PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast #65 Shorten your eating window, and Have a Green, Paleo smoothie- EVERY DAY! AND, listen to simple, basic, calming folk style music to get back in touch with your inner you...

I did an experiment the other day, actually- yesterday!  Although I prepared a MORE than adequate lunch to bring to work, including not just ONE, but THREE quarts of the incredibly nutritious Paleo Smoothie (including resistant starch, gelatin, and TONS of green veggies, kefir, and everything else that Ponce De Leon used to dream about to rejuvenate his life via the “fountain of youth”... I decided to eat, instead- nothing!

Well, I did have a big cup of what I call Paleo Coffee- organic coffee made in my Aerobie coffee press, which you can find on my list of recommended Amazon products at www.paleojay.com.  It is similar to Bulletproof coffee, as touted by Dave Asprey of www.Bulletproofexecutive.com, but it only contains coconut oil, and whipped cream...

I prefer to put my pastured Kerrygold or Organic Valley butter in my Paleo Smoothie!

But anyway, that is all that I had in the morning, after my Perfectly Paleo workout in front of the TV.  I wanted to see how long it would be until I got hungry, since I normally have a BIG breakfast, including a big green Paleo smoothie, several eggs, and of course, my coconut and whipped cream laden coffee!  And, as per usual, I usually don’t have supper, confining my meals to breakfast and lunch.  Then, I fast until the next day, unlike most paleo folk, who skip breakfast.  That can also be a good strategy, to shorten your “window of eating”, but I believe skipping SUPPER is usually the better idea.

But, regardless, I did NOT get hungry!

As Gomer Pyle, one of my favorite character from old television would have said:

“Surprise, surprise, surprise!!”

I just never got hungry!  It was 9, 10, 11, 12... finally, although I still didn’t feel hungry at all, at around 2 PM, I decided I should eat.  This means I hadn’t eaten at all since about 1:00 the previous day...

I had a tin of sardines... some herring and onions in a cream sauce- delicious!...and I was very full!  So, I left, and had an 8 ounce jar of Paleo smoothie later, not because I was hungry, but because I wanted to MAX OUT MY NUTRITION, just like I maxed out my workout that morning in front of the television!

I think the moral of the story is this:

We live in a world of depleted soil- it is recognized now that foods grown in our present day soil have much less in the way of nutrients than they did even 50 years ago, much less 100.  When our ancestors came to America, the soil was built up to unbelievable levels of fertility- buffalo had roamed and fertilized that plains for eons!  The topsoil was dozens of feet thick with a rich, fertile loam; teeming with life and minerals- earthworms were in their glory, leaving rich castings of nutrients for plants to assimilate...

Fast forward to today, 60 some years after World War 2-

Our soil, especially in the AG BELT of Central Illinois, and Iowa (the corn and soybean belt: Aka “AG LAND”) has been decimated.

That topsoil I spoke of earlier?  It has been reduced to a mere growing medium...

An inert medium (like sand or peat moss) that can support agricultural life, if nutrients are ADDED IN- like nitrogen and potassium, via fossil fuel fertilizers...

But, without those added DRUGS...  this soil is just about cooked!

We have largely, and continue to, destroy our birthright- the fertility of our very land.

Wait- and then- what is the MORAL of this story, again?

If you want to MAX out your nutrition, you will have to eat MORE vegetables than people did in the past!  Our crops don’t have the nutrients anymore that Fonzies did; much less Gomer, or Matt Dillon!  And SO, we have to...  Use LOTS of veggies in a Big Green, Paleo Smoothie to MAX our nutrition to the levels that were easily achieved in the times before the last 50 years!

THIS is why a Vitamix is your best friend, my friend!  Using this simple tool, you not only get the 2 servings of vegetables that you needed 60 years ago- you get 10 or more servings of RAW veggies, that EXCEED the nutrients you would have gotten in the old days, since they are so ground up and BIO-AVAILABLE!  Meaning, of course, that your body can actually USE the nutrients in the food.

This is the #1 way to improve your health, in my opinion, and in that of many others in the Paleo community-

HAVE A BIG, GREEN SMOOTHIE EVERY DAY!!


So simple, and yet... so easy!  Just get a Vitamix to “get ‘er done!”

And the other moral?

We don’t need to eat so darn much!!
I mean so many times throughout the day!  If you eat according to the Paleolithic template, meaning hey- you’ve killed a mammoth!  Hurrah!  Let’s eat a lot of (grass fed) meat, lots of (grass fed) organ meats and fat and marrow and brains...(sorry to be graphic, but this IS the PALEO template!)...

