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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

It's a Windows/Low Fat World! Paleo is the new Mac!

Years ago, the mantra was "it's a Windows World"; this was spouted by everyone who worked in an office, was immersed in the Microsoft business computer world, and wanted to impart their great wisdom to their offspring, and acquaintances as well-

"Don't fool around with this crazy Mac thing- it's a Windows world!"


Obviously, they have been proven very wrong, in spades!

But now we have the same mindset, in nutrition:

"Don't fool around with this crazy Paleo thing- It's a Low Fat World!"

Uh, it's just a supposition...

But maybe this idea will also be proved to be very wrong, in spades!
And actually, if you look at the science, it already has been.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Different levels of Paleo "buy-in"...

It seems to me that there are different levels of "buy-in" into the paleo diet mindset.  Some people might want to just eat "paleo"- no grains, no sugar, on occasion.  "A meal at a time" might be their motto.

Others, such as myself, are committed- we just know too much!  
We think about it: "If I eat this bread, I know my blood insulin levels will rise dramatically, and there are a host of bad effects that go along with my consumption, etc. etc....

Still others want to "lose weight", and think about "paleo" from that standpoint- "If I eat a paleo meal, I will lose weight!!  Cool!"


I guess the point I am making here is that there definitely are many buy-ins to paleo:
There are very few of us willing to eschew grains, and sugars, virtually forever, and we don't really have a problem with it, except for a very few "cheats" as we journey through our lives...

MOST people who are exposed to paleo feel as if eating paleo is a temporary thing, so they can lose weight, look good, and then go back to eating "normally", i.e. the SAD American diet!
You can use it this way, but it's a very weak way to approach the paleo way of life.  BUT, it is better than nothing!

Even if you approach paleo eating "one meal at a time", I believe that you will be FAR better off.  By eating just ONE paleo meal: meat or eggs, veggies and NO bread or sugar, you are vastly improved dietarily.
TOTAL dietary change is ideal!

Incremental, meal-by-meal improvement, is still good.

Just like in Christianity, we are all "on a journey".

This is just our "Paleo Journey"- and the result is an earthly "revelation"!
J

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Rosle Garlic Press- tool of Paleo living extraordinaire!

The health benefits of garlic are legion: who has not heard of warding off vampires by hanging the cloves around your neck?

But, the stuff of legend is usually founded on reality- garlic does indeed ward off really bad things- like cancer!   Here is a brief link detailing some of that-


Garlic – Best eaten raw. Supplements do not work as well as the whole herb.  The first cancer studies ever performed on garlic was in the 1950’s where researchers took the valuable active ingredient in garlic known as allicin and injected it into mice with cancer. The mice that were injected with allicin lived for 6-months and those not injected lived only 2-months. Since then numerous studies have proven the effectiveness of garlic in preventing cancer and disease.
Another active ingredient of garlic, allyl sulfur has been shown to be effective in inhibiting or preventing cancer development. A large scale study performed on middle age women from the epidemiological Iowa Women’s Health Center tested out with great results. The women who ate raw garlic regularly had a 35% lower risk of developing colon cancer.
OK- you want the benefits of raw garlic- how to easily gain them?  
Glad you asked that question- check out this very, very brief video I made tonight about my....



Rosle Garlic Press



You will want one, I know- I did!!

J

Thursday, November 17, 2011

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

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Palatability and obesity

I think palatability, i.e. tastiness!, is a huge factor in obesity, and even just plain overeating!

Don't get me wrong: I think the taste of food is very important- I love food! (doesn't everyone?)  BUT, not to go ancient Roman on you, but I think we have given the taste of food precedence over the nutrition of food, to our own detriment!  Animals know what to eat, they love what they eat, when they eat... but, in the wild, they never overeat!  


Why?  I think it is because they are focused mainly on nutrition- survival- living another day to kill another meal.


I think our own forebears were similarly focused.  If you are in a survival situation... well, you think only about surviving, and thriving under difficult circumstances.  You choose nutrition!

Conversely, if you are like:
A. Modern Americans and other Westerners
B. or ancient, decadent Romans or the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah

You are mainly interested in the PLEASURE you derive from food!


(Think vomiting after eating Twinkies so you can eat some more....)

Paleo eating is Pre-Roman- and pre Sodom and Gomorrah to boot!

It is ALL about the nutrition, first and foremost.  The moral of the story?

Put together your Paleo Smoothie.  Drink it, (happily)!
It's palatable, mildly sweet, filling yet not so delicious you want to puke and drink some more, right?

Perfect!  Maximum nutrition with minimal deliciousness!!


Health in a glass!


Stay away from bakeries/crack dens!
J

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Sunday Workout

As regular readers of Paleo Quick Start already know, I mainly do a body-weight workout routine each morning, usually in front of the TV (blasphemy!), watching streaming Netflix movies.  The beauty of Netflix is that it keeps your place; when you resume watching the next morning, you pick up right where you left off!  Beauty...

On Sundays, though, I do something different:  I go into the basement dungeon/workout room, and go through a routine utilizing my dip bars, power rack/chinning bars, and other weight lifting accoutrements...
But sans weights!

