CrossFit Asia Nutrition Musings

Out and about in Okinawa Part 1- Grocery Stores

2011-01-23T02:24:00.000-08:00

So over the next few weeks there will be alot of changes going on not only in your diet but the decisions you make in regards to where the sources in your diet come from can make a huge impact in the results you get and of course the healthier vs. sicker approach to nutrition. I took a few pictures today when I was grocery shopping @ one of the local Okinawan Grocery stores; SAN-A (the sign is yellow with 3 red A's). Hope this helps in your informed decision making about not only what to eat but where to get it from.
Fruits and Veggies

Okinawan Pear (nashi)

Cucumbers!!

Spinach

Pumpkin (Kabocha)its a little starchy but a great substitute for french fries

Bean Sprouts!! Yes you can eat them.. once the bean sprouts the lectins dissipate

Meats

Bacon!! Uncured, unsalted and if you grab the one with this label that means it was raised right here in okinawa and about as close to naturally raised as you can get

Grassfed beef from New Zealand!
Yes we sell Grass Fed Beef but that doesn't mean your choices should be limited

Locally raised Chickens, Just look for the little guy doing the chicken dance. Beware if it doesn't have that little guy it could be from the U.S.

FISH

The salmon is shipped in but a lot of the Tuna is caught right here in Japan!

Oils

They have lots of variety when it comes to Olive Oils

Sesame oils taster pretty good too

Avocado Oil, this stuff is expensive but has a great flavor to it

On The Go!!! Using the healthier sicker methodology here is are some pretty safe choices when you just don't have time to cook

Liver and green Onions

Baked Chicken

Carrots and green beans

Seaweed and Beans... yes there are beans in there but we are talking best choices in a bad situation, if you really want to keep it clean just take the beans out

Something we rarely address during the Lean up Challenge..Buffness!!

2010-07-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks once again to Mark Sisson for an awesome blog post I felt it again necessary to steal!!! MDA is awesome!!

How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle

So you wanna put on some lean muscle mass. And you want to do it within the context of the Primal Blueprint, but aren’t sure where to start. It’s a common question and it’s about time I addressed it head on.
As I’ve made pretty clear, our ultimate goal is to achieve positive gene expression, functional strength, optimum health, and extended longevity. In other words: To make the most out of the particular gene set you inherited. These are my end goals, and I’ve modeled the PB Laws with them in mind. But that doesn’t mean packing on extra muscle can’t happen with additional input. After I retired from a life of chronic cardio and started living Primally, I added 15 pounds of muscle, while keeping low body fat levels without really trying, so it’s absolutely possible for a hardgainer to gain some. The question is how much and at what expense?
I’d be the first to tell you that lean body mass is healthier than adipose tissue. Generally, the more lean mass a person has, the longer and better they live. But to increase mass at the expense of agility, strength, or speed is, in my opinion, counterproductive. What would Grok do – go for enormous biceps or the ability to haul a carcass back to camp? Unless you’re a bodybuilder (nothing wrong with that, mind you; it’s just not my focus), I can’t advise simply packing on size without a proportional increase in actual strength. Those bulging biceps might look good on the beach, but then again, so does the body that comes with keeping up with the younger guys, knocking out twenty pull-ups in a row, and lifting twice your bodyweight. Form is best paired with a healthy serving of function. The two are quite delicious together, and, luckily, following the PB allows us to get both without sacrificing either.
Of course, we’re all built a little differently. The basic building blocks are the same in everyone, but sexual reproduction (as opposed to asexual reproduction) has the funny habit of producing unique genetics and small variations that affect the way we respond to our environments. It’s why some people are short and some are tall, or why some of us respond better to carbohydrates than others. Even though we all pretty much operate the same way, there IS a range of possible outcomes that is proscribed by your direct ancestors. By that same token, some people just naturally have more muscle mass. They’re usually innately more muscular than the average person, and putting more on through resistance training is often an easy task. Then there are those who can’t seem to gain a pound: the hardgainers. They might be increasing strength, but it doesn’t seem to translate into visible muscle mass. Now, my initial advice for a hardgainer is this – don’t worry too much about it! As long as you’re getting stronger, you’re doing it right.
Let’s face it, though. You’ve probably heard that enough already. It’s fun being the lanky guy at the gym who can lift more than most, but you’re dead set on bulking up (who doesn’t like a bit more muscle to go along with that strength?), and you want to do it in a Primal context. Besides, continuing to increase strength will eventually require increasing size. To do so, you have to target the very same anabolic hormones that others use to get big, only with even more enthusiasm and drive. Like I said, we all have similar engines, but some require more fuel and more efficient driving (sorry for the corny analogy). Activating these hormones will work for anyone, provided they work hard and eat enough food.
The main hormones that contribute to muscle anabolism are testosterone, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). A little more about each and how to utilize them:

Testosterone

Crazy bodybuilders don’t inject themselves with anabolic steroid hormones that are based on testosterone for nothing. Among other roles, testosterone is an important muscle-building growth factor that favorably affects protein synthesis in addition to working with other hormones (like GH and IGF-1) to improve their function (more on this later). If you want to increase strength and build muscle, testosterone is absolutely required (don’t worry, though: no injections necessary!).

Growth Hormone

It’s right there in the name, isn’t it? Growth hormone. It helps muscle grow and, perhaps more importantly, it burns body fat. After all, leaning out is a big part of building muscle (or else you’ll just look puffy) and GH will help you do it.

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1

IGF-1 is extremely similar in effect to GH, as it should be – GH stimulates IGF-1 production in the liver. In fact, it’s suspected that IGF-1 is actually responsible for most of the “growth-promoting effects of circulating GH.”
Anabolic hormones all work together. In fact, to maximize their muscle-building potential, you must have all three present. Testosterone increases IGF-1, but only in the presence of GH. GH promotes skeletal muscle cell fusion independent of IGF-1, but the two are most effective in concert. Luckily for you, the types of exercises that stimulate the secretion of one will generally stimulate the secretion of the others. Funny how that works out, huh?

Enter The Central Nervous System

In order for your body to start pumping out these delicious anabolic hormones, you must first give it a reason to do so. I might even say you should give your genes a reason to express themselves. The most effective way to do this is by notifying the central nervous system. Now, the CNS can be a stubborn bastard, but he’s all you got when it comes to interpreting stimuli and relaying messages to the rest of the body. He’s not easily perturbed, and he won’t bother if you aren’t serious. If you insist on doing nothing but light aerobics or tiny isolation exercises, your CNS will barely notice. If you want to get your CNS’ attention, pick up the intensity. Run some sprints or do some heavy lifting. When you do an exercise like the squat with a heavy weight, all hands are on deck. Your CNS realizes that some serious exercising is going down and notifies the hypothalamus, which in turn talks to your pituitary gland. This tiny – but vital – member of the endocrine system is the gland that dispatches luteinizing hormones to tell the testicles to secrete testosterone. It’s also the gland that synthesizes and secretes GH. IGF-1 is mostly produced by the liver, but its production is facilitated by the presence of GH, so we can see that it all comes down to CNS stimulation. Chronic cardio doesn’t affect your CNS in any meaningful way, so that’s why we tend to avoid it; vigorous sprints, hard and heavy lifting, and anaerobic output will get its attention, so do plenty of these to maximize muscle growth.

Cortisol: A Hormone to Avoid

Promoting muscle and strength growth also requires avoiding excess amounts of catabolic (muscle wasting) hormones like cortisol. Cortisol is the major stress hormone, and it exists for a very legitimate reason (dealing with “flight or fight” incidents, inadequate sleep, anxiety), but in large amounts cortisol increases serum amino acids by breaking down muscle, inhibiting protein synthesis and reducing amino acid uptake by the muscles – all awful things for muscle growth. Compounding the problem even further, the broken-down muscle is converted into blood glucose, which then raises insulin secretion and increases insulin resistance while promoting fat storage. And we all know how great those muscles look with a nice layer of adipose tissue covering them up! On a serious note, most people following the PB already minimize cortisol by getting plenty of sleep and reducing stress, but if you’re preoccupied with building muscle mass and engaging in extended workout sessions to achieve it, avoiding excess cortisol can get tricky: excessive exercise without enough recovery time actually increases cortisol. It makes sense (think of it like your body’s telling you it needs a day or two off), but the desire for more muscle mass drives many to work out to the point of counter-productivity. Just be careful, and give yourself at least a day of rest after a particularly grueling session.

Lift Really Heavy Things

If you haven’t figured it out already, you’re going to be doing some heavy lifting in order to put on lean mass. The foundation of your routine should be the big compound lifts: squats, deadlifts, presses (bench and overhead), pull-ups, rows, dips, snatches, power cleans, clean and jerks. These engage multiple muscles while triggering your hormonal response systems. Bodyweight stuff, while valuable, simply isn’t going to get you the strength and mass increases you’re looking for. Testosterone, while useful, only gets really anabolic when you start lifting. You need to get under some decent weight, enough so that your CNS and endocrine system are blasted, but not so much that you can’t maintain proper form.
A popular routine is the 5×5 method. Popularized by programs like StrongLifts and Starting Strength, doing compound lifts for five sets of five reps allows you to strike a balance between strength building and superficial muscle hypertrophy. Done this way, your hypertrophy won’t be purely sarcoplasmic, which results in fluid-filled muscles that look big but don’t see a corresponding increase in actual strength. Instead, the 5×5 method promotes myofibrillar hypertrophy: hard, dense muscle fibers that increase strength and size (with no puffiness). That’s real muscle that would make Grok proud.
If you’re lifting heavy and lifting hard, keep your workouts spaced at least a day apart and don’t lift more than 3x/week. Three exercises per session should be perfect. That may not sound like much, but it’ll be plenty if you do it right. Remember, you’re doing big compound movements that will really shock your system, with an emphasis on intensity and power. You don’t want to overwork yourself, release a bunch of cortisol, and set yourself back a few weeks.
Squats and deadlifts are absolutely required. No excuses. They engage the most muscles and produce the biggest hormonal response. They will be the bedrock of your mass building campaign. Most programs recommend doing squats every session, and I tend to agree. You can handle it. Deadlifts are a bit more taxing and so should be relegated to every other workout. So, one week you’ll deadlift once, the next week twice. You can also sub in power cleans for the occasional deadlifts (or do them in addition) if you’re comfortable with such a complex movement. Presses are paramount, both overhead and bench. I’d alternate both types of presses every session. Pull-ups are great, but weighted pull-ups are even better. Same goes for dips. Just try to get one pulling, one pushing, and one squatting exercise in each session.
An example for beginners, with sets coming first in the sequence:
A
Squat 5×5
Pull-ups 5xFailure (add weight if “Failure” is becoming more than 12 reps)
Overhead Press 5×5
B
Squat 5×5
Deadlift 1/2/3×5 (your choice; deadlifts can be incredibly taxing, and with exhaustion comes poor form, so be careful; sometimes it’s better to do a really heavy load for a single set)
Bench Press 5×5
C
Squat 5×5
Pull-ups 5xFailure
Overhead Press 5×5
Do this sequence every week (maybe Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and steadily increase the weight each session. Once you’re making progress, feel free to add in other exercises like dips or more Olympic lifts. For more mass, more lactic “burn” (and more GH secretion), reduce your rest periods between sets or even superset them. If you feel like doing some cardio, stick to sprints once weekly, or even a Crossfit-style metcon (metabolic conditioning) workout, maybe some Tabata burpees. The key is conserving strength and giving your body time to rest and recover for the next round of squats, deadlifts, and presses.
This “program” can be tweaked and altered. Just make sure you’re doing big movements while maintaining extreme intensity and great form. Oh, and always make sure to squat and deadlift. Always. They produce the most testosterone, GH, and IGF-1.

Eat Lots (I Mean Lots) of Plants and Animals

No one would ever call the Primal Blueprint a protein-sparing plan, but you’re going to have to eat even more than before. Stuff yourself. I always say that body composition is 80% diet, and that goes for putting on mass as well as losing fat. You need to provide plenty of protein for all those hormones to synthesize, after all.

Never let your protein intake go lower than 1g/lb of body weight when you are aiming to add long-term muscle. It’s the building block of muscle, and your body is going to be starving for it.
Eat plenty of saturated and monounsaturated fat. Fat blunts insulin secretion while increasing testosterone production. Insulin may be useful for stuffing your muscles full of glycogen, but that’s not what you’re going for… right?
Dietary fat, in conjunction with all the GH you’ll be producing, also spares muscle wasting.
You may have heard of the popular GOMAD method – Gallon of Milk a Day for easy mass-building. It undoubtedly works, but a gallon of milk isn’t exactly Primal and I can’t recommend it. Instead of milk, why not a dozen eggs a day? ADEAD? If you can manage it, eating them on top of your regularly scheduled meals is a great source of affordable protein, fat, and vitamins (Vitamin A in particular may have pro-anabolic effects).
Eat often. If you’re going for pure size and strength, fasted workouts and skipped PWO meals may not be the ticket. You’ll burn more fat with the extra GH secretion and existing muscle will be spared, but you may be missing the chance at prime protein synthesis when you fast. A PWO meal of protein and fat will still blunt the insulin secretion and provide fuel for your muscles.
Increase caloric intake. You’re going to be expending so much energy on the lifts (and you’ll continue to burn through it even on rest days) while eating clean, Primal foods (and keeping insulin low as ever) that fat accumulation shouldn’t be an issue at all. Eat!
On those days when you do expend a ton of energy – maybe on your metcon or sprint day – having a Primal-friendly starch, like squash or sweet potato, is a decent way to replenish depleted glycogen stores.
Eat a big piece of fatty meat every single day. Steak, whole chicken, lamb leg, organs, whatever. Just eat a solid piece of animal flesh for a powerful protein infusion on a daily basis.
A hardgainer is often someone who doesn’t eat enough. Sure, genes play a role, but you can ultimately have a significant say in how those genes rebuild you. To a point. Eat more and lift harder to grab the reins.

I’m a firm believer in the body’s natural ability to achieve proper homeostasis, provided we supply the right environment and the right foods. For some of you, that might mean lower body mass, lower than you’d like. In my opinion, that amount of muscle is probably “right” for you and I wouldn’t recommend going above and beyond to achieve more of it… but I also wouldn’t condemn it, especially if it’s pursued in accordance with the Primal Laws. As for me, I am comfortable where I’m at and tend not to seek added mass (I’m also at a point where lifting heavy increases my risk of injury, and I HATE downtime). But if you are a hard-gainer looking to add a few, as long as it’s not just show muscle and you can actually lift some decent weight and at the very least manipulate your own body weight comfortably, eat those dozen eggs and gain that weight.

An Article about seaweed from Mark Sisson

2010-07-08T23:11:00.001-07:00

Fresh off the press from Mark's

daily Apple

A Visual Guide to Sea Vegetables

About 160,000 years ago the human diet expanded to include seafood. Early humans became coastal dwellers at least that long ago, and ever since then we’ve been inextricably linked to the sea. The sea contains our most reliable source (when we aren’t dining on the brains of ruminants) of the all-important, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. And then there’s the edible sea vegetation. I’ve written briefly about it before, but edible seaweed seems to be lacking from most folks’ diets, even those eating an otherwise complete Primal diet. For those in Western countries, the only seaweed they’ll happen across on a regular basis comes stuffed with rice and raw fish. It’s not a modern staple, unless you’re in Asia, and it simply isn’t on most people’s radars. It should be, though.

Pretty much every culture with coastal access throughout history made culinary use of sea vegetation. The Japanese and other Asian countries are famous for their seaweed consumption, but even the Vikings and Celts would chew on dried dulse for sustenance (and the red algae even figures into some of the old Norse epic sagas). Hawaiians and Polynesians cultivated kelp farms. Plato famously opined the “sea cures all evils,” and the ancient Greeks regularly ate edible seaweed. Any food with such a wide-ranging history of use across various cultures and time periods piques my interest.
The sea is an especially potent source of minerals. It’s an entirely different story with soil, which most experts agree is being rapidly depleted of mineral content by intensive over farming. And since the plants we eat are only as mineral-rich as the soil in which they grow, most commercial vegetation that ends up on our plates isn’t nearly as nutritious as the stuff your grandparents ate, let alone what Grok ate. Buying from smaller farms can mitigate the deficiencies to a certain extent, since those guys are generally more mindful of soil quality and replenishment (rather than just trying to produce the biggest, most durable fruits and vegetables in the shortest amount of time, nutrition and taste be damned), but incorporating sea vegetables into your diet is an affordable, delicious, surefire way to obtain missing mineral content.
Whereas terrestrial vegetables are limited to what they can obtain from the soil, sea vegetables spend their entire lives luxuriating in the world’s largest, oldest, most complete mineral bath. They soak it up and are among the richest sources of iodine, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, manganese, and all other (56 of ‘em in total) minerals essential to the human body. Getting precise numbers for the mineral content of each variety, though, is difficult, because it varies based on location, water temperature, water depth, climate, and season. Rest assured, though, that these things are extremely nutritious, however variable the specifics may be.
There are dozens upon dozens of edible seaweed varieties, so variety should never be an issue. You could conceivably wade out into the shallows of your local coastline, grab a fistful of slimy, slippery vegetation, and consume it without any ill effects. In fact, the only poisonous seaweed I’m aware of is a filamentous, blue-green algae called lyngbya majuscula, or fireweed. Here’s a picture so you know what to avoid. Otherwise, go crazy. Go wild. Try ‘em all. Wild, fresh, dried, or even noodled. Here are a few of the more popular varieties:

Kelp

Kelp is the most readily available type of edible seaweed. In Asian countries, kombu and wakame are popular forms of edible kelp. You’ll generally find kelp in its dried form; soaking it for several minutes makes it pliable and edible, or you can add it directly to soups for extract the nutrients. Kelp also comes in granulated form, to be used in place of salt or as a mineral supplement to your food. A quarter teaspoon of this brand gives you plenty of iodine (over 2000% of the RDA), so if you’re looking to add more iodine to your diet, this is a fantastic way. If you’re looking to reduce your intake, you might try other seaweeds.

Kombu

Kombu is a type of kelp, a brown algae most commonly eaten in Japan. It comes dried, for soup or broth, or fresh, to be eaten as sashimi.
Add a five inch strip to a pot of water with a bit of salt and pepper for a simple, mineral-rich broth, or incorporate a few more ingredients and make Aaron Blaisdell’s Kombu Egg Soup. Be sure to eat the chewy kombu after.

Wakame

Wakame is another popular one in Japan and Korea, where restaurants will often serve fresh (or reconstituted) wakame tossed with a bit of sesame oil over a bed of lettuce. I highly recommend trying this out – the chewy robustness of the seaweed holds up well against the delicate lettuce.
Wakame often appears in miso soups or simple broths, floating on the top in thin strips. It has about the same nutrient composition as kombu and other kelps (iodine, magnesium, calcium, etc).

Arame

Arame is brown Japanese kelp used primarily in Japan, China, and Korea, but Peruvian and Indonesian cuisine employs it as well. It has a sweet, mild flavor, making it a great sea vegetable for beginners. Try sautéing soaked, drained arame with winter squash, onions, butter, and a bit of chili pepper for a great side dish for grilled meat or fish. Soak dried arame for five minutes before using (unless it’s going right into a soup). A tablespoon of dried arame will give you 0.7 mg of iodine.

Dulse

Dulse is a red seaweed that attaches itself to rocks in the North Atlantic and Northwest Pacific oceans. It’s often shredded, dried, and sprinkled on soups, but fresh dulse can be sautéed with butter and garlic, or rubbed with olive oil and salt and roasted in the oven to make chips. I’ve even eaten handfuls straight out of the bag, treating it like edible Big League Chew that won’t destroy your tooth enamel. It has less iodine (by most accounts, about 1/5 of the amount) than kombu, with high amounts of magnesium and calcium. Dulse also comes in shakable flakes, similar to granulated kelp.

Nori

Anyone who’s eaten sushi knows nori. It’s the mildest form of seaweed , generally coming roasted in sheets or squares. Compared to other sea vegetables, it’s also fairly low in minerals and other nutrients, but that just means you can eat even more of it. Try wrapping up gobs of tuna salad (tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with kelp granules, perhaps) with your nori squares for a quick, healthy snack, or just eat them plain.

Irish Moss

Also known as carrageen moss (yes, as in carageenan, the common thickening agent that makes up about 55% of Irish moss’ bulk), Irish moss grows along the rocky Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. It’s also about 15% mineral and 10% protein, and it softens into a jelly-like substance when heated in liquid. Folks in the Caribbean boil Irish moss until it’s jelly, add flavoring like vanilla or cinnamon, and top it off with rum and milk. The concoction is supposed to fight impotence and confer aphrodisiac qualities. The Irish and Scottish boil the stuff to make a tapioca-like pudding dessert. It might be interesting to play with some Primal seaweed pudding recipes, which could be incredibly nutritious (Irish moss is high in iodine, magnesium, calcium, manganese, zinc, bromine, and other minerals) if you avoid sugar. Anyone game?