You will NOT be hungry for AGES!!

This is just the way it works!  If you are NOT used to eating at McDonald’s, and dosing yourself with bread products (sugar) and sugar products (soda) every hour or so during every waking moment...  you are not broken- you are NOT a “sugar burner”!  A Paleolithic person did not HAVE this option- they were, by default- FAT BURNERS!

So, when they had nothing to eat (NO MC DONALD’S OR CRISPY CREME), they just...

DIDN’T EAT.

For hours... or days... or even WEEKS!

And it didn’t hurt them a BIT.  Because they could live off of their FAT, which YOU, and I...

BOTH HAVE IN SPADES!

The only difference is, their bodies were ADAPTED to it!  They could go without food for long periods of time, since their bodies were TRAINED to use fat for fuel- their bodies did not EXPECT constant streams of SUGAR to be available.

And so, our paleo ancestors (meaning from 50 years ago, really!) could just go on, and on, until they killed another mastodon... NO PROBLEM!

The lesson here?  Eat in brief windows-

Breakfast and lunch? Then a fast until morning?  This works best for me, providing the breakfast and lunch are FULL of Nutrient Density like a Paleo Smoothie, loaded with veggies and ALL that your body could possibly need or want!  Also plenty of good FAT like coconut milk and oil to SATE your appetite so you don’t even think about food!

OR, lunch and supper?  This is another option, and one I use occasionally when I have a day off.

OR... JUST SUPPER?  This is actually quite do-able, if you want to be like the ancient Spartans, and follow the “Warrior Diet” program.  It is quite, uh, SPARTAN, but, if  you want to go this very simple, and yet very productive route- IT WILL WORK VERY VERY WELL!!

Your call, given your goals.  For me, at 61 years old?

Just breakfast and lunch. Easy Peasy!

Lastly, I want to recommend that you listen to simple, rootsy, basic, calming “folk-style” music to get you back to basics!

By this I mean music that is without special effects, synthesizers- all the accoutrements that have taken over modern popular music, to it’s detriment!

I was driving home tonight from work, in the dark, and was listening to our good friend and neighbor John Smith, an acclaimed folk artist on Pandora.  Although I have his songs on mp3’s, Pandora shuffles in similar basic, unaffected, folk music types of performers, and this is really cool!

Many younger folks have never heard music, EVER, that is just- simple, real music!

I mean like one person, their guitar, and a voice!  Or maybe just a VOICE!

And I think that, in a tribal sense, this is very important.  Listen to REAL, basic music!

I don’t care that it’s electrified- that’s fine- I like that quite a bit!  Mine surely is, mostly!

But try to keep it as real as possible.  Listen to www.johnsmith.com
 
This is simple, and real.

Think Hank Williams.

J

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe podcast #64- How to get Really Fat! AND-You really can’t resist- Resistant Starch!

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe podcast #64-

How to get Really Fat!

You really can’t resist- Resistant Starch!

OK, here is the answer you’ve been searching for- just HOW can you reliably get really, really big, sloppy, jiggly FAT?  Everyone wants to know how to do this, right?  Well, let me tell you right now- your old friend Pale
oJay has the answer!  I can tell you exactly how to get real fat in record time, easily and quickly!

First off- count your calories!  They are all that matter, after all, right?  So, count your calories closely, so you can start to consciously limit them.  Because, if you limit your calories to less than your body wants, you’ll lose weight, correct?  Some of that weight, perhaps even most of it will be muscle and bone, but hey- the weight is all that matters- the scale.

Next, limit your fat intake!  Fat has more calories per ounce than any other nutrient source, so you must try to eliminate fat from your diet!  Eat lots of healthy, whole grain products- processed cereals, low fat processed foods of all types, and lots of industrial seed vegetable oils.  Don’t even think about butter or bacon or, God forbid, coconut oil!  High fat all!

Exercise for long, long periods of time, extremely slowly and preferably on a metered cardio machine that counts exactly how many calories you burn each session.  ! hour per day is good; 2,3, or 4 hours daily is even better!  Move more and eat less, right?

Ignore food quality!  A calorie is a calorie is a calorie!  And so, you are better off eating a 100 calorie snack pack of cookies, rather than that avocado with over 300 calories!  Wash those yummy cookies down with a big Coca Cola, (100 calories), and you have saved 100 calories by not eating that evil avocado- pat yourself on the back.

