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Evolutionary Fitness, Super Mike's Way: Part 1

December 22, 2007 12:02 PM

From SuperMike,

Art,

Here are the details of my workouts and EF lifestyle that some of your readers requested.
At work, I’ve often been called, “The man that doesn’t age.”

I get a lot of questions from friends and co-workers about what I eat and what’s my secret, but their faces usually glaze over by the time I get to the part about avoiding pasta and baked potatoes.

I’m 5’11”, 175 lbs and by my cheap skin fold calipers, about 6% BF.

I’ve attached a disgusting “before” picture and an “after” picture that shows my front and back at once. No retouching, just the front and back merged into one.

I call the second picture a “Work of Art.” (Art De Vany, that is.)

Thanks again for all the useful information.

Keep writing,

Mike

Here is the "before" picture of SuperMike.

Here is the "after" picture.

We know from the posts I put up earlier that not all this progress can be attributed to Evolutionary Fitness. He had worked out in a body builder style before beginning EF. The after is after practicing EF for a year, having worked for an unspecified period before.

Nonetheless, the progress is astounding and does show that working out can make a huge difference in appearance and health. The final polish to his appearance came from the year of EF.

I will post more installments later. Too busy now to do it all at once and too much to read at a single sitting, not to mention the load on my server.

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Evolutionary Fitness in Australia

December 14, 2007 07:09 AM

This really is a nice story, one I am proud of. It is nice to know that the blog has been helpful to others. I share Seamus' wishes that his story will inspire others to enjoy the health and peace of an Evolutionary Fitness Lifeway.

"I've been a regular visitor for a while now and figured I'd post my story here, and hopefully give some inspiration to your readers.

I am a 182cm tall, 34 year old male, and at the beginning of this year I was a walking time bomb. An ex-smoker, I have been an exercise minimalist most of my life. Since childhood I have abused food, and my body as well.

I ceased eating a regular breakfast in my early teens, and in an effort to control my weight generally starved myself everyday until dinnertime. Then I would consume the most extraordinary amount of calories to make up for it. All of my meals had to be loaded up with either pasta, rice or potato for me to (hopefully) feel full. High in saturated or trans fats was my preference. A snack would be a whole packet of crisps to myself. I would finish my meal and go back for seconds or thirds. I used to suck on tubes of sweetened condensed milk for a sweet treat...or knock off a block of chocolate in an evening. These were patterns that began in childhood, and only got worse with age.

Early in 2004 my weight peaked at 255 pounds. I was facing the onset of a host of chronic diseases, or even worse. I had never been more miserable. I find it relatively easy to build muscle, so I bought a home gym and some free weights from a friend, and begun lifting around 3 times a week. Most sessions were pushed to complete failure, and it was a real grind most of the time. Over the next 8 months I lost some weight and built some good muscle...all of it buried under a lot of body fat though. After a few nasty shoulder strains (due to a lack of rest and recovery), I took a break. My weight of course began climbing again, almost back to 255 pounds.

In December '04, and in utter desperation, I decided I would start cycling to work. I live 15.5 miles away from my place of employment, and really had no idea how taxing that would be for someone in my condition. I got myself a hybrid bike anyway, and took on the challenge. For nearly two years I kept this up, riding as much as 155 miles during the week. It was a real grind most of the time, but I was committed to it rain, hail or shine. Over the next 18 months, I managed to bring my weight down to around 195 pounds. I enjoyed people noticing all the weight I had lost, but was even more thrilled that I didn't have to change my diet to do this. That's right - I still ate and drank absolutely anything I liked, and the amount of riding I did kept all that weight off. I thought I was in heaven!

That was, until I stopped cycling. I could no longer face the regime of another 6am rise to get on my bike and ride the 90 minute journey to work anymore, let alone the trip home at the end of a busy day! I couldn't give up my eating habits either. By the end of '06 my weight had ballooned out to 228 pounds again.

