28 days no chocolate challenge - the results are in

The end of my 28 days without dark chocolate and why I don't really care for it anymore

Its been 28 days now, or just over and I have to say that all said and done, it has been a good 4 weeks. To reiterate the challenge; no chocolate (dark or otherwise) for 28 days, and journal what happens. During the time, my exercise routine has stayed roughly the same and I haven't been eating very differently than the norm. For full disclosure, a few times my blood sugar was slightly low I caved and grabbed some cheesecake (another weakness to stomp out in due course). I wanted to give an idea of what has changed, or not changed this past 4 weeks, and a few of my observations from my journalling.

The key stats

Before                                                      After
Weight - 156.25 lbs                                  Weight - 148.5 lbs
Body fat - 17.1%                                      Body Fat - 15%

So, a loss of 7.75 pounds and 2.1% body fat, almost exclusively from dropping dark chocolate from my diet as a regular indulgence. Not a bad result if I do say so myself. And a further testament to the importance of diet in body composition over exercise alone.

Not me, but you get the idea. And my trousers are definitely baggier now than before

Other observations

Carbohydrate intake was the single best predictor of body-fat gain or loss the subsequent day, above fat intake (which was relatively stable anyway) and almost completely independent of exercise. But lets backtrack slightly, I work on a 4 day wave of exercise (see Scott Sonnon's work) running through; no intensity mobility work, low intensity compensatory yoga, medium intensity interval training (focussed on practicing the skill and increasing good form), and high intensity interval training (focused on maintaining the form, while increasing exertion). 90% of the time after a medium or high intensity TACFIT session, I will take two scoops of protein powder for the boost to recovery. Back to the last month. Here is an example from one of my high intensity days. First thing in the AM, I did joint mobility exercises, then I rode my bike 8 miles to an epilepsy awareness training session for work, and the 8 miles home; I then had my high-intensity 30 minutes running 6 exercises in tabata intervals. I'm sure i added in a few brief jogs and mobility drills throughout the day as well. Now, with all that exercise you might expect I would loose some weight, but you would be wrong, so very wrong. You see, while I ate healthily, I was snacking constantly throughout the day on a big box of strawberries I had bought on route to the training. Also, my post workout berries, honey and natural yoghurt (mostly paleo/primal, at least far better than conventional deserts) added to the carb load. The next day I had gained about 2 pounds, and 0.5% body fat. The weight doesn't bother me, when I begin weight training, or heavy club swinging, I will be looking to add mass, but increasing body fat while I ate so 'healthily' was disappointing. Again, the importance of moderation, and the carb load was stressed to me.

Overall, I feel more vibrant and active. Considering this has been a hectic and stressful month, and the next few weeks will be worse. But, I know now from first-hand experience that sitting to relax with a bar (or two) of dark chocolate and some TV/Xbox or whatever was only hindering me from working to maximum capacity. The more my breaks from work involve walking, mobility, or my actual workouts, the more productive I am overall. Also, the fewer carb loads I have, the less insulin I have which helps a great deal to avoid the fatigue of dropping blood sugars.

Journaling can be an extremely useful tool, if done right. Sadly I have been too busy to journal the past week (by which I mean if I have not been at Uni, on the way to Uni. working, testing participants in the lab, or some other kind of work, I had been allowed some sleep). But the little things, like how being ill affected my diet and vice versa, and how my energy improved the more I moved. Also recovery rates, and progression in workouts in terms of increased form, lower discomfort and higher reps makes progress quantifiable.

The Primal Blueprint N=1 journal

This thing was awesome, and it helped me log nearly everything pretty well. I only have two minor issues. First, it isn't designed to have specific sections for blood glucose testing, which would have been helpful. I wouldn't expect it to have, but it still doesnt make it 100% perfect for my purposes. Second, its a bit too big, so you kind of have to leave it at home and fill it in at the end of the day, which becomes a bit of a chore. I would prefer a smaller and more manageable sized journal. I'm aiming for say a5 size, and pretty thin. I'm going to devise my own, based on my own routines; including but not limited to; blood sugar testing, food diary, workout recordings (including not only reps, but perceived: technique, excursion, and discomfort). I'll maybe make it to fit into the 28 day 7x4 cycle I run, which would be pretty cool.

