The definitive post of intermittent fasting!

And, well, of all types of fasting!  I came across this article on Jen's Best Reviews, and thought I would pass it along to all of you, since it is so loaded with information.  I knew most of the information, but not all, and knowing how important this concept is for all of us to understand, I will put the link here:

Fasting

If I were you, I'd go there- FAST!

Jay

pqtd 130 The Power of Intermittent Fasting! A Parable on podcast #130...

I have had a very, very busy few days, and thus need to apologize to you, my paleolithic friend, for not getting my weekly PQTD podcast done in time! Usually, it’s every Wednesday. But, here it is at last, and better late than never, aye?
Firstly, my excuses: I have been off to our families’ vacation log cabin, deep in the woods of Wisconsin. A truly unique and lovely place, rustic, cool, and peaceful. My brother, who at 63 is one year my junior, has bought the house and land just next door- his land adjoins that of the family cabin land, and this is perfect! We had met there to do work on his land, which included cutting tons of brush, dead trees, weed trees needing removal, mowing and trimming, and more. We spent one solid day doing all of this, and getting both properties into good order, at least so far as the land goes. (If you have never done it, it is amazing how much physical work in involved in keeping up even a rather small parcel of wooded or country land!! Trees are always falling, blocking trails and damaging things (last winter it was our cabin rook and skylight that got smashed), and things just need to be taken care of. And so that is what we did.
I am used to intermittent fasting, and do it regularly: this means having an “eating window”of perhaps 5 or 6 hours, and then fasting the rest of the day. If you have made yourself into a “fat burner”, doing this is completely natural and easy, and actually quite freeing! If you are a neolithic “sugar burner”, as are most modern Americans, you need to snack all day long, mostly on carbs and sugars, just to keep up your blood glucose. This is the first step towards diabesity and degenerative illness…
Now, my brother is a lifelong exerciser, and quite lean and fit. But I have always marveled at how atrocious his diet was- bread, and anything else that falls into his path is fair game! He listens to me on many things, like Inclined Bed Therapy, and Perfectly Paleo types of exercise, but he always insists he is “immune to gluten”.
I noticed that, neither of us ate breakfast that first day, just getting right to work after coffee with heavy cream. We worked steadily, all day long, with heavy physical work. The chain sawing, tree after tree, and then stacking and carrying the logs. Over and over. Really exhausting work, and the heat was unusually hot for this area, since it was in the 90’s and very humid.
At one point, Jeff went into his house and emerged with a small bag of chips, which he consumed. He offered none to me, knowing that I would refuse. We went back to work, until it was all done. We were both utterly exhausted, dripping with sweat and sawdust. Both of us showered, and I put a number of bratwurst onto the grill. Kicking back with a couple of beers, we waited for our first real meal of the day. I ate a lot of brats, as did little brother Jeff, with sauerkraut, mustard, and for Jeff at least: buns! I didn’t like it, but I even toasted them for him…
The next day, I drank a Paleo green smoothie with my coffee, and we both went to work on restoring an old Airstream trailer on the property. We gutted much of the inside, and then tried to clean the decades of dirt and mold off of the outside. I eyed the old water spigot that had not been used in many years, and then decided to try it. Jeff turned on the water in the crawlspace of the cabin, and it gushed out!
Unfortunately, it gushed out of the side of the pipe, not the faucet. We decided to attempt to fix it. We spent hours pulling, prying, wrenching, and pounding at the pipe to get it out of the rubberized hose through which the water ran from the cabin. It was barely above ground, that faucet, and so we spent our time hunched over, in the dirt, and even dug down all around in the rocky soil to try to get that pipe to budge. Nope!