At the beginning of this year, inspired by the weight loss of a collegue, I gave a something called the CSIRO diet a go (you may have heard of it). Developed by Australian nutritional scientists, it was given a fairly positive press response, though there were some who say it contains 'too much protein' - a charge that seems to be laid against anyone who minimises grains in their diet. In retrospect, it is very similar to 'The Palolithic Prescription' with it's focus on lean meats, fresh fruit and vegetables - with a smattering of grain & dairy. I lost around 33 pounds in the first 5 months, and felt great for it.

But the highlight of the year has definitely been finding your blog Art, and reading your essay. I have been an advocate of the EF way since the first day I begun reading through your site. The truth and logic that is inherent in EF has struck a chord in me. I stumbled across you after Googling paleolithic eating, something that I had heard about, but knew little of. I immediately progressed from CSIRO, dropping pasta, cereal, bread and rice from my diet. I also minimised my dairy, and cut out refined sugars. Breakfast now might be raw nuts and seeds...some fresh fruit for lunch...and some kangaroo (exceptionally lean) with fresh salad for tea. I no longer worry about measuring amounts, counting calories, etc. Food intake is now governed by a natural metabolic flow that I have never been in touch with before. I have also embraced intermittent fasting, and have tried to replicate a hunter gatherer way of times of lean and times of plenty. I now allow myself to feel hungry - something that filled me with dread when I was overweight. I have never felt better! EF helped me to lose even more weight, and I am now 183 pounds. I believe I will drop a few more pounds and % body fat, as I have only just begun exercising again. I am sprinting for the first time since I was a kid, and have embraced your style of gym workouts with brief, intense sessions. I don't work to a regime anymore, but by the laws of spontaneity, intensity and brevity. My best friend has embraced EF wholeheartedly as well, and together we try to come up with workouts that mimic paleolithic activity in their variety. Even my dad, who's 54 this year is taking an interest. I have shown him the pictures of Super Mike, and I think this has inspired him (as it would inspire anyone!).

Again, many thanks for all that you share of yourself, your intellect, your years of accumulated knowledge and wisdom Art. I hope that I am able to undo some of the damage I have done to my body, and look forward to reaching 70 with at least some of that same vitality, strength and essence that you possess!"

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Intermittent Exercise, Fasting, and OB Gene Expression

December 12, 2007 09:07 AM

So many seem to doubt the benefits of exercise for weight reduction or, more importantly, body composition, the true measure of fitness. They focus on caloric balance and the apparently small effect of exercise on energy balance, but that is only part of the equation for body composition. Hormone drives, stress resistance, and insulin sensitivity are all driven by exercise. Provided one doesn't go too far into the unhealthful range for exercise, all these contributing factors to body composition are favorably altered by exercise. Moreover, caloric balance studies are all confounded by incorrect reporting of total intake and even errors in energy expenditures. These are so difficult to do in free-living humans, that little confidence ought to be placed in them, least of all a pessimistic conclusion as to the effects of exercise.

But, there is more. Exercise affects gene expression in a highly favorable way. Exercise induces transient changes in energy balance and this is a signal to gene expression. Intermittent exercise, in the Evolutionary Fitness style, does not go "over the curve" into the destructive range for exercise and induces a down regulation of the fat gene expression, the OB gene (short for obesity gene). Intermittent fasting also down regulates OB gene expression. Eating the EF Way reduces insulin and down regulates OB gene expression. Living a low stress lifeway by not over doing exercise or obsessing over food and practicing intermittent episodes of brief intense exercise mixed with languid rest and "just doing" simple things also turns sympathtic tone up and down intermittently and, in turn, closes down insulin and OB gene expression. Looks like the EF combination, which aims at all these events, is great for attaining and keeping your healthy body composition.

Have a look at this abstract...

Read More »

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The Horror

December 6, 2007 01:36 PM

This pile of boxes was outside the gym after they had restocked the "health food" section. They picked it up later (it is a very clean place), but I caught the horrifying sight on my iPhone before they cleared it out. How much sugar or high glycemic fructose did those boxes contain? Too much, but "heh" they are protein bars aren't they.

Don't eat anything that comes in a box.

