Paleo Vs Disease and my family part 1: Diabetes
Getting your parents to eat well is one hell of a battle. Sometimes you need to have something to help, and I was lucky enough that diabetes came knocking at my dad’s door in late May. Not that I wanted him to get diabetes, but he did call saying that he was finally, actually, really going to start listening to me regarding his diet. There was work to do; luckily we had a paleo eating plan, some Robb Wolf and Matt Lalonde resources to fall back on, and finally some real incentive not to mess around.
Here were his stats on May 19: Age 55, Weight 230, height 6’4”. Total cholesterol 178, HDL 40, LDL 104, Hemo A1c 5.8, Trygl 170. And he was on Lipitor. Funny quote from him: at one point when I told him I wanted him to get off of Lipitor he responded with “that’s what’s keeping my cholesterol low!” Well based on May 19th numbers he was given the “pre-diabetes” label.
I suppose those numbers weren’t so surprising given the fact that my dad loved to eat spaghetti with ground turkey breast, bagels, yogurt, smoothies, melons, etc etc etc….standard low fat fare. Also, he HAD TO HAVE his coffeemate (worst stuff ever?). In regards to exercise, he’s had multiple knee surgeries, ruptured hamstrings, rotator cuff issues, and general overweight malaise; so his exercise options were limited and for a former athlete as he is, quite frustrating.
He jumped right in to paleo, as best as he could. There is a bit of a learning curve, given the polar opposite eating patterns that he was trying to embrace, and even more so due to the polar opposite dietary recommendations that had become ingrained in his brain. His guidelines: lots of veggies and quality, well raised meats. Some nuts. Little fruit. No grain, no dairy, no legumes. Supplement with Vit D3, fish oil.
I had to reiterate multiple times to stop with fruit smoothies, or diet drinks, and beans, but, as a whole once he got it-he stayed pretty strict. He started dropping weight, around 5lbs a week, and as a result he felt better. Because he felt better, he started calling himself SMF (skinny mother fucker). Because he felt better, he started to increase the exercises he was doing by adding more weight training, and bought a rowing machine. Because he felt better, he started skipping doses of Lipitor. Because he felt better, he had people commentating on how much weight he had lost-all gut by the way. So on 8/19 he got his numbers rechecked, along with some additional info I told him he had to get.
date 8/19 5/20
Weight 205 230
Total Chol 141 178
HDL 48 (direct) 40
LDL 78 (direct) 104
VLDL 15 (direct) Not measured
Trigly 62 170
Vit D 41 not measured
HsCRP 2.09 not measured
HbA1c 5.7 5.8
Homocysteine 8.3 not measured
Particle size pattern A not measured
Pre-diabetes Not anymore yes
All those “not measured” will be another post subject, as I can’t understand how these things aren’t run by doctors every damn time - given what we know now regarding the importance of Vit D, particle size, inflammation. Medical industry = Yikes.
All in all-pretty damn sweet success so far. Now, we have some other markers to work towards: A lower HsCRP, higher Vit D, and a structured workout program, and better sleep patterns. Recently, he’s even started doing some IF a la Martin Berkham’s lean gains, and he likes it. We are upping the Vit D to around 10,000 iu based on some Dr. Eades stuff (and others), he’s upping his sardine eating to complement his fish oil supplement, he’s added Natural Calm Magnesium, and COQ10.
Wish him luck-and I’ll keep this updated on his progress. Next up: Paleo Vs Fibromyalgia
movnat + kettles
MovNat Expansion course, my thoughts
I got goose bumpswhen Lori screamed in triumphant victory upon making it over the edge of the 20’boulder during our epic final course at the MovNat expansion seminar. She got up the same way the men did, starting5’ in the air hanging from a rope upside down, climbing backwards up to justbelow the edge of the boulder, using her new skills she had learned during theweek to flip her body on top of the rope, then finally pulling herself up therope and a tree root over the edge and to the top of the boulder. Then herunplanned, emotionally charged, and most of all primal roar erupted and filledthe forest around us. I got goose bumpsand all of us standing 20’ below cheered and high fived each other, ecstaticfor her and our achievements on that course and that week.
