The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf: Book Review
Having read many books about nutrition/fitness/health, especially in the low carb and paleo/primal arenas, I wasn’t sure if I could be excited about
yet another one…yet, I was thrilled to read Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet!
(Being an avid listener to his podcast, I have to admit I was chomping at the bit to devour the book!)
The book is science and relevant data written in a humorous and entertaining fashion, with tons of real world evidence (much like Wolf’s podcast at http://robbwolf.com).
Robb tells his story and the stories of several people who he trains, gets into the nitty-gritty of paleo nutrition (or as I like to call it, “nutrition”!), including the problem with grains, the significance of sleep and stress when it comes to our health, and how to implement the paleo lifestyle, EASILY!
I specifically liked all the tips he gives along the way, and the 30-day meal plan (I’ve already tried the Quick Paleo Pancakes and the Sloppy Joes…thumbs up to both!).
I think this book covers it all when it comes to your physical health. The fact that it is a fun and easy read as well as enlightening allows me to have no reservations in recommending it to the bio-chemistry fitness geek and the couch potato lay-person at the same time.
Even though I’m already a paleo guy, I learned a lot of new information that I have begun to implement and reap the benefits from. Whatever level of knowledge you may think you have, reading this book is sure to lift your health and your spirits!
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Pancakes in Paradise
I’m in San Diego this week and the Santa Ana winds are blowing. I 
can’t imagine wanting to be many other places, high temperatures reaching the high-80′s and cooling off nicely to the low 60′s at night. Today, I’m planning to do a quick natural movement workout a little before noon, and soaking up a little sun for vitamin D production!
But this morning I sinned! When I travel, I try not to worry about being perfect paleo or even perfect low carb. I go with the Pareto 80/20 principle (or more like 90/10 in my case), and still eat low carb and paleo as much as possible, but figure that I’m going to be doing a little more of that 10% than usual on these days.
So this morning, I slipped and had a regular, straight up pancake with my breakfast, equipped with butter and maple syrup. The rest of my breakfast was paleo to the max- scrambled eggs, bacon, and some fruit. This was at a cafe and the pancake came with the breakfast that I ordered, and it was one of those huge pancakes! I saved it to the end and ate half of it and felt like I didn’t need any more. It tasted GOOD, but my body told me that this was a strange new food I was giving it. I didn’t have any digestive issues but definitely had a different feel.
And, I’m not freaking out about it!
This will not be the last “slip” on this trip, but I after going to the store yesterday, I am now traveling with apples, avocadoes, macadamia nuts, and beef jerky, so it’s not likely that I will be jumping on the high carb train again anytime soon!
Just for fun, here’s a hilarious video I came across from a guy who stumbled upon a double rainbow:
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Did you have a healthy Halloween?
This year, I avoided the temptation to write up a pre-halloween blog post warning of 
all the dangers of eating candy, sending your insulin levels through the roof and getting sick a coupe weeks later. I also avoided telling anyone to avoid candy, or giving people advice on other tips & tricks to have a happy, healthy halloween.
Nope, this year I decided to lay low. Some people are going to do what they can to make things healthier, like handing out various types of so-called “health” snacks (I REALLY hope none of the paleo people actually handed out beef jerky!). Others will just let their guard down and scarf down the Snickers, Milky Ways, and Mounds bars to their hearts’ content. And still others will refuse to participate completely and not even acknowledge the silly holiday!
So now that the day is past, how do you feel? Did you charge it with the trick-or-treaters and pick up pillow cases full of candy? Did your kids bring home some “treats”? Or did you stick with what works and gives you energy, a low carb diet, and buck the trend of eating junk on the 31st and the days to follow?
If you broke down and indulged in wrapped up pieces of candy, all is not lost! No need to beat yourself up, no need to feel bad. All you need to do is pick right back up and get back to what you know is healthy.
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To Snack or Not to Snack? That is the question…
Do you eat 3 solid square meals a day? Do you perhaps only eat 2 meals a day? 
Or, do you eat 5 or 6 times with smaller meals?
There typically 2 camps when it comes to healthy eating. When I was growing up, it was ALWAYS 3 meals a day. I didn’t get many snacks (well of course the occasional Ho Ho or Ding Dong!), and as hungry as I could get I was always instructed to “wait until dinner” and not to “ruin my appetite”.
