Beta & Eggs

-Arron

Hunt, Gather, Shop

True to the nature of my Paleolithic ancestors, I’ve sort of adopted a type of modern hunt/gather routine when it comes to groceries. While you’ll probably never catch me in the forest donning a bear skin armed with nothing more than a sharpened bone knife, you will find me at the local produce market a couple times a week. I tend to forage my veggies and fruit every few days for a couple of reasons: First, I like shopping. I know, I’m a dude and by the guy-code we are sworn to despise shopping but I quite enjoy it. I also do all the cooking and eat out very little so I like to be involved with my ingredients as much as I can. Of course there are other reasons like the awesome staff at the deli counter. As far as meat goes, I simply don’t hunt. There’s no analogy I can use unless you count ‘hunting’ for sales. Still my way of procuring vittles is very spontaneous similar to how it may have been back in the day.

Bed-rock

I don’t have a bed. There, I said it. I’ve been sleeping on the floor for a couple weeks now and I’m digging it. My back feels much better, I’m sleeping deeper and I wake up feeling refreshed. I certainly draw strange looks and off-kilter comments when I tell people that I sleep on the floor. Our cave brothers slept on the ground, sometimes in rustic shelters and maybe on a little hide padding and they turned out OK. They probably wouldn’t have had the comfort of a perfectly flat surface or carpet but the idea is the same. The bottom line is: I like it and that’s what matters. Of course that would probably change assuming there was someone to share the bed with me. That’s another story not appropriate for my audience.

Digital Smoke Signals

I can’t live without my computer. Well, maybe I can but why the hell would I want to? I still have the modern conveniences that one would expect a near-thirty fella to have. My computer is certainly at the top of my ‘necessary modern gadgets’ list. It’s how I communicate with my tribe. It’s how I learn. It’s how I earn money. I NEED it. I could go full-on cavedude and nix the cellphone, PC, car but why stop there? Let’s toss the deodorant and toothpaste too… see where I’m going with this. I’m not going to do it.

It’s a Mentality

I’m sure it’s a combination of losing weight, finding a new sense in confidence in myself and knowing that I’m doing everything I can to be a better me but living the life I do really makes me proud. I’m proud to talk about my lifestyle with others. I get an immense satisfaction from people reading my posts. I know, in my heart, that I’m becoming a better father to my son, a better son to my father and I know I would be making my mom proud. That means more to me than any number on a scale.

While taking certain measures in Paleo living may not be for everyone I’m happy with it. These are obviously not required by any means nor is this list exhaustive. I’d love to hear what you’ve done to live like a caveman.

-Arron

My set up is pretty basic.

• Comforter folded in half for a little padding
• pillow
• blanket

This is laid out on a wood floor with an area rug on top of it.

Why?

Sane people would ask why on Earth I would choose to sleep on the floor. Well, I have my reasons but suffice to say that I’m a glutton for punishment and enjoy pushing myself just to see what happens. Plus the Japanese swear by it.

So what happened?

The accounts of other floor sleepers I’ve read about have noticed far more dramatic changes that I have over the past 4 days. That being said the one change I have experienced was pretty cool. The past several years I have been waking up feeling like I’ve been run over by a Greyhound (the bus, not the dog). I attributed this to a couple things; I’m not in very good shape, hell, I’m not in OK shape yet and I’ve been sleeping on the couch for three years (please reserve your opinions, it’s been my choice, mostly). But something happened after sleeping on the floor the first night. I didn’t wake up feeling like s***. Once the morning fog lifted I felt pretty good physically. I didn’t have any of the back or neck ache that I usually greet in the morning. That alone made me continue my experiment.

The first night it was pretty tricky getting to sleep because I couldn’t get comfortable. I’m a side sleeper. I know that’s horrible for my spine but it is what it is. I’m also a cuddler when I sleep which leads me to hugging a pillow to fall asleep. I couldn’t successfully pull that maneuver off the first night. I’ve since worked it out. It’s also considerably cooler on the floor. One wouldn’t think that a matter of 2 or 3 feet in altitude would matter much but all things considered, it’ gets chilly down there.

