Blame It On The Grain

Ghht

2011-04-08T11:52:00.001-07:00

Happy day to all of you who are reading this blog post

Thursday is make you feel warm and fuzzy day!

2010-06-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

While I enjoyed a hot brew of coffee I perused the internet searching for something worth sharing with all of you. I've found a blog that follows Gary Rea, a mid 50's man who follows the Paleolithic diet for a year. He is from the Midwest U.S, here is the opening paragraph from his first post;

"I'm a fifty-five year old man and I was in good shape in my forties, doing strength training and walking six miles a day. Since then, I've developed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and, now, just two weeks ago, I was informed that I am a type 2 diabetic. That's the bad news." Link to that blog post found here

His starting weight was 233lbs. His final post describes a Mid fifties male who has taken his body back and has given himself a fresh start. Here is the post;

"Today marks day 365 of my paleo diet experience, one that has changed my life for the better in so many ways. In the year I've been eating a paleolithic diet of meats, fruits and vegetables (no grains, no dairy, no processed foods) my weight has dropped from 233 lbs to the 160 lbs I find myself at this morning. That's down a pound from last weekend, and it appears my weight will fluctuate in that range; i.e., right around 160 lbs, plus or minus, as long as I continue to eat this way (and why would I not?).

In addition, I have gone from a body fat percentage of...who knows what (I had a gut that made me look pregnant) to a body fat percentage of only 10.9%, as of this morning - down from 11.2% last weekend.

Furthermore, a year ago, I had just been diagnosed by my doctor as a type 2 diabetic, with a blood sugar reading of 218 ml/dcl. As of seven months ago, I was no longer diabetic and this morning I'm at a normal reading of 104 ml/dcl, though my readings have been lower than this. I could get more exercise than I have been, or increase my use of cinnamon and get it back down into the 90s or 80s very easily. But, the point is, I'm no longer suffering from what my doctor falsely called an "incurable disease" that I would supposedly have for the rest of my life. I think that was just his own wishful thinking. Gotta keep up those payments on his half-million dollar house, you know.

Finally, a year ago, my blood pressure was somewhere around 180/90 and this morning it's at a normal 115/72.

So, once again, I am living proof that the paleolithic diet works and works very well for weight loss, weight control, elimination of type 2 diabetes, correction of high blood pressure and high triglycerides, and the restoration of one's natural health. Today, aside from a little more gray and a little less hair, I look and feel pretty much as I did when I was in my thirties - except that I have more lean muscle mass, less body fat and, oh yeah - I'm 56 years old.

So, the bottom line is, if you are obese, have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high triglycerides and other health problems that are the result of the diet you've been eating, the paleo diet can and will do for you what it has done for me - if you just give it a chance to.

Sure, you will have to stop eating many favorite "foods," but those "foods" were never part of the original human diet, prior to the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago. Grain products, dairy and, especially processed foods are not foods at all. Our stone age ancestors would never have recognized them as food and none of us were ever supposed to be eating them. If you have trouble with eliminating these "foods" from your diet, just remind yourself of what you have to gain - your good health and a longer life span (not to mention looking good naked), what you have to lose (a lot of fat and, with it, all your dietary diseases) and when the temptation to eat a bagel with cream cheese or a pizza strikes, just think of how you wind up feeling after eating such garbage. I can't eat that way any longer, myself, without my blood sugar immediately spiking and feeling like crap the rest of the day.

I'm leaving this blog here, as it is, for the benefit of all who wish to change their lives with the paleolithic diet, as I have. May you benefit from my experience and from the knowledge I've gained. Thank you for reading. "

So lets break this down together:
His weight went from 233lb to 160lb. 73lb in one year! On average 6 pounds a month. Gary explained he was not exercising as much as he could have been, 73lb in 12 months is still an amazing drop of weight.

His body fat % went from having a self diagnosed gut that made him look pregnant down to 10.9%. For arguments sake, lets say his % was 25-30%, he cut his body fat percentage by more than half. Almost down to single digit body fat %!

Blood sugar level was 218 ml/dcl down to 104 ml/dcl. Gary was diagnosed as a type two diabetic shortly before he started his year on the paleolithic diet. less than half a year into eating paleo he no longer had type two diabetes. Let that sink in, read it again. Take your time, its pretty amazing isn't it? A toted "incurable" disease by many doctors is fixed by eating the way our bodies are built to eat.

Last but not least, his blood pressure dropped from 180/90 to a normal 115/72.

What more needs to be said about this? Gary didn't base his diet on eating pomegranates, taking hydroxycut, or using the slapchop to chop his cares away. He ate meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. No grains, dairy and legumes. Look where dedication, and self control took him. Where can it take you? You should find out, stop making excuses about why you can't and tell yourself you can.

Eat more, save more.

2010-06-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Everyone is feeling the pinch these days, money is tight and it's hard to spend money that seems to be nonexistent. Sacrifices have to be made, but one sacrifice that should not be made is eating low quality food in the hopes of saving a few bucks. Cut back on many things but eating should not be one of them. The following are a few tips to buy high quality nutrient dense food at bargain prices.

