Category Archives: Conventional Wisdom – How I hate you
Self-Experimentation vs. Accepting Conventional Wisdom
12 hours down, 4 more to go tomorrow.
My body actually feels pretty good aside from a very sore butt from the saddle. I do attribute it to the fact that I do weight training AND don’t eat gluten.
I’ve caused my body no additional inflammation from crap food!
My dinner tonight – Free roaming, grass-fed buffalo flank steak and “loaded” potatoes (nitrite free bacon, grass-fed cheese and a primal “ranch” sauce!
However even with the healthy eating, the joints and muscles aren’t 100% so I decided to take an ice bath today.
It couldn’t hurt right?
I mean worse case scenario I sit in frigid water for 10 minutes and it only makes everything go numb for a few minutes.
But I still got strange looks from everyone I told. Why would I ever take an ice bath?
WHY NOT!?!
It could help and if it doesn’t help, it most definitely won’t hurt! As I said above, worse case scenario I waste 10 minutes to only have the muscles go numb for a few minutes.
I must say though, it took some courage to fully submerge my lower body. I stuck one foot in and gasped. BUT everything feels pretty good right now.
We will have to see tomorrow though! (And hey, Tim Ferriss touts them for their fat loss benefits so I guess that isn’t a bad extra bonus! ;-))
Anyway, the point of all this isn’t really to talk about my ice bath, it is to pose the question: Why are people so afraid of TRYING something if conventional wisdom doesn’t tell you to do it?
I mean what really do you have to lose if you TRY something in the hopes of becoming healthier/fitter/stronger?
Some wasted time?
NOT EVEN.
Time isn’t wasted if you LEARN SOMETHING FROM IT!
So why are people so afraid to try things that aren’t approved by conventional wisdom but have studies proving their benefits while they so easily accept that eating Gatorade chews is how they should fuel for a competition just because the media tells them to!?!
Can someone please explain this to me?
Go figure…Conventional wisdom I hate
Ok so the phrase/sentiment I hate below isn’t really conventional wisdom BUT it is uttered all too frequently!
Don’t be fooled by this picture. It doesn’t have that much to do with the post. I just like it.
So yesterday I hopped on the treadmill at the end of my workout to jog a mile. I’ve been trying to casually run occasionally because I want to be good at it even if I don’t enjoy it. (Also, I think I’m hoping I’ll learn to love it…not working yet…)
While I was jogging on the treadmill, and drenched in sweat from my workout, one of the trainers at my gym said to me,”Feeling guilty about the weekend, huh?” He then smiled and laughed.
I think the first emotion that registered across my face was shock. And then I got defensive.
Yes, I did go to New York this past week. And yes, I did eat all of the delicious foods that I know are bad for me.
But, did I feel guilty about it?
HARDLY.
I had throughly enjoyed myself. Why would I feel guilty?
After I got defensive, I got angry.
WHAT THE HECK KIND OF COMMENT WAS THAT?!?
I’ve never understood that attitude – the attitude of “if I eat badly I’ll just go on the treadmill and sweat it off and then I’ll be skinny again.”
Do people actually really think that works?
Unfortunately they do…
But it doesn’t work like that. You can’t just eat whatever you want and then just go and work it off. That doesn’t make you healthy!!!
I honestly believe it is actually the worst mentality to have.
It places all the importance on calories in vs. calories. Also, maintaining a healthy weight doesn’t mean you are healthy!
And most importantly you can’t exercise off a bad meal!!!
If you really want to “make up” for a bad meal or weekend, eat well for the next few weeks!!!
Have you ever been guilty of thinking a workout will make up for poor eating choices? If so, WHY!?!
P.S. Is anyone else amused by this article?!
Why would you want to lift heavy?
So last night I met with one of my clients, Juliana, who also does my lifting class.
Juliana has gotten super into the lifting and has grown by leaps and bounds. Her movement patterns have improved and she is now lifting human beings! 🙂
She seems to enjoy the lifting and seems to like the way she looks!
But then this week, a situation that has happened to almost all of us female lifters, occurred. It is a conversation that can scare off many beginning female lifters.
The “you don’t want to get bulky do you” conversation. Juliana had two people start-up that conversation.
Luckily I didn’t even have to convince her that they were wrong! She already knew what she was doing was right!
Lifting heavy won’t make you bulky people!!!!! COME ON!
Having extra fat is what makes you “bulky.” Eating crap so that you have bad body composition is what makes you “bulky.”
Not leaned toned muscle mass!