Don’t train intensely, for strength!  Muscle weighs much more than fat, and your scale weight will look really bad- so stop doing resistance training!  NOW!

Also- don’t drink your calories- things like smoothies are LOADED with calories, and useless things like nutrients, that will NOT help you get really fat.  Instead, concentrate on  probably the most important tool in your “Get Fat” toolbox:

Eat LOTS of grains and sugars!   These two items will pack on the FAT better than anything else.They are low fat, even NO fat for the most part, and so they will spike your insulin after your blood sugar is driven way up high.  You will then have your blood sugar drop from the insulin, triggering new appetite for... more carbs and sugar!  This will repeat the cycle, over and over... and you will never feel full, because your blood sugar keeps rising and falling!

So, there you have it!  How to get really fat, and sick, and diabetic, and disease prone.

What?  You’d rather get lean, fit, and super healthy?  Well, there’s no accounting for taste, but that’s easy- just do exactly the opposite of all of that conventional wisdom!

Eliminate grains and sugars from your diet as much as possible.

Drink a large, green Paleo Smoothie, loaded with every nutrient you can pack into it, every single day.

Train intensely, for strength and strength-endurance- do you Perfectly Paleo Exercises daily- visualized resistance, self resisted, pushups, straight legged situps, hindu squats and pushups; bridging.  Buy a set of gymnastic rings, and make or buy a kettlebell!  Sprint.

Pay close attention to food quality, and nutrient density.  You are what you eat, and in the case of animals, you are what you eat ate!  Eat wild caught seafood, and grass fed animals whenever possible.  Pastured dairy products are also immeasurable better for you.

Exercise in brief, intense working sets!  FEEL your muscles working, and learn to relish the feeling- your body craves such work.

Eat LOTS of fat, to get lean!  This is key- fat will satisfy your appetite like nothing else, and there is good reason- your body needs good quality, natural God made fats more than any other category of nutrients.  Fat is needed to run our brains, and every cell in our body.  Fat- it does a body good!

And lastly, NEVER count, obsess, or limit your calories as a means to control your body weight or composition.  This just teaches your body to panic, and hold onto every bit of fat it can, and store even more, since it thinks you are starving.  Eat until satisfied, with plenty of real God made foods, and you won’t be hungry again for a long time.

And so, that’s how to get fat, or get lean; your choice!  But, I do have a couple of more tips for you on the leanness side:

This thing with Resistant Starch just keeps getting bigger and bigger in Paleo Land!
You really owe it to yourself to get a bag of Bob’s Potato Starch, either online or at the store.  It is under $5 a bag, and if you work up to 4 Tablespoons per day in your Paleo Smoothie, that alone will make you leaner, have lower blood sugar, and be healthier!  It really is that cool, and simple.  Read up on it a Richard Nikoley's site http://freetheanimal.com/2013/12/resistant-popcorn-analogy.html#more-24795

So, there you go!  Fat or lean, sick or healthy, happy or depressed... it’s your choice!
J

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe podcast #61 Carbs and Sugar promotes Cancer! Don’t be a Grazer! Standard American Diet = high bad fat and high bad carbohydrates and sugars- the Worst of all possible worlds!

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe #61

Carbs and Sugar promotes Cancer!

Don’t be a Grazer!

Standard American Diet = high bad fat and high bad carbohydrates and sugars- the Worst of all possible worlds!

Paleo...... or NOT!

It really is YOUR CHOICE!!

I know, you have probably never heard of sugar encouraging cancer, but this is real, up-to-date science now, nut just conjecture.  Here is a link to a brief explanation of how it works, in case you are scientifically driven-
http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2013/2013.9/specific-sugar-molecule-causes-growth-of-cancer-cells/

Here is another link about sugar and cancer:
http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/sugar_cancer.htm

This breakthrough was released just this past September, so if you go onto many web sites and old research they insist there is not a real connection... they are just out of date!  There IS a connection between sugar and cancer, and to deprive your body of sugars is one surefire way to hamper the growth of cancer cells.Cutting edge cancer treatment and research now uses this as part of cancer therapy- to starve the cancer.

How can this help healthy little old you or me?

Well, I always think that, if you don’t want to get a disease, say Cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, eat as if you have it already- low sugar, high real, good fats, and plenty of God made foods.  Don’t eat man made, processed crap food, and then you will never get those diseases!  Even if you have a genetic predisposition to one or another disease or condition, it’s like having a gun pointed at your head...

BUT IF YOU NEVER LOAD IT, OR PULL THE TRIGGER, YOU ARE STILL SAFE!!

