5 Reasons To Get Your Butt Outside
April 2nd, 2010 
Tyson - You can only take so much of the treadmill before it becomes a redundant task that you loathe. Take it outside and change up your cardio workouts. Your body will be confused by the change and that benefit will increase your results.
- Fresh air. As much as your local gym tries to move the air around and make it smell good, nothing beats Mother Nature and her nature wind machine. Get some good air in those lungs.
- Being in the sun helps to generate Vitamin D. Be smart about it but don’t be afraid to get out in the sun minus the chemically laden sun screen. Our bodies need Vitamin D and the long winter has depleted that from us.
- Socialize. Being at the park with other parents or running down a trail with other fitness enthusiasts always feels good. We are all improving our lives together. Plus a little friendly competition is always healthy.
- Gyms are boring. How many curls and lunges can you do while staring at yourself in the mirror? Get outside and find something heavy to lift. Run a few sprints. Find a park and do some pull-ups. Functional fitness over vanity fitness.
My School Lunch Experience
I recently had the pleasure of volunteering at my daughters school. It was part of a program aimed toward fathers in hopes that it can get them more involved in their kid’s school activities. I thought the experience was fantastic. I got to help kids with their writing, reading, and many other things that I didn’t think I would be doing. I also got to help out for a few hours in the lunch room. That is where things got really interesting for me. As a fitness fanatic and health food junkie, I paid special attention to what kids where and where not eating. Here are a few observations:
- Packed lunches where more prominent amongst the older classes (3rd,4th,5th)
- This was especially true amongst the girls. Maybe it was because they all had designer lunch boxes.
- The salad bar consisted of mainly broccoli, carrots, and grapes. No salad to be seen.
- The majority of kids drank a flavored milk (sometimes two).
- I thought this was disturbing. When I was a kid we had chocolate milk one day a week (Friday). Now its being offered daily. Of course kids are going to drink that over regular milk.
- There was no water option.
- Aside from the “salad” bar, nothing resembled real food.
- They had the usual school lunches: chicken nuggets, something that resembled a hamburger, fries, etc.
- Very few packers had soda but most had other sugary drinks.
- The drinks where very mixed. Everything from Sunny D to Power Aide.
- I only witnessed a small handful of kids with homemade lunches.
- Parents that stopped in to eat with their kids always brought fast food…and soda.
- The fast food of choice was McDonald’s.
- Kids are allowed to go back for seconds regardless of what is still left on their plate. Most kids went back for the dessert.
Not a lot has changed since my days in school. The lunch options are more but the quality of the food looks the same. Kid’s get more food but less time to eat it. Grains seem to be the prevalent food group amongst all the days I witnessed. If you didnt like the main course, your backup option was Uncrustable Sandwiches. Yum.
Interview with Jeff Pickett – Founder of PrimalChat.com
SBF: Tell us about your background. Have you always been in great shape? What kind of programs have you done or followed in the past?
Jeff: I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never been too horribly out of shape. At one point in my early 30′s, though, it got bad for me. I was more than 30% bodyfat and then my Grandfather died from diabetes and heart disease. It forced me to look at myself and make some changes. I did BodyForLife twice and then joined an online site called Leanness Lifestyle. I ran the Chicago Marathon and also did some personal training. Just recently I completed P90X and it was after that, in November of 2009, that I came across the Primal Blueprint, a cousin of the Paleo Diet. Eating Primal/Paleo is so different from what we’ve all been taught about whole wheats and grains, but I accepted the science and at the age of 42 I’m under 10% bodyfat and feel great.
SBF: How would you summarize the Primal lifestyle?
Jeff: The best way I summarize “going Primal” is simply this: It’s all about moderating your insulin response. With the massive amounts of carbs I used to eat when I was running it’s amazing I didn’t kill myself. By keeping your carbs under control and watching the quality of the food you eat, you can do so much more. The Primal lifestyle is much more intuitive and unplanned. You never count calories or portions but eat as your body tells you. It’s a freeing experience.
SBF: What turned you Primal?
Jeff: Around Thanksgiving I watched Food Inc. I learned so much from that movie about food quality, the industrialization of our food supplies, Monsanto’s monopoly on our farmers and corn based products. It shook me up and eventually led me to Mark Sisson’s book which I’ve now read twice and wholeheartedly accept. The encouragement I’ve received from so many in the Primal community is amazing. I’ve received numerous email replies back from Mark Sisson himself and find him to be a very genuine person despite his busy lifestyle.