When I got older, and discovered the Zone diet, I began eating fewer carbs and eating more often. This worked like a charm! Instead of eating breakfast at 7:00, and be starving by 11, I would eat at 7, 10, 1, 5, and 8! My meals became smaller. I felt better, and I was rarely as hungry as I used to be.
Part of why this was working so well is that before, I would just wait to eat and I’d be so hungry that I’d eat 3 sandwiches or something. Of course, part of the problem was that I was eating way too many carbs, and they were not keeping me full. So switching to more protein and fat was a huge improvement.
Now that I’m eating more paleo, I do notice that I do not have as much need for snacking. However, I still don’t often have time to make and eat a big enough meal to keep me satisfied for 6 hours. So, I still snack here and there.
Example #1: I’m working on an article. It’s 11:45 a.m. My stomach is starting to growl. I know I will be finished with this article by 12:30, but I just need a little energy to be able to think clearly for that 45 minutes. So, I eat a handful of almonds and finish the article at 12:30, when I have lunch.
Example #2: I eat lunch at 12:30. I have a 40-minute workout planned for 5:30. I have a good sized paleo lunch, but by 5:30 I need a little more fuel to have the energy to get through my workout, otherwise, I will crash and burn. So eat some jerky, nuts, and a few berries around 4:30, which carry me through my workout and satiated until dinner.
I have friends who can go all day without eating. Great for them! I think this just shows how we are all built a little differently. If I skip breakfast, I will not be functioning very well until I can get food in me. If I skip lunch I will have a headache until I can eat.
Bigger meals do help, but healthy snacking can be a great way to make sure you have energy all day and are not tempted to overeat at any one sitting.
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A Look at Nutrition and Fitness Goals
I was reading a blog post over at the Theory to Practice site on the idea of 
progress. This reminded me of a few things in fitness that are super important.
Let’s start with nutrition. I think it is very easy for many people to take an “all or nothing” approach. In other words, they hear something about a diet, and they immediately think or say “Oh I couldn’t do that, it’s too restrictive!” Other reasons given are often that it’s too inconvenient, too expensive or too hard to follow. First, this says nothing about the validity of the diet itself. So yes, it may mean taking more time every day to prepare meals…so is health worth it?
But my point here is not to call out these statements as excuses, but to emphasize that if the idea of overhauling your diet seems overwhelming, why not shoot for small goals? How about some simple things, like cutting sugar intake in half, or replacing that granola bar with a hard boiled egg, or cutting out SOME bread? Achieving these small victories will likely motivate you to keep going and getting closer to a healthy diet.
Fitness is the same way. Maybe you don’t want to run a marathon (nor should you want to! Chronic cardio is real and not good for your health). But goals can help us to get to a new level of fitness. Here are some examples of goals that can put you on that path of seeing visible progress:
-Enter a 5k race. This isn’t going to take up a ton of your time to train, but it’s enough to get you off the couch and out the door.
-Join a CrossFit gym. For whatever reason, I still have not done CrossFit, but I hear great things and I know they are very focused on goals from session to session. And you WILL be challenged no matter what level you start.
-Do super slow workouts in the gym. I’ve been doing variations of this for a couple of years. You can always compare yourself to how you did in your last session. And, they don’t take much time at all- it’s only 1 set of 4-6 exercises! You can see more about this type of workout by reading Tim Ferriss’ now famous post.
-Do a sprint triathlon. These are great for people who like variety to their workouts and don’t have a lot of time to train.
What about my favorite, natural movement? There isn’t a great way to set highly specific goals with natural movement workouts. They are much more free flowing and taking advantage of your surroundings. This is what I like about these workouts. I do about 4 workouts a week where I am trying to hit a goal of some kind (even if it’s just swimming 1 more lap). My 5th workout I like to be not so much goal-oriented, but challenging at the same time. So while this post is about goals, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s fun to run around like a monkey outside sometimes and challenge your body without comparing and contrasting!
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3 Food Items You Should Stock In Your Kitchen Cabinet If You Care About Your Health
I was in the shower thinking about what I wanted to write about today, and it hit me! I have been spending more time lately preparing meals and actually cooking, as opposed to heating things up. There are things that I use on a regular basis, and I think to round out a healthy and tasty diet, it is important to have these items on hand at all times!