When you look at the nifty food pyramid on the right side of this amazing blog (shameless self promotion I know) you should (as I do) use it as a guide food purchasing priorities. Meat is the most important, then vegetables, fruit, and lastly, nuts and seeds. The tip of the pyramid for my personal intake is a nice bottle or two of Chilean cab every month and Bud light, just delicious.

If you're bound to shopping at grocery stores there are prime hours to go. Going late at nights and weekend, namely Saturday and Sunday nights are key to purchase meats and vegetables. Most if not all meat and vegetables get replaced first thing Monday morning, which means almost all types of meat is put on sale because it's getting closer to its due date. There is nothing wrong with the meat, it can be frozen, cooked as is. The "best before" date is not set in stone, there's at least a few days in leeway. Check out websites like eatwild.org and Google local grass fed beef farms. They have the highest quality meat you can get, exponentially better than what you can get at big box supermarkets. Have a deep freezer, get a 1/4, 1/2 or custom boxes of meat, you'll save money and get better quality meat.

Fruits and vegetables are a bit trickier, I avoid all tropical fruits because its been shipped from the other end of the continent and or it's ridiculously expensive. I know at Superstore there's a 50% off shelf that usually has a good mix of apples, avocado's, and usually some vegetables. The best place to go is a local market/grocer, the store is basic and provides everything needed to eat clean and well balanced.

The cost for nuts and seeds adds up at the speed of light. Personally I can eat nuts and dried fruit to no end, but I pay the price with a huge spike and crash of energy. Dried fruit is loaded with natural and added sugar, it can be tasty in small doses but can be over consumed. The same with nuts and seeds, its a double edge sword- its tempting to eat large of nuts and seeds because they're so calorie dense with high levels of fat. The other side of that is eating lots of nuts and seeds can send your omega fats intake into a tail spin. It's best to measure fruit and nuts out and eat them in portions versus what I do, take handfuls nearly everytime I'm in the kitchen.

Make a list, check it twice and stick to it. Make good choices and your body will love you!

Is it that hard?

2010-06-14T02:56:00.000-07:00

Take a few minutes to think about how you eat. It (should be) the top of one's list priority wise. I've heard and read numerous times over that people say they can't cut out refined carbohydrates and gmo (genetically modified) food, they "need" it. When people that are say this they genuinely think they need these sources of empty calories, which is of course, nonsense. People don't need to eat pasta, "whole grains", cereal. Get that paper mache out of your mouth and change it up with a nice apple or a carrot.

Here's a sample of what I ate yesterday.
Breakfast- 3 whole eggs (eat your yolks), 3-4 ounces salmon, asparagus, broccoli, onion, garlic, yellow pepper. Coffee with coconut milk
a.m snack- bowl of blueberries, rasberries, 1/3 cup almonds
Lunch- leftover bbq from the night before- sausages and steamed vegetables- black coffee
p.m snack- beef jerky, granny smith apple
Supper- Rack of pork ribs, uncooked celery, broccoli
snack- walnuts, blueberries, apple with coconut milk.

That sounds terrible doesn't it? I wake up angry because I have to eat such delicious food all the time.

Step out of your comfortzone and try eating clean and real whole foods. The Whole9 has a really direct and well versed 30 day plan to change your eating habits and lifestyle. Everything is there, it's right in front of you. Think of how much better you will feel. 30 days?! I know, I'm already hearing people complain and making excuses about why they can't follow through. It might seem difficult, but it is worth it. Like anything in your life, you get what you put into it. Don't half-ass it because you're only cheating yourself. I'm going to copy and paste the "tough love" section of the whole9 30 day challenge post. Kudo's to Melissa Urban for writing such a complete manifesto.

It’s not that effing hard. (Yes, I wanted to throw an f-bomb in there.) Don’t you dare tell me this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is. Not. Hard. Substituting Sunday morning French toast in favor of a giant omelet and side of crispy bacon is not hard. Eating fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables every day is not hard. So I don’t want to hear one single complaint. You won’t get any coddling from me on this one, you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”, and you won’t get any second chances. Not in my house. It’s thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. So shut up and do it.
Don’t tell me you “slipped”. Unless you physically tripped and your face landed in a box of Krispy Kremes, you DID NOT SLIP. You made a choice to eat something of poor quality. It’s always a choice, so do not phrase it as if you had an accident. You make a poor choice, even once, you’re out. You don’t get to re-start, you don’t get to keep posting. Commit here, 100%, for the full 30 days, or go somewhere else.
Don’t lie to me. Don’t even try.
You never, ever, ever HAVE to eat anything you don’t want to eat. You’re all big boys and girls. Toughen up. Learn to say no. Learn to stick up for yourself. Just because it’s your Mom’s birthday, or your best friend’s wedding, or your company outing does not mean you “have” to eat crappy food. It’s always a choice, and I would hope that you stopped succumbing to peer pressure in 7th grade.
This does require a bit of effort, people. If you’re cutting grains and dairy for the first time, you have to replace those calories with something. You have to make sure you’re eating enough, that your vitamins and nutrients are balanced, that you’re getting enough protein, fat and carbohydrates. Don’t expect me to fill in the blanks for you. Figure it out. There are a ton of good resources out there, so take responsibility for your own plan. Improved health, fitness and performance doesn’t happen just because you’re now taking a pass on chocolate milk

Love you!