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Muscle Mass, EF and IF

December 1, 2007 10:04 AM

Here is a question most people who follow the received wisdom about diet and muscle mass probably ask themselves.

"I've been particularly intrigued by pictures of those who follow the evolutionary fitness way, including yourself and Mike who was recently mentioned on the site. I'm 48 and would say that I'm close to where Mike was in his first picture (minus a few pounds of muscle) I have to admit that I eat plenty of carbs--post workout shake, etc but plan to change my ways. When I've tried to lose a little weight with the intention to get to his third picture, I tend to lose significant muscle gains. In his pictures he looks like he really lost fat and didn't lose hardly any muscle mass. How is that possible? He says that he may have a caloric deficit on 2 out of 3 days. If I did that working out at the gym 3 days per week, as I do, I'm afraid I'd whither away and lose the gains that I've made in mass. I don't do any cardio (hate it). In brief, could you explain how E.F., perhaps combined with I.F. would let one lose weight yet not lose a lot of mass if that's true. Thanks so much for any info on this."

The "fear" expresses is a fear of rejecting the old idea that you have to eat the TupperWare meals and supplements consumed by most body builders. It has nothing to do with the science or the evidence, as demonstrated by Super Mike or myself. We both retain muscle mass and carry low body fat and eat the Evolutionary Fitness Way (EF) and practice intermittent fasting (IF).

I have calculated (see my paper Why We Get Fat under the research link above) that our ancestors were in caloric deficit one third of the time. They were in caloric surplus two thirds of the time. Over a longer interval, they were in caloric balance. So, there is no need to drop total calories greatly in order to carry low body fat. Only if you are far too fat to begin with must you go into a longer term caloric deficit. And this is close to impossible to do if you practice the TupperWare and supplement protocol of six meals and snacks a day of basically lousy food and high glycemic load.

The worry expressed by the question seems predicated on the old belief that you must always be in nitrogen surplus to build or retain muscle mass. Neither is true. And the evidence is clear, just using Mike or many others as an example. In truth, a lot of the so-called muscle mass that many fear losing if they eat differently is fat, not muscle.

The bulk these people carry is high intramuscular triglycerides, a known contributor to insulin resistance. The muscle appears large because it is loaded with fat deposits laced between the muscle fibers and intruding into the connective tissue and muscle fibers. That, and the thick skin from subcutaneous fat, is the reason so many bulky guys look so smooth. They carry almost no muscle definition or cuts.

What is so hard to face about losing some of this intrusive and harmful fat? How bulky do you have to appear in order to be happy with your appearance? Is the smoothness that comes with the bulk worth it? Are the health risks worth it?

Just eat good food as shown on this site. Eat to a sense of satisfaction, but not fullness, two days a week and go hungry one day out of three. You can fast completely on the third day, but I don't see that as productive if you have to drive and earn a living. So, just under eat on that day, going hungry especially in the evening when it is safe for you to do so. [This caution is for those who are insulin resistant and may fall into low blood glucose when they do an afternoon fast.]

As you do this your insulin will begin to drop, your testosterone will increase, and your GH will rise. You will also sleep better, which will further the GH increase. Stay active on the IF day so that you signal your system to retain muscle and burn fat.

I think what the concern in the question indicates is that you have been a bit brain washed, as we all have been, by conventional fitness advice.

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Trainers and Bars

November 20, 2007 07:21 PM

WW is taking a Yoga Pilates class at our club. Nearly all the participants are trainers, young and still slim and teaching exercise and nutrition classes. She is the oldest in the class by far and seems to be able to do everything demanded. It took a few weeks but she is doing well and liking it. They do a few dangerous moves, using the legs and arms as long levers to stress the spine, but generally it is a good class.

The trouble starts when she discusses eating with the class members. She said today that she would probably skip dinner tonight because we were having a solid lunch. Right away three of them said oh no, never skip a meal. Eat a Whatever Bar, but don't miss a meal. It turns out that they go from class to class, teaching or taking, and seldom eat a real meal. They live on shakes and bars and protein mixes.

