Sometimes, just BE! pqtd podcast

Now, I’m not trying purposely to be vague here.  Actually, this is a quite specific recommendation- often, we need to be reminded that we do not need to be struggling wildly, spinning our wheels attempting to make the greatest gains, the best accomplishments of our lives, because; well- time is all we’ve got!

Last week I was reminded of this, as I got quite sick, and stayed that way for a solid week!  

Now, this is a rarity for me.  Probably for your too, if you make your health a real priority in your life, trying to always get at least 8 hours of sleep, eat a paleo diet, and exercise intensely, yet briefly, on a regular basis.  I fact, right now I can’t recall the last time I got sick!  It really is usually less than one time per year, and then only for a day or two…

Except this time.  I know what it stemmed from, as I was forced to be outside in freezing rain and cold for hours, at night (I rarely stay up late at night), and was coupled with extreme exertion!  I remember thinking ‘If I am exposed right now to something bad (I was in a large crowd as well), I know I am driving those toxins right deep into my body.’   

And that is exactly what happened!  I got so ill that all I could do was lay in my chair, covered with a sleeping bag and with an electric heater aimed at my prone form, as I just lay there- day after day.  I tried to sleep in my bed, but aside wanting to spare exposing my wife to my toxic self- there was to be no sleep for me!  I coughed and sneezed too much, and constantly needed to be blowing my nose, over and over…  

What a nightmare.  

And you know what?  As I lay there, did I think about all the things I wanted and needed to do, the workouts I was missing, the podcasts, the music and book writing I wasn’t doing, and all the thousand and one things we all do that make a tapestry of our lives?  

No.  I lay there, struggling for breath and the recovery of my usual extreme wellness, yet thinking in the back of my mind that maybe- just maybe- my life was actually usually too busy.  Even though everything I do is pretty much what I want and love to do- at the end of the day, what really, really counts in making us what we are, our true selves?  

It’s not just our accomplishments, although those are important.  But what is far more important are all the times that you are just there- in the moment- experiencing your life, and the lives of your tribe all about you, and savoring and appreciating that, in and of itself!

Not the accolades you do or might receive, not the money you may make because of your hard work; I mean, all of that is nice, and even necessary in some ways- but at last, who really cares?  If you are ‘running and striving’ so hard in your life that you hardly notice what day it is, or where you are and what you are experiencing- you are missing out on your own life.

I won’t say I am glad I got sick, far from it.  But, as I sat there in that chair, I realized what it was to live in the moment.  Entirely, and painful as it was- I was right there.  There was no way to escape it.

And that’s when I realized that if only I could live the wonderful, vibrant, full-of-joyous sensations moments of my life, as I walk through the forest with my ski poles in the snow, or hit a perfect harmony with my singing partner, or when I’ve grilled a perfect steak- why, then I would be truly BEING, living in the NOW, and in a wonderful time that would in some way live inside me then forever!

That is the me that I want, living forever!

Goodbye to my dad!

The above is my dad performing at the age of 88.

This is a difficult podcast to write and speak.  This past week I lost my father, as well as his brother, my uncle Ken!

Phil Bowers and Ken Bowers, small town Wisconsin boys who went on to accomplish great things, have gone to the Afterlife almost together- elder brother Ken died just one week before his little brother.  Ken was born in 1919, and Phil was born in 1920.  Elder brother led the way…

Both of them led stellar lives: Ken was active in WW2, becoming a Major in the US army, before retiring and moving to Florida.  Both had multiple children, although Ken’s streak was cut short since his wife died young, leaving Phil to win that particular “race”- which he won handily with 8 children!

Back when they grew up in small town Wisconsin, my father told me that “When you woke up in the morning, you just went down and loaded the wood stove!”  I’m sure this was an aside telling me how easy I had it, in the early 1950’s, where furnaces were gas fired…

Their little town had a small town dairy, and of course all of the milk and cream was from grass-fed cows.  Every morning, his parents (my grandparents) would pour off the cream from the top of a glass bottle of milk onto a bowl of berries, usually raspberries in summer.  When I visited, this was almost as rapturous a vision as if I was transported to Mount Olympia to consume the “nectar of the gods”- this is how good it was!

Of course all of their dairy products, their butter and milk and cream was pasture raised.

And of course all of their eggs were free range, from natural, unconfined hens- (I know, since they were at my Aunt Ella’s, just down the road)!

Their meat?  

Well, we know none of the cattle was confined, or fed GMO’s, or subjected to antibiotics to make them gain weight and simultaneously keep them alive briefly until they were slaughtered…  

Natural cattle, natural meat, both pig and beef and chicken too!

They spent their young lives running around in nature, barefoot for the most part according to my dad.  Ken was an athlete, and given his height he excelled in basketball.  My father Phil went the musical route instead, and wound up playing in the Big Bands of the 1940’s and 50’s, eventually meeting and marrying my mother, Carolyn, who was a vocalist in a trio that he was backing.

But the point is that both of them achieved wonderful, long, and very healthy lives!  

And just how did they achieve this, living to almost 100 years of age, both of them?  

All of the above: A Natural lifestyle, a life of pre-interference in how animals and crops are raised, a pre- FDA screwup of natural processes.  

If there is one takeaway from this, it is THIS:

Anything that BIG GOVERNMENT touches they will ruin!

ANYTHING.

Natural food,

medication regulation,

TAXES of any sort:

THEY WILL SCREW IT UP!

What we need is small, almost non-existent government.  Small town Americana, such as existed and was espoused by Abraham Lincoln, along with most of the Founding Fathers of this nation.

BIG government has proven, over and over and over again that they are horrible at regulating us for “our own good”.  They need to get out of the way- stop telling us what to do, and let us just do what needs to be done!

And then: they need to ask us how they can fix their big government-centered, clueless, liberal/progressive/loser way of life, so they can finally actually be productive members of society, instead of the constant drags on the tribe of humanity that they have become!