Authors@Google: Michael Pollan

2010-06-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

Get your priorities straight.

2010-06-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

All to often people justify eating terrible food with the following logic "buying fresh food, like meat and vegetables is too expensive, I can't afford it"

Follow the easy three step process and you'll be able to buy the right food in no time.
1. Do a few pushups, drink a nice glass of room temperature water, look in the mirror.
2. Look at what you spend your money on in the span of a month.
3. Stop making dumbass excuses and get your mind right you cretin.

As a functioning human being have to decide what's more important to you. Is it;
a) More important to you to look good
b) Eat clean food (meat, vegetables, local fruit, nuts & seeds) and feel great all the time.

If you chose answer A. Then keep eating your Special K cereal, buy your skin firming cream and keep making the same excuses you've been making for weeks, months, years.
Or, you can decide whats most important. It's never to late and everyone can always improve themselves. If you haven't figured it out yet, you should choose option B.

It all boils down to whats most important to you. You have to choose.
Here is my list of priorities.
1. Eating
2. Exercising
3. Having fun
4. Sleep
5. Striking out with girls. (I'm awesome at it, really.)

While the list might differ for most people, because we are all unique snowflakes, priorities 1-3 should be the same for everyone. You will have to sacrifice and change your lifestyle, but we both know change is needed, don't we?

Eating margarine makes you hate yourself.

2010-05-29T05:10:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your attention, listen in kids. One of the main reasons I'm losing faith in humanity (most of whom are well educated) is because I see people eat worthless "food" like margarine. I say it time and time again, your body is a temple. I know you're smart, so think and make the right choices.

Margarine became really popular a few decades ago with corporations and their pseudo researchers decided saturated fat and fats in general are terrible. Butter has and was used for the past few centuries as a staple in the daily intake of nearly everyone young and old. Once industry giants decided fat was the new devil they went to their labs, concocted this hydrogenated vegetable oil substitute, added some yellow coloring, some flavor extracts and hello! you've got yourself the new age Frankenstein substitute for butter. It (margarine) is a classic example of a product that makes health claims trying to promote itself. I've said it in previous posts, real food, not these bullshit gimmicks don't have to get on a soapbox to tell everyone how great they are.

Here are the ingredients for Margarine;
Liquid Soyabean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soyabean Oil, Water, Salt, Milk Solids, Monoglycerides, Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Anti-oxidants (BHA, BHT, TBHQ), Butter Flavour, Vitamins E, D & A, Citric Acid, Beta Carotene (colour).

Just so you know, BHT stands for- butylated hydroxytoluene, BHA stands for Beta Hydroxy Acid, TBHQ- tertiary butylhydroquinone. Do you know what any of those mean? Either do I.

Ask yourself, do those ingredients look natural? do you think all those chemicals going into your system do any good for you? I don't like eating "food" that has mystery ingredients. Don't get me started on Soy, if you see any Soy ingredient in food put it down and walk away.

Now, let's look at the ingredients for butter.
Milk, water, salt.

I don't need to say anything witty here. 3 ingredients versus 17. Case closed. You can also get butter unsalted which you'd need to refrigerate.

What would your great grandmother do if she saw you choosing margarine instead of butter? She'd slap you and say she's very disappointed with you as only a woman can do.

People are learning

2010-05-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

http://google.com/trends?q=paleo+diet

hurray!

and a great 3 minute video in my opinion from one of most articulate and knowledgeable writers around, Michael Pollan.

http://google.com/trends?q=paleo+diet

You love it.

Another good read

2010-05-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this website, http://www.frot.co.nz/dietnet/sports/getlean.htm

If you're to lazy to go to that site, read it here below.

For a sportsperson, carrying unnecessary weight will just hamper performance. 5 kilos of fat has the same effect as strapping a 5 kilo weight on your back. In some sports, even an extra 5 kilos of muscle is undesirable, if those muscles are not utilised for performance. So let's look at some ways we can get lean without losing strength. Once again, there are lots of experts with lots of different opinions. But are they any good....

Professional Road Cyclists

You may have scanned Velo News eagerly for tips on how the pros get skinny. And you won't have found much, because the professional cycling fraternity is pretty close-lipped about their performance secrets. We've pulled together any nuggets of info we could find, plus a little inside knowledge, and this is how we think they do it.

Firstly food - in the off season they eat pretty much what they want to, and get a bit out of shape, but hopefully not too much. Then when they start pre-season training they drastically cut back on calories, and most of what they do eat is carbohydrate - and carbs that are pretty low in food value at that : pasta, bread, etc. As you now know, carbohydrate is fuel, but doesn't help build a strong body.