Finally, I took a long log, of roughly 18 feet of so, and using a big rock as a fulcrum, worked it under the faucet, where Jeff held it with his entire body. Pushing with all I have, there was a long, painful pause, and finally- Jeff shot up in the air and to the side, holding the length of freed pipe in his hands! We had done it!
“I’m proud of you two!” said the guy at the hardware store, when we brought in our precious pipe for replacement parts. He wanted to hear how we did it, since he could tell by the age of the pipe how long it had been broken. He really liked the faucet, which was large, brass, and in the shape of a quail!
We got it all put back together, and the rest of the afternoon was a joy of scrubbing off the gunk that covered the shiny skin of that beautiful Airstream trailer! It glowed.
Only then did I realize that we had not eaten that day! I made cottage cheese pancakes, which I have extolled here before- 3 eggs, 1/3 cup cottage cheese, and 1/3 cup rolled or steel cut oats. Try it, and make it a staple! Top with banana slices or berries, whipped cream and maple syrup for a real treat!!
But, knowing Jeff as I did, I doubled the recipe: 6 eggs, 2/3 cup cottage cheese and oats. BLEND for a few seconds til smooth, and then cook in a big, cast iron pan as I did! They are really good, cheap, and taste kind of like crepes, only more nutritious.
I kept making them, and serving them to Jeff. Normally, I make the 3 eggs version for myself, and only eat half, which is 6 pancakes. I save the other six to warm up another day. They are very filling indeed!
I cut Jeff off at 12- I wanted my usual 6, which were all that were left. I believe he would have kept on eating for quite a while, but he looked satisfied. I should mention here that Jeff is much leaner than me, being probably 165 lbs to my 185. He is a runner and tennis player, primarily, where I am more about strength.
There is a little backstory to add here. Next door to our cabin, and right across the road from Jeff’s, is a man named Leonard, who has lived here his whole adult life. He is now 95, and lives alone, having survived a wife. He looks exactly like he did 26 years ago when we built our cabin, when he was 69! Earlier, when Jeff and I were peering down into the faucet hole, wondering how we’d get it out of there, we heard a familiar voice- it was Leonard!
I looked around- there he was, holding himself in the pushup position, looking down where we were looking. He looked at us, since we were all at eye level.
“What you boys need is a lever!” he said. He was right, I got a long log, and the rest of the story you know.
Little things were connecting in my head as this wonderful day went on. Jeff ate bad, neolithic foods, along with good ones, and was quite lean and healthy. I was completely paleo, and our results seemed very similar. Then, I thought of Leonard, who cooked all of his own meals from scratch, things like pot roast, and baked his own bread and pies. He too was very lean, and healthy, especially considering his meals! (Folks in this small town often confuse me as Leonard’s son, since we both have white hair, and similar builds.)
I think I have it figured out- Intermittent Fasting! No one knows why it works like it does, although there are many theories. But it seems to me that, if you have a good, healthy lifestyle, with ample sleep, low stress, lots of physical exertion and outdoor living in nature; and if you also don’t constantly load up your digestive system with constant streams of calories, even good paleo foods, but especially massive amounts of processed snack junk sugars and carbs, you are cleaning most of it out.
As long as you give your body and digestive system a long rest, pretty much on a daily basis, you get a lot more license on what you can eat and have your body tolerate!
I don’t mean go out and eat junk, not at all. Eat Paleo, eat real foods! But be like Jeff, and Leonard- eat food after you work hard, to refuel. Don’t eat all day long, don’t use food as entertainment. See it as a reward, as a feast. Then it can fulfill its proper function: to renew you.