1. Coconut oil. The gold standard of cooking oils. Yes, it’s loaded with saturated fat, and common wisdom says this is fattening and will lead to dreaded high cholesterol. This is where common wisdom is wrong! Coconut oil has been shown to help with fat burning with a rare type of fat called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s). MCT’s are more suited for energy use rather than fat storage. One study on coconut oil, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that the medium-chain fatty acids that comprise coconut oil were threefold more effective than polyunsaturated oils at raising metabolism. Make sure to get high quality, virgin coconut oil- taste and nutritional value will be higher!
2. Flax Seed Meal. This low carb, omega 3 fatty acid-rich seed can be used in many different meal combinations such as with smoothies, yogurt, or as part of many healthy recipes (like flax cakes). The omega 3′s in flax are not easily converted in your body from ALA to EPA and DHA (which is where fish oils are better), it still helps with your omega 3: omega 6 balance that is so important. Also, flax contains phytochemicals, including many anti-oxidants, and is loaded with B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, and fiber.
3. Cocoa Powder (unsweetened). Cocoa is loaded with antioxidants, and luckily for us chocolate-lovers has many other benefits! The reason for cocoa powder’s healthy kick is because it contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are a form of antioxidant and can also be found in vegetables, plants and red wine. Antioxidants help defend a body against free radicals, and therefore help prevent disease. Cocoa has also been shown to improve mood and help with blood circulation. A great way to get all these health benefits and satisfy your chocolate cravings is to mix a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder with a little stevia powder in a cup of hot water. For an even better treat, try adding a little full fat coconut milk. Yum!
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Run Amoc shoes for Natural Movement
I got my Run Amoc shoes last week. These are moccasin-type shoes similar to Vibram’s Five Fingers, but without the toe cutouts. I did a quick video review of them here. Hopefully this helps with those looking to go a bit more natural in their movement!
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Is Zevia cola healthy?
I was in Whole Foods the other day, and I wanted a little caffeine boost on a hot day. Not being a 
coffee drinker, I typically will go with iced tea- either the no sugar or low sugar kinds. But I was in a bit of a wacky mood that day, and went on the hunt for something different. I used to be a huge fan of Coca-cola, before I found out how horrible it was for my health, and did drink diet sodas for a while but not sure all those chemicals are too healthy either.
So I found Zevia sodas in the fridge. 0 sugars, and sweetened with all-natural calorie-free stevia, as well as something called Erythritol.
Wikipedia defines Erythritol as
“a natural sugar alcohol (a type of sugar substitute) which has been approved for use in the United States[1] and throughout much of the world. It was discovered in 1848 by British chemist John Stenhouse.[2] It occurs naturally in fruits and fermented foods [3]. At the industrial level, it is produced from glucose by fermentation with a yeast, Moniliella pollinis[1]. It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2 kilocalories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates), though nutritional labelling varies from country to country—some countries like Japan label it as zero-calorie, while European Union regulations currently label it and all other sugar alcohols at 2.4 kcal/g.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol
Doesn’t sound too horrible, but I still don’t like the idea of putting lots of “sugar alcohols” in my body. Something sounds very unnatural about that!
Zevia also contains: Triple filtered carbonated water, caramel color, tartaric acid, stevia leaf, fumaric acid, 45 mg of caffeine, natural flavors, citrus oils, cola nut extract, and citric acid.
The taste reminded me exactly of RC cola, which I haven’t had since I was a kid many years ago. RC was like Pepsi only sweeter! I could not help but think I was putting something less than optimal in my body. It definitely did not strike me as a health drink- I still kept thinking it was coating my insides and rotting my teeth, even though it’s nothing like what regular sodas do.
Overall, I would not recommend Zevia. There are definitely worse things you could drink- but when they say “100% natural”- I think that is a bit of a stretch! I would say, if you’re a Diet Coke fiend, and you’re looking to ween off of soda, give this a try. Otherwise, next time you feel like having a little caffeine hit, I recommend sticking with the healthier teas out there.