Alaria Esculenta

Sometimes called dabberlocks, badderlocks, or winged kelp, alaria esculenta is a traditional sea vegetable found in the far north Atlantic Ocean. Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland all count it among their traditional foods. It’s a brown seaweed with a large central rib, from which wavy membranes shoot out on either side. Alaria was traditionally dried, then added to soups and stews. A big strip of it goes well in a pot of chili and increases the mineral content considerably.

I understand that some people just don’t dig the flavor of sea vegetables, and that’s fine. Soups and broths are excellent ways to extract the bulk of the useful minerals and nutrients from sea vegetables; eating the stuff itself is entirely optional (although probably optimal). Still, give it a try. For my money, the texture of sea vegetables is unrivaled and incredibly unique.
One thing to keep in mind is that sea vegetables have historically been used as garnishes, flavorants, stock bases, and side dishes. You won’t see heaping piles of kelp replacing spinach or lettuce in salads in Japanese households, for example. Because they’re so incredibly nutrient-and-mineral-dense, sea vegetables can be eaten to excess. Our iodine RDA of 150 micrograms is low. The Japanese typically get upwards of 5-10 mg iodine daily without ill effects (in fact, their traditional health and longevity is rather excellent), but iodine toxicity does exist. Think of sea vegetables as a supplement, albeit a supplement to be used on a regular basis.
Warnings about heavy metal or pollutant toxicity due to consumption of sea vegetables are understandable. If sea vegetables soak up all the beneficial compounds floating around our oceans, it seems plausible that they’d also absorb the bad stuff – mercury, arsenic, lead, etc. Most studies have shown that heavy metal toxicity via seaweed consumption just doesn’t really happen. Only one type, called hijiki, has consistently been shown to possess levels of heavy metals, especially arsenic, that approach toxicity. Avoid hijiki and you should be okay.

I wish I could give accurate, precise figures for mineral and nutrient content of sea vegetables, but I can’t in good conscience. To me, though, that adds a bit of excitement to eating. You know it’s sustained multiple cultures over multiple time periods, and you know it contains the full range of essential minerals – you just do not have the hard numbers in front of you. Well, neither did Grok, nor the Vikings, nor the Pacific Islanders, nor the chronic disease-free Japanese villagers munching on this stuff on a daily basis. It was just there and it was edible and apparently nourishing. I’ll for one continue to get some of my veggies from the sea.

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Posted By: Mark Sisson

Whats with all the Greens?

2010-07-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

So most of you have probably noticed it seems every time we make a note in your log we say more green leafy veggies. So whats up, why are we so concerned about the green leafy veggies? There are a lot of very easy to see reasons we prefer green veggie matter for your primary carbohydrate intake but the underlying reason (and probably the most important isn't nearly as obvious. We know greens are a good source of low glycemic carbohydrates. They are extremely nutrient rich and we can often meet the vitamin/minerals needs of our body with just a couple servings. Unlike their ugly cousins grains they are low in lectin count and free of gluten, so they present very few anti-nutrient values. So what don't you know? why do we beg and plead for you to eat more greens?

Aside from all the great reasons to eat greens listed above, there is one that typically goes unnoticed. We ask you all to eat large amounts of both protein and fats, this is a good thing right? Of course it is but knowing a little about what chemical reactions are going on may help you understand why you need the greens. So all this protein and fat have a high acid content, which combine with stomach acids can cause a pretty high acid level within the stomach or what we refer to as net acid load. While the short term you may only notice some discomfort having a net acid load can lead to a lot of gastric and intestinal problems. Leaving this net acid load unchecked can eventually lead to binding of calcium,cholesterol and bile particles with the end result being gull and or kidney stones. If you have ever had these or known someone who has then you know how painful they can be. So what does any of this have to do with greens?? Greens are the other side of the equation, greens are alkali (or a base) and they help to quell the acidity of the animal protein and fats we eat. A little may help to quell some of the discomfort in our digestive system but a lot will ensure that we have a healthy gut and drive us toward wellness. We should always strive to have a net alkai load meaning that we suffer from none of the effects of those darn acidic foods. So make sure that you are getting in at least one meal every day that has the equivalent of a forest worth of green leafy vegetable matter....

From our perspective

2010-06-26T03:12:00.000-07:00

So the first round of evaluations are over, first time jitters are out of the way... Overall I would like to say that I am so proud of all of you... even if you are not seeing change yet, logging your food choices is a show of commitment in itself. What exactly are we looking @ and what drives our feedback? A look @ it from our perspective.

First I would like to say that our intention is not to dishearten anyone with our evaluations, if you think that either Nicolle or I ever derive any pleasure out of finding something out of place in your log, and having to tell you about it, then you have totally misread the both of us. The last thing either of us want to do is point out negatives of your effort to do better. That being said, we are not going to sugar coat what we are seeing, it is very easy to lie to yourself and say hey I am doing great, but here is the perspective part... great in comparison to what?

When we look @ your logs we are grading it like a school paper, there is 100% (total compliance) and then there is percentages of that... Would you ever want a teacher/professor to tell you how awesome you are doing, when you are failing? We are looking at these as absolute 100% compliance and giving feedback off of that standard. We realize that not everyone is committed @ that 100% compliance point but we cannot judge each and every participant on individual curves. This is what conventional gyms and piss poor personal trainers do, they sugar coat everything to give you a false sense of accomplishment. This is not only deceptive in general but pretty unfair to you, the person trying to get the most out of the experience. Unfortunately we cannot follow you home every night and motivate you like we do in the gym, encouraging you to press on even when you want to quit. All we can do is be completely honest and call it like we see it ..... Someone has to keep you honest and unfortunately as much as it sucks for us to be the bad guy/girl its our job and our commitment to you.

There is no pass or fail here, every single day is a new opportunity to fix whats gone wrong and get back on the horse. The only fail is to give up, and say "fuck it, my health isn't that important pass the plate of cookies this way!!" If you all knew how badly we want you to succeed , to get the results you want, to fix the downward spiral of your health and live a long, fit and happy life. Our goal is to help you reach your goals period... There is no underlying agendas except this... I want to create walking billboards... I want people to see the change in you... I want you to become the person they aspire to be... and more importantly I want you to be the person that you see when you close your eyes. Confident, beautiful, strong and healthy!! It's never to late!!!!

All aboard!!!

2010-06-17T02:27:00.000-07:00

Alright so we are well underway and you guys have all had nearly two weeks to get the crap out of your cabinets, stock your fridge with good whole foods and figure out that crazy logging system called fitday? So first impressions? I am betting about 90% of you are realizing how malnourished you were in terms of protein intake. I can't count the number of times I have heard "I am having trouble eating that much protein"... Doesn't leave much room for unhealthy snacking does it? I have had some time to look through a few logs and its a common theme right now... not enough, not enough, not enough!!! I am amazed that some of you are even functioning .. I have seen logs with as few as 500 calories for the whole day!!! This means either you are not logging all your meals or you are trying to kill yourself... Here is the deal we want you to look, FEEL and PERFORM better... not just look.... eat more!!! if you need to snack throughout the day to get your numbers where they should be, then do it. Remember every time you cheat right now you are back @ day zero... we need to get you through the first 30 days, gain back some insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation and improve gut health before we take any liberties with our diet... If you are wishy washy about committing, you are going to end up being one of those people that never gave it a true effort and bitches about how it didn't work for the rest of your life. This stuff works all you have to do is show some faith and diligence and the weight will start falling off. We already have reports of some athletes losing 10 lbs already and we are only two weeks in!!! If you are confused bring us your confusion we will help all we can, but do something!! We will be giving first feed back on your logs over the next couple of days but if you have questions just ask..... Jump on board its gonna be a fun ride, but do it soon before you get left behind!!!

But they said it was Paleo.....

2010-03-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

So let me start this post by saying I love all of you dearly and that I am so proud of the changes you are making to eat healthier. Alright so here we go..... I have noticed a huge trend of recipes that tout a "paleo or Paleo Friendly" title. While they may be bit and pieces of a paleo based diet the end result is often something completely out of whack in terms of what your nutrition should look like. We really need to stop and take a look to see ..am I making the right choice with this?? First and foremost please understand that paleo friendly foods do not constitute quality foods!! Things like protein pancakes, almond flour muffins, chocolate pumpkin yummy treats (yes I made that one up) ARE NOT PALEO FOODS! I SAY AGAIN..ARE NOT PALEO FOODS!!! Paleo foods are whole foods, not some concoction thrown together to meet our need for comfort foods. If the recipe says 1 1/2 cups of almond flour... stop and think... holy crap how many almonds is that? I can tell you it's a lot more than you should probably be eating on a regular basis!! If the ingredients are some sort of protein powder.... run!!!! Whole foods people... whole foods.... do you even know what whey is made from? Milk isolate, Which means it brings all the dirty laundry with it that dairy products do... Milk promotes growth, which in itself is not a bad thing.. UNLESS YOU ARE TRYING TO LEAN OUT or even just reduce body fat. Milk also spikes insulin production in the body.....oh wait we are supposed to not be doing that so we can regain insulin sensitivity that we have beat down over the majority of our lives. If you are eating these foods regularly I would bet your blood glucose is high and your insulin resistance is pretty damn high. So what am I saying that all these paleo friendly recipes are bad? Nope, but they sure as hell aren't good.... Here is the way I see it .. these recipes are a healthier way to enjoy a cheat meal... thats all they are..... I am sure someone is thinking right now " but so and so posted this recipe and they are ripped and lean"... Yep and they were probably a lot stricter with their diet to get where they are and can afford the "occasional" cheat. I bet they have pretty decent insulin sensitivity and or they are genetically disposition-ed to metabolize these foods better. All that being said I would still love to see what their A1c levels looked like. If you are not where you want to be (body composition wise) all I am saying is that finding ways to substitute all your comfort foods may not be the right answer. One other thing I would like to address here before I close... Sweeteners no matter where they are coming from are not acceptable! Stevia and agave (have you seen the carb load on the back of the container) are both natural sweeteners which is great but while they carry a label that says they don't increase insulin production more and more studies are saying the opposite. I also love it when I see a recipe that says 6 packs of splenda.. I then try to picture a caveman pulling his Splenda packs out of his leaf string (ok that was just disturbing).... your body is a complex machine, but like any machine it can be fooled and insulin production can be sparked by both smell and taste... it can even be set off by something as simple as a picture (the notorious food porn). If you are going to cheat then cheat but don't try to hide behind a paleo friendly label. If you are going to cheat do it right, why put agave, throw some honey in there instead. Why ruin a perfectly good cafe latte with splenda put some pure cane sugar in there... and then call it what it is ...A CHEAT MEAL!! So here is my litmus test for you... if you look @ your food log and you can find 3 or more paleo friendly food consumptions in it within a 7 day period you might want to rethink what your goals are. Is it more important for you to have that paleo protein carrot cake or to fit into those pants you bought 2 sizes too small. It's your choice as always I have just had it with the paleo friendly propaganda that has people thinking they areeating right..... FFS just because simple green is "Eco Friendly" doesn't mean it won't kill a plant if you poor too much of it in the soil.....It doesn't belong in the Ecosystem and paleo pizza doesn't belong in your diet........... I can sum it up with this... have you ever heard some call CrossFit dangerous because of some silly video someone posted on YouTube... and you say "that's not CrossFit!! Well dammit "Thats not Paleo"!!

If you have to though here is one of the better recipes I have found (but you still shouldn't eat them every day) and no they are not paleo!!!

Primal Coconut Blueberry (Holy Crap that's a lot of fat) Muffins

½ cup coconut flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
few shakes of salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut milk (not light)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 medium bananas, mashed ( starchy carbs but better than natural sweeteners)
1 cup (or more) blueberries
flaked coconut for sprinkling, if desired
Mix coconut flour, baking soda, shredded coconut and salt in a large bowl, set aside. Beat eggs in a separate bowl and add mix in the coconut milk, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix until well combines. Fold in blueberries. Divide into 12 muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

The long road.......

2010-03-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

So the Lean up Challenge is over, but that doesn't mean you should be reversing your fortunes. So many of you have done so much work to get where you are and I see it starting to slip away. If you only did the lean up challenge to see how much weight you could lose in 8 short weeks you totally missed the boat. We have all done a lifetime of damage to our stomach's, hormonal systems, liver, pancreas, adrenal glands... the list goes on. 8 weeks of good eating is not a miracle cure, only a introduction to what is possible. For those who have fallen off the wagon, gotten lax with how much is ok, made lots of exceptions or excuses for its just this one time. GET YOUR ASSES BACK ON THE WAGON!

First and foremost while I am all about short term goals, they are not a means to an end. They should be a hurdle on the long road to health. The truth is all of us should have a extreme long term goal that we can make progress towards but may never attain. An extreme long term goal is that goal that is so far down the road that for most us its not in sight... matter a fact it may be so far off that you might think..I might get there in the next life time. So what's the point of even having it then? All the steps in between!!!! Having this super long term goal always gives us something to bring everything back into perspective. What if your only goal was to have a 32" waist or to be able to do a muscle up or even have a sub 4 minute Fran? What happens when you achieve these goals? Most lose focus and drive. I know that when I was in the military a lot of the guys I went through selection with had only the goal of attaining a coveted SOF beret (choose your color and service). So what happened when they got it? They became mediocre operators with no sense of drive. While others who had aspirations of going to Tier 1 units or becoming the best at their craft seemed to excel in all aspects of their career. I guess the point I am trying to make is that while most didn't reach that tier 1 unit or weren't praised as the best at their craft, they were ever improving and even through all their accomplishments were still reaching for the stars.

Short term goals- Everyone should have these and it shouldn't be just one. Picking a goal in each category will not only give you more to focus on but it won't be so devastating if you don't happen to make it. The other thing is that they should be attainable! If you are still working on 10 consecutive pull ups, having a goal of a muscle up might not only be not the best idea for a goal, honestly it would be a pretty poor choice.

Intermediate Goals- This should be made up of several short term goals. Think of your goals like a series of funnels, with the big (short term)funnel @ the top, getting smaller as the goal lengthens. These goals should still be attainable but not without reaching the short term goals in the interim. For instance, you had a couple short term goals of doing 10 consecutive handstand push ups, and 15 1.5x body weight dead lifts, your intermediate goal was do Diane Rx'd. Without reaching those short term the intermediate is probably not going to happen.

Long term Goals- This should be a 2-5 year goal that is attainable but not without the short and intermediate goals and not without consistency over the majority of those 2-5 years. Maybe its all WOD's Rx'd or possibly 6% body fat or hey maybe it's both( it doesn't have to be CrossFit related it's just easy for me to use those examples)!!
Whatever it may be it should be something that is going to keep you in the fight for those 2-5 years.

Extreme long term goal- This is going to be the hardest to choose .. Because so many of the goals we have in mind usually can be accomplished within the other stages of goal setting. For me setting a goal in the specialization I hold dear, Olympic Weightlifting, is my Extreme long term goal. For me the idea of having a 125kg Snatch and 160kg Clean and Jerk, while not currently even close to being in sight, are attainable goals with lots of training and dedication. Will I ever reach that goal? Who knows, but it doesn't mean I will stop trying.

Lastly, if you have a goal you need to write it down and keep it in front of you, especially the short term ones. If I were to erase the goals board, which not nearly enough of you are using .. and you can't remember what your short term goal is, or even your intermediate for that matter, then you were never really trying to achieve it!! I mentioned Darin on the main page the other day because I know this guy sets goals regularly and goes after them without fear of failing. Here is a before and after pic of Darin over the last 6 months of training .. I would post his WOD stats too but honestly I would say the pics speak for themselves and all you have to do is watch the guy WOD and you can see a fire-breather in the making.

The Lean Up Challenge comes to an end.. but it's just the beginning!!

2010-03-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

The Lean Up Challenge comes to an end.. but it's just the beginning!!

Alrighty so as I said on the mainpage we are going to keep this page going as
it's not only beneficial for the Lean Up Challenge but for all the athletes @ the gym!
Hopefully it will develop a following and I can justify adding a dedicated nutrition page
that gets daily updates by our awesome crew here!

So let me start by saying congrats to everyone who stepped up to the challenge and tried
to change the direction their health was going with their old nutrition regimen. The change
has only begun!! Just because the challenge is over doesn't mean the challenge is over if you get what I'm saying....

Lessons Learned:
- First and foremost it doesn't matter how many tricks you have in your hat or how hard or much you exercise, you are not going to get the results you are looking for until you clean up your diet... Are there some genetically freakish people that can eat whatever they want and not show the visible effects of it? Absolutely but whats going on inside of their body may be a completely different story.
- Once you get the diet cleaned up the one gram of protein for every pound of body weight has shown to be a sure winner in shedding the pounds... Protein sparks metabolic compliance and causes a thermogenic effect in the body... an effect most people in the fitness industry try to duplicate with supplements.... all you really have to do is eats lots of protein from good lean animal sources.
-Fat is an important factor in sparking weight loss but here is what I can say without question if you are overdoing it you will have body composition changes but won't see it on the scale. Don't over think this, If you are eating a good hunk of animal protein it probably has a pretty good ratio of healthy fats right there with it. What I saw too much of was a rib eye or t bone coupled with an avocado or or nuts or coconut milk. This caused a lot of people to end up around 55% fat intake 35-40% protein with the rest made up in carbs.... Once we got the protein and fat flipped around we saw dramatic weight loss in the athletes. At higher levels of athletic prowess I definitely encourage high high doses of fat but if you haven't gotten to the point of leanness you have your eye set on (or the weight; which in my opinion is irrelevant if you look, feel and perform well) then back the fat off to about 40 % of your caloric intake and you should see it on the scale as well. End run on sentence!!!

-Carb intake..... here is the deal... Get your carbs from green leafy veggies... Period! There is nothing wrong with fruit as a whole, but fructose tends to cause glycogen uptake in the liver first and muscles second.... We want this to be the other way around to optimize performance while still "leaning up". If you have to have fruit try to get it from berries as they tend to be lower in fructose but you should definitely limit it to about 20% of your entire carbohydrate intake for the day. This is also important because we are trying to increase insulin sensitivity and anyone who tells you that you are better off eating an apple than a plate full of spinach is full of shit. Do we even need to talk about grains and legumes? I think this horse has been beaten enough....So what should your shoot for? Honestly I have found for most people running on between 40-70g usable carbs a day works great (thats is a shit load of green leafy veggies folks).

Got Milk? Man this is a tough one for me... I love milk and dairy products but honestly unless you are ultra lean and trying to gain muscle mass you should stay away from the stuff.... Milk is wonderful and I can drink it literally a gallon @ a time. The truth is though "processed" milk has alot of sugar in it, and the more refined you make it(Low-Fat, Skim Milk) the higher it climbs on the Glycemic index. The other reason you might want to stay away from them is they have incredible growth stimulus factors, which is pretty damn counter-productive when you are trying to lean up. I will not deny it is a great and easy source of protein but on a cellular level what is milk but a bi-product of what a cow eats... best case scenario would be that the dairy cows were grass fed... guess what... it's pretty hard to find grass fed raw milk here in Okinawa. So the alternative is grain fed dairy cattle which means all those mean little lectins, and even gluten may be (I say "may be" to give the cows 7 stomachs the benefit of the doubt) making their way into your lucky charms.

Supplements- I will keep this short
Omega-3 from fish oil .. spend the cash and get it from a good reputable source (stay away from Cod Liver oils though as they tend to be problematic for females)
Vitamin D- Get in the sun!!!! If not get a gelcap form of Vit-D 5000 iu's should do the trick
Magnesium- It will help you get better quality rest. You can kill two birds with one stone (zinc) by getting a ZMA supplement.

What's left? Well the last thing I am going to tell you is get some rest... turn off the TV an hour earlier and get some good quality sleep! If you are not resting chances are your cortisol levels are elevated. Low cortisol and insulin sensitivity are the two most important factors in weight loss. Get them under control ..I cannot express how important it is to get adequate rest. One other note on that .. If you have not taken a break from CrossFit and have been going 3 on 1 off for a substantial amount of time ... you might want to give your body a chance to recover .. take a week and just stretch, get a massage allow your adrenal system to recover.

Key notes:
-1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight (50% of your caloric intake)
-Good medium and long chain tryglycerides from animal fats, nuts and pseudo nuts (40% of your caloric intake)
-Lots of green leafy veggies to the tune of 40-70 grams a day (10% of your caloric intake)
-Supplements that are essential for health not corny supplements that are supposed give you magical performance
-Rest, Rest,Rest!!!!!
I would not expect your numbers to work out to be like this every single day this is just a ball park percentage of what we have seen work time and time again! We prescribe to paleolithic eating and that means some times we feast some time its famine our bodies are amazing machine build for this type of adaptation, don't get sucked into a monochromatic menu that always fits these percentages... the body thrives on diversity!

