August Challenge - You are a priority

August Challenge, Make You a Priority:

Focus ON YOU, your body, your health.

Rules: 

No Booze: Zero, Zilch, None, Nada, if you can't go a month without booze you have a problem, commit to it, make it happen, it will make drinking in September more fun, do it.

No Complaining: When you catch yourself thinking about how something sucks, why something should be different,
why something is someone else's fault, etc SHUT THE F*$k UP, your life is better than a whole lot of peoples, and things aren't always perfect, but bitching doesn't help, if you want something to be different or better, don't complain about it change it.

Help Somebody:  Everyday, do something good for someone else, make sure you journal this

Sleep:   Sleep is important, sleep in total darkness, no electronics, no nightlight, at least 7 hours a night in pitch black, if your laying in bed and resting and can't fall asleep that counts, as long as the room is pitch black and you're trying.

Fat Fast: 1 Day a week for 24 hours dont eat, you can have (Grass fed butter coconut oil MCT or heavy whipping cream with coffee or tea) but that is it on fast days (if you are going to break, raw veggies, some nuts or seeds, but nothing else and only if you are going to break otherwise, we are fighting for mental toughness here)

Diet / Exercise:   Set your goals, make them personal, list them out, make them realistic, stick to them, post them in the comments, we will hold you accountable, P.S. Eat your veggies

Be Outside: Spend at least 1 hour a day in nature, if you can't get that hour in each day thats fine, 2 hours the next, just make sure by the end of the week you spend 7 hours outside.

Walk:  At a slow space walk 10 miles a week, this can (and should) be hiking, which doubles as your outside hour, but either way.

Meditate: Spend 30 minutes each day with yourself and your thoughts in silence, watch a sunset, watch a sunrise, just be alone and think, or better don't think, but make this you time. (You can listen to music with no words, otherwise stay in silence or the sound of nature).

Personal Goals:  Dont forget to list them, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely

DON'T LIE: You are only cheating yourself if you do, when you break, admit it, write down why, set yourself a punishment, and try harder, learn from your mistake, do better.

Journal:  Everyday write down how you feel, what you did, what you didn't do, what was hard, what was easy, etc. Take good notes, collect your thoughts.

Growing the whole person

Growing the whole person: when you plant a free and it grows you see the trunk, the benches, the leaves, and we often try and gauge the health and vitality of that tree by it's fruit production. These are all very important parts of that trees health, but what we don't see is what's happening underground and inside. There are root digging  deep into the soil, finding nutrients, building relationships with other organisms and building the foundation from which the rest of the tree can stabilize and grow itself. Like the tree or any plant when growing ourselves as humans we often focus on the outside beauty as a measure of health. We want to lose fat, grow muscles and give off an image of health, but we too often overlook the insides of our digestive systems, our immune systems, etc that all have equally if not more important contributors to health that build the support system that our outside bodies reed to support itself. But buying that we also have our own roots that we must cultivate. We must cultivate our soul and our spirituality to build that support system for our outside body. This included our connections through relationships with other humans, with nature with our greater purpose, with our wonder. If we don't focus on growing this part of ourselves while we over focus on the external parts we could end up with an atificially inflated body that gives off an image of health that isn't really there. We could easily end up like a tree that grows tall and produces so much fruit that it eventually collapses from the weight of it's own fruit as the underlying root system has not become strong enough to to support this external growth. 

Perhaps we would all benefit from spending more time focusing on growing our invisible infrastructure so that we grow ourselves strong enough to support ourselves during storms and harsh conditions and do not collapse from our own weight.

The importance of human contact (a.k.a. hugs are paleo)

As humans, or as any other animal interaction and contact with fellow species mates are a very important aspect of life. Anyone who has raised any animals or studied animals in the wild can attest for the play activities, to huddling together in the cold, the wrestling, the fighting, the protecting, that all takes part of a natural animal lifespan. An animal that is denied these basic things and kept away from other members of their species seems to not be as fulfilled and when they do see another of their species they quickly seem out to join this completely instinctually, think dogs at the dog park. That's because human contact is such a vital part of survival and individuals growth.

