A Vitamix is a chewing machine!

OK- here I am with a Green Drink from my Vitamix-  Paleo Smoothie!  I would be hard-pressed to eat this many vegetables in a day, much less chew them enough to ensure adequate digestion!  With a Vitamix doing the "chewing" for me, this is not a problem!

Lots of us are not that enamored of eating lots and lots of vegetables... understandable!

But, just add them to the Vitamix canister, along with some natural berries and other fruits, coconut milk, and- well, here is the blog with the recipe list included: paleo smoothie recipe

It's part of a blog about "Shakeology", but it's there...  and it works!  Way more detail in my 1st eBook,
Paleo Quick Start, but you can just take the recipe and go!  And variations are not only acceptable, but encouraged.  More veggies- more variety- more health!  Your garden (or your Farmer's Market!) is your  Palette- draw from it- add to your health.


I know from experience that most folks resist buying a Vitamix:

1. Too expensive
2. Too big of a change of lifestyle (versus pouring cereal and milk into a bowl...)
3. Seems "weird"- putting veggies and "strange" liquids (kefir, raw eggs, pastured butter, coconut milk, green tea) into a blender....

Trust me, have you priced a diagnosis of cancer or diabetes lately?

WAY more than a Vitamix.  

If things in our health care system made sense, then our health insurance would cover a Vitamix, cod liver oil, perfect pushup devices, pull-up bars, and such like...

but our health care system makes no sense whatsoever, which is why it (and we) are going broke!

But you don't have to go down this self-destructive path-  

Take the conservative approach- don't rely on Government!  Provide for your own health!

Eat good, real, natural, God-made foods!  

Do natural, non-machine, real body exercise!!

SLEEP a LOT!

Have good personal connections- a "Tribe" or "Family" with which you connect...

Do all of the above, and you will be a healthy, happy, spiritually fulfilled, and FIT cave person!

J

Eighty Percent Paleo?

Ok, let's say you are 80% paleo...
Does this mean that the above is just fine??


I don't think so; but it appears to me that this is just exactly what is done by a lot of paleo, or as Mark Sisson dubs it, primal folks!  I mean, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it is really easy to cheat, and say:

"Hey- I've been really good today- I had eggs and fruit for breakfast, a salad with salmon for lunch, and now some friends are visiting, and I wouldn't want them to feel deprived, and so I'll join them in a nice little dessert, and maybe some bread with dinner, because I wouldn't want them to feel deprived..."

I'm sure this is not what Mark Sisson, or any other Paleo person has in mind when they say to "just eat 80% paleo, that's OK!"  Even a little gluten, say a cookie, will seriously irritate (think: punch holes in!) your gut lining!  Does that sound like a minor thing?  It opens you up to all of the ills of modern civilization, including autoimmune disease!  Also, if you are just getting started in the paleo way of life, and you "cheat" with a slice of bread here, a cookie there, and justify it with the thought that "Well, I ate that way for 20-30 years, and I'm OK", just remember, the damage is cumulative, meaning that eventually it will catch up with you!  If not diabetes, or skin problems, obesity or heart disease... something will sooner or later come to get you...

I think the worst of this 80/20 mindset is that you never really get a good benchmark of just how good you can look and feel!  You have to go pretty much all out paleo for 30 days or so to even get an idea.
Then, and only then, you can "tinker" with the concept; experimenting with dairy (many people have NO trouble with kefir and cheese), trying a little white rice, etcetera...

You will have also reached the point where, if you do introduce something like the 20% Twinkie idea above, you will feel so crappy that you will have learned a valuable lesson!  But, if you don't have that 30 day benchmark, all you know is how crappy you've been feeling for years- you don't really have anything to benchmark against it.

I think a good way to conceptualize the Paleo Diet is to think of eating the best, most nutritious foods you possibly can, every day, for every single bite. ( A paleo smoothie just makes it that much easier). This is what our bodies really want, need, and require- 0% empty calories!  If we keep this in mind, if every single thing we feed our starving bodies (this is the state of bodies eating a Standard American Diet) is nutrient dense, then eventually we will find there is no room left for "fake" or bad foods, i.e. grains, sugars, and other drug/foods that our brain-washed minds may crave, but that gradually poison our bodies.


“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
― Marcus Aurelius

"The happiness of your body depends upon the quality of your food."
---PaleoJay

HOW do I eliminate WHEAT?

Ok, you are probably thinking  "But HOW do I eliminate wheat, which is in the cereal and toast I eat for breakfast, the sandwich I eat for lunch, and the pasta and pizza dough I eat for supper?"

If you are in this camp, let me help you out.  First off, it really is not that hard!

For breakfast, have eggs cooked in butter and/or coconut oil.  Some fruit is also good, and bacon and sausage.  Have some coffee, with real whipped cream layered on top, with some sprinkled cinnamon and ground cloves to taste!  I'd say ditch the orange juice, but hey- this is our just eliminate wheat phase, so have the orange juice.

For lunch, have a big salad, with lots of olive oil and vinegar (best), but again, for this wheat elimination phase any dressing is fine.  Top your salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs, beef, tuna, salmon, chicken: whatever!   All or just a few- let your appetite be your guide.  Just eat a lot, make sure your are not hungry.  This is all real, good food- full of nutrients.


Snacks?  Slices of cheese, olives, celery filled with almond butter or cream cheese, dark chocolate pieces mixed with almonds, macadamia nuts- anything but crackers (wheat) or potato chips... well, OK along with your cigarette in this phase...

