27 – The practice of living consciously
(duration 18:29)
It’s crucial to turn the searchlight of consciousness inward
Not acting on what one sees and knows is not living consciously
Most human beings are unfortunately sleep-walking through their existence
Noticing and confronting impulses and seeing and correcting mistake are vital conscious practices
Not paying attention to new information excludes the possibility for growth
Having an active mind is central to living consciously
Our genes are adapted to a paleolithic lifestyle, in which high carb eating was practically nowhere in sight
The process of living consciously leads to making the best choices
Having an earnest intention to be conscious is key to self-esteem and living the good life
Others may discourage you from living consciously, but you are ultimately responsible for lowering your awareness
It’s important to pay attention to what you’re doing when you particularly like yourself and when you don’t
The Six Pillars Of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden http://www.nathanielbranden.com/
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
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26 – Paleo perspectives, the meaning of self-esteem
(duration 21:08)
“Chronic cardio” is the typical prescription for the misguided high-carb/low-fat diet
Having the proper nutritional information is the biggest key to your health and fitness
Our cravings can change based on our mindset and emotional perspective
Paleolithic humans had different lifestyles depending on where they lived and their access to various foods
Nuts are great, regardless of how many of them paleolithic humans ate
Blood tests are a good indicator of whether you’ve been eating properly
The Six Pillars Of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_23&products_id=35
Self-esteem is a combined sum of self-efficacy and self-respect
Feeling that you’re worthy of happiness is basically a subconscious issue
Much of our bodies run on autopilot, but our minds set the course based on our ideas and feelings
Being aware and being honest with yourself assist in living with a higher level of consciousness, responsibility, and integrity
Artificial, no calorie, sweeteners don’t really affect insulin levels, but they may induce carbohydrate cravings (catering to one’s “sweet tooth”)
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
You can email us at info@healthymindfitbody.com with your comments and questions
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Low Carb Diets vs Veganism
I was just listening to a Jimmy Moore podcast with former 20-year vegan Lierre Keith.
She makes some very good points about vegan diets being too overloaded with soy protein, and often too low on fat and high on grains. I definitely would agree that a high grain, low fat diet would eventually cause health issues. And she also speaks to the myths that veganism would save the planet, or that you can be a vegan and not kill living things. It’s very interesting and I think she’s got a message worth reading about and listening to.
However, I have a bone to pick with some of her claims.
First of all, I think she engages in some of the same type of broad generalizing that many vegans do. For example, she assumes that a vegan diet MUST be low fat, and MUST include lots of grains. True, many vegans do eat this way, but it’s definitely not the only way they eat. This is very similar to what I often hear from vegetarians and vegans about eating meat- that ALL meat is bad for you. They often don’t consider the vast differences in quality of meats, and how they affect one’s health. For example, grass fed beef is far more healthy for you than grain fed beef.
Secondly, she makes some claims that have not been scientifically proven. She says that all of her health problems were caused by her diet, but then uses confirmation bias as her evidence. She says that her vegan diet gave her low energy, but I have read vegans who claim that they gained energy by cutting out meat. So it’s just one opinion vs. another.
Granted, I have not read Lierre’s book yet, so I may be missing some studies or evidence that she is basing her claims on. And, from what I have read, a lot of the vegan craze was started by the thoroughly debunked China Study, which she also dismisses because of its use of a highly processed form of whey protein (which she says would give anyone cancer!).
There’s more to be said on this topic, as I think Lierre Keith is bringing up some important truths, but of course everyone needs to be highly scientific about any claims, as we always are at Healthy Mind Fit Body!
(BTW, here is Lierre Keith getting a cayenne pepper-laced pie thrown in her face by some vegan activists! That’ll show her I’m sure!)
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What is your reason?
In our interview with Mark Sisson, he revealed that he works out and eats healthy in order to look good. There is nothing wrong with that, but some people seem to think it is shameful to have personal goals of simply looking good!
Perhaps the reason is that there’s this notion out there that selfishness is a bad thing, and sacrifice and doing things for others is the only way to be a good person.