2010-02-23T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is an oldie but goodie written by Robb Wolf a couple years back

If you are having trouble grabbing hold of the nutritional concepts we preach maybe this will help

You might have noticed that the nutrition approach we recommend at CrossFit NorCal is a bit...oh, shall I say, contrarian? Where the USDA, AMA and the rest of the Government sponsored entities recommend grains and legumes as the base of the diet, we recommend lean meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

That’s crazy, right? aren’t we going to die from heart disease and cancer if we eat meat? How will we ever get fiber if we don’t eat grains!? I mean, fruit and veggies...what have they got to offer?! I’m being fecetious here, I hope you get that. I do understand our recommendations fly in the face of what we are told to eat from nearly every source you can find...what’s the deal? Well...the deal is, our nutritional approach, a diet the attempts to emulate that of our paleolithic ancestors, is without a doubt the best route to optimized performance and health. Big claim? Yep, but easy to back up. Folks start with us, tweak their food, then look, feel and perform better. Every measurable bio-marker such as cholesterol, triglycerides or blood pressure improve...depression resolves. It just works, because this is the way we are wired to eat. But hey, what the hell do I know? I’m just the crazy guy in the shed telling people to do weird stuff like sleep more, take fish oil and increase their protein intake. How could I possibly be right about this? Well...here are a few interesting things for y’all to consider:

1-A Paleo diet, calorie per calorie, beats any other diet you can compare it to. Here is a nice look at this in a paper from Loren Cordain. If you notice, the basic diet presented here looks like taking a nutritional supplement. Now, if you are ambitious, you can take ANY of those listed Paleo foods, Lean meats, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggeis and compare them to the same calorie content of grains, legumes or dairy (non- fortified...just the way nature made them!) and you will decrease the relative nutritional content of the diet. Don’t believe me? You can actually do this experiment with the USDA Nutrient Database. So before you start waxing eloquent about how “nutritious whole grains are” give this a shot...build a diet the way our government recommends you do it via the food pyramid, then compare that to Paleo foods.

2-Many of the best coaches in the world recommend a Paleo diet. Granted, many also do not, but there are an ever growing number of coaches who recognize that optimized performance will not be found at the bottom of a box of cereal or served on a bagel.
Want a concrete example? How about Joel Friel, US Olympic Triathlon coach and author of The Triathletes Training Bible and Co-Author of The Paleo Diet for Athletes. I could use different examples but the endurance crowd is absolutely the most entrenched in this notion that optimized performance comes from a tube of GU or from some kind of Franken-Food like a Cliff-Bar. Here is an excerpt from The Paleo Diet for Athletes in which Joel talks about the Challenge Loren Cordain placed on him to try the Paleo diet for one month. check it out:

“I have known Dr. Cordain for many years, but I didn’t become aware of his work until 1995. That year we began to discuss nutrition for sports. As a longtime adherent to a very high-carbohydrate diet for athletes, I was skeptical of his claims that eating less starch would benefit performance. Nearly every successful endurance athlete I had known ate as I did, with a heavy emphasis on cereals, bread, rice, pasta, pancakes, and potatoes. In fact, I had done quite well on this diet, having been an All-American age-group duathlete (bike and run), and finishing in the top 10 at World Championships. I had also coached many successful athletes, both professional and amateur, who ate the same way I did.”

“Our discussions eventually led to a challenge. Dr. Cordain suggested I try eating a diet more in line with what he recommended for one month. I took the challenge, determined to show him that eating as I had for years was the way to go. I started by simply cutting back significantly on starches, and replacing those lost calories with fruits, vegetables, and very lean meats.”

“For the first two weeks I felt miserable. My recovery following workouts was slow and my workouts were sluggish. I knew that I was well on my way to proving that he was wrong. But in week three, a curious thing happened. I began to notice that I was not only feeling better, but that my recovery was speeding up significantly. In the fourth week I experimented to see how many hours I could train.

“Since my early 40s (I was 51 at the time), I had not been able to train more than about 12 hours per week. Whenever I exceeded this weekly volume, upper respiratory infections would soon set me back. In Week Four of the “experiment,” I trained 16 hours without a sign of a cold, sore throat, or ear infection. I was amazed. I hadn’t done that many hours in nearly 10 years. I decided to keep the experiment going.”

“That year I finished third at the U.S. national championship with an excellent race, and qualified for the U.S. team for the World Championships. I had a stellar season, one of my best in years. This, of course, led to more questions of Dr. Cordain and my continued refining of the diet he recommended.”

“I was soon recommending it to the athletes I coached, including Ryan Bolton, who was on the U.S. Olympic Triathlon team. Since 1995. I have written four books on training for endurance athletes and have described and recommended the Stone Age diet in each of them. Many athletes have told me a story similar to mine: They have tried eating this way, somewhat skeptically at first, and then discovered that they also recovered faster and trained better.”

So, if you missed the gist of that, Joel was able to train harder, longer and recover faster using a Paleo diet. He recommends the diet to ALL his athletes and includes this information in all his books. Oddly enough, we even have one of his staff dieticians, Kelly Cawthorn, available at CrosFit NorCal.

3-The Paleo diet describes our past, shines a light on our current situation, and provides predictive value for our future. The Nutritional “Sciences” are anything but. In theory they are a subset of Biology. The basic tenant of biology is evolution via natural selection...yet this fact absolutely buggars those in the nutritional sciences. The folks at CSU Chico Nutritional Sciences absolutely HATE the concept of the Paleo diet, yet offer no counter point or model that better describes the data at hand, nor offers the least bit of predictive value. They are awash in “paradoxes”. French Paradox, Spanish Paradox...things are only paradoxical in the nutritional sciences because they made bad assumptions and abandoned the scientific method. I get fired up about this because peoples lives are at stake here and the information we are fed is WRONG. It starts from faulty premise and worsens with every step. Here is an excerpt from The Protein Debate, a work we sponsored between Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study and Prof. Loren Cordain. Here is that excerpt which is the introduction for Prof. Cordain’s piece. The over-arching topic was the role of protein in health and disease in humans. As a side note: I’m a graduate of CSU Chico in biochemistry. When we sponsored this debate, between two of the most highly regarded researchers in the world, I thought the CSU Chico Nutritional Science department might be interested that a former student had sponsored and spear-headed this original work. I forwarded the Protein Debate to the members of the Nutritional Science department. Response? NONE. Sorry, I’m just bitter I guess, here is that introduction from Prof. Cordain:

Introduction
Although humanity has been interested in diet and health for thousands of years, the organized, scientific study of nutrition has a relatively recent past. For instance, the world’s first scientific journal devoted entirely to diet and nutrition, The Journal of Nutrition only began publication in 1928. Other well known nutrition journals have a more recent history still: The British Journal of Nutrition (1947), The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1954), and The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1988). The first vitamin was “discovered” in 1912 and the last vitamin (B12) was identified in 1948 (1). The scientific notion that omega 3 fatty acids have beneficial health effects dates back only to the late 1970’s (2), and the characterization of the glycemic index of foods only began in 1981 (3).
Nutritional science is not only a newly established discipline, but it is also a highly fractionated, contentious field with constantly changing viewpoints on both major and minor issues that impact public health. For example, in 1996 a task force of experts from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition (ASCN) and the American Institute of Nutrition (AIN) came out with an official position paper on trans fatty acids stating,
“We cannot conclude that the intake of trans fatty acids is a risk factor for coronary heart disease” (4).
Fast forward 6 short years to 2002 and the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine’s report on trans fatty acids (5) stating,
“Because there is a positive linear trend between trans fatty acid intake and total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol concentration, and therefore increased risk of cardiovascular heart disease, the Food and Nutrition Board recommends that trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet”.
These kinds of complete turnabouts and divergence of opinion regarding diet and health are commonplace in the scientific, governmental and medical communities. The official U.S. governmental recommendations for healthy eating are outlined in the “My Pyramid” program (6) which recently replaced the “Food Pyramid”, both of which have been loudly condemned for nutritional shortcomings by scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health (7). Dietary advice by the American Heart Association (AHA) to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) is to limit total fat intake to 30% of total energy, to limit saturated fat to <10% of energy and cholesterol to <300 mg/day while eating at least 2 servings of fish per week (8). Although similar recommendations are proffered in the USDA “My Pyramid”, weekly fish consumption is not recommended because the authors of these guidelines feel there is only “limited” information regarding the role of omega 3 fatty acids in preventing cardiovascular disease (6). Surprisingly, the personnel makeup of both scientific advisory boards is almost identical. At least 30 million Americans have followed Dr. Atkins advice to eat more fat and meat to lose weight (9). In utter contrast, Dean Ornish tells us fat and meat cause cancer, heart disease and obesity, and that we would all would be a lot healthier if we were strict vegetarians (10). Who’s right and who’s wrong? How in the world can anyone make any sense out of this apparent disarray of conflicting facts, opinions and ideas?
In mature and well-developed scientific disciplines there are universal paradigms that guide scientists to fruitful end points as they design their experiments and hypotheses. For instance, in cosmology (the study of the universe) the guiding paradigm is the “Big Bang” concept showing that the universe began with an enormous explosion and has been expanding ever since. In geology, the “Continental Drift” model established that all of the current continents at one time formed a continuous landmass that eventually drifted apart to form the present-day continents. These central concepts are not theories for each discipline, but rather are indisputable facts that serve as orientation points for all other inquiry within each discipline. Scientists do not know everything about the nature of the universe, but it is absolutely unquestionable that it has been and is expanding. This central knowledge then serves as a guiding template that allows scientists to make much more accurate and informed hypotheses about factors yet to be discovered.
The study of human nutrition remains an immature science because it lacks a universally acknowledged unifying paradigm (11). Without an overarching and guiding template, it is not surprising that there is such seeming chaos, disagreement and confusion in the discipline. The renowned Russian geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) said, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” (12). Indeed, nothing in nutrition seems to make sense because most nutritionists have little or no formal training in evolutionary theory, much less human evolution. Nutritionists face the same problem as anyone who is not using an evolutionary model to evaluate biology: fragmented information and no coherent way to interpret the data.
All human nutritional requirements like those of all living organisms are ultimately genetically determined. Most nutritionists are aware of this basic concept; what they have little appreciation for is the process (natural selection) which uniquely shaped our species’ nutritional requirements. By carefully examining the ancient environment under which our genome arose, it is possible to gain insight into our present day nutritional requirements and the range of foods and diets to which we are genetically adapted via natural selection (13-16). This insight can then be employed as a template to organize and make sense out of experimental and epidemiological studies of human biology and nutrition (11).

2010-02-23T04:47:00.000-08:00

The 1030 class threw down some incredible plates monday for their "Lunch @ the Gym"

here are some of the recipes:

Baked Salmon
1 Salmon filet
Lemon juice
Garlic salt
Lemon pepper

Pour lemon juice all over salmon then add garlic salt and lemon pepper. Cook @ 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. (10-15 min per inch of thickness) For more flavor you can add soy sauce and olive oil. Just pour it over before you season it.

Grilled Peppers
Green Bell Pepper
Red Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Yellow Bell Pepper
Med Onion

Cut them all length ways into strips. Mix all together in a bowl. Put on a long piece of foil. Add olive oil to your liking then some garlic salt. The more oil the yummier :o) Cover with another piece of foil and fold all sides. Shake it a little to get the oil all over then put on BBQ Grill for about 20-25 minutes. You could use olive oil butter it's just as yummy.

Grilled Chicken: (Didn’t bring it but it’s yummy)
Chicken Breast
Lemon Juice
Soy Sauce
Garlic Salt
Lemon Pepper

Mix it all into a Ziploc bag or container and let it marinate for a couple hours (you don’t have to but its better too). BBQ on low until done.

Ceviche

1 can of baby clams (drained)
1/2 chopped onion
4 chopped roma tomatoes
cilantro
1/2 can of small v-8 juice
1 capful of A-1 steak sauce
1 lemon squeezed ( i used that lemon juice container thingy & just add as i go...taste wise)

*mix all ingredients & add sea salt as you go for taste..also, if you need more juices, add v8 a little at a time.

Chicken-Pistachio Salad
Salad
4 pieces thin cut chicken breast
1/2 cup shelled pistachios finely ground
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn pepper
2 tbspn olive oil
1/2 cup diced sweet white onion

salt & pepper chicken then dip in the ground up pistachios. Heat 1 tbsn oliveoil & cok chicken 2 minutes pe side. Place chicken on baking dish & bake for 15 minutes on 375.
Heat remaining oilve oil & brown up the white onion

Dressing
1 tspn grated sweet white onion
1 large ripe avacado
3 tbspn olive oil
2 tbspn fresh lime juice
1 tbspn water

Puree the onion, avacado, oil, lime juice & water in blender

slice up chicken breast on throw on top of a bed of romaine lettuce . Serve with dressing & sauted white onion

Spaghetti Squash

Cut squash length wise and clean out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste. Heat oven to 350, wrap in foil or use a baking dish and place squash cut side down and bake for aprox. 30 min or until a fork goes easily in the skin. Let cool. After it's cooled enough to handle scrape out the inside's with a fork. Can be eaten as is or you can use like a pasta and toss with your favorite pasta sauce!!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Rub tenderloin with olive oil and seasoning rub. Let marinate at least 30 mins., 8 hours or more is best!!
Grill on high and sear all sides, then turn heat to med. and grill for aprox. 20 mins. depending on the size. It's a myth that pork needs to killed(meaning cooked till it's dry and tough)!! Cook till it's light pink in the center. Let it rest of 10-15 mins. before cutting. This will help keep the juices in!!
This can also be done in the oven. Pan sear all sides in olive oil then place pan in the oven heated to 350 for aprox. 20 mins.

Paleo Pizza

Crust:
1 cup almond flour (or ground almonds)
1 egg
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Beat egg then form dough with all ingredients.
Put on a pan that has been oiled
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes

Put a tomato paste or sauce that has no sugar added to it on top and then top with your favorite toppings.

I used chicken, green peppers and fresh tomatoes

Make sure all your toppings are cooked before putting on your pizza.

I put pizza with all toppings back in just to heat it all up again.

***Also if you want to cut down the fat, once the crust is done cooking cut it in half and save it for another meal.

2010-02-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

What's in the box???

Ok so some of you are probably a little young to remember that line from the movie "7", but in all seriousness do you know what is in what you are eating? Unless you have completely ran for the hills and adopted a truly hunter gatherer life style then you still need to have a look on the back to see what you are really eating. here are some good rules I try to live by:

Rule #1: Don't trust a corporation who's main goal is to sell you the the product!! Just because it says heart healthy, low trans fat, sugar free, etc. on the box doesn't tell the whole story. The FDA has been pretty lax overall in regards to food labeling and serving size manufacturers can legally promote, while they are trying to tighten up the reigns there is still a huge gap between fact and hype.

Rule #2: Educate yourself!!! I was absolutely the worst @ this and it took me finding out how much I didn't know to trigger my thirst for educating myself! You should know that hydrogenated soybean oil (or anything hydrogenated for that matter) is @ the least a yield sign when you see it in the ingredients; how about aspartame? It is a commonly used sweetener in drinks and foods that tout a "sugar free" alternative.....if you really knew the story behind aspartame you would probably elect to have the sugared drink. Some others you might want to do some research on, canola oil, corn syrup (especially high fructose corn syrup which they have begun to cleverly disguise as HFCS in labeling), sorbic acid, yeast, soy, gluten.... I could go on for two pages but as you start with these they will lead you to others.

Rule #3: If its a whole food and the ingredients list is longer than 1 line for no apparent reason..... put the the food down and step away from the shelf!! There is a reason its a called a "whole food".... there are very few exceptions to this rule....

Rule #4: If you are trying something new make sure to research it!! The first thing that comes to my mind on this one is Omega-3 Supplementation. I remember the first time we recommended this and the next week I heard someone talking about the super Omega 3-6-9 supplement they had picked up. The had no idea the reason they were taking Omega -3's was to offset an imbalance in omega 3 to omega 6 ratios (Rule #4.5 pay attention in class). The other thing to watch out for with Omega 3 supplementation is that you are getting your Omega 3 from fish oils. The easy way to check this is look on the back and it should say DHA/EPA from fish oil. There is some shady marketing going on out there that are pushing Omega 3 from soybean oil, chia seeds, and flaxseed .. THESE ARE SHORT CHAIN FATTY ACIDS... Spend the money buy from a reputable brand like Carlson or Nordic Naturals.

Rule#5: Just because it has the same name as the brand next to it doesn't mean its the same thing.
The best example I have found is butter, olive oil butter to be precise ( i think fleischmanns has changed the name to spread now )

Fleischmann's Olive oil butter:
INGREDIENTS: Liquid Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Olive Oil), Water, Reconstituted Sweet Cream Buttermilk (Water, Sweet Cream Buttermilk), Salt, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Vegetable Mono- and Diglycerides and Soy Lecithin (Emulsifiers)

Land o Lakes Olive oil butter:
INGREDIENTS: Cream, Olive Oil, Salt.
Contains Milk.

There's more to a book than its cover and there is definitely more to what you eating than the front of the box is telling you!!

2010-02-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic dinner last night which made me think that getting a list of some Paleo friendly restaurants wouldn't be a bad idea for a Blog post!!! This is not the end all in regards of where to eat and if you have any suggestions please feel free to post them to comments and I will add them to the Blog:

JAMZ- It's a little ways up the road if you live near Kadena, but Jamz located right on 58 in Onna village is absolutely on of my favorite spots to throw down on some paleo friendly food (if you can resist the Bread they bring as an appetizer). It's a little pricey with most meals for two being around $100 or more but you definitely get your money's worth in regards to food. The Hibiscus is my favorite; 150 grams of tenderloin, 200 grams of sirloin, 2 lobster tails, soup, salad and an assortment of veggies. Yen 10,200

Ghengis Khan- a perennial favorite for those who live near the Sunabe seawall. This is a really affordable Paleo friendly spot, just try not to pack on too much soy as its high in sodium. Yes you could probably end up eating a little too much here but better from here than Pizza In

Beach Tower Hotel- The holy grail of Mongolian BBQ... At around Yen 3000 a person, you get what you pay for!! A large assortment of meats and veggies you can cook right in front of you!!
Even better if its a night out with friends there is an open tap with not so paleo friendly Orion beer and slightly more friendly more Vodka tonic!! Call ahead because the place is usually packed on the weekends....

Four Seasons Steak house- While I am not a fan of the place for dinner (they serve grain fed beef) they serve up some grass fed beef during lunch hour (just ask). again you have to steer clear of the rice and bread but other than that its a solid Paleo meal.

I will add a few more later as I only know then by location and not name, but they are well work a try

2010-02-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

All about sweeteners!

This blog post comes from Dr. Mary Eades site..http://www.proteinpower.com/drmd_blog/. If you haven't heard about the site her and her husband Mike wrote one of the first paleoesque books I ever looked @ called protein power life plan... Some pretty powerful findings... I totally recommend it as a must read!! Unfortunately I don't have a copy here anymore but hey there is always Amazon!!

In the dining section of the NY Times last Wednesday, there was a somewhat alarming article by Kim Severson, titled: Showdown at the Coffee Shop (free but requires registration) detailing the entry of the new sweetener Truvia to the world of packet sweeteners.

Photo from NY Times Wednesday April 15, 2009

We’d already heard about its arrival at the Natural Foods Expo West show last March in Anaheim and had even sampled some of it. While I’m glad to see a natural alternative in the low-and-no calorie sweetener department, I’m personally not crazy about this one. Truvia is a blend of rebiana, an extract of stevia, and erythritol, a sugar alcohol. Thought there may be many good things about erythritol, to my taste buds it has a cold, metallic edge that I don’t enjoy. Others who don’t catch that taste twinge would perhaps feel differently about it and will love Truvia’s green packets in the sweetener caddy beside the blue, pink, and yellow ones.

Of course, by convention, for many many years, consumers have associated artificial sweeteners with a particular packet color: blue for aspartame products, pink for saccharine products, yellow for sucralose products, and green for stevia products. And it is related to this topic that I found the real eye-popper in this piece…the big news in my humble opinion…buried in the continuation of the article on page D5:

Consumers are loyal to their favorite sweetener, and to the color of its packet. Now manufacturers like Mr. Petray [CEO of Nutrasweet, which makes aspartame] are mixing up the color code, putting new sweetener combinations in the familiar pink, blue, and yellow.

This is news! And, in my mind, underhanded and sneaky and ethically fuzzy. The article goes on…

His challenge to Splenda combines aspartame and a touch of sugar in a yellow packet called NutraSweet Cane…Mr. Petray’s entry in the stevia wars is called Natural NutraSweet, which comes in a green packet, of course. And the company created a new saccharin-free pink packet, too. [The article didn't say what was in that pink packet, however, but since it's coming from NutraSweet we can be sure that one of the ingredients will be aspartame.]

The yellow packet, especially, is worrisome to me, since most low-carbers avoid aspartame because of some reports that suggest it might be particularly detrimental to the brains of people on a low carb eating plan. And this yellow imposter will have not only aspartame but sugar…real honest to Pete sugar! In the very yellow, pink, and green packets that many of us have come to trust do NOT contain aspartame, there will now be aspartame.

(For a longer discussion on the various sweeteners, see a previous blog post of mine here.)

Once these imposter packets make their way into the commercial market, consumers or diners will no longer be able to rely on colors alone to select their sweetener. We’ll all have to be careful label-readers to keep from being duped.

