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Sunday, December 21, 2014

Conan and the Northern Gods




Here it is: a Christmas present for all of you, featuring one of my favorite characters of all time- Conan the Barbarian!
I feel it is fitting, since Conan is a barbarian, which is one step up from a hunter gatherer, and probably the ideal human condition dietarily, and in many other ways as well, since a barbarian lives on the fringes of civilization and so can pick and choose which parts of civilization are good, and discard the rest!
I hope you like it; it's my first effort in this genre.

BarbarianJay Bowers of Barbarian Quick Tip of the Day

Check out this episode!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #50 A New Year a New You!


pqtd #50  A New Year, A New You!

I am really excited by two things today- I really want you to follow me, along with your family, into the exciting world of real health!  I think the journey will be fun as well as rewarding for you, and the benefits are incalculable.

The first thing is this: thrivemarket.com  
This is something I just learned about via Chris Kresser, who is kind a Paleo healer guru, who also has his own podcast that I also recommend called Revolution Health Radio.  Put that in your podcast queue along with Paleo Quick Tip of the Day and PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe!

Anyway, thrive market is a new online company that seems to have a lot of things figured out.  To start eating real, nutrient dense foods is oftentimes daunting, since the cost seems so high compared to grain and sugar processed crap.  Also, you need to do a lot of research to figure out which products are not only the highest quality, but are also the best bargain in terms of price...  enter www.thrivemarket.com !  Not only are their prices amazing (products are priced 25- 50% below what you would find them at stores or on Amazon)- but they have also researched the products in each category and chosen the ones that they deem the best both in terms of quality and price!  Now that makes things really simple.

Thrive is kind of like a mail order Costco- there is free shipping on any orders over $50- and so, wherever you live, you can get the best natural cleaning products, body care items, and supplements all shipped to your door.  You can get a free 30 day trial membership to try it out- I did!  So now, even if you live in a food desert, you can get great paleo ancestral foods and other items delivered right to you, at a discount!  And so, there is no excuse not to get healthy in this New Year!

The other thing I am excited by is this:

Chris Kresser and Robb Wolfe have put together a Paleologix Total Transformation package!  Click on the link just to the right to learn more-

The reason I am so excited about this is that for most normal, healthy young people- well, they can do just fine on standard paleo exercise and nutrition advice.  You know, just follow along right here, and you’ll learn to cut your grains and sugar, drastically up your intake of green veggies and natural, God made foods, good fats, and a few supplements like Vitamin D and iodine...

But some of us, particularly those of us who have been following the Standard American Diet of diabesity for too long, and have either been overexercising with heavy weights or chronic cardio, or else doing nothing at all for exercise- well, let’s just say a lot of us are severely “broken”- we have contracted many ailments of the modern diet and lifestyle, and we need help!

And that is where this program fits in- these two guys, Chris Kresser and Robb Wolfe are specialists in getting a system down for folks who are broken, who need the special help of a step-by-step approach individualized to YOU- not just a bare bones cookie cutter approach that may not be suited to YOU.

And so, those are my gifts to you- two rock solid tools that will ensure that you achieve your paleo goals in 2015!  You just have time to get started with both before the New Year begins!  Get yourself a Merry Christmas present, and then you WILL have a Happy New Year!!

Check out this episode!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast #92- Script out your Mornings for maximum Health and Happiness!

pjsc podcast #92  Program and Script out your mornings for maximum Health!

The thing about waking up, and starting your day to remember is that it is the most important part of your day, and so of your life! What you do to start your day actually determines your DAY- the outcome depends upon the beginning!

Especially with health and wellness, this is crucial. First, you need to start a good, productive, happy day with a really good night’s sleep- and that is super important!!  Ok, I guess your perfect day starts with going to bed nice and early; enough to get a good 8 hours or so of quality, blacked-out room quality type of sleep...

But now, it’s morning! Do NOT lay in bed thinking about all the things you should do, or not do- go to your scripted, pre-planned, programmed every day morning routine:

I have one, that works very well for fitness, health, productivity, and overall HAPPINESS!  Want to hear it?  OK:

I awake, just before my alarm clock. Always!  I get up quite early, before work so I can do my script! After all, it IS the most important time of my day!

I start in by doing deep breathing, deep costal breathing- meaning that I breathe deep into my diaphragm, swelling my abdomen with life-giving oxygen,and then fill my chest as well to the max,  and then slowly exhaling until my lungs are completely empty.  Repeat.

Do this maybe 10 times or so, and you are completely awake, and energized!  The benefits of this total costal breathing are wonderful, and not to be underestimated.

Then, I arise and go into the bathroom, where I do a series of limbering moves- not really “exercises”, but just moves where I take my limbs and joints, slowly and easily, through a range of motion to get them activated.
Shoulders, neck, elbows, knees, hips, and ankles...  Maybe 3 minutes or so.

Aerobie Press
Then, I go downstairs, and heat up water for coffee in an electric carafe for coffee.  I add coconut oil to three cups, about a teaspoon or so, and then, when the water is hot, I make the organic coffee with my wonderful Aerobie Press coffee maker! (This is the best way to make coffee- better than machines that cost thousands of dollars- trust me!)

