My day doesn’t get started until both meat and coffee are consumed.  While not completely Paleo (more neolithic than paleolithic), there are still some great health benefits to your morning beanwater as well as being super-tasty and an awesome eye-opener!

Nature’s Sparkplug

Coffee contains a great antioxidants and have been shown through studies to reduce the risk of problems such as heart disease, headache relief, and dementia.  However, downing a whole pot may have a negative effect, increasing cortisol secretion.  So how much is too much?  It’s individual, but a good gauge is when you’re awake, you’re done (about 2 cups for me).  I view coffee as nature’s sparkplug.  It’s not there to help your engine purr all day, but you can be sure it’ll kickstart things into motion!  (Hint: it also goes well some sugar-free sausage and eggs.)

Coffee Brings PR’s (Personal Records)

If you’re an athlete, coffee can play a major role in your training or competition.  Depending on the event or task, grabbing a cup a half-hour prior to a short (5 minute or less) workout will increase speed, strength, and mood.  Going for a new 1 rep max deadlift?  Sipping on some Joe while warming up to your favorite music will surely add a few pounds to the lift!

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Last night, I surprised the wife with a very tasty dinner: Bacon-wrapped (wild caught) scallops and butternut squash soup.

Scallops

Rinse off scallops.

Cut bacon slices in half and wrap around the scallops, holding the meat on with a toothpick.

Bake on 425 for 20-30 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes until bacon looks done.

Butternut Squash Soup

*Hat tip to this chick!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups (about 2 large squash) seeded 2-inch wide chunks butternut squash
• olive oil for brushing
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 3 cups organic vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 4 ounces coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little olive oil and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about an hour or until the flesh is nice and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender or potato masher. Stir in the coconut milk and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and freshly ground nutmeg.

Verdict

Super tasty meal!  Don’t overcook the scallops and you should be fine.  We enjoyed this with a few glasses of red wine and a bowl of fruit for dessert.  Enjoy!

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After a full body massage today, I was in no mood to spend time in front of a stove.  So, I swung by my Paleo restaurant of choice, Chipotle.

Now, Chipotle probably isn’t 100% Paleo, but when you’re out and about and yearnin’ for something tasty and healthy, Chipotle beats the socks off of Taco Bell, McDonalds, or Great Steak & Fry.  Here’s the rundown on lunch:

Get the burrito bowl but hold the rice and beans.  Instead, try to get away with as piling as many green peppers and onions in there as you can.  When the server stops, tell them to keep on going until they give you a weird look.  Next, load on some meat.  (I like the pork, but any of the animal options will do.)  Ask for extra meat.  They’ll warn you that it’ll cost extra, but it’s worth it for the protein and tasty, tasty MEAT!  When the Chipotle employee is done with the meat, ask for tomatoes and a few dollops of guacamole.  The green stuff is full of good fat.  To quench your thirst, grab some tap water with a few lemon wedges.

That there should make for a delicious and filling lunch when out and about.  I wouldn’t make it a staple in your diet, but it’s good to have as a backup on busy shopping (or massage) days.  And for under 10 bucks, you can’t beat it!

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Serving up some grass-fed lamb, eggs, acorn squash and coffee.

God, do I love breakfast.  For me, there’s nothing better than starting the day with some tasty meat, eggs, and veggies.  Unfortunately, I’m part of a minority of people who kickstart their day with some freshly cooked food.

Few have the time or patience to get up a half-hour early and break out the pots and pans.  Here are a few tips for filling up your belly with healthy food before work (while still staying sane).

1. Make sure you have food ready the night before.  Believe it or not, some people wake up and forage through their pantry with no idea of what the morning’s meal entails.

2. Get up a half-hour early.  At first, it’s going to be a pain in the pork rump, but over time, you’ll be hopping out of bed, rushing to the skillet.

3. What to eat: Grab some meat.  It doesn’t matter what kind, just make sure it was once walking, slithering, flying, or swimming.  This will be your source of good protein.  Pick out some veggies.  Slices of butternut squash pounded up into a mash make a great substitute for hash browns.  Find you some fat.  Drizzle a little olive oil over your veggies, have a small glass of coconut milk, or munch on an avacado or pecans.  If this doesn’t fill you up, then add some more of each.  If eggs are your thing, make yourself one or two (or three) if you are free of auto-immune diseases.

4. Set it and forget it.  Making food takes time, but you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get ready for your day (and check facebook) while the sugar-free sausage and squash are heating up.  (Don’t worry, my house hasn’t burned down yet.  Just don’t get carried away and have to resort to eating overcooked eggs.)

5. If you have little ones that need to be scooted out the door in the morning, don’t forgo breakfast.  Just make a bunch (and I mean A BUNCH) of breakfast food on a weekend day.

6. Coffee.  Yup, coffee is Paleo but try and limit the intake to two cups a day.  Not a morning.  A day.  If you’re getting enough sleep, you don’t need coffee to keep you awake throughout the day.  Sugar and cream?  Skip it.

If you’re just starting out on paleo, try implementing this routine in twice a week.  If you’re having success with it, go nuts and try it seven days a week.  The time you spend eating right now will keep you off the congested waiting room when you’re 60.

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Quite frequently, I’ll be out with friends eating and the questions will invariably come up: “You don’t eat bread?  Are you on a diet?”  Those of you who continue with a Paleo lifestyle should be quite familiar with the question.  But how do you answer?