They have only the most trivial argument in favor of not skipping a meal, mostly derived from nitrogen balance considerations and a sensible, but misplaced, concern for small meals in order to diminish insulin spikes (if they could have explained it correctly). All this comes from body building/endurance athlete practices which have worked their way into mainstream practice with little or no scientific evaluation. So, instead, they eat what is pretty much junk food, disguised as health food. Moreover, they fail to understand that frequency of carbohydrate ingestion is also a contributor to insulin resistance. And, the stomach never gets a rest and begins to degenerate (sometimes called the diabetic stomach because diabetics depend on frequent meals and emergency snacks which add to the load on the digestive system).

Fortunately, they are young and very active and will be able to eat this junk food for some years before they take a toll. I know many coaches and athletic teachers who spend long hours on the teaching tee, tennis court, or gym who eat PowerBars, ProteinBars, and whatever they are called by the bushel basket. Far too many of them are covered with a deep layer of subcutaneous fat and others are frankly fat.

To a large degree, they are rationalizing their poor practice and making unsubstantiated claims for their goofy eating. It is an attitude widely shared in the "fitness community". And they are all too ready to argue against other methods. WW doesn't even bother to explain things to them anymore; their minds are closed.

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Today's Breakfast

November 17, 2007 11:13 AM

As you can see, this is some leftover steak with fruit. I may skip lunch as the meal was very satisfying. I do skip meals often with absolutely no concern that I am "losing" muscle through negative nitrogen balance. My GH is so high that my body conserves protein and consumes fat. And, you already know that the microphagy consumes damaged proteins and fuels their replacement with new, undamaged protein.

Those who may think my diet is lacking in carbohydrate will see that there is adequate carbohydrate in the fruit. But, it is loaded with nutrients and potent antioxidants and phytonutrients, something that is lacking in flour-based and carb-drink sources.

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Surf and turf EF style

November 16, 2007 09:30 AM

Barbecued pork ribs with one King Crab leg and WW's home made cole slaw. We got several meals out of one box of crab legs, so the expense was not that high. The ribs we just enjoy so much we have them about once a week. The leftovers are great for breakfast or lunch the next day.

P.S. my new camera is higher resolution and I have to weaken the image. Let me know if the pixel count is too high and slows the download too much.

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Calorie Restriction Society

November 4, 2007 05:28 PM

I spoke at an earlier conference of the CR Society and really enjoyed the discussion and the other presentations. Their San Antonio conference is coming up November 11. If you have a chance to go, it is well worth your time. Dr. Krikorian is the organizer, a name you will recognize from earlier posts. Go to the link anyway to learn more about CR.

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Poor Eating and Depression

I received this uplifting, though still sad, comment from a reader. It points to the often discussed linkage between poor eating and depression. Yet, it points, not in the usual way from depression to poor eating, but the other way from poor eating to depression. That is to say that poor eating can be a cause of or contributor to depression. It also adds to the discussion of the merits of eating vs. exercise.

Take note of the issue with green tea. It is known that the source of green tea is a region of China that produces tea that is high in sulphur and other allergenic substances. I wouldn't drink it myself.

Another issue is the linkage between an allergic response to a food, such as wheat bread, and craving. Humans seek the slight "high" that comes with ingesting an allergenic food or drink. The high comes from a burst of adrenalin in response to the allergenic substance as the body arms itself against this stressor. Food is surely one of the major stressors in one's life: toxins, allergens, and carbohydrates that abound in our food put the body into an inflammatory response. The surge of insulin is the body's attempt to save itself from the damage of excess blood glucose and the stress hormones kick up the heart rate to burn off this toxic sludge. At the same time, the stress response lessens insulin sensitivity. A dangerous self-reinforcing feed back loop occurs each time you binge on simple carbs or fat. A few such shocks can create such a large and powerful feedback that you undo much of the months or weeks of good eating. Remember, it is the big events in life that shape it. A binge is a major determinant of your metabolic fitness. The body "remembers" these big events as they are imprinted on your hypothalmus and insulin receptors.

"Greetings.

Your blog is the greatest! If I had the need for a Bible of some sort, your blog would be it.