If they actually do this thing, Phil and Ken will, up in the Afterlife, raise their glasses in a toast of 

Thanksgiving!  In fact, I think they are- just look!

We Are Here to CREATE!

Perfectly Paleo Exercise

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work – as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for – the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’”- Marcus Aurelius


I am utterly convinced now of the importance of creating something as part of a healthy lifestyle- a paleo type of lifestyle!

It’s not all just about eating right, sleeping well, keeping in touch with your “tribe” and family, and doing proper exercise in the beauty of nature.  Of course, as I go about ad nauseum on my podcasts and blogs, all of those things are just crucial to total health and well-being.  But there is one more aspect of life that, if ignored, will leave you ultimately unfulfilled and even not fully a realized human being- creation!

Now, I don’t mean you have to sculpt statues or paint works of art.  (Although those would be great!)  I just mean, you need to have things that you work at, things that use your skills to realize the creation of something, anything really, of value.  And it could just be of value to you, even if no one else appreciates what you create, heck- maybe you are like Van Gogh, and will be revered after your death.  It doesn’t really matter though- it needs to be something that fulfills you.

Maybe you love to cook, and you take one day to master a particular recipe- great!  You are a creator- for that day.  The thing is, though, you need to create pretty much daily, or at least most days.  We are not meant to live our lives to be “entertained”, but sadly, in our modern processed food world, most of us increasingly are relying on “processed entertainment” to keep us occupied.

Even if you get up early as I recommend after a good 8-9 hours of sleep, exercise thoroughly from your head to your toes, drink your fat-laden coffee and your green smoothie, and then meditate or pray for 20 minutes… well, that’s not enough.  Not really, although you will be amazingly healthy after a bit of living like that, and will look and feel great.  You will be vibrant and alive with healthy energy, and will enjoy going to the grocery of the farmer’s market, stocking your larder, and planning wonderful family meals.

Let’s say you also have an ample income, and are quite secure in your home life and financial situation.  You go to a great church, you volunteer and do things for charity, and are giving by helping out with friends, family, and neighbors.  All of that is wonderful, and your life will be quite full and fulfilling to a large extent.

But- if you fill your quiet time, your time alone, by watching movies, reading books, watching televised sports, and surfing the internet randomly… you are not a fully autonomous, fulfilled human being.  You will feel a lack.  That is a lack of creative purpose!

Remember when you were a young boy or girl- when you awakened in the morning, you could scarcely wait to jump out of bed and start in on your latest infatuation!  Whether it was your dollhouse, or your little fort you were building with your brother, that creative endeavor was so exciting and energizing that you could hardly stand it to stay in bed one more instant- you wanted to create.

This want, or need to create never leaves us.  We leave it, moving on to more “grown up” pursuits, usually making money takes over.  And making money, while necessary, it is so easy to let it consume us.  After you have enough, when you can live a relatively relaxed life without material want, (which is the state of most Americans today, whether they realize it or not), it is time to recognize your true calling.  To create!

To grow a garden, or sew a quilt.  To make music, or write a book.  You can build a hot-rod, or restore a motorcycle.  The point is, it doesn’t matter what your subconscious- your right brain- tells you would fulfill you.  But you have to listen!  You can’t drown out that little inward voice by binge watching Netflix or Amazon Prime video for hours, or studying up on the NFL fantasy football stats.  Not even by reading great classics of literature, although that is great in and of itself, that is still “consumption”.

And we are all, all of us here, I firmly believe- to create.

And, just as in ignoring our evolutionary biology by eating modern processed fake foods will destroy us physically and mentally,   leading us down the pharmaceutical drug based yellow brick road of sickness and the symptom-masking dependence on ever more and more drugs and medical procedures-

So will ignoring the biological, evolutionary imperative need to be creative crush both our clear vision of just why we are here, and what we are here for- it will crush our spirit.

Whatever your prime directive is, it is within you.  Don’t stifle it, and most especially don’t stifle it in the endless acquisition of, and fascination with- money!  Your true, evolutionary, paleolithic, right-brained intuitive self, the one that jumped out of bed instantly to get to work on the latest creation as a child knows- that is just a distraction, a distraction from our real purpose.

We are here to create.

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!

PQTD #102 Separating FAT from fiction!

My new Paperback book, on Amazon.com

OK, admittedly I stole this title from the upcoming summit with Maria Shriver and Mark Hyman…

If you are interested here is the link to their multi-day summit:

http://fatsummit.com/

There are lots of paleo types involved- I noticed, with a quick glance at all of the photos, not only those two I already mentioned, but Dr. Axe, Chis Kresser, David Perlmutter, and many others who know whereof they speak on the bill.

I’m sure you could not go wrong listening to the summit!  You will possibly learn a lot.  But I will give you here a little list that, I’m sure, will sum up what they say in a nutshell, and save you listening for hours and hours…

But, if you have not already been “indoctrinated” into the paleo or ancestral lifestyle, you may need to be re-grainwashed, as I like to say, and sit through those hours to gradually come to the truth!  But, if (like me), you just want the Cliff’s Notes version, here is what I know will be covered:

Saturated fat, in spite of what you’ve been indoctrinated with for perhaps your entire life, is not bad for you!

In fact, it is wonderfully nutritious and helpful in losing fat, providing you with vital nutrients, and keeping you satisfied so you don’t overindulge in the true demons- SUGAR AND PROCESSED CARBS.

Things like Butter, Lard, Coconut oil, and Fatty Fish are incredibly healthy!

They are also the stuff that will satisfy your nutrient needs, and keep you thin and sane! (They are also, as I’m sure David Perlmutter will tell you in the summit, really, really good for your brain!)…

Grain will destroy your brain! 

On the same topic: grains, in addition to be loaded with anti-nutrients like gluten and gliadin (which destroy your gut lining and make you prone to auto-immune disease), will stimulate your appetite (making you want to eat more empty processed foods and get fatter and fatter).  In addition these grains will make you prone to mental problems like dementia, bi-polar, and all the other diseases of the brain- not only by increasing the the glycemic response (blood sugar raising) of the sugars they contain, but also by stimulating the crossing of the blood/brain barrier of these anti-nutrients and insulin-ogenic sugars, that will lay you low over time by gradually destroying your mind.