And, whilst the water is being heated, I take the canister from my trusty Vitamix Blender and load it up to make my own food supplements for the next few days!

I start out with about a cup of green tea, which I pretty much always have in my kitchen thermos, and a can of coconut milk...

And then, I begin adding in: kefir, spirulina, kelp, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, spinach, the frozen california mix of veggies... heck, just check out my perfectly Paleo smoothie recipe at www.paleojay.com and you will be golden!  With this elixir of the gods made in my Vitamix, I have achieved my nutritional script for the next few days, and cannot fail- I have reached nutrition NIRVANA!!

Next, I take my perfect cup of coffee into the living room, and turn on Netflix...

This is pretty much the ONLY time I watch TV- when I exercise!

I turn on my latest compelling movie or news program, and begin my virtual resistance exercise, which is flexing intensely while you move through a total motion. It achieves all that I used to get through weight training, but with no damage to joints and tendons, and much more naturally and pleasantly! It is the cornerstone of my fitness regimen, and I recommend it to everyone- weight training and Aerobics are the USDA Food Pyramid of exercise- those forms of exercise are highly recommended, almost universally so, yet their results lead inevitably to injury and debilitation!

Just as the food pyramid, or My Plate update of the stupid Food Pyramid leads to obesity and disease nutritionally!

Moral of the story?  Anything recommended by Big Government, Big Food, or Big Anything is a LIE, meant to benefit THEM!!

I hate tattoos, but if you must get one, that would be worthwhile...

OK, back to the script: You have spent maybe 15 enjoyable minutes exhausting the muscles of each part of your body, methodically, in turn, while you were engaged watching a television program you really wanted to watch!  Not a bad way to start your day, is it?

NOW, do the same thing, but do it on your rebounder!  You know, the little mini trampoline you bought on Amazon?  Just get a cheap one at first- they are fine; later you can upgrade to a Bellicon- but the cheap ones ($50 or so) work well enough.

You just slightly bounce ( you’re still watching TV remember) while you go through your same Virtual Resistance exercises that you learned at www.paleojay.com, or at www.transformetrics/exercises.com, or from the great eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise.

But this time, you finish each move at a different ending point:

half-way up, or all the way up, or at the beginning of the movement!

And, when you finish, you hold it isometrically, for several seconds.

This makes a huge difference in the results- that isometric hold!

I like to start with first cycle, hold in the beginning part of the motion (say the beginning of the curl), second part on the rebounder in the middle, and the third motion at the end of the movement!  And, since you are bouncing throughout, you are simultaneously exercising and energizing every part, and every cell of your body.

Now, I don’t do the same routine every day, and neither should you.  But this is my base routine, my home place that I do pretty much on a daily basis.

And if you have a base routine, a script that you follow, and don’t even have to think about, daily...

Well, welcome to health, wellness, and happiness!

It’s all built in. After this, everything else is strictly downhill.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #49 Sickness is the Absence of Health- Build your Terrain!


pqtd 49  Sickness is the absence of Health- Build your Terrain!


That might sound redundant, and even silly.  But, it is not at all- Sickness, in most cases, is something that we can avoid!  It is the old Terrain theory of disease put in a nutshell- the stronger we make the “terrain” of our body, the less susceptible we are to disease.

This runs counter to the prevailing “wisdom” of that past 50 plus years or so, the idea that germs are the main cause of sickness, and if we can just keep ourselves away from bacteria and infections of all types, we will not get sick.  This misses the true point, especially since now the most recent science all supports the incredible importance of bacteria, both in our guts, and on our skin.  We are utterly dependent upon many strains of bacteria to survive, and especially to reach maximum health.  The point is to strengthen the terrain of our body by encouraging the beneficial bacteria to multiply and thrive in our bodies, and discourage the pathalogical strains.  We do this by eating properly, a largely ancestral or paleo diet of real, God and nature made foods, avoiding sugar and grains (that immediately turn into sugar!), and getting exercise in the right amount (not too much and not too little), and getting adequate sleep.

There are other factors in becoming really healthy, like consuming LOTS of green leafy veggies daily, getting adequate vitamin D, and avoiding toxins in our environment as much as possible.  All of these, added together, result in a lifestyle that will eliminate most all modern diseases, sickness, and common ailments!  Really!!

The key is this: concentrate NOT on vaccines, and pasteurization, and chemical based disinfectants and products- concentrate instead on adding in as much GOOD things into your diet and environment as you can!

Get good sleep nightly!  Black out your bedroom, put up curtains to keep out artificial night time lights, get the TV out, and all other electronics.  Eat really, really well- eliminate junk and fast food, processed foods, sugar grains and cereals.  Eat as much really good food as you can- don’t diet- just switch out what you are eating, and eat a LOT!
Get a Vitamix blender and make a daily Paleo green smoothie- this one step can really boost your “terrain”!!
And do Perfectly Paleo Exercise- self resisted exercise, virtual resistance exercise, and body weight exercises, which will build your body and terrain up naturally, without the inevitable injuries and overstress that comes with weight and machine training- this type unnatural exercise will weaken your bodily terrain, and at the same time degrade your joints and tendons, setting you up for a lifetime of pain, and probably surgeries...