Prior to leavingfor the MovNat course in West Virginia, a fellow personal trainer asked me whyI was paying to travel to have someone tell me how to play. I defensively spit out “I think it’ll be fun,and it’s my summer vacation.” I wasdefensive because that was a tough question as I really didn’t know what I wasexpecting out of the MovNat seminar. Ijust knew that Erwan Le Corre, the founder and coach of MovNat had a few veryimpressive youtube videos, in which he “trained”in nature, and he did so without shoes or shirts. Since I train shoeless and shirtlessoutdoors, I thought it’d be a fun week to try some new things, pick up somecoaching tricks, and get some exciting yet grueling workouts. I got all of that, but more importantlylearned another perspective on training and living life in general.
I’m not going todetail all that happened, much has been written already (links at end), ratherI’d like to share some things that I took away, or ideas/opinions I’ve formedduring and since MovNat.
1. This is straight from Erwan, focus on movement quality overmovement quantity. Seems straight forward enough, but I found myself musclingthrough things (running, climbing). Erwan was right there to remind me to beefficient. Being efficient meansfocusing on the movement and techniques, which will save energy thus allowingme to do more work faster, easier, and for longer. Which is really exactly what all strength andconditioning programs strive to accomplish.
2. Mindfulness. At one point,I dropped loudly to the ground from a branch.Erwan seized the coaching opportunity and gave us a prudent message toalways be mindful when we are not just training, but at all points inlife. His focusing on and reiteratingthis point during the week is why, despite twelve people training in theforest, climbing trees, running on rocks, flipping and carrying logs, throwingstones, all while shoeless and shirtless, nobody has been even moderatelyinjured (not in all four weeks, forty-eight participants). Scratched, bruisedand sore, sure, but his coaching kept us all mindful and I believe injuryfree. That mindfulness is something thatis sorely missing in most peoples’ training as they aimlessly step machine,incline walk, thigh adduct, bicep curl, and lower ab blast themselves intoboredom at the gym. That mindfulness is missingin most peoples’ mindlessly mundane routine of a life as well.
3. I thought that I had found the answer to what is fitness inCrossFit’s definition (move large loads over long distance quickly, and beproficient in the ten domains (strength, cardiovascular/respiratory endurance,stamina, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy.)However, in what Erwan calls the re-evolution (returning to our true nature),he has taken the ten areas of fitness and actuallyemployed them all, but not really on purpose.He “simply” comes up with contexts in which you must move. And thosemovements are natural, (the ten natural skills are walking, running, moving onall fours, swimming, climbing, lifting, throwing, defending, balancing,jumping), which he defines as primal, intuitive, universal, adaptive, contextual. MovNat really is general physicalpreparedness, in its truest form as it prepares you outside in changing contexts(in the woods), with on the fly adaptations (did the bark just come off thislog I was clean and pressing?), and could be useful when 2012 hits. 
4. Erwan’s passion for MovNat as not just a way of training but as alife philosophy is real. And contagious.I envied him when he stated that his only possessions were his car, and hisclothes. (he wore the same shorts everyday!) Over one of the group meals, Itold him I had recently lectured my little brother’s vegan-expectantmother-girlfriend about why she MUST stop being a vegan, and Erwan becameexcited. He said I was being anactivist, which I had never thought of myself.His exuberance at the successes of his participants, and in sharing realknowledge on paleo eating, fasting, training methodology, and philosophy wereall inspiring. It makes me want to bethat activist.