2010-02-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

Mark Sisson Strikes again!!!

10 Real-Life Reasons Why the Primal Blueprint Works for Me

There’s been a lot more talk in the mainstream recently about “caveman” diets and barefoot training. Primal/Paleo/Evo seems to be gaining in popularity and may be nearing the critical mass needed to garner mainstream appreciation. John Durant appeared on Stephen Colbert last week, Art De Vany was featured in Der Spiegel, Born to Run is a NYT Bestseller and my book recently made the top ten Health and Fitness titles on Amazon. Even so, we Primal types still get those occasional looks of derision or incomprehension when we show up at the gym with our Fives on and a bag of homemade jerky hanging off our belt to do a quick 15 minute HIIT session. I think there’s a sense among outsiders that the Grok fairy tale trumps the science within the Primal crowd – that the notion of living like a caveman is a cute ideal but irrelevant in a 21st century high-tech context. Of course, it’s not true; science always leads the way here at MDA and on most Primal/Paleo/Evo sites. But even with the science completely supporting the idea that we ought to emulate our hunter-gatherer ancestors in many aspects of life, I still hear things like, “I trust my doctor too much to give up the statins and start eating fats.” Or “I’m lazy, undisciplined, and I love good food too much to be able to change this late in my life.” Hey, me too! So for those of you who are looking for more detailed rationale why living Primal is best for everyone (including your doubting spouse and your parents), here are my 10 Real-Life Reasons Why the Primal Blueprint Works for Me.

1. I’m lazy.

Ironically, I spent 25 years of my life pursuing high level fitness and peak health through hard work, discipline, sacrifice and misery. That didn’t work out for me. I’m over it. Now I just want the best results with the least amount of pain, suffering, and sacrifice. I jokingly tell my ex-triathlete buddies, “I’d rather look fit than be fit.” Of course, the irony is that when you actually do what it takes to look fit (eat right, cut the Chronic Cardio, sprint a bit now and then and lift intensely two or three times a week ) you become VERY fit. And healthy. And happy. And more productive. The best part of Primal Blueprint living is that you can get appreciably better results with significantly less time, less effort and less sacrifice. Instead of the old 20-30 hours a week I used to put in training, I now train less than three hours total a week. I try to play the rest of the time.

2. I love good food.

Some people mistakenly think the Primal Blueprint requires giving up eating good food. Nothing could be further from the truth. When I was a college endurance athlete, my buddies nicknamed me “Arnold,” after Arnold Ziffle, the pig on Green Acres. I could eat more than just about anyone in school (including the football linemen). I ate everything and enjoyed it all. But I became a slave to the carbs and to the hunger that they generated every three hours of my life. Later, when I retired and researched the damage I was doing eating grains, sugars, hydrogenated oils and all the other stuff I consumed to fuel my massive cardio efforts, I feared I might have to suffer a lifetime dearth of gustatory delights if I wanted to keep my boyish figure. Never happened. Primal eating reprograms the genes in a way that takes the edge off hunger, while assuring more-than-adequate energy and stable blood glucose levels. Now, I eat as much as I want, whenever I want from a list of fabulously tasty foods. I just avoid eating most things from that other list. Hunger doesn’t drive my life the way it used to. When I sit in a restaurant with a rare 20-ounce rib eye steak, a bowl of butter-sautéed mushrooms and a glass of fine Cabernet in front of me, I never feel sorry for myself that I didn’t order pasta or that I won’t be having the bread or potatoes or rice. And for dessert, if I’m still hungry, I’d really rather have another lamb chop or a bowl of berries than a slice of cardboard cake or mucous-inducing ice cream. Worst case, I can have a small taste of the latter and be satisfied.

3. I like to play.

I spent a fair amount of my life training for grueling endurance contests (marathons, Ironman triathlons, 24-hour relay running events). Only just recently did it occur to me that I NEVER really had fun while I was competing or while I was training. Admittedly, I could sometimes get into “the zone,” but that’s really only a temporary zone of less pain. I did appreciate the valiance of my efforts and certainly felt pride in my accomplishments, but from the time the gun went off until I crossed the finish line, I never once could truthfully say, “Isn’t this fun?” In contrast, today I plan most of my (minimal) training around being able to participate in fun activities later. And while I don’t necessarily see play as “workout time,” it is most assuredly contributing to my fitness. Primal Blueprint training gives me the functional strength and endurance to jump into an aggressive Ultimate Frisbee game, stand-up paddle and surf for two hours, take a 90-minute trail hike with sprints thrown in, play a round of golf, or snowboard for five days in a row. I stay fit so I can play at stuff I find FUN.

4. I like to sleep.

I used to feel guilty if I slept too much. As if I were missing out on something that might be taking place while the lights were still on somewhere. Now I get at least eight hours every night and embrace the idea that I am NOT wasting time, but am recharging the batteries and will probably live longer as a result. I think most people would prefer to get adequate sleep, but feel like it’s a sign of weakness that they “need” eight or nine hours. It’s not. Sleep is integral to health.

5. I don’t like being sick.

No one does. At the peak of my endurance career, I got colds and flus five to seven times a year. I also had severe seasonal grass pollen allergies. The nature of Chronic Cardio training (all that cortisol) and the obligate high carbohydrate diet (all that sugar) kept my immune system so trashed that anything that was going around was going to take me down with it. And stuff is always going around. The Primal Blueprint works because everything about it is contemplated to support or boost the immune system and not trash it. My allergies have long since disappeared. I rarely get any kind of cold or flu now and, if I do, it’s with no real down time and over quickly. Many people argue that this benefit alone is worth the switch to Primal.

6. I’m vain (I want to look good naked).

The Primal Blueprint exercise laws are designed to sculpt a lean, muscled and balanced look without being overly “huge” or disproportional the way bodybuilders can get. It works perfectly for both men and women. I often say here that 80% of your body composition is determined by how you eat. The remaining 20% is a combination of genetics and exercise. If you dial the eating in properly, it doesn’t take very much exercise to optimize muscle size and strength, and to cut the last few percentage points in body fat. Notice I said optimize and not maximize. Think Calvin Klein underwear and SI Swimsuit models as opposed to swollen Muscle&Fitness or WWF cover models.

7. I like to be tan (vain part 2).

Sorry, I never understood the porcelain skin thing. I notice the dramatic effect a lack of sun has on my disposition as much as I notice it on my skin if I skip a few weeks (winter sucks – except for snowboarding). Getting adequate sunlight daily is an integral part of the PB as it has been for humans for millions of years. Vitamin D is critical to maintaining good health. As I say in my book, I honestly believe we’ve seen an increase in overall cancer incidence as a result of (ironically) heeding the advice of doctors to stay out of the sun. I think everyone would rather be outside for a while every day if they knew it was not only NOT harmful, but beneficial. A slight tan just looks good, and it’s indicative of a healthy Vitamin D status. Getting sun also improves mood and productivity as numerous studies continue to show.

8. I’m not organized.

If you saw my desk you’d probably cringe. Stuff all over it everywhere. Same goes with my training style these days, and I love it. I almost never train with anyone, because I like being able to head out the door on a whim and go sprint or hike or bang off a few hundred pushups. I hate having a set training schedule or the idea of having to meet someone at such and such a time to work out together. Don’t get me wrong, I do train with friends once in a while, but the Primal Blueprint training outline fits my fractal, sporadic, random, intermittent, flakey and spontaneous nature. If I don’t feel like training today, the PB says “take the day off – you’ll be stronger and more focused tomorrow.” Not to be outdone, the Primal Blueprint eating style is also unorganized. Not set meal times, no regimentation, no calorie-counting or portion control. Eat when you want and as much – or not – as you want. Of course, none of this is to say you HAVE to be disorganized to benefit from the PB. If you’re organized, it works that much better. But for those who eschew schedules, the PB is perfect.

9. I want to stay uninjured.

Downtime from injury sucks. As I said earlier, I want to get more play time now as I get older. I recognize that my body doesn’t recover from workouts as easily as it used to. I also notice that I have to pay attention to potential soreness a bit more. PB fitness provides a set of guidelines and workout styles that foster balanced, functional strength. It actually focuses on injury prevention and avoidance, while building muscle and burning fat.

10. I like certainty.

I’m a skeptic at heart (OK, I’m actually a cynic). I hate investing my precious time, money, energy or emotion in anything I don’t feel confident will yield dividends. It has to be based in science, rational thought and real results. Conversely, I hate thinking that some of my choices in exercise, diet and health may have been wrong (as they were so egregiously when I followed Conventional Wisdom). I need to have confidence that my choices are good ones. The research backing the PB is the most solid there is. Evolutionary biology and modern genetic – and epigenetic – science are proving that we have remarkable influence over how our genes express themselves throughout our lives. Stuff we do and things we eat turn genes on or off. It’s that simple. Intervals and Tabata work have been proven over and over to be more effective at increasing speed and stamina than Chronic Cardio. The dietary science of low-carb is nearly irrefutable now, as more and more researchers and docs begin to understand the true nature of insulin and they rethink the cholesterol hypothesis. Look, there is no right or wrong here. You can eat Twinkies and smoke cigarettes for the rest of your life and you still might reach 90 or 100. But I have never in my life been more certain of anything than I am that the Primal Blueprint way of eating, exercising and living is the optimal way to have the most energy, the most fun, look the best and live the longest. And I know I can do this for the rest of my life.

2010-02-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would hit a short blurb about supplements. I am not talking about the kind that you use to get a "pump" but the ones that actually help improve performance and reduce body fat. Some if this may apply some may not if you are not sure ask your nutrition coach about it.

Glutamine- Key supplement in restoring muscle glycogen; Glut-amine is converted in the liver to glucose, which is then shuttled to the cells and stored in the muscles as glycogen without replenishing liver glycogen. This a great alternative if you are multiday WODing and have trouble stomaching food immediately after a WOD. You can get it in stand alone capsule form or some post workout drinks like Cytomax (really high in sugar =/ ) have it in the ingredients.

L-Carnitine- L-Carnitine helps to transport fatty acids from the cytosol to the mitochondria, which promotes the breakdown of lipids to use fat as a fuel source promoting weight loss and use of fat as energy

Primrose- Can help to reverse insulin resistance, insulin resistance is a key factor that inhibits weight loss. It is best used in conjunction with Alpha lipoic acid. 200mg a day

Vitamin D- Okinawa is a great place to get your Vitamin D from the sun everyday!! Unless of course you work inside during daylight hours or its winter and the sun rarely shows itself. If thats the case then you may have some Vitamin D deficiency and the big D is crucial in the proper function of the thyroid and hormonal production. It has also been cited in many studies to induce the death of cancer cells and has a role in preventing and even reversing the onset of coronary heart disease.

Vitamin C- Ok we have mentioned this one before... Taking some Vitamin C before bed can help to reduce cortisol levels. High cortisol levels are an inhibitor to weight loss. Quality sleep and some Vitamin C will speed weight loss right along!!

Fish Oil- Its true that if you are eating a good clean macronutrient diet that there might not be a need for fish oil. but what exactly is the definition of a clean macronutrient diet? Lean meats; that are free range and naturally fed. (not just grass fed beef but all your sources of meat should be naturally raised.) Right here the majority of us can say we are not as clean as we can be, but why does it matter? It all comes down to the what happens to the meats when they are not naturally raises and fed. First off grain fed beef is much fattier, by about 15-20% than naturally raised, normally this would not be a bad thing except that the grain makes the fat in the meat extremely high in Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio (the average western diet is about a 15-20:1) .... Enter Fish oil, this will help you get back to the good, the EPA and DHA in Fish Oil is your best source outside of naturally raised meats. Quality Fish Oils (Carlson is a great brand) that actually use fish oil and not soybean oil (bad source of omega 3's mostly short chain) can help to get us back to that 2:1 omega 6 to omega 3 which is optimal for both weight loss and performance.

Alpha Lipoic Acid- Lipoic acid has been shown in cell culture experiments to increase cellular uptake of glucose by recruiting the glucose transporter GLUT4 to the cell membrane, suggesting its use in reversing type 2 diabetes. This is a good thing regardless .. better insulin sensitivity is a all around home run and this combined with the primrose can help to quickly reverse the damage we have done to ourselves with high grain diets over the majority of our lives. 200mg a day is the recommended dosage.

OK so that is the majority of the supplements which we have been reading about recently if you have questions about other supplements please feel free to post it to comments and we will try to do as much research as we can to give you the most informed answers possible. Please realize none of stuff works without getting your eating on track though so the hope of eating a happy meal and supplementing with some primrose and ALA will not help you. Hope this helps!!

2010-02-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

What do your food labels really mean? 'Free-range,' 'natural,' 'non-toxic,' and other myths

Mitch Lipka
Jan 28th 2010 at 9:00AM

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Filed under: Food, Health, Consumer Ally

It's easy to get sucked into buying a product based on what its label says -- after all, that's what the label's designed to do. And some of those label claims are regulated by the U.S. or monitored by the industry, and they actually mean something.

Others, though, have almost no meaning -- they're simply a marketplace come-on, and empty claims like "Made with Natural Goodness," "Kid Approved" and "Doctor Recommended" have become as common as those with legal definitions. Today, even regulated terms like "Healthy" and "Contains Antioxidants" have become muddied.
Consumers are exposed to numerous misleading labels every day, says Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, whose recent report on labeling demonstrates the need for changes in U.S. food labeling policies. Some rules are quite odd, like the fact that two agencies regulate what's in soup or pizza, depending on whether they contain meat.

One labeling trend Silverglade hates is the claim that a product can strengthen your immune system. "All of these claims imply that eating the product will help ward off diseases -- and all of them are false," he says. "Eating vegetables and drinking cranberry juice are healthy, but they are no more likely to ward off disease than any other healthy food."

Another badly abused phrase: "made with whole grains." You see that more often, too, since the U.S. recommended consuming whole grains. "People have been encouraged to eat grains rich in whole wheat, and some companies have given lip service to that public health advice by adding small doses of whole grains to their product," Silverglade says. He cites Thomas's Hearty Grains English muffins, which contain just a token amount of whole wheat flour. Enriched wheat flour is the first ingredient. "That certainly sounds healthy," Silverglade says. "But that's actually just ordinary wheat flour." Midway down the ingredient list -- below water -- is whole wheat flour.

The CSPI is also concerned about fruit claims for products that contain virtually no fruit. Toddler snack Gerber Graduates Juice Treats Fruit Medley lists a collection of fruits on the package -- but actually has less than 2% raspberry juice, and none of the others. The main ingredients: corn syrup and sugar. Betty Crocker Strawberry Fruit Gushers -- "Made with real fruit" -- is not made with strawberries, and contains just a small amount of pear concentrate: the "real fruit" in question.

The Food and Drug Administration, which polices labeling, hasn't aggressively pursued such issues, which SIlverglade says lets corporate lawyers figure out misleading phrases guaranteed to keep their clients out of legal trouble.

The real standards come from the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the fake ones come from anywhere and everywhere. Few consumers could reasonably memorize and sort through the real and the meaningless. That's why we present a Consumer Ally primer on label claims true and false. (If you don't see a term below that you've noticed, please email it in.)

Organic. Any multi-ingredient product bearing the USDA Organic seal must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. But the federal certification process is voluntary -- and not every product that claims to be organic undergoes such scrutiny.

Made with organic ingredients. At least 70% of the ingredients must be organic. The product cannot carry the USDA Organic seal.

Non- or -free. Must have less than the following per serving: fat (0.5 gram), sugar (0.5 gram), cholesterol (2mg), or sodium (5mg).

Low-. Generally, the product must have less than the following per serving: fat (3 grams), cholesterol (20 mg), or sodium (140 mg).

Reduced. Generally, the product must have at least 25% less of the given component than is typically found in that type of food.

Light. If at least half of the product's calories come from fat, fat must be reduced by at least 50% per serving. If less than half of the calories are from fat, fat must be reduced at least 50%, or calories reduced at least 33%, per serving.

Reduced, Added, Extra, Plus, Fortified, Enriched. These claims can be made relative to a similar representative product.

High, Rich In, Excellent Source Of. All designate products with at least 20% of the recommended daily amount per serving.

Good Source, Contains, Provides. The product must have more than 10% but less than 20% of the recommended daily amount per serving.

More, Fortified, Enriched, Added, Extra, Plus. For vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber with at least 10% of the recommended amount per serving.

Lean. Generally, less than 10 grams of fat.

Extra lean. Less than 5 grams of fat.

Certified Humane. A label for products made by non-profit organizations dedicated to humane treatment of animals. To use the label, animals must have been given no growth hormones or antibiotics, or lived in cages, crates, or stalls; and must have had "access to sufficient, clean, and nutritious feed and water."

Naturally raised. A recent USDA standard for animals raised withhout growth hormones or anitbiotics.

Natural. A term regulated only for meats and poultry -- containing no artificial flavors, colors, or chemical preservatives -- and otherwise meaningless.

Some label terms, although truthful, have little or no real meaning, no standards for definition -- and a high potential to confuse consumers:

Contains antioxidants
Doctor-recommended
Free-range (can mean anything from an animal that roams freely to one that is let out of its cage from time to time)
Green
Immunity formula
Kid-approved
Made with whole grains
May lower cholesterol
Natural (for non-meat or -poultry products)
Natural goodness
No trans fat
Non-toxic
Parent-tested
Strengthens your immune system

2010-02-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

Chiaki came up with an awesome idea for a meal
Paleo Soft Tacos!!!!
heres what they look like and yep they tasted just as good as they look!!

enough for two:
6 egg whites
1 pound of Lean ground beef (we used bison beef)
1/2 head of lettuce
1 tomato (diced)
1 avocado
cilantro
1/2 onion
Olive oil or coconut oil

heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet
in a separate skillet cook and season your ground beef
cook one egg white @ a time in the heated oil (pour it in like you would a pancake)
dice the onions and mix half with the ground beef
mash the avocado and mix the rest of the onion and your desired amount of cilantro
to make some guacamole
when everything is cooked put the meat in the egg shell and garnish with tomatoes, lettuce and guacamole
Enjoy!!!

2010-01-31T02:51:00.000-08:00

All hail the Sweet Potato!!

Ok so the sweet potato is definately a starchy carb and like all whole foods the nutritional values can tell us alot more than just its identification. If you look @ your paleo dietary guidelines it says avoid starchy carbs, yet it seems every site I hold in high regard in reference to paleolithic eating says "sweet potato good!!!" So what gives? alright here is what I can tell you, yes it is a starchy carb, but it is also a root and roots are typically held in favor when you are talking about our ancestral diet. They are also not toxic if eaten raw like its ugly cousin the potato, in fact in the polynesian islands it was ground into a paste and eaten for thousands of years. Still not convinced? Well here are a few more facts for you.. because it is so high in antioxidants properties it is listed among the top 16 paleo foods when rated for overall nutrients. It is extremely high in vitamin A as betacarotene, vitamin C, manganese, copper potassium, iron and the list goes on. When you hear people talk about Okinawans being the longest lived people on the planet and attribute it to their diet they are talking about the traditional Okinawan diet, the staples of this diet were, fish, pork and of course SWEET POTATO'S!!! Rice was not a staple of the okinawan diet until they were invaded by the Japanese and forced to grow rice as payment of taxes. Granted we still need to take into consideration that Starchy means carbs and that we should eat them somewhat sparingly but @ 15 net carbs per 100 grams, and a glycemic load of 7 we can definitely say the pro's outweigh the con's.

Apple-Stuffed Roasted Chicken With Sweet Potato Chips

After all the animal fat talk this week, I figured a recipe was in order. But how could I make a dish that revolved around animal fat? Animal fats usually are just cooking aids, rather than stars of the show – it wasn’t like I could just plop a few ounces of rendered lard on a plate and serve that up – so I had to somehow emphasize them. To accomplish this, I used three different animal fats in the making of the dish. Bacon lard coated the oven-roasted chicken, the apples cooked in goose fat, and the sweet potato chips were fried in freshly-rendered beef tallow.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A chicken (I used a four-pounder)
Apples (I used gala)
Sweet potatoes
Goose fat
Bacon lard
Tallow
Sea salt
Pepper
Cardamom
A lemon

First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and place your three fats on the counter to soften. Rinse your chicken and save the organs. After patting it dry, coat your chicken, inside and out, with sea salt and black pepper. Make sure the salt is really being absorbed into the skin. Set it aside until this takes place.

Next, chop up your apples into cubes. I used 3 medium sized gala apples, very crisp and sweet. They were organic, so I left the peels on. Sprinkle a good amount of fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon’s worth) onto your apples and toss.

Stuff your chicken with the apples. If you can’t fit them all, don’t worry. You’ll be removing the original bunch about halfway through the roasting, at which point you can re-stuff the chicken with the leftover apples.

Coat the chicken liberally with the softened bacon lard. I used three nice big globs. You’ll probably have to use your hands and get a little greasy if you really want a good coating… and you want a good coating. Once it’s all coated (don’t forget the bottom), put the chicken breast up in a roasting pan and pop it into the oven.