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #80 Train Like...a Kitten!

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe #80  Train like... a Kitten!

I know- you are going to think that I, your faithful PaleoJay, have gone off my rocker!  But I mean it- if there is ONE role model that we need in this fast-paced, sleep deprived, cortisol laden modern American and Western lifestyle that we have inflicted upon ourselves, it is the KITTEN!  Or the cat, or any version of any cat being, of any size...

How does a kitten live?  Or any cat, for that matter- they SLEEP about 20 hours per day!  GREAT START!  They get up, and they STRETCH methodically, and then get started on their day... usually, they will, if domesticated, go to their food bowl and eat.  If wild, they will start HUNTING.  When they find some game, they RUN IT DOWN, kill it, and eat it- starting with the organ meats.  (Great cat wisdom there!)

Kittens, in particular, are great role models, especially for those of us who have NOT followed an exercise regimen, or are definitely NOT “kitten” aged any longer-

Kittens know how to train to become cats; tigers or lions or panthers too!

They start by methodically exploring their own bodies and movement skills, and gradually expanding upon them.

First, they squirm and stretch- play act fighting and hunting with their little siblings, and with just random strings and reflections. (shadow boxing!)  And it works!

Their skills grow and grow- in a matter of weeks, and then a few months, a kitten becomes a fearsome CAT of whatever size it is meant to be, with gymnastic and athletic skills that are absolutely awesome to see!

“But Jay” I hear you saying, “How does this mean anything to me??”

Well, grasshopper, or preferably KITTEN: in a word- everything.

Go thou, and do likewise-

When you arise- STRETCH!  Religiously, every morning!  Have a regular routine, and   follow it- It is really important.

Next, eat a good, paleo-type of protein, and veggie rich breakfast!  Religiously, again, every morning!  Eggs, bacon, pastured steak and paleo coffee loaded with cream and coconut oil and cinnamon, a giant PALEO SMOOTHIE loaded with; well, with EVERYTHING a vital, strong human could possibly need or want!

EXCEPTION:  OR- if it’s a Sunday, or a day off, and you want to relax and don’t need to work, and want to emphasize your cat-like laziness and sleepiness-

Drink the Paleo coffee, and that is ALL!  You are going into your CAT hunting/fasting mode:  Lay around... stretch... enjoy the lethargy, the pure luxury of reveling in not having to RUSH!  Observe nature, pay real attention to it- the birds, the squirrels, the sounds of nature.  MEDITATE ON IT.  Your cat-like, primeval body is benefiting greatly- shutting down stress hormone (cortisol) production, revel in the very feel of the grass beneath your feet as you walk in the backyard.  Think about how you will spend the day- if Sunday, you can go to church and feel the spiritual recharge and exchange between you and the divine that will energize you- a real meditation!  Next, come home again, and, if hungry now, you can eat, but consider, just consider, kitten:  maybe you would like to work out now.  If you really listen to your body, you really just might feel this way- I often do...

A kitten knows when it’s time, intuitively.  You do too; you’ve just kind of... forgotten.

Last week, I knew I should NOT work out!  I didn’t feel guilty, I just KNEW that my body wanted to REST like a cat would.

Tomorrow, I know that I CRAVE a good workout!!  On the rings!  One the P-bars!!  Sprinting barefoot!!!

HARD but short!  It will feel fantastic- Like a cat running at top speed after hapless prey!!

And so, to get back to the EXCEPTION DAY:

Relax all morning, chill out.  Meditate. Pray. Stretch.  Enjoy the early morning (or late morning!)... Drink your Paleo coffee, loaded with ketogenic fats, and enjoy...

Go to church.  Meditate and pray again.  Enjoy the feeling!

Don’t eat- enjoy the feeling of not having to eat, to prepare or clean up, or anything but relax!  Prolong it!!


Converse, get in touch with family, read.  Maybe now you feel like working out?  I often do!!  SO DO IT!  Do your Perfectly Paleo Exercise!  Work your body, catlike, exploring all different was of moving and exerting yourself- NOT to “burn calories”, NOT to “get a pump”- just to move like a kitten or a cat- for pure FUN and the JOY of it!!

Afterwards, just like a Lion that has run down it’s prey, you will start to crave REAL, God made FOOD!  Because you now deserve it, and can make good use of it!!

So, DO IT!!

Let’s say it’s early, or mid-afternoon on a Sunday:  Fire up your grill!!  That’s what I do, routinely on these
exceptional Sundays!

Paleo Smoothie before blending

Put on a slab of ribs- (Imagine you just ran down the boar and killed it)

Add in some bacon- (from the same boar...)

Put on a roast of grass fed beef- (from a ruminant you killed after the boar)

And GRILL SOME LIVER from that same ruminant cow-like creature, to which you can add some Hollandaise sauce tomorrow morning for your workday huge paleo breakfast!!

I like to grill a whole weeks worth of meat on Sundays, and it is a blast to do so!!

Think about it: like a cat, you have relaxed, meditated, revitalized your feline body by stretching, contemplating, getting more-than-adequate sleep, and just plain getting in touch with your bad self!