Two years ago, in November, I discovered the book The Rosedale Diet. Then, within a month, I read Loren Cordain,the book 'Neanderthin' and Candace Pert's audio tapes "Your body is your subconscious mind" and her book "The Molecules of Emotions".

Rosedale having convinced me, never mind a few internal contradictions in his advice, I very loosely applied the principles and I dropped from 245+ to 205 in about three or four months. I did that *without* exercise. I work from home. I am also quite depressed, and have been subject to intense panic attacks. I'm male, 45, with a scientific university education.

Read More »

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A WW TAco

October 27, 2007 01:11 PM

WW has Evolutionary Fitness meals down pat. This is chicken, various chiles, cabbage (red and white), and her secret ingredients. Too bad, it is only for me.

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A WW Evolutionary Fitness Breakfast

September 19, 2007 08:18 PM

WW has the EFit meals down pat.

Here is her variation on a meal I would cook for myself. She has an Italian slant on Evolutionary Fitness meals; it is amazing and delicious. It may have more phytonutrients than my own meals would contain. But, it all starts with the EF Way. She has many more healthy and nutritious variations on the EF Way. No wonder I married her.

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Peacock for Lunch

August 28, 2007 07:46 PM

As I was eating lunch at La Petite, a restaurant here in Puerto Vallarta operated by a French chef, I was joined by this peacock who came up to my table.

I am eating only from 1 to 2 meals a day while here. There are many fine restaurants, but it still isn't the sort of food that WW and I make. I am not as active here and I do find that my eating matches my activity extremely well. When it may fail is when you are inactive, so I take the precaution of less frequent eating. I don't try to limit calories, just how often I eat.

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Sweet Fruits

August 27, 2007 06:46 AM

Nassim Taleb sent me a few thoughts and observations on fruits . His historical observations are especially interesting.

I sent him this reply: It is true that fruits are far sweeter than in times past and sweeter here than in Europe. I am in Mexico right now and I find that fruits are as sweet here as in the US. Perhaps that is because they sell so much product to the US market these days.

The process for producing sweetness and tenderness is selective breeding, as you note, and selection for neotony, the retention of juvenile traits in the adult. Ah, it seems that is true of people these days as well. Many fail to achieve adulthood. On the other hand, humans evolved a form of neotony and retain their juvenile traits of playfulness and pleasure longer than chimps and other animals. It was an advantage for our large-brained, highly social species to retain aspects of youthfulness.

Seedless fruits, watermelon for example, are grown by selecting for neotony. Vegetables are going through the same process; strong tastes and texture are being selectively bred out of modern versions of vegetables.

I suspect the phyto-nutrients, often the source of strong tastes and colors, are being lost through this process.

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Carbs on Display

August 26, 2007 09:30 PM

I have noticed that Mexicans here in Puerto Vallarta are a bit heavy, with a sort of uniform mild obesity that seems to affect a high percentage of the populace. On the other hand, I have seen no extreme cases of obesity of the kind you can encounter every day in most American cities.

Wandering into a grocery store gave me part of the explanation. Here is the display I encountered. It was staggering to see in person. My iPhone only captures part of the towers and towers (at least 8 of them) of donuts, breads, sweet breads, cakes, cookies, and other products that pass for food.

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EFit Meals

August 14, 2007 11:00 AM

A few recent meals showing WW's touch on the EFit way of cooking. They are self-explanatory.

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Crab for breakfast

July 19, 2007 07:49 PM

OK, it really is that fake crab that is made from fish and coloring. But, it is a mild tasting fish with plenty of texture. So I had it cold with a sliced hard boiled egg and some fruit. A light, nourishing, and fresh tasting breakfast. As always, there is lots of color.

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A Study of the Evolutionary Diet -- It Works

July 14, 2007 04:10 PM

This is a rather long post because it is so important. If you are interested in your health and want evidence regarding the Evolutionary Diet, you should read it.