And so, I hate to be simplistic, but if you want it all laid out in a PALEO QUICK TIP OF THE DAY, Cliff’s Notes type of format, here it is, bottom line:

Don’t Eat Grains!  Especially wheat, which includes nearly all processed foods.

Eat Fat- don’t be afraid!  Saturated Fat!  No vegetable oils, they are on the same level as grains…

Just make sure they are from pastured animals.  This means beef that lives on grass, not corn! (Cows never evolved to eat corn!) 

Chickens that eat as they evolved to eat: grass, grains, bugs, worms- the key word is free range! Let ‘em go- they know what they need to eat!!  They need to “be chickens”- not confined in a cage being- well, being tortured food animals!

Eat a LOT of green vegetables, every day! 

Actually, I don’t know if they’ll cover this in the summit, but it is key to health, nevertheless.  They all know it, and do it I’m sure, but just to reiterate in case they don’t: Make a Paleo Green Smoothie (in a high powered blender) each and every day for maximum health and wellness!

Move around a LOT, each and every day of your life!

I don’t mean you have to go to a Cross Fit gym, and do WODS all the time- in fact, I would counsel you NOT TO DO THAT!  I mean that, it is essential to do exercise daily, not anything necessarily super-hard, like heavy weight lifting (don’t!), or lots of cardio to “burn calories and for heart health” (DON’T), or long sessions of jogging or aerobics or spinning or (fill in the blanks)- DON’T!

You just need to be a good member of the “tribe”- the human condition of those that are all about you.  You can prepare yourself to be a good human by-

Each morning, get up and do Perfectly Paleo Exercise!

  This means Virtual Resistance (where the muscles exercise naturally against themselves, by flexing and moving).

It means doing pushups, straight-legged sit ups, and simple stretches, sitting on the floor!

And it means walking- not long and difficult sessions- just parking at the back of the parking lot types of things; walking a little further than right in front of the store, and shuffling 20 feet in and then back…

And it also means “doing for yourself” as much as you can!

Cut your own wood!  What I mean is- if you are physically able to do anything for yourself, no matter how well off you are financially- do it for yourself!  And if you can help out your other “tribes-members”, meaning the folks in your neighborhood and family, well do it!

This is the kind of movement, and social fellowship that will not only give you strength on this earth, and mental health-

It assures that you are doing what God and Nature meant for us all to do- CARE FOR THE TRIBE!

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #115 podcast- Don't be Pushin Too Hard- Let it GO!

I can honestly say that nowadays, in modern America at least, we all pretty much are “PUSHIN’ TOO HARD”!

We work too many hours, at usually quite sedentary jobs, and while we work, we are constantly thinking about just what else we need to get done!  There are monetary goals, how we need to get this cleaned or taken care of on the house, car repairs and maintenance... and on top of that we are utterly consumed with our kids: are they in enough activities?  Do we need to enroll and drive them to even more, so that they are not deprived and not able to cope in this ever-more hyper competitive world??

And, on top of all that, we think we just need to do more!  More exercise, more stretching, more cardio, more money, more partying, more socializing, just more more more MORE!

Welcome to America today!

It was not always this way.  Back in the 1950’s, which so many hold in nostalgic regard nowadays, I am here to tell you that it was not this way.  The hyper-competitiveness existed, but it was mainly confined to the big cities, and the types of folks that are always around with fragile egos and big ambitions.  But back then, they were regarded with raised eyebrows, and seen for what they were:
Insecure people that needed outside validation.

Most people were content with a normal house, a regular secure income from a regular, real type of job.  Back then, ALL jobs were considered honorable- physical jobs were at LEAST as good as office work; actually, physical jobs paid HIGHER back in those days, and office work was reserved for those who could not, or WOULD not do harder work!

But this is all just leading up to now, when we are confronted with learning what is really important in life, now and forever.

It has become all about the money.  And the power.  It was not always thus; being well regarded was considered all important back in the day.  A man’s (or woman’s) word, honesty, and reputation were far more valuable than the money in his safe.  Imagine Scrooge: nowadays, he would be the PERFECT MAN.  Especially if he had perfect abs, a healthy life, and a huge mansion that he showed on TV.

But let’s get back on track, let’s talk about paleo diet and health!  How does this relate to that, PaleoJay my guru?

It is so important to back away from these hard-driving, hyper-competitive, super achieving mindset goals!  Just having this mindset can completely ruin your health,fitness and wellness, even while eating a perfect paleo diet, exercising in a perfectly paleo way, and achieving all of your monetary and other physical goals.

If you push unrelentingly to failure, you will fail!

In anything, and everything.

Push to failure in your career, your marriage and health will fail.
Push to failure in exercise, and you will be injured.
Push your kids to failure, and they will fail in life, even if they achieve what you push them at.
Push yourself really hard to be “perfect”, and you will wind up diseased, frail, and falling apart physically, and probably mentally as well.

Nothing really should be “pushed”.  We are just natural humans, and our needs and real wants are very simple.
We all need to be pretty much autonomous, and self validating, without some authority micro-managing us.

 This means minimal government, and it means minimal medical intervention.

On your own end, this means letting things slide a bit...

Don’t judge others for not keeping up to your “standards” of a perfect lawn and house- this actually means pouring glyphosate onto your lawns, thereby poisoning the water supply for all of your neighbors.

Leave your kids to their own devices- let them interact, and play with their friend in the neighborhood on their own! (Don’t insert yourself, ala “little league” and other adult organizations to fulfill your own unfulfilled ego from childhood!).

Above all, don’t try to be the:
richest
skinniest
most successful and our children are the most successful too!
most “accomplished”
and even HEALTHIEST

of your friends and associates.

If you do try this, rest assured: you won’t be.

Instead: Go back to the future!

You are George “Atlas” Mc Fly... nerd now, but you know to win that girl of your dreams, you just need to relax.

