MORE PALEO EFFECTS-PERIODIC FASTS

Our family's transition to eating Paleo has become quite an adventure. My wife had some challenges initially, but has become quite creative in preparing Paleo meals. We're dropping weight, and I am really convinced that this manner of eating has a positive impact upon your health. After completing John Durant's book, The Paleo Manifesto, I tried a couple of short fasts. I have found that they are easy, make you feel great, and cause no discomfort. I have, generally a couple of days per week, merely skipped "breakfast". Finishing dinner at around 7 pm most nights, I simply wait until lunch time the following day to eat, having only coffee and water in the morning. That sets up about a 17 hour fast, and has, in my experience, really helped with dropping those few additional pounds, although that is not the main reason. What is amazing to me is that it is so easy. When I was a "carb eater", I would get SO HUNGRY when mealtime approached, I couldn't wait to eat again. Our diet now is almost all meats, vegetables, and some fruit. Anecdotal, I know, but my body seems to have flipped the switch from burning carbs to burning fat. My weight has dropped, since our odyssey began in mid-July, from 189 to 176. I am currently back at my high school weight! I just don't have the food cravings that I had previously. Yesterday was not a "fasting day", but we had a busy day with a number of activities planned, and when dinner time rolled around, I found that, between dinner the night before and our evening meal, I had only eaten two pieces of fruit and a handful of almonds. It wasn't a conscious restriction of food, it just happened that way. What is the most interesting thing is that my energy level stays steady. I used to get that kind of shaky, weak feeling when I hadn't eaten, and my wife had always said that she knew when I was hungry because I would be grumpy and frowning. It was really true. I just don't get that effect anymore. I have a steady energy level throughout the day, whether I have eaten or not. In these blog posts, I am not specifically recommending that everyone or anyone do what I am doing, but I want to share my experiences with those of you who may be going through the same issues or are considering doing so. I have not yet tried longer fasts, but have no qualms about doing so. I don't think 24 hours would even feel like a challenge at this point, something that would have seemed like a gargantuan task when I was eating a lot of carbs.

PRODUCT REVIEW-SHAMMA SANDALS WARRIOR

This was a product that came to my attention recently. It is made by a small company in Santa Cruz, CA, and they have put in a lot of time and attention in the production of their sandals. Shamma Sandals offers other models, however these that I tested really got my attention because they appeared to be ultra-minimalist. They were shipped very quickly, I might add. I could see right out of the mailer just how minimalist these sandals are. Very thin (5mm) sole with a sheepskin foot-bed, serious tread, on a Vibram sole, and laces pre-installed. The flexibility of Warriors is phenomenal. They were flexible to the point that I had some concerns about how they would ride on your feet when running. I followed the video to which they provide a link, and set up the strap laces for my feet. These have an interesting feature on the straps. On the outer ankle side, there is a movable "keeper" that slides over the strap to help keep the heel strap taught. I set up the straps using these keepers, but experienced a bit too much material in one place near my ankle for my personal preference, and I was concerned that it would bother me, particularly on longer runs. I elected (and this was not recommended by Shamma) to slide the keeper off of the strap and try a run without it. The lace has a nice suede-type heel strap cover that rides comfortably across your heel/Achilles tendon. I quickly found that, at least for me, after the first run (3 mi.) in them, I didn't need the keepers. I am sure that many people will prefer to leave them in place, and they are a nice additional feature, but I was most comfortable without them, and experienced no slippage issues on the heel strap. I have really wide feet, and I also had concerns that I could feel the ankle strap/sole contact points as I walked around in the house initially. Those concerns faded away quickly when I began to run. In almost every case, when I test a new sandal, I keep the first run to about a mile, just to assess issues of lacing/potential hot spots, and fit issues. I started off in these and reached the mile mark with NO issues, so I thought I'd push the test to 1-1/2 miles, then 2, then 3....then I had to cut it off or be late for work. I had no problems with the fit, the laces, nor any rubbing or chafing on my feet, toes or ankles. That is a very unusual situation for a pair of new sandals, fresh from the mailbox, in my experience. I ran the first test on a combination of concrete, some gravel, and dirt. They performed well on each. Perhaps the most significant thing I noticed was how they ride on your feet. Once the laces are the right tension all around, these sat on the sole of my foot like a second skin. As most sandal runners know, you will sometimes get sand and debris between sandal and foot, which is an irritation, at best. Such occurrence was minimized with Warriors. I had a couple of small pebbles/large grains of sand find their way under my heel, but they quickly fell back out, once with a little flick of my finger on the heel, barely breaking stride. The flexibility and ground feel of these sandals is great, assuming you are an experienced barefoot or minimalist runner, and have a good forefoot or mid-foot strike. I purposely tried heel striking a few times, and the flapping noise was VERY noticeable. These are not designed for heel striking, to be sure. The heel strap is a nice feature. It has, as indicated above, a suede "tube" that slips over the nylon heel strap. It provides a welcome contact with your heel/achilles and stays in place well. On one run, it felt a bit loose, and I was concerned that it would slip, however it never did. The hook and loop (velcro) method of securing the sandals is really handy and secure. No buckle to fiddle with, just snug it up and you're off. After the second run (total of about 6 miles), the sheepskin foot-bed was beginning to show signs of conforming to my foot shape, particularly at the toes. I continue to run in these, and have had no negative issues. They are thin enough to give you as close to barefoot feel as I've ever had with running sandals. Although these have a nice tread, it doesn't interfere with ground feel at all, in my experience. I tried them over some heavier gravel and fairly large rocks. They give your soles some protection, but allow you to feel the ground surface. If you are a true barefoot runner, and occasionally want some protection over rough terrain, these are great to throw in to a pocket or pack. They are so flexible that they roll up easily or tuck into a waistband. Shammasandals.com offers several different sandals, up to and including their 11mm "Mountain Goats". There seems to be quite a variety to fit your particular preference in a running sandal. The Warriors retail at $69.95. They have a nice Money Back Guarantee (see their website for details), and free shipping within the Continental U.S. There is a lot of detailed information on their website, and the sizing is pretty easy, with downloadable templates for the various sizes. With that info available, you'd have to try pretty hard to get the wrong size! I am very pleased with the quality and performance of these sandals.