A diet is so temporary.  Most are faddish and last only until you lose the desired weight.  Playing the “It’s a lifestyle” card sounds so cliche and you might as well be labeled “that nutrition guy (or gal)”.  It’s tough, but there are ways to respond to the question without coming off as gluten-hating, judgemental caveperson.

It’s a little confrontational, but I respond exactly how we’re all NOT supposed to answer: Answer a question with a question.  When asked what diet you’re on, just play it cool and say, “I’m not on a diet, I just don’t eat certain foods.”  Most likely, there will be a follow-up.  This is where you drop the question on them.

“You don’t smoke cigarettes, do you?  Well I just choose not to eat grains, sugar, dairy, or potatoes.”  This should help your friend to realize that you’re not in this for the short term.  You’ve made a decision to not only get healthier for the present, but lengthen and improve your life for the future.

The Paleo lifestyle is often called a diet because there is a common perception of anytime someone eats healthy, they’re on a diet.  It’s one of the hardest hurdles when switching to Paleo, but by making a commitment to yourself to stick to a life of healthy eating, solid sleep, and smart movement, you’ll benefit ten-fold both in the short-term and in your later years.

When you don’t play in traffic people don’t ask if you are on a jaywalking diet.  An alcoholic isn’t on a booze diet.  And you’re not on a processed food diet.

Hopefully that should help next time you ask the waitress if there is sugar or corn syrup in the barbeque sauce.

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Twice a week, I train at a big globo-gym with lots of machines, and every year at this time (post-Christmas) there are a ton of new faces that I’m sure I won’t see in March.  It’s not that these poor folks don’t have the desire.  If they’re willing to shell out a few hundred dollars to get access to “the club”, they have the drive.  Unfortunately, they don’t know what to do.

From machine to machine men and women troll, ending each work out with some cardio on the elliptical, assuming that “something is better than nothing” and staying away from the dumbells because the big muscley men are intimidating.  Unfortunately, just being in a gym doesn’t magically take the weight off or build muscle.  Those who go into a gym without a plan are “working out”.  The few individuals who approach their time in the gym with a goal in mind and a way to reach it are “training”.

From what I’ve found, CrossFit is the best training program that improves real-world strength and conditioning.  It’s more than a coincidence that hot chicks and buff dudes with six-packs are the norm within those who train.  (Just check out these pictures: 1, 2.)

The key difference between “training” and “working out” is the goal.  You’ll see with most CrossFitters and athletes, their goal isn’t to look good in the mirror.  (That’s just what happens when you incorporate real (and tough) training into your game plan.)  Their goal is to deadlift 5 pounds more than last time, take 2 seconds off their “Fran” time, and perform 30 burpees without stopping.

So, if what you’re looking for is for guys and gals to check you out (without getting an evil eye from their significant other) when you’re strolling down the beach, you need to change your goal.

Begin training.  Do some research before starting your training.  Look around at what’s working for others.  That’s a great barometer for what is worth doing.  (If your doctor is 250 pounds and telling you to eat whole wheat because it’s healthy, you may want to reconsider the advice.)  It’s pretty obvious I suggest CrossFit.

Once you find a training program that seems to work and is fun (that’s key!), set some goals to reach in the next 3 months, 6 months, and year.  And log everything.  This will allow you to assess your potential for meeting your goals and serve as a nice tool at your next party (with Paleo food, of course) for showing others how you made changes in your life.

“Working out” doesn’t seem to be working out well for most of America.  Ditch that and start “training” as an athlete.  It works.

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Compared to the average Joe, I’m pretty fit.  I can pick up heavy things, run short and far distances, do lots of pullups, and knock out a ton of double unders.  I also know enough to program my own workouts, eat right, know the standards of motion, and how to safely perform each movement.

My point is that even though I know and do a lot, I still have a coach.  In fact, I have four.  And my coaches have coaches.  And I’m sure their coaches have coaches.  That’s how we all get better.

No matter the area, there are three things that coaches should offer: Accountability, instruction, and motivation.  Anyone striving to achieve needs a coach to push them to get to the next step, hold them accountable, and offer suggestions on how to progress.

Switching the subject slightly, an individual striving for that ready-for-summer look may need a coach.  The fact is, most people aren’t used to being held to a standard, know much about fuel for their bodies, and are demotivated by slip-ups, birthday parties, and dinners out with friends.

If you’re truly motivated to reach your goals, get yourself a coach.  Start by getting someone who knows what they’re talking about (I suggest this guy) and demand they hold you to a standard.  Even if the first week your standard is cutting out that “hey, there are no calories, so it must be good” diet soda.  Log everything.  From what you eat for breakfast to how many handfuls of M&Ms you throw down.  Logging your food intake not only allow you to see where you can make improvements, but allows your coach to know what makes you happy.  (And don’t forget that guilt factor that works as an healthy motivator.)  Finally, contact with your coach is paramount.  The more he or she knows about your intake, feelings, stress, and sleep, the easier it will be to praise you on your accomplishments and gauge where to make the next short-term goal.

Ask Bobby Fischer, Miko Salo, or Lance Armstrong if they need coaches.  Without a doubt, they do. Even the best need a coach.  And if the best need accountability, motivation, and instruction, you do too.  So, go get yourself a coach and achieve!

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