When this limited amount of food is combined with the second ingredient, long hours of exercise, energy has to come from somewhere. So bodyfat levels start to decrease, but so does muscle. That's why most pro cyclists have very little upper body muscle - it's not needed for cycling, so it wastes away. Pro cyclists don't mind this too much, they don't need the strength, so upper body muscle is just extra weight to carry round.

But the downside of this (apart from making them look like concentration camp inmates) is that this level of emaciation comes from malnutrition. It's not just their muscles that are wasted - all of their body processes will be suffering. They can get away with it now, but in the future, their health will decline. How many pro cyclists continue to have good health after their racing years are over? I suspect not many.

The third ingredient is, of course, drugs. Drugs enable you to go like stink when your body hasn't got any energy left. It is well known that many pro cyclists take drugs. Using drugs for performance is like buying results on hire purchase - you get instant action, but pay big time later. Despite what the UCI may say, there are probably not many pro cyclists who are drug free.

So, take performance enhancing drugs, ride for several hours a day and eat some rice, pasta and a few donuts, but not enough to stop feeling hungry. You'll get skinny, sure as anything, but you'll lose muscle and compromise your health. Is it worth it?

Body Builders

Body builders have a two phase lead in to competition. First, there's the building stage. In this phase they want to build and shape as much muscle as possible. So they eat lots of protein, and a certain amount of carbs. Many of them don't do a lot of aerobic exercise, so depending on how disciplined (or well-advised) they are, they will build lots of muscle, but will also put on a certain amount of fat. At this stage, they will almost certainly be using creatine, and a lot of them will be using steroids as well.

Then comes the paring down phase. Now they will want to get their body fat down as low as it will go, while sacrificing the minimum of muscle. So they cut their carbs down to next to nothing, and eat a high protein, low carb, low fat diet (eg. protein & non-starchy veges for every meal, supplemented with protein drinks). And they get on the treadmill and run. Drugs they are likely to take at this stage are stimulants and appetite depressants.

This has quite a different effect to the cycling regime. When you eat lots of protein & not much else, your body goes into a state called ketosis and has to burn fat. As long as you keep stressing your muscles and eating protein, you won't lose too much muscle mass. It is important to drink huge amounts of water to wash away the toxic by-products of this kind of diet.

In the final day or so before competition, they will also deprive themselves of water, and probably take diuretics. By the time they get on stage, they are starving & dehydrated and as lean as it's humanly possible to be.

Other experts

These are two extreme ways to lose weight. Do you suppose there is a way we can get lean without sacrificing our health? I think there is, and I think it's different for everybody.

Elsewhere in the website, we look at different dietary regimes which are aimed at improving your health and vitality, but which claim weight loss as a spin-off. Let's now compare them, and see what common features they have.

Metabolic diets :	High protein, moderate fat, low carb for Hunter-Gatherers. Low to moderate protein, high carb, low fat for Agriculturists.
Michael Colgan :	Moderate protein, moderate-high carbs, low fat. Low intensity, high rep weight training plus low intensity, high duration aerobic exercise.
Stop the Insanity :	High carb, low-moderate protein, low fat (similar to Agriculturist). Moderate, but regular exercise.
Eat Right For Your Type :	O - High protein, moderate carb, moderate fat (similar to Hunter-Gatherer). Strenuous exercise.
	A - High carb, moderate protein, low fat (similar to Agriculturist). Vegetarian. Calming exercise.
	B - Omnivore - Moderate-high protein, moderate carbs, low fat
	AB - Moderate protein, moderate carbs, low fat. Moderate exercise combined with calming exercise.
The Zone :	Moderate protein, moderate carb, moderate fat. Being in the Zone will burn fat regardless - but high intensity burns most.
Liver Cleansing :	High carb, very low protein, low-moderate fat (similar to Agriculturist). Exercise not specified.
Chinese Nutrition :	This is a balancing diet, so recognises that people have different needs. Some of the yin/yang properties of foods line up quite similarly to the metabolic diets. No weight loss benefits are specifically claimed.
Food Combining :	This diet splits protein and carbohydrate without specifying how much of each you can eat. But you will eat a lot of veges with each meal, and may have all fruit meals, which are also carbs. So if you had carbs with some meals and protein with others, it would end up being high carb (similar to Agriculturist). If all your meals were protein meals, it would be high protein (similar to Hunter-Gatherer).
Raw and Natural Foods :	This way of eating merely suggests that the food should be organic, fresh and as close as possible to it's natural state. Leslie Kenton says herself that some people suit a diet high in animal protein, and some suit a diet high in grains and pulses (similar to the two metabolic diets).

At first glance these all look quite different, but they all have a high success rate for weight loss. When you look closer, you can see that most of the diets line up with one or other of the metabolic diets. Michael Colgan slots somewhere in the middle with quite high carbs, moderate protein, low fat - but note that it is dependent on your exercise program. The main exception is The Zone which advocates a specific balance of nutrients. My feeling is that we do each need a balance of the nutrients, but it differs from person to person.