And remember: bread, pasta, all kinds of cereal and more immediately turns to sugar, RIGHT IN YOUR MOUTH!!  So they count as sugar too... get your carbs from the veggies and fruits you eat, and that you put in your daily green Paleo Smoothie.  Perhaps a sweet potato, some white rice in small amounts... that’s all you need!
Did you know that your body can make carbs out of protein?  It can, and will if it really needs more.  So don’t worry about not eating enough carbs- there is no requirement in your daily diet for any carbs at all!  They are optional.

And, the best way to maintain a good, God made foods diet is to avoid grazing.  This is the way most people eat nowadays: not just 3 meals, but LOTS of little meals and snacks, all day long.  It’s so much healthier, and more satisfying to eat a really BIG meal, with plenty of good FATS in it, like, say: pastured bacon and a 4 egg omelette, along with coffee with coconut oil melted in it, and topped with real whipped cream!  That way, you will be replete with nutrition, and able to go about your day without even thinking about food, much less craving it, for HOURS on end!  Usually, on most days, I have a big glass of Paleo Smoothie along WITH my breakfast, and then a big, late lunch around 1:30 or so, and sip another glass of smoothie around 2:30 or so... and that’s it!  I don’t usually eat until the next morning, and this is my daily IF, or intermittent fast, which leaves me feeling energized and ready for my next mornings perfectly Paleo workout, before breakfast!  There are pronounced benefits to training in a fasted state, like accelerated fat burning, and it leaves you with a real appetite after you have showered and dressed.


The other point I want to make is this: if you think that

“Oh, this Paleo thing is strange- I just want to eat what I always have; I’m sure it’s fine to eat butter and margarine, but I don’t think toast and pancakes are any problem either”.

Really, lots of folks think like this!

I’ll tell you what, though- this type of thinking and rationalization puts you in the worst of all possible worlds, health wise.

If you’re going to eat bad, fake fats (like margarine); insist on keeping grains in your diet (but also love a big steak), and eat sugar whenever you want to...

Well, you’d better just plan on going to the Doctor on a regular basis, expect major (and minor) diseases on a regular basis as you get older, and have a really good medical insurance plan (which will become increasingly problematic as Obamacare continues to kick in)!  Because, my friend, you are going to be needing all those prescription drugs: the insulin, the statins, the hypertensive medications, the extensive dental procedures, and the list goes on and on...

If you don’t Go Paleo, you WILL break, in many ways, and just kind of rust away from the inside out.  Unless, of course, you die quickly from one of your many diseases.

Our modern, S.A.D. Standard American Diet is the perfect storm that destroys our health.  Add to that high stress, poor sleep, and the lack of or else the overdoing of bad, destructive exercise like endless cardio and/or heavy weight lifting...

You are self-destructing yourself!  I don’t mean to be negative, but sometimes we need to hear the truth told, as a plain dose of reality.  It’s all too easy to rationalize, and to procrastinate, and argue against doing something you really don’t feel like doing.

Change is hard, but once begun is half done!  So begin!  One meal, and one habit at a time- it’s incremental, and it gets easier and easier as you go!

J

Real food is all I need!

Not much to say- need my real computer back...

But, the message remains the same!

Eat real foods!!


Follow a paleo template, for maximum health!!!



I hope to be back next week, big time!!

J

PaleoJay podcast #54 Dr. David Perlmutter says “Don’t be a Grain Brain”! and ADD in foods to be paleo, not just subtract!

Want to listen as you read along??

Just go to the player at the right, and click on PaleoJay podcast #54- I'll sing to you, right away!!


It really is rather remarkable- even the usually middle-of-the-road, inside the box thinker and conventional diet cheerleader Dr. Oz has come on board with him along with his new, excellent book Grain Brain.  I know, it seems unbelievable that the Wizard of Oz, who has been the man hiding behind the curtain of outdated science for all these years, has now come out and jumped on the anti-grain, low carb, paleo bandwagon!

I don’t know what happened; maybe the wizard gave himself a medal, and got courage ala the cowardly lion- who knows?  At any rate, it appears that Dr. Oz refers patients to Dr. Perlmutter, simply because using his methods and theories of proper diet, he gets real-world GREAT RESULTS!

Here, watch a video clip of Dr. Perlmutter on the Dr. Oz show-

http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/do-carbs-cause-alzheimers

Here are a couple more, just for good measure- I want you to RE-GRAINWASH yourself!!

YES, FAT IS BACK!!