What's next?

To be honest, I'm not sure. But as soon as I find a new challenge, I'll post it and share the experience.
What's your challenge? What should be my next one? comment and lets see together.

Anyway, here's some minions for the T1D perspective.

Respectfully,
Sam

28 day no-chocolate challenge and back to journaling

I have a problem with chocolate. I always have. Its the only food that I can easily scoff down a massive amount of and still want more. It's like I have a black hole inside me for chocolate alone. When I began transitioning to primal eating, chocolate was a late food for the chop. For a while it went well, until I discovered that as my sweet tooth reduced, my liking of dark chocolate increased. The pseudo-addiction began again. As much as I tried to tell myself that it was an acceptable vice; in truth, it became excessive and at best could be described as a lesser of two evils compared to milk chocolate - but only just. Excessive consumption of indulgent foods is what will lead me down a bad road that I want to avoid. I had a good A1c result last week, and I want to keep it good. Plus, injecting less insulin has always been awesome. So I came to a decision after reading Mark's no-alcohol experiment and thought I'd do the same with chocolate of all kinds and see what happens.

It just tastes soooo good

I'm not after some massive fat reduction from the elimination of dark chocolate from my diet and I understand the benefits dark chocolate has to offer. I have found however, that testing myself to challenges like this useful in the past. My last challenge was to go without alcohol, and I haven't looked back. I don't want to consume a substance that impedes my training, and more importantly my training recovery. So there we are, 28 days without chocolate of any kind. Just to see what happens, or doesn't happen. At best, I have eliminated a calorie excess in the order of 500-1500 from my diet (yes, it definitely became a problem), at worst, I miss chocolate quite a bit and eat more fruit to compensate. Not a bad situation all in.

What if I fail? That dreaded will-power sapping doubt. Well, first I understand that it has been an unnecessary indulgence. Second, I need to save for a few pieces of gym equipment (med ball, paralettes and the like) and can manage to put aside a few pennies here and there if I abscond from dark chocolate. Third, I was getting a bit sick of the stuff anyway. Most importantly, I have begun journaling again.

I wanted to start journaling again for a while, however the stupidest thing stopped me. I didn't want to be honest. I knew I had indulged that day and didn't want to admit it on paper so I didn't write anything. Well, now I'm holding myself to the advise I would give to others (or maybe just think, silently, judgingly) "Get over yourself, be honest and make yourself better. You can only be better by really looking at yourself now. You don't get the changes you want by doing nothing." Though I might, no I would, swear at myself more. I need to be harsh on myself, because I want great things for myself and my family. I'm trying to not beat myself up as much, but push myself forward more - and we'll see it work together.

Here's the first few pages, I still have a few notes to add though - my aim is to fill every page. Making good notes towards my training goals and technique will enable good progression and avoidance of injury. Oh, and apologies for my terrible, terrible handwriting.

What's your challenge? what are you hoping to achieve in the next few months? If you don't have one, then I humbly suggest that you find one and push yourself to be better than ever.

Respectfully,
Sam

What the Primal Blueprint means to me. Law#10 Use your brain

Ironically enough, I have had to put off this post due to two coursework deadlines, dissertation programming and exam preperation - however, putting aside that mental exercise for a moment, lets briefly consider Primal Blueprint Law 10 - using your brain. If I were a harsh person, I might note that the brain is currently one of the most underutilized muscles in the human body, with many favoring the overuse of their mouths and/or TV strained eyes. But I am trying to not be a harsh person, so we'll look at the positives. Society, for better or worse, would not be the way it is if our brains had not evolved to be as useful, creative, and essential in attaining mastery. Our ancestors survived because they were intelligent, sentient individuals who used their brainpower constantly to survive. Think about it, knowledge of local wildlife, plant life, geography, and conforming to law#9 (avoid stupid mistakes) requires a level of consistent brainpower to avoid injury and death while enabling them to live full lives.

My cognitive faculties allow for the deduction that pointy end goes in hairy beast - then I eat beast.
Meat make Grok happy.