In summary

So there is a pattern here. Part of that pattern is the diversity of human beings. There is no one thing that will work for everybody. But there are some general principles that will work for most people :

Get regular exercise - it will help burn up the calories and besides, it makes you feel better. But don't overdo it. Early in the day is better, as it gets your metabolism up for more of the day. Make sure you get a balance of aerobic, strenth and stretching exercises.

Make sure you get enough rest and recovery. If you burn out and can't train, the weight could pile back on.

Drink lots of water. 8 glasses a day is a minimum. You need more if you're exercising lots, especially in the summer. You need more if you're burning up fat calories. You need more if you're eating a lot of protein. And you need extra if you're taking herbs - to rehydrate them.

Eat regularly. Keep your body fueled and your metabolism going. Don't be tempted to miss meals - breakfast is especially important.

Don't starve yourself, but don't overeat either. If you feel full or tired after a meal you probably ate too much, or the wrong things. If you feel dizzy or tired in between meals, either you're not eating enough, or you might have blood sugar imbalances. (If you feel tired all the time, make sure you're not overtraining and check that you don't have a health problem like anaemia, glandular fever or a thyroid imbalance. Then consider trying a supplement of some kind)

Choose good quality food - organic, fresh, local, in season, untampered with as much as possible. These will have more nutrients and fibre and will be more satisfying.

Choose low GI carbohydrates over high GI ones as much as possible. Or balance them out with a bit of protein. Choose carbs that are high in nutrients over empty calories like sugar or white wheat products. The 5 serves a day of fruit and veges that the "healthy food" pyramid recommends is probably woefully inadequate. If you are really committed, eliminate refined carbs totally, and try the whole foods plan.

Choose good quality proteins that work for you. Make sure you get enough for your needs, but remember that a lot of proteins are high in saturated fat.

Keep your fat intake moderate. Make sure as much as possible comes from beneficial fats and try to eliminate trans completely.

Then, if you want to, look at incorporating one of the special dietary plans we've talked about. I'd suggest trying your metabolic type plan first, as they take different body types into consideration. If you wanted to try one of the others, remember that they don't take metabolic differences into account, and if it doesn't work for you - ditch it.

You may need to consider the possibility that food intolerances are contributing to weight problems.

Be patient. Losing fat takes time, and shouldn't happen faster than 1/2 kg per week. The slower it comes off, the longer it stays off. (Or so they say)

just so you know

2010-05-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

The basic principles of the Paleolithic Diet are simple. The Paleolithic Diet presents a 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 present during our evolution, and discards those which were not.

Basics of the Paleolithic Diet

Humans and their relatives have eaten meat, fish, fowl and the leaves, roots and fruits of many plants for millions of years. 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.

Around 10,000 years ago a breakthrough happened, it was discovered 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 are considered 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.

Paleolithic Diet buffs refer to the new foods as Neolithic foods and the old as Paleolithic Diet foods. We see Neolithic as bad and Paleolithic as good.

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

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). More detail on these issues follows in subsequent pages.

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

· Sugar

· Salt

Eat the following:

· Meat, chicken and fish

· Eggs

· Fruit

· Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including 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.

Good little read

2010-04-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

This post will make you think, just sayin.

This is what you need to do.

2010-04-18T19:09:00.001-07:00

Take two minutes and read this post, I'm sure you can get something from it, yes..even you.

1. Learn how to cook- some may be able to buy a cook book (hopefully a paleo sourced one) and be able to create and produce amazing meals. Most cannot, so don't spend lots of money on shiny cookbooks and let them collect dust. Ask friends questions, cook meals with others, take classes, watch Iron Chef (but not cake boss, I don't trust those jerks, why do they have to be so loud? And besides, you don't need that cake, look at the dinosaurs that work in that shop!). Do whatever it takes to learn how to cook. I don't mean just knowing how to cook eggs, I mean knowing how to cook different types of meat whether it be pork, beef, duck, lamb, chicken, fish. Learn how to braise, brown, bbq, sear, roast, broil, bake, boil etc. How to marinate, stuff, rub. Knowing the difference between blue rare and rare, well done and medium. You should know how to cook veggies and prepare them to produce the most beneficial results. Steam, bake, roast, poach, boil etc. Step out of your comfort zone, try new things. Girls like a guy that can cook, guys like gals that can cook. It's a win win solution.

2. Exercise- Lift weights, run, swim, bike, play a sport (soccer, rugby) rock climb, hike. Go with friends, do it solo- Sweating is your friend, your body needs exercise just like it needs good food. Remember, you wouldn't piss in a Ferrari would you? If you didn't get the analogy, your body is the Ferrari.

3. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one like's it when you're like that. You can exercise a ton, be really clean with what you eat and function as a normal human being.

4. Make goals for yourself, training goals, eating goals, asking that cute guy/girl out on a date. Do it, what do you gain from holding back? Gosh darn, I should be paid for this.

5. Don't become a statistic.

Drink lots of water, look in the mirror and tell yourself your worth it.

do you know what to buy?