Warning: I’m about to sound like a hippie.

Sleeping on the ground I feel much closer to nature. I don’t mean nature as in the dirt and trees (I’m sleeping on a rug FFS) but I’m talking about gravity. I seemed to feel “in place” on the floor and more stable. I imagine that our caveman ancestors experienced this sense of spatial well-being albeit it was probably countered by the worry of being eaten every night. It was kind of cool reminding myself of that experience.

Would I recommend it?

Yeah. I would. I don’t know if it’s for everyone and I don’t know if, given the option of a comfy bed, I would still choose the hardwood mattress but for what it is it’s not bad.

Benefits of sleeping on the floor

• No need to buy a bed or mattress. Duh.
• Keeps the room more open (the Japanese do it!)
• Consistent sleep (for me at least)
• If you have to crash with a friend you won’t inconvenience them… much.
• It’s seemingly purifying. I seem to be in a better mood too.

Disadvantages of sleeping on the floor

• It’s uncomfortable (because you’re not used to it)
• The floor can cold in winter.
• May impact your dating life and/or your partner may not dig it.
• You may come face to face with a house spider.

-Arron

Since September I have been following what’s referred to as the ‘Paleo Diet’ and I have gotten a lot of questions about it. I’m going to use this space of  interweb to try to explain not only what the Paleo Diet is but also why it works for me.

Let’s get this out of the way: I hate the word diet. Well, not the word but the connotations that it has attached to it nowdays. When someone says the word “diet” you immediately think up Slim Fast shakes or the Atkins gimmick. In reality there is nothing wrong with the word diet. It simply refers to what we eat. I’ll get over it.

What is the Paleo Diet?

Simply put, the Paleo Diet is an interpretation of what our ancestors might have eaten 2.6 million years ago. You’re fairly smart (why else would you read my blog) so I’m guessing by now that “Paleo” is short for “Paleolithic”.

So what did our barefooted ancestors eat? Well, they probably ate lots of meat and veggies. I don’t mean broccoli with cheese sauce. I mean broccoli with broccoli. They also would have eaten some nuts, seeds and fruits. Basically whatever they could hunt or gather. One thing they did not have: grains. They had no way of refining grains like wheat, barley, quinoa, etc. They also didn’t have a way to refine sugar. There was no high fructose corn syrup, no sodas, no bread… no grains and no refined sugar. They also wouldn’t have eaten much in the way of legumes as many can be mildly toxic if not cooked.

So does this mean I have to go to the forest and wrestle a bear for dinner? Do I have to eat it raw?

Well… As entertaining as I might find it for you to wander around in the woods armed with nothing more than your wits I can’t recommend it. There are perfectly good sources of meat all around us. Grocery stores being the most popular. As for eating it raw: while there is something to be said for bear carpaccio* it’s not recommended either. Our hairy buddies had fire too. Good quality meats and a variety of vegetables. Done. Pretty simple. Don’t use a bunch of ketchup or ranch dressing. Simple is better with this gig.

The thing about organics.

Organic fruits, veggies and meat are wonderful. They’re also very expensive. If you can afford it then by all means go for it but most of us just can’t justify spending the money on food when we are having difficult times. I would worry about getting organic food as a close to last priority in this diet. If you are already buying organic groceries, awesome. Some fruit/veggies don’t really even need to be organic.

Fat makes you fat

Eh, yes and no. It turns out that a decent amount of honest-to-goodness animal fat is good for you. There are good fats and bad. If you’re sticking pretty close to a meat/veggie + fruit, nuts, seeds kinda diet then you’ll be fine. Use your noggin on this one. Animal fats, coconut and olive oil, butter, ghee, avocados – all good fats. Coincidentally they taste really good too! Fried chicken, potato chips, Big Macs and donut monsters - bad fats. You get the picture.

Real food FTW!

