Hey everybody,

I am unofficially retiring the blog.  I appreciate all the feedback especially from those of you from far off lands.  I still enjoy writing about and discussing my nutritional and health discoveries but it is time for me to shift to other passions. I have discovered a new way of living and have made real permanent change in my life through Paleo, nutrition, and exercise.  I suspect I may post something from time to time or re-launch the blog in the future but for now I am moving on.  As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have and thanks for stopping by.

Chuck

What Raw Vegans Can Teach Us About Paleo: 12 Lessons For Supercharged Living.

Hey all,

I listen to dozens of podcasts and read dozens of blogs. One of those that I regularly check out is Ben Greenfield's blog and podcast. Ben has a way of striking that delicate balance between the concerns of his paleo and vegan followers. Some time ago I wrote a post about paleo vs vegan and I was really trying to hit the point that our differences are really fairly minor and our goals are much the same. Until the day we can look at our world and see a happy healthy planet of nutritionally educated healthy people we need to work together in supporting the primary cause of natural whole food living.

The following is a great article from Ben Greenfield Fitness on "What Raw Vegans Can Teach Us About Paleo: 12 Lessons For Supercharged Living." I also recommend checking out his podcast, especially if you are looking toward endurance athletics and triathlons.

Read more: http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/06/vegan-vs-paleo/#ixzz34W5QiFuL

Thanks for stopping by,

Chuck

Can the fatty coffee really hold me to lunch?

Hey everybody,

 

I clearly have not had much time to jump on here during the last month or so.  I am working on a few posts but life, a couple races, and a host of other things have stood in the way of getting things out the door.  I still respond to questions that I get directly.  I figured while I am working to get back on the wagon I would at least drop a post here and there of some of the questions that I get.  So here is a first.

 

Question from a friend out in Tennessee:

I can't find your coffee butter, coconut blog. I might try dumping the avocado in the morning. I put a scoop of coconut oil and grass fed butter in the coffee mug this morning wondering if that will hold me until lunch. Looks like you need the heavy cream to get the fat into suspension...what kind though?

Here is the link to my phatty coffee post.

I am not so sure the heavy cream gets things into suspension, maybe with very thorough blending but I just stir it with a spoon but if it sits the fat all floats and separates.

Coconut oil is the number one ingredient in the coffee due to the MCTs that are very healthy and are a great energy source especially when in ketosis.

Cream and Butter are next and share the number two spot since cream is really mostly butter

The key to the cream and butter is that they are from pastured cows. Pastured animals have naturally occurring omega-3s (EPA and DHA) from the grass and other green stuff they eat. Kerrygold is the only widely distributed pastured butter that I know of and you can find it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.   However, you may have some local farms that provide pastured cream and butter to local stores and markets. Grass-fed cream may be harder to find and may only find it at Whole Foods. I generally buy a half-gallon of grass fed cream and make butter from a little less than half ot it and it works out great and is a little cheaper. Check out this post on that.

If you can't find a clearly marked grass-fed cream I would just opt for the highest quality cream you can find in your local stores. Many of the organic creams imply they are at least partially pastured and probably have decent fat ratios.

As for getting you through until lunch. This will largely be up to how dependent you are on carbs. If you are in ketosis and have already done a little intermittent fasting then one phatty coffee (1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp coconut oil, and a shot or two of cream) should be fine. If you are not in ketosis and still a little carb dependant then it might be rough for a day or two. You might want to keep the avocado in the mix and go to a half and then a quarter and dial it back slowly. Good luck and keep me posted on how things are going!

Thanks

Chuck

Animal Protein as Bad as Cigs or Just More Bad Science?

A friend of mine forwarded me one of the news repeats titled "High Protein Diets Just As Bad As Cigarettes" and asked me what my take was.  I spent some time looking at the research in the March 2014 issue of Cell Metabolism and started to put together a post to debunk this bunk.  Robb Wolf beat me to it with a great high level write up at outsideonline.com  Go check it out, be informed, and watch out for the mindless media automaton!  If you have any questions about the research itself or any of my specific thoughts shoot me an email.