Modern life bombards us with stimulation and it is easy to simply sit-back and absorb this constant stream of information from TV and the internet. But, as this blog has taught me - it is better to be a producer of information, rather than merely a consumer. It is similar to the way that teaching another person the lessons you have learned enables you to develop your own understanding of the same concepts.

How can we use our brains more? I would consider myself to do a lot of mental gymnastics most days, with University, work and the many activities associated with these integral components to my current life. The addition of this blog has increased my adherence to Law#10 because while I am discussing concepts drawn from other sources, I am referencing how they apply to my own life. So what can we do to increase the use of our brain? Here are my top suggestions that I think everybody will be able to follow.

• Spend an extra few hours weekly (or daily if you are a high user) away from the TV or computer screen. This gives you time for other activities that will benefit your life in a far greater and healthier way (see the exercise laws fro example). This includes those late night Netflix binges that destroy sleeping patterns.
• Read. During the day, read anything that you find stimulating. I have no love for gossip magazines and all the associated nonsense, but at least it is better than the TV. During the night, before bed - read fiction. It avoids the dreaded blue-light build up pre-sleep that avoids healthy sleep cycles and allows for a nice wind down from the day. Why fiction? because it is inconsequential to the real world - you will not be trying to assimilate information from factual sources while you try to sleep. Even though textbooks send me to sleep, they are perhaps not the best late night reading.
• Write, or draw - use the things you consume, to produce something. The other side of the coin. Keep a journal, write a story, or write a blog. Lots of options and you have the benefit of creating something, even if it's just for you to read.
• Learn a new skill. Pick something you have wanted to learn for a while; an instrument, a new language, or even a new sport/martial art. New stimulus, new people and new skills to assimilate - all awesome ingredients for expanding the mind. If you're worried that you don't have the time, check out this TED talk from Josh Kaufman on how to learn anything in 20 hours.
• Reassess your consumer behavior. If you decide you need a few hours in front of the TV, then what are you watching? is it something trashy that will in no way influence your life, or an award winning series with seriously amazing acting and scripting? do you pick reality tv, or documentary? one of the two might be more 'entertaining' in a sort of mindless way, but the latter is by far more mentally stimulating.

Books are great - and there are millions of them out there

So there we have it, the last of the primal blueprint 10 laws. It's also probably the most important, because everybody should be using their brain to choose the primal blueprint as the healthiest way of living, supported by modern scientific observations and our human evolution.

Respectfully, 

Sam

What the primal Blueprint means to me. Law#6 Get Adequate Sleep

Ah, sleep. Sometimes the most elusive of beasts, other times its all we can do to not fall asleep sitting at our desks. We've covered diet and exercise in the first 5 laws; now its time for the lifestyle laws. This primarily in my view where the paleo diet (the hint is in the word - diet) and the primal lifestyle differ. It is not sufficient to only eat and exercise well for optimum health, and laws 6 through 10 cover key, sometimes unspoken rules that when followed bring us closer to our cave-man ancestors and their capacity for amazingly good health.

See, even the most awesome folks need a nap every now and then

Why is sleep important? It seems a stupid question, but the importance of sleep goes beyond simply filling the time at night when we are tired and finished with mass streaming a new tv series on netflix. We don't only need sleep because we're tired, although tiredness is a good indication of when we need sleep.
Sadly, sleep is one of the most neglected elements of health as many don't understand its purpose fully. The other reason is that we focus so heavily on what we eat, and how much we exercise, as well as our jobs, family obligations, and so on, that we forget about getting enough quality sleep.

Now, I cannot claim to be an expert in the science of sleep, but I have some primal information that may help at least the uninitiated. In principle, it comes down to one key concept - recovery. We need to recover from our hectic lifestyles and rebuild ourselves for the coming day. Exercise is one of the best examples. Your exercise gains (muscle mass, strength gain, etc) do not come in the gym, they come from the recovery process. This is why doing weight training every day will not build muscle mass, because you're focusing to much on breaking your body down, that the re-building that strengthens it gets left by the wayside. When it comes to sleep, this is when the majority of our recovery and immune system behaviour kicks in (this is one of the reasons the flu leaves us unable to do much apart from rest - because we need it).

