Thursday, June 2, 2011

My Primal Plate

The Food Plate is replacing the Food Pyramid. So I decided to take the Primal Blueprint Pyramid and convert it to a plate. I want to keep up with the times you know. So here it is...My Primal Plate.


Click on picture to zoom in.

Calorie counting, or how to piss people off.

Here's another answer I posted on the MDA forum.

I think of two different ways to count calories. The CW way of counting calories and the Primal way of counting calories. The big difference in the two ways is exercise. The CW way of counting calories is to use a formula to establish your caloric needs. You weigh and measure your food intake so you stay under your needs. You also do cardio to increase the number of calories you burn. But the problem is cardio increases your need for carbs. If you are doing very low carb your body will break down protein to make the carbs you need, especially bad if you are not consuming enough protein. This is the way we head off into metabolic derangement via the carb/cardio pathway. The Primal way of calorie counting is a little different. First We use the formula to get our caloric needs just like we did for the CW of calorie counting. We decide how fast we want to lose weight, like 1 lbs per week. We then consume that amount of calories. Such as, my caloric needs are 2,000 calories, I want to lose a lb a week which is 3,600 calories, or a 500 calorie a day deficet. So I eat 1,500 calories a day. I do not try to lose any calories through cardio activity. I focus instead on building muscle through lifting heavy things and sprinting. I also burn calories by doing low level activity, such as walking, cleaning the house, and work in general. I don't sit to do anything for very long. Building muscle and doing low level activities burns fat, not carbs.

Yes, for the maintaining weight you need 1 gram of protein per body weight, but for changing your body composition you will want to increase your protein consumption to something over that. If you are trying to lose fat and build muscle you need more like 1.5 grams per pound of lean body weigh, or 1 gram per pound of body weigh. It would look like this: I weigh 170 lbs. Let's say I have 12% body fat. So I have 20.4 lbs of fat and 149.6 lbs of lean mass. So I decide I want to maintain my weight of 170 lbs and I want my body fat to be at 8%. That would put me at 13.6 lbs of fat and 156.4 lbs of lean mass. I think I would need at a very minimum 157 grams of protein a day. I believe 170 grams would probably be better. It probably wouldn't hurt to eat 1.5 grams x 157 = 235.5 grams. The key to remember is this; Focus on changing your body composition through building muscle.
 Seems like people really get mad when you mention calorie counting and with good reason. CW calorie counting got them into metabolic derangement and now they not only can not loose weight, but they are gaining more weigh despite eating fewer calories. The only way out of the metabolic hell is the Primal Bluebprint/Paleo Diet. But people forgot about the exercise part of the program, or they focus too much on the food/diet aspect of the Blueprint. We don't reprogram our genes by diet alone. To reprogram our genes we need to follow the whole Primal Blueprint. Read or reread Mark Sission's guide to Primal Success.

Quick rundown of Mark Sission's Primal Blueprint:

1. Eat lots of animals, insects and plants.
2. Move around a lot at a slow pace.
3. Lift heavy things.
4. Run really fast every once in a while.
5. Get lots of sleep.
6. Play.
7. Get some sunlight every day.
8. Avoid trauma.
9. Avoid poisonous things.
10. Use your mind.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

A better Dirty Weightloss Formula

Body Composition = BMR/RMR + TEF + TEA + SPA/NEAT + n=1 (your uniqueness)

You can increase your BMR/RMR by increasing your muscle mass through lifting heavy objects. You can increase the TEF by eating certain foods such as proteins and low carb vegetable matter. You can increase TEA by lifting heavy things, sprinting, and playing. You can increase SPA/NEAT by walking and increase the amount of time you engage in low activity motion. Damn, that sounds a lot like the Primal Blueprint. You can reset your genes and hormones (your uniqueness) to be healthy by following the Primal Blueprint. Now get out there and apply your new Primal Blueprint Formula. Grok On!

I wrote this as an answer to a question on the MDA Forum a few days ago. I liked it so much I thought I'd put it on my blog. If you are not familiar with what the letters in my formula mean I suggest checking out this blog. Actually you should go read this blog even if you do know what they mean. I think it is a very good article on body composition.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Laughable Marketing

I figured I had better post a blog or I might lose my 3 followers. Not much has changed as far as my diet and exercise. I'm holding off posting anything about my summer cut phase until my 8 weeks is up. But I will say that it is going well.

I read this blog today and it made me laugh. Amy Kubal MS, RD, LN  over at Fuel as RX posted a blog about the titles of some different processed foods and what is really in them. People following CW probably fall for this and think they are eating healthy foods.