I do regular chins and dips (my goal is 20 strict chin-ups by my 60th birthday next April, 2012.  Currently at 16 reps... BUT, after my regular chins and dips, I do the "Aerobic Isometric" version-

For chinups- I grasp the bar, but rest my feet on a small stool.  I slowly pull myself up through the chin, whilst keeping my eye on the clock.  I help myself just enough with my feet to barely make the rep happen, in strict slow motion!  I probably do 3 or 4 reps, max, in a minute's time.  That is my chin set!

Then, for dips, I do similarly: I help myself just enough, with my feet on the stool, to do the same 3 or 4 reps, throughout a very slow, full range of motion.  This technique enables totally loading the muscle in all positions- there is no "heaving" through some parts of the movement- for instance, at the bottom of the dip, where you are weakest, you can fully load the muscle, without fear of injury, with the help of your legs.

I do other exercises, such as hack squats, leaning way BACK whilst grasping the sides of the rack.  This takes the strain totally off of the knees!  And I similarly do one-legged squats, holding onto the sides yet again of the rack. (Helpful little power rack it is!)

My latest addition, however, is doing the kettle bell swing.  I'll do 20 reps, do another exercise, 20 more, another exercise, etc.  The kettle bell swing is a killer, but totally safe!

I'll have to list these exercises, with photos, for anyone who is interested.  Trust me- they are very effective, and get at the muscle fibers in a deeper fashion than body weight or even Visualized resistance exercises.  They just don't (and shouldn't!) be done very often!

Jay

Friday, November 11, 2011

Paleo is achievable, anywhere!

Here I am, in Columbus Ohio- I am visiting the North Market, which is a wonderful collection of independent restaurateurs, grocers, and butchers in one neat old building!  I'd never been to Columbus (or even Ohio!), but I was very impressed with the town, the people, and the culinary opportunities...

Most major, and even middle-sized communities are now like this: they have Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or some such marketer that supplies REAL FOOD in lieu of the processed crap that has become, lamentably, mainstream in the past few decades.  If YOU live in a major metropolis, you don't need to lament- real food is available now in metro areas easily- fresh, or frozen fruits and vegetables, meats, even grass-fed are readily available prepared and ready to eat! The only variable??

YOU!

You just need to choose REAL FOODS!  No boxes of "helpers", no "Ultra pasteurized", or "radiated" need to be chosen- vote with your dollars!  Real, Raw, minimally processed foods are ALL that we should eat.  This will get the attention of the food providers better than any proselytizing we could ever do- if the providers really believe that we only want REAL food- they will, finally, and reluctantly, move in that direction.

Processed, nutrition-less foods are much more profitable, and so they are reluctant to leave them behind...  there will be a backlash from the mainstream big-food grain cartels, Pharmaceutical companies and the American Medical Association that they support...

A BIG BACKLASH!!  Get ready!!

Lots of misinformation will be coming our way in the next decade or so!

Stick to your guns:

Real food.
Real exercise.
Real sleep.
Real relaxation and community with family and friends.

Medicine and medical professionals, i.e. Doctors, Dentists, Optometrists should be kept to a BARE MINIMUM!!

Go Old Westerns: you only see the old "sawbones" when you are shot, broke a limb, or you need a tooth extracted.  Otherwise, you STAYED AWAY and took care of yourself!!

SO, STICK TO YOUR GUNS!

"Have Paleo Will Travel!"

Finding the Person Within: A Mother and Daughter Journey | Mark's Daily Apple

Finding the Person Within: A Mother and Daughter Journey | Mark's Daily Apple

click on the link above, for an amazing transformation story!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Stress- a two-edged sword

We all deal with stress- you know, the stress from work, family, training, traffic, etc.....

NOT GOOD we all think!!

And, most of the time, we are correct in that assumption...

We DO need to manage our stress.  Minimize.  Consciously relax.  Meditate.

All of the above are important!

But, you know, stress is also our friend- we NEED stress!  The stress of physical training: overload on the muscles- more than the last strength training day.  After we STRESS our muscles and tendons and cardio system; we need to rest, eat wisely, and then...

STRESS them again!

For our muscles, stress is PROGRESS!

For our eyesight, again, stress is progress!  Do NOT let the optometrist talk you into a stronger prescription.  Ask for a WEAKER one!  The STRESS of a mildly weaker prescription will force your eyes to strengthen!  Then, you can get a new, even WEAKER prescription...
Progress in this fashion, and you are bucking the trend! If you wear a cast on your arm, it will get weaker, and wither away in strength....  Likewise, if you wear a CAST on your EYES, they will wither and weaken as well.

FIGHT your optometrist on this.You want the same, OR A WEAKER PRESCRIPTION!!

You need the STRESS of a mildly stressing prescription, or else your CAST-BOUND eyes will wither away!

Trust me on this.  I no longer need glasses!  Stress is sometimes your friend.

BUT, stress needs to be mild, and gradual.  If not, it will be TOO stressful (like in a negative job/relationship situation), and then...

Meditate.  Minimize.  Consciously relax.  Meditate.

The Ying and the Yang.  We need them both!  It's not really easy, but it does all make sense.
               Eyeglass Jay:

 Happier, NON eyeglass wearing Jay: