What Does An Average Paleo Day Look Like?

If there is one question I get from people the most, it is what does an ideal Paleo day look like?  I get it all the time, but truth be told, I enjoy those kinds of questions because it shows interest and gives me a chance to show people how truly easy it is.  So with no real plan this morning about how I would end my day blogging about this, here is what I did today.  Before I go any further, I’m not advocating EVERYONE HAS TO DO IT THIS WAY.  There are  many average Paleo Days and variations.  This is simply how I spent mine, OK?

My alarm woke me at 5 A.M.  OK, let’s start there – that is not ideal, waking up that early, right?  But I choose to do that so that I can get my workout in and start my day feeling productive.  From there I headed to my garage where I have a squat rack and an Olympic weight set.  I did a little stretching and then did my Stronglifts 5X5 program.  That consisted of 5 reps of 5 sets of compound movements; today’s exercises were squats, overhead presses and deadlifts.  I rested a little between sets and then finished up.  Coming back inside, I grabbed my iPod and looked at where I am on the 100 Pushups Program, something else I enjoy doing as part of my workout.  I finished a total of 100 pushups and then got my day started.

One topic that comes into play at some point with Paleo/Primal folks is intermittent fasting.  What that means for me is I typically don’t eat past 8 PM at night, I train fasted which is shown to raise growth hormone levels and then I hold off eating until noon.  This fasting period allows the body’s system to rest and recover.  In addition, like the Paleo Man, it forces my body to turn to body fat for energy versus being the standard American sugar burner.  It works for me, but it may not work for everyone.  If you are new to a Paleo/Primal diet, I’d suggest focusing on that first.  Once you have your diet dialed in, you may wish to fast from time to time as well.  I pick up a lot of my intermittent fasting advice from Martin Berkhan over at LeanGains.

I brought my lunch to work today, which is pretty typical.  I brought an organic yam and some Smokey Pot Roast.  But as lunch time got closer, I felt like chicken.  A nearby grocery store sells rotisserie chickens, so I went and picked one up, eating about half to 3/4 of it.  Yum!  The yam was awesome too, but it took about 10 minutes to cook off in the microwave.  It WAS a monster!  That would be my only carb source of the day.

Once home, I wanted to save some foods in the fridge for the next evening, so I kept it simple.  I made breakfast for dinner and had four strips of bacon, sauteed some mushrooms in my bacon fat, added my eggs to the pan and scrambled them up.  Then I added half of a sliced avocado, grabbed a big cup of water and settled in to watch the World Series (Go Cardinals!).  I also supplemented the meal with 5 fish oil capsules and 5 Vitamin D capsules.

The one thing I miss but I am experimenting with is less coffee this week.  My morning main stay is coffee with heavy cream.  My adrenals get overloaded with my coffee intake, so once in a while I pull back from coffee for up to a month to make sure my system is not overly reliant on it and to change things up.

And that, my friends, is a typical Paleo day for me.  How about you?

Why You Gotta Be Like That?

Last year I learned a valuable lesson.  Imagine that.

No matter what hobby, affiliation, religion or group you become a part of, the inevitable happens.  You learn.  You act.  Pretty soon, you form some opinions.  Later on, you hunker down and you start defending your beliefs.  For anyone who cares to challenge that thought, go visit your nearest sports bar on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

So it should come as no surprise that even within the Primal and Paleo communities, such thoughts have reared their head.  There are those who tolerate dairy or those who workout minimal times per week.  There are those who only lift weights, others who believe in a weekly routine that includes running; those who advocate the lifestyle and others who just complain.  Let’s face it – we are all different.  That doesn’t make us right or wrong.  It just is.

In the past year or two, we are starting to see some thoughts challenged.  Enter the Ancestral Health Symposium and some of the lively discussions had that week.  Me, I enjoy the healthy debates – it brings out the best in us, forces us to look at what we used to take for granted and brings in some fresh thought.

When I wrote my book last year, Caveman Resurrection, I had a few naysayers who asked why would you write a book when Mark Sisson already laid down the law?  Just a few months later, Robb Wolf came out with his take, Paleo Solution, and on any given week we see more cookbooks and family approaches to Paleo.  Kudos to all.  I love seeing the heightened awareness come out.  We already know the benefits of the Primal/Paleo lifestyle.  Tweaking things here and there while learning even more is everyone’s prerogative (and not just Bobby Brown’s).

Where my book deviates from the rest, in my own opinion, is the motivation and psychology I include that teaches anyone a few things about themselves regardless of what nutrition or program they get on.  I talk about ways to save money on the Paleo/Primal plan.  But above and beyond it all, I provide a different perspective that I believe supplements the other books already on the market.  In other words, it’s information on top of the science.

We all need to celebrate our differences.  To date, there are over 600 blogs which you can find HERE.  Wow!  We all need to celebrate this great community.  And in between, our growth depends on great minds adding to the conversation.  Order your copy of Caveman Resurrection, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  For only $6.95, you get over 200 pages of great content guaranteed to help you and your health.  If you don’t agree it can help, then refunds are available.

So the next time someone challenges your unconventional wisdom, hear them out, listen and then tell your side.  At the end, you may both learn something new.

Not Just Another Blog

Welcome world to yet another blog.  I hope the information you find here is actually useful and not just another person droning on about a topic that has no meaning for you.  So, let’s skip right to the relevance of it all.  I mean blogs are supposed to be about relevant content, so let’s get to it.  This blog is about resurrecting one’s self.  It’s about making healthy choices.  It’s about making quality choices.  It’s about honoring those past mistakes you’ve made – that we’ve all made.  None of us are perfect.  But we’re ready to attempt it again.  We’re ready to resurrect ourselves.

Now, when I use the word resurrection, some people may get a bit uncomfortable.  Is this guy getting all religious on me?  The answer is no.  Resurrection, quite simply, is the re-birth of one’s self.  And, to make that point more clear – you can’t have re-birth until you have allowed a part of you to die.  If you are ready to make some healthier decisions in life, then it’s time to see the error of your ways and close that door.  That person doesn’t exist.  That’s not to say you won’t mess up again.  But let’s not even acknowledge that person is there any longer.  Today is about a new YOU.  Today is about looking back one last time and then turning to the present and future – and seeing a whole new opportunity to be the person you always wanted to be.  It’s about opportunity.  It’s about resurrection.

For some of you reading this, you may have been a past reader of my former blog, Primal Chat.  You can try to Google it, but you won’t find it.  You’ll find a former Twitter account and some other references to PrimalChat or Primal Chat.  But those days are gone.  I have died to that self.  But my mission is still the same.  Helping others achieve the best within themselves.

So, what’s different about this blog than any other?  Well, to demonstrate, I have a great e-book I wrote called Caveman Resurrection.  It is for sale.  But not today.  And not next week.  It’s for sale when I have proven to you, the reader, that this content is actually what I say it is and worthy of purchase.  It’s not about a quick fix.  It’s not about topical decisions.  This work is deep.  It will force you at times to look within yourself to the decisions you make and why.  It may be uncomfortable at times.  But discomfort on this side leads to freedom on the other side.  And who can’t use a little freedom?

Look for more to come – the journey is about to begin.