Dr. Krikorian sent me an abstract of what seems to be the first experimental, controlled study of the Evolutionary or Paleolithic Diet that systematically compares it with the Mediterranean Diet. It has not been published yet, but I managed to get the pre-publication version. The only published studies of the Evolutionary or Old Stone Age diet are not experimental; they come from ethnographic studies of Eskimos (Lundborg lived on an all meat diet patterned after the Eskimos he had studied for a year), and studies of various humans living in near Paleolithic environments or with diet and activity levels that correspond to ancestral patterns have documented the near absence of modern diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, or other markers of metabolic syndrome. Because it is a controlled experiment of the Evolutionary or Paleolithic diet, I urge those of you who are struggling with diets to take note. And, not also that the subjects are already sick and have quite poor metabolic fitness as the underlying common factor (and likely cause) and still responded very positively to the diets.

The purpose of the study is to examine the Paleolithic Diet relative to the diet usually recommended to subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or ischemic heart disease (IHD). According to the authors,

Standard dietary advice for patients with IHD and/ or IGT generally includes whole-grain cereals, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, fruits, legumes, oily fish and refined fats that are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and alphalinolenic acid while low in trans-unsaturated fatty acids [15– 17].

However, the optimal dietary treatment of IGT and insulin resistance is a matter of debate, including the preferred amounts and types of fat, carbohydrate and protein [16, 18–21], and amounts of fruits [22] and sodium [23, 24]. Since nutritional science is hampered by confounders, an evolutionary approach has been suggested. It is postulated that foods that were regularly eaten during primate and human evolution, in particular during the Palaeolithic (the ‘Old Stone Age,’ 2.5–0.01 million years BP), may be optimal to prevent insulin resistance and glucose intolerance [25, 26].

A Palaeolithic diet includes lean meat, fish, shellfish, fruits, vegetables, roots, eggs and nuts, but not grains, dairy products, salt or refined fats and sugar, which became staple foods long after the appearance of fully modern humans.

We have all seen the standard diet recommended by most doctors and diet books and it is the one most people have a hard time sticking to. Yet, they cling to it, ostensibly because everybody recommends it, but really because they can still eat the bread, cereal, yogurt, ice cream, potato chips, even cookies on the grounds that they are eating grains. They really are sabotaging their metabolism and deteriorating their glucose tolerance (a test of insulin sensitivity and response). A typical response from someone when I tell them it is not so great to eat grains is that they eat whole grains. They really don't. You cannot get whole grain readily and it is almost always laden with milled flour for binding, flavor, and texture. And, whole grain wheat is so bitter that breads made from them are apt to be loaded with sugar.

The key distinctions of the Evolutionary Fitness diet from the consensus recommendations for a healthy diet is the absence of grains and cereals (including rice), dairy products, salt, sugar (and sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners), and processed fats or oils. I go further and include no beans.

The subjects in the study were male IHD patients with a large waist (>94 cm) and high blood glucose or diabetes. Not a very healthy group to be sure. I note from the tables that they all had average fasting blood insulin levels of 102 (Paleolithic group) and 123 (Med group). [My fasting serum insulin is from 2 to 3. Now you see why I suggest you measure your insulin.]The variance was much higher in the Med group. The Paleo group were quite uniform in insulin level as shown by their low variance. The Med group had higher triglycerides. The subjects were randomized to the diets.

How did it go?

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Scallops for Lunch

July 2, 2007 02:13 PM

This is what became of the scallops left over from dinner two nights ago. I chopped them and put them over kale, romaine, red cabbage, calmata olives and green onions. A bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dressing made it delicious.

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Scallops for Dinner

I did these scallops on the barbeque and then WW (Wonder Woman for new readers) touched them up in the pan with olive oil, flakes of dried hot chiles, and wine vinegar. You also see some asparagus, steamed cauliflower, and grilled squash. The salad was large, with avocado, red cabbage, tomatoes, olives, and celery over romaine lettuce and some fresh anaheim chiles.

That is a glass of Pinot Grigio.

The left over scallops in the pan were eaten for lunch today (next post).

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But, you could eat a bagel or donut?