I include long distance running in this list of terrain weakening, body depleting exercise misinformation!

And so, get started building your terrain!  Turn your body into a mighty fortress that can withstand most anything, and you won’t need to worry about (or suffer through) the modern sicknesses like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer- not to mention much lesser things like bad skin, bad teeth, depression, and gradually failing eyesight.

You really can be your own superman or woman!

Check out this episode!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

pqtd 48 Get Rid of your S.A.D. diet like an old, ridiculous Leisure Suit


pqtd #48  Get RID of your S.A.D diet like an old, ridiculous Leisure Suit

That might seem like a strange analogy- comparing the standard American diet of today to that ridiculous costume of the early, disco-fueled 19970’s...
But, the two are not that different in their very outmodedness!

Think of the 1930’s and 40’s, when cigarettes were commonly prescribed by medical Doctors for various, made up and ridiculous reasons: improved digestion, enhanced relaxation, and other silly reasons with no foundation in fact.  Much the same thing happened in the 1960’s and especially in the 1970’s, when medical Doctors prescribed LOW FAT diets, counting calories, and long, punishing sessions of Aerobic exercise- mainly slow running, for hours and hours each week!

And at the same time, millions of Americans (probably including most of these deluded doctors) were wearing stupid leisure suits, of which I will try to find some pictures to put up at www.paleojay.com-
Suffice it to say that they were silly, ridiculous disco outfits that were only popular among disco dancers in the late ‘70s or so for a few years.  They were kind of like Elvis’ later costumes, but without the glitz and show biz glamour...

And so, since you are probably NOT smoking cigarettes

or wearing leisure suits today, what is it that many of you are doing that is wrong, out-dated, and proven to be wrong by current science??

Well, if you are eating low fat foods of any type, especially processed ones like low fat yogurt, breakfast cereals- anything in which the fat has been artificially tampered with-

Well then you are essentially wearing a leisure suit, doing aerobic dancing, and smoking cigarettes!  You are so out of date you are a sad joke, and hurting yourself while you embarrass others...

And so, what to do?  BURN that old suit!  Throw out your cigarettes!! If you can’t quit, get a good eCig, and just smoke that instead- the same experience, but you’ll be smoking water vapor which is harmless instead of tobacco and chemicals!
And also, get rid of any kind of processed food, fast food, vegetable oil,
and wheat!  Do NOT do long sessions of aerobics; do short sessions of intense, body weight, virtual, and self resisted exercises.  Rebound on a mini trampoline!  Sprint barefoot occasionally.

Now, your family won’t be embarrassed anymore!  You’ll be cool, wearing your Xero sandals, and sprinting in your yard or park.  Get a set of gymnastic rings for your basement or garage!  Shop for REAL FOODS at Trader Joe’s or best yet with your local farmer or rancher!!

NOW, you are COOL AT LAST!!

Check out this episode!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Xero shoes amazing sale!

If you want Xero shoes, aka barefoot shoes in their most primal, paleo form, now is your time!

I just found out they are offering 75% OFF of their sandal/huearaches today, and so...

I'm not a marketer, never have been..

BUT, if you want a deal on these barefoot, protective sandals (that I wear every single day I work out in the basement, or outside)  Get these now!

Just go to the link at the right on this page, click it, and GET YOUR DISCOUNT!

Jay

Sunday, November 30, 2014

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast #91- Lower your blood pressure AND tone your whole body at the same time- Naturally!



There is something wonderful about doing isometrics for your health.  And I don’t mean anything fancy and contorted, like pushing against pins in a power rack- although that is great as well- but a simple, equipment-less exercise that you can do anywhere, standing or lying down- an isometric total body flex!

The benefits are amazing, particularly in lowering blood pressure naturally.
The circulation is enhanced to all parts of the body, even the peripheral areas like the feet and the hands.  And so, how do you perform this wonderful exercise?

You simply stand straight, and gradually tense all of the muscles of your body, while breathing normally, and count to 5 or 6.  Relax, and then repeat  three times- That’s it!  That burst of oxygenated blood throughout your body (and brain too!) is one of the most energizing things you can do for yourself!

It’s great in that it can be done at odd moments, like when you are standing waiting for something, or gassing up your car, or just standing in your yard grilling...  in everyones life there are more than enough occasions where you can slip in three or four “sets” of this total isometric body flex throughout your day, and reap the many benefits.

As in anything, the more you do it the better you will get at it- at first, just methodically flexing each muscle group in turn will enhance your mind to muscle connection, and your ability to flex muscle groups effectively will improve.  Besides the blood pressure benefits and the circulation benefits, this is a wonderful way to improve your definition, which is to say the muscle tone will dramatically improve, and your muscles will seem to “pop” out underneath your skin, ala ancient Greek statues!
 And you will feel the difference in your musculature, and become more aware of your body, and how to control it in any physical situation.

A good way to start your day is to do a set of the isometric total body flex upon awakening, in bed!  Yes, that’s right- it is every bit as effective lying down as it is standing up- and it’s a great way to kickstart your day with a really healthy habit that starts you off on the right foot!  At first, just flex moderately intensely, to get the feel of controlling your muscles, but you can and should aim at later gradually working up to perhaps flexes of about 80% of perceived effort- that is enough to get all the benefits, without over-straining, which is always a bad idea.