But ultimately, most of us do nice things for other people because it makes us feel good ourselves. And if everyone were to just help other people, and no one did things for themselves, what would happen to us? I think we may all lose the self esteem to function!
Seriously, in order to hit your goals, they have to be congruent with who you are as a person. If you want to lose 50 pounds but carry the idea around that “thin people are bad”, then you will have a tough time achieving this goal. Similarly, if you want to lose weight just to look better, but at the same time you hold the idea that this is somehow wrong, then you will likely not get very far along with getting to your optimal weight.
Come up with a reason or two that work for you. Don’t worry about what other people might think, focus on what it is that you are truly after, and your path will become a lot less frustrating and a lot more fun.
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25 – Getting primal with guest Mark Sisson
(duration 43:19)
Mark’s mission is to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true about health and wellness.
http://marksdailyapple.com
http://primalblueprint.com
http://primalnutrition.com
http://twitter.com/Mark_Sisson
High endurance racing is not very healthy and detracts from longevity, because it requires higher insulin and stress hormone secretion
Shorter, high intensity workouts will benefit your body in the right way and leave you energized
Combining evolutionary biology with modern genetic science identifies the signals that turn on the right genes and turn off the bad ones
The Primal Blueprint is a comprehensive lifestyle plan, not merely a paleo eating regimen
Saturated fat is not to be feared at all (so long as it’s not coupled with lots of carbs!)
Grains ought not be the foundation of your diet, contrary to popular belief
The high-carb/low-fat diet creates problems for which the “solutions” (lots of cardio) create further problems
Our genes depend on various environmental signals
Self-acceptance is key to achieving your optimal weight
Paleolithic humans never got obese like today, and they ate sporadically (or intermittent fasting, which fosters cellular repair)
The good aspect of calorie restriction is reduction of insulin secretion
Fruits today are not what paleolithic humans had access to; rarely did they find more than a 100 grams of carbs to consume
Corn is not good to feed to cattle or humans!
It’s critical to take responsibility for one’s own health, instead of rely on “authorities”
It’s possible to train your body to derive 30% or more of calories from fat during an endurance race
Grains are cheap source of calories that readily convert to glucose (and thus fat) and they are a poor source of micronutrients
Mark’s Beach Sprints
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/marks-beach-sprints/
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
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Barefoot running: Is this new trend healthy?
Over the weekend, I attended a talk/workshop on barefoot running with Barefoot Ken Bob of http://thebarefootrunning.com
About 10 years ago, when I started reading Dr. Phil Maffetone’s books on fitness and nutrition, one of his chapters on running shoes really intrigued me. He made the point that we have been conditioned to believe that we need shoes with lots of extra padding, as the shoe companies (and running community in general) would have us believe. He pointed out that the Kenyans had very few running injuries, until shoe companies began to pay them to wear their shoes and compete at the elite level.
Maffetone recommended ditching your $125 Nike’s for a pair of cheap Keds shoes that have no padding. He stated that ideally, we should all run barefoot, but that it’s just not practical.
After accepting Maffetone’s ideas I initially started buying running shoes that had minimal padding. But I slowly drifted back into believing the mainstream viewpoint that we need more cushion and we need to spend the money on shoes (and replace them every 6 months!).
A brand new Harvard study shoes that running with shoes changes our gait, and we end up running more heel-to-toe. This causes various problems such as shin splints that the barefoot runners, by landing more on their mid-foot, do not experience. While there is no study that proves running shoes cause injuries, there is also no study that proves running shoes actually prevent injuries!
At the clinic, I asked Ken Bob about switching from running shoes to the Vibram’s 5-Fingers as a transition to barefoot running. He said I have it backwards. First, experience barefoot running and allow your feet to get used to actually touching the ground and conforming with various surfaces. Then, if you want to go to back to a little protection, feel free to wear the Vibrams shoes. That makes sense to me, as we do have a lot of nerve endings at the end of our feet that don’t get ground exposure very often!
So my plan is to ease into barefoot running. I’m going to do some short weekly runs on the beach on the harder packed sand with bare feet. My longer runs (4-5 miles) I will continue to use my running shoes until I feel I have built up my feet a few times in the sand. Then I will start with a couple of miles running barefoot on harder surfaces, and go from there.