While the chicken roasts and the delicious scent of heated bacon fat fills the kitchen, you should prep the sweet potatoes. Peel them and then, with the sharpest knife available, slice them as thin as you can. Achieving a crispy sweet potato can be really difficult, and a thickness of more than a few millimeters pretty much makes it impossible (without resorting to a starchy coating, which you don’t want). Lay your potato slices out on a paper towel, sprinkle salt on both sides, and cover them with another paper towel. The salt will draw out moisture and the towels will soak it up. Remember, moisture is the enemy of crispness.

After thirty minutes in the oven, reduce the heat to 375 degrees. The skin should be nicely browning by now. If you have more apples you’d like to cook, now’s the time to make the switch. Use a spoon to scoop out the warm apples and reserve them in a bowl. Stuff the chicken with the new apples. Put the bird back in the oven.

After forty minutes, your chicken should be done. Make sure it is by stabbing the thickest part of the thigh; if the juices run clear, it’s done. If they run red, it still has a bit more to go. My four-pounder was done after forty, but oven temperatures and bird weights will vary, so do the stab test. If your chicken’s done, remove the apples and add them to the original bunch, sprinkling some cardamom over all of them.

Now it’s time to heat the tallow. Get a heavy pan (cast iron is probably best) and use enough tallow to make about a half-inch of liquid fat. Heat it over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then do a test run. Add a single sweet potato slice (they should be ready by now) and monitor it closely. If it starts to brown and crisp up after just a few minutes, you have a good heat level. Go ahead and add the rest. Don’t overcrowd the pan, because that will drop the temperature. Use tongs to occasionally flip the slices, making sure not to allow burning. The key is having incredibly thinly sliced potato slices so that the frying is brief and instantaneous. Let them cool/drain on a paper towel.

At the same time, heat a couple tablespoons of goose fat in another heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add your apples. They’re pretty much cooked already (from their time in the chicken), so you’re mainly looking to get a nice crust on them. When you’re satisfied with the texture and the level of char, remove them from the heat.

Next, combine all three on the same piece of circular ceramic and dig in!

2010-01-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

We would love to hear about some of the results two weeks in... If your group leader wants to keep it top secret then don't compromise your relationship with them but if you have some great results to report that would help others that are struggling then please post some of your data to comments!!!

2010-01-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm about to just link this page so it automatically goes to Mark Sissons site... Again he comes through with some great points @ the perfect time. Each and every one of us needs to honestly evaluate our diets. If we are not be honest about our diet, who is really the one losing here. So many people think that paleolithic eating means we can eat as much as we want as long as we stay within the paleo boundaries. Mark is quick to point out that @ some point calories in calories out still holds validity. Yes we tend not to calorie count because Paleo eating SHOULD be calorically restrictive by nature, but lets remember those cave dudes were much more active than us, they often intermittently fasted (unintentionally) when the hunt failed and they did not have excess food stores because they were nomadic.

17 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

Effective, healthy weight loss isn’t only due to the simplistic calories in, calories out paradigm. Nor is it solely reliant on diet and exercise. It’s everything – it’s all the various signals our body receives from the environment that affect how our genes express themselves and thrive. How we approach the subject matters, too. Our mood, our methods, our temperament. Our conscious decisions and our willpower. It’s setting good habits and expunging bad ones. Most of all, it comes down to keeping our genes happy by providing an environment that approximates evolutionary precedent.

1. You think you’re eating healthy, but aren’t.

Does your diet consist of a massive amount of “products”? Low-carb or not, you want to eat real food. Flagons of diet soda, plates of pure fiber in the shape of noodles, and loaves of 1g net carb “bread” do not a Primal diet make. You’re just feeding an addiction and consuming empty calories – sound familiar? Disregard the labels and look inside for what you know to be true: this crap isn’t food, and you shouldn’t be eating it. It’s about way more than just low-carb.

2. You’re under too much stress.

The stress response system is subconscious; it responds to stimuli and nothing else. Emotional stress, physical stress, financial stress, relationship stress – I hesitate to even make these distinctions, because the body does not differentiate between sources of stress. They all cause the body to produce cortisol, the fight-or-flight hormone that catabolizes muscle, worsens insulin resistance, and promotes the storage of fat. For 200,000 years, stress meant a life or death situation. It was intense and infrequent, and the cortisol release was arresting and extreme enough to improve the chances of survival. Today, our body responds to a stack of paperwork the same way. Traffic jams are like rival war bands. A nagging boss is like a rampaging mastodon, only on a daily basis. Take a step back from your life and take stock of your stress levels – they may be holding you back.

3. You need to watch your carb intake.

Carbs are key, as always, especially when you’ve got weight to lose. Veer closer to the bottom of the curve, taking care to avoid all processed food (hidden sugars). You might also try skipping fruit.

4. You’re adding muscle.

I always tell people not to get hung up on the scales so much. Those things are useful – don’t get me wrong – but they never tell the whole story, like whether or not you’re adding lean mass. The PB will spur fat loss, but it also promotes muscle gain and better bone density. If you’re feeling good but failing to see any improvements register on the scale’s measurements, it’s most likely extra muscle and stronger bone from resistance training. You wouldn’t know that just from the bathroom scale. If you absolutely need objective records of your progress, get a body fat percentage test (although these might not even tell the whole story) or try measuring your waist.

5. You’re not active enough.

Are you Moving Frequently at a Slow Pace for three to five hours every week? Remember: the near-daily low-level (between 55-75% max heart rate) movement should be the bedrock of your fitness regimen. It’s easy to do (because every bit of movement counts) and it doesn’t dip into your glycogen reserves (making it a pure fat burner, not a sugar burner). If you’re on the low end of the spectrum, crank it up toward five weekly hours and beyond.

6. You’re lapsing into Chronic Cardio.

Of course, you can go too far with the low-level movement – you can begin to lapse into Chronic Cardio. When you stay above 75% of your maximum heart rate for extended periods of time, you’re burning glycogen. Your body in turn craves even more sugar to replenish the lost stores, so you polish off a heap of carbs, preferably simple and fast-acting. You can continue down this route if you wish – I did, for a couple decades – but you’ll gain weight, lose muscle, release more cortisol, and compromise any progress you might have made.

7. You still haven’t tried IF.

Results vary, but if you’ve seemingly tried everything else, intermittent fasting can be a great tool to break through a weight loss plateau. Make sure you’ve fully transitioned onto a Primal eating plan and start small. Skip breakfast and eat a late lunch. If that feels okay, skip breakfast and lunch the next time. Just take it slow and pay attention to your hunger. Eventually, try exercising in a fasted state to maximize the metabolic advantage. If all goes well, your hunger won’t necessarily disappear, but it’ll change. A successful IF tames hunger, makes it less insistent and demanding.

8. You’re eating too much.

Low-carb isn’t magic. It reins in wild hunger and tames insulin, but calories do still matter – especially once you approach your ideal weight. In fact, those last few pounds often don’t respond to the same stuff that worked so well to get you to this point. Eating nut butter by the spoonful and hunks of cheese without regard for caloric content may have gotten you this far, but you’ve got to tighten things up if things aren’t working. And that’s the real test, isn’t it? There is a metabolic advantage to eating according to the PB, but if the weight isn’t coming off, something’s up – and calories may need to come down.

9. You haven’t overcome bad habits or developed good ones.

Be brutally honest with yourself. Do you engage in bad habits? If so, identify them. Make tentative, loose plans to disengage from their clutches, and tell people close to you. Make it public, so you can’t back out without losing face. You’ve also got to develop good ones. Follow roughly similar guidelines as when kicking a bad habit – identification, planning, publication – and you’ll be on your way.

10. You haven’t purged and Primalized your pantry.

Out of sight, out of mind; out of reach, out of mouth. Keep the crappy junk food out of your pantry, if not out of your house altogether. Go down the list and toss the stuff that doesn’t apply. As for the rest of your kitchen, check out the fridge interiors and grocery lists of some other Primal folks for inspiration.

11. You’ve reached a healthy homeostasis.

It may be that your body has reached its “ideal” weight – its effective, genetic set point. Reaching this level is generally painless and effortless, but it won’t necessarily correspond to your desired level of leanness. Women, especially, tend to achieve healthy homeostasis at higher body fat levels. Breaking through plateaus can be hard enough, but plateaus ordained by the body itself can be nearly impossible. It’s probably going to take some serious tinkering with carbs, calories, activity levels, sleep, and stress. If everything else is on point and accounted for, you may be looking at healthy homeostasis. Then, the question becomes: do you want to mess with a good thing?

12. You’re low on willpower.

Willpower is like a muscle. It must be used or it will atrophy. You’ve also got to provide fuel for your will – little victories to start out. Go for a walk if you can’t muster the will for the gym. Take note that willpower, or lack thereof, might actually be an indicator of your body’s needs. If you truly can’t muster up the will for the gym, it may be that your body needs to recover. When that’s the case, overtraining is a bigger danger than lack of will.

13. You’re full of excuses.

If you find yourself having mini self-contained internal arguments throughout the day (and you lose), or (even worse) lying to yourself about what you’re eating and doing, you’re probably also full of excuses. Read this, maybe twice, then follow up with this.

14. You haven’t actually gone Primal!

We get a good number of new readers on a regular basis, and not all of them take instantly to the Primal concepts. And yet they come back. They read the archives, the comments. Something draws them near, while at the same time keeping them at arm’s length. Why is that? What’s stopping them? If that describes you, what are you waiting for? Take the plunge. Go Primal for 30 days and see how you like it. I assure you; the many enthusiastic community members are here because it works.

15. You’re not getting enough sleep.

Chronic levels of sleep deprivation cause the release of cortisol, our old fat-storing friend. The biggest spike in (fat-burning, anabolic) growth hormone plasma levels occurs in deep sleep. And a recent sleep study showed that truncated sleep patterns are linked to weight gain. Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.

16. You haven’t given it enough time.

The Primal Blueprint is a fat loss hack, undoubtedly, but it isn’t always a shortcut. Some people get instant results from dropping carbs, grains, sugar, and vegetable oils, while others have to take a month to get acclimated and only then does the weight begin to slide off. Either way, though, this is a lifestyle. You’re in it for the long run. Approach it with the right mindset and you won’t get discouraged.

17. You’re eating too much dairy.

Some people just react poorly to dairy. We see this time and time again listed in the forums; dairy just seems to cause major stalls in fat loss for a good number of folks. There are a couple speculative reasons for this. One, folks coming from a strict paleo background may not be acclimated to the more relaxed Primal stance on dairy. Reintroducing any food into the diet after a period of restriction can have unintended consequences on body composition. Two, dairy is insulinogenic, which is why it’s a popular post-workout refueling tool for athletes. Does a non-strength training PBer need to drink a few glasses of milk every day? Probably (definitely) not.

Bonus Reason: Sprinting is not part of your fitness routine.

I’ve found that many assume that they’re getting everything they need from their workouts from plenty of low level aerobic activity and a couple of strength training sessions each week. Sprinting is often overlooked, but it’s one of the Primal Blueprint Laws for a reason. Nothing shreds you up faster than sprinting. I’d ease into sprints if you’ve never done them or are extremely out of shape or overweight. That is, I recommend you have some measure of fitness aptitude before you jump into a routine. But once you’re ready do 6-8 all out sprints (with short breaks between) once a week to break a weight loss plateau when all other attempts have failed.

Am I missing any other reasons? If you’ve successfully surmounted a stall in your fat loss, what was the ultimate explanation? Let everyone know in the comment board!

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I Love SPaghetti Squash!!!!!

2010-01-27T04:09:00.000-08:00

We just ate some basil chicken (minus the chili and other spices in the recipe) over a bed of spaghetti squash, with a half of avocado on the side. I am an absolute lover of basil chicken but I have to say the spaghetti squash was the highlight of the meal. @ 8 net carbs per 155 grams (1 cup) it is a great and filling carbohydrate source with a glycemic load of only "2"!! It also has a 2:1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 respectively. We had a great idea while we were stuffing our faces, it would make a super sub for Hash Browns!!! It's on the recipe list now so I will let you all know how it goes!!

2010-01-26T04:36:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how many reliable sources continue to tell us the same thing ... Why is it that this information can only be found by those who seek it out? Shouldn't this be widely distributed information? More importantly why is it that if you were you were to ask most fitness professionals about ancestral nutrition the will have a glazed over look in their eyes, as if you were speaking to them in a language that completely foreign to them?

INTRODUCTION TO THE PALEOLITHIC DIET

by Dr. Ben Balzer, family physician

There are races of people who are all slim, who are stronger and faster than us. They all have straight teeth and perfect eyesight. Arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, schizophrenia and cancer are absolute rarities for them. These people are the last 84 tribes of hunter-gatherers in the world. They share a secret that is over 2 million years old. Their secret is their diet- a diet that has changed little from that of the first humans 2 million years ago, and their predecessors up to 7 million years ago. Theirs is the diet that man evolved on, the diet that is coded for in our genes. It has some major differences to the diet of "civilization". You are in for a few big surprises.

The diet is usually referred to as the "Paleolithic Diet" referring to the Paleolithic or Stone Age era. It is also referred to as the "Stone Age Diet", "Cave Man Diet" or the "Hunter-Gatherer Diet". More romantic souls like to think of it as the diet that was eaten in the "Garden of Eden" and they are correct in thinking so.

The basic principles of the Paleolithic Diet are so simple that most high school students can understand them. Within 15 minutes from now you will grasp the major elements. At the technical level, Paleolithic Diet Theory has a depth and breadth that is unmatched by all other dietary theories. Paleolithic Diet Theory presents a fully integrated, holistic, comprehensive dietary theory combining the best features of all other dietary theories, eliminating the worst features and simplifying it all.

All major dietary components are covered- (i.e. vitamins, fats, protein, fats, carbohydrates, antioxidants and phytosterols etc). This is for the simple reason that it is the only diet that is coded for in our genes- it contains only those foods that were "on the table" during our long evolution, and discards those which were not. Have you ever wondered why almost everybody feels the need to take vitamin supplementsat times, or why so many people feel the need to "detoxify" their system? There are very real reasons for this that you will soon understand. Now, come with me, I’d like to share the secret with you...

Basics of the Paleolthic Diet

For millions of years, humans and their relatives have eaten meat, fish, fowl and the leaves, roots and fruits of many plants. One big obstacle to getting more calories from the environment is the fact that many plants are inedible. Grains, beans and potatoes are full of energy but all are inedible in the raw state as they contain many toxins. There is no doubt about that- please don’t try to eat them raw, they can make you very sick.

Around 10,000 years ago, an enormous breakthrough was made- a breakthrough that was to change the course of history, and our diet, forever. This breakthrough was the discovery that cooking these foods made them edible- the heat destroyed enough toxins to render them edible. Grains include wheat, corn, barley, rice, sorghum, millet and oats. Grain based foods also include products such as flour, bread, noodles and pasta. These foods entered the menu of New Stone Age (Neolithic) man, and Paleolithic diet buffs often refer to them as Neolithic foods.

The cooking of grains, beans and potatoes had an enormous effect on our food intake- perhaps doubling the number of calories that we could obtain from the plant foods in our environment. Other advantages were soon obvious with these foods:

· they could store for long periods (refrigeration of course being unavailable in those days)

· they were dense in calories- ie a small weight contains a lot of calories, enabling easy transport

· the food was also the seed of the plant- later allowing ready farming of the species

These advantages made it much easier to store and transport food. We could more easily store food for winter, and for nomads and travelers to carry supplies. Food storage also enabled surpluses to be stored, and this in turn made it possible to free some people from food gathering to become specialists in other activities, such as builders, warriors and rulers. This in turn set us on the course to modern day civilization. Despite these advantages, our genes were never developed with grains, beans and potatoes and were not in tune with them, and still are not. Man soon improved further on these advances- by farming plants and animals.

Instead of being able to eat only a fraction of the animal and plant life in an area, farming allows us to fill a particular area with a large number of edible plants and animals. This in turn increases the number of calories that we can obtain from an area by some 10 to 100 fold or more. Then followed the harnessing of dairy products, which allow man to obtain far more calories from the animal over its lifetime than if it were simply slaughtered for meat. Dairy products are interesting as they combine a variety of components- some of which our genes were ready for and some not. Whist cows milk is ideal for calves, there are several very important differences between it and human milk. For example, the brain of a calf is only a tiny fraction of its body weight whereas humans have very big brains. Not surprisingly, cows milk is low in critical nutrients for brain development, particularly omeg 3 fats.

Paleolithic Diet buffs refer to the new foods as Neolithic foods and the old as Paleolithic Diet foods. In simple terms we see Neolithic as bad and Paleolithic as good. Since then, some other substances have entered the diet- particularly salt and sugar, and more recently a litany of chemicals including firstly caffeine then all other additives, colourings, preservatives, pesticides etc.

Grains, Beans and Potatoes (GBP) share the following important characteristics:

· They are all toxic when raw- there is no doubt about this- it is a fact that no competent source would dispute- they can be extremely dangerous and it is important never to eat them raw or undercooked. These toxins include enzyme blockers, lectins and other types. I will talk about them in detail later as they are very important.

· Cooking destroys most but not all of the toxins. Insufficient cooking can lead to sickness such as acute gastroenteritis.

· They are all rich sources of carbohydrate, and once cooked this is often rapidly digestible-giving a high glycemic index (sugar spike).

· They are extremely poor sources of vitamins (particularly vitamins A, B-group, folic acid and C), minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols.

Therefore diets high in grains beans and potatoes (GBP):

· Contain toxins in small amounts

· Have a high glycemic index (ie have a similar effect to raw sugar on blood glucose levels)

· Are low in many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols- ie they are the original "empty calories"

· Have problems caused by the GBP displacing other foods

The essentials of the Paleolithic Diet are:

Eat none of the following:

· Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles

· Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas

· Potatoes

· Dairy products

· Sugar

· Salt

Eat the following:

· Meat, chicken and fish

· Eggs

· Fruit

· Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)

· Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)

· Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.

Try to increase your intake of:

· Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes

· Organ meats- liver and kidneys (I accept that many people find these unpalatable and won’t eat them)

Expect some minor tuning problems- don’t worry, you can deal with them:

· It will take some time for your body to adjust to the changes after all these years. There is a huge surge in your vitamin intake. There is a huge decrease in your toxin intake.

· Start with breakfast for few days, as this is the easiest place to start as most people eat it at home, and it tends to be the least Paleolithic meal of the standard 3. For weight loss you will eventually need to reduce your carbohydrate intake, but ignore this initially as most people have high carb intakes and this can continue for the first few days that you are on this diet. If you reduce too quickly then you may fell unwell. Then move on to lunch or dinner for a few days and then to all 3 meals. If you work, you will often find it easier to take your lunch to work.

· Keep reading more about the diet- and read it again. Remember, there are many dietary myths that will need to be unlearned. Particularly, please read the section on fats several times. Knowledge on fats has exploded over the last decade and there is a realization in mainstream nutrition that omega 3 fats are critical to good health. It is very important to ensure that you have an adequate intake of these. The low fat diet craze of the 90’s was well intentioned but many people "threw out the baby with the bath-water"- most people reduced omega 3 fat intake as well as other fats, and sometimes even increased omega 6 fats. There is now a realization that the low fat diet theory of the 90’s doesn’t often work (it has about a 6% success rate like most other diets) and that the vast majority of the Western population need to increase their omega 3 intake and decrease their omega 6 intake. Even if you don’t end up on a Paleolithic Diet, you will benefit from a better appreciation of fats.

Technical Aspects:

12,000 years ago the ice planet Earth thawed out as the last Ice Age came to an end. The great glaciers melted, carving enormous plains across the continents and the planet became green again. The seas rose some 400 feet (120 metres) (incidentally unfortunately drowning most of our archeological heritage). The plains flourished and savannah, prairie and forest sprang up. Grazing animals spread onto the plains, followed by hunting animals and amongst these last were the greatest hunters of all- humans. Humans, being omnivores, have the ability to eat both plant and animal foods. That is a major advantage as the number of creatures that can live in a particular habitat depends entirely on how much energy they can obtain. To make a crude example- imagine you are breeding monkeys on 100 acres of land and the only edible plant there is bananas. If you double the number of banana plants, then you can double the number of monkeys on the land.

You might instead introduce apple trees and have the same effect. The number of monkeys would depend entirely on how many calories they could obtain from the environment. The carrying capacity of the habitat for a species depends on how many calories the species can obtain. Humans are no different. They have a major advantage in being able to eat both plant and animals foods thereby harvesting enormous amounts of calories from the environment. Humans learnt to cook grains, beans and potatoes and increased further the number of plant food calories they can obtain from the environment- probably doubling it in most habitats, and even more on grasslands.

The reason why grains, beans and potatoes store so well is simply because of the toxins that they contain. The enzyme blockers put them into a deep freeze, stopping them from sprouting. The lectins and other toxins are natural pesticides and can attack bacteria, insects, worms, rodents and other pests (and humans too of course).