I’ve gained about 17 pounds in the last two years. I still wear the same clothes I wore when I was 17 pounds lighter. Actually some don’t fit as well now because I’ve shrunk in certain areas…like my waist. I’ve shrunk because I’ve lost FAT. I haven’t become any bigger by adding muscle because I cut off the fat that was previously holding its spot!
If you don’t believe me because you know I’m biased, take a look at this Women’s Health Magazine article! Mainstream media even agrees that lifting heavy is good for you! (Of course as I go to post this and click on their link from Facebook it says “Page not found”….Maybe I shouldn’t yet think so highly of mainstream media!)
BUT here is a quote from what was up there.
Lift Heavier Weights! A recent study showed that women who lifted a challenging weight for eight reps burned nearly twice as many calories as women who knocked out 15 reps with lighter dumbbells.
See burn more fat and look LESS bulky by lifting heavy weights!
Diet books – BLEH!
Don’t waste your money on diet books. Go buy some grass-fed beef!
So yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble to get a Paleo/Primal diet book for one of my clients to read. After seeing the Crossfit games, and my long lectures, she finally decided to give the whole “caveman eating thing” a shot.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
But when I got to the store I was overwhelmed by a whole lot of crap. All of the “advertised” books were fad, low-fat diets!
The book that I wanted, that they CLAIMED to have in stock was nowhere to be found.
I was overwhelmed by all of the conventional wisdom/fad diets lining the shelves.
I had the desire to run through the diet aisles knocking every book off the shelves and then sprint out of the store.
Or I wanted to grab an armful of the stupid books and throw them in the trash.
Either one would have felt really satisfying.
Of course I probably would have gotten arrested or something, but still….It would have felt good!
I didn’t do it though. Instead I managed to focus enough to find one of the HEALTHY DIET books I was looking for.
With that huge load of diet crap out there though, no wonder Americans are confused about what the right diet is!
Actually it is almost kind of depressing that we turn to brightly colored books with neon words stating “Lose 15 lbs in 2 day!” instead of just eating the foods that come naturally from the earth!
I mean honestly it is simple. Just do an experiment. Eat all the crap they recommend for 30 days and then go eat all of the natural foods that I recommend for 30 days.
Which makes you feel better? Which do you think you can maintain for longer than the 30 days?
I think I know the answer….
Actually I’ve lived the answer. Heck I used to buy diet books and read every article in all of the women’s health magazines looking for some secret new trick.
BUT IT DOESN’T EXIST!
Anyway, don’t take my word for it. Try an experiment yourself. You’ll see.
Oh and just a random side note…
While I complain about all of the crap diet books there were lining the shelves, there definitely were more Paleo/Primal/Caveman books out there than ever before.
I could make a very cynical comment about how there are now books being published about this healthy diet because there is now a market to make money off of….but I’ll keep my mouth shut.
What is next though? A Caveman Lifestyles magazine? Or maybe even a Caveman Vogue?
Hey I’m not saying I don’t get it. But I just think everyone needs to realize that everyone out there who is pushing something has an agenda.
Even me.
I obviously want you to believe that eating my way and lifting heavy weights is the BEST way.
And of course it is…. 🙂
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
So I want to start out by saying…I’m not sure if this article/interview about Paleo belongs under the good or the simply stupid.
Am I happy that the Paleo diet is getting more positive mainstream attention? Yes.
But really? Paleoista? Bleh!
The Good
So I mentioned the other day that I had Buffalo Flank Steak from The Meat House. The Meat House gets its supply from Wild Idea Buffalo Co. AMAZING! Grass-fed, free roaming buffalo! It was delicious, tender, juicy and HEALTHY! Plus the animal was raised in a natural way that actually helps keep the Great Plains healthy and thriving!
Here is a great article courtesy of Man Biceper Heather. If you haven’t already, make sure to check it out! This guy is spot on!
This post by Fit and Feminist also made me smile. Have I mentioned before that I hate Barbie weights?
What exercise is she even doing!?!
The Bad
So while I agree that how you “fuel” is very important to your performance (and health for that matter), eating a stupid, processed “chew” isn’t any better than all the crap shown all over the ground. Sorry Gatorade.
The Simply Stupid
Wearing skinny jeans that are too tight can cause health problems. My question is: How can you possibly get those jeans that are “too tight” on? Sometimes I have a hard enough time getting my non-skinny jeans on over my quads and butt!
Ok…those jeans are a bit too tight…
Protecting Big Business
Yesterday Ryan showed me an article that began:
The founder of the Organic Pastures business in California is reporting that government health officials have begun tracking down the names and addresses of natural-foods customers and showing up at their homes, demanding to confiscate any raw milk they might have.
Government officials have actually gone to people’s houses requesting people turn over the raw milk in their refrigerators.