And carbohydrates, particularly GRAINS, and even more specifically WHEAT are all shown to be the dietary nightmare that they really are!

This turnaround by Dr. Oz seems to be a real turnabout of the entire dietary lipid hypothesis, that has been around since the 1960’s, and has never been proven...

You know, the hypothesis that virtually everyone has taken as gospel for all those past 50 years or so, the same 50 years that obesity has exploded, and diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are rampant in their spreading across the nation, and the world!

The hypothesis that told us fat is bad, grains are good... sugar is fine, whole grains are the foundation of our nutrition and  places them at the base of our stupid Food Pyramid and now My Plate...

Well, this whole theory is wrong- not only wrong, but exactly opposite of how we should be eating!  It truly boggles the mind that it has taken this long to convince people to start to look at the truth- I guess it kind of shows the completely addictive qualities of grains and sugars:

We don’t WANT to give up our DRUGS!

For that is indeed what they are, grains and sugar have drug-like effects, that also have the effect of making us fat, diabetic, and progressively very, very sick.


So, read David Perlmutter’s book- get the audio version if you don’t have time to read; that way you can just listen as you drive!  But get his ideas into your head, so that they can save your mind, and the rest of your body!  It’s never too late, as he points out, he has very elderly people reverse their symptoms of dementia, along with a host of other diseases, quite quickly.

Go Paleo, young or old, man or woman!!

The other thing I want you to remember to do?

ADD IN GOOD FOODS!  Eating a paleo diet is not just about subtractions!!

There are a number of folks who go gluten free- well, this is a great first step, but eating bakery goods made with rice flour, etc.- while not containing gluten, these products still  turn to sugar, right in your little mouth, and then proceed to poison your rapidly growing NOT so little body.

Step two- you give up grains!  This will really get you healthier, fast- but NOT if you still eat lots of processed foods, sugar, rice, soy- you will still be raising your blood sugar to dangerous levels!  All these years of worrying about our cholesterol levels- we should have been monitoring our blood sugar levels...

Step 3- add in lots of fats and vegetables!  A Paleo Diet is not just about eliminating bad, man made foods- more importantly, it is about
ADDING IN LOTS OF REAL, GOD-MADE FOODS!!!

Pastured butter- rich in K2- it takes calcium away from heel spurs, fights kidney stones, heart plaque, helps blood pressure regulate, and actually can help you remineralize your teeth and bones!  Pastured eggs, grass fed beef, pastured pork, organic vegetables of all sorts are all wonderful foods, and grass fed beef liver is a fountain of youth!  Full fat Greek yogurt, raw milk and cream, bacon- believe it or not, these are all extremely satisfying and healthy foods!
As for fruit, it is wonderful as well- in small amounts!  I usually use a handful of berries to flavor my daily paleo smoothie, perhaps with a small apple, and that will be it for fruit that day.  That’s all you need- berries in particular are loaded with nutrients and phytonutrients, but they come with the cost of raising your blood sugar- so keep it minimal!  Safe starches?  Same story- keep them minimal!!

A half cup of rice, a sweet potato on occasion- these are fine, and keep us part of  traditional eating in society... but keep it minimal!  Anything that raises blood sugar dramatically is playing with fire!

When tempted to eat sugar or carbs, just eat more fat and protein!  Throw in some veggies, perhaps steamed or grilled and then slathered with butter...

Don’t go hungry!  Just eat the right foods- real, God Made Foods!!

This is the way to health.

Barbarian Fitness and Nutrition- PaleoJay podcast #36

Barbarian fitness and nutrition- PaleoJay podcast #36 on iTunes

Barbarian Fitness and Nutrition- PaleoJay podcast #36- Listen NOW!!

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, in a way... they were open to the advantages of civilization, but were also well aware of the weaknesses of civilized living.  Barbarians, in their best sense, have been paleolithic tribal people who also took advantage of the technologies developed by civilized folks when those technologies were to their advantage.

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 we, as Paleo folk, 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.

And, speaking of taking advantage of the best way of doing things, let’s talk about sculpting your body- weights and machines are the best way, right?

Wrong!  This is another case of civilized thinking getting it wrong- machines isolate individual muscle planes of motion, and build mostly just bulk.  Free weights, while a better option, also primarily build muscle bulk, and when you haven’t developed the all -important mind-to-muscle connection that is what really lets you tense and develop the musculature with symmetry and proportion- kind of the look of a classic greek statue, not a 300 pound lineman or Olympic or power lifter...