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Six tips to avoid catching a cold or flu over the holidays
It seems as though nearly everyone catches a cold or flu over the holiday season (between December and February). Most people are of the opinion that this is a natural state of affairs, and unavoidable. This is simply not true!
There are many ways to avoid these debilitating and depressing afflictions. Follow the tips below and significantly reduce your odds of becoming ill during the winter months.
1. Avoid sugar. As hard as this might be during the holidays, sugar is the #1 reason people fall ill! Sugar impacts your immune system and makes you more prone to disease. If you can’t go without sweets and desserts during this time, try to significantly reduce the amount you do eat and choose a few specific times you will indulge. Daily sweets will surely impact your health, so avoid those daily chocolate hits at the office!
2. Get adequate sleep. When your sleep is impacted through stress or a busy lifestyle, your immune system is weakened. You should actually sleep a little longer through the night during the winter months, so do attempt to maintain your sleep schedule during the holidays and resist cutting back on your sleeping hours.
3. Don’t stuff yourself. When you overeat, your liver is forced to work extra hard, and this can lead to you getting sick. It might be tempting to eat more than necessary, but try to resist. Another reason to avoid overeating is the fact that gluttony leads to weight gain, because any energy your body doesn’t use gets stored as fat. Stick with smaller meals more often through the day and don’t be pressured into eating “just a little bit more.” Avoid falling into the trap of filling up on appetizers before a meal. Think about what you’re eating and don’t overdo it with alcohol.
4. Reduce stress and prioritize. Prioritize and plan your work and daily activities so that you don’t try to overdo it. When you become overwhelmed and stressed out, your immune system suffers and makes you more susceptible to colds and flu. Try yoga or meditation, or any other relaxing activity (a nice hot bath or alone time) for 20-30 minutes a day where you don’t have to rush around or be anywhere specific.
5. Cook with coconut oil. For a long time, coconut oil was the preferred cooking oil in North America, until the vegetable oil industry spread false rumors about its health benefits. Recent studies prove that coconut oil is healthy and keeps our immune systems strong. Coconut oil is a healthy form of saturated fat. Eat a couple teaspoons of coconut oil each day (in cooking or in a smoothie) to help maintain health.
6. Work out. If you can’t get in both your aerobic and weight lifting workouts and need to skip one, make sure you skip your anaerobic activity rather than your aerobic one. Anaerobic activities like sprints or weight lifting actually add more stress to the body and it is beneficial to skip these types of workouts occasionally to give your body a break. An otherwise stressful time of year like the holidays is the perfect time to give your body this type of break.
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How to Maximize Your Fat-Burning Potential – Guidelines for Athletes
Are you frustrated by that extra stubborn fat that seems to stick to you no matter how hard you train? Do you compete in sports for weight loss – or fat burning?
Many athletes complain about the same thing. They train really hard, they lose weight, but then they hit a plateau and the fat burning seems to hit a wall and stops. There are many reasons for this…but more importantly, there is a solution! Many times, athletes are unable to get down to their ideal weight or body shape because of:
• eating the wrong foods and eating too much
• training too hard, or not taking enough recovery days
• skipping workouts
• getting stressed out about workouts
For me, reality started settling in after college. I needed a fitness and nutrition plan – the mac & cheese and meatless spaghetti diet just wasn’t cutting it. I was developing a spare tire and I never had any energy. I made some major changes to my lifestyle and finally got back to the body I wanted and had more natural energy.
The changes I made were even more important as I started doing triathlons. As an athlete, you need the energy to train twice a day sometimes, and you also have to pay particular attention to your health to avoid injuries and illnesses. You need to keep up your endurance, as well.
So – how can you do this and maximize your fat burning potential? You need to figure out:
• the things those Low Carb, Low Fat, and calorie-restricting diets don’t tell you
• the best and worst foods for maintaining (or gaining) optimum health
• which fats help you lose weight and boost immunity – and which fats you should avoid
• seven items you should look for in a grocery store that will do wonders for your health
• the lies everyone is told about exercising hard to burn calories and why exercise alone is an inefficient way to lose weight
If you’re looking to get into the best shape of your life, while achieving optimum health, you need to train smart, not hard.
Click here to get your free audio (which answers the five issues above), “3 Pillars to Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using the Mind-Body Connection.”
Good luck!
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