ANTINUTRIENTS- YOUR KEY TO BAD HEALTH

You probably already know a lot about nutrients- macronutrients (fats, protein and carbohydrates and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytosterols etc). Now it's time to meet the rest of the family....... We all know that foods contain a variety of nutrients. There is less awareness that many foods contain small amounts of potentially harmful substances. These are toxins, as they have toxic effects. They are normally called "antinutrients" by the scientific community as toxins sounds too alarmist. Antinutrients are very real and for over 100 years research has been done on them- but it is generally only appreciated by a small group of specialized scientists. Antinutrients have an incredible range of biological effects. As you have probably already guessed, the vast majority and highest levels of antinutrients are in Neolithic foods like grains, beans and potatoes. The Paleolithic diet has incredibly low levels of antinutrients compared to the usual modern diet. I believe that this is the number one advantage of the diet.

Textbooks on antinutrients read like books on what not to eat- Neolithic foods are the most prominent. Professor Irvin Liener published one of the most famous of these books in 1980. In the first chapter he points out that when we started cooking inedible plants, new toxins entered the diet for the first time. Ironically, he wasn’t trying to promote Paleolithic diets- his aim was to help agricultural scientists more safely feed the world on grains, beans and potatoes.

It’s a technical subject, and I’ll do my best to make it clear to you.

Consider our friend, the apple. When an animal eats an apple, it profits by getting a meal. It swallows the seeds and then deposits them in a pile of dung. With some luck a new apple tree might grow, and so the apple tree has also profited from the arrangement. In nature as in finance, it is good business when both parties make profit happily. Consider what would happen if the animal were greedy and decided to eat the few extra calories contained within the apple seeds- then there would be no new apple tree to continue on the good work. So, to stop this from happening, the apple seeds contain toxins that have multiple effects:

* firstly, they taste bad- discouraging the animal from chewing them

* secondly some toxins are enzyme blockers that bind up predators digestive enzymes- these also act as "preservatives" freezing the apple seed enzymes until sprouting- Upon sprouting of the seed, many of these enzyme blockers disappear.

* thirdly, they contain lectins- these are toxic proteins which have numerous effects. They act as natural pesticides and are also toxic to a range of other species including bacteria, insects, worms, rodents and other predators including humans .

Of course, the apple has other defenses- to start with it is high above the ground well out of reach of casual predators, and it also has the skin and flesh of the apple to be penetrated first. Above all though is the need to stop the seed from being eaten, so that new apple trees may grow.

Now, please consider the humble grain. Once again as a seed its duty is mission critical- it must perpetuate the life cycle of the plant. It is however much closer to the ground, on the tip of a grass stalk. It is within easy reach of any predator strolling by. It contains a good source of energy, like a booster rocket for the new plant as it grows. The grain is full of energy and in a vulnerable position. It was "expensive" for the plant to produce. It is an attractive meal. Its shell offers little protection. Therefore, it has been loaded with toxic proteins to discourage predators- grains are full of enzyme blockers and lectins. You may be surprised to learn that uncooked flour is very toxic- please don't try eating it as you become very sick. And yes, I don't recommend al dente pasta (if one must eat pasta at all).

Beans too are full of enzyme blockers and lectins. Potatoes contain enzyme blockers, lectins and another family of toxins called glycoalkaloids. Glycoalkaloids (GA) unlike lectins and enzyme blockers aren't destroyed by cooking, even deep-frying. GA are particularly high in green or injured potatoes, which must never be eaten even if trimmed heavily and well-cooked. Many people have told me that they eat small amounts of raw potato- this is a dangerous habit and it should be discouraged very strongly.

These toxins in foods are commonly referred to as antinutrients. Let's learn some more about them:

Enzyme Blockers: These enzyme blockers are abundant in all seeds including grains and beans, and also in potatoes, serving to hold them in suspended animation and also acting as pesticides. Most commonly they block the enzymes that digest protein (proteases), and are called "protease inhibitors". They can affect the stomach protease enzyme "pepsin", and the small intestine protease enzymes "trypsin" and "chymotrypsin". These small intestine enzymes are made by the pancreas (it does a lot of other important things besides making insulin). Some enzyme blockers affect the enzymes that digest starch (amylase) and are called "amylase inhibitors".

When GBP are cooked, most of the enzyme blockers are destroyed, but some are not. In human volunteers and in animal experiments high levels of protease inhibitors lead to increased secretion of digestive enzymes by the pancreas. This is because the body can sense that the enzymes have been knocked out and orders to pancreas to make more. Even if the effect of GBP based foods is only a small increase in pancreatic enzyme secretion, over many years it all adds up to a lot of extra work.

They are effective poisons- rats cannot gain weight if they have substantial amounts of enzyme blockers in the diet. As far as their preservative action is concerned, I need only to remind you that the potted grains in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs were still viable and sprouted after thousands of years locked away.

Grain eating birds have evolved digestive enzymes that are resistant to grain protease inhibitors. Lectins (Haemagglutins)................ Meet Hannibal

Lectins are natural proteins that have a large variety of roles. They are amongst the most fascinating and stimulating of all biological compounds, and I have no doubt that they play a major role in many "unexplained " diseases. I think of them as "Hannibal Lectins" as they remind of the devious criminal mastermind in the shock horror movie "Silence of the Lambs.' Lectins are like master code-breakers. The cells of our bodies are studded with receptors which are like code pads to ensure stimulation only under the correct circumstances. Lectins have the ability to crack these codes and stimulate the receptors causing a variety of responses- covering basically the full repertoire of the cell and even tricking the cell into doing things it normally cannot do.

They also have a knack for bypassing our defenses and "getting behind the lines", and then they can travel all over the body causing harm. They can, for example:

--strip protective mucus off tissues,

--damage the cells lining the small intestine- disrupting the microscopic fingers called villi and microvilli,

--get swallowed whole by the small intestine cells ("pinocytosis")

--bind to cells including blood cells causing a clot to form (hence they were initially called "haemagglutins")

--make a cell act as if it has been stimulated by a hormone-

--stimulate a cell to secrete a hormone

--promote cell division at the wrong time

--cause gowth or shrinkage of lymphatic tissue ("outposts" of white blood cells)

--cause enlargement of the pancreas

--cause cells to present codes (HLA's) that they normally should not use

--cause cell death (apoptosis)

Lectins break down the surface of the small intestine, stripping it of mucus and causing the cells to become irregular and leaky. Some lectins make cells act as if they have been stimulated by insulin. Others cause the pancreas to release insulin. Others cause immune cells to divide in the wrong way, causing growth of some white blood cells and breaking down the control of the immune system. Others cause cells to present the wrong codes (HLA's) on their surface, tricking the immune system into thinking that intruders have been found and activating the immune system inappropriately- thus leading to "autoimmune disease" where the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system.

Autoimmune diseases are incredibly common and increase every year that a person gets older. A disordered immune system also has a much harder job recognizing and attacking the real intruders- invading germs and cancer cells (you may have heard that scientists think that most people generate many cancer cells in a life time but that the immune system cleans most of them up).

It is not known whether lectins can cause cancer- this is one of the most important questions in medicine today. They certainly affect colon cells in the test tube. I feel that they are likely candidates as they can stimulate abnormal cell growth and they also cause disorder in the immune system.

Lectins have many other roles besides defending seeds. For example in beans, lectins act like a glue to enable nitrogen-fixing bacteria to bind to the roots of the plant. Many important lectin families are found in animal tissues, but as we are carnivores, we have evolved to be able to deal with these- just as birds that live on grains have evolved to be resistant to grain lectins.

It is ironic that the lectins were discovered more than 100 years ago and yet so many questions remain unanswered- the same was true of the immune system until the 1980’s. I hope that there is more research done into lectins as they hold a whole world of disease mechanisms of which most of the medical community is blissfully unaware.

Exorphins:

Exorphins are food chemicals that have morphine-like activity. They are found in dairy products and wheat. Our body has its own natural morphine like substances that are called endorphins. Endorphins work by stimulating a type of nerve cell surface receptor called endorphin receptors. Endorphins are very important in controlling pain and addictive behaviour.

Exorphins also act on endorphin receptors and may stimulate them or block them. It is logical that exorphins may therefore affect chronic pain and also affect addictive behaviour.

2010-01-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

Chili Chicken and Basil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 serrano chilies
3 gloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Tamari or Soy sauce
1/2 tbsp red-chili past (look for gluten free)
1 tbsp fish sauce (look for gluten free)
1 tsp sugar (yes I know, it says sugar I can't control recipes)
1 tsp cracked pepper
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil

Finely chop the garlic and chilies, then use the side of your knife to press them together into a rough paste (add a pinch of salt). Preheat a sautee pan over med-high and add oil and garlic-chili paste that you just made. Cook for 2-3 minutes (careful not to burn the garlic). Add the cubed chicken and cook til lightly browned (3-4 mintues). Add the tamari sauce, red-chili paste, and sugar, and continue to cook until the chicken is done all the way through (another 3-4 minutes). Add the cracked peper and basil and cook until the basil is just wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately over speghetti squash.

with the exception of the spagetti squash and fish sauce you should

be able to find all of this @ the commisary or local grocery

2010-01-24T04:44:00.000-08:00

It's no secret Mark Sissons website Mark's daily apple and his book The Primal Blueprint have become some of my favorite sources for posting nutrition info. His posts are always informative, often humorous and written for everyone not only the people who can spell supercallafragilisticexpialdocious.

The Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve

Yesterday, low-carb blogger Dr. Michael Eades (he of Protein Power) posted a message from his friend and fellow low-carb guru Richard Feinman as sort of a call-to-action in public policy-making for upcoming 2010 USDA guidelines. Dr. Eades and Dr. Feinman have suggested that we ought to quickly find a way to help the USDA arrive at a sensible recommendation for carbohydrate consumption. Feinman asked:

“how can the benefits of carbohydrate restriction that you have experienced personally or in your immediate environment be translated into reasonable recommendations that the USDA could put out?”

In conjunction with my forthcoming book “The Primal Blueprint”, I have been working on an easy-to-understand explanation of how carbohydrates impact the human body and the degree to which we need them (or not) in our diet. I have also developed a chart (not the one above) that is intended to assist those who want to go “Primal” in visualizing the impact of carbs consumed within certain ranges. I was going to hold off on releasing this information until my book is published, but decided to introduce it here in response to Dr. Eades’ post. Since the choice of how many and what types of carbs in one’s diet depends on the context of one’s life (current weight, disease condition, activity levels, etc), I see carb intake as a “curve” ranging from “allowable” to “desirable” to “unhealthy”.

The following descriptions illustrate how carbohydrates impact the human body and the degree to which we need them, or not, in our diet. The ranges represent daily averages and are subject to variables like age, current height and weight and particularly training volume. For example, a heavy, active person can be successful at a higher number than a light, moderately active person. In particular, hard training endurance athletes will experience a greater need for carbs and can adjust their personal curve accordingly. This is a topic I address further in the book (e.g. – experimenting with adding 100g of carbs per hour of training per day), on MarksDailyApple.com and in a future “primal” book dedicated to endurance athletes. Here then is my “Primal Blueprint Carbohydrate Curve.”

300 or more grams/day - Danger Zone!

Easy to reach with the “normal” American diet (cereals, pasta, rice, bread, waffles, pancakes, muffins, soft drinks, packaged snacks, sweets, desserts). High risk of excess fat storage, inflammation, increased disease markers including Metabolic Syndrome or diabetes. Sharp reduction of grains and other processed carbs is critical unless you are on the “chronic cardio” treadmill (which has its own major drawbacks).

150-300 grams/day – Steady, Insidious Weight Gain

Continued higher insulin-stimulating effect prevents efficient fat burning and contributes to widespread chronic disease conditions. This range – irresponsibly recommended by the USDA and other diet authorities – can lead to the statistical US average gain of 1.5 pounds of fat per year for forty years.

100-150 grams/day – Primal Blueprint Maintenance Range

This range based on body weight and activity level. When combined with Primal exercises, allows for genetically optimal fat burning and muscle development. Range derived from Grok’s (ancestors’) example of enjoying abundant vegetables and fruits and avoiding grains and sugars.

50-100 grams/day – Primal Sweet Spot for Effortless Weight Loss

Minimizes insulin production and ramps up fat metabolism. By meeting average daily protein requirements (.7 – 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight formula), eating nutritious vegetables and fruits (easy to stay in 50-100 gram range, even with generous servings), and staying satisfied with delicious high fat foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds), you can lose one to two pounds of body fat per week and then keep it off forever by eating in the maintenance range.

0-50 grams/day – Ketosis and Accelerated Fat Burning

Acceptable for a day or two of Intermittent Fasting towards aggressive weight loss efforts, provided adequate protein, fat and supplements are consumed otherwise. May be ideal for many diabetics. Not necessarily recommended as a long-term practice for otherwise healthy people due to resultant deprivation of high nutrient value vegetables and fruits.

2010-01-23T02:11:00.000-08:00

Make sure you get your logs into your Nutrition Coaches... They must see your log @ least 1 time a week for you to remain eligible to win the Lean Up Challenge..
We are hearing about lots of incredible results in all the groups .. Keep Up the good work.

Her is a blog posted by Mat Lalonde, for those of you who went to the last level 1 Cert. he is Bobbi Millsaps husband, for those who didn't he was part of the Robb Wolf Nutrition Cert team When Robb was still working for CFHQ. Great info!!

CrossFit on a Low-Carb Paleo Diet

Every now and then, an excellent piece of scientific research comes along and forces many of us to reevaluate our positions or question what we thought we knew. This happened to me last May when a paper entitled “Antioxidants Prevent Health-Promoting Effects of Physical Exercise in Humans” was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The following conclusion can be found in the abstract of the paper:

“Consistent with the concept of mitohormesis, exercise-induced oxidative stress ameliorates insulin resistance and causes an adaptive response promoting endogenous antioxidant defense capacity. Supplementation with antioxidants may preclude these health-promoting effects of exercise in humans”.

Essentially, the antioxidants are quenching the reactive oxygen species (ROS), which prevents oxidative damage and blunts the expression of ROS-sensitive transcriptional regulators of insulin sensitivity. This means that ingesting large quantities of antioxidants prevents you from improving your insulin sensitivity, which is a major benefit of exercise (another study on ROS and insulin sensitivity was published during the writing of this blog post).

I was somewhat taken aback to find out that a daily intake of 1.0 gram of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E could negate the insulin sensitivity gained through exercise. I wasn’t taking any vitamin supplements at the time because of research indicating that multivitamins are essentially useless, maybe even harmful. Nevertheless, this whole thing really got me thinking about insulin sensitivity and brought back memories of this interesting post I had read on Arthur De Vany’s blog. The research discussed in the post demonstrates that insulin sensitivity is not improved when a PWO meal of carbohydrate is employed to replenish glycogen stores. Hmmm…that sounds a lot like the vitamin C/E paper doesn’t it? Some more research on the subject of post-workout carbs led me to this excellent post by Mark Sisson, which was followed by this equally interesting post. At this point, a lot research seemed to indicate that PWO carbohydrates were not necessary, maybe even detrimental, and that a PWO meal of protein, although desirable, was also not absolutely required. Within 24 hours, Glycogen stores should be sufficiently replenished for another workout thanks to gluconeogenesis (new creation of glucose) from dietary protein and lactate as long as the levels of dietary protein (for muscle repair and glucose synthesis) and fat (for fuel) are adequate. However, gluconeogenesis takes place in the liver and only a fraction of the glucose makes its way to the muscles. This means it would probably be wise to consume some carbohydrate from vegetables to help replenish muscle glycogen. Vegetables are preferable given that they don’t contain the toxin fructose and they come packed with vitamins, antioxidants and a variety of phytochemicals.

After having read all this research, I was now determined more than ever to try CrossFit on a low-carb Paleo diet. Most people would tell you this is a bad idea. After all, it is well known that free fatty acids and glucose (from liver and muscle glycogen) feed your working muscles while you train. As it turns out, glucose is especially needed during high intensity exercise because it requires less oxygen to burn than free fatty acids. The increase in glucose as fuel makes sense because, let’s face it, we need all the oxygen we can get during “Fran”. So was I worried about CrossFitting on a low-carb paleo diet? Not really. Most CF WODs are short, and not all of them are heavily dependant on glycogen. Gluconeogenesis and carbohydrate from veggies should be sufficient to hold up my glycogen stores to a reasonable level once my body adapted to my new diet. Additionally, a potential increase in intramuscular triglycerides could help me through intense bouts of exercise in the event that my glycogen stores get too low.

The decision was made. I was going to follow the CrossFit main site WODs without any pre- or post-workout meal while on a diet that provided just a little over 50 grams of useable carbohydrate per day (mainly from vegetables). The research on fat adaptation mentioned in one of Robb’s posts told me this wasn’t going to be easy. I figured it would take at least two months to get used to my new diet since enzymes involved in gluconeogenesis and fat burning would have to be upregulated while enzymes for burning sugar would be downregulated. I wasn’t sure this was going to work but I knew the worst thing that would happen was that I wouldn’t set any new PRs for a while. I was pretty sure nothing bad would happen given that the explorers V. Stefansson and K. Andersen survived on a diet of meat and animal fat for one year and came out healthier for it.

Most of the protein I consumed during this experiment came from my Chestnut Farms CSA, which provides 20 pounds of meat from grass-fed or pastured animals every month. The shares include a variety of cuts of pork, lamb, beef, and chicken. I also buy the occasional goat meat and make sure to get the super nutritious organ meats (beef liver and heart) that Chestnut Farms sells on site. Given that the protein side of things was taken care of, I hit stores in my area to purchase a variety of high fat foods. I ended up with the following list:

François Pralus 100% dark chocolate from Formaggio Kitchen
Navitas Naturals raw cacao nibs from the Vitamin Shoppe
Chopped chicken liver pâté, and lamb sausage from Savenor’s
Shredded unsweetened coconut from Whole Foods
Light coconut milk from Trader Joe’s
Coconut oil (for cooking), from Whole Foods
Nuts, with the exception of cashews (they are pretty starchy). Trader Joe’s sells packages of Fancy Raw Mixed Nuts that contain some cashews. I made an exception there because that mix is darn yummy and not too carby.
Mayonnaise (homemade because commercial stuff is crap)
Guacamole (from TJ’s)

I started the experiment on August 1^st. I ate when I was hungry and drank when I was thirsty. I did not pay attention to portion sizes and I probably ate more then a diet such as ‘The Zone’ would have prescribed. The only supplements I consumed during the experiment are vitamin D3 (1000 IU/day) and Nordic Naturals omega-3 purified fish oil (3 tablespoons/day).

You can see what a week’s worth of eating looks like below. I occasionally eat some homemade sauerkraut for the probiotic boost but I didn’t have a batch ready during the week I’m using as an example. I do cook regularly, but I don’t plan meals. I end up with some rather interesting combinations of foods as a result.

Weekends are the only days where I have a little bit of down time. I try to maximize the amount of free time by eating one less meal. I eat a large breakfast that will last me for the entire day. I don’t weigh and measure (WAM) my food because I spend my days weighing chemicals and measuring their properties. WAMing food would turn something I enjoy, eating, into a chore. I realize that WAMing could have made this experiment a lot more legit but I wasn’t aiming for peer-reviewed research here folks.

Monday:

9:00 am breakfast: Sliced deli turkey from Formaggio Kitchen, handful of cacao nibs, fish oil, and vitamin D3.

12:00pm lunch: lamb shoulder chop over a bed of mixed greens, red bell pepper, and guacamole.

3:00 pm WOD

7:00 pm dinner: Salmon Patties (TJ’s), broccoli and cauliflower, mixed nuts.

Tuesday:

9:00 am breakfast: sliced deli turkey, chopped chicken liver pâté, fish oil, and vitamin D3.

12:00 am lunch: Wild boar loin with cacao and chili powder rub, celery with homemade mayonnaise.

3:00 pm WOD

7:00 pm dinner: Chicken leg and wing, handful of goji berries, light coconut milk.

Wednesday:

9:00 am breakfast: sliced deli turkey, piece of François Pralus chocolate, fish oil, and vitamin D3.

12:00 pm lunch: beef brisket over mixed greens, cucumber, and walnuts

3:00 pm WOD

6:00 pm dinner: shrimp with coconut milk, and a yellow bell pepper

Thursday:

9:00 am breakfast: sliced deli turkey, unsweetened shredded coconut, fish oil, and vitamin D3

12:00 am lunch: chicken breast with cauliflower and broccoli, guacamole

3:00 pm Rest: foam rolling, stretching, PNF, trigger point (I’d rather do triple ‘Fran’ but this stuff helps)

6:30 pm dinner: catfish with a hint of dill and lemon juice, celery, and macadamia nuts

Friday:

9:00 am breakfast: sliced deli turkey, chopped chicken liver pâté, fish oil, and vitamin D3

12:00 am lunch: beef patties topped with guacamole and a slice of bacon, mixed greens

3:00 pm WOD

6:30 pm dinner: langostinos, baked okra, almonds

Saturday:

8:00 am breakfast: 3 eggs with about 1 pound of lamb sausage, fish oil, and vitamin D3

8:00 pm dinner: one fish patty with a yellow bell pepper and a cucumber.