5. Memories. I won’t detailall we did, just a couple of favorites: swimming along the lake edge to find acliff wall we could scale to pick berries and jump off from 30’ back into thelake/ clean and pressing all the logs one handed/ Erwan’s assistant, Vic,giving us some of the most practical defensive training you could ever hear (ina French accent) “this guy is trying to kill you. So you don’t want to hurthim. No, you want to f#**ing kill this mother#*#er!!”/ walking on all fours on balancebeams when Erwan states “you are lucky, last week it was raining during thispractice.” Three minutes later and it was pouring hard. I felt like we were in a training montagefrom a 1980’s martial arts movie/ everyone making a long jump from a fallentree and grabbing another branch across a gap.Those are just a few highlight, the others I sincerely hope you get totry yourself someday.
Finally, the most important and lasting partof my trip. Erwan kept saying it wasn’ta competition. Mean while, I hatedanytime someone could do the mobility drills while I tried and failed to movemy toes, ankles, and hips to match Erwan’s gumbi like flexibility. And they weren’t silly or crazy yoga moves,they were things like go from kneeling to a squat, or my real nemesis, sittingon your heels while kneeling with your toes are pointed out sideways away fromyou. Erwan and others were comfy there;they looked like they could relax that way.I couldn’t help but think of me when he later stated wholeheartedly thatif he had to pick between strength and mobility, he’d pick mobility. And seeing him move effortlessly on theground, through the forest, in the water, up cliff walls, and into the trees, Iwill be trading SOME squats and deadlifts for some of those damned heelsits. But back to competition, which Ibelieve to be as Primal as anything else.Of course there is going to be competition; all animals compete, ramsbut head, birds dance, gorillas fight.You pick up that stone, well, I’m going to pick up that biggerstone. The revolution for me though,was, by day three I wanted our entire group to pick up that bigger stone. We weredoing everything together: cooking, cleaning, training, competing togetheragainst the obstacles and challenges in front of us, and finally celebratingtogether. We had become a tribe. Andthat’s why I got goose bumps when Lori let out her roar.
other reviews more about the food and training
http://gregcarver.com/blog/2010/movnat-expansion-course-physical-culture-reinvented/
http://www.fifth-ape.com/blog/2010/8/2/movnat-expansion-course-an-incredible-week.html
CrossFit USD
MovNat, and my prep work
By attending the Expansion Workshop you will have the opportunity to optimize, broaden and equalize your natural movement skills and to experience the primal and natural feel of a MovNat practice.
Self-assessment criteria for this course:
You have some “barefooting” experience
You can run 10 kilometers (a 10k) in under 50 minutes easily (an 8
minute mile pace)
You can easily perform 10 explosive pull-ups in a row
You have some powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting experience and can at least deadlift and squat your own bodyweight and clean and jerk half your body weight
You can hold a well-aligned plank pose for at least a minute, you can do 20 successive walking lunges while maintaining your stability, and you can at least vertical jump up to your knee-level and long jump half your height from a static posture then stabilize your body easily.
You can comfortably swim freestyle and backstroke
You have some martial art or defense experience (i.e. boxing, wrestling)
You can hold your breath at least one minute and 30 seconds
You have no serious health issues that prevent you from performing optimally including injuries that you must work around
I have a couple of things to work on from this list: breath, swimming, and martial arts. This will be one of the first times I keep a training log.
Since signing up for the seminar, my training has looked like this:
Wednesday: yoga and trx session
Thursday: kettlebells and jumps
Friday: Light barefoot jog, wall climbs, and an ocean "battle" (bodyboarding/swimming in waves)
Sat and Sun: CrossFit level 1 cert (practicing lifts and 2 WODS)
Monday: barefoot mile, and some swimming
Tuesday: stretch day, very light trx circuit
Wednesday: swings and stairs, barefoot hills, "play" at park
Today, after training my group, I will do some swimming and breath work. In the afternoon I will do a Vibram clad hike/run and will try to do some "play" with rocks and trees etc.
Tomorrow I have a kettlebell coaching class in the AM (I take the RKC in August). In the PM I will do some sprints and animal crawls on the beach, then "fight/play" in the ocean waves.
-Clif