So how did our ancestors sleep, how did they do it? After all, they didn't have soft mattresses with snugly warm tog 15 duvets, or even alarm clocks to wake them up. They used the sun of course, sleeping following sunset and waking with the sunrise. It may not  have been unbroken sleep due to the need for awareness of nocturnal predators, but this isn't necessarily a great measure of quality sleep anyway. Oh, and without 9-5 jobs taking up the whole day, taking a mid-afternoon nap in the shade on a hot day would be perfectly fine and guilt free.

How do we emulate this today? Well, have a look at some of these awesome resources from marksdailyapple. As for what I have to say, here are some observations/ things I have been working on to help me get enough quality sleep.

Me, far too often with Uni at the minute

• Go to bed earlier - this comes from my and Claire's habit to stay up till 2/3am watching recorded TV and then sleep late the next day. Needless to say that this is no longer workable with full-time working weeks and early mornings. What I have noticed however is that simply going to bed when I am tired, rather than the oft-abused 'just one more episode' feeling has helped improve the amount of sleep I get.
• Fully wind down before sleep - I've noticed nowadays that watching TV, or being on the laptop/smartphone/tablet too close to attempted sleep messes up my sleep rhythm. Either it takes me longer to sleep, or I wake up constantly and don't get the quality of sleep I need. I am currently trying to read for 30 minutes before bed each night, and whenever I do my night's sleep is far more refreshing.
• Avoid blue light in the evenings - Blue light gets us up, and this is part of the reason that late-night TV/smartphones/computer screens disrupt our sleeping patterns. I have installed blue light filters on all of my equipment so that if I must check my phone, or be up late working on Uni coursework (most nights at the minute) then at least I reduce the negative effects these can have on sleep. 
• I keep the bedroom for sleeping - I try especially hard to treat the bedroom as a sleeping place, so it is not associated with day-time stressors and can be simply a space for sleep. I must admit that having a partner affects this greatly, especially if there is a particular series she wants to catch up on. But, its a work in progress.

I will likely think of more action points as soon as I post this, but as this post is already overdue because of sickness I'll keep it short. As usual, the best place to look is marksdailyapple, in particular at the definitive guide to sleep, and 17 ways to improve your sleep and embrace this crucial element of good health. Next time, we'll look at law#7 - Play and try to have some fun. In the mean time, here's a picture of cute animals sleeping.

Respectfully,

Sam

My no-recipe flat chicken

I haven't shared any recipes for a while so I thought I'd be awkward and share one of my go to dishes - no-recipe flat chicken. This can be a custom recipe that you mould to your own tastes on that day.

Take however many chicken breasts as you need servings (I always do extra and the leftovers end up as cooked meats for lunch boxes in the following days). Coat with herb/spice mix of choice with some extra virgin olive oil to make it stick. Don't worry if you use a little too much as it can help with the next stage.

Now comes the fun part. Place the chicken on top of a sheet of baking paper and put another sheet on top. I suggest putting the whole lot onto a chopping board for safety also. Take a rolling pin and whack the hell out of the chicken until its relitavely flat - or at least having an even thickness throughout. Just don't go so rough that you rip the paper and spread spices all over the kitchen like I did the first time.

The before...

... and after

Slice the chicken artistically at an angle (or butcher it at an angle like I managed to do) and serve with masses of veggies, avocado, nuts, berries, or whatever primal foodstuffs you have going.

Grub up

So in short.
1. Grab chicken breasts and coat with spices/herbs of choice
2. Mash it flat
3. Pan fry it off
4. Enjoy the protein-y goodness
5. Post a response with your own suggestions of spice mix.

Try it out and I hope you enjoy this no-recipe.