Sunday:

8:00 am breakfast: 3 eggs, 1 pound of varied sausages from Formaggio Kitchen (they have a bunch on display and I just ask for one of each), fish oil, and vitamin D3.

8:00 pm dinner: Cinghiale (wild boar salami from Formaggio Kitchen) and celery dipped in chopped chicken liver pâté.

The Results

I felt a little sluggish for the first two weeks and CrossFit metcons really kicked my butt. It seemed like I had to work twice as hard only to come up a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes, short of a PR. However, my energy levels returned between the second and third week of low-car paleo eating. At this point I felt no energy slump in the afternoon (a problem I had previously) and I was having much less of a problem matching my PRs on CF metcons. Most important were the noticeable increases in strength and loss of body fat around the abdomen. Aside from the low-carb dealio and the exercise, it is very likely that the fish oil supplementation and the medium chain triglycerides from the coconut products were responsible for improving insulin sensitivity, which led to a loss of body fat and an increase in muscle mass. Six weeks into the experiment, I started setting new PRs on weighted metcons that had bested me many times before. My strength gains were phenomenal. At the time if the Eastern Canadian Qualifiers on May 2^nd and 3^rd of 2009, I weighed 168.5 pounds and had a 405 lbs back squat, a 430 lbs deadlift, a 185 lbs press, and a 300 lbs front squat. After 8 weeks of eating a low-carb paleo diet and following the main site WODs, I weighed 175 pounds and looked leaner (I could see all my abs). Most important was the fact that I now had a back squat of 415 lbs, a deadlift of 465 lbs, a shoulder press of 200 lbs, and a front squat of 330 lbs. (Note From Robb here: Mat suffered a moderate-severe flexion injury of the lumbar spine which he rehabbed during this time. There was a period of months in which 135lbs on the BS was quite uncomfortable for him, so these improvements need to be viewed not only through the lens of absolute improvements, but also the fact he recovered from an injury) My strength was increasing by doing only CrossFit WODs on what was essentially a borderline ketogenic diet! I should note that I did not suffer from Steatorrhea at any point during the experiment.

So where to go from here? I’m going to keep this up because I know I’ll be healthier in the long run by consuming fewer carbohydrates. Does this mean that post workout carbohydrates are bad? Absolutely not! In a situation like the CrossFit games, with multiple workouts throughout the day, PWO carbs are essential. Replenishing glycogen stores takes approximately a day on a low carb diet whereas wolfing down some mashed sweet potatoes will get the job done in a few hours. In addition, the fact that fat slows down gastric emptying probably means you don’t want to be eating a whole lot of it during competition. Easily digestible protein and carbohydrates are still the way to go in a games setting. However, I think my experiment highlights the fact that PWO carbs are a powerful tool that should be used sparingly under the right conditions. Avoiding a carb load after a workout will allow you to hold on to the insulin sensitivity you gained from exercising. This is a huge boon, especially for clients who are trying to improve their body composition. Whether you are a CrossFit, weightlifting, endurance, or any other type of athlete, I don’t see why a high carb diet should be considered “necessary” to fuel your endeavors.

2010-01-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

We have recieved alot of questions about the difference between Grass Fed and Grain Fed Beef. Here are your answers.....

Why Grassfed Animal Products Are Better For You

A Quick Review of the Fats That Make Up Your Body

All food fats are a blend of the different types, saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated fats include poly- and monounsaturated fats. omega-3s and 6s are types of polyunsaturated fats, called essential because we have to get them from food, our bodies can't manufacture them from other fats.

The Story on the the Good Fats and Bad Fats

Whereas cellular proteins are genetically determined, the polyunsaturated fatty acids composition of all cell membranes is to a great extent dependent on the dietary intake.

There are many kinds of fats in the body. Some of the most crucial fats are in the list of compounds that make up the cell walls for all of the body's cells.

After isolating these fats scientific experiments determined that if the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats exceeds 4:1, people have more health problems. This is especially meaningful since grain-fed beef can have ratios that exceed 20:1 whereby grass-fed beef is down around 3:1.

Similar ratios are also found in all grain-fed versus grass-fed livestock products.
Grassfed products are rich in all the fats now proven to be health-enhancing, but low in the fats that have been linked with disease.

If you want to read a comprehensive review of omega 3 fats along with 78 references to the clinical literature you can read Omega 3 Oils.

Why are Omega 3 Fatty Acids Important For Your Health?

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for normal growth and may play an important role in the prevention and treatment of:

coronary artery disease
hypertension
arthritis
cancer
other inflammatory and autoimmune disorders

Your Body Can't Make These Fats So You Have to Get Them From Your Diet

Omega 3 and omega 6 fats are not interconvertible in your body and are important components of practically all cell membranes.

Whereas the proteins in your cell are genetically determined, the unsaturated fats of all your cell membranes is to a great extent determined on what you eat.

Therefore you need sufficient amounts of dietary omega 6 and omega 3 fats and they need to be balanced for normal development.

Your Diet Has Evolved From Your Ancient Ancestors

On the basis of estimates from studies in Paleolithic nutrition and modern-day hunter-gatherer populations, humans evolved on a diet that was much lower in saturated fatty acids than is today's diet. Furthermore, the diet contained small but roughly equal amounts of omega 6 and omega 3 fats.

Plant Fat Ratios

In the past 100 years there has been a rapid and unprecedented change in our diet. The modern vegetable oil industry was developed, and it is based on oil from seeds rich in omega 6 fats. Modern agriculture increased production by emphasizing grain feeds for domestic livestock, and grains are rich in omega 6 fats. Therefore, aggressive, industrialized agricultural management techniques have decreased the omega 3 fat content in many foods: green leafy vegetables, animal meats, eggs, and even fish.

This imbalance where omega 6 fats levels exceed omega 3 levels can be seen by comparing wild edible plants and wild animals and birds with products of modern agriculture. Products of modern agriculture frequently have drastically lower omega 3 levels. It is estimated that man evolved with a omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of one to one from both meat and vegetable sources.

Today the vegetable sources have an estimated omega 6:3 ratio of 10 to one. The modern diet of meat, fish, chicken, and vegetable oils has a ratio estimated to be 20 or 25 to one.

Eggs and Beef Fat Ratios

Chickens that eat vegetables high in omega 3 fats, along with insects and lots of fresh green grass, supplemented with fresh and dried fruit, and small amounts of corn

Range fed eggs have an omega 6:3 ratio of 1.5 to one whereas the "supermarket egg"has a ratio of 20 to one.

Modern agriculture's emphasis on increased production has led to the development of chicken feed that is being reflected in the out-of-balance ratio of fatty acids in the "supermarket egg."

North Dakota State University conducted a study on the nutritional differences between grass-fed and grain-fed bison. The results of that study closely followed that of the egg studies. The grass-fed bison had omega 6 to omega 3 ratios of 4.0 to one, and the grain-fed bison had ratios of 21 to one.

Additional studies by others clearly show that the longer cattle are fed grain, the greater the fatty acid imbalance. For instance, after 200 days in the feedlot grain-fed cattle have omega 6 to omega 3 ratios that exceed 20 to one. Many cattle are fed 200 days or more in the United States.

With the scientific data that has been published concerning omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids, we must assume grass-fed beef is far better for human nutrition than grain-fed beef. If so, then having access to grass-fed beef can be very beneficial for one's health.

And since REAL Beef has been raised naturally, without hormones, and without having been fed antibiotics during the final phase of their lives, they have added benefits.

Why Not Get Your Omega 3 Fats From Fish?

Fish, while generally a leaner food choice than beef, is heavily promoted as a good source of the omega-3 fats.

The problem with fish is that over half of the US burns coal to generate electricty and 80,000 pounds of mercury is dumped into the oceans every year as a result.

Nearly all fish are contaminated with mercury. It has gotten so bad that even the conservative US government warns pregnant women to avoid eating fish. Additionally, it is my recommendation to avoid all fish, unless you are absolutely certain that it has been tested in a laboratory and shown not to contain detectable levels of mercury and other toxins.

REAL Beef is Grass Fed Beef and a Major Source of Omega 3 fats

When we switch from grainfed to grassfed meat, then, we are simply returning to the diet of our long-ago ancestors, the diet that is most in harmony with our physiology. Every cell and every system of our bodies will function better when we eat products from animals raised on grass.

Grass-fed beef is naturally leaner than grain-fed beef.

Omega 3s in beef that feed on grass is 7% of the total fat content, compared to 1% in grain-only fed beef.

Grass-fed beef has the recommended ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats (3:1.)

Grass-fed beef is loaded with other natural minerals and vitamins, plus it's a great source of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) a fat that reduces the risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes, and a number of immune disorders.

Beef, in its natural grass-fed state, is a health food of the highest order.

2010-01-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

If you haven't made your way over to Mark's Daily apple there is a wealth of information there!!
Here is his latest blog post which breaks down oils the good the bad and the not so healthy!!
There is also a a great blog post regarding Coconuts swing by there when you have a chance. WWW.Marksdailyapple.com

The Definitive Guide to Oils

Before you can hope to make it as a speculator and start slingin’ barrels for big money, you’ve got to understand exactly what’s gushing forth from the earth’s crust. Yes, that’s right – it doesn’t start and stop just with crude, and there’s far more to oil than dinosaur bones. In fact, most experts agree that the bulk of crude oil is derived from prehistoric single-celled plankton remains. Then you’ve got the abiogenic theory, which posits that…

Er, wrong oils. Sorry.

Today’s post is actually about edible oils. Well, they’re all technically edible – they can all be swallowed and digested – but as for being palatable, let alone healthful? That remains to be seen. Not all oils are created equal, especially given the fact that most of the ones people use nowadays are actually created in an industrial laboratory. No oil “exists naturally,” mind you. Olive oil isn’t harvested by leaving open containers under leaking, dripping olives on the branch, nor is that liquid sloshing around inside a coconut pure oil. I’m not trying to disparage processing in and of itself. It takes a certain amount of processing to get any sort of oil, but a good general rule is to avoid consuming the oils that require processing on a large scale. If it involves an industrial plant, multiple stainless steel vats, a deodorizer, a de-gummer, and the harsh petroleum-derived solvent known as hexane, I wouldn’t eat it. But that’s just me (and Grok, who probably wasn’t processing wild rapeseed to get the precious canola oil).

But this is the Definitive Guide to Oils. Everything goes. No stone left unturned. No oil left un-tasted and bereft of analysis for fatty acid profile, oxidative potential, and rancidity proclivity.

Canola

Canola oil comes from rapeseed, a completely unpalatable seed rich in erucic acid, which is bitter and rather toxic. Canola oil is rapeseed oil stripped of erucic acid, as I detailed in this previous post. It gets a lot of attention from doctors as a “heart healthy” oil (one of the “good” fats) rich in omega-3s, but the fact that canola processing generally uses upwards of 500 degrees means a good portion of the Omega-3s could be rancid on the shelf.

61% MUFA
21% Omega-6 PUFA
9-11% Omega-3 PUFA
7% SFA

Flax Seed

I mentioned the seed and its oil a few times, and, after being initially supportive of flax consumption, I now recommend minimizing intake. People generally use flax oil as an Omega-3 supplement, rather than for cooking – and this is a good choice, seeing as how flax is almost entirely made of PUFAs, which are prone to rancidity and oxidation when exposed to heat. Meat eaters, though, would be better off just taking fish oil. The DHA and EPA in fish oil are far more useful than the ALA in flax seed oil. Strict vegetarians, have at it – just don’t use flax seed oil to sautee your tofu.

19% MUFA
24% Omega-6 PUFA
47% Omega-3 PUFA (from ALA)
8-9% SFA

Corn

Corn oil boggles my mind. I can’t wrap my head around how extracting gallons upon gallons of liquid oil from a lowly corncob is actually possible. How isn’t it too much work for the payoff? I mean, I’m no corn eater, but I’ve chomped a few kernels in my day, and I don’t understand how squeezing oil out of this non-vegetable sounds like a good idea to anyone.

24% MUFA
59% PUFA (mostly O-6)
13% SFA

Olive (and variations)

Olive oil got a pretty good breakdown last year, so unless I’m leaving out some recent momentous news breaking out of the highly secretive olive oil world, there’s not much more to say. It’s a delicious salad oil, a decent sautéing oil, and it can even be used as moisturizer and shaving lotion. Olive oil is one area where CW gets it right. Enjoy this one, and keep a bottle of extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil on hand for salad dressings. It also does a decent job standing up to heat, but will lose it’s delicate flavors if heated too high. This is a good enough reason for me to use a different fat/oil when cooking at high temps. (Why waste precious (and often expensive!) olive oil when lard, for instance, will do the trick?)

73% MUFA
3.5-21% Omega-6 PUFA
1% Omega-3 PUFA (not even worth mentioning, really)
14% SFA

Coconut

MDA’s darling, coconut oil is truly a star. I went over why yesterday, and in past posts, but the gist of it is this: it’s a tasty, shelf-stable (no hydrogenation required) tropical oil with a ton of saturated fatty acids. In fact, it’s almost purely saturated, which is why most doctors and nutritionists will probably advise against its consumption. Not us, though. We love SFA. The refined coconut oil stands up to heat a bit better, and it doesn’t have a distinctive taste, but I can’t recommend it. Unrefined virgin oil is a murky, cloudy mess – but a delicious, creamy mess. Eat the unrefined by the spoonful.

6.2% MUFA
1.6% PUFA
92.1% SFA

Palm

Palm oil is controversial; just check out the comments section on my last post on the subject. Many palm oil plantations encroach upon the rapidly dwindling natural habitats of the orangutan, which are already in short supply in this world. The consensus seems to be that sustainable palm oil, especially the more complex, nutritious unrefined red palm oil, can be found. You’ve just got to look a little harder at the labels. West African red palm oil, for example, is considered to be pretty safe environmentally. Oh, and palm oil is also highly saturated and heat stable. Red palm oil is also stable, but it deserves special mention for its nutrient density – lots of CoQ10, Vitamin E, and SFAs.

39% MUFA
11% PUFA
50% SFA

Fish

Fish oil is another one of the widely accepted “good” fats. This time, though, we agree with Conventional Wisdom. The Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are unequivocally beneficial to us. They help balance our O6-O3 ratios (to a more appropriate, pre-agricultural level), while they also promote proper cell function, good lipid numbers, and improved insulin sensitivity. To bone up on more fish oil information, check out my Definitive Guide on the subject.

EPA and DHA levels vary by brand and type of fish. Check the label for yourself, or look at this handy table if you’re getting your fish oil from actual seafood.

Avocado

Who doesn’t love a plump avocado with the right amount of give? If you can’t get your hands on a good one, the next best thing might be a bottle of avocado oil. Its fatty acid profile is similar to that of olive oil, but it has an even higher smoke point, making it a decent choice for cooking. Personally, I still wouldn’t use it for high heat cooking. The light, subtle taste lends itself far better to salad dressing, if you ask me. Buy in dark bottles to minimize oxidation.

70% MUFA
12% Omega-6 PUFA
1% Omega-3 PUFA
12% SFA

Walnut

Walnut oil is one of the better tasting nut oils. It is high in Omega-6s, sure, but walnut oil isn’t something you’re going to use every day, or even every week. The stuff tastes great, though, and a small splash goes a long way at the end of a cooking session or onto a tossed salad. I definitely would advise against using this on a regular basis, especially for cooking, and you should always store it in a dark, cool spot in the house. For those that “do dairy”, try mixing a bit with some full-fat Greek yogurt, or unsweetened fresh whipped cream and berries: amazing.

23% MUFA
53% Omega-6 PUFA
10% Omega-3 PUFA
9% SFA

Macadamia Nut

I love this oil, but I also love the parent nut. The oil assumes the buttery, smooth, rich flavor of the macadamia nut, making it an interesting – but favorable – choice for salad dressings. It’s also remarkably high in MUFAs and low in PUFAs, so it won’t throw your ratios all out of whack. Makes a surprisingly good homemade mayonnaise, and can be used to sauté and cook in a pinch. The only drawback is its price; macadamia nut oil can get expensive.

71% MUFA
10% PUFA
12% SFA

Sesame Seed

The premier “flavor oil.” Sesame seed oil, especially the toasted variety, offers an unmatched and irreplaceable flavor profile. Certain Asian dishes work best with a bit of sesame oil, but if you’re wary of using it over high heat (which you probably should be), you can always add it to the dish after cooking. Despite the high PUFA content, sesame oil also contains a ton of antioxidants that can help minimize heat oxidation. I wouldn’t use this more than semi-regularly, though. Good to keep in your pantry (or fridge), but not an everyday item.

43% MUFA
43% PUFA
14% SFA

Peanut

Restaurants like to tout that they use “healthy” peanut oil in their deep fryers. Okay, the relatively MUFA-rich peanut oil may be a better choice than corn or sunflower oil for high heating, but it’s still a legume (already off limits) oil prone to rancidity. In the UK, it’s known as groundnut oil. Avoid both.

46% MUFA
32% PUFA
17% SFA

Sunflower Seed

Insanely high in PUFAs with little to no Omega-3s to balance them out, sunflower seed oil is a pretty bad choice for sauteeing, baking, roasting, and even salad making. Trouble is it’s everywhere, and it has a reputation for being healthy. Just don’t keep the stuff in your house (not a problem; it’s flavorless, odorless, and completely boring), and keep dining out in cheap chain restaurants to a minimum (or you could do what I do and request everything be cooked in butter), and you should be able to avoid sunflower seed oil.

19% MUFA
63% PUFA
10% SFA

Safflower

Like sunflower seed oil but worse, the oil derived from the “bastard saffron” is about 75% Omega-6 PUFAs with not a speck of Omega-3 in sight. It’s also lower in MUFAs and SFAs. What’s not to dislike?

14% MUFA
75% PUFA
6% SFA

Cottonseed

At least most of the oils I’ve mentioned come from technically edible plants, in some form or another. Cottonseed oil, however, comes from cotton. You know, the stuff that shirts are made of? Yeah. It’s everywhere, from margarines to cereal to shortening to frozen desserts to bread, because it’s cheaper than other oils (you can thank its status as one of Monsanto’s big four genetically modified crops for that) and it only needs “partial hydrogenation” to maintain stability. Luckily, that won’t be an issue for PBers who already avoid all that stuff in the first place. Warn your friends and family, though.

17% MUFA
52% PUFA
26% SFA

Grape Seed

Skip this stuff. It does have a buttery taste, and it gets a lot of hype as a worthy replacement for olive oil, but it’s got high oxidation potential, especially if you follow the recommended instructions and use it for deep frying or high heat sauteeing. It’s rather pricey, too, so there’s no good reason to use it.

16% MUFA
70% PUFA
9% SFA

Soybean Oil

Soybean oil is about as ubiquitous as corn and canola (again, thanks to Monsanto). In fact, you’ll often see an ingredient list include “canola and/or soybean oil.” Huh? Do food manufacturers honestly not know what kind of fat is going into their product? Best avoid the crapshoot and skip anything that “might contain” soybean oil altogether. The fact that it’s often partially hydrogenated suppresses my appetite even further. No thanks.

23% MUFA
51% Omega-6 PUFA
6% Omega-3 PUFA
14% SFA

As you can tell, seed and nut oils probably shouldn’t make up a significant portion of your diet. Some, like coconut, olive, macadamia, palm, avocado, and fish, are great, but the vast majority of oils are unnatural and way too high in PUFAs. And just remember, with some of the more questionable/borderline oils, a little bit goes a long way.

I haven’t covered every edible oil known to humankind in this article. For information on other oils reference these tables and start up a discussion in the comment board or the forum.

What are your preferred edible oils and why? Let me know your thoughts. Grok on!

P.S. If you liked this article share it with your friends by clicking the “Share This” link below.

2010-01-18T18:48:00.000-08:00

Ok this was so funny I had to post the article here... While it may not have a ton of nutritional info its still damn funny.... I will post some more in depth nutritional info from Mark later today!!

From an article posted on www.MarksDailyApple.com

An Open Letter to Taco Bell

Dear Taco Bell,

It has come to my attention that you have recently created a Drive-Thru Diet. You are clearly taking bold new steps to change the way Americans view healthy eating, so I am writing this letter to express my gratitude and enthusiasm and to offer insight for further improvement.

I first noticed your “Drive-Thru Diet” ad on a billboard outside of a childrens’ extra-curricular learning studio in west Los Angeles. Ever the inquiring mind, I visited Tacobell.com for some heavy research. I read Christine Dougherty’s 80 word story about losing 50 lbs over 2 years with Taco Bell. Very convincing. Then I watched TV personality Chris Rose interview four paid actors, and every single actor praised Taco Bell’s seven healthy Fresco menu items. Next I learned from registered dietitian Ruth Carey that some food choices are nutritionally better than others. These people clearly weren’t lying. The Drive-Thru Diet looked legitimate, so I decided to make a Frescolution. I hit a road block when attempting to fill out my pledge. The form required me to fill out “what I know.” I attempted to write, “I live a healthy lifestyle based on the 10 immutable Primal laws validated by two million years of human evolution…,” but Taco Bell overrode that with, “My idea of exercise involves the all-you-can-eat buffet marathon.” Oh well, I suppose what I know isn’t nearly as important as eating Taco Bell Fresco menu items.