2010-04-14T05:18:00.000-07:00

check this out, a great buyers guide to getting fruits and veggies in season.

2010-04-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since the last post. I've been busy eating a lot of farm fresh food, lifting heavy things and enjoying the nice warm weather. I'm taking a few minutes to write a few words.

I was finishing up a workout the other day and a guy came up and started asking me advice about lifting and eating. He wanted to put on weight and gain muscle and try and get "cut". I shared with him the same thing I share with anyone that asks about eating, keep it simple, eat your meat and veggies with some fruit, eat nuts and seeds with lots of fat (butter, olive oil, avacado etc). He looked at me dumbfounded. "It can't be that easy, what supplements should I take" I said he could pop omega 3's if he wants with a vitamin, beyond that the only thing I know that can do anything is creatine..told him it's better to spend his money on food. He replied " I don't think I can gain weight anyway, I don't have the frame for it." What could I say to this? I stared at him and after a few deep breaths I said " then stay the way you are", smiled and I walked away letting the words sink in.

Two things to take from this, don't ask for advice if you're going to be stupid and not listen.
If you're not willing to work at it, it won't happen. Quitting is easy, making excuses and reasons why you can't do something is just as easy.

Happy Monday

2010-04-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

Take a good lonnnnng look at this picture. Looks like some pretty great eating doesn't it? If you said no to that question, you're either blind (which is okay) or you're an idiot..no offense of course. I really like lists so here's a what this table of bounty has.

2 packs asparagus
2 heads broccoli
6 roma tomatoes
1 pack baby carrots
4 avacodo's
2 large sweet potatoes
1 large red onion
6 honey crisp apples
family pack (approx. 2kg) boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 boneless butterfly porkchops
2 dozen large eggs

Know how much that ran me? I'll tell you, 45$ flat. See any filler foods on that table? Do you think that any of that food got wasted? Both answers are no. See any food that can last up on a shelf for more than a week or two? Didn't think so.

I've heard a lot of talk fill my ears from folks about how tough and expensive it is to buy healthy food. My research has just proven that argument is weak at best. Find your local market and butcher. Like the author Michael Pollan said, "Shake the hand that feeds you." Avoid the big box supermarkets because believe it or not they markup all the meat & produce to make excessive profit.

Eat your meat and veggies, splash in some fruit. Keep it simple, stupid.

good little read

2010-03-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

As taken from ESPN

There are plenty of guys in the NFL who are roughly 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds. But it was the fact that John Welbourn had 8 percent body fat that made the New England Patriots' locker room take notice.
"When I was in New England [during the '08 preseason] a bunch of the guys saw the way I ate and asked a lot of questions. So I ended up writing out some diet stuff for them," Welbourn said. "They were pretty interested."
As they should be.
Welbourn, a 10-year NFL veteran, had just introduced them to the Paleo Diet, more popularly referred to as the "Caveman Diet." But don't let the catchy name fool you -- there's plenty of science behind it.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Steven SenneFormer NFL player John Welbourn loves the 'Caveman Diet'.
Loren Cordain has been studying evolutionary nutrition for two decades. He is a professor at Colorado State University and the author of two books on the subject. The idea is that for 99.6 percent of our evolutionary history (2.6 million to 10,000 years ago) we ate virtually the same things and therefore our genome is perfectly adapted to those foods: lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits and nuts.
"We've uncovered the diet that humanity evolved with [during the Paleolithic era]," Cordain said. "And that's why it does work because it's consistent with our genes."
The Paleo Diet does not include cereal grains, legumes, dairy, vegetable oils, salt, alcohol or refined sugars. Processed foods are the No. 1 enemy. Followers say if it's got more than one ingredient, it's not in the Paleo Diet. There just haven't been enough generations since the agricultural revolution for our bodies to adapt to the dramatic changes to the human diet.
Welbourn was figuring that out on his own long before he met Cordain.
"I sort of naturally found the diet in that I knew a lot of grains and white sugars and processed foods made me feel sick. I never really cared to eat them," Welbourn said. "I didn't really know a name for what the diet was until about three years ago. It instantly made sense to me since I'd always gravitated that way."
But not everyone who encountered the diet took to it immediately.
In fact, even after Cordain published "The Paleo Diet" in 2002, he had trouble convincing some of his closest friends that it would work for everyone.
One of those people was Joe Friel, who holds a master's degree in exercise science and is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified elite-level coach. He is also a founder and past Chairman of the USA Triathlon National Coaching Commission.
"Essentially I argued [with Cordain] that it wouldn't work for athletes. One day he said to me why don't you try it and see if it works for you or doesn't work for you," Friel said. "So I took the challenge, and for one month ate his recommendations and after about three weeks, I began to realize that I was feeling better and training better than I had in a long time."
With that success, Cordain had found his co-author for a second book, "The Paleo Diet for Athletes," which they published in 2005. But the concept just wasn't ready to catch on.
Until now.
Five years after it was first published, "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" is currently No. 2 on Amazon.com for sports training and sports coaching books. Cordain says most diet books fade in popularity, but this one won't go away. He doesn't know exactly how many people follow the diet, but estimates it to be in the millions.
Welbourn, who now owns CrossFit Balboa in Costa Mesa, Calif., says the explanation is simple.
"I think the biggest reason the book is selling is because it's kind of the time for it," Welbourn said. "People are starting to realize that the way we've been told to eat for the past 40 or 60 years is just plain wrong."
Welbourn said he believes so strongly in the diet that he has founded his own company, Paleo Brands, with Cordain serving as an adviser. Welbourn says the venture grew out of his personal needs. He travels a lot for training and speaking engagements and was having a difficult time finding the necessary foods on the road.
"You wouldn't think finding meat, fruit and veggies would be hard, but it's damn hard in a lot of places, especially airports," Welbourn said. "The biggest complaint about the Paleo Diet is 'Yeah, we know we should eat like this, but it's not convenient for me.' America is based on convenience and we're just trying to make the Paleo Diet more accessible."
Welbourn isn't sure how many of his old Patriots teammates have stuck with the Paleo Diet since he introduced them to it two years ago, but he says he's always trying to pass along what he's learned.
He's constantly going back and forth with Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, a longtime friend and nutrition fanatic. Gonzalez swears by pasta, whole wheat and other carbs. Welbourn keeps sending him research on the Paleo Diet and hopes to one day convert him.
"Do enough guys eat like this in the football community? I don't know. I still remember on Fridays after practice coming out and seeing huge pizzas," Welbourn said. "I think it'll take a little longer to catch on [in the NFL]. But the sooner people adopt the diet, the sooner they'll see the benefits."