I can’t wait to get back to basics with my running and cut down or eliminate injuries!
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Exercise your way to your perfect body?
Yesterday, Wes and I interviewed Mark Sisson of marksdailyapple.com.
Wow, was this an insightful interview!
Mark has a very non-mainstream take on fitness, but one that is backed by evidence and facts.
The thing that I am coming to grips with is the idea that doing long distance endurance events is completely unnecessary in achieving a fit body, and is even unhealthy in some areas!
His blog post on Chronic Cardio delves into this. I definitely agree with Mark, that 80% of fat loss has to do with what we put in our mouths (aside from the psychology aspect). However, I’ve been doing long distance swimming for several years now, and for the past 3 years I’ve done a few half marathons.
I’m not ready to drop my entire exercise routine just yet. I really love swimming for 45 minutes to an hour a few times a week, and there’s nothing like going for a 4-5 mile jog by the beach to me. But I’m really excited about incorporating some of Mark’s suggestions in the way of some of the short sprint workouts. And, this information he presents about saving tons of time and being in as good or BETTER shape really intrigues me.
Here’s a sample of Mark’s beach sprint routine:
I’m imagining days of doing 5-15 minute workouts vs. spending 1 hour or more! And, his proof is in the pudding. He’s in his late 50′s and has the body of someone in their 20′s!
How’s your workout routine going? Does this type of exercise interest you?
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24 – To eat or not to eat candy cigarettes
(duration 14:39)
Paleolithic humans didn’t have access to all the carbs that we do today
…they’re not good for us, because our genes aren’t adapted to them
Short, intense exercise is preferable to long, intense (or even slightly less intense) exercise; and going barefoot is good!
Cavemen who walk among us by Katie Engelhart http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/02/26/cavemen-who-walk-among-us/
It’s hard to find healthy carb substitutes, aka low-carb breads and cereals and sweets
…such foods should only be occasional supplements to your healthy eating lifestyle
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/02/26/guilt-free-brownies/
Ultimately, it’s important to know why you crave high-carb foods, and that requires introspection
Stay tuned for a series on self-esteem principles, the six pillars
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
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Also, please sign up – upper right corner of http://healthymindfitbody.com – to get the free bonus audio on the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as the newsletter
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Is Wine Low Carb?
On Friday night, I threw a party and the beverage of choice I served was wine. Also, last week someone tweeted me with the question, “Is 
wine a low carb drink?”
So it’s time to do a blog post!
The answer to the question is, yes, most wines are low carb drinks, particularly in comparison to beer in general. For example, a typical 3 oz glass of red wine has about .5g of carbohydrates! Some of the sweeter white wines are a bit more problematic, with up to about 6g of carbs per serving.
However, it’s not really the carbs but the alcohol that’s the issue with wine.
Here’s what Dr. Atkins had to say about alcohol on his low carb diet:
“Here’s the problem with all alcoholic beverages, and the reason I recommend refraining from alcohol consumption on the diet. Alcohol, whenever taken in, is the first fuel to burn. While that’s going on, your body will not burn fat. This does not stop the weight loss, it simply postpones it, since the alcohol does not store as glycogen, you immediately go back into ketosis/lipolysis after the alcohol is used up.
If you must drink alcohol, wine is an acceptable addition to levels beyond the Induction diet. If wine does not suit your taste, straight liquor such as scotch, rye, vodka, and gin would be appropriate, as long as the mixer is sugarless; this means no juice, tonic water; or non-diet soda. Seltzer and diet soda are appropriate.”
If weight loss or fat loss is your goal, red wine is certainly far better than drinking a sugary (or corn syrupy) margarita, but keep in mind the 2-week plan (either in Atkins’ diet or the one in the Healthy Mind Fit Body book): you may consider cutting it out just for this period. One thing that I noticed after I cut way down on my carbs was that I could no longer tolerate a lot of alcohol. If I go beyond one or two glasses of wine, I start to feel crappy- which is a good incentive to keep alcohol in moderation!
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