Just start doing pushups, and virtual, self resistance Perfectly Paleo exercise on a slow, steady, daily, regular basis!  Make it something to look forward to...
You clean up your diet, no drastic steps, just slow and common sense.  You start making a Green smoothie each morning, with TONS of green veggies, spices and kefir, and a little fruit.  This alone makes a huge difference both in your mental outlook, and your physical health!

You decide to “skip” your next medical checkup!  I mean, you are starting to feel great- why would you need someone less healthy and fit than you to “second guess” your health?  Because you know that no matter how healthy you are, they will just try to sell you drugs!!??

Now, you decide to get your kids on board!  You decide, along with your spouse, to just “Let them be kids!”

What a concept, in modern America!  Your “friends” will look askance at your just “letting them run wild, like free range kids”!  You will just ignore them, letting them run around on the grass, just like Opie Taylor in the old Andy Griffith Show!

YOU don’t care!  Everything is looking great!  Your wife can’t believe how healthy and “buff” you are. (neither can your friends)!  YOU can’t believe how great you feel, which after all is the ultimate barometer of health- much more than some cholesterol or other fake measurement of health- and you decide to continue on your journey of self determination and discovery!

You, George Mc Fly, now decide that YOU are the best determiner of your destiny!  Health wise!  Career wise!!  And in HOW TO RAISE YOUR FAMILY!!

You have determined to RID your life of the “Biffs” of this world!

You will vote for the minimum of government
You will take control of your own health
You will exercise on your own, self directed
You will work a real job, and take pride in real work
You will let your children and spouse do the same- NO INTERFERENCE
You will run your property, and your life, as the founding fathers intended.  Pursue your own happiness- NO INTERFERENCE
You will attempt to DESTROY interference of your rights with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul!
 And love your neighbor as yourself.


OK  George, or Georgette:  here is what I leave you with with this long-winded podcast.

Don’t PUSH yourself, or your kids, or your wife- don’t be a micro-manager!  God, I hate micro-managers...

Relax, and look at the big picture.  Sure, you want your son Marty not to be a big loser, but just let it go!

Did you ever consider, that MARTY might be way, way, way cooler than you, George??

Let him go.  Let Marty be Marty.  Let George be George. (The Pushups will really help, as will the green smoothie each day!!)

Let it go!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast #93- Free at Last- Working for a Paleo America!

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe #93  Free At Last- Working For a Paleo America!

Yes, my friends- PaleoJay is Free At LAST- free from work, free of time constraints, and finally in the land of critical mass, because I am officially retired!

Not retired from life, or from my pursuit of ancestral health both for myself, my family and friends, and for you my friend- for now, my JOB is paleo living research and popularizing.  Not really a job, but an avocation, something I really have a passion for!

I have been a mailman here in Southwestern Wisconsin for 38 years.  This was a job I really did love- I walked all day, every day for 30 of those years.  This was good for me, I thought; but then I figured out that too much walking is as bad for you as too little- endless walking, day after day without a break is really hard on your knees, feet, and hips.  It’s like doing chronic cardio in the form of running, jogging, or other aerobic types of endless repetitions- it’s just not good!

I switched to a driving route after those first 30 years, and that was the best of all worlds- I was still out and delivering packages all day, in and out, walking quite a bit, but not too much!  The reason I’ve retired had nothing to do with the job itself- I loved the job, the personal interaction I had with my patrons, watching the little kids grow up and knowing me as “their mailman Jay”, taking mail up to elderly patrons waiting at their door, and knowing I’d be the only one they would see that day...  It’s like being part of a close knit, “tribal” type of community.  Very paleolithic indeed!

No, it was the top down, “Big Government/Big Corporation” management that finally drove me out! Like many things in America, things used to be much smaller scale- small business, small local government determining most things, common sense types of solutions arrived at by the people who were affected by them.

Now, unfortunately, the idea of bigness has infiltrated everywhere: small, locally owned private businesses have become public corporations, run by a bunch of vastly overpaid bureaucrats and “suits” that, at least in the case of the USPS, are largely composed of those that either could not, or would not, do the actual craft work of sorting and delivering mail!  They have devised endless, ridiculous rules that get in the way of efficient operations in order to insert their own made up positions into the system.  This gives them the illusion of actually being necessary, and it is reinforced by the bonuses they give themselves for meeting nebulous “goals” that they have made up.

Last Day!

As I said, this is everywhere- Big Government in Washington is an obvious case in point, as it has come to resemble Imperial Rome in just about every way- history repeats itself again!  But even our medical clinics are now run by managers who micromanage the doctors and nurses, and their sights are now set on maximizing profit rather than curing disease or promoting wellness.  Make no mistake- there is BIG profit in disease “management”, and very little in actually curing the cause of the condition itself!

And so, what is my point in all of this?  I want to lay out the template that every problem in our own health and wellness, down to every major problem in America, can be cured by you, personally, taking charge of your life!  Don’t rely on a Doctor to fix your health- he won’t, doesn’t know how, and can’t even if that was his goal.  Make your health a study of one- learn about proper, Paleo Exercise- do it daily.  Make yourself a Green Paleo Smoothie to drink on a daily basis, jam-packed with every nutrient your body has been craving since you were weaned from your mother. Get a solid 8 hours of sleep per night.  Spend quality time with your “tribe”- family, friends, neighbors, church members- make real connections!  Buy real, God made food from a local farmer, things like pastured pork, grass fed beef and dairy, and organic veggies.  Grow your own in a garden!

And on a larger scale- vote for smaller government!   The more local the control, the better- town is better than city, city is better than state, state if far better than federal!  The smaller the government entity, the more accountable they are for their actions, and the more they are forced to share in the outcome of their decisions.

So, vote for a Paleo America!  Small town, Mayberry type of America!

Our future truly is in our past- and now, I’ll be working at achieving a Paleo America full time!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cave Podcast #87 First, do no harm- AVOID your Medical Doctor!