Generally speaking I avoid anything that comes in a box or can. Obviously there are some exceptions, canned tuna being a major one but overall that’s how I roll. I affectionately referred to processed, boxed foods as “boxes o’ death”. Eat real food. Cook real food. That’s all I have to say about that.

Dairy and Legumes

There is a lot of controversy about whether or not Paleo folk should have dairy. There is some really good evidence against it but I’m on the fence. My suggestion would be to drop the dairy for 30 days and slowly integrate it back into your system and see what happens. I know I am. I dropped dairy for about a month and I found that I am intolerant now. I can have a little cheese every now and then or a little cream in my coffee but if I drink milk… well, you get the idea. My guess is that after a dairy-free month you may find that you’re intolerant as well. In reality, humans are the only species to drink milk after infancy. There may be something to that.

Legumes. I love beans. The Paleo Power that Be say we should cut them. While I agree because he is much smarter than me – I find it hard to give them up 100%. I will still throw them into otherwise Paleo chili once in a while. I don’t eat them like I used to but I do have them once a month or so. Peanuts are legumes. Peanut butter is probably the hardest thing for me to give up. It was recommended that I use almond butter but the thing is almond butter is more than twice the price of peanut butter. I could do without it altogether but I figure that I am kicking ass on the no grain thing and certainly seeing results so a little peanut butter is OK from time to time.

It’s not too expensive

I fell victim to the “eating healthy is too expensive” bandwagon too. I learned different. There are a couple blog posts that explain things better – There’s this one from RobbWolf.com and one over here at Nerd Fitness.

 BTW

This is just a smal overview of what I have learned about the Paleo Diet. There are other, more robust, resources that I’ll leave you with if you are interested in learning more! Mark’s Daily Apple, RobbWolf.com and NomNom Paleo are a few of my favorites.

-Arron

You have to work for it.

Sure, occasionally you’ll find a friend or guildmate to carry you through the game but not often. You have to earn your achievements. You have to down the bosses for your epic loot. There’s usually no way around this. If you want that Best in Slot piece of gear your going to have to put the time in to learning the fight, upping your current gear stats and working together with a group to get the job done.

Similarly, if you’re after a shiny new six-pack you’re going to have to earn it. You have to put the time in. You’ve got to learn what works, what doesn’t. You’ve got to trim your fat. You’ve got to work your ass off. But the payoff? It’s glorious. At this point I should note that I am not even in the same region as Sixpackland. But I know what I have to do to get there.

Everyone is a noob.

Well, at first anyway. Everyone starts at level 1. Even if you’ve got some MMO time in other games under your belt, I’m willing to bet you will still have to learn the ropes of a new game. The goal here is to not get discouraged when you see a level 50 in all of his epic gear. Instead know that one day, you will get there too.

Toss out the ‘vendor trash’.

In the MMOs I’ve played all items have a rarity/value system. Gray, white, green, blue, purple (and orange/tan but that’s not important) with gray being the lowest quality. You don’t need grays at all. They are referred to as “junk” or “vendor trash”. Don’t waste your time with these. In the same way you wouldn’t hang on to a bag full of grays, you wouldn’t keep a cabinet full of junk food in your kitchen. They serve no purpose, you will never need them and they will only take up space – eventually in your gut (we’re talking about junk food still right?). Drop it and make room for your greens, blues and purples (Paleo, organic Paleo, local & organic Paleo. respectively.)

Train often.

If you don’t train and learn new abilities you’ll never down the boss. Simply put, if you don’t continue to push yourself you’ll never improve. Don’t do it before you’re ready though, you’ll hurt yourself.  See, told you it was simply put.

Appreciate where you’ve been.

Remember when you were a level 1 noob? Yeah me too – it’s a very recent reality. It’s important to look back and remember how far you’ve come in your quest for happiness and health. Look back at the challanges you’ve had and the rewards that they’ve given you. It’s more important than you think and you’ll learn from it.

It’s your responsibility to help the noobs.