The very best, and most accessible option for maximum safety and optimum results for both men and women is visualized resistance!

You’ll almost never hear this talked about, simply because, just like the Paleo/Ancestral/Primal/Barbarian diet- there is nothing to sell!

You just tense the muscles of your body, methodically, throughout their complete range of motion, kind of a “flexing meditation” that you perform through each plane of motion in turn, until your whole body has been stretched, renewed, and stimulated to grow and shape itself in the very best way for your own genotype!

Sounds too good to be true, I know, but it really is the best thing since sliced brea---, uh, no, I mean since grass finished beef liver on the grill with hollandaise sauce!

Just add in some bodyweight exercise to finish- pushups, chinups, straight legged situps, hindu pushups and hindu squats, and finally some sprinting once a week or so...

You will naturally develop your body to it’s own God given potential, and most NATURAL, appealing, and functional state.

 I do have an eBook about it, explaining the how-to’s in detail, but there is also plenty of info right on my site at www.paleojay.com

So- eat like a barbarian, train like a barbarian, and you will look, feel and perform like a barbarian!  And that is definitely a positive!


J

Be a Paleo Pirate!

In the words of Steve Jobs:

"Wouldn't you rather be a pirate than join the navy?"

I know I would!  

Who wants to march in lockstep, doing what everyone else is doing, the the 1950's man in the grey flannel suit?  Virtually no one wants to think of themselves in that way.

We all want to be out there, carving out our destiny!  

Well, if you adopt the paleo diet and lifestyle, you are doing just that!

Almost no one understands that eating real food, especially good, natural, God-made FATS is incredibly healthy!  The fat soluble vitamins contained in pastured butter and coconut oil; i.e. fat is key to preserving your health, and ironically your leanness as well!

You probably already know this, if you are a Paleo person...

But why not go all the way, and become-

A PALEO PIRATE!!

Don't hide your light under a bushel- put lots of real whipped cream in your coffee!    Put pastured butter in your paleo smoothie- flaunt it!  I do, I put in butter (Kerrygold Irish butter is available widely), coconut oil, palm oil- you can even add butter or coconut oil to your morning coffee, along with your whipped cream! BE A PIRATE!  Don't be afraid of the S.A.D. Standard American Diet low fat NAVY PEOPLE!!  They are LOSERS!!

YOU are a PIRATE!!  

Carve out your voyage:  Be defiant- do what you know to be right, nutritionally and physically.  

1. Eat lots of good FATS!  Remember that fat does not become fat on your body- BAD, PROCESSED CARBS become FAT on you body!

2. Do NOT eat "healthy whole grains"!  These do become actual body fat in the worst sense of the word.

3. Do NOT engage in "chronic cardio", or endless sessions of "aerobic style, low intensity, long slow distance types of exercise".  They do nothing except wear down your joints- calorie burning, or, more importantly fat burning is almost nonexistent.  

4.  DO strength training!  Briefly and intensely is perfect!  

5. Do NOT use weights!!  Here is the ultimate piratical notion personified!!!  Almost NO ONE agrees with this, but I am here to tell you- 

You Don't Need Weights!!

Really...  you don't need free weights, you don't need machines, you don't need a gym membership...  I believe that weight lifting is in the same camp as chronic cardio, a recipe to destroy joints, and destroy health long term!  Yikes!  Did I really say that??

To maximize your body's potential, all you need is... drum roll....

YOUR OWN BODY!

Perfectly Paleo Exercise indeed!  Bodyweight exercise, self-resisted exercise, and, the ultimate lynchpin to all of these:

Visualized resistance exercise

Actually, that alone is all that you really require for optimum fitness and body composition, along with proper, paleo diet...

I know, it all sounds crazy- eat fat to lose fat... exercise less, without equipment to optimize your lean body potential...

But it is all true!  

Be a Pirate, Matey!

Ignore the Navy and the mainstream-

DO WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT

AND BE A 

PALEO PIRATE!!

Arrggghhh!

J

Perfectly Paleo Things you DON'T DO!

You don't make a daily, highly nutritious Paleo Smoothie each morning!

This is the number one top thing you can do for your health, and your fitness... Diet is about 85% of health and fitness; the hardest thing to do is to just get started each day.  

1. Start your day by making a Paleo Smoothie, and you have already "won the day".

A lot about life is simply momentum...If you start right, you have won a victory!  You will want to keep it going...

While you are at it, boil water for tea, and make some coffee while the Vitamix is blending!