There is numerous medical literature proving the blood pressure lowering benefits of isometric exercise if you care to google it, as I did.  For instance, here is the conclusion of group of studies done recently by the Mayo Clinic-

Conclusion
Isometric resistance training lowers SBP, DBP, and mean arterial pressure. The magnitude of effect is larger than that previously reported in dynamic aerobic or resistance training. Our data suggest that this form of training has the potential to produce significant and clinically meaningful blood pressure reductions and could serve as an adjunctive exercise modality.



The studies go way back, and the results are always beneficial.  So why is the benefit of isometrics not taught and offered to people with high blood pressure, and bed ridden people, and folks recovering from injury that can’t do “normal” types of exercise?

I don’t really know, but again, just as in proper nutrition wherein we consume real foods as made by God and nature, bypassing the man made fake food like substances like GMO grains and processed crap-

THERE IS NOTHING TO SELL!

No exercise equipment, no gym memberships, no supplements or running shoes... NOTHING!

But hopefully I have just sold you on the idea of doing this simple and oh-so-beneficial exercise on a daily basis!  The cost, once you have acquired this knowledge, is just your brief efforts throughout the day.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Beginning Paleo Diet on Paleo Quick Tip of the day podcast #47



Maybe you've just been hearing about this "paleo diet" thing, or maybe you have a friend or know someone who has had amazing results from eating and living according to this template...



Perhaps you have tried to ignore the whole thing, not wanting to change your life and mindset around after all these years of being brainwashed into the low fat high carb Standard American Diet LIE...


But, since the ancestral diet and it's benefits are very real, and the path we are on in the Western world is leading us into slow suicide by eating ourselves into diabesity,  accompanied by prescriptions of pharmaceutical drugs that compromise our health even more with all of the inevitable side effects, resulting in early disability and death- well, "going Paleo" starts to not sound that hard after all!

So, how do you finally get off the sidelines and start making meaningful, healing change??


Clean out your cupboards!  Ditch the grains- bread, pancake mixes, brownie mixes, cereals, vegetable and soy oils, Crisco, anything you have that is not real food.  If it's not in your house, you won't eat it.

Try a Paleo smoothie!  This is a pet project of mine- I have developed my smoothie into a drink that is continually evolving, since I want to maximize my nutrition optimally, but starting out, keep it simple:

Just get out your standard, $20 blender, and make a simple Paleo Smoothie:

1 can of coconut milk
handful of fresh strawberries

a big leaf of fresh kale
a banana
sprinkle of cinnamon

Blend it all together for about a minute or so- you're done!

Easy, right?  It's so easy, you will start to think as I did- "Hey, what if I add this ingredient, and that other super healthy food, and then that..."


You are on the slippery slope to health my friend, and trust me, that's where you want to be!  You'll start adding raw eggs, and then you'll want the convenience of using frozen vegetables, and the ability to mix just about anything, smoothly and easily into your smoothies- at that point you'll want to get a Vitamix blender, since it it the best tool for engineering the most amazingly healthy and filling and appetizing Paleo smoothies on the planet!

Interestingly, I just read a news story in Barron's, the business newspaper, detailing how the Starbucks chain has bought a smoothie making chain of restaurants, and plans to expand dramatically, doing for smoothies what they have already done for coffee!

While I'm sure it's better than the unhealthy coffee drink market they've been profiting from at the expense of the American people's health, I would suggest strongly that you make your own!  I guarantee that anything made by a corporate giant will be vastly inferior, since the bottom line for such a company is to cut costs wherever possible, to maximize profits. This means low quality ingredients, cheaper, faster, worser! (There, I invented a word!)

So, Go Paleo Young Man! (Or woman)!

At first, I would just make a smoothie each morning, and eat eggs and meat, salads, seafood, veggies and nuts with a little fruit sometimes.  For me, cheese and whole cream are fine- try them out, if you feel worse, maybe they aren't for you!  Some folks can handle dairy, some can't... raw dairy is vastly preferable, if available.

Believe it or not, at first I do not recommend any exercise!  Especially, if your are a "cardio-holic", used to doing lots of running, bicycling, aerobics, etc. just stop for awhile!  Getting your diet in order is far more important than exercise, and along with adequate sleep each night of 8 hours or better, will get you 90% where you want to go.  Just concentrate on those things for a month- learn to eat, and sleep like a paleolithic hunter-gatherer.    Next month we'll add in exercise- hey, I even have an eBook specifically about it...

A good idea, especially if you currently have health problems, would be to have a blood work up just before starting this at the Doctor's office.  Then, a month later, have it done again.  I guarantee the results will startle both you and your Doctor- and then, he'll probably try to talk you out of doing something so "crazy"...

The thing to remember is this- even if all you had read about nutrition was this one blog, you would already know more about nutrition than your Doctor learned in all of medical school.  So, take his or her opinions with more than a grain of good sea salt...

After your initial month, take a good look at how you look, how clearly you can think,and how you feel.  Perhaps you already have had some drastic changes; many people do.  And after actually sticking to the diet for one month, almost no one goes back to their standard diet!  The benefits are that compelling- you may even become like me, shouting the news from the rooftops, because you almost can't believe the benefits of eating real food like a real person!