Not everyone will progress as quickly as you. That’s OK. Maybe you don’t want to run a level 50 dungeon with a level 23 but it’s important that you realize that they are rolling at their own pace and (presumably) doing what works for them. Sometimes you may want to help them along and run them trough some content and that’s OK too but make sure you’re helping them learn how to do it on their own one day. I may be the only one that thinks this way.

Did geek-speak get in the way? Are you a gamer? What lessons have you learned from your games that you can apply to your quest for fitness? I’d really love to hear about it in the comments!

-Arron

Anyway.

Turns out you can hook up a very good pasta substitute using fresh zucchini! Winning!

Here’s what you do:

• 4 medium zucchini
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 shallot
• salt & pepper
• 2tbs olive oil

You’ll also need a mandoline (or superhuman knife skills)

Start by setting up your mandoline for ‘julienne’ cutting. You can use as thick or thin of settings as you like but I recommend something close to fettuccine. Slice up all of you zucchini, personally I don’t mind slicing all the way through, seeds and all. Sometimes the seeds can cause your ‘noodles’ to break up a little. If that doesn’t bother you then slice ‘em all up. If you want your ‘noodles’ to stay in long strands slice down to just before you start cutting into the seeds all the way around for each. You won’t get as much yield this way but your dish will be prettier.

Toss the zucchini slices in 2 tablespoons of salt and place in a colander. The salt will pull out some moisture and make them more noodle-like. Let them sit for 15 minutes or so then spread out on paper towels to dab dry. They don’t need to be completely dry but getting the excess water off will help the cooking process.

Mince the garlic (I like to slice it thin though. The extra surface area helps prevent burning and I like that) and put in in your pan with the olive oil. You want the pan to be off the heat when you start. Begin heating up the pan on medium, bringing up the temp with the garlic in the oil will infuse the oil with vampire-repelling goodness! While that’s heating up finely dice the shallot and toss it in the pan too. Just before the garlic starts to brown (you do not want the garlic to start to brown; that means it’s about to burn and that’s a fail.) put in your ‘noodles’ and toss to coat with the oil. Sautee the zucchini noodles for 5 minutes or so, tossing constantly. The amount of cook time will greatly depend on your cut size.

Almost done. Now you have some options; you can either toss in some fresh herbs or sprinkle in some Parmesan or season with some black pepper. Chances are good that it will have enough salt already but taste it and adjust accordingly.

That’s it. Serve in a large serving bowl and garnish with herbs, Parmesan or whatever you added to it and bask in the glory of making a dish that is every bit as good as fettuccine without all the evil grain demons.

Serve this as is or top it with some awesome Bolagnese sauce!

-Arron

A lot of people have the opinion that in order to eat healthy you have to have a six figure income. While it’s understandable why a healthy diet gets a bad rap considering the extreme low price of several ‘convenience’ foods and the Bog Box marketing budgets behind them. Oh, and the Dollar Menu. The F’ing Dollar Menu.

If you look at the price of ‘healthy’ microwave dinners which can be bought for about $3.00 (I’ve seen them on sale for $1) it seems like a great value. Full meal for a couple bucks – awesome. However, first off, these things may be low in fat or calories but are usually ridiculously high in sodium, sugars and other chemicals. Plus, at least for me, I have to eat like 3 of them to feel full.

Here’s a better option: stock up on chicken breasts when they go on sale. Normal price around here is about $1.99/lb (I see them for $.99/lb all the time) and when you break that into portion sizes you are going to get roughly 4 servings per pound. That breaks down to .50/serving. Throw in some frozen veggies (which I get for $1.59 for about 2 servings) and you’re good to go! $1.30 per serving and you are good to go!

It seems like this paleo fad is the same as Atkins. What’s the difference?

There are a lot of similarities to the Atkins diet in paleo eating. The difference is that Atkins was all about cutting out the bread, pasta, potatoes – essentially the white carbs. You could eat 3 cheeseburgers as long as you didn’t get them on a bun.

