Clean eating in tough spots!

By Razor.

Anna asked me to create an article for the primal blog, so I’ve given this whole ‘writing’ thing a shot and managed to come up with what you are hopefully about to read. My article focuses on ‘primal eating in the bush’, but the real focus of the article is about how clean eating can be done anywhere at anytime!

I have loved clean eating July so far! However, as I started thinking about the months ahead and the coming bushwalking season, I started to wonder how I would cope. Whilst thinking about bushwalking, I started to consider what I would normally eat, out in the rugged wilderness of Tasmania. The following menu can be classified as a pretty average day for out in the bush;

Breakfast:
Porridge, huge amounts! With a few big lumps of brown sugar, (got to have all of those carbs if I’m going to get through the day right?) Coffee x2

Snack:
Mixed nuts with chocolate, lollies, dried fruit and muesli bars x3

Lunch:
Crackers with peanut butter, nuttella and wraps

Dinner:
Instant creamy pasta meals

Dessert:
Biscuits with a hot chocolate

Besides the coffee, I don’t think this list contains anything that even slightly resembles ‘clean eating’. So after a few minutes of brain storming, I came up with a new menu for the bushwalking trips I plan to do in the future. This is my new ‘clean’ bushwalking menu;

Breakfast:
Breakfast was the hardest one to think of, as I needed something that would be light and easy to carry. After a while I came up with the idea of carrying eggs, pre cracked into a zip lock bag which I could fry up with a huge lump of butter! This worked out well, I carried around the eggs, pre cracked, in a double zip locked bag in my back pack for a day and it was fine. This breakfast only weighed 200 grams which is lighter than the amount of porridge I would normally take so I was pretty confident I could take eggs for breakfast for a 3-5 day trip with no worries. Coffee - never leave home without it!

Snacks:
I could do the easy thing and say nuts, lots of them, but that would be boring. So I thought I would try thinking of a few different clean eating snack ideas. The best one was beef jerky, light, easy, salty, (good for rehydration after a long summers day) and yummy! Carrot sticks with almond butter is another good option, (actually stole that from Tans post! cheers Tan!) Carrots last ages and don’t get crushed. Another great snack was the small 100 mil long life containers of cream, they weigh little, last ages and take up about the same space as a couple of muesli bars.

Lunch:
For lunch I decided on a big block of cheese and tuna packets. They make tuna in these little sealed packets which is great for bushwalking as you don’t have to carry around the heavy tin. Cheese last ages, has lots of fat in it and is uber yummy! I also put in an avocado for the first day for a bit of variety. An assortment of meat can also be taken, liver paste and kabana will last for a long time in your pack, and they will also insure you don’t go crazy eating just cheese!

Dinner:
Dinner was the easiest. If you have a dehydrator or a friend that has one you can simply make any meal and shrink it down to size! I find bolognaise type sauces work the best, or curries. This is super easy, light and doesn’t take too long to heat up on a MSR stove. The variety of food that can be dehydrated is endless!

Dessert:
These days I would probably go without dessert, but I’ve included one just for the sake of anyone else out there who wants a dessert of some kind! Ash had the great idea of mixing double thickened cream with a hazelnut spread, (as you can see I love using the ideas of other people!) this makes an ice cream type paste which is apparently very nice. Paleo cookies are also easy to make, just look them up on Google, they usually include almond meal, coconut, milk, cocoa and eggs.

And there you have it! That’s my idea of ‘clean eating for bush walking’, light, easy and very simple. I hope this little article has shown you that you can do clean eating anywhere. All you need to do is write down your ideas and plan ahead. This doesn’t just apply for bushwalking, think about that trip up to Launceston, that business meeting where you know there will be 100 biscuits but not a steak in sight! As long as you think outside the box, (except for Drum, AS and Russ who can only think in the box, hehe) and write down your ideas you will be amazed at just how easy it is!

R'xd Inactivity

By Sandy

We eat and move aiming to better our bodies and lives for functionality based on principles of evolutionary adaptation. This is an ideal that appeals to me greatly given my background. However there is a aspect to my life I feel is very unhealthy and not actively or even passively pursued in terms of improvement. I feel I may also be in the majority of Crossfitters and active people as a whole.