Soon I will write Part 2- the Intermediate Paleo Diet!  But just do this for a month first- no need to rush things!

Check out this episode!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #46 Paleo Diet to LOSE FAT!


Paleo diet to lose fat! Paleo Quick Tip of the Day podcast #46


The Paleo Diet has shown remarkable success in helping people to lose fat/weight, and achieve a much better "body composition".   The amazing thing is that it can bring these changes about without:

1. Hunger
2.  Long sessions of exercise
3.  Injury from those long, boring exercise sessions you thought were necessary


Really!  But how can this be?

It's really just simple, proven science!

Our bodies are not designed to eat grains, particularly wheat, which has become a mainstay of virtually every processed food in America.  Wheat is now completely genetically modified to the point where it has no similarity to the ancient wheat of the Bible, or even to the wheat from the 1960's!!
This is a huge point: if you wish to research the topic in depth, I refer you to the book Wheat Belly by William Davis-  Wheat Belly the blog

But, since all carbohydrates,  like wheat, corn, white potatoes, etc. turns to sugar in the body, that is more than enough reason alone to severely limit them in the diet.


The other thing to limit greatly in your diet is SUGAR.


When you eat sugar, or its twin- carbohydrates- your body responds to the rise in blood sugar, (which is actually an emergency situation for your body!), by producing massive quantities of insulin.  Insulin, which as we know is what Type 2 (self-induced) Diabetics lose the ability to produce, after many years of ingesting so much sugar/carbohydrates that their body has become overwhelmed by the bodily insult!  Don't let this happen to you- it is becoming EPIDEMIC in modern America, largely due to the fact that now- 90% of food sold in the USA is PROCESSED: (Comes in a bag, or a box, and is not real food anymore, but industrial food.


Industrial food is loaded with sugar/corn syrup/wheat/soy and the other thing you need to get rid of on the Paleo Diet- industrial seed (grain!) oils!
Corn, Soybean, Crisco- these are all rancid, harmful oils that are not really food.


The Food Industry uses all of this stuff, in processed and fast foods (another no-no!), because it is CHEAP!  That is the only reason- nutritional value is not even on their radar!

So, bottom line, what do you need to do to-

Regain your health and lose fat?

It's really rather simple, and if you think about it, you probably already intuitively know this stuff-

You've just been brainwashed into the "low fat, high carb Standard American Diet"
for your whole life!

So, here is what you get rid of:
Eliminate fast food
Eliminate bread, pasta, anything made with flour
Eliminate Industrial oils- margarine, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil- any chemically processed oil
Eliminate Legumes- dried beans- irritate the gut lining, just as does wheat- this is a huge problem
Get long, painful, CARDIO/AEROBIC workouts out of your life (They lead to injury, burn very little in the way of fat/calories/, and do not build muscle, which is what you really want)
Stop Staying up late at night- (This interferes with your body in a minor way, stimulating the stress hormone "cortisol", which causes you to store fat, among other negatives).

 And here is what you replace the above with:
Whole eggs (free range is the best)
Real, PASTURED butter (Kerrygold is the best)

All varieties of meat, and seafood  (Grass fed beef is best, but all of it is good- just be sure to include seafood, especially fatty fish like salmon and sardines)
Vegetables and fruits  (Berries are the best fruit!)  Don't go wild on fruit, but include it.  Eat LOTS of green vegetables.
Get on an intense, brief exercise program!  (Body weight exercise is best- pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups, brief sessions of sprinting and/or stationery bike "sprints" of 30 seconds or less, done for several "sets" lasting 20 minutes or less)
Get LOTS of sleep!  8 hours minimum (This is really crucial for health and fat loss- stress, like lack of sleep, causes your body to want to hang onto fat)


That's it!  Follow the above subtractions and additions in your life, and sooner than you think, you will look and feel better than you would believe!  This is a promise!!


I hear you asking:   "But how do I eat this way??
Simple:

Eggs and fruit for breakfast
Salad with meat or seafood for lunch
Grilled meat and vegetables for supper
Snacks- if you eat enough at meals, you probably won't get too hungry. But it you do:
Almonds,  dark chocolate, coffee with real whipped cream, macadamia nuts, olives, full fat cheeses, or again- meat, vegetables, sardines, etc. are all fair game


Or, you could make it easy, and make the Paleo Quick Start Smoothie!


It really makes the nutrition part almost effortless, and actually more "available" to your body, since it is all "broken down" and ready to assimilate, raw food enzymes and all!!

But anyway, there you go- try it for 3 weeks!  If you do, I guarantee you will not go back-
the benefits are that amazing!

Check out this episode!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #90 Very Best exercise equipment, and the ONLY way to deadlift!




I know, I generally say you don’t need equipment to work out- after all, if you are doing virtual resistance training (flexing as you move through a muscles range of motion) and then holding isometrically...  your own body is the resistance.  And this is the most efficient and safe of all forms of exercise!  It should be your warmup, and the core of your fitness regimen for the rest of your life.  Nothing else even comes close in terms of totally working your entire physique!

But it is also great to include other tools in your bodyweight arsenal.  The first one I would recommend to you is the rebounder, or mini-trampoline.