Eat this not that

2010-03-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of great snack food inbetween meals, I don't know about you but I'm constantly hungry so these foods keep my hunger at bay..temporarily.

Apples
Beef Jerky (try to avoid anything with nitrates and added chemicals) Most if not all local farm markets have fresh jerky that are preserved sans chemicals and lots of flavors.
walnut, almond butter- sub these for peanut butter.
trail mix, not the bullshit trail mix with peanuts, dried pinapple and chocolate chips
real mix- almonds, walnuts, dried mix berries, some cashews, raisins/cranberries.
homemade guacamole
chopped veggies with oliveoil based dressing or nothing.
Mixed berries if in season, get local if possible, they'll taste better.

Stop eating these:
Granola bars- any type, they're just filler and made up of a tonne of mystery ingredients and high fructose corn syrup. They're also expensive, save the 5$ on a pack of these and get half a dozen apples.
Fat free anything- fats artifically removed and filled with gelatin among other delicious fillers to give the product a sense of being full fat.
Remember kiddies, eating fat doesn't make you fat.
Fruit juice packs- Rediculously high levels of sugar and usually less than 25% percent "real juice"
Pop- self explanatory, diet or not. Why drink it? Have a black coffee.
Candy- You should know better. I'm tired of hearing people say they have a "sweet tooth" and need to eat sweets everyday. You don't have a sweet tooth, your teeth are rotting from the sugar and chemicals you're chomping on.

People have made comments about how gross it is that I eat beef jerky for a snack. I know what the ingredients are in my snack, do you know whats in yours? Thought so, enjoy that nature valley, dino.

Please stop talking

2010-03-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

There seems to be more and more dinosaurs fillin er up with every new day. It's sad, its not that I dislike these people I just don't understand what happened that makes being a biggune (big one in annapolis valley dialect) acceptable. Supersize this, supersize that. Bigger trucks, bigger vans, bigger cars. Everything has to be more comfortable and everything has to be easier.
What I'm trying to say is please stop talking and just exercise.

It's not cool to sweat or work hard anymore. If you do exercise a shit tonne you're seen as a freak. People often ask me why I train so much even though I'm a washed up athlete, the response I have in my head nine times out of ten is "don't talk to me and eat your cheeseburger", but I respond in kind with "because silly goose, it's fun to be strong." You know what? It is.

Everyone has an excuse, theres always something getting in the way of exercise and eating clean and healthy food. I want to let you in on a little secret, no one cares about how long or tough your day typing tps reports was.

Maybe you'll get a laugh from this video, maybe you'll realize you've been a damn sook and start doing those squats you've been meaning to do.

wit and wisdom

2010-03-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

"Yes, if you squat wrong it fucks things up. If you squat correctly, those same fucked-up things will unfuck themselves."

Mark Rippetoe

Happy Saturday!

You're not an apple are you?

2010-03-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

I swear to the heavenly father I'm so sick of people asking about how they can get a stronger "core". Someone please explain to me what the human core is? You're not a damn honey crisp apple so stop trying to focus on your core. Lookie here do you see the word core anywhere? I'll answer that for you, it isn't there. It's counterproductive to focus on one muscle group and think that it's going to do any good for the greater body. Please stop, your body is begging you to stop.
Enlighten yourself and watch this video. I have a lot of respect for Mark Twight and all the members at gymjones, you could learn a thing or two from them if you're lucky.