2. Exercise first thing in the morning!  (After making your smoothie, that is).

Prioritize: nutrition is #1.  No doubt about it.  
But, talk about a 1 2 punch- provide yourself (and your family)top notch nutrition first thing- 

And then do your PERFECTLY PALEO EXERCISE!

Ideally, you have gotten to bed early, and the rest of your family is still asleep.  

All you need is about 45 minutes of a "head start"- 

You make your smoothie (5 minutes or so, providing maximum nutrition that will fuel your entire family's whole day), and then you toddle on into the living room or den, and do your visualized resistance exercises, and/of body weight and self resisted exercises while you watch TV and just methodically tense and stretch and energize every part of your body- 

Trust me, at the end of the 45 minutes or so- you will wish you had more time!  

The show might be exciting, you are really getting "in tune" with your body; you just feel really really good!

But, alas, you need to go to work....

So, you jump in the shower, and when you get out:

Breakfast is all ready!  Just pour out your coffee, and top it off with lots of whipped cream that you have already whipped in a tupperware container, and sweetened with cinammon and perhaps a bit of raw honey or stevia...  you can even mix in some pastured butter for added fat soluble vitamins and great, desirable nutrition! (Gasp!)

Top your whipped cream with ample cinnamon and cloves, because spices are another wonderful, perfectly Paleo thing that you are probably not doing enough of!

3.  Meditate!

I know, this sounds crazy!  You have a family to get ready for school, and work, and you just fed them really well, and exercised yourself and feel great, but- 

Let's say you woke up one hour early, and all of the nutrition is taken care of-

Your exercise is taken care of-

And you still have 15 minutes of free time!!

I know, it sounds crazy, but... wouldn't it feel great to just relax in your favorite easy chair for a bit?

DON'T waste your time watching worthless morning TV:

Meditate:  just close your eyes, and thing to yourself "1"... with each breath...

Over and over.  Don't let anything distract you: just "1"...

If something distracts you, just return to thinking "1" with each breath- concentrate mainly on your breath.  The in and out, deep breathing...

After everyone comes on downstairs, you will wish you had more time to meditate, trust me!

So, there you go- three Perfectly Paleo things that you just have to start doing!

Your life will be greatly enhanced by so doing.

J

I AM A MANGRATE!

Here is my Weber grill, warming up with the Mangrate!  Also, next to the Mangrate is a PaleoJayGrate, which is just some iron grill thing I had lying around...  Just the right size for smaller items, to keep them from "falling through" into the fire.  But I digress- the MANGRATE!  I really procrastinated on this, thinking as I do:

"Hey, this grill I inherited from my father-in-law, that is from the early 1970's, works just fine.  What do I need some new fangled do-dad fur...  "

But, this doodad is cast iron, thick and heavy- the real deal.  It will leave marks on your meat, particularly steaks and chops, but actually on everything- perfectly!  


I believe that grilling your meat and veggies is the most viscerally PALEO thing you can do.  It literally makes you feel you are a pioneer, a barbarian, and a hunter/gatherer all in one, supplying your tribe with vittles for a long spell! 

Anyway, the way I do it is this:

I start the coconut shell charcoal (this is key!).  This charcoal is the bomb!  

I start it with a torch!  

The beauty of the torch is that, not only do you start the charcoal within about 30 seconds or so...

but you also have the opportunity at the same time to clean the grill and the mangrate!

This makes a charcoal grill actually easier (it's already superior) to a gas grill...

Just start the  coals as depicted above with the torch, then put on the grill and the mangrate, and blast them with the torch til clean!

Now, your coconut charcoal is glowing hot, the grill and mangrate are "flame on!", and you, my friend, are ready to grill the best food you have ever chomped!

You will probably be the new hero of your tribe!!

How good will your grilled items be?  Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:  Ribs with... bacon!

So, what have I really accomplished here?  Well, the whole point is that you can easily and enjoyably spend a fun Sunday afternoon supplying your "tribe" with meat and vegetables!  You can easily prepare a week's worth of meat; just put it in your ready and waiting glass and tupperware type of containers, and you are set!  

Actually, eat the meat throughout the week, and drink your Paleo Smoothie, replete with vegetables and fruits for breakfast, and all, and I mean ALL of your nutritional needs will be met.

You know, eating Paleo and enjoying life are really not all that hard, considering...

Now we have grills, Vitamix blenders, and propane torches!  

(And computers and iPhones)   

Just make sure you take the best of the old (grilling), and the best of the new (propane torches and cast iron grill grates), and ignore the worst of the new (grains and flour, sugar and processed food), and you will be golden my friend!

