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Primal/Paleo: Success Stories #3

Steve — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:52:49 +0000

Continuing the series on The Primal Blueprint and Paleo, this post goes over the inspiring success story of The Unconquerable Dave. Click here to read Primal/Paleo: An Introduction in case you missed it!

This is the story of The Unconquerable Dave. I couldn’t help but share this, as it really hits home how effective the primal and paleo lifestyle is. Just so I don’t spoil the story, as written by Dave himself, have a read for yourself. It’s very cool to see how the primal lifestyle has affected him in such a profound way.

In case you’re lazy and just want to see pictures, here are the before and after shots (there are several “in-between” shots if you click through to the story):

September 2009

September 2010

How cool is that? Not only the weight loss, extra energy, and general positive outlook on life…I wish I could grow a beard like that. Geez.

I HIGHLY encourage you to take a look at the book authored by Mark Sisson called The Primal Blueprint or The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. Both are excellent sources on the subject!

NEXT UP: Some tasty Primal/Paleo dishes to get you started!

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Primal/Paleo: Success Stories #2

Steve — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:58:06 +0000

Continuing the series on The Primal Blueprint and Paleo, this post goes over the inspiring success story of Steven, a primal follower and enthusiast. Click here to read Primal/Paleo: An Introduction in case you missed it!

I came across 39 year-old Steven’s post at the Mark’s Daily Apple forums, and couldn’t help but want to share it. Firstly and foremost, take a look at Steven’s before and after photos:

What a transformation! For reference, the first photo is at 223 pounds in April 2010, and the second is at 175 pounds in September 2010. That’s only five months! Here are some interesting things Steven had to say…

On eating:

I was relatively strict with my diet… and still do not consume much grains or legumes. I do have an occasional beer – so I guess that counts as grains. I also consume some dairy (cheese, greek yogurt and heavy cream)… generally every other day or so. I did not get terribly anal about my food intake either.

I also cut down on the intake of really sweet fruit like pineapples – which happens to be my favorite.

On breakfast:

Eggs and some bacon is pretty high on my list for breakfast foods for sure.

Some days it might be some fruit… like an apple with almond butter; or some fresh berries with heavy cream; or I’ll cube up an apple and a banana and serve it with some Greek Yogurt. If I feel like getting really fancy, I might make an omelet with some onions, green peppers, meat (chicken / steak or bacon) and maybe a little cheese (real cheese – not the processed kind). Other days it might just be a cup of coffee (or home made iced coffee) with some cream.

In short, I eat based on how I’m feeling in the morning .

On exercise:

My “real” workouts were twice a week (at the most). They consisted generally of bodyweight exercises – different variations of push-ups, pull-ups/chin-ups, bodyweight / hindu squats, burpees, box jumps etc. Once every couple of weeks or so I would grab a kettlebell and do high repetition snatches or swings (instead of running sprints – I hate running). I did ZERO sprints.

Only other thing I did was my martial arts training, which I was doing about 2 – 3 days per week.

On his abs:

My opinion is that if you get lean enough they will show (even without doing a ton of ab work). Get below 10% bodyfat (for guys) and it’s virtually impossible not to see the definition in your abs.

For what it’s worth, I did very little focused ab work (compared to P90X), however most of my workouts involve the core and I always make sure my core is tight during an exercise (even during push ups and pull-ups).

On P90X:

I did P90X a few years back with decent results… hurt myself (through overtraining) and fell off the wagon. But I was never able to get as lean as I am now following P90X and their nutrition plan. Plus to be honest, I despised having to work out that hard 6 days per week.

There you have it! I think it’s also fairly obvious that he spent a lot of time outdoors, soaking in that crucial vitamin D. Props to you, Steven!

I HIGHLY encourage you to take a look at the book authored by Mark Sisson called The Primal Blueprint or The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. Both are excellent sources on the subject!

NEXT UP: Primal/Paleo Success Stories #3: The Unconquerable Dave!

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Primal/Paleo: Success Stories

Steve — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:00:49 +0000

Continuing the series on The Primal Blueprint and Paleo, this post offers a glimpse at the success story of Meghan, a primal follower — along with a source of many other inspiring success stories. Click here to read Primal/Paleo: An Introduction in case you missed it.

Meghan was kind enough to share her story with me, so here it is for you to enjoy! Also, see the bottom of the post for more great stories.