Respectfully,
Sam

What the Primal blueprint means to me. Law#2 Avoid Poisonous Things

Law#2 Avoid Poisonous things

I made a mistake last time looking at the primal laws. Today's post will focus on what to avoid eating (and drinking) as part of the primal lifestyle. We might all think that we avoid ingesting poisonous things. We know not to drink bleach and that many drugs can be extremely harmful to our health. But is this the whole picture? Is it only things with a 'poisonous' label that we should avoid? Hint - no. We need to expand our view of poisonous slightly to include things that damage us, even slowly. We all agree that smoking is harmful (read: poisonous), but what about the harm caused by excess sugar consumption? (quick answer; increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, and obesity just to name a few of the big ones)

Last time I mentioned some food groups held by conventional wisdom to be essential to a 'healthy diet'. Hopefully we agree by this point that eating similarly to the way we have evolved to is important. You wouldn't expect a lion to survive on tofu and lettuce, just as you wouldn't expect a rabbit to survive on beef steaks. Until recently in our evolutionary history; pesticides, herbicides, many chemical substances, as well as grains, cereals, legumes, processed sugars, artificial sugars, mass produced medications, trans-fats, and many others besides were not eaten by our ancestors. For fans of fast food, or junk food - note that these "foods" meet at least a few of the above categories. Remember, there is no junk food - there's junk, and there's food.

                      

Most of these poisonous things are not massively dangerous in the short term. However, years of ingesting these substances produces weaknesses in the body. Take legumes as an example, they have mechanisms in place to deter animals, including us from eating them. Toxic substances are released, especially if not properly prepared - causing inflammation, with links to autoimmune diseases. Hmm, autoimmune diseases, have I caught your attention type 1 diabetics? Subsequently over the years, the toxicity builds and even assuming that health conditions or complications do not arise, your body is still not functioning at full capacity. 

Human evolution, guess what caused the difference between the last two? I'll give you a hint, this whole post is about it.

What does this mean for me? Well, I have ditched all of the above (at least where possible some 95% of the time), and I don't have a bloated feeling after meals. That 'I feel fit to burst'  feeling my family gets after a meal (which is identical to mine barring my rejection of pasta/potatoes/rice/etc, in favour of slightly more meat and more veg where possible), I don't get. I feel ready to go, like I could happily get work done and get exercising. My meals give me energy rather than make me feel lethargic. Type 1 diabetics pay special attention here. After more than 90% of my meals I do not need to take insulin, as such I do not get the sugar crash shortly afterwards which leaves many type 1's tired and sleepy after a meal. Oh and for those who want to loose weight, by avoiding these substances it is almost guaranteed. Combine Law#2 with law#1 that I discussed in my first post of the series and you get; super tasty meals, every mealtime, that help you keep the muscle on, loose the excess fat and feel awesome. 

Just a reminder

I could talk at length about the things (I don't even call them foods anymore) that we shouldn't be eating. But, I think it is enough to lend these key points and suggest that everyone interested, whether you agree or not to check out marksdailyapple and the primal blueprint. Read the success stories and the amazing recipes on the site and try to tell me that your life is actually better from having any of these poisonous substances in your body.

I double-checked and next time it will definitely be Law#3 Move frequently at a slow pace. See you next time. 

Any comments, suggestions, agrees, disagrees and all that please comment and join the discussion.

Respectfully,

Sam

What the Primal Blueprint means to me: Law #1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals

Law #1 Eat lots of Plants and Animals


Diet is a pretty controversial topic nowadays and the primal blueprint goes against current conventional wisdom. For any diabetic readers, you will notice a big difference between what I support here and what you will have been told by your doctor/diabetes nurse or other healthcare professional. I wont go so far as to say that the way we have all been told to eat is B#*#**#t, but at least some of it has been projected forcefully from a bovines rear end. If you agree or disagree, please comment and we can work on shared understanding. Can you tell that I really want more diabetics on the primal blueprint eating plan?
Our ancestors diets consisted mostly of plants and animals, we know that much. In addition, by studying modern hunter-gatherer societies a pretty consistent pattern emerges - geography depending. They ate what they could, when they could - meaning utilizing our amazing ability to store energy as fat for whenever food was more scarce. The lifestyle of our ancestors allowed them to be lean, strong, healthy, and prepared. It was not an easy life, but it was not as barbaric as we might imagine.

What does this mean for our diets today?