SBF: When you began cleaning up your eating, did you notice immediate improvements?
Jeff: As I cleaned up my foods, I wondered if the promises would hold true about inflammations decreasing, etc. I have had chronic sinus infections to the tune of 6 or so a year. After going Primal, those infections have gone away. I did go through the normal adjustment/transition that most do as your body adjusts to using fat instead of carbs as the energy source, but I have been able to ween myself off of sweeteners and I taste food in a different light now. I might not say immediate, but I would say within the first month things started turning around for me.
SBF: Some followers of a Primal lifestyle adopt a 80/20 rule when it comes to eating. Do you ever have cheat days? What are your indulgences?
Jeff: I would guess that I’m pretty strict on my food to the point I get made fun of by family or co-workers. That’s OK – I wear that as a badge of honor. I am working to improve upon the quality of foods and grass fed meats, but I’d say I’m eating pretty Primal at least 80% of the time. I enjoy the foods so much that I don’t feel like “cheating” as I used to with other plans. I can hold cravings at bay with coffee, so I use that as a crutch if I have to. As for cheat days, I’ve only had one day that I allowed myself to let go a little. I’ll have maybe two “cheat meals” each week. Those cheats consist of ice cream or birthday cake – with a full family and many birthdays between Christmas and March, ya gotta cave a little!
SBF: What is your favorite Primal Recipe?
Jeff: My favorite Primal recipe is a toss up between the Primal pizza, jambalaya and the meatballs. Each of the recipes requires some preparation and I enjoy that time fixing the foods while listening to something on Pandora. It’s good therapy after a stressful day.
SBF: What is your favorite workout?
Jeff: I have a few faves. I do a kettlebell workout that consists of push presses, squats, rows, around the worlds and swings. I do that circuit 5 times and let the sweat flow. That is a great 25 minute plan. On other days I’ll do squats, inverted rows, pullups, pushups and some bicep work. I know that’s two workouts, but both leave me feeling really energized when I’m done.
SBF: Where can interested people follow you?
Jeff: For people who want to learn more or just want to socialize, you can find my blog at http://www.primalchat.com. I’m also on Twitter: @primalchat. I’ve put together an informal Twitter chat session that usually lasts around an hour. That is on Wednesdays at 8 PM CST. Just use the hashtag #primalchat (what else?) 
Book Review – Food Rules by Michael Pollan
My sister-in-law and her husband gave me a couple of great books for my birthday; The Maker’s Diet: Shopper’s Guide by Jordan Rubin and Food Rules, An Eaters Manual by Michael Pollan. I just finished reading Food Rules and I must say that I really enjoyed Michael Pollans’s simple no-nonsense approach to eating. There are hundreds if not thousands of books out there about how and what to eat but not many break it down as simply as Michael Pollan did in his book. It’s not filled with calorie numbers, fat counts, or other specific nutritional guidelines. Instead its filled with short chapters on things like “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t” and “Eat only foods that will eventually rot”. Micheal has laid out a book based on guidelines that are simple but effective. He very easily breaks down what is wrong with the Western Diet and does it in a way that most, if not all, people can understand. The basis is to eat real food. Not food made in factories. Not food made with dozens of different ingredients. Real food. The kind you would pick straight from the field or buy straight from your neighborhood butcher.
If followed (and they are easy to follow), then you will undoubtedly become healthier. This is a quick read and most definitely worth it. Simple but effective and I loved it. I give it two thumbs up.
World’s Heavist Woman?
What’s wrong with this picture? By now I am sure we have all heard about Donna Simpson who wants to be 1,000lbs. Her goal is to become the largest woman ever and set a record for that. Beyond the obvious reasons of how wrong this is, I am surprised that no one is talking about her daughter. What kind of example is this setting for her? What kind of bad habits is she picking up from her Mom? What kind of environment is she living in where her Mom is afraid to interact with her for fear of actual burning calories! I don’t feel sorry for the Mom. She is doing this to herself and she will suffer her own consequences from her choices. I feel sorry for her daughter. She deserves a Mom who wants to play with her and she needs a Mom that is capable of taking care of her. Currently Donna can walk 20 feet before she has to rest. What kind of life is that? What would happen in the event of a fire?
Do you agree or am I completely off base on this?