Meghan’s Story

“I was following the calories in/calories out approach to weight loss for a long time. In Dec 2005 I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition, after gaining 40 pounds in just over two months. At that time I started keeping a food journal, eating mostly whole foods and restricting calories. I exercised 4-6 times a week for 45-60 minutes at a time. When I first started my medication I did lose a little bit of weight, probably about 15 pounds. Then nothing. I was stuck. In Dec 2006 I was put on ‘the program’. I meet with a dietitian and exercise physiologist once a month. have my exercise logs and food journals analyzed. I workout sometimes up to 8 times a week, yes that means working out twice a day most weeks. I was lucky to lose a pound a month. In 3.5 years of the program I lost a total of 10 pounds, yes a measly 10 pounds.

Then in July of 2009 my dad introduced me to the paleo diet. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, okay, sure. I can cut out beans, grains and potatoes, lose weight and be healthy? I don’t think so. That goes against everything we have been taught about diet and weight loss. Fat is bad, whole grains are good…end of story. Then I didn’t see dad for a month. When I saw him again, he was like a new man. He had lost 7 inches from his waist and 27 pounds. I started his diet that day. I started it as a last ditch effort and only planned on doing it long enough to pass my fitness test. Then the results started and I was hooked.

Now, I am a cavewoman. I won’t go back to the Standard American Diet (SAD). I am happy and healthy. My cholesterol has gone down, especially my LDL cholesterol. My triglycerides are the same, still healthy. I have lost about 7.5 inches from my waist, for the first time in 10 years! Normally I lose weight from everywhere except my waist. My weight loss so far has been abut 25 pounds, yes that is 25 pounds in 5 months! I have gained muscle mass without working any harder than I normally do. My body fat percentage has gone from 30% to 26%. I am living proof that this diet works.”
-Meghan, January 2010

Fast Forward to September 2010

“I was unable/unwilling to eat right for a while when we moved, and did go back to the SAD diet for a bit. On August 18, 2010 I went back to my primal ways and have been happy again with the way I feel SO much energy and just feeling healthy. I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be, but this way of life makes it so much easier. Feeding my body real food, fueling it with the things it needs makes it so worthwhile. The weight loss has not been as dramatic, about 3 pounds in 3 weeks, but that equates to a pound a week which is supposed to be the ‘healthy’ amount to lose per week. Plus, I am sure that I am also getting some increase in muscle, since for me following the Primal Blueprint, means exercising too. Ha, I just calculated my body fat percentage from August 18th and then again for today, September 11, and it has decreased by about 4% Can’t be disappointed with those results, can we?”

You can read more about Meghan at her blog, Primal Ponderings.

More Primal/Paleo Success Stories

If you love what you’ve read and want to read more inspiring stories, I encourage you to go to Mark’s Daily Apple and read through all the successes on that page. I’m telling you, there are some wild transformations!

Here are some interesting forum topics to read through:

I HIGHLY encourage you to take a look at the book authored by Mark Sisson called The Primal Blueprint or The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. Both are excellent sources on the subject!

NEXT UP: Another primal success story!

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Primal/Paleo: Fitness

Steve — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:41:01 +0000

Continuing the series on The Primal Blueprint and Paleo, this post is an attempt to outline primal fitness — how does running, walking, and heavy lifting factor into this philosophy? Click here to read Primal/Paleo: An Introduction in case you missed it.

Most of us, in adherence to conventional wisdom, have been conditioned to believe that in order to live a healthy life and burn fat, we must exercise furiously to the point of exhaustion, multiple times per week. It’s the dreaded grind. However, we know from Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, that our body composition is typically derived 80% from our nutrition, and only 20% from exercise. Yes, exercise is important, but what good is heavy lifting if you’re not eating properly?

Because nutrition is so prevalent in how our bodies look and feel, you really don’t need to work that hard — so long as you’re eating properly!

The Conventional Wisdom of Chronic Cardio

Mark Sisson has dubbed it “chronic cardio”; many of us know it by experience. It’s when you go to the gym and run the treadmill hard for an hour, trying to burn off that cake you ate at your birthday party. It’s when you bike for miles and miles with the hopes and dreams of burning calorie after calorie. Yet, you feel more hungry after — you gotta replete the stores, right? Eat a chocolate bar, throw together a sandwich, drink a sugary beverage. Now you’ve ingested the very calories you sought to burn.