NaturalNews quoted from one of McAfee’s reports:
“I received a phone call yesterday morning from a wonderful young gal, a 36-year-old mom out of LA County. She’s one of our UPS customers that we deliver overnight raw milk to her house. When the CDFA was in here the other day on our recall, they demanded to have all our delivery addresses for overnight UPS delivery. We screwed up and [inadvertently] gave it to them, they got it from one of our secretaries here. The LA County health department started calling her, six or seven times, demanding that she give up her raw milk from her own home to the health department.
She refused, then they showed up at her house and demanded that she give her raw milk to them. She was getting ready to call 911 for the sheriff’s department and have them removed from her front doorstep, and she was threatening to use her camera to take a picture of them and post it on Facebook for harassing her over her raw milk… The investigators left after she told them she was not going to give them the raw milk and to get the hell off her property.
This is what’s going on, it’s like food Nazis, it’s incredible what these people are doing, trying to collect food from people’s houses, that have not made them ill!
Then the San Diego health department called me up and said oh we want a list of all your buyer’s club members, and I said no… and they said we want all their addresses and their names, because we want to go to their homes. I said it ain’t happening, we aren’t going to give it to you.”
Is it just me or does anyone else find this whole story just a bit ridiculous?
Someone is going to come to my house and tell me what food I can and can’t consume!?! I don’t think so! I don’t go into people’s houses and stop them from eating their nasty freezer dinners or McDonalds!
The government is going to stop people from consuming PERFECT NATURAL RAW MILK, but not stop them from eating McDonalds!?! I mean I don’t really think the government has a right to control what we eat in either case.
And on top of that, how can the government put farmers on trial for supplying their communities with fresh, locally grown food!?!
“It is absolutely outrageous that during this time of economic crisis our state government is investigating and sending warning letters to mothers and putting farmers on trial who are helping provide communities with fresh foods. It is my right to contract privately with a farmer for the food of my choice just as it is the right of every American,” said Melinda Olson, a mother and recipient of one of the MDA’s warnings.
So what is going on here? Why is the government so against RAW milk?
The government claims that raw milk isn’t healthy – that you are at a great risk for disease. BUT there have actually been more incidents of disease from pasteurized milk!
Just take a look at this table about why you SHOULD go raw!
So if raw milk really is good for you, why would the government be trying to stop the sale of it?
Maybe because the government is more interested in protecting big business than it is in the health of the consumer!?!
What do you think?
The good, the bad and the just plain stupid
Below are random things from this week that I just felt the need to share.
The Good:
1. Rock climbing is simply awesome. If you haven’t gone, I recommend you try it!
2. Kombucha. Why oh why are you so hard to find in stores? You are super healthy yet Whole Foods is just about the only store to sell you. Can someone please tell me why you can find WhoNu bars everywhere and Kombucha nowhere?
Also, soon to come a Kombucha recipe (and this won’t be like the foam rolling video…it will happen in a more timely manner. Although the foam rolling video will still be up soon! I promise!)
The Bad:
3. Kashi uses genetically modified products. I think food products that use these products should have to be labeled. Do you?
4.” Eating meat started from boredom and experimentation that became habit. If we eat dead flesh then we become dead flesh. It is said that humankind was immortal until it began eating the dead. Keeping the brain busy is how you feed the body. Keep it busy and only take from this earth what you need.
Sit on that for a few seconds, maybe even minutes. Keep your brain busy by learning, thinking, and creating. We have so much to unlearn.
We will chat again…”
This was the first comment on the NY Times “The Ethicist Contest Winner.” Oh boy….
And the Simply Stupid:
5.
I wanted to share this photo for two reasons. One, I made it and thought it was funny. Two, it boasts that it is “A fat-free food.” As if that makes it healthy!!!
6. Ok so this isn’t really “stupid” per say. But it is really funny. In an old episode of The Office, Michael gets a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit for breakfast. He takes off the biscuit and says, “Healthier.” Haha I like it even though it isn’t totally true.
Does anyone else catch flack because of their AMBITION, COMPETITIVENESS, TENACITY or DRIVE?
Recently I’ve caught some flack from people around me because of my ambition, competitiveness, tenacity and drive.
For some reason it seems to be much more acceptable for MEN to be super driven and competitive than WOMEN.
Hehe…yes I have a weird sense of humor. We’ve established that! 😉
Usually women who are competitive and driven are called “pushy,” “bossy,” and even “bitchy.” (Sorry for the crude language!)
But it’s true. Drive and ambition aren’t necessarily seen as positive things in women.
My question is, “WHY!?!”
Why shouldn’t I want to take advantage of any opportunity I can to better myself?
Why shouldn’t I want to succeed?