PJSC First Do no Harm

Hippocrates

A famous saying from the founder of Western medicine, Hippocrates, it is meant to be one of the guiding principles of that modern medicine.  Unfortunately, in our time, this guiding principle seems to be largely thrown out the window!  Many thousands die yearly from iatrogenesis, which is a term meaning “Death by Doctor”... in fact, iatrogenesis is now the leading cause of death in the United States of America!

How about that in light of first do no harm?

The Nutrition Institute of America funded an independent review of “government-approved” medicine that was published in 2006. Professors Gary Null and Dorothy Smith, along with doctors Carolyn Dean, Martin Feldman and Debora Rasio titled the report “Death by Medicine.”
The researchers found that America’s leading cause of death isn’t heart disease or cancer: its conventional medicine. They found that the iatrogenic death rate in the US (death caused by doctors and/or medical treatments) is 783,936 a year. That’s 84,059 more deaths than those caused by heart disease in 2001 and 230,865 more deaths than those caused by cancer.

A large portion of these deaths are caused by the myriads of side effects from pharmaceutical drugs.  Statins are just one drug that is incredibly overprescribed.  Some of the side effects are muscle wasting, particularly of the heart muscle, severe joint pain, and being much more susceptible to cancer.  Does this sound like the kind of drug that right now about 1/3 of Americans should take?  Well, they are, and new guidelines would make 1/2 of Americans fall under the recommendations for statin prescriptions.

The reason?  The industry makes profits of around 30 Billion dollars per year!!  Strong incentive indeed to ignore the dictum first do no harm!

It is this profit motive that has taken over our medical clinics and hospitals, in fact the entire medical system.  There is blatant overuse of drugs that are loaded with side effects, blatant overuse of medical procedures like x rays and mammograms, and unnecessary surgeries- all ultimately done for increased profits.

The overuse of technology creates a “cascade effect” in treating patients: unnecessary outpatient treatment often leads to more visits, more prescriptions, more hospitalizations and deaths.
X-rays, CT scans, mammograms and other such diagnostics are costly and cumulatively dangerous, yet they are given regularly to soothe patient fears and often lead to unnecessary surgeries.

Also, to underscore the poorly conceived priorities of modern conventional medicine, we only have to look at the food and nutrition provided in a hospital cafeteria: There, you will see the worst possible foods being offered to both medical staff and patients, showing the utter ignorance and disdain nutrition is held in by the medical community.

Probably the most unsafe place to be, the unhealthiest place in the world, is within our modern “health care” institutions, which are actually disease care places, with a focus on disease, not health at all, and an emphasis on treating symptoms of diseases, not the root cause.  Health is not really the end goal they are even looking at!

Your own body is the only thing that can truly heal you, and restore you to health.  And your body doesn’t need drugs to cure itself, your body needs good, nutrient dense foods that supply the raw materials it needs to build your health from the inside out, as it has been doing in nature for millennia.

So, the next time it is recommended to you to go to see the doctor and go through a bunch of expensive tests, say you’ll pass, since first you will DO NO HARM to your health.  And remember the other Hippocratic dictum:

“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”

The best training BAREFOOT SHOE I have found- Xero Shoes!

Xero Shoes  - These are the very best sort of "shoe" I have found for running, and walking barefoot! 

See the above Sensori Venture, which is what I have, and recommend, for anyone getting into barefoot running and walking, or even just standing...  this is, in my opinion, the perfectly Paleo version of barefoot, natural movement.  

Watch what Stephen, the CEO of Xero shoes has to say about this latest offering of his company:

Your own PaleoJay did quite a bit of research about barefoot shoes, and finally zeroed in on this form of sandal, the Huarache as the best compromise of minimalist form, function, and price...

But, even if price was no object I would recommend this Sensori Venture above any other shoe I found, anywhere!  Why?

It's indestructible!  No one has worn out a pair yet!  Guaranteed for 5000 miles!!

Barefoot, but with PROTECTION for your foot!  You do need some "cover" in the modern world, to simulate barefootedness without injury!

Not CLUNKY and dumb looking (and FEELING!) like Vibram 5 fingers and the like!  Put them on, and you will look (and feel!) like you have nothing on your feet!

Customizable with cool colors and "bling" if you so desire!  I went with basic black, but that's just me- check out the options right here- Xero Shoes

PRICE!  I know, I said even if price was no object I would go with the Xero shoes... but the price is way cheaper than the inferior competition!!  

So, once again, if you are looking at barefoot shoes and barefoot running and walking, Xero shoes are the ones to get.  

I did my last several workouts with them on, and they are great for that as well!  And I think that, this Summer and Spring, I will be wearing them just about everywhere...

You can even make your own with kits they provide, and save even more money- but, I recommend the Sensori Venture model  for just about everyone, first pair- All the work is done for you- just put them on!  And, again: the price is right!

J

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #72- Food is not just Energy, and Sleep is not just Rest

The bottom line is this: the food we take into our bodies is a complex array of nutrients, phyto-nutrients, calories (i.e: Energy), and a complex array of things we have yet to discover that nurture our bodies and minds in a very complex and intricate symbiosis…    Processed foods, foods from Big Food manufacturers  and fast food sellers are largely devoid of nutrients- what they do have is mainly added in after the fact in the form of supplemental (read: chemical!) vitamins.

This is akin to what Big Agriculture has become- pumping chemical nitrogen into a depleted soil in order to produce grain crops of corn, (mainly for high fructose corn syrup and feeding cattle), and soybeans, (mainly for oils, which are highly damaging for humans).  So- the grain is damaging to us in the form of the HFCS, and is also damaging in the form of cattle feed, since cattle, like us, really cannot be healthy and thriving on grains.  They are ruminants, and need grass!

Let’s repeat that again: cows are ruminants, and are meant to EAT GRASS!

It shows just how out of touch we are in modern America that we don’t even know that anymore!  I guarantee our grandparents knew it, and all of our ancestors preceding them.  In fact, the only informed people that don’t know about it are the ignorant, and those who want to keep the rest of us ignorant for their own financial gain.