It’s a brutal cycle.

However, our bodies aren’t meant to be subject to such torture. Going back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, we can conclude that they wouldn’t have exerted themselves with elevated heart rates for 1-2 hours a day. They had no agenda to “lose weight” — they simply survived. According to Mr. Sisson, chronic high-level cardio can do the following to your body:

raises cortisol levels
increases oxidative damage
promotes systemic inflammation (which we know promotes disease and other disorders)

On a personal level, he lived through these issues as a world-class triathlete for many years. Mark could see before his very eyes that these supposed top-tier athletes were, in fact, some of the sickest people around. All of this is amplified when you consider this post by Dr. Kurt Harris about cardio leading to heart disease.

Primal Fitness

So what exactly is primal fitness? Here are the three pillars:

move frequently at a slow pace
lift heavy things
sprint occasionally

Move frequently at a slow pace

Now, this isn’t simply walking. This is any kind of low-level aerobic exercise (relaxed biking, for instance). And to define low-level, we mean 55-75% of your maximum heart rate (for most people).

Simply put, low-level cardio burns fat most efficiently, and leaves all the problems of heavy cardio at the door. This is affirmed when you consider our ancestors, pre-civilization: the vast majority of their day would be spent walking. Think about it…scavenging; gathering supplies; traveling to and fro, building their huts; the majority of hunting would have consisted of walking before they had to sprint.

Sounds great, right? No more long, sweaty hours spent on that ridiculous treadmill!

Lift heavy things

This part of primal fitness is very simple. Lift heavy things (weights, sandbags, your child, your wife, a rock, yourself) several times a week anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes. You really don’t need to spend a whole lot of time on it; just make sure you keep up the intensity and challenge yourself with heavy lifting…your body will get the point and muscle will start to generate.

This isn’t just for the guys, either — women should be doing heavy lifting as well! No, it won’t turn you into some she-hulk. And muscle mass is beneficial for both genders.

When lifting, the focus should be on large, natural, compound movements; these instigate HGH and testosterone, which are crucial in the muscle-building process. Try movements like:

pull-ups
bench press (or push-ups)
dead lifts
squats
rows
military press

Really, if you simply did those 6 exercises, you’d be perfectly fine, as they all incorporate multiple muscle groups (including the ever-important core muscles). Lift away!

Sprint occasionally

While our ancestors spent most of their time walking, they did encounter fight-or-flight moments where an all-out sprint was necessary, albeit not that often. Mark recommends once every few days to “give it your all” for roughly 20-40 seconds, performed in sets. You should start with low sets, but try for more until you get to eight (remember, we don’t want to overdo it).

Mark Sisson gives a great example of sprinting in this video (remember, he’s in his MID-50s!):

Conventional science is actually continuing to prove that sprinting is much more healthy and effective for fat burning than distance running. Take a look here. Another study (PDF) shows that sprinting, or interval training, increases the metabolic rate while resting for the next 24 hours; basically, you burn more fat while you’re doing nothing for a day after.

Personally, I find sprinting to be much more fun and natural. I feel great afterward.

In a Nutshell

“Chronic cardio”, which is exercising hard for long periods of time, has been hailed as the de-facto method of burning fat and being healthy; it is anything but. In order to achieve ideal fitness and fat burning, we should be a.) moving frequently at a slow pace (walking a lot) b.) lifting heavy things (several times per week; not long) c.) sprinting occasionally (say, once per week).

Remember, you don’t need to work unbearably hard for a healthy, in-shape body if you’re already making the right dietary choices!

NEXT UP: Look forward to a post on Primal/Paleo success stories!

I HIGHLY encourage you to take a look at the book authored by Mark Sisson called The Primal Blueprint or The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. Both are excellent sources on the subject!

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Primal/Paleo: An Introduction

Steve — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:00:05 +0000

Primal nutrition and fitness, also known as paleo or paleolithic nutrition, is a way of eating and exercising that has completely changed how I view health. I’m 100% sold on it. In fact, you’ll find that much of the content on Wellnut hinges on the Primal philosophy! You’ll find Mark Sisson’s The Primal Blueprint outlines it really well, as well as The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.

So, what exactly is primal? To answer that question, I’d like to start at the foundations…

What is Primal?