The other evening while out with neighbors for dinner I mentioned that I had pork chops for breakfast the day before. Her response: I couldn't eat a pork chop for breakfast. So, have a look at my breakfast. Would you rather eat breakfast cereal, a donut or a bagel like she does?

She does struggle with her weight and her rejection out of hand of nutritious food in favor of the convenience and her long experience with lousy carbohydrate-laden food is one reason for her struggles. You don't give up anything when you eat the EF Way. You gain new foods and variety along with nutrition. And the weight just falls off.

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Breakfast and Dinner

June 27, 2007 11:26 AM

This was a nice breakfast that WW fixed. Some thin ham strips burned lightly on the grill. Scrambled eggs with provolone on top and Anaheim chiles mixed in. A bit of the famous WW tomato salad with vinegar and hot chile flakes. And fruit. (I see a paper napkin; I prefer cloth).

For dinner WW made mussels with Italian red sauce. The covered bowl is full of mussels too. We ate a ton of them. That was all we had, except for my Dos Equis beer.

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WW's Fast, Easy Meal

June 18, 2007 02:58 PM

WW did this delicious, clean dinner the other night. As you can see, it is asperagus, King Crab legs, part of a sweet potato done in a pan with olive oil, and her Italian tomato salad. The salad is sliced tomatoes with a bit of wine vinegar with sliced red onion, fresh leeks and celery. I think she had small flakes of dried hot chiles in it too.

We find crab to be satisfying, but light. I would have a yam in place of the sweet potato, and I think she would too. It took no time to prepare.

I met one of WW's former work colleagues in the gym today and she has lost 50 pounds over this past year. She began eating the EF Way (lite) when she saw WW dropping dress sizes. She works out nearly every day, mixing Pump classes with cycling and treadmills and some more intense weight lifting. I work out far less often, but her cycling and other things are the sorts of things I do in my playing. It is easier for her to do it in the gym and it works for her. It might for many of you who find it more difficult to be active when not in the gym.

I start tennis lessons this week, picking up a sport I dropped a long time ago. I am letting the softball go for a while. I may play a little golf too. I go to Mexico soon and the cooler golf courses there are a lot more appealing than the hot desert courses here in Utah at this time of the year.

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Question about alcohol

June 15, 2007 09:59 AM

Here is an interesting question from a reader:

I am a big fan of your blog. I have also read your PDF articles in relation to Evolutionary Fitness, which i must tell you, is extremely fascinating. I am fervently looking forward to the book BIGTIME! I have a quick question for you about alcohol if that is okay. Here goes:

I eat the evolutionary fitness way and like you, enjoy a couple of alcoholic beverages on a daily basis. As such, you can imagine how happy i was to discover on your site that alcohol can increase T-levels, especially since you often hear the opposite, that is, alcohol, namely beer, can increase estrogen-related activity in one's body. I drink anywhere from one-to-three bottles of beer a night or either some wine. I don't however drink these beverages with food, but rather, on an empty stomach, as this helps really relax me for sleep. I was wondering whether or not you think drinking in this fashion is beneficial or detrimental in terms of increasing Testosteron levels? Perhaps drinking on empty stomach prior to bed may slow the release of growth hormone.

My brief response:

That is too habitual to be good for you.

I don't see how it can relax you for sleep when it puts your digestion into action and swells your stomach.

Remember, it is the acute and non-regular mild stress that releases the T, not the routine and expected, which becomes a drug-like inducement.

Check your insulin level next time you see your doctor, not your glucose tolerance, but your fasting insulin level. If it is over 8, you are doing something not helpful. Mine is between 2 and 3.4 (the latter in a non-fasting state).

And, by the way, the beer before bed will reduce your GH response to deep sleep and probably impair your deep REM sleep, which is when GH is released.

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Thanks

June 9, 2007 11:16 AM

WW and I thank you all for those nice wishes and congratulations. She is a wonder. Recall that she went from a size 10 to a size 4 on EF. When she hit a Victoria Secret size 4 she looked so good I had to marry her. (The young guys who hit on her at work and the gym have no clue that she is 69 years old, like me.)

She has created many EF meals too. So we do cook together or take turns.