Saturday, May 7, 2011

Saturday night food porn

I made a Mexican pot roast, guacamole and Primal Mexican Chips for supper today. The exercise for the day was mountain biking. We spent a little over 2 hours riding Turkey Mountain today.

                                                              In the pot and ready to cook.


                                                                             Yum!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Where the food and exercise blogs go?

I've been lazy and haven't posted my food and exercise for about 2 weeks. For the most part neither my food or exercise has changed much. I changed my feeding time up a bit. I've been eating 4 meals a day. I spread them out a minimum of 3 hours apart. I eat at 5:30am, sometime between 8:30am and 9:30am, somewhere between 12:30pm and 1:30pm, and then my last meal is sometime between 5:30pm and 8:30pm. I'm trying to eat only when hungry. Here's what I had yesterday.

Breakfast:
2 slice of bacon
2 scrambled eggs
a slice of canalope

Mid-morning meal
Steak
macadamia nuts
strawberries

Lunch:
steak
mixed greens
mixed berries

Super:
Salamon
Squash
onions
red and yellow peppers
asparagus


I've been busy rereading "The Primal Blueprint" and listening to "The Latest in Paleo" podcast. I've put "Good Calories, Bad Calories" aside until I finish rereading "The Primal Blueprint".

Sunday, May 1, 2011

My P.A.S.T seminar experience

P.A.S.T seminar in Prairie View, Kansas.

    I didn't have the vacation time or money to make it to PrimalCon this year, but I got lucky. Coach Micheal Rutherford of Bootcamp Fitness in Prairie View Kansas hosted a Primal Blueprint P.A.S.T Seminar at his gym. Prairie View is about a 4 hour drive from where I live in Oklahoma. Tanya and I drove up Friday evening and spent the night in Shawnee Mission. We ate at the Salty Iguana in Prairie View that night. They have several low carb items on their menu. They even have what they call a skinny margarita. Its a pretty cool restaurant they have four locations if you are ever in the Kansas City area. OK, enough about our vacation.


                                           BootCamp Fitness in Prairie View, Kansas

                                           Inside Bootcamp Fitness, seminar ready!

    So why go to a P.A.S.T seminar? Besides the facts that it is reasonably priced and might be closer to where you live. What is a P.A.S.T. seminar anyways? Isn't it for beginners? These are a few of the questions this blog post will try to answer from my point of view. Here's the product description from www.primalblueprint.com:

Primal Accelerated Success Training (P.A.S.T.) is an entertaining and interactive 6-hour course that will immerse you into Mark Sisson’s wildly popular Primal lifestyle movement and best-selling book, The Primal Blueprint. By the end of your P.A.S.T experience, you’ll have a clear understanding of the key Primal Blueprint concepts, and develop a specific plan of action to “get Primal” over the ensuing 30 days and beyond. The course material stands alone for those who are relatively unacquainted with Primal living, but reading the book in advance will enhance your seminar experience.



                                           Mark Sission



                                           The Audience

    The seminar started on time and was well run. There was about 40 people there I think, give or take 5. I have put the details of the seminar from Mark's Daily Apple Web site at the end of this post. The seminar started at 9am. We had a break in the morning session and a lunch break. Lunch was meat, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

                                           Food with Coach Rut in the background

Mr. Sission spent his time on the breaks visiting with the participants and answering their questions. He was very friendly and approachable.

                                           The group eating a Primal lunch


                                           Mr. Sission talking to the group at lunch.

                                           A little closer shot of Mr. Sission


I liked his presentation and found it enjoyable. My only complaint is that it ended too soon. I could have spent another 8 hours listening to his ideas.
    I read the book in July of 2010. I read Dr. Cordain's books in April of 2008. I have been studying and following the primal lifestyle on and off since 2008. Since reading "The Primal Blueprint" I have been following the 80/20 rule. I have read the paleo books and I have been reading a lot of blogs and forums since July of 2010.