Why is it that when I go after what I want with all my heart that I get condemned and told to not be so pushy?
I’m sorry but I REFUSE to apologize for my AMBITION, COMPETITIVENESS, TENACITY OR DRIVE!
If I want something, I’m going to go after it. I’m going to work hard and EARN IT.
Call me pushy, bossy or a bitch. It would deter me. And I hope all of you out there are the same way.
Has anyone else ever been condemned because of their ambition, competitiveness, tenacity or drive?
Oh and if you ever need to work out any frustration because someone puts you down because of your ambition, try this workout! 🙂
Strength:
Bench 3×10
Auxiliary Lifts:
Pull up/Burpee Pyramid
Pull ups 1-10-1 paired with Burpees 2-20-2
P.S. Man Bicep Mom – Happy Mother’s Day! I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again…YOU ARE AMAZING AND MY ROLE MODEL! Love you!
WhoNu? – Healthy cookies my a**!
I was waiting for my laundry to dry and watching some TV when I saw a commercial for WhoNu? nutrition rich cookies.
WHAT!?! Ok so these PROCESSED COOKIES are NUTRITIOUS but my GRASS-FED, FATTY STEAK ISN’T!?!
UHM…I DON’T THINK SO!
Do people actually believe this crap is good for them!?! I mean look at the ingredients! You can’t even pronounce half of them!
What even is CALCIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE!?!
But who cares about the ingredients, right? All that matters are the vitamins and minerals the cookies have!
My only question is, why not just eat the things listed above instead of these cookies? All of the things above don’t have a ton of ingredients that you can’t pronounce!
Also, just look at all the sugar and carbs in these cookies!
All in all these vitamin and mineral enriched foods just aren’t near as good for you as eating the real thing. Just check out this article called “Are vitamin-fortified foods healthier?”. This quote from the article says it all! (And this article is even from the mainstream media!)
In other words, eating a cereal containing a plethora of vitamins does not equate to eating fruits, vegetables, legumes, or lean meats. (Ok so I don’t agree with the LEAN meat part but you get the idea!)
You starve yourself!?!
This is the common reaction I get when people find out that I occasionally fast.
Sometimes I fast for 16 hours. Sometimes I fast for 24.
But either way…I’M NOT STARVING MYSELF!
Actually there are lots of good things associated with fasting, including looking super sexy!
I mean have you SEEN Leangains!?! Or the author of Eat Stop Eat, Brad Pilon?!?
Leangains – Before fasting…and after fasting. I’ll give you one guess which is which!
Eat Stop Eat’s Brad Pilon…He looks pretty darn good too!
I mean shoot! Do you really need any more reasons to try fasting than those pictures!?!
I DON’T!
But if looking good isn’t enough, can I also say that I got stronger and WON a powerlifting competition while doing intermittent fasting?!?
Yep that’s right! I did intermittent fasting the couple of months before the competition and increased my maxes enough to win not only my weight class but also Overall Best Female Raw Lifter.
Not too shabby if I do say so myself!
Still not enough to convince you to try “starving yourself?”
How about all of these benefits of fasting, which include:
- Weight loss! Yes this is kind of the same thing as those guys looking good, but it is also the reason most people first go on a diet! For most people, fasting is actually easier to stick to than calorie restriction. Plus you preserve more lean muscle mass by fasting than through calorie restriction!
- Fight cancer!?! Yep fasting may actually help our bodies not only resist but also fight off cancer. More rats who fasted remained alive when injected with cancer – 16 of the rats who fasted survived while only 5 who didn’t survived. In a human study, patients also felt better when undergoing chemo if they fasted before and after. They suffered fewer side-effects when fasting than when they didn’t prior to chemo.
- Live longer. We’ve all heard that calorie restriction can help us live longer. Well if that is the case than fasting will make us live longer too! Of course, fasting doesn’t have the same “side-effects” that calorie restriction does. With fasting you will prevent the loss of lean muscle mass and bone mineral density. Sounds like two great benefits of fasting besides just a longevity!
- Brain health. Mark Mattson, Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program National Institute on Aging and a professor of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, has released a number of papers that suggest fasting can induce neurogenesis and protect against brain injury and disease. There are also studies showing that fasting may reduce the trauma to the brain caused by stroke and may also help improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.
- Improved workouts. Ok I sort of already said this when I mentioned that I fasted to improve my performance for competition, but here are some studies to back it up! (Improved recovery and Leangains take on fasted training to just site a few!)
Here are some other great studies about the benefits of fasting that you should check out!
Fasting good for your health and your heart!
Fasting improved the long-term survival of patients who suffered chronic heart failure.
Man Bicep 