THEN, you ran down your PREY, KILLED IT, (Figuratively speaking: you just bought it from your local farmer or rancher probably)- and now you are reaping the nutritional rewards for both yourself and your TRIBE of CAT-FOLK!  (Perhaps Catness is among them?  I don’t know...)

CRACK A BEER DUDE!  You have earned it!  It’s the Catnip equivalent of a human reward...

You need the carbs- and you have revitalized you, and YOURS!!

Party on, Catness.

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe episode #75 Be Paleo- Eat Like a Spartan!

PJSC #75  Be Paleo- Eat Like a Spartan!

Not that the ancient Greek Spartans were hunter gatherer, paleo peoples... but they weren’t that far removed from it.  All of the greek peoples lived quite natural lives, out in the sunshine almost all of the time, and enjoyed hunting animals and training not only barefoot, but nude!  Talk about barefoot sprinting!!  This is taking it to the next level...

The thing about the Spartan, though, is that they purposely had food that was not super tasty- for them, food was a “means to an end”- a fit, healthy, strong body!
What a concept!  The thing to marvel is not the Spartan way of thinking about food; the thing to marvel at is the modern, western concept of food as being all about taste- the nutrition within that food is rarely even considered.

We spend much of our days now just... grazing like cows, eating, and snacking, and then eating some more.  The Spartans would usually eat one meal per day, usually in the evening after their training and hunting was done.  Their legendary Spartan Black Broth was made from boiled pork, with salt, vinegar and blood - this thick soup or broth was not considered a delicacy.  It was simply sustenance, along with their game meat.

We can surely use some Spartan ideas in our Paleo arsenal!  I like their dictum:

“APPETITE IS THE BEST SAUCE!”   I use that phrase often, to explain my indifference to hyper-palatable foods, that tend to be the least nutritious kind.  Things like donuts, candy, all kinds of snack chips and munchy things like pretzels and potato chips, french fries, ALL fast food, ALL soda pop- worthless, and worse that useless fake foods, everyone!

So, how do you change over to a Spartan/Paleo diet, since you were not raised on black broth and game meats?

Just use the phrase- appetite is the best sauce- and actually use it to your advantage!

I never used to like sardines.  Now, I love sardines!  How can this be?  Has my palette and taste buds transformed?  Well, maybe a little, but I’ll tell you how it happened-

For my lunch at work, I started packing a tin or two of sardines, along with my Paleo Green Smoothie in a mason jar.  By the early afternoon, I would be getting hungry.  I would wait longer, and longer.... and when I finally opened those sardines, I was so HUNGRY that they tasted GREAT!  It worked so well I even started packing a tin of anchovies to go with them!

You can use this strategy in many ways- clean out your house of any sort of hyper-palatable, super sweet or super salty JUNK FOODS.  But make sure you are always stocked up with plenty of wonderful, super nutritious, nutrient dense foods- like grass fed beef, pastured butter, beef jerky, some nuts, pastured cheeses, greek yogurt (hey- you are a Spartan now!), and always have some of your Paleo Smoothie, packed to the brim with veggies, kefir, green tea, coconut milk, and every other super nutritious ingredient on the list in the fridge.  Leave some sardine tins out on the counter...

And then, just wait!

As my wonderful Mother always said, (and still says!), “If you’re hungry enough you’ll eat it”!

Perhaps my mother is a Spartan!  Because this is another way of saying that appetite is the best sauce!  And, it is so true, because after a while, those sardines will begin to call to you like the Sirens- in an irresistibly sweet voice.

The other way to use this idea is in a compressed eating window, or Intermittent Fasting.  This is a wildly growing concept that is the polar opposite of what we’ve been told for many years- eat often, eat small meals, “graze”.

Like most dietary advice we’ve gotten in the past 50 years or so, it is completely the opposite of what we should be doing.  Be a Spartan- only eat one, or ideally two meals per day.  You can use the PaleoJay method of skipping supper, and eat a big breakfast and a big lunch, and then don’t eat until the next big breakfast.

Most Paleo gurus say to skip breakfast, and that will work too- it’s just not that great for people who do physical work for a living, like myself.  But, on days off, like Sunday, it’s a great strategy.  Just have some coffee with coconut oil in it, perhaps topped with whipped cream and cinnamon- this won’t interfere with your burning of ketones in the form of body fat, and you will be happily fed by your own dwindling fat stores throughout the morning.  Break your fast by having a late lunch or brunch, and you are accomplishing the same thing as skipping breakfast- you have a compressed eating window!