The fact is as much as we try to proclaim independence we are all dependent on one another. We need other humans as part of our life the same way any other animal needs other animal presence and interaction as part of theirs.

 Ive read stories recently about a little boy who sang to his sister in the womb and when she was born with some problems and the doctors thought she wouldn't make it the boy was allowed to go sing to her which kickstarted a healing process that no medical doctor could explain and that shocked everyone. And I believe most of us are well aware of healing power of a mothers touch or the emotional bond of a brothers (or sisters) hug. These are things we inherently know whether science can quite explain them or not (not that I dont think they are truly biological not mystical, though we could claim all biology has some mysticism) but mainly that they are areas of science we have not come to understand in depth enough.

The fact of the matter remains that we were born for human interaction. It's no mistake or random occurrence that our arms form the perfect shape for embracing another, or that the warmth of a hug seems to touch our hearts in a way we can explain and automatically make us a feel a little better no matter what the circumstance. It is an instinctual mechanism to reach out a hand for contact when we see someone suffering because we know this subconsciously and instinctually.

 From a personal perspective I am way to all aware of this recently. I can not account for the times that I felt downtrodden or defeated and needed a pick me up. Going back to my mothers was always the answer, a mothers embrace and love was something that could heal my anytime from whatever was effecting me. From being sad or depressed, or from being sick, I full heartedly believe that it should be prescribed more than any medicine out there for it's healing properties. Having lost my mother last year I can also tell you how hard it is to not have that to go back to when I hit these low points. I think way to often we overlook the power of this basic human contact and how maybe it is what keeps those of us who don't fall of the deep-end from falling when we are on the edge. I can also recall a time when I was living away from home for the first time, in a new place homesick and lonely hanging with new friends and we had decided to road trip. At one point I recall one of these guys laying across my legs as he talked to somebody else and I recall this sense of connection that was felt that kind of eased my homesickness.

 In our society today we have taboo'd everything by demonizing human touch to always mean something sexual and perverted through our fear of stories in the media and through marketing campaigns that sexualize everything. We have a created this monster that has everyone confused, disoriented, and afraid of contact. A simple pat on the back, or placement of a hand on anthers knee during a conversation which in times past or even in other societies today was simply a natural instinct to imply concentration and understanding / listening / communicating effectively now can be construed as sexual harassment. We are suspending grade school kids of hugging classmates or kissing each other on the cheek.

We are demonizing human contact to the point that we have built up this monstrosity of confusion that leaves us all unsure of how to interact with one another. This creates this barren spot inside of us that is typically filled with some form of energy and emotional / spiritual connection from this contact. I full heartedly believe this has a lot to do with why we have created such strange perversions with sexuality when human contact does occur because we have have taboo'd contact so much that we think it has to have some evil connotation to occur. I once worked with an older vietnamese gentlemen who told me how his best friend from school had came to visit him and how they were walking down the city street here in America holding hands like they would do in his country. Nothing sexual denoted by this, just friends sharing human contact the way nature intended. But our society had people looking at them strangely, thinking perverted thoughts about there sexual relations and demonizing them for the simple act of holding hands.

Where and how did we get so lost? Perhaps if we embraced human contact a bit more, found way to make it more a part of our everyday lives we would start to understand better that deeper connection that we all share and we would bring back a sense of community that seems to be broken amongst ourselves. Perhaps if we spent a little less time trying to get ahead of our neighbors or compete with them on who can have the biggest car, or biggest television, and more time embracing and interacting with them we might begin to see our own and collective souls starting to shine a bit more. Perhaps it's time we quit demonizing human touch to the point that we leave ourselves so confused about what is appropriate and what is not, and we wouldn't have to think about what owe are supposed to do so much, and rather we could follow our instincts and do what we need to do, which is much more in line with what will help us heal.

 It's been a while since I mustered up the thoughts together for a full post so I thought I should make this a good one. It's a topic I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about and that lately I am finding very true for my own personal struggles. Addressing the importance of human contact is something we might not typically think of when talking Paleo, but a friend recently brought up the topic that hugs are paleo, and I could not agree more.

