You Are the Result of 2+ Million Years of Successful Evolution

So I've been dabbling with the idea of a Paleo, Primal, Caveman, etc... type lifestyle for at least a year- since first learning about this growing movement.  In my quest to become SuperHuman, I decided to give a read to a few books, snoop around on the internet, join a Paleo group on Facebook, and ask a lot of questions to those with experience with this Paleo Lifestyle.  Notice I did not, and will not, use the word "diet".  The word "diet" implies that something is temporary, a quick fix, or that you're starving yourself.  None of these things are good.

I'm going to run down the basics of this Lifestyle over the course of this week, and encourage anyone and everyone to join me on this journey!!  The science is very sound, the results are not debatable, and I am totally psyched to see where this takes me!  Anyone who has an auto-immune conditions, weight issues, chronic joint pain, allergies, skin conditions, fatigue, anxiety, depression, insomnia, or just about any other condition - I would seriously recommend you consider this lifestyle.

Books to read:
The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain, PhD (www.thepaleodiet.com)
The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf  (www.robbwolf.com)
The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson  (www.marksdailyapple.com)

Basics of a Paleo/Primal Lifestyle - Part 1 - Eat What Grok Ate.

If Grok (our fictional Paleolithic-era Hero) wouldn't eat it, you shouldn't eat it.  For millions of years, our ancestors (and now our closest living relatives - Chimps - also fall into this category) didn't eat grains.  They relied on a diet rich in meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables, with a little bit of fruit and nuts/seeds mixed in.  Just so you can grasp the concept of millions of years, if our evolution was drawn out as a timeline the length of a football field, we started consuming grains just about 36 INCHES ago!!  The USDA, FDA, big agriculture, the industrial food machine, and big-pharma (among others) will tell you that 6-11 servings/day of grains is the key to good health.  Nutrition Fail.

• Focus on grass-fed, free-range, pastured, etc... meats and eggs.  This is a different food than what you'll find at your local grocer.  I will go into this topic at length in an upcoming blog post.  I will also provide sources for you to find good food.  For now, visit my website at www.NaturalEvolutionHolisticFitness.com  and click on the tab "Good Food" at the top.

• Fish should be wild-caught, not farm-raised.  You would be sick if you saw a fish farm, and understood what that meant for the fish, and your health.

• Vegetables should be organic, locally-raised (when possible), and in season.  Take some time to learn what veggies are in season during what months!  Farmer's markets, Co-ops, buying clubs, CSA's, etc... are all great options for produce.  More info to come on the "Good Food" blog post coming soon.

• Fruit should be organic (Grok didn't eat poisonous pesticides) and eaten sparingly.  For those with a weight-loss goal, no more than once/day - and stick to berries, apples, pears, & citrus. (the fruit, not the juice)  Same rule goes for nuts.  Macadamias are the best (but also pretty $$$).  Raw, organic nuts should be a treat/condiment - not a staple.

• Quality fats are key.  Personally, I will be using coconut oil, lard (yes, lard...from healthy pigs), ghee (clarified grass-fed butter - delicious), unprocessed organic palm oil, and (to a lesser extent) extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil.  I will also be supplementing with a QUALITY Omega-3 supplement.  (95% of these on the market are garbage)

• I will Not be consuming the following foods:

• Grains.  Yes, really.  None.  Zero.  Zip. Zilch.  At least for 30 days.  After that, I can re-introduce things, such as rice, and see how my body tolerates them.  I will write an entire post about grains & gluten sometime soon.
• Legumes. (beans)  These are a poor source of protein, and have many anti-nutrients which disrupt digestion and nutrient absorption.  
• Dairy.  All dairy.  Except for ghee.  (ghee has milk solids removed, and is safe for occasional use during a strict Paleo experiment)  As I've mentioned, I only recommend grass-fed, raw dairy products.  I'm even cutting those out for 30 days, to be re-introduced later.  Then I will be able to tell how my body truly feels about dairy.
• Anything processed (think boxes, cans, etc...) or with added sugar.  Sugar was most definitely not part of Grok's diet. 

Tomorrow:  Part 2! Move Like Grok!....

Mind Over Matter....For Real...

Scientists have recently proven that DNA can be altered by words and frequencies.  This has been widely believed by those into energy healing, Eastern medicine, or any other form of traditional healing....but now it's been proven!

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE TO READ SOME REALLY DEEP STUFF ON DNA ~ VERY COOL

Did you know that cancer patients who, when first diagnosed, develop a negative/pessimistic outlook die at a much greater rate than those who keep a positive/optimistic outlook?

You don't have cancer?  Well, that's good.  So what does this mean for you, and for my journey to the realms of SuperHuman?  It means that your thoughts, words, and state of mind can LITERALLY change your body, from the inside.  If you have recently started to eat healthier, maybe exercise a little bit, go to bed earlier, or have adopted any of the other basic guidelines I've put forth ~ you know that results are not immediate.  Lifestyle changes, which lead to permanent changes in your body and your health, take time to develop and require the right mindset.

A client of mine once shared this story, about our obsession with immediate gratification:

"I told a co-worker of mine how I'd lost all this weight by eating organic, exercising, etc... and he said 'I ate an organic meal last week, didn't feel any different, I think it's a bunch of nonsense'".  I am, of course, paraphrasing...but you get the point.  Eating one meal of healthy food is not going to alter your life. 

It is essential to envision what you want, in life and in health, believe as if you already have it, and go out everyday to do the things that will lead to you actually having it.  The belief that the weight will come off, the blood pressure will go down, the blood sugar will get under control is JUST as important as the actions that you take to lead to these outcomes.

You can eat healthy, work out, go to bed earlier, etc... but if you are completely negative all the time "I'll never lose this weight", etc..... then you are working against yourself!  Every single extremely successful person in my life has told me the same thing. 

It's all about mindset.  I know I already touched on this in the original post ~ but I feel it's worth repeating.  And since I found that really cool article about DNA, I wanted to share it with you.

Hope you check it out!