I have mentioned this piece of equipment before in a podcast, and it is a wonderful addition to virtual resistance training- I often do my virtual moving “poses” on the rebounder, usually in front of the TV...This kind of “doubles your pleasure, doubles your fun” in a good kind of way- you are working aerobically and your musculature at the same time.  A really time efficient way to work out!

I am also a great fan of the pushup!  And while the “hands flat on the floor” version is good, using a perfect pushup type of revolving handle is even better- not only does it raise your hands up off the floor, giving you a greater range of motion and more muscle engagement, it also protects your wrists and shoulders from damage by rotating along with the motion.  This protects your joints even as it makes the exercise more productive.
Ab Roller

Perfect Pushup
P bars, or parallette bars are another great option for pushups, giving you a VERY low extension below parallel.  They are also great for L sits, a top notch ab exercise you can

My homemade P bars!
do.  In a pinch, the perfect pushup device mentioned before can also be used for L sits!  Just make sure you get the heavy duty version of the perfect pushup, as the other lesser version will wear out quickly supporting your body weight in the L sit, and doing pushups with your feet raised off the floor and resting on the back of a couch or chair while you do your leg raised of “Atlas 3” pushups.

An ab roller is wonderful, and actually another kind of pushup!  Wonderful ab exercise, and it also simultaneously works the arms, chest, back and shoulders- also, it’s a great party trick, as most men cannot do even one without gradually working up to it.  To begin, get an ab roller (they are quite cheap!) and do them from your knees.  Next, you can do them from the top as a negative, going as slowly as you can downwards, and just stop at the bottom.  Eventually you will get one full, top to bottom and back up again rep, and then you will add another, and another until you get to a set of 6 or 7.  That’s all you really need in terms of reps- then, just do multiple sets for a very high level of fitness!  I like to “superset” ab roll outs with my sets of pushups.

Of course, a pullup/chinup bar is a necessity, but a tree branch of piece of pipe will do in a pinch.  I use my old power rack in the basement for this, back from my old weight lifting days of long ago, and a power rack or “cage” is a very versatile piece of equipment indeed- it is much more productive without weights, as it is ideal for isometric work, utilizing its pins to press against with empty bars or wooden dowels.  It is also great to use the power rack for squat variations- you can use the side supports to hold on to as you do a one legged or “pistol” squat.  It helps to lean back as you do this, because that really takes the strain off of the knee joint and puts it right over the quadricep muscle where you want it.  You can duplicate this upstairs, too, by doing these pistols in a door frame!

Another wonderful training adjunct is a set of gymnastic rings!
Now they are mounted on the ceiling joists!
very advanced!

Mount these in your basement as I have, and you will find them to be among the most satisfying, versatile and productive pieces of equipment you could possibly own.  They are wonderful to do pushups on!  You can do Atlas 1,2,and 3 pushups quickly and conveniently, just by moving a little forwards or backwards to adjust the grips to be parallel to the floor (Atlas 1), angles halfway up (Atlas 2), or angled up high (Atlas 3).

They are also great for pullups, L sits, and dips; also rows, and as assists for pistols!

Really- find a place for rings in your house, garage, basement or yard!  They are just fantastic to train on.

I am saving the most crucial for last- an Exergenie is the ONLY way I recommend to do a deadlift, or a heavy squat!
Exergenie

I know, this is controversial within Paleo Land, but it is also undeniable when you really look into it- just as gluten, and the other anti-nutrients in wheat and other grains are undeniably very harmful to human beings in their nutrition- so is lifting a heavy bar from the ground and standing up in a dead lift harmful to your back and other joints.

Also, putting a heavy barbell across your shoulders, and squatting, will compress your spine, inevitably damage your knees, and set you up for serious, long-term injury.

Also, it just gives you a fat butt, bulging abdomen, and blocky thighs- avoid these exercises!

High rep hindu squats, the aforementioned pistols, and the exergenie can give you anything these exercises can, BETTER!  I have an old exergenie that I bought off of Ebay- it has wooden handles, but they sell new ones too,  and you can use it to do maximum effort deadlifts, squats, military presses, curls, and many other exercises.  You feed the rope (that supplies the resistance) out with your fingers, and you can make the resistance as hard as you want throughout the whole range of motion.  You can make it so hard that 3 reps is all you need for the squat and deadlift.

The best thing about the Exergenie is what you can do for your shoulders!  You can mount it in a door frame, closing the door on it 1/2 way up or so, and really lean into it, stretching out your shoulder girdle in every way possible.  Then, you can pull back using just enough resistance to really work the entire shoulder region in every way- this is the very best way that I have found to really work the shoulders and protect the joint by strengthening both the muscles, tendons and ligaments gradually, from the inside out!

Along with a proper diet, and adequate sleep, these small pieces of training equipment can do far more for your health, strength, and physique than any gym membership you can name.  And, you will have them forever, right in your living room or basement or garage, and can make maximum  use of them for a lifetime!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #45 Take FARMaceuticals to cure both yourself- and the WORLD!


Take your Farmaceuticals daily- cure yourself AND the world!