                                           My Primal book collection

I have been fairly active on Mark's Daily Apple Forum and I started this blog. So I don't really consider myself a beginner at the Primal Lifestyle. My wife Tanya started the Primal Blueprint about two months ago. She hasn't read any of the books, but she has watched me recompose my body and maintain my weigh over the last 9 months. I think she learned a lot from the seminar. I have read most of the other books after reading The Primal Blueprint, so its been a while since I read it. I also read it very quickly. I think attending the seminar helped me finally get the concept of the book. The subtitle of the book really says it all; "Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy." Its about reprogramming your genes! The first thing I did when I got home was to get the book back out and start rereading it. I had missed or forgotten so much of the book it was unreal. Or perhaps it was because I read so many other books and blogs I had forgotten the focus of the book.  I can say I learned a lot at this seminar, regardless of the fact that I have been studying it for a long period of time.
    We did two exercises in the seminar. The first one was to discuss with another participant what was something they would miss about their old diet and what would hold them up in following the Primal Blueprint. The other quest that I visited with had also been Primal for quite a while so we didn't have too many things to discuss about holding us back, but we did talk about some foods we missed. Our talk was mostly about how much we love this lifestyle and the benefits we have gotten from it. Some of the foods that were brought up were ice cream, chips, beer, pizza, and desserts. So we talk a little about substitutions like meatza.
    The second exercise was an individual exercise to list five ways you could do better on the Blueprint and list five Primal meals. The five Primal meals was easy and didn't take any time to think or write down. Here's my five items:

1. Get away from regular meal times and eat when I'm really hungry.
2. Include more vegetables
3. Drink less coffee, don't use it for a crutch
4. get rid of commercial condiments like barbarque sauce, mayo, and ketchup.
5. reduce process meats like jerky and bacon

   The hardest one is going to be how to work with irregular meal times. I work at a factory and Tanya works in an office. We have set break and lunch times. I like to have a fast of at least 12 hours each night. So Tanya and I discussed the issue on our way home. I'm not sure if we have come up with a good solution yet, but we are working on it. We currently eat breakfast at 5:30am before we head off to work and have supper at 5:30pm. I usually get hungry again between 8:30am and 9:30am depending on what and how much I've eaten for breakfast. My lunch break isn't until 11:30am. I really like to avoid snacking, especially after reading J. Stanton's article, "Why Snacking Makes You Weak, Not Just Fat". I used to eat 5 times a day back when I was following Conventional Wisdom (CW). It has been difficult to break this habit. I used to have breakfast, a snack at 9am, lunch at 11:30am, a snack at 2pm, and supper at 5:30pm. I think I'll work toward 3 meals, but again I want to eat them when I'm hungry.
   Two other items of interest Mr. Sission mentioned in his presentation were a change in his food pyramid and he is working on a new book. He has moved the meats to the bottom of the pyramid and put the vegetables and fruits where the meats were. He said that he also would make fruits a small portion of the vegetable and fruit block. He said that nuts have also became an issue and he would change the small of its block in the pyramid. Too many people are eating too many nuts. If you are trying to lose weight (express your lean genes) eating too many fruits and nuts can sabotage your efforts. His new book is about reconnecting with your community.
   I had a great time at the seminar. I got to meet Mark Sission and other people following the Primal Blueprint. I learned more about the Primal Blueprint and had my memory rattled. I put goals and ideas down on paper. I'm working on a plan to make my genes express themselves in the right way. If there is a P.A.S.T coming to your area I highly recommend you attend.




                                           Me, Mark Sission, and Tanya

   P.A.S.T Agenda from Primal Blueprint.com

Morning Session: Primal Blueprint Key Concepts. Detailed scientific explanation and practical discussion of the how’s and why’s of Primal living, and how they contrast sharply with Conventional Wisdom about diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits. Understanding the key concepts will help you build a solid foundation for your transition to a Primal lifestyle. Advanced Primal enthusiasts will appreciate how the discussion picks up where the book left off!

Break: A ten-minute morning break will be provided with beverages and snacks available.

Q&A: The delivery of the presentation material will be balanced with audience engagement at regular intervals. We want to make sure you “own” each of these concepts and have a complete understanding of how they apply to your health and fitness goals.

Lunch: Enjoy 45-minute of free time, and the opportunity to complete your first assignment of eating a Primal lunch!

Afternoon: Primal Accelerated Success Action Plan. Armed with the knowledge presented in the morning, you’ll develop a step-by-step action plan to transition to a Primal-lifestyle over the next 30 days. You’ll learn how to clean out your fridge and pantry and surround yourself with Primal foods. You’ll commit to a 14-day test period of Primal eating and evaluate the impact on your energy level, appetite, immune function, body composition, and overall sense of health and well being. You’ll learn how to restructure your workouts away from a chronic approach to model the Primal Blueprint Fitness principles. You’ll engage in a hands-on demonstration/fitness evaluation involving the Five Essential Movements - a simple, safe, total-body workout program for all fitness levels. You’ll develop a customized plan to optimize your sun exposure, sleep habits, and play time, and more!

Break: A ten-minute afternoon break will be provided with beverages and snacks available.

Small Group Discussion: Leverage the presentation material with additional brainstorming and insights from your new Primal buddies. Time to crystallize your goals and put pen to paper with specific commitments and To-Do List items.

                                           Materials from the P.A.S.T seminar