Going ‘primal’ or ‘paleo’ essentially means that you are attempting to eat and exercise the way our human ancestors did long before the dawn of agriculture — as best we can, in our 21st-century world. After all, agriculture has only been around for roughly 10,000 years, which is only a small sliver of humanity’s long existence on this planet. Prior to this, your average human spent most of their time hunting for food and foraging for plants, fruits, nuts, and/or seeds. There was no bread baking in the oven, as ubiquitous as that is to us now.

Essentially, our bodies have not been designed to eat what we couldn’t hunt or forage for naturally.

Primal Food

What does a primal follower eat? In short: plants, animals, fruits, nuts, seeds, and oils. That’s in order of quantity. Here’s a list that may help you out:

Primal:

Plants: vegetables; almost any edible plant that grows on this green earth.
Animals: MEAT! This includes beef, chicken, pork (including bacon), fish, and eggs (yes, there’s more to this list).
Nuts: almonds, walnuts, macadamias, etc. No, this doesn’t include peanuts (they’re a legume).
Seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc….chew away!
Oils: Olive oil, coconut oil, fish oil, among others.

Non-primal:

Grains (bread, pasta, rice, and all their derivatives)
Sugar
Processed food
Dairy (although this one is more of a grey area, and much less important than the other points)

You will find more in-depth discussion of primal nutrition in some of my upcoming posts.

Primal Exercise

The concept behind primal exercise is exactly the same as with nutrition; we’re looking at what our ancestors (and ourselves, genetically speaking) would have been designed to do. What is that?

Plenty of walking
Heavy lifting
The occasional sprint

That’s it. No marathons, no body-destroying “chronic cardio” as Mark Sisson puts it. Again, this will be explored in more detail soon.

What are the benefits of going Primal?

The benefits of going primal/paleo are wide and deep, but here are a few:

Increased energy
Weight loss (more accurately: burning of body fat)
Slower aging
Much less risk of a host of disease and disorders (ie. heart disease)

You can infer that sticking to the conventional diet of heavy carbs, low fat and processed food will only lead to the opposite of the above.

NEXT UP: Why Grains Are Unhealthy and Downright Dangerous.

I HIGHLY encourage you to take a look at the book authored by Mark Sisson called The Primal Blueprint or The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. Both are excellent sources on the subject!

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The Demonization of Saturated Fat

Steve — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:56:04 +0000

We’ve heard the story a thousand times before. Our doctors tell us to avoid saturated fat, citing the “fact” that it causes high cholesterol and, subsequently, heart disease. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in America (as of 2007), the supposed cause of it is obviously an important issue. Unfortunately, the world — and I’m not exaggerating here — has been led astray.

What is Saturated Fat?

Essentially, saturated fat is the fatty acid that occurs naturally in animals and animal products, such as beef, chicken, bacon (tasty, tasty bacon), eggs, and milk. A good indicator that what you’re eating is fat of the saturated variety is its state at room temperature; saturated fat is solid, whereas other fats (like mono- and polyunsaturated) are liquid.

So what’s the purpose of fat? Well, besides making food DELICIOUS, it has served as humanity’s main source of energy for the vast majority of our existence.

Saturated fat is good for you. Period.

Ancel Keys and His Deception

In the 1950s, a researcher by the name of Ancel Keys conducted a study called the “Seven Countries Study”. Basically, it looked at the saturated fat intake across seven countries and found that those same countries experienced high death rates due to heart disease. So, he took this “correlation” and ran with it.

What about the other countries? Well, despite having access to another 15 countries’ data, he chose to leave them out because they contradicted the conclusion he had made BEFORE conducting the study. That’s a classic case of bad science.

In any case, despite heaps of research going against his hypothesis, including whole societies that thrived (nearly disease-free) on high fat, low carb diets, his hypothesis still won out. Even to this day, there is still no established link between saturated fat and heart disease. From 1988 to 1999, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office undertook a project to finally prove this myth, but it collapsed after 11 years of sheer and utter failure.

So What?

What can we take from this? Well, for one, be a skeptic to what the medical establishment tells you. Unfortunately, the people who are in a position to give you “professional” medical advice can be just as misinformed as anyone else.

More importantly, eat meat! Eat eggs! Eat milk, heavy cream — it’s all good. What you should be avoiding is pro-inflammatory food, mainly grains, processed food (including margarine), and vegetable oils rich in Omega-6.

In A Nutshell

We’ve been duped — saturated fat is good for us. Eat it.

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