindle!

For $2.99!

This means you can download the book to your Kindle, or your Kindle App on your iPad or iPhone, and have access to the whole book, wherever and whenever. And, although not all of the links are immediately accessible via the Kindle, and the pictures are black-and-white...

it is automatic to sync the book to your iPad or iPhone via the Kindle App-
and then you have it ALL!

Even though agriculture had some negative factors for our health...

Isn't technology wonderful??