The reason cows are fed corn is because grains make them FAT!  

More fat in the meat, more weight on the hoof and more money for the seller….  Unfortunately, this grain also makes the cattle sick, and necessitates them being dosed liberally with antibiotics and other rather toxic medicines to keep them alive the few short months they need to suffer to gain sufficient size to slaughter.  This gives us meat, but meat that is from sick animals, with a vastly decreased nutritional profile.

Grass fed cattle are much, much more healthy for us to consume- this grass fed meat is loaded with all of the nutrients that our bodies need to be healthy and happy, and not corn-fed toxic fat beef marbling, loaded with antibiotics and other medicine residues!

The interplay between Nature and God made foods and our own physiology is very complex.  We pretend we know just what nutrients we need to survive, but the sad truth is that our knowledge is surface only- we know how to prevent scurvy, for instance, but to provide real vitality and health we have no knowledge really at all, except to say:

“Eat the minimum daily requirements of vitamins and minerals, as determined by the FDA”.

This is a prescription that will keep you from scurvy, and some other diseases, but ignores (because they have no idea!) of what you need for HEALTH and WELLNESS.  And isn’t that what we want??

So, you DO have to eat real, healthy, whole, God made foods, as close to their natural state as you can get them, to really be healthy and vital!  Processed and Fast Foods just won’t cut it- drop them our of your diet!

And, while you are at it, turn off your TV and computer and get some quality SLEEP! (Not just rest…)

We all actually get…. TOO MUCH REST!  What??

Yes, really- we sit all day long, most of us, in front of computers, televisions, iPads, and all manner of screens.  We rest constantly, and our bodies crave, and require MOVEMENT.  So, please, start walking as much as possible instead of driving, and riding your bike, and hiking, and doing your Perfectly Paleo Exercises daily… your body will thank you, as will your mind…

But, in addition, we all need good quality sleep!

Sleep does far more than just “rest” us- it is crucial for our bodies in terms of immune function, weight regulation, memory, learning, mood, and many other vital needs.  Like our Real Foods that we don’t know all of the benefits of yet, Real SLEEP has benefits that are as of yet uncharted, but all the more real irregardless.

Sleep avoidance has long been regarded as kind of a “badge of honor”, since that meant your were a really hard worker or party-er, or whatever-er…

Well, that is totally, unabashedly STUPID.

Sleep is utterly vital and necessary and desirable.
To shortchange it willfully is foolish, stupid, and ignorant!

So, to get back to topic:

Get ample sleep each night.  Think of it as like working out- it’s a badge of honor!  The more sleep you get, the more of a smart, hard worker, partie-er, and whatever-er, you can be, just because the quality sleep produces a higher quality YOU!

One tip here: get a quality, LED red nightlight if you use one.  This won’t disturb your circadian cycle like a real nightlight will.  Also, install the free app
http://justgetflux.com/  onto your computer!  This will automatically start blocking the blue light after dark in your area, gradually preparing you for sleep- very effective indeed!  And, don’t watch TV right up until bedtime.  Switch it off at least an hour before hand, and read, or converse before bed.

It really does!  We are meant to sleep for a good 8 hours per night, at least, for a very good set of reasons…

Just as we were fine-tuned over millennia to eat God made foods from Nature for a very good set of reasons…

And so please- Listen to reason!

J

PJSC #70 Put Yourself Back in Contact with Mother Earth!

Thermography Images- left- INFLAMED.....Right- GROUNDED, little inflammation!!

PJSC #70
Put Yourself Back in Contact with Mother Earth!

Earthing, or grounding- connecting the body directly to the earth- is this a vital part of healthy living, or a strange scam?

I have been researching this idea, and testing it out on my own body, for quite some time.  I noticed when I began barefoot sprinting years ago that I really enjoyed it!  I would do my usual Sunday in-the-basement workout, with my chin ups, and dips, various sorts of self-resisted squats and leg raises and assorted ab exercises, various kinds of pushups, and several sets of kettlebell swings… then, as “dessert”, I would go outside and sprint for 50-100 yards or so, for maybe 5-10 sets of sprints.

It has gotten to where I really look forward to the feeling I get doing these- it’s like I’m little 8 year old Jay again, running with my friends and brothers around the yard, barefoot, just for the fun of it!  Remember how great it felt to tear around like this barefoot when you were a kid?  Well I’m here to tell you that it feels just as good at 60 as it did at 6- and the older you are the MORE you need it!

At first I chalked this feeling up to just the barefoot benefits:  my feet were strengthened by running and walking as they were meant to- not confined in little “coffins” of stiff shoes…and that is definitely a  big part of it!  The benefits of using your feet as Nature intended are legion- the long atrophy caused by constant wearing of shoes results, eventually, in not only foot pain, but it travels up the chain of the body, and causes knee, ankle, hip, and back pain as well!

You really do need to start going around barefoot, at least inside your house!  Socks are fine- they don’t “confine” and degrade your foot like shoes do.  But, is there even MORE benefit to actually being barefoot- outside- ON THE GROUND?

I believe that there is, and it has to do with the electrical charge of the earth, with which we are meant to be in contact with!

We are electrical beings; we need to be grounded! Like everything in the ancestral, or paleo lifestyle, the more we examine the many ways in which our civilization has gradually and relentlessly set us further and further apart from nature, giving us many comforts and conveniences, sure- but also made us lose contact with those things that made us what we are- things like real, God-made food!  Ample, restful sleep!  A tribal community and family that we interacted with on a daily basis!   Pure water and air, an unpolluted environment! Daily stimulation to our muscles, and nearly constant movement!

And now, it appears: Contact with the electrical charge of the Earth itself!  That contact, which our forebears had in abundance, has been largely lost through the constant wearing of shoes, and the separation of most of us totally from the land and the soil!
There is a book, and plenty of information about this topic at www.earthing.com  You can certainly go there and check it out, and make your own decision.  They sell grounding “products”, like mats that you can sleep on, and when you are selling a product like that, somehow your research seems a little, well, shady…

But I really think they are onto something, and you can try it out on yourself, for free!