This aspect is sleep. Sleep has been shown to be unnecessary for life. We can live without it but are we healthy without it (or more relevant) with inadequate amounts of it? How much sleep do we need - should it be a low carb, grass fed, unprocessed sleep just enough to sustain exercise or do we need as much as we can get. Diurnal rhythms, cortisol levels as well as in-numerous biochemical mood modulators such as serotonin, dopamine etc affect and are affected by levels of sleep. Interestingly enough many of the mood modulators (happy reward chemicals) are seen in very similar circumstance in food consumption. My mind/body will reward me for the deep fried mars bar dagwood dog super combo due to an evolutionary driven chemical push for survival in terms of topping up with such a potent (impotent) form of energy..

Our bodies/mind reward sleep or more accurately punish lack of it. Is this similar to satiety with food intake and should there be sleep/exercise performance associations similar to diet/performance that are encouraged at Crossfit (if they aren't already).

If concentration and co ordination have been shown to be significantly affected by it then why is it that I won't eat a little bit of rice but sleep on average 5 hours a night and wonder why I am always tired???

I would like to find out more on the effects of sleep and its influences on exercise performance and well being. I find this particularly interesting given that my day (and most of the night) time job is putting people to sleep. I should treat myself and be off.

Old Dog...New Tricks

Can a person redesign his approach to nutrition after being indoctrinated by ‘ well intentioned research’ for so many years?

That is the question I continually asked myself when I started Crossfit.

You see I come from a nutrition background where carbohydrates rule and to perform faster and better all you needed to do was is improve your eating

My breakfast consisted of 8 weetbix, lite milk, honey and fruit (the breakfast of champions). Lunch was usually a hot meal of stir fry chicken and vegetables and dinner was something light. In between if I was hungry I ate an abundance of fruit. This was my staple diet. I was under the assumption I was doing just great. After all this is what I was taught (and in fact had researched) to eat.

Life did not get better than this, pre and post workouts were pasta (tomato based of course) and plenty of fish for Omega 3’s.

No bad food, I have never opted for take away meals and don’t over indulge in chocolates or biscuits etc. Having said that if there was chocolate in the house I would eat every last piece! Yummy.

Crossfit and coffee go hand in hand and if attending I usually had a skinny cappuccino, which amused Anna and DW no end. (Whatever guys, have you seen my six pack - I am living the dream!)

Anna was always on to me to eat correctly. Why I thought? My philosophy is to stand naked in front of a mirror and if you are happy with what you see, then continue on your way or change it. It’s not rocket science, is it? Why would I need to change? After all I am a decent CrossFitter posting some good times. For example Diane 2.59, Grace 2.57 , Elizabeth 7.22. Remember I am 50 years old. So why change?

Ok, I get the chance to qualify for the 2011 Games and want an edge. My wife thought I was crazy when I came home and opted for bacon and eggs and advised her I was going Paleo.

For breakfast now its 6 pieces of bacon, 6 eggs , tomatoes and avocado, full cream milk coffee, lunch is steak and vegetables in coconut cream and dinner the same. I only eat real food. But to store Glycogen into my liver quickly I use fruit as my sugar for energy. My body loves this and I now recognise, demands it.

How has it improved my life? Well it took about 2 months to convert and get it right. The biggest improvement I have seen and what pleases me the most are that my times are way better. For example, Diane 2.43, Elizabeth 6.20 and although I haven’t done Grace yet I did get 21 reps of clean and Jerk 60kg in 1.30. Yes, I believe there is more to come. I am off to compete in the World Games next week and fingers crossed I will see good and hopefully even better results.

So at 50 you can teach old dogs new tricks. I now preach the gospel to everyone and anyone. I strongly encourage you to improve your health and well being by adopting this eating plan

Thanks to Anna and DW for showing me the way, at times I am sure they thought, he is never gonna change (they are still working on the skins!!!)

A Menu for weight loss?

By John

The idea that it's not just the calories that matter in weight gain and loss but the foods that we eat is starting to break into the mainstream.

On the 11 July 2011 Radio Nationals Health Report ran a segment on a recently published study on the long term effects of a variety of foods and lifestyle factors on weight gain.

Dr Norman Swan interviewed Associate Professor Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and epidemiologist from the Harvard Medical School in Boston who ran the study.

