Every year on January 1st, as most people do, I reflect on my life. What personal development goals did I achieve this year? I also reflect on what I would like to work on moving into the new year. I think most people tend to do this, but as we move forward into the final year on the Mayan calender and the year of my Chinese birth sign — DRAGON — this year some how feels a little different for me.
I have spent plenty of time working on myself over the last 20 years of my life, since I first become active in alternative medicine at the age of 16. I was sick at that time with an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition that left me lying in bed most of the time. I couldn’t go to school. I couldn’t eat. I had troubles sleeping because of the discomfort. Nothing like a “normal” adolescent lifestyle. This was the first time I went to see a naturopathic doctor. He did a food sensitivity test on me and I was found to be sensitive to several foods. He suggested I eat mostly veggies, rice and lean proteins. After about a month on this program I was completely well.
I also started exercising at that time. On Saltspring Island … where I grew up …. there was no gym, no yoga …. it was a do-it-yourself type of place ….. so that is what I did. I bought some old weights and set up my own small gym underneath the tree fort of my youth. I very quickly got myself into very good shape.
Why am I talking about all this? I exercise regularly and eat very well still to this day but I have decided to go a little more extreme this year. I feel like I am coming around full circle and I thought I would share my plan with however would like to read about it. The Paleo diet is a pretty trendy diet strategy right now and a diet that I already closely a dear to … I thought I would give it a try for several months with a large focus on calorie restriction.
From wikipedia ….
The Paleolithic diet is a modern dietary regimen that seeks to mimic the diet of preagricultural hunter-gatherers, one that corresponds to what was available in any of the ecological niches of Paleolithic humans.[1][4] Based upon commonly available modern foods, it includes cultivated plants and domesticated animal meat as an alternative to the wild sources of the original preagricultural diet.[1][3][56] The ancestral human diet is inferred from historical and ethnographic studies of modern-day hunter-gatherers as well as archaeological finds, anthropological evidence and application of optimal foraging theory.[10][57][58][59]
The Paleolithic diet consists of foods that can be hunted and fished, such as meat, offal and seafood, and can be gathered, such as eggs, insects, fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and spices.[1][3] Some sources advise eating only lean cuts of meat, free of food additives, preferably wild game meats and grass-fed beef since they contain higher levels of omega-3 fats compared with grain-produced domestic meats.[1][3][56][60] Food groups that advocates claim were rarely or never consumed by humans before the Neolithic (agricultural) revolution are excluded from the diet, mainly grains, legumes (e.g. beans and peanuts), dairy products, salt, refined sugar and processed oils,[1][3] although some advocates consider the use of oils with low omega-6/omega-3 ratios, such as olive oil and canola oil, to be healthy and advisable.[56]
More moderately, Kurt G. Harris recommends avoiding fructose, linoleic acid, and gluten grains as the primary Neolithic agents responsible for modern diseases, and “the rest is just tinkering around the edges.” [61][62]
On the Paleolithic diet, practitioners are permitted to drink mainly water, and some advocates recommend tea as a healthy drink,[56] but alcoholic and fermented beverages are restricted from the diet.[3][56] Furthermore, eating a wide variety of plant foods is recommended to avoid high intakes of potentially harmful bioactive substances, such as goitrogens, which are present in some roots, vegetables and seeds.[1][57][63] Unlike raw food diets, all foods may be cooked, without restrictions.[1][64] However, raw Paleolithic dieters exist who believe that humans have not adapted to cooked foods, and so they eat only foods which are both raw and Paleolithic.[65][66]
According to certain proponents of the Paleolithic diet, practitioners should derive about 56–65% of their food energy from animal foods and 36–45% from plant foods. They recommend a diet high in protein (19–35% energy) and relatively low in carbohydrates (22–40% energy), with a fat intake (28–58% energy) similar to or higher than that found in Western diets.[56][67][68] Furthermore, some proponents exclude from the diet foods which exhibit high glycemic indices, such as potatoes.[3] Staffan Lindeberg advocates a Paleolithic diet, but does not recommend any particular proportions of plants versus meat.[1][57]
I have also decided to step up the exercise again. As an avid fair weather cyclist, I tend to ride my bike in the summer months 3 to 4 times per week but in the winter months my bike gets put away and I find myself every year at this time with a little bit of a void in my exercise regime. Last year I started the peak 8 program. It’s amazing and very time efficient for those of us who have a busy schedule. I’ll explain the peak 8 program further in just a second because I also believe in exercise and dietary diversity …. I do yoga once or twice per week for flexibility even though I am terrible at it. I go for a hike with my beautiful partner, Emily, every Sunday morning rain or shine. I also lift weights whenever time permits. This year I am setting up a schedule and I’m going to stick with it 5 days per week. Weights will take up two of my 6 am morning starts. Alternating a workout with chest, triceps and abdominals with back, biceps and shoulders. Of course I will be focussing on proper breathing with every lift. The “Peak 8” program will take up the other 3 days of my work out week.
From Dr Mercola (www.mercola.com) ….
How to Perform Peak 8 Exercises
Here is a summary of what a typical peak fitness routine might look like using a recumbent bike (although you can perform this on an elliptical machine or treadmill, or with any type of exercise you prefer):
1. Warm up for three minutes
2. Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds
3. Recover for 90 seconds
4. Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times
Be mindful of your current fitness level and do not overdo it when you first start out. If you are not in great shape and just starting this you may want to start with just two or three repetitions, and work your way up to eight. You may need to start with just walking and when you do your 30 second bursts your legs would be moving as fast as possible without running – and your arms would be pumping hard and fast. Ultimately you want to exercise vigorously enough so you reach your anaerobic threshold as this is where growth hormone release is triggered.
Whatever activity you choose, by the end of your 30 second sprint period you will want to reach these markers:
- It will be relatively hard to breathe and talk because you are in oxygen debt
- You will start to sweat profusely. Typically this occurs in the second or third repetition unless you have a thyroid issue and don’t sweat much normally.
- Your body temperature will rise
- Lactic acid increases and you will feel a muscle “burn”
If you are using cardiovascular equipment like an elliptical or bike, you don’t need to reach any “magical” speed. It’s highly individual, based on your current level of fitness. But you know you’re doing it right when you’re exerting yourself to the point of typically gasping for breath, after a short burst of activity. Try and do this exercise two to three times per week, and you’re virtually guaranteed to drastically improve your human growth hormone (HGH) production.
Every morning I start my day with 500 ml of room temperature water before exercising. I follow up my exercise regime with a 10 minute guided meditation. I’m finished and ready to answer emails and have breakfast by 6:45am.
The only other major edition to my program this year will be to reintroduce sauna therapy along with a detoxification program several days per week. I do not have a sauna yet but I plan to pick one up soon as now a days infrared saunas are quite inexpensive (new or used) and will fit just about anywhere. It is very important to replace electrolytes when using a sauna regularly. I will be using a combination of magnesium powder with the addition of sodium and potassium bicarbonate salts. Sauna therapy real gets things moving out of your body, whether it be through the skin or through the liver and kidney.
I think 2012 will be a great year, but what that statement really boils down to is perception! I want to do something for myself this year beyond what I have done so far. I try to do this every year. Find a way to better my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing moving into the future. I also want to support other people to do the same!