Any listener of any length here at Paleo Quick Tip of the Day knows that I, PaleoJay, believe that FOOD is the best medicine.  Hippocrates, the founder of western medicine declared this roughly 2000 years ago, and although his modern so called disciples have discarded his teachings in favor of ever-increasing dosages of pharmaceutical DRUGS-

Food is the best medicine is as true now as it ever was!!

Although nowadays, where and how your food is grown is every bit as important!

If your vegetables and fruits come from mega-farms where every inch of that farm is laced with pesticides, over-farmed to the point of near total soil nutrient depletion- you are consuming a tainted product!

We all know now that the human gut biome, that is our intestinal flora are crucial to our health. For instance, a recent study pointed out that artificial sweeteners encourage fat gain. The theory was that the artificial sweeteners, such as those in unsweetened soda pop, altered the gut biome since they are totally alien to our evolved symbiotic relation with our ancestral gut microbes.

In other words, our gut sensed SWEET, and switched on the fat storage, even though there was no honey or fructose to process...

but the fat storage trigger was engaged, and fat was produced!

So, drink artificially sweetened products and get fat quick!  And long term, too, since it doesn’t appear to switch OFF.

To return to my main point: Just as our Gut Biome is loaded with microbes we have a long history with, that help us to regulate our health, our moods and mental health, and how we extract life-giving nutrients from real foods-

So is the soil where we grow our foods loaded with microbes that we have a symbiotic, historic and ancestral relationship with completely necessary for our health, proper fat to body weight ratio, and mental health as well!

We all need to rethink our allegiance to pharmaceutical drugs!  They are poisons except for short term, emergency use- they are like Agent Orange in our bodies!

What we need for health is FARMACEUTICALS-

REAL FOODS!
GOD MADE VEGETABLES!
PASTURED ANIMALS!
PASTURED DAIRY!

And all produced on sustainable acreages, with largely organic practices that preserve and sustain the microbial health of that soil long term!

To learn more on this vital subject, I recommend Dr. Daphne Miller and her wonderful book Farmacology!

http://drdaphne.com/books/farmacology/overview/

So, for the ultimate in gut and overall health NOW, right away-

Get yourself a Vitamix blender!  Load it up with Farmaceuticals like organic broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and kale- throw in some green tea and kefir, toss in some ginger and turmeric and cod liver oil...

Just make yourself and your family a Paleo Smoothie!

The recipe is at www.paleojay.com

And the link to order a Vitamix with no shipping direct from Vitamix is there as well...

A smoothie maximizes the available nutrition, even in today’s depleted soil.
IT IS A NO-BRAINER!!

Just like our current system of food doesn’t matter, drugs are the answer, and to just rely on Big Food corporations, Big Government, and Big Medicine to take care of us...

That is truly a NO BRAIN NON-SOLUTION.

Solve things yourself.  You are responsible for your own health!  Eat real foods, grown in real, healthy soil, and move and exercise naturally, doing Perfectly Paleo Exercise.

And ignore the advice of Big Government- Big Pharma- and Big Food!!


Check out this episode!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #44 Don't eat like a Sumo wrestler, or a goose!


"I'm sick of starches!"
pqtd 44 Don’t eat like a sumo wrestler, or a goose!

Really- don’t!

Sumo wrestlers, those extra large Japanese men who try, as the demands of their sport dictate to gain as much weight as possible, do so by not eating breakfast (that is forbidden!), and then eating as much as possible for lunch and then taking a 4 hour nap.

What do they eat?  Well, since they desire to gain as much weight as possible, fat and muscle, they wake early and train for 5 hours or so- really!
(this is their whole life)...

Eating Fat does NOT make you fat- carbs do!
Then, they eat a huge stew of meat, fish, vegetables, and LOTS of RICE, and wash it all down with lots and lots of beer!  (Not light beer, either...)

Then, they take their 4 hour nap.  When they awake, they might move around a little, but they mainly get ready for dinner!

Dinner is the same as lunch, but probably more rice, and more beer- at LEAST 10,000 calories worth!  And then, it’s lights out, for a long sleep before the next days training, and eating...

This regimen is calculated to produce maximum weight gain- both fat and muscle- and it works like a champion!!  Many Sumo wrestlers are over 500 pounds, and some are over 600!!

And then there are geese...

Geese have been force fed for many, many years to increase the size of their livers- actually, the practice started in Egyptian times!  Geese are able to store weight in their whole bodies, and especially in their livers to enable them to migrate long distances; and force feeding them particularly with starches like corn and wheat enables maximum fat gain!

Since animals, like geese would be unwilling to force feed themselves massive amounts of grains, we humans have devised ways to force them to adopt sumo like methods of overfeeding, using tubes forced into their unwilling mouths...

But why am I talking at length about Sumo wrestlers and force fed geese?
It’s because if you are a typical, Standard American, following a SAD standard American diet-

YOU ARE EATING LIKE A SUMO WRESTLER GOOSE!


The modern typical American, western diet is so loaded with starches, and the ultimate horrible starch grains and carbohydrates, that you are literally force feeding yourself!

And if you wake up, skip breakfast or just eat a fast food carb horror, and then go to a job or school where you just sit almost motionless as if you were napping, and then eat a standard American sandwich/Subway meal or other fast food, or even a sandwich from home that is the same deal, washed down by a soft drink, and then again sit almost motionless until quitting time...