 P.S. I will rewrite this later as this was just a quick shoot from the hip rant, but one that I think really hits on something that we all need to consider. Hug a friend, hug a stranger, do this regularly and see if your life doesn't seem to change for the better. (Make sure the stranger is cool with it first, we dont need any assault charges).

cultivating your relationship with food... (Guest Post: Steve Miller)

In our fad diet, beach body crazed culture we often lose sight of whats really important. We often view food as the enemy, we proclaim portion control is key, food is looked at as a necessary evil that we must limit ourselves from over indulging in because our hunger instincts are the enemy. This leads to the quit weight loss, quick weight regain, unhealthy in all regards lifestyle that we have (as a society) become accustomed to.

Amidst this we lost the mental connection with one very important fact, "food is nourishment". Food is something that has customarily been embraced and cherished throughout history. Almost all cultures host harvest festivals and celebrate when food is abundant (as it was typically seasonal). But we have made pseudo food ultra convenient and nutritionally void in our me, me, me, now, now, now, quick fix society.  Our obsession with quick and easy on the go has lead us to an industrial food system that creates toxic products that are nutritionally void and stuffs them to us in mass quantities. Addictive sugars are used to help soothe our taste buds and make us crave more, and our bodies also naturally crave more food searching for the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that are missing from this cheap processed junk. 

This does not cultivate a healthy relationship with food. This relationship is downright psychotic and abusive. We curse it, we beat it, we hate it, and then we obsess over it and binge, all while being told it's genetics for why we are unhealthy. Truth be told your body is a genetic marvel honed over millennia of evolution to survive in a natural world. The problem with that now being that our food system, and the relationship we have with food is not natural. In order to return to health we do not need to diet, we should not seek out a quick fix solution and then go back to this abusive relationship, instead we should explore, understand, appreciate, respect, and cultivate a healthy relationship with food.

This is a guest post from my inspirational friend Steve Miller regarding his journey to defining his relationship with food.
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I was asked to take the time to share my health/fitness journey and my relationship with food. Starting my freshman year in high school I was bigger and heavier than most kids. I didn't lift weights, exercise to be fit or follow any diets. I played! A lot! I played soccer, basket ball, skateboarded, snowboarded, motocross, hunted, fished and even ran some just to hangout with friends. I was able to keep up with all my friends so why worry about my weight.   My junior year in high school I had a snowboard accident and tore my left knee up. Then the summer before my senior year I had a motocross accident that tore my right knee up. Ended up having surgery. After hearing multiple doctors tell me that my weight needed to come down a good 40+ pounds to save the wear on my damaged knees, I decided it was time to change some things. I had no idea what to do.  My friends and I would just go to random gyms a couple times a year and do what everyone else did. I knew sweets and soda had to go but never really changed anything else. I mostly ate big home cooked carb loaded meals or fast food! I always measured my success on how much weight lost. In a 2-3 month stretch of time I could lose between 15-40 pounds pretty regularly but always put it back on. From the time I was 18 till I was 25 I stayed in that same rut.  

In the beginning of 2013 decided I wanted to try crossfit. New gyms were popping up in the area and I passed one everyday on the way to work. I was interested but I felt too out of shape. I decided I was going to do my normal and drop 30-40 pounds and then give crossfit a try. So I starved myself and did the normal lifting and cardio routine and lost 50 pounds! I knew I wouldn't keep it off due to my past failures. I hit a wall. I was actually starting to gain the weight back two weeks. 

Finally I built up the courage to stop at the crossfit gym in late April of 2013. Just so happened the week I signed up they started a paleo diet challenge. I had never heard of the paleo diet before. I loved the first couple workouts I had done at the gym. I figured what the heck. I'll give paleo a try also. In 30 days I dropped 20 pounds. I was impressed! I had went from 292 pounds to 238 pounds cumulative at that point. I started back to eating the way I was for the most part after the challenge though. Socially it was just easier and I stayed right around 240 pounds so I became content. Then my life took a bit of a turn. I started having marital issues. I turned to food.  