You want to get stronger? Do these lifts and the sun will shine down on your shoulders as you skip along rainbow river. Hell, you might even see a unicorn.

Powerclean
Deadlift
Squat-front,back,overhead
Benchpress
Standing press
Pullup
Snatch
Weighted situp
Turkish get up

If you ask me how to strengthen your core I will stare at you blankly until you walk away.

Try to learn a thing or three

2010-03-04T02:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the wonders of science and the internet there are a tonne of useful resources readily available to help in the quest of eating clean and healthy food. Eating the same ole' meat and veggies can become monotonous, here are some websites with great info and recipes to mix it up in the kitchen and give your taste buds a change!

http://thepaleodiet.com/nutritional_tools/recipes.shtml

http://everydaypaleo.com/

http://livingpaleo.com/paleo-recipes/overview.html

http://liveprimal.com/fuel/ This is a personal favorite.

I was talking to your kitchen, it said you need more of these.

2010-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

1. Olive oil
2. Unsalted butter (keep in fridge)
3. Eggs
4. Avocado
5. Trail mix- almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seed etc.
6. Vegetables- sweet potato, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, peppers, tomato, carrots etc.
7. Garlic
8. Meat- Poultry, beef, wild game if available.
9. Fruit- Berries, apples etc. I'm not a fan of tropical fruit but whatever floats your boat.
10. Spices and rubs- save yourself a lot of money and make your own condiments vs. buying the pre made bottled concoctions.

None of these foods need to promote themselves and or try to sell themselves to you- they're all packed full of healthy fats, protein, carbohydrates and nutrients. Please remember, eating fat doesn't make you a dinosaur. Sitting on your coach eating those delicious chippies and ice cream makes you one.

Things you need less of-
prepackaged refined carbohydrates and other store bought food that makes health claims based on vague studies. You should be eating clean natural food, not bar codes. You know where broccoli comes from, do you know where that box of Wheaties is made? Neither do I.

Start your day the paleo way!

2010-02-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

Breakfast, I wake up looking forward to eating. I usually don't follow recipe. Instead I cook what I like and mix it together and hope for the best. Today it actually worked. Try cooking this little gem up, your body will do a back flip from sheer joy.

sliced red onion
mushrooms
2-3 cloves of garlic, let this trio cook on med heat for a few minutes
2 sliced sun dried tomato turkey sausages
1/2 large tomato
1 cup broccoli
1 cup chopped asparagus
pepper
let this cook for 10 minutes or so on med heat with a top on the pan
two large brown eggs. put the top back on and let the eggs get poached

enjoy with a little scoop of trail mix on the side.

If you eat meals like this maybe one day you'll be strong like Kendrick Farris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RztPJoCVDLU&feature=player_embedded

Eat your damn vegetables.

2010-02-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

It seems so simple, yet, when I hear people talking about eating and see "advice" columns I feel like there was a contest I missed. Whoever can make clean and healthy eating the most complicated process possible wins a jelly doughnut. It's sad to say but many are hooked on the so called "quick & easy" recipes for success which always end up doing more harm then good. I have a simple message for everyone that buys into the infomercials and get seduced by those magic pills that promise you'll look like the paid models on the television screens and billboards.

Stop and look at yourself.

The only thing that pays off is hard work. Don't make excuses about why you can't, don't put it off another day. Those days will melt into weeks and months and then you'll look in the mirror and you're just another statistic.These days being fit and healthy means being part of the Canadian and North American minority. Being overweight seems to be more and more acceptable in everyday society. I'm saying this in the clearest and most eloquent voice possible, it isn't acceptable. You're body is a temple, it's the only one you'll have (unless you believe in reincarnation). So why don't you treat it like one?
I don't follow the www.crossfit.com training principles but I believe they explained how a person should eat in the most straightforward way that I've found. Kudos to you.

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.

Stop buying the new fad super food, processed and refined food. Eat whats natural and your body will love you for it.

Welcome to Grain Bashing 101

2010-02-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

Blame it on the grain is a blog where we plan on airing our thoughts, gripes and frustration with what everyone knows but no one wants to admit. I and others have been following a paleolithic diet and have noticed that it just makes sense. As a child I remembered wondering why someone would serve me something that can be stored in a glass jar on their counter for years and not change and always look the same. Bread, pasta and cereal are just cheap worthless calories that people love to shovel in their mouths and wonder why they just keep getting bigger. Its ridiculous that as a society we are eating ourselves to death, would rather take a pill then eat a vegetable and freak out when someone tells you to lay off the grain. For some reason we have developed some weird attachment to dairy and grains, I guess propaganda is alive and well and working. Look at the health of our population and what are constantly being told to eat more of? Whole Grains! I especially like the new commercial that says we crush up the whole grains so small that kids can't see them, so they are hidden in the white bread. Great so we are teaching our kids to eat something with no nutritional value and supplementing it with something that has no benefit to their bodies. "Here you go son, wash that down with a big glass of milk." "Don't worry acne and is normal, and everyone gets a sore stomach."