Supper: A big steak, or pork chops, or chicken, or seafood! Prime rib!!  Have some vegetables with lots of butter melted on top,  wine or beer, and have a big "loaded" baked potato with sour cream and chives and bacon bits and all the rest! (Just don't eat the anti-nutrient loaded skin)... well, in this phase OK...

Do you really think you'll be deprived, eating like this?

Please make sure that you don't make yourself hungry!

When people try to deprive themselves, by cutting calories, the result is entirely negative.  Trust me, your body will win this "contest"- your body has a set point.  If you make yourself hungry on a consistent basis, your body will think it is starving- it will make it a priority to manufacture fat to get you through these hard times.  Don't do this to yourself!  Eat until you're full- 

Just Don't Eat Wheat!

Virtually anything else is fair game...

Don't even make yourself exercise during this "Wheat Elimination Phase".  If you feel like it, fine.  But it's no big deal!  You may even do better without exercise for this phase... getting free of addictions is like that- you need a singular focus!

Of course, there is an easier way- far easier!  (Not that this is that hard).

You could just make a big Paleo smoothie each morning, along with your morning coffee.  This takes care of your breakfast, your snacks, and if you want, your lunch.  You will not be hungry- guaranteed!

But either way you go, eliminate wheat.  That's the bottom line.  

Do this for awhile... 

One week is good, two is better, three is best!

If you do this for FOUR weeks, I GUARANTEE that you will change your health for the better, in a big way, FOREVER!

Then, we can talk about other "tweaks" that will further enhance your health, mental and physical, and make your life hugely improved...  

But they are all minor compared to this:  Just don't eat wheat!

Jay

Go AGAINST THE GRAIN!

This is a great interview of Mark Sisson by Sean Croxton!

The final takeaway is this:  DITCH GRAINS!

There is no upside to bread, wraps, chips, tacos, buns, cereal... you get my drift!

If you only do one thing for your health-

DON'T EAT GRAINS!!

I can't be any clearer than that.  Grains will irritate your gut lining, and make you prone to all of the diseases of modern civilization like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, depression- the list goes on and on...

Eliminating them is really not that hard, especially if you start your day with a Paleo Smoothie, so you are completely replete with nutrition from hour ONE, and then just eat meat, nuts, seeds, fermented dairy like cheese and Greek yogurt, vegetables slathered with butter, and fruit.

So, as a memory device just remember to GO AGAINST THE GRAIN!

Literally, that is one half (at least) of the battle for your health, right there.

Jay

Are we just like ancient Rome in Poisoning ourselves?

Contaminants in our water and other environmental hazards- are they making us sick?  Especially mentally sick??

One of the theories about the fall of Ancient Rome is that of lead poisoning.  The Romans used lead in their famous aqueducts; also in sealing their wine jars (of which they drank a great deal!).  The most recent, and most convincing theory is that the aging vats of their wine-making were universally sealed with lead- this makes the most sense of all...

Also, that they used lead paste as a birth control method.

This last is right up there with us using the "pill" as birth control- deregulating hormones, and really screwing up the metabolism long-term!!

But my other point is this: our widespread pollution of groundwater, not to mention our addiction to plastics and teflon in our cooking and food storage-

Is poisoning us as surely as the Romans poisoned themselves with lead!

I have friends with well water that has tested high in arsenic- until testing, they were totally unaware of this HUGE hazard lurking in their lives!

I also know of many people, some older, but an alarming number of younger people, who are being diagnosed as bi-polar, and with depression, fibromyalgia, and a whole litany of mental disorders.

To me, and I know this is anecdotally, but it sure appears there is a strong connection between the pollution of our water and other foodstuffs and our mental (and of course physical) health.  

The Greeks thought that those who ignored history were condemned to repeat it.  I think we are doing just that, by repeating the poisoning of ourselves, just as the Romans did!

J

Visualized Resistance training and isometrics as natural training, i.e. MOVNAT!

Here is my cat, Zeke!

When talking of MOVNAT, or natural movement training, he is my expert!  The way this little 8 month old runs, climbs, stretches and just plain MOVES is inspirational to me.  As I think it was to Charles Atlas, the comic book, mail order icon who resurrected visualized resistance training almost a century ago, after watching a lion (think ZEKE here!), who stretched, and FLEXED his muscles (as cats do!), and inspired him to think:

"Hey- if that's how cats (and other animals keep in prime physical shape... maybe that's how humans are meant to do so, as well!!"

He was right!  

You can do an arm curl (easy to visualize, that's why I use it), and consciously apply resistance, and make it as hard as you want!  Try it- see??  You just flex as you curl, and make it as hard as you'd like!

Then, you can add an isometric hold at the end of the curl- don't stint- flex with all you've got at the uppermost part of the movement!!

See what I mean? Do 7 reps or so of curls, with visualized, self-inflicted, mental resistance; top it off with an isometric hold for 4 or 5 seconds...

and you have just completed the hardest, most PRODUCTIVE,  set of biceps curls of your life!!

With no equipment, no set-up worries, and no danger of injuries!!

I think this type of training is a no-brainer!!  Do it for ALL of your body!!

Cats do.  Humans can too!  It's how the ancient Greeks trained, and the early Asian martial artists...  

It's so old, that it seems too "low tech" for us computerized, technology junkies.  But, simple training is probably (like simple eating, i.e. the Paleo diet humans have consumed for millions of years) the best for us!  

Check out visualized resistance training for a quick tutorial on visualized resistance exercise!  

Just do like John Peterson and Wendy Pett do on transformetrics.com!  They are the most current flag-bearers for visualized resistance, so pay attention!!


Zeke would help you, but he can't talk...

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