Congratulations!  You are well on your way to being a big, giant, fat, Sumo kind of person...but without the underlying muscle!

BUT, on the upside, if there is a Twilight Zone kind of scenario in the future where aliens land and are looking for food- well, your liver might be...

JUST WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR!

What?  You don’t want to be an enlarged liver sumo person??

Well, then just wake up early, work out like a sumo but for maybe a half hour or so, and then eat a big, protein centered breakfast, like eggs, bacon, and coffee with coconut oil in it, topped with whipped cream!

Make a big Paleo Smoothie with lots of veggies, and lots of good fats, as outlined in my paleo smoothie recipe at www.paleojay.com, and whip it up in your Vitamix- eat a lot of this smoothie, and the breakfast after your workout, and do not add in any carbs at all- no rice, no cereal, no toast-

JUST A REALLY LOT OF GOOD, GOD MADE FATS AND PROTEIN!!

This means butter, cream, avocado, bacon, sausage, eggs- you get the idea!

You will not be hungry for a long time!  Trust me.

When you are, have another paleo smoothie, or else a big, giant salad with lots of olive oil, beef or chicken or tuna or other protein source, and maybe a tin of sardines packed in olive oil as well...another big helping of your best friends: fat and protein!

It really is that simple, my non Sumo Goose friend!

Eat more fat. Eat protein.  Just eat real food, as made by God, not man!!

Work out like a Sumo, but for much less time.  Eat like a goose in the wild, without a tube down his throat ala a Happy Meal!

And remember that starches, and grains like wheat, and especially sugar/corn syrup/aspartame and all other fake, man made food like substances will turn you into a force fed giant livered Sumo Goose!

And, I’m not even exaggerating.

Check out this episode!




Sunday, November 2, 2014

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #89 Go for a Flow State in life!

Go for a Flow State in life- Exercise for the body, and music for the soul!

This is to paraphrase the ancient Greek Aristotle, who first said it!

Alexander
As the teacher and mentor of Alexander the Great, he certainly proved that he knew what he was talking about... but what does it mean for YOU, today?


Well, with all the talk of “play” being important in paleo and primal health, even amongst adults, this quote points out what is really important in that statement- FLOW STATE, or being so immersed in what you are doing that you are almost oblivious to all else around you- is key to both real achievement, happiness, and health!

A tall statement to swallow I know, but it is true!

All of us instinctively grasp what this statement means, since all of us have had that... moment... when everything else just disappears, and we are caught up in the moment- whether we were hitting the bes
t baseball pitch ever, or sprinting our fastest sprint and feeling like we were flying, effortlessly, or playing our guitar and feeling like we were Jimi Hendrix reborn!  ALL of those are FLOW STATES!

And a flow state is the ultimate state of human kind- a kind of “state of grace” if you will.  And, when achieved, it makes all of life more than worth living, and is the ultimate human expression of self- self actualization!

I believe that is what we are here to experience.  The flow states of Exercise for the body, and Music for the soul- those are the ultimate ends, the means to happiness in the here- and- now.

I spoke of Alexander before: what was his “flow state”?

Well, he sent back specimens of all of the animals that were new that he encountered, to his mentor Aristotle when he was on his conquests out East... I’m sure that was part of his “flow”...

But for him, the greatest conqueror of his age, I’m sure he felt most fulfilled and alive in battle, as he ran at the enemy in his armor, dodging and thrusting with his sword, calculating without even thinking consciously like a modern day football player on the field, going with his interior flow!

Alexander always wore bright armor that identified him for who he was, and LED his armies into battle- do you think he attracted the enemy much??

We have come a long way from the bravery of Alexander in battle; now our generals hide away and order the soldiers to be brave instead...

So what is our “flow state”?

Whatever we feel we are “good” at!

And the key is to get good at something!

And I don’t even mean that would be something that others might “think” you are good at- just pursue, say exercise and music, and do them for fun, and do them as best you can!

Those are two that I have chosen.  But, you can choose whatever disciplines you want!

Like to work on cars?   I like old cars and trucks too!! Enter them as disciplines, and work on a “flow state”!

Landscaping or “rewilding” your yard or acreage?

I do that as well, and it is  wonderful candidate for achieving a flow state of satisfying creativity!!

What I’m saying is this: no matter what you choose, you can achieve the ultimate in human happiness by achieving an active “flow state” as you work towards your passion, whether it is flower arranging, auto mechanics, physical culture, visual arts or music- just find your passion!

As long as it is active, and requires you to learn, research, and pursue it actively- it can lead you to your flow state, and your realization and happiness in this world!!

The alternative is passivity- seeking out passive entertainments, easy “nutrition” like fast foods, no attention to diet or exercise, letting the Government and the media decide how you live and spend your time-

Just biding your time until you “prematurely” die...

That is a waste of your life.

Seek out your Passion(s)!  Whatever they are- pursue them!

Be like Alexander! Wear a bright colored helmet and run directly at what you want- let no one stop you!  When they try, dodge, jump, and thrust!

When you pursue your passion, above all- LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

You have prepared for it, and it is YOU!

Here is a great TED talk about Flow State!