Paleo isn’t anti-carb but it does advocate against grain-based foods as well as refined sugars and other processed food. Paleo is all about eating clean. Atkins is a low-carb diet. Paleo is a clean diet that happens to be low carb.

Everyone tells me you have to eat all organic foods in order to do paleo. Why?

First, that’s simply not true. While there is certainly benefits to eating an organic paleo diet with grass-fed meats, it’s not necessary if it’s not feasible. Buying organic/grass-fed foods can be expensive and that alone is sometimes reason enough for people to avoid it. Compared to the modern diet, even the government sanctioned Standard American Diet (that’s SAD if you weren’t paying attention) eating paleo without springing for organics will make a huge difference. I personally don’t buy organic or grass-fed meats. I can’t afford to. I do, however, try to buy locally grown veggies from the produce market. Work with what you have and make good decisions. Anything is better than nothing at all.

-Arron

I played ball with my son, Corey. 

I’m a dad – that’s my job.

And it’s a job I take most seriously. However, due to my weight, residual stroke effects and my general sucky health I haven’t been able to play with my kid as much as I’d like to. On Saturday we RAN. Seriously. I did sprints across the back yard while chasing him around. He lit up as did I. I rolled around on the ground and tackled him. We wrestled a little. It was so much fun.

A year ago I couldn’t even walk the block without wanting a nap and now I’m running around chasing a kid who’s faster than greased lightning. I don’t know what was more eye-opening for me: the fact that I COULD run with him or the fact that I WANTED to. Either way it doesn’t matter. We had fun.

-Arron

Sound familiar?

Short answer: Don’t worry about it.

Unnecessarily long answer:

A single day isn’t going to break you IF you have the motivation to get back on track.
If you don’t then stay away from the temptation as much as you can. If you know (and you probably do if you’ve been eating for more than a few years) that you simply can’t be around pumpkin pie without faceplanting into the pumpkiny, custardy magic then talk to your hosts (if visiting friends or family). Explain how hard you are working to be awesome and I’m willing to bet that they would be happy to make some accommodations for you

 You aren’t going to gain back anything in the long term if you get right back on track the next day.
The truth is that one meal doesn’t define your success or failure. One meal isn’t going to physically do any harm at all. If you are one of the OCD types that weigh in after every trip to the bathroom you WILL see an increase due to the amount of food and the SODIUM (which makes it all mega-tasty). I’m not saying to polish off the mac and cheese single-handedly but enjoy the meal without worrying about every bite.

Only you can prevent a disaster.
You know your trigger foods and level of willpower. If you turn into a ravenous beast after one bite of mashed potatoes then don’t eat any at all. By writing off your trigger food(s) you are limiting the chance of a ‘mashed potato relapse’.

What I’m going to do:

We have dinner at my baby-mama’s parents’ house every year. There is going to be so much that’s not congruent with my paleo lifestyle up for the taking. I’m going to eat the stuff that I really, really want and pass on the stuff that isn’t that big of a deal to me (bread, SWEET sweet potatoes). I’m probably going to tear up the stuffing and make the mashed potatoes beg for mercy and put a hurtin’ on the green bean casserole. I’m going to eat what I like because we generally only get it once, maybe twice a year. I’m not going to keep a ton of leftovers (aside from turkey) and I will probably spend my Black Friday Morning with dumbbells in hand.

If you are hell-bent on keeping to your diet

you have a couple choices:
A – count calories and stop when you run out of numbers.
B – eat the stuff that is less ‘bad’ for you. Nom on the white turkey, maybe have some sweet potatoes that DON’T have brown sugar, butter and marshmallows (yuk) and green beans or a salad. If there isn’t going to be anything prepared that is ‘safe’ to eat for you then make it yourself – no one, NO ONE that I know has ever complained because I brought more food.

Bottom line:

It’s Thanksgiving. Enjoy yourself and your family and stop stressing… there’s plenty of time for that at Christmas.

-Arron