The US based study followed tens of thousands of people over many years. They looked at changes in diet, changes in lifestyle habits, changes in physical activity, and so on, and how that related to weight gain or loss every couple of years.

They found that some foods were positively associated with weight gain; some were neutral, and some were negatively associated, that is: the more you ate the greater the weight loss.

It turns out that any kind of starch or refined complex carbohydrate such as sugar was associated with weight gain, something that the Paleo community has known for a long time.

Also red meat (processed or unprocessed) was also associated with weight gain. There was no information on the origin of the meat (beef?, lamb?, etc - but being the US, I would guess most likely to be beef) or its quality (grass or grain fed).

They found that dairy (whole fat milk and cheese) were neutral with respect to weight gain despite their fat content and that foods that have higher fat content, like nuts, were associated with fat loss.

The interview tends to blip over the topic of fats and concentrates on the glycemic index and glycemic load of carbohydrates as well as the positive effects of higher activity levels and adequate sleep. Being a cardiologist, Prof Mozaffarian sticks to the orthodox view on heart disease, cholesterol, and saturated fats - it's so ingrained he doesn't even state it explicitly, it's just implied that it's bad for you.

At this stage the cognitive dissonance kicks in and Dr Swan praises the low GI carbs as a good dietary approach.

The bottom line message is at least heading in the right direction:"...avoid processed refined foods and eat things like fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and yoghurt and think about the type of carbohydrates that you eat and be active...".

The Paleo/Low Carb community has a differing view on fats and grains but the evidence against refined carbohydrates and starchy foods is clearly impinging on the mainstream. Unfortunately, it may still take many more years before mainstream nutritional advice and public policy start to shift.

Unfortunately, anyone listening to the segment is still likely to come away from it just thinking "low GI is the way.”

The full paper in the New England Journal of Medicine is unfortunately behind a paywall as it would be interesting to see the detail. As Andy Gibbons reminded us at the Nutrition talk last Friday: it's often more enlightening to read the full scientific papers which can sometimes paint a different story to the official summaries, abstracts, and conclusions.

Something that would have been interesting to know would have been the health outcomes over time of the people in the study taking into account their diet and lifestyle.

You might be amused to see that the first comment on the transcript refers to Gary Taubes.


References

Mozaffarian D et al.
"http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014296" Changes in
Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men. New
England Journal of Medicine, June 23, 2011;364:2392-404 (full paper is
behind a paywall - this link is just to a short preview)

Transcript can be found
"http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2011/3264734.htm#transcript"

Audio as mp3 is
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2011/07/hrt_20110711_0830.mp3

Nutritional Goats

By Drummond

In CrossFit we use the term “goat” to describe a movement which we suck at or have a strong distaste for. It is usually the weakest link in our athletic chain. It may be double-unders, overhead squats or even running.

The diligent athlete recognises that working your strengths is easy and that true athleticism is found by systematically destroying your “goat”.
But how easy it is to stay in the comfort zone and just work what you are good at.
The athlete must grapple with his or her ego, swallow their pride and find the required discipline to truly concur their “goat”.
I have seen tears, sweat and even blood on occasion from the athlete who is focused on task of illuminating that “goat”.
So why is it that we seldom give the same effort to seeking and destroying our “nutrition goat”?
A “nutrition goat” is that mid-afternoon chocolate bar, that piece of cake you just can’t say no to or that packet of biscuits after a stressful day at work.


A good coach can break the most complicated movements into progressions where mastery of subordinate skills must be achieved before proceeding to the more advance skills.
I would not teach you the squat clean before first giving you exposure to the front squat. I would not have you attempt a muscle-up before firstly showing you ring-dips.

This same logic should be applied to your nutrition.
I am not concerned with your omega 3/omega 6 balance if you are drinking 3 cans of diet coke a day. I’m not concerned by the type of potato you eat if you are having coco pops for breakfast.

Identify the weakest link in your nutrition chain, apply the required discipline and effort to your goats first and advance through the progressions. You’ll soon be on the journey to a clean diet.

Be yourself......