Congratulations, you Spartan you!  You are Intermittently Fasting!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #12 Intermittent Fasting!

By now, on your 12th week into this Paleo thing, you are probably startling both yourself, and your friends and family!  That is quite often the case- but remember, this is a lifestyle change, not a DIET, per se, that you do for a while, and then just…stop!  Not at all- this is a gradual transformation, going back to and ancestral way of eating and living; a sustainable way of living, eating, moving, and relating to both ourselves and others that will not only transform your body, but also your mind and spirit- resulting in the best possible YOU!!

That is no exaggeration or hyperbole, either- just fact!  So, let’s get onto our next addition to healthy Paleo living- IF- short for intermittent fasting!

I know, it doesn’t sound new or exciting- FASTING! ?  Not eating?  Yuck…

But all I am really suggesting is to compress, or shorten your eating window!  Instead of eating all day long, and then getting up and starting right away to EAT again- I way try- putting a break in it, making your fasts a little longer.   Why?

Because when you stop eating, you give your body a break- digesting foods is a major, intensive effort for the body.  If you give it a break of a few hours even, it can go into “cleanup mode”, or autophagy.    In this mode, your body can start to get rid of junk, like pre-cancerous cells, or bacteria, viruses, and “damaged”cells, that without autophagy ever happening tend to clog up and inhibit the functions of the vital, real cells in the body.  Think of it as the Drano of the body…

But, of course, it is much more than that!  Now that you have become a Fat Burner (more on that next podcast) your body has stopped just being a Sugar Burner, and can use body fat efficiently as fuel.  This is liberating, since now you don’t even really NEED regular meals to feel, and function, optimally!  So, when you IF or Intermittently Fast, your body can simultaneously burn fat, and given the proper stimulus from your Virtual Resistance Exercises and pushups at this point, build muscle at the same time!  Quite a deal!

As usual, I have a somewhat different take than most Paleolithic Gurus, (sorry about that P.G.’S), but my idea is this: instead of skipping breakfast, and then eating two meals, one at about 1PM and the next at 6 or so…

Skip Supper!

Especially for working people, people who don’t arise at around 9 or so, meditate, and then research about their next blog or podcast until 11 at their standing desk, then make some plans about their next photo-shoot before finally eating…  NO!

For the real world, SKIP SUPPER!  Get up early- real early- I get up at 4:30 most working days.  Make some coffee if you’d like, I like mine in the Aerobie Press, with coconut oil in it, while I am also making my Green Paleo Smoothie… and then exercise in your living room or wherever you like to do Virtual Resistance exercises, which is the ultimate Perfectly Paleo Exercise, and finish off with some calisthenics and stretching.  All this is made completely painless and FUN by doing it in front of the TV, especially now that streaming Netflix is available…

Next, shower and dress- you will be feeling great,  and probably ravenous as well- this is good!    Make a giant, paleo type of breakfast of eggs, meat, more coffee laced with coconut oil (call it Paleo Coffee!), and a Big glass of Paleo Green Smoothie!

Trust me, you will feel energized, relaxed, and ready to meet a day of work!  Especially because- the real, hard, physical part of your day is already over!!

Everything else, even if you have a physical type of job as I do…

 Will just seem easy, almost like coasting… especially since you don’t even have to plan, make, or clean up after supper!

Make sure you also have packed a big, giant salad, topped with meat or seafood for your lunch, along with a canister (I use a canning jar) in your lunchbox!  Throw in some almonds, or cashews, and maybe a tin of sardines…  Make sure you’re plenty full of wonderful, nutrient dense paleo-types of food!

Then, come home, interact with family and neighbors, play guitar on the porch like Andy Griffith in Mayberry, work in your garden, call Aunt Bee on the phone, hike around the yard, cut wood, have FUN!

LORDY- YOU ARE INTERMITTANT FASTING!!

Burning fat, building muscle, destroying cancer cells and more-

All just by not eating for a few hours!!