From September to mid December I put 42 pounds back on. I was disgusted! I was ashamed and almost quit crossfit completely. One day I walked into the gym after realizing that my marriage was done and I had all but given up...it hit me. I wasn't afraid to put in the work. I wasn't afraid to change the way I ate. My problem was that I never really let any of it become a part of me. I never let it become a life style. I never tried to build a healthy relationship with food. I always used food as a way to feel good. I immediately started researching paleo and soon realized that it wasn't a diet. It was a way I could live a healthy life. I realized that crossfit and paleo were not just ways to look good or meet superficial goals. Jointly, they were my escape from the prison of doubt, fear, and self pity I had kept myself in.  

It is now May of 2014. I am the strongest, fastest, and healthiest(not to mention lightest) I have ever been. I no longer just step on the scale to measure my success. My relationship with food is always going to be a on going battle because of what is socially acceptable and the fact that I like to eat!! The good news is that now I have the tools and community I need to continue reaching my goals. At the end of the day the one thing I have to remind myself of is that life is never going to get easier. I just simply have to get better and have fun doing it!

we are all dirt...

Perhaps we should start at the beginning, but what really is a beginning, is each day a beginning, is each life a beginning, is each breath a beginning? What really is a real beginning? We like to box things in, in our systematic thought process to finite things. We like to start our understanding and experiments with clear beginnings and clear endings. I sometimes think that our brains must have some need to do this based on the way we are designed as it definitely seems to be the way we look at things. But is this a really accurate way of thinking?

After all how could there have ever really been a beginning? How can there be an end? A beginning to what? An end to what? If we think of the beginning of our life, then yes we can categorize it by our first breath outside the womb, or could we consider it when the sperm met the egg after our parents decided to do the dirty deed? Or could it have been when they first met? Or the first date? Was that our beginning?Or was our beginning long before that when the first piece of dirt was somehow formulated just right to mix with the water and carbon dioxide to sprout a seed into a blade of grass, that would later lead to the development of animal life, which would then in turn consume the grass and leave droppings to fertilize more life. In the end are we not all really just a part of this dirt. A part of a larger living system that we don't and maybe can't fully understand.

We all came from dirt, and upon death our bodies go back to dirt (granted we greedy sob's try to hold onto our dirt as long as possible by being buried inside these unnecessarily heavily constructed coffins, preventing ourselves from returning to the system that fed us, that created us, that is us). And when we come to realize how important this dirt is to our lives and what it means to us maybe we will respect it a little more. Maybe we will understand it's importance and embrace it for what it is. Not some inanimate object that we need to scrub away because it gets on our clean clothes and hands, not as something negative that needs to be cleaned to remove us from filth, but as the life force that we were created from and will return to. Perhaps it's time to realize and embrace and cherish the fact that we are all dirt.

something beautiful happened....

Something beautiful happened the day I stopped treating my body like a piece of machinery,
Something beautiful happened when i stopped treating my body like a science experiment by loading it with industrialized chemicals and processed preservatives.
Something beautiful happened when I embraced my own animal-hood treating my body the way it was biologically designed to be treated. 
Something beautify happened when I changed not only the way I fed myself but the way I philosophically viewed myself and my relationship with the world around me.
Something beautiful happened when I began to understand and fully respect the temple that is the  genetic marvel of a human body that I have been given that has been honed over millions of years of evolution to thrive in this world, not to suffer as the masses seem to do in todays culture.
Something beautiful happened when I embraced my relationship with nature, when I quit viewing myself as above nature, or below nature, but as a part of nature.
Something beautiful happened....
I began to heal....

It's about time I started working on my book, and I am going to start it by utilizing this blog to post my ramblings and ideas that will later be put together, those interested in the not so scientific philosophical ramblings of a man who believes more in results than he does in theories, of a man who finally abandoned the advice and opinions of the "experts" of popular science and began to follow the not so main stream experts who seemed to make more sense, please feel free to follow me and share in the creation of this story.