So here I am, having soaked up the thorough and detailed information on your website, almost ready to embark on my two year plan of eating Taco Bell food every day. However, I have a few simple questions before starting such an exciting, healthy journey.

First, I am slightly confused by the math of calorie reduction. I understand that a Fresco taco is 20 calories less than a regular taco (kudos for that feat of engineering!). If I am trying to reduce my daily consumption by 500 calories by eating Fresco tacos rather than regular tacos, does that mean I need to eat 25 Fresco tacos a day? (20 calorie reduction x 25 = 500 calorie reduction). That means I need to eat roughly six tacos a meal, including, of course, fourthmeal. Speaking of which…

I am still trying to work out the logistics of fourthmeal. If I eat fourthmeal after midnight, is it technically firstmeal? In calculating daily calories, which day does fourthmeal count for? If I eat fourthmeal at the stroke of midnight, does it count for both days or neither? And also, if I eat fourthmeal every day, when do I sleep?

Finally, what exactly did Christine eat? If I know the combination of Taco Bell choices she made, I would feel much more confident moving forward. Did she keep a food log?

Once you have answered my questions, I will be delighted to fulfill my Frescolution.

Additionally, while I have no criticism of your company or your dietary philosophy, I do see room for improvement in your quest to convert American eaters into healthy decision makers. Below, I’ve listed a few possible menu adjustments…

1. A “Sans Queso!”option

After close scrutiny of your seven Fresco menu items, I discovered the secret to your revolutionary way of creating healthy foods: You replace the cheese with tomatoes. I’m no food lab scientist, but with careful engineering it seems you could apply the Cheese Removal Principle to not just seven menu items, but to every single product you offer. Call it “Sans Queso!” and you’ve got an entire menu full of super-healthy foods. Want a healthy Mexican pizza? Sans Qeuso! it. Sans queso! that volcano nachos and you’ve turned a 1,000 calorie item into a 920 calorie health food. It’s not a reduction of quantity, it’s an upgrade of health. You can even charge an extra thirty cents to Sans Queso! a food. The new anti-supersize.

2. A calorie total at purchase – All your food items have calorie amounts the same as they have prices. How hard would it be to include a function on the cash register that adds up the total calories of the foods purchased and prints it on the receipt? Heck, take it a step further and tell the customer directly, “Your total is $8.76 and your calorie total is 2,400. Would you like to Sans Queso! your meal for an extra thirty cents?” Bam. Satisfied customer, more profit, and less wasted ingredients. Is that genius or what?

3. Salsa – I’m not one to make rude accusations, but it does occur to me that you are a Mexican restaurant without a salsa bar. I do respect your little border sauce packets of modified food starch, autolyzed yeast extract, sugar, onion juice, and xantham gum, but including a secondary option of fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, and tomatillas could improve both taste and the amount of nutrients your customers consume. So get yourself a salsa bar. People like salsa and they like bars, it’s a win-win.

4. An “UnFried Salad” – The traditional Taco Bell Mexican salad sits in an edible bowl of fried enriched bleached flour and corn. That fried bowl sits in a second, plastic bowl. I suggest removing the edible bowl and placing the salad directly into the plastic bowl. You may have concerns about the way customers will react to this “one bowl” concept. The problem can be solved easily by using a “do not eat this bowl” warning label. Fill the plastic bowl with a bed of lettuce, grilled chicken, salsa from your newly installed salsa bar, and a couple slices of avocado (the fresh kind, not the green stuff I’ve seen your employees squeeze out of a caulking gun) That’s a healthy menu item if ever there was one. Sans Queso! that salad for thirty cents and make it even healthier.

5. Water – I can’t help but notice the 32 oz cup of Diet Pepsi that accompanies all the pictures of your Fresco menu foods. Have you considered creating a 32 oz cup that says, “Water!” I’ve never seen a fast food water cup before. Taco Bell could be the first.

6. Rename all products according to the Gordita methodology

I’d never heard of a Gordita before you added one to your menu. I had to pull out the old translation dictionary to learn that “gordita” is Spanish for “chubby.” What a brilliant concept! Right there in the name of the food you’ve included a warning for how the food will make you look and feel. I love it! You should rename other menu items to include similar warnings. A nacho bell grande could be called an “estomago grande,” a caramel empanada could be a “caramel diabetica,” and a mexican pizza could simply be “El Diarrea.”

7. A weekly taco limit – Like the bartender who cuts off the alcoholic, set a hard limit on the number of tacos a customer can buy. Consult Ruth Carey, your registered dietitian, and figure out how many tacos a week someone must eat to remain healthy. Never sell a customer more than that number.

Last, but certainly not least…

8. TELL PEOPLE WHERE YOUR MEAT COMES FROM – Consumers are fickle, skeptical doubters, and I’m sure you’ve heard some of the rumors and urban legends surrounding the origins of your meat. To jog your memory, there have been claims that your meat is of lower quality than dog food meat; that it contains feces; that there are fingernail fragments, human blood, ash, worm, copper wire residue, cellophane, and bits of Jimmy Hoffa floating around in your meat. While I’m fairly certain these accusations are false, I was unable to find any information on your website as to meat origin and quality. I even called your hotline, with no further success. Why not replace one of the 3 giant 5 layer burrito posters on each store using the third to show a picture of the grass fed, grass finished cows that I’m sure you use to make those burritos.

I do realize making these changes may take a small upfront investment. Because I feel as responsible for America’s health as I’m sure you do, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. If you make all eight of the suggested changes, I will donate $10,000 to a charity of your choice (perhaps the American Diabetes Association?). Thank you for reading my letter and for creating a diet that does not require me to leave my car. Maybe one day you will take the next step by creating a “Delivery Diet” so I won’t have to leave my house.

Yours in good health,

Mark Sisson

FOOD LOGS

2010-01-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

Teams Make sure you are getting you log into you Group coaches early this week so they can tweak anything that may not be @ the right level.... If you are having trouble with figuring out how much you should be eating and in what percentages it should be evident and something your coach can fix quickly. Again I plead with you to be completely honest with your coach, them tweaking your diet with incomplete data could be detrimental to your goal.... I wish all of you the best of luck and remember when you fall there is only one thing you can do .. get back up!!! Keep up the good work!! When you do want to stray just go to this webpage... hopefully it will have the same affect on you as it does on me .. the last thing I want to do is eat!! The name of the site is not exactly politically correct but the site itself does its job....
Kill your craving

Why Paleo??

2010-01-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

Some answers to why we prefer the Paleo Diet or Paleo based zone.. Somethings you might not know about food. This is an in depth look @ some of the info we fed you during the nutrition seminar.

Paleolithic Diet buffs refer to the new foods as Neolithic foods and the old as Paleolithic Diet foods. In simple terms we see Neolithic as (bad) Agricultural age and Paleolithic as (good) Stone age. Since then, some other substances have entered the diet- particularly salt and sugar, and more recently a litany of chemicals including firstly caffeine then all other additives, colourings, preservatives, pesticides etc.

Grains, Beans and Potatoes (GBP) share the following important characteristics:

· Cooking destroys most but not all of the toxins. Insufficient cooking can lead to sickness such as acute gastroenteritis.

· They are all rich sources of carbohydrate, and once cooked this is often rapidly digestible-giving a high glycemic index (sugar spike).

· They are extremely poor sources of vitamins (particularly vitamins A, B-group, folic acid and C), minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols.

Therefore diets high in grains beans and potatoes (GBP):

· Contain toxins in small amounts

· Have a high glycemic index (ie have a similar effect to raw sugar on blood glucose levels)

· Are low in many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols- ie they are the original "empty calories"

· Have problems caused by the GBP displacing other foods

As grains, beans and potatoes form such a large proportion of the modern diet, you can now understand why it is so common for people to feel they need supplements or that they need to detoxify (ie that they have toxins in their system)- indeed both feelings are absolutely correct. Unfortunately, we don’t necessarily realize which supplements we need, and ironically when people go on detoxification diets they unfortunately often consume even more Neolithic foods (eg soy beans) and therefore more toxins than usual (perhaps they sometimes benefit from a change in toxins).

The reason why grains, beans and potatoes store so well is simply because of the toxins that they contain. The enzyme blockers put them into a deep freeze, stopping them from sprouting. The lectins and other toxins are natural pesticides and can attack bacteria, insects, worms, rodents and other pests (and humans too of course).

They also have a knack for bypassing our defenses and "getting behind the lines", and then they can travel all over the body causing harm. They can, for example:

--strip protective mucus off tissues,

--damage the cells lining the small intestine- disrupting the microscopic fingers called villi and microvilli,

--get swallowed whole by the small intestine cells ("pinocytosis")

--bind to cells including blood cells causing a clot to form (hence they were initially called "haemagglutins")

--make a cell act as if it has been stimulated by a hormone-

--stimulate a cell to secrete a hormone

--promote cell division at the wrong time

--cause gowth or shrinkage of lymphatic tissue ("outposts" of white blood cells)

--cause enlargement of the pancreas

--cause cells to present codes (HLA's) that they normally should not use

--cause cell death (apoptosis)

Excerpts from studies done by Dr. Ben Balzer

Enough about the bad stuff lets eat!!!

Stir Fried Beef with Vegetables

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 clove garlic, pressed

12 ounces boneless sirloin steak, trimmed of all visible fat, thinly sliced

¼ cup burgundy wine

1 yellow onion cut thinly into wedges

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into slender strips

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 ounces of sliced mushrooms

4 ounces thinly sliced carrots

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Sauté the beef in the oil with garlic and half of the red wine until the beef is browned. Remove from skillet. Heat the residual oil in the skillet. Sauté the onion, celery, red pepper, and carrots until the onion is tender – about 4 minutes. Add the remainder of the red wine. Add the mushrooms; stir-fry everything together for about another 3 minutes. Combine the vegetables with the meat.

2010-01-15T23:37:00.000-08:00

Great article on Paleolithic (Caveman) Eating. I got it from the New York Times, I hope they don't get mad ...LOL

The New Age Cavemen and the City

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times: at the American Museum of Natural History

LIKE many New York bachelors, John Durant tries to keep his apartment presentable — just in case he should ever bring home a future Mrs. Durant. He shares the fifth-floor walk-up with three of his buddies, but the place is tidy and he never forgets to water the plants.

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Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times

NEW ICE AGE Meat storage for John Durant's paleo diet.

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Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times

PRIMAL FITNESS Vladimir Averbukh eats raw grass-fed beef and strengthens on a city jungle gym.

The one thing that Mr. Durant worries might spook a female guest is his most recent purchase: a three-foot-tall refrigerated meat locker that sits in a corner of his living room. That is where he keeps his organ meat and deer ribs.

Mr. Durant, 26, who works in online advertising, is part of a small New York subculture whose members seek good health through a selective return to the habits of their Paleolithic ancestors.

Or as he and some of his friends describe themselves, they are cavemen.

The caveman lifestyle, in Mr. Durant’s interpretation, involves eating large quantities of meat and then fasting between meals to approximate the lean times that his distant ancestors faced between hunts. Vegetables and fruit are fine, but he avoids foods like bread that were unavailable before the invention of agriculture. Mr. Durant believes the human body evolved for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and his goal is to wean himself off what he sees as many millenniums of bad habits.

These urban cavemen also choose exercise routines focused on sprinting and jumping, to replicate how a prehistoric person might have fled from a mastodon.

In a city crowded with vegetarian restaurants and yoga studios, the cavemen defy other people’s ideas of healthy living. There is an indisputable macho component to the lifestyle.

“I didn’t want to do some faddish diet that my sister would do,” Mr. Durant said.

The caveman lifestyle in New York was once a solitary pursuit. But Mr. Durant, who looks like a cheerful Jim Morrison, with shoulder-length curly hair, has emerged over the last year as a chieftain of sorts among 10 or so other cavemen. He has cooked communal dinners in his apartment on East 90th Street and taught others to make jerky from his meat locker.

The tribe is not indigenous to New York. Several followers of the lifestyle took up the practice after researching health concerns online and discovering descriptions of so-called paleolithic diets and exercise programs followed by people around the country and in Europe. The group’s lone woman, Melissa McEwen, 23, was searching for a treatment for stomach troubles. She started reading the blog of a 72-year-old retired economics professor who lives in Utah, Arthur De Vany.

Mr. De Vany’s blog promotes what he calls Evolutionary Fitness. Like his disciples in New York, he believes that ancient humans could perform physical feats that would awe the gym rats of today.

His followers believe that he too is capable of fearsome feats. When Mr. Durant told a gathering of New York cavemen that he had seen Mr. De Vany at a seminar in Las Vegas, Matthew Sanocki, 34, asked if Mr. De Vany looked as muscular in the flesh as in pictures on his blog.

“He looks great,” Mr. Durant said. “You feel like he could, at a moment’s notice, charge at you and trample you.”

Already, the New York cavemen are getting attention from the patriarchs of the paleo movement. One such figure, Erwan Le Corre, a Frenchman whom the magazine Men’s Health said “may rank as one of the most all-around physically fit men on the planet,” stopped by Mr. Durant’s while visiting the city in December. The men sealed their friendship with what both described as a bare-chested — and in Mr. Le Corre’s case, barefoot — run across the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges on a frigid night.

Mr. Le Corre, 38, who once made soap for a living, promotes what he calls “mouvement naturel” at exercise retreats in West Virginia and elsewhere. His workouts include scooting around the underbrush on all fours, leaping between boulders, playing catch with stones, and other activities at which he believes early man excelled. These are the “primal, essential skills that I believe everyone should have,” he said in an interview.

Loren Cordain, a professor at Colorado State University and the author of “The Paleo Diet,” links the movement to a 1985 New England Journal of Medicine article, which proclaimed that the “diet of our remote ancestors may be a reference standard for modern human nutrition.”

Another source of paleo converts is CrossFit, a fitness program known for grueling workouts combining weightlifting and gymnastics. CrossFit trainers, who teach at more than 1,200 gyms and other affiliates across the country, generally encourage clients to follow either a caveman diet or the Zone diet, which requires tracking calories. “Some of the gyms have hardcore paleo folks, and if you’re a member of that gym then you’re paleo, while other gyms are hardcore Zone,” said Anthony Budding, who manages the content on CrossFit.com.

Experts in early humans dispute some of the tenets of latter-day paleos, including the belief that fasting is beneficial and that the body is unequipped to handle an agriculture-based diet.

Still, there is a “sharp contrast” between the strength and fitness of our distant ancestors and us, said Clark Larsen, a physical anthropologist at Ohio State University. “The male or female of 12,000 to 15,000 years ago will be considerably stronger and in better shape,” he said. Unfortunately, life was short: If you made it to age 30 or so, you had done well.

New York might seem a challenging environment for the aspiring caveman. Entire professions, oblivious to the rising and setting of the sun, toil in the glare of computer monitors. More to the point, the city has gone so far as to outlaw both hunting and gathering, at least when committed in a city park. Uprooting a plant, snatching a bird egg or trapping a squirrel in a park are misdemeanors punishable by up to 90 days of jail.

“I like New York, but it’s hard to sit in a Midtown office all day,” said Ms. McEwen, a slim brunette, who prefers the term “hunter-gatherer” to describe her lifestyle.

But the surprising consensus of the paleos is that the city is a paradise.

“New York is the only city in America where you can walk,” said Nassim Taleb, an investor who gained a measure of celebrity for his theories, described in “The Black Swan,” that extreme events can roil financial markets. “People treat walking like exercise,” he said, “but walking is how humans become humans.”

Mr. Taleb, who rejects the label “caveman” in favor of “paleo,” avoids offices (including his own) as much as he can. He prefers to think on the go. Dressed in a tweed coat and Italian loafers, this paleo man is a flâneur, sometimes walking miles a day, ranging from SoHo to 86th Street.

Instead of eating three square meals a day, many of New York’s cavemen fast intermittently, up to 36 hours at a stretch. Fasting is a topic of banter at the Union Square West apartment where Matthew Sanocki and his brother, Andrew, live and run design-related e-commerce Web sites.

“Are you going for a 24?” Matthew might ask Andrew, describing a fast by its duration in hours.

Andrew Sanocki, 38, a former Navy officer, explained that he preferred working out on an empty stomach near the end of a fast, and then following up with a large meal. This is a common caveman schedule, intended to reflect the exertion that ancient humans put into finding food. It is as if, Mr. Sanocki explained, “we’ve gone out and killed something, and now we have to eat it.”

Another caveman trick involves donating blood frequently. The idea is that various hardships might have occasionally left ancient humans a pint short. Asked when he last gave blood, Andrew Sanocki said it had been three months. He and his brother looked at each other. “We’re due,” Andrew said.

Most of the cavemen at Mr. Durant’s gatherings are lean and well-muscled, and have glowing skin. A few wear trim beards. Some claim that they no longer get sick. Several identify themselves as libertarians.

They regularly grumble about vegans, whom they regard as a misguided, rival tribe. But much of the conversation is spent parsing the law of the jungle. The most severe interpretations generally come from Vladimir Averbukh, a jaunty red-headed Web manager for the city who was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Upon visiting Mr. Durant’s apartment for the first time, in August, Mr. Averbukh scowled at a tomato plant on his host’s roof deck.

“Cavemen don’t eat nightshades,” Mr. Averbukh, 29, said. He explained that tomatoes are part of the nightshade family, arguing that they are native to the New World and could not have been part of humanity’s earliest diet. Mr. Durant shrugged. (Mr. Durant said later that there was nothing uncavemannish about eating tomatoes.)

Mr. Averbukh is a pre-Promethean sort of caveman. Much of his nourishment comes from grass-fed ground beef, which he eats raw. In a bow to the times, he sometimes uses a fork.

The other cavemen in New York find Mr. Averbukh’s preference for raw beef a little strange.

“I draw the line at sushi,” Andrew Sanocki said. “Paleo man had fire, didn’t he?”

Beyond Mr. Durant’s tribe, it is likely that other New Yorkers are practicing a milder, diet-focused version of the lifestyle. An Upper East Side physician, Grant Macaulay, said he has recommended the diet to hundreds of his patients, and sends them to Barnes & Noble to buy a copy of Mr. Cordain’s “Paleo Diet.”

But these computer-savvy cavemen are not interested in living off the grid, like others who share their ambivalence toward the indoor life. And their eating and exercise habits aside, the cavemen say they have no nostalgia for the prehistoric world.

Mr. Averbukh, who drives around town in a red Smart Car, said the thought of “throwing yourself in the forest with a stick and seeing how long you survive” held no appeal.

The cavemen are happy in the modern world, they say, but simply want to regain the fortitude that they attribute to their ancient ancestors.

“The problem is that as soon as we get out of our temperature-controlled environments, we’re weak,” Mr. Durant said. “Where’s that wildness that allowed humans to flourish throughout history?”

With this view of humanity’s past, what does Mr. Durant see in his future? One idea is a restaurant called B.C. or Wild. Just in case he develops the right business model, Mr. Durant has bought the domain name hunter-gatherer.com.

2010-01-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

Some cool links for around the net. Especially take note of Fitday.com this is a log book that keeps track of all the data you need to be concerned about!!

The Paleo Diet
Paleo Food
My Paleo Kitchen

Paleo Plan

14 January 2010

2010-01-13T02:34:00.000-08:00

All I have for you guys tonight is to post your name and email into the comments so that your team coach can get in contact with you.
oh I do have another thing here is a food log you can use if you need a format. The block section is only if you have chosen Zone or I guess you could use it to give your ounces or grams of macronutrient.
Printable Food Log (Robb Wolf)

13 January 2010

2010-01-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

Ok so this blog is here for all of you doing the Lean Up Challenge! Hopefully it will be a great resource for all of you to exchange recipes, ask questions, share successes and most important support each other!!! This is one of the hardest things you will ever do! Quitting smoking, not drinking they both pale in comparison to changing something you have done habitually for a lifetime EAT. So please feel free to post in the comments and if you have something great to add please just ask me (or your coach) and I will give you the log in info so you can make your own post to the blog!! We will also try to give you all the help we can providing recipes and posting logs of what we are eating.... You didn't think you were going to have to do this alone did you?

So this one was from a couple weeks ago but it was damn good so I thought I would post it here.
1 Boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
1 bunch of Red Leaf Lettuce
1/2 Can of Coconut Milk
1 Avocado
1 tomato

Ok so put the coconut milk in a skillet and bring to boil add the chicken after you halve and then quarter it. If you like it spicy add a little bit of curry paste. Let the chicken cook in the coconut milk and leave until the oil separates, burns off and leaves a batter like crust on the chicken (careful it can go from milk to burn quickly so keep an eye on it). Dice both your avocado and tomato and mix together, if you have some cilantro throw it in there too, you can never go wrong with cilantro! Put Some chicken, avocado and tomato all in a piece of lettuce and enjoy!!!