Basically, eat as much of all these goodies as you want.

from eatpreypaleo.com

Eat good quality meat, eggs, fish from pretty much any animal source, even insects if you're feeling adventurous. Eat tons of colorful vegetables, and healthy fats (animal fats, nuts, coconut, avocado).
Sounds awesome right? Eggs and bacon; steak, avocado and assorted salad; roasted veggies and jerk chicken; with snacks of nuts, berries and some fruit. Does anybody disagree so far, have I named any unhealthy, or disgusting foods (maybe apart from insects - though Bear Grylls makes it look like a good laugh)? or have I given a picture of some awesomely tasty, healthy meals? I believe the latter.

from www.allpaleodiet.com

Now the bit that gets on folks backs. What does eating this way avoid, and why?
Firstly, no grains or cereals. That's right, no cereal for breakfast, no morning bagel. No sandwich or pasta salad for lunch. No breaded or battered 'meat' for dinner.
Secondly, no refined/processed/artificial sugar. We all know its not good for us, so lets just all agree that cakes, muffins, cookies, milk chocolate and the wide range of foods most of us (me included) have over-indulged with.
Third, no legumes (beans). This is where primal and paleo differ somewhat. Legumes, including peanuts (I know, right) are inflammatory and in short, mess up our systems. Oh and for all us diabetics, they are also linked to auto-immune diseases. OMG right, so that whole - it was just luck of the draw or a roll of some cosmic dice that gave me type 1 diabetes may be wrong. Remember that the issue is that society, medicine, and science just don't understand type 1 diabetes fully yet - but, evidence for these links are forming. So, as people already disposed to autoimmune disease, it's worth avoiding it further, don't you think?
Fourth, eliminate trans- and hydrogenated- fats. These are not foods, full stop. There are good fats and bad fats. If anyone tells you otherwise, or you believe that all fats are bad yourself then you are wrong. No question, you are wrong and you especially should check out marks daily apple and develop your knowledge.

How does this look for our average daily/weekly consumption? Well, the SAD diet (Standard American Diet - or western in general really, I am in the UK) that conventional wisdom looks something like this. Around 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein. This is a great way to gain weight and develop health issues. The primal blueprint for me doesn't recommend specific ratios per se. I don't personally agree with ratios as it means that if you want to lose weight then you can only eat less and risk muscle loss. Also, if you exercise regularly, you might not be getting enough protein to rebuild yourself. The primal blueprint suggests eating something like 1g protein per pound lean muscle mass per day for an active person. For me this means around 130g protein daily depending on exercise needs. This is around 3 times what is recommended by conventional wisdom, no wonder the average person has pretty poor muscle tone. Your carb needs are determined by activity - within reason though, as primal seeks to be a fat burner diet rather than a carb burner diet. I would say around 100g daily for diabetics, but not much more. Any more and the weight goes on, any less you tend to lose weight. This is my sweet spot, but then we all differ. Note that these carbs come from berries, fruit and leafy veg. Finally your fat intake is essentially whatever remains to fill your daily calorie needs. For say 2000 calories; 130g protein, 100g carbs leaves 120g fat. Bear in mind that a gram of protein or carbs = 4calories, whereas 1g fat = 9calories. In essence, this means you need to eat less.

Sorry, the explanation got slightly out of hand there. Let's move on. For those that agree with the standard way of eating. I have only my own experiences to offer. My usual diet looks something like this. 3/4 egg omlette, maybe bacon for breakfast. Spicy chicken and massive salad for lunch. Veg heavy dinner, likely with fish/meat of some kind. Also nuts, berries and fruit as snacks. In the past few months, I have lost maybe 4 pounds. Not alot, huh. Well this comes with more muscle than I have ever had, as well as a decrease of maybe 4 inches around my waist. I like to say that the worst thing about eating primal is that I need to go shopping for smaller trousers, and I hate shopping. Specifically relevant to any type 1 readers, read this next bit carefully. I take hardly any insulin anymore; a daily dose and unless I cheat (sometimes cheesecake just calls too hard, but I'm working on it) I don't need any after meals. I haven't had a hypo in months. My last A1C was just above 5, though I forget the exact number. I haven't seen my blood glucose above 7 (or around 125, I forget the exact transformation between systems) in a while and like I say, never below 4 (80-ish?). I am full of energy and don't get those afternoon sleepy phases I did while on the SAD.