When the weather warms up, SOON I hope, go outside and walk around in your yard, or the park, or wherever- barefoot!  Sit outside with your bare feet on the ground- even on cement you will be grounded!  Get some natural sun each day as well- skip the sunscreen, and let your body make vitamin D the way God and nature intended… I’m sure there are other benefits to this we just have not even discovered yet!

See if, like me and many others, you don’t start feeling, and sleeping better!

The theory is that grounding, or earthing your body, at least some of the time, is another piece in the paleo puzzle of improving how you look, feel, and perform, by putting things back into our lives that never should have been drifted away from.  Real food, real sleep, real movement, real environment, and real contact with Mother Earth!

They all go together, and we should reintroduce them into our lives for our own good!

- and Hey- could you give me a review on Stitcher?  I'd sure appreciate it dude!
Just go to this link- stitcher review link  Thank You Tribesmember!!
J

Change your body language while you exercise! PaleoJay Podcast #53

Listen now by clicking HERE, then scroll down to the arrow that says LISTEN NOW
by tomorrow, it'll be up on iTunes...

Change your body language while you exercise!

I you haven’t seen it already, go ahead and watch the Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy:
She explains in great and convincing detail just why our body language is so important- not only as to how others see us; but more importantly- how we see ourselves!

So, now you know the crucial importance of our own body language in reshaping the way we see ourselves, and how we relate to and are seen by the rest of the people in our world.  Sure, you can just practice the poses that Amy Cuddy describes so well-

But to really enforce these poses, you need to incorporate them into your daily, visualized resistance exercise program!


I have been doing this for years, and never realized until I saw this video that what I was doing had more than just wonderful physical benefits-

I was also reshaping and practicing my body language, over and over, by flexing my muscles to their maximum potential, while simultaneously  holding an isometric pose at the end of the movement that mimics a “power pose”!

Who knew?  I knew this type of exercise had remade my physique, and at the same time cured the many small injuries I had accumulated in my years of heavy weight training and distance running- but I had also noticed a huge change in my personality, and how I interacted with the world.  I thought it was just confidence brought about by self-actualization- the achieving of many long sought physical goals, one after another.  But now I see that, by inadvertantly practicing many thousands of repetitions of “power posing”, I had actually remade my own self image, bit by bit!

I also think that, when these poses are done intentionally, with extreme concentration and muscular contraction as is used in visualized resistance ala Perfectly Paleo Exercise, that the effect of the posing is dramatically increased, and cemented into the psyche of the exerciser!

Here is a video of mois doing a brief demonstation of Visualized resistance exercises:

PaleoJay visualized resistance demo


This is from a year and a half ago, since which I have begun adding in some lat spread types of back exercise, done in the same virtual fashion- you know, like the body builders do, but you don’t need to wear tiny trunks and do it on stage!  (Although at first a mirror helps!)

Just put your fists on your hips, and spread those lats as wide as possible!  Hold a few seconds isometrically, and then repeat for 5-10 reps.

Hold your arms outstretched sideways from your body, and then flex your lats wide again, by pushing your arms bak, and flexing as widely as possible!  Make yourself huge!

So, there you go!  Change your body and your attitude and self-image by practicing visualized, Perfectly Paleo Exercise!  It’s a two-for-one, and it really works!

J

PaleoJay Podcast #47 Why I do my Perfectly Paleo Exercise in - the Early Morning!

 Listen NOW- just scroll down to the player at this link!

Tomorrow?  Go to iTunes: PaleoJay on iTunes!

Pretty much every day, I awaken quite early, about 4:25 AM in fact.

“But Jay, But Jay!” I hear you yell- “isn’t that disturbing to your circadian rhythms, and, uh, just hard and a big pain?”

Well.... NO.  I get up then because-

I can get so much done in the early morning, and it has become my favorite time of day!
It is truly my me time, where I get in touch with myself, my body, and my mind as well.  I also make my Paleo Smoothie which is the foundation of my paleolithic nutrition for the day, loaded with virtually everything my body needs. I also make Paleo coffee, in my Aerobie Press with organic coffee, and load it up with coconut oil (in my during my workout cup) and then with real whipped cream and cinnamon and cloves in my driving to work cup...)
It is not a hardship to wake up to your favorite time of day, especially when you have gotten to bed at 8:30 or earlier- and so have had plenty of restful, restorative sleep and are more than ready to bounce out of bed!


When the alarm goes off, I awaken, and then I start to breathe, deeply, from my diaphragm.  This is the way to wake up gradually, and pleasantly, rather that wrenching yourself from sleep and stumbling to the bathroom!  I continue this deep, diaphragmatic breathing for 5-10 minutes, enjoying the feeling of gradual awakening...

Then, I arise, and go to the bathroom, where I do my mobility exercises- just gradually rotating each limb and joint gradually in turn, to fully awaken and energize my body and limbs in a slow, pleasant, and natural manner- king of like how a cat would gradually wake up from a pleasant slumber!  A complete description of this whole routine in in my eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise available on Amazon and the iBookstore, among many other vendors:   http://www.amazon.com/Perfectly-Paleo-Exercise-Transformation-ebook/dp/B0083LP8JG

Next, I make my coffee- heating the water in an electric tea kettle (way faster and easier than my old gas kettle!), and then, whilst the water boils, make my Paleo Smoothie, http://www.paleojay.com/2012/09/updated-paleo-smoothie-recipe-high.html
there is a link here from www.Paleojay.com, and also is outlined in detail in my first eBook Paleo Quick Start-  http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Quick-Start-ebook/dp/B005FAOXT4


Not to turn this into a huge advertisement for my eBooks, but they are a quick, organized resource...

Next, while my Vitamix blender https://secure.vitamix.com/Default.aspx?COUPON=06-007058 is whirring away, I go into the living room, start up my TV and Netflix on my Apple TV, (lots of other interfaces are available- Wii, Xbox, what have you), and spread a towel on the carpet...I’m gettin’ ready for a fun time!