Here is an interesting meal she did the other day.

Red and white cabbage with some carmelized red onions and chicken, all done in the pan on olive oil in just a few minutes. No martyr cooking for her.

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Meals 3

June 5, 2007 11:03 AM

A quick dinner last night. Shrimp cocktail and half a NY steak for me, same for Wonder Woman. Red pepper done on the grill. WW's "french fries" aka grilled squash cut thin. Asparagus spears and some tomatoes with olive oil, red onion, and oregano. Light on meat and a bit heavy on vegetables as I had a softball tournament to play beginning at 8:30.

Breakfast this morning. We used the left-over peppers, tomatoes, and asparagus to make an omelette.

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French Fries and "Gotta Have" Food

May 23, 2007 08:25 AM

This was my dinner. Two pieces of Mahi Mahi done on the grill with olive oil and Teriyaki with broccoli and grilled squash. I put some olive oil over the squash during the grilling to keep it moist. A big salad. It was so much food that I did not finish it and will have the leftovers for lunch.

I do think that reminding yourself that the part of the meal you do not eat is as important as the part you do eat. Since you can have the rest later, there is no temptation to eat it all at once. Over eating is so harmful that it ought to be considered to be dangerous. Metabolism is stressful and many people who die do so after a large, carbohydrate-laden meal. The body mounts a stress response to the high blood sugar that occurs after a high carb meal.

Wonder Woman's meal is grilled salmon with the rest the same as mine. She calls the grilled squash her "french fries" and they have completely replaced any thought of actually eating a french fry in her mind.

So, you don't really "give up" things you think you must have. You find something that replaces and eventually surpasses it. This true of bread and other things that people seem to think they cannot live without. There are real foods that a good substitutes and that you will eventually see as far better.

If there is anything "you can't live without" you may actually be allergic to that food. An allergic response to a food will release adrenaline so that you feel a hit that is like a reward when you eat it. Bread is particularly allergenic if you are moderately celliac, yeast intolerant, or inflammed due to insulin resistance or obesity. These are all inflammatory processes, even obesity (which may be the worst), and are, therefore, allergenic. You are setting off your immune system and may suffer collaterol damage as it begins to attack your own tissues in addition to the alllergens.

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Reader Meals

May 21, 2007 08:31 PM

Readers are getting into this Evolutionary Fitness meal preparation. These meals are from Chris with his very nice comment:

We've been enjoying your recent meal pictures and have been doing our best to cook the EvFit way. For fun, we took our own pictures of lunch and dinner yesterday. We thought you might be interested in seeing them.

On picture #1, the meal on the left is steamed broccoli over a bed of spinach, with chunks of red apple and avocado and some cuts of chicken sausage. A little lemon-tarragon dressing on top. On the right is steamed broccoli over a bed of romaine lettuce, with chunks of apple and avocado, all sprinkled with a small amount of Parmesan cheese. In the center of the plate is some chunks of roast beef with a good quality
mayo.

On picture #2, for dinner, we had a little steamed broccoli (I had carrots as well), along with a nice cut of salmon marinated in white wine, topped with Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Thanks for the inspiration!

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Meals 2

May 18, 2007 10:21 AM

A light breakfast. Just fresh fruit and some bacon (we didn't eat all of it and will use it to crumble over a salad).

Then a simple steak dinner, a small New York steak. Some grilled squash and spinach done with garlic and hot little red peppers. A small salad and then an experiment in the form of red and white cabbage, cut in chunks (I like to crunch things when I eat them) along with some fresh leeks and a bit of white vinegar. It was really good.

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Meals 1

I am adding another topic for the archives entitled Meals. I will include each meal under that topic for those meals I put up on the site. Eventually, the previously posted meals will be archived there as well.

Here is dinner.

Barbequed pork ribs, cut thin to cook through, broccoli, shrimp, salad with leeks and red cabbage. That is a bit of hot sauce for the shrimp and some zesty ranch dressing with a bit of horse raddish added.

Here is lunch made with leftovers from the dinner.

I put just a bit of Italian dressing over it all.

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