Primal pancakes anyone - seen here

Awesome lunches anyone? - this one for a future post

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

The diet element is one of the most extensive ones within the primal blueprint; however, it is only one of 10 laws for healthy living. Next time, we'll take a look at moving a lot, but at a slow pace.

Please do comment and feedback. Do you agree or disagree, have I missed anything vital?. Please help me spread this way of living to others, especially my type 1 brethren who deserve more to life than the roller coaster ride offered by masses or carbs followed by masses of insulin (and the resultant crash). We deserve to be healthy.

If this is your life as a type 1 diabetic then the primal blueprint is for you

Respectfully,
Sam

What is the primal Blueprint? A primer

I will shortly be writing a ten part series on the primal blueprint 10 laws my relationship to them. Many people know about the paleo or primal diet, but the primal blueprint is so much more - a lifestyle. In short, the primal blueprint attempts to replicate the lifestyles our ancestors had over 10,000 years ago, before the dawn of agriculture. Of course adaptations must be made as society has changed greatly since then, but our biology and our genes have not. So, we are built to eat and live like our hunter-gatherer ancestors. My interpretation of primal living has helped me control my blood glucose, improve my health, get fitter and stronger, built muscle and lose excess fat (without trying, seriously it wasn't an actual goal of mine) - all while eating awesome tasty food, enjoying exercise and not counting calories or carb counting. It is not a diet, but a lifestyle with some dietary guidelines. Hopefully any readers will gain some insight, perhaps enough to go to marksdailyapple and try it for yourselves. For those already initiated, maybe sharing some experiences will add to our pool of N=1 experiments. For type 1 diabetics like me, read carefully and please do find out more - diets often fail, but a lifestyle change like this only works. To quote Mark Sisson, Try It [the primal blueprint] for 21 Days, or Your Poor Health Back! seen here

Here are the 10 laws at a glance.
1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals
2. Avoid Poisonous Things
3. Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
4. Lift Heavy Things
5. Sprint Once in a While
6. Get Adequate Sleep
7. Play
8. Get Adequate Sunlight
9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes
10. Use Your Brain

I will look at each in turn. I'll explain what it means, and what it means to me. Most importantly, I'll explain the aspects that have specific benefits to Type 1 diabetics.
See you next time

Respectfully,
Sam

Banana Coconut flour Pancakes, mk 2 - this time with pictures

I promised pictures and here they are. These pancakes tasted good. I've also filled out the recipe a bit so that it's easier to follow than my previous instructions.

Ingredients (2 portions, or about 8 pancakes - I saved half for breakfast tomorrow and I cant wait)

• 3 large eggs
• 1 banana - mashed (mashed a lot, try for no lumps)
• 1/2tbs Honey
• 1t vanilla extract
• Approx 45ml or roughly 1/6 cup coconut flour
• 1/2t baking soda
• Coconut Oil

Extras

• Berries of your liking
• Runny honey
• Bacon (wait, why is this in extras? Cant bacon be essential to every dish?)

Instructions

1. Take the mashed banana and whisk together with the eggs, honey and vanilla extract. You should get a fairly runny mix.
2. Grease up the pan with the coconut oil and set to a medium/low heat, and if possible prep a separate pan to cook the bacon to your liking (I use a grill - more because of laziness than anything else). I use more coconut oil than I maybe should, but it really helps the pancakes not stick.
3. Sift the coconut flour and baking soda into the mix and whisk together until smooth. Patience is key here otherwise you'll be left with lumpy dry nastiness. It'll look something like this - you don't want thee mix too thick or too runny, otherwise all hell breaks loose. If the mix is too thick, add a teaspoon of water or two, and if it's too runny, add a little more coconut flour.

   

   just right

   
   
4. Using a large spoon, dollop out scoops of the mix onto the pan - large or small your choice. I go for small because they are easier to flip - otherwise I have found that they break in half or flop over and I end up swearing and upsetting people.

   

   And the bacon sizzling in the background. Oh yeah.