Like a Barbarian lurking on the outskirts of Rome, you can pick and choose what you see as valuable from "Civilization".  You can reject the decadence, you can ignore the Romish breads in favor of your own herds... but, you can adopt the Roman steel sword, and notions of sanitation and aqueducts, or plumbing.  

It is possible to have the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!!

J

Liquid Breakfast, Paleo style!

OK- here is my breakfast today: A paleo smoothie, coffee (actually espresso) topped with real organic whipped cream (THANKS Kitchenaid Mixer!),  and hot chocolate, a wonderful beverage made with Hershey's special dark cocoa, two Truvia packets,  hot water and MORE whipped cream...

The HOT beverages are then sprinkled liberally with cinnamon and cloves!

I mean, this is the lap of luxury!  In the ancient world, these ingredients would be enough to signify incredible wealth, if not the meal of royalty.  But we, in the western world, can have these, daily, easily and cheaply...

WHY THEN DON'T WE??


I really mean this!  Since we can have incredibly satisfying, nutritious foodstuffs  virtually whenever we so desire, why do most of us choose cheap, processed, unsatisfying, non-nutritious CRAP???


Two words:  Marketing and Laziness

We have been "marketed" to from our births.  The ability of marketers is incredible: they can make us desire things that we have never even considered, to the point where we will do almost anything to acquire those things that they are... pushing!
In the immortal words of the rock band Steppenwolf- "God Damn- the pusher man!"The Pusher Man!

Actually, that is somewhat harsh- they are just doing their job- convincing us to buy their "stuff".  But, they do intentionally mislead us, when they tout the benefits of "whole grains" and "vitamin fortified" to get us to buy their Count Chocula and Captain Crunch types of crappy nightmare breakfast cereals.

They really are the "pusher man", come to think of it!

Laziness: That's the other side of the coin.  We ALL want things to be "easy".  Why not??

And so, the pusher man latches on to that fact, and tells us how easy it is to just eat a big bowl of "healthy" cereal, with nutrient "heart healthy" pasteurized skimmed milk, and then to eat a Big Mac super sized meal (you deserve a break today!), and then have a hearty, heart-healthy bowl of pasta and low fat breadsticks for supper, since you are concerned about your health!

If it was up to you, in the "wild", with not pusher man around, what would you choose?

I'll tell you what: you'd choose the most nutrient-dense food you could find!  Eggs, vegetables, seafood, tubers, fruits- whatever you could get your hands on!!


Fruity Pebbles would not even be on your radar...

And you'd be the better for it!!

Our bodies crave nutrient dense foods.  If we deny it, our bodies will demand that we eat more!
And more!
AND MORE!


Until we satisfy their need for vital nutrients!


And, if we keep eating "pusher-man crap"?  i.e. Mc Donald's, breakfast cereals, donuts, pop...


Our bodies will tell us to just KEEP ON EATING!!
"WE NEED NUTRIENTS!!"  


But if we keep eating "junk/pusher-man marketer mainstream low-fat crap"...

Our bodies will continue to scream: "EAT MORE!!" ad infinitum...


J

Simple is usually better...

Here is my "simple supper"!  Not completely Paleo, not "ideal" perhaps, but when I get home late from work, it is ideal!  


Macadamia nuts, cheese, and berries...

Makes for a happy paleo person- and WAY better than a Happy Meal!!

AND, I must confess- most nights, I don't even eat supper!  Intermittent fasting, and it just... HAPPENS!
If I get home late (after 6:30 PM or so), I'm just NOT HUNGRY!
Breakfast, of several eggs and a Paleo Smoothie, maybe some meat; and a late lunch of tuna, salmon, or beef salad, or perhaps a tin of sardines- and I am replete with nutrition- not hungry- eating-is-not-an-issue is my mindset.  I just want to get out the guitar, to tell the truth!

So, keep your meals (and your life!) simple.  The simpler, the less complicated, the better.

The rest of life is too complex- do your best to eat right, sleep right, exercise right, and then relax!
Everything else is the "small stuff".
J

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.

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...

Paleo Quick Start now available in iBook on Apple's iTunes!

itunes.apple.com/us/book/paleo-quick-start/id449857966?mt=11

Click on the above link, and you will go directly to Apple's iBook store on iTunes.
My ebook is available there- in fact, you can instantly download a preview version to view on your iPhone, computer, iPad or other device. There is absolutely no charge for the preview!