Whee Doggies!

And if, on a Sunday or day off you want to do IF the “regular”, Paleo-approved way… just skip breakfast!  Eat after church!!

But on a normal, working man’s day, just…

Skip supper!!

J

PaleoJay podcast #24- Skip Supper and be Happy!

PALEOJAY PODCAST 24 ON iTunes!

Podcast 24

Skip Supper to burn Fat and be Happy!

I know, it sounds crazy- SKIP SUPPER?  How is that supposed to make me happy and healthy?  Well trust me, your faithful PaleoJay- it will!

The Paleo waves are filled with the latest fad- Intermittant fasting!  It will simplify your life, put you into a ketogenic (fat burning) state, and flood your mind with the ketone bodies it craves...  and you know what?  It will!

But, virtually everywhere I hear and read, you are told to SKIP BREAKFAST.  That’ll work, but hey-  if you’re a Workin’ Man like Me, I mean PHYSICAL work, well, that won’t, uh, WORK!

Grass fed Beef liver Chili

We actual real honest to God WORKERS have to get up, eat a solid whack of protein and (hopefully!) a large, GREEN vegetable laced Paleo Smoothie to energize us, and load our cells with a large dose of nutrient DENSE nutrition!  This is ideal...

Then, we can attack our day- go out and WORK (Thank God I’m a Workin’ Man!), while the ivory tower bureaucrats and managers can sit on their chairs and Micro-Manage all of the REAL workers that actually produce and serve and keep this country working...

Sorry, but I had to throw that rant in- I believe our country is on a downward slide, both nutritionally and politically, and I had to throw that in!

Back to the Paleo Point- Eat a SOLID breakfast!  Include Bulletproof or, as I call it- Paleo Coffee (laced with coconut oil and real whipped cream, topped with cinnamon and cloves)... that, along with your Paleo Smoothie, 3 or 4 eggs, perhaps (as I had this very morning!) grass fed beef liver topped with hollandaise sauce!!!!  Trust me,  you won’t be hungry at ALL until mid afternoon or so!

Sip some more Paleo Smoothie from Mason jars you’ve packed in your lunch mid-morning if you want... but, when the WORKIN’ MAN is finally ready for lunch- Go to town!  Today I had grass fed beef, mushrooms and pepper slices, heated in a (gasp!) microwave oven, and a cup or so of cottage cheese.  I was very full indeed!  Happy, if you will...

Then, after the WORKIN MAN was done working, I went home and: I was so full and happy that I realized I didn’t need to EAT until tomorrow!!  What a liberation!

No preparation!  No cleanup!!  An extra hour before bedtime, and an early bedtime is virtually GUARANTEED!!   In fact, since Easter Sunday is coming up, I KNEW I wouldn’t have time for this podcast unless I did it now, on Good Friday!  I had a wonderful, relaxed, liberated, and fully satiated evening, and I am still having it.

So, bottom line, what I am saying is that I think that for most real, actual, WORKING folks, skipping breakfast, except on SUNDAY (that is my Fasting/Relaxing Sunday!), is not ideal.  Instead- SKIP SUPPER!

It gives you a few hours to do what you need to do, spend time with family, play guitar on the porch, talk with the neighbors- you know- all the things that make life worth living!

Then, go to bed, EARLY.  Get up, stretch a bit, and do your Perfectly Paleo Exercises, enjoying every moment- (This should be the best part of your day!)  Shower!  Put coconut oil on your body, rinse out your mouth with it as well!  SHAVE with coconut oil- it will be the CLOSEST shave you’ve ever had- revel in the fact that the oil is going into your bloodstream directly from your skin...

Then, make your Paleo Smoothie, prepare your eggs, grill your liver and top it with hollandaise sauce, perhaps...

You are going to have a really, really GREAT DAY!  I GUARANTEE IT!!

Enough sleep- Enough GREAT nutrients- an ENERGIZING, non- depleting (read: weight lifting/cardio) workout- YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT, GREAT DAY!!

So HEY HEY THE WORKIN MAN- A WORKING MAN LIKE YOU AND ME!!

Have a great day, Working Man! (Or WoMAN!!)

J