By Anna

"Why can't I train like that person? Gym stats always up, always on top of their game, always consistent, they never miss a session. Wish I could stop eating the leftovers from the kid's lunch boxes! No one else does that. I don't need that sandwich, I am not even hungry. Wish I wasn't grumpy with the girls this morning, my friends are always calm and kind. I know I need to do those jobs around the house or give my partner some down time, maybe tomorrow, just wish I could do it today......"

We all have different backgrounds, levels of knowledge, varied jobs, changing travel times, leisure hours, family commitments, friends, financial burdens etc. You might be doing a great job with your 'clean eating.' Your Mum/wife/husband/friend might cook and shop for you. Or you might get home at 6pm everyday after picking up the kids and have to cook dinner. You might be going to the gym six days a week. Your school/work times might allow for this consistency and you make the most of it. Or you might be a shift worker, live in the country, rely on public transport, have a young family or have had to start a second job.

This is not about making excuses. It is about finding happiness in your own journey and realising that we all are on a different path. Don't wish to be someone else. If there is something you don't like about your situation and you can - then change it. If you can't change it, learn to accept it and work with it the best way you can.

Everyone's journey is different. Some days are difficult and some days aren't.

Do what you can, where you are with what you have. No one can ask anymore - especially you!

There are no essential carbohydrates, even for athletes.

By Kurt Harris (Archevore)

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THIS? PLEASE POST TO COMMENTS.

Despite current nutritional dogma dating from the 1970's, carbohydrate consumption is completely unnecessary for your energy (or any other) needs. Fat is the primary way we store energy in our bodies, and eating fat is the evolutionarily preferred food source in a food-abundant environment.* During aerobic exercise, the predominant fuel source is fatty acids, supplemented by glycogen stores.

It is possible to eat no carbohydrates at all and still do plenty of physical work. Any carbohydrates needed not provided from glycogen or food can be produced in abundance via gluconeogenesis. Glucose provided this way makes you literally burn fat, and keeps your insulin levels low.

You have about about an hour or more of exercise in your liver and muscle glycogen.

If you are a lean runner, you have enough energy in your body fat to walk about 800 miles.

You simply don't need to eat carbohydrates to exercise.

Try this:

Once you are adapted to low carb intake (it may take 6 weeks or more, so go slowly) your mitochondria, including in your muscles and your brain, will literally proliferate and be more energy efficient. Gradually start doing your workouts with less and less carb consumption prior to exercise, to the point where you are solely working out in the fasting state. By fasting state I mean no food for at least 12 hours. Now, most people think I am a lunatic when I suggest this, but hear me out.

I have talked about intermittent fasting as a complement to low carb eating to keep your insulin levels low. One reason they are complementary is once you are off the glucose/insulin hormonal yo-yo, your ability to tolerate fasting is increased immeasurably. On a very low carb diet you are literally never hungry, in that desperate way you are when you are carb-dependent. Intermittent fasting is absolutely the best way to keep your insulin levels as low as possible (more on why that is good in the future)

Working up to fasting workouts slowly, and once you have been on a low carbohydrate regimen for several months, you will find that your performance (running time, max lifting) eventually equals or exceeds what you could do before with a meal 2 hours before, as your body becomes more adapted to fatty acid metabolism and less dependent on glucose .

Now here is the good part. When you race, you have new mitochondria and your newly efficient fat-preferring metabolism. Add a moderate carb load and some GU bars if its a long race, and you will be faster than you were before. Glucose is now your nitrous oxide, not your primary fuel.

When you want to climb K2, you train in Leadville, Colorado, where the air is thinnest. Training at 10,000 feet is harder at first but more effective. Same with fasting workouts.



*When food was abundant in paleo times, it was often because there were large mammals rich in fat stores. Humans ate the fat, and it was adaptive for them to be satiated because food was abundant. No insulin response to make them store the fat, just use it for fuel and waste the rest. Conversely, when fruits were available they were much less calorie dense than their modern versions and in many environments only seasonally available. Fructose seems to work the opposite of saturated fat - the hormonal signal to the body is to store it and keep eating more. That may be why fructose is sent straight to the liver to be converted into triglycerides. Eating lots of high density fructose-laden food year-round in a food abundant environment is not something we are adapted to. The paleo enviroment we need to emulate is the one metabolically closest to our current condition of food abundance - high fat consumption.