September 2013 PHD

I encourage everyone to look into the Perfect Health Diet. I think it is simply the next evolutionary step in the Paleo process. I am sure most of you that are going Paleo have had some issues with digestion, skin or energy levels. Remember, dropping grains and anything else you did to change your lifestyle effects the homeostasis your body has created. PHD simply and scientifically breaks down the different aspects of your diet as it relates to evolution and gives you the answers you are looking for. Such as, how much protein is too much, should I fast, can I eat rice or potatoes etc. My current status is; still at 175 lb., I rarely eat breakfast, I am rarely hungry, I do not do any endurance activity. I do work out 5 days a week consisting on 1-3 mile runs, lifting weights for 45 min., swimming and biking when I can.

170 lbs for over a month!

So, I have not had a lot to say because nothing is changed. That is exactly what I want to talk about today. I have leveled out with my weight through work outs and diet. So, a normal day for me starts at 6 a.m. I go down to get a cup of coffee, then head to the basement for a workout. In my basement I have a universal machine, a bench, some dumbbells, a pull up bar, a treadmill and a heavy bag. This is a luxury, meaning I could and have done with less. I do Arms Monday, Chest Tuesday, Back Wednesday, Legs Thursday and a run Friday. If I miss a day for something I skip the run. Runs, bike rides, hikes etc are also done randomly in the evenings and weekends. I am only concerned with the morning base work out as a routine. Everything else is just letting life dictate. Currently, I do 2 sets of each routine. For example; 2 X 12 Curls, then 2 x 12 Pull Ups etc. as time permits. I also do sit ups and stretches as time permits. Personally, I record nothing. When I am done I take a shower and get dressed. NO Breakfast. I eat Breakfast about twice a week as life dictates, but never planned. I eat a big lunch every day and a small dinner. For lunch I go out to Primal friendly restaurants and/or pick at my plate to avoid the grains etc. I do not get hungry at all because I do not start on the Insulin roller coaster early in the morning, I eat a big lunch and rarely want dinner, but I do eat it for two reasons. I cook for the family and we will sit down as one and I know I will not eat until noon the next day. I do not worry about any consumption after dinner, meaning dessert of any kind or the CW rule of "No Eating After 8". So, what I am saying here is "It gets easier once it is a routine". I no longer desire bread or any of the crap I used to eat. I would say it took a year to make it a routine and now I just tweak it as I read something new. I highly recommend you fast one way or another. At first, when i started losing weight everyone asks what diet I was on and when I told them what I do the were hesitant. Now they see I have not gained any of the 30 lbs I lost and they are ready to reconsider.

Low Impact Workouts

So...at 45 years old there are a lot of things to consider when working out. Part of me wants to get huge by lifting heavy weights and the other part wants to minimize the impact on my old bones. My chiro is a fan of the latter. Anyways, I put my weight bench away during the holidays and decided to try something different. My current work out strategy goes like this; Monday I do push ups, pull ups etc. a complete body workout with minimal weights for curls, flies, tris and forearms, using just barbells. I do two sets of 15 for each muscle group, but not in a row. Tuesday I do 30 min speed walking on the treadmill. Wednesday I do Wii Fit for 30 min. mostly core workouts and balance games. Thursday I do the treadmill again. Friday I do weights unless I had to take a day off and everything slid a day. On the weekends I try to do a swim, run and indoor bike. I don't know if it is better or worse, but I think you can see how each exercise is beneficial. I guess mixing it up occasionally is the best message here. Perhaps I will feel the need to bulk up once the sweaters come off, which is soon I hope.

Update Time

I am motivated to write because I don't feel comfortable with my picture being the first thing you see, regardless of how good I feel about it! I have been asked a lot lately about what I do. I still haven't figured out the best way to answer this, as what I do is not what a beginner should do. The most important thing is to find out what works for you, but you should start with Mark's Daily Apple. This helps you get rid of the REAL bad stuff and is a good starting point for all of the research each person needs to do on their own. I have said many times, I am not the expert here, but what I am doing is definitely working. However, to answer the original question, I eat Primal, lift heavy things and I do not use shampoo, soap (in the shower), shaving cream, lip balm, lotion (suntan or dry skin) and any of the other stuff I know our ancestors did not use. I do not eat breakfast very often, because I can't picture my ancestors eating a big breakfast before the hunt. I train for triathlons with sprint training, not chronic cardio. I have been alcohol free since Feb, but I consider that a personal choice as I think we have always tried to get wasted one way or another. I go to bed to read at 9 and wake up at 5:45 to work out every weekday. I eat more protein before dinner because it does not destabilize my insulin, but after dinner I don't worry about anything I eat. This means minimal carbs and fruit/fruit juices during the daytime. Please have a safe and enjoyable Holiday!

New Benchmark Photo

I am in a groove now. I rarely feel hungry and certainly don't have to plan my life around food anymore. I usually gain weight in the Fall, but that is not the case this year. This is what 170 looks like on me. Comparatively, the previous photo was about 185. What I am finding to be the most interesting/disturbing now is how many people are saying I should gain weight! Is this strictly an American standard I am breaking here? To me it seems that the 185 was not healthy and I am quite sure the ones "concerned" are not getting numbers like 111/80 and 55bpm resting.

Sylvania Triathlon

I was 100 out of 300, give or take a few. It wasn't as good as my goal, top 20%, but it wasn't bad. I clearly need to work on my biking next year. My bike split was 200 out of 300. It was pretty nice weather for a tri, minus the drizzle on the bike. I'll take that over hot and humid any day. The thing I noticed the most, pertaining to primal living, is that I was able to train less but harder and get the same results. I also did not feel bad at the last mile, while others were dying out there! It also helps that I am down to 178, which is 10 less than previous events. Of course, my age group was pretty tough and I guess it's because the older guys don't just show up on a whim like a younger guy might. Not to mention they can afford the nice bikes and gym memberships.

Status Update

I have been debating over whether to continue the blog or to quit. I go to the same restaurants and do the same workouts, Intermittent Fasting etc, so I am out of new stuff to talk about. All of my links say it so much better. I guess I figured it would write itself, but lately things are very stable and not much to discuss. I weighed in at 180 last week, down from 200! I think that Primal living will continue to become more mainstream. I believe that carb and sugar addicts are slowly killing themselves, but the special interest groups, especially the big food companies, are going to fight to the death (our death) to keep their crap on the shelves. That reminds me. Ever watch extreme couponing? Notice they buy loads of stuff for cheap, but it's all highly processed food type stuff. They always seem to be FAT. Hmmmmm. I guess it's best to just continue to do what feels right and hopefully the word gets out and changes are made for the better. In the meantime I will concentrate on my special project, Haylee, and hope I can make a difference in her life by leading by example. BTW, in 6 days I will be on dry for 4 months!