Next, carrying my mug of organic, coconut oil laden coffee, I repair to the living room to enjoy the gradual total awakening, energizing, and totally natural strengthening of my muscles, ligaments and tendons by doing my virtual resistance exercises as outlined in Perfectly Paleo Exercise, and also gone into on my site www.paleojay.com

Some days, like today, I follow the virtual resistance with pushups, straight legged situps, and hindu squats and pushups, which are also described at my site and in my eBook.  I also do some self-resisted exercise, both for the arms, wrist and hands, neck and face; along with hindu bridging, which is kind of a total natural facelift and spinal restorer all in one kind of a deal- something everyone in the world, in my opinion, should do daily for both bodily and mental health!

One thing that I think standard Paleo is missing is this emphasis on natural, real world exercise.  Cross Fit,  Olympic Lifting, Power Lifting, Extreme Body building- they all seem to have infiltrated the Paleo scene way too much.

These things are not natural, not at all!  Just as marathon running has been shown to be anti-healthy, I maintain that heavy, extreme weight lifting is also extremely unhealthy!

There.  I’ve said it.  I’m going to get a lot of heat over this, but I stand my ground-

Natural, Paleolithic, Ancient Greek training is all you really need, or should want!

Exercise in a natural manner, like a cat- use your own body as resistance!  Nothing else is necessary.  Maintain your body in the process- like Kelly Starrett says in Becoming a Supple Leopard, Kelly Starrett at Mobility Wodevery human needs to know how to maintain their own body!  Incorporate your body’s maintenance into each early morning workout you do- it’s that easy!

Today I heard that Casey Viator passed away.

 If you don’t know who that is, he was the  experimental human that proved the efficiency of Arthur Jone’s Nautilus machines back in the 1970’s- he was a genetically gifted guy, who could build strength and muscle at a rapid rate, and so was chosen for the experiment...

Bottom line: he gained 63 pounds of muscle in 28 days!!

He really did, and it was amazing!  He was the same age as me, your own PaleoJay...

He just passed away yesterday.
Recent photo 2012-

I mention this, sadly, to point out what I believe to be true- as I said before, just as Marathon running is extremely un healthy,( the original Marathon runner in Greece DIED upon completing his run to deliver a message)-

 So Is Heavy, H.I.T., high intensity weight training!!  Muscle BULK is not good, in and of itself...





The founder of modern bodybuilding, Eugen Sandow also died early, at 58.  He was incredibly impressive, especially at that early time, and trained with extremely heavy weights!

I don’t look for someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger to live a long and happy life, either...

So, I say: Train for life, don’t live for training!  The ancient Greeks, who seem to have had most of our current problems figured out, besides their providing the knowledge for us to copy to create our current Western democracy and civilization, were essentially Paleolithic Peoples.

They had just figured out a whole heck of a lot of stuff that made life better and mapped out the future of the entire world for thousands of years...

But, they also valued the paleo past that made them what they were- look at old statues and reliefs- they ran sprints, they did gymnastics, threw spears and javelins; they did natural, total body exercise that emphasized the ideal human form and performance.

They were all about form, function, and health.

Not about overload, hypertrophy, and muscle bulk for it’s own sake!

I don’t think Plato ever asked Socrates “How much can you snatch?”

So, let’s go back to natural strength, strengthing for LIFE rather than for a record book!  For real fitness instead of a one day magazine cover or trophy or photo shoot...

Classic Fitness- think Greek Statue instead of an emaciated Marathon runner,
OR a bloated, huge-muscled freak that has destroyed his joints and bodily vital force!
So, to get back to early mornings...

Just make real exercise a natural part of your day!

You get up, you do deep breathing... then easy mobility exercises.  You go downstairs, ala PaleoJay, and
brew your coffee and green tea
Make your Green Paleo Smoothie in your prized Vitamix

Then, you do your virtual resistance exercise, followed by mobility work.   If you can and have it scheduled that day, you follow up with some self-resisted, and isometric exercise... and, if it is a fun, time less-restricted wonderful day, you finish up with some calisthenics, like pushups, straight-legged situps, hindu squats and pushups!

Then, have a big breakfast of all paleo foods-

Your Paleo Smoothie!
Free range eggs (if you want)
Pastured liver (if you want)
Pastured bacon (if you want)

All are based on your appetite- eat all that you desire!

Trust me, you won’t be hungry again for a long, long time!

But, as I do, try to drink a quart or so of your Paleo Smoothie in the late morning...

Then, have lunch in the mid-afternoon-

A grass fed burger without the poison bun, a giant salad with meat atop- something like that...

Then, in mid-afternoon- drink another quart of Paleo Smoothie...

Then go home and relax!  You have had your nutrition for the day!!

You will NOT be hungry, trust me!

Go home, forest bathe, sit on the porch and play guitar, sing with family and friends, have a glass or two of wine, take a walk around the neighborhood, connect with your tribe!

You are home free!  Relax- you have earned it!!  You won’t need to eat until the next morning...

It’s kind of a real freedom to live like this, my friend!

So, again, I am bucking the Paleolithic trend, but I say again:

Don’t skip breakfast- eat a huge one!

Train early- then you have succeeded early- and are ready to eat, and then relax (at work)...

Eat throughout the day, but only super nutrient dense paleo smoothies (a huge key here!) and salads and wild or pastured meats....

Now, you have given your body everything your archetype, your paleolithic ancestor would demand that you acquire before resting:


1. Stimulus to your muscles to adapt and grow!

Adequate nutrition (and then some!) to supply the needs of the body.


Now, you have the luxury to recreate and enjoy your tribe, be like the ancient Greeks and have Philosophy, religion and music, poetry and drama-

become the best YOU you can be!!

And, above all - Get to bed really early!!

Have a great sleep!!

The Greeks said that the gods talked to us in our sleep. And I believe that the real God does!

J