Thanks
Chuck

Meat: It's Not Going to Kill You (But Cigs Will)

WWW.OUTSIDEONLINE.COM

Um, Actually, Eating Meat Isn't Even Remotely As Bad As Smoking

Breaking the Addiction

It doesn't matter who you are or what diet or lifestyle you are driving towards when you cut out processed foods, sugar, and empty carbs your body and mind are going to let you know about it. I don't think anyone will argue with the fact that sugar, carbs, and artificial sweeteners all have addictive properties and in many people they are downright brutal. This makes complete sense in an evolutionary context. Simple easy to burn calories would have been scarce and only seasonally available. It would have served us well to take in and store as much as possible during these brief periods of availability. In a modern context these foods are available 24-7 and in many cases a majority of our calories. We are being setup for a vicious cycle of addiction and slow steady weight gain.
Here's the good news. While peoples food addictions can be pretty intense I have found that the first two or three weeks are the hardest. People find it hard to believe they can break their addiction this quickly but most who have tried and failed have not taken the key steps necessary to break the addiction.
Here is a quote from my post A brief history... back when I first started the blog, "When I started Paleo the first two weeks were the hardest. I wasn't eating enough, our grocery shopping habits had not evolved to adequately cover what we should have been taking in. I was very hungry, sluggish, and generally uncomfortable. This was clearly a combination of too few calories and the transition off of the heavy carb load I had been used to."
JT's post Facepalms really hit the nail on the head and you can see that he is going through this tough spot as we speak.
Here are a few steps I believe are critical to break the addiction and set you on the path to success.

1. Clean out the Pantry
There is nothing worse than coming home hungry and irritable and not having anything healthy to eat. If you haven’t already done so, get rid of all the processed crap in the pantry and stock up with as many healthy snacks as you can. A few almonds, an avocado, an egg, a banana, an orange, some carrots. Anything that fits the template is better than the processed packaged foods you had been eating. If you have others in the house that are not eating like you, setup a special spot in the pantry for the food you will be eating. Early on my wife established the Paleo basket in the pantry where I put all my Paleo foods that were not in the fridge.

2. Don't Cheat with your Addictions
If you are factoring in a few cheats per week make sure they are on the healthy end of the spectrum. Three cheats per week shouldn't include cake and cookies or a full day binge with all your strongest food addictions. You need to avoid those foods that invoke the strongest desire for as long as possible and 30 days are probably a good rule of thumb.

3. Eat More
It is so easy for people starting out to under feed themselves. I have stated this a number of times and can't say it enough. It is imperative that you eat enough food. Don't obsess about how much you are eating. Keep things balanced but if you are hungry then eat. You can spend time fine tuning things after you get through this initial rough spot. Generally people cut out all the grain and processed food and eat about the same amount of meat and veggies they traditionally would have. This creates a hypo-caloric situation making it twice as hard to break through the initial withdrawal.

4. Hold on, It's only a Few More Days
It is always darkest just before the dawn. While you are in that initial 7-10 day range and just about to go insane you are only a day or two from making that break through. Stay focused, it's only going to be a few more days and you will emerge with new energy and vitality to carry you forward.

5. Pick a Support Person
Pick someone who has been there and done that, someone you can reach out to when you are weak and need a little pump in motivation and confidence. Pick them and then actually check in with them and let them know how you are doing. If you can't find someone that will work then email me.
Here is another quote from A brief history... "Week two was the game changer. As week two started I began to feel a change. I started to feel energized almost tingly. My energy seemed to be increasing and my mood was much better than the week before. I also felt like I was sleeping much sounder. My hunger issues and cravings of week one also seemed to vanish, partly do to the additional food but I had also got accustom to this new way of eating. At the end of week two I jumped on the scale and had lost a couple more pounds and could not believe it."
Most people fail at breaking the addiction because they don't cut all the addictive foods long enough to get there. The worst part is they are likely only a day or two from success and a whole new way of looking at food. Sticking to all natural whole foods within this philosophy will ensure you are rid of the addictive foods. Then it is time to hunker down and drive through the first few weeks. Follow these key steps to set yourself up for success and hold on tight.

Let me know how you are doing or how you did!

Thanks
Chuck