5. Now, patience. You don't want burnt or under cooked pancakes. I can testify as I have done both, once in the same batch. I did mention in my last post that there is some trial and error to this recipe - well, only if you're as useless as me. This is a good time to push some berries into the pancakes, or just throw them onto the plate - your pick.
6. Whack the bacon on, hear that lovely sizzle and smell that awesome bacon-y smell.
7. Check under a pancake and if you think the time is right then flip away. I use a thin rubber spatula, but if you're feeling brave I suppose you could one-handed flip the whole batch as a whole. I've taken a picture of an underdone pancake I had to leave for a few  minutes while the others actually cooked.

   

   Slightly undercooked before fliping - more time needed. Also note the berries pushed into some of the others.

And just right

Finaly, cut one in half and if its no longer runny then you should be good to go. Chuck them onto a plate and top with syrup, or butter, or melted coconut oil. Side with the bacon and whatever berries you have left and chow down.

And there you have it, my perfect-for-me pancakes. Not prize winning, but pretty damn good.

Respectfully,
Sam

Link Love 1

The first link love post should go towards the man who gave us the Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson.
visit his site marksdailyapple  sign up for the newsletter, read a few of the articles or recipes and just generally feel the love of the primal community. Mark is a super nice dude with experience as a SAD athlete and now the leader of the primal blueprint family. I have a lot of respect for the guy and his science-driven approach to living as our ancestors did.
Check it out, comment and spread the word

Respectfully,
Sam

The beginning of my primal journey

My name is Sam Parsons and I am a type 1 diabetic.

This is my blog will follow my journey and transition into the primal lifestyle. I have been trying to follow Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint for some time and wanted to share my experience. I hope to connect with other type 1 diabetics who may or may not be part of the primal community and highlight the benefits. We type 1's are particularly in danger from conventional wisdom and the standard american diet, or western diet as I am in the UK, but SAD is such a good way to describe this diet and lifestyle that I like it. I'll write a post on type 1 diabetes in the near future, but for now it should be enough to know that our bodies have ravaged themselves and killed off our insulin producing beta cells. This means that we cannot process carbohydrates (including sugars) which, if left untreated severely messes us up. 

About me. As other T1's know before diagnosis you tend to be pretty sick before diagnosis. Around two years ago I had lost about 2.5 stone and was down to around 9.5 (or 133 pounds for the Americans out there), my skin was grey, you could see all of my ribs and as much as I would deny it, I had lost a lot of muscle mass.  my wonderful fiancee Claire had badgered me to go to the GPs, skip forward a few days and I am injecting insulin and getting used to this whole testing my blood sugars thing. I can tell you one ting for sure, within days I missed my Dr Pepper. But, I was on the mend, or so I thought. I handled everything well, and took the whole thing in my stride. For me, I had to force myself not to wallow about my condition, but just do my best to follow medical professionals advice and keep healthy. I know if I had allowed myself to do anything other, I would have set of to a bad start and hinder my future health. Claire shed a tear or two for me, but I wouldn't let myself.

A year or so on and I had put the weight back on, and was relatively active - biking to work, martial arts, as well as a fairly physical job in support services. I was however on the SAD diet, and this is where problems can arise. My martial arts instructor had introduced me to the idea of paleo eating and suggested I check out www.marksdailyapple.com and I'm so glad I followed his advice. I suggest that everyone signs up for the primal blueprint newsletter and 7 day free beginner introduction to the lifestyle. The basics are covered and I had to read the full primal blueprint (though it would be months later that I got hold of it). Now, I do my best to live by the 10 laws Mark describes and I couldn't feel better. Throughout this blog I'll put forward the benefits of the primal lifestyle as well as some useful exercise plug ins from Scott Sonnon. I have seen a few type 1 diabetes specific blogs of this kind, but everyone's experiences are different so I wanted to add an extra voice.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll leave you with the Primal Blueprint 10 laws I try to live by.

1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals
2. Avoid Poisonous Things
3. Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
4. Lift Heavy Things
5. Sprint Once in a While
6. Get Adequate Sleep
7. Play
8. Get Adequate Sunlight
9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes
10. Use Your Brain

Respectfully,
Sam Parsons