HOW I PROVED (AT LEAST TO MYSELF) THAT HEEL-STRIKING IS NOT A NATURAL WAY TO RUN

Since I switched from "running shoes" to barefoot and minimal footwear about 4-1/2 years ago, I have watched with great interest how runners feet contact the ground. Probably 90 % of runners that you see along the road are heel striking. There is one older lady who runs regularly in our neighborhood who has the greatest light, mid-foot strike, and just floats along...wearing regular "running shoes". Whatever happened to most of those who wear that type of shoe, didn't happen to her. Everyone else that you see, though is truckin' along, some fast, some slow, all reaching out with that big rubber clad heel, then slapping that foot down as their weight comes over the top of their extended knee. I did a little experiment that showed me just how your feet should contact the ground. During a run, I encountered a branch and instinctively my foot went toward the side to avoid it. I have a pretty reliable mid-foot strike anyway, but this one was entirely automatic. You can't suddenly jump to one side or the other and land on your heel. You will either get hurt, lose your balance, or at the very least, make an ungainly recovery. Your foot, in a sudden situation, reverts to how it was made. It lands forefoot/mid-foot to give you the best chance of a safe landing. I get most of my revelations about running WHILE RUNNING. I then started trying to re-create the situation. Your foot, left to its own devices, will land naturally to help you avoid an injury. I then tried running backward. Guess what..........it's virtually impossible to heel strike when you are running backward. (Caveat-Probably not a good idea to run backward.) Put your feet in any unusual situation during a run and they will call on those 2 million years of evolution, instantly defeating the running shoe industry's multi-billion dollar campaign to sell you thick rubber heeled shoes in which to stomp along on your run. Therein lies my point. That "Keep on Truckin'" heel strike JUST AIN'T NORMAL. Don't know any other way to say it.

CREATING A MAKESHIFT PALEO ENVIRONMENT

The initial question would be, "Is it possible?" The short answer is, probably not. We live in a modern, convenience filled, tech world. One could, I suppose, really live like our stone age ancestors, if one was willing to forego society, probably family, medical treatment, and comfort pretty much altogether. Not many people would be willing to do that, and in my opinion, anyone who goes to that extreme has some other agenda or issues separate and apart from living a healthy life. These articles aren't about doing such a thing. I, for one, am not willing to give up the benefits of living in the current age on a Quixotic quest for "Paleo-health". What we are about here is showing that, with some effort and creativeness, as well as a bit of commitment, you can access many of the benefits of living as you were evolved to live, while still being part of modern society. That's a lot of what I get from John Durant's book, "The Paleo Manifesto". I have read it once, am going to read it again, and will be doing a review in upcoming weeks, by the way. The main thing about "Paleo" is, at least from my point of view, a new way of looking at the world. There is currently too much food available and not enough demanded from us in a modern environment. Our food sources are cheap, plentiful, and mostly carbohydrate loaded. Fast food restaurants are on virtually every corner, and the food industry spends billions of dollars per year to convince us that our palates should beg for sugar, wheat, and other simple carbohydrates. Billboards and commercials are filled with sumptuous looking cinnamon rolls, waffles, bread, pie, burgers on a huge bun with mystery sauce dripping from the side, candy, cake, you name it. Switching to Paleo is not hard. Let me repeat that IT IS NOT HARD. It doesn't take long to get used to, either. You can lose those carb cravings in short order. It just takes a bit of creativeness and some commitment. 1. First of all, you gotta dump the crap in your pantry. If it's there, it might be eaten. If it's gone.........it won't. 2. Learn how to shop. If it's in a package, chances are, you don't need it. Stick to meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs, and honey. You probably don't even need to go into those interior aisles of a grocery store where the other stuff is sold. You know, the bread, snack, cereal, canned food aisles. 3. Change how you view "food". Humans are an omnivore. We can live on pretty much any kind of food. Too many of us have been living (if you want to call it that) on highly processed, salt and additive-filled carbohydrates like instant ramen, macaroni, bread, and sugar-filled desserts. It takes a little leap at first, but you can easily get to where you need to be by no longer looking at those things as food sources. We weren't evolved to live on them, and you can't do it an remain healthy for long. Look around at the obesity rate, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. As I say repeatedly throughout these articles, I am not a medical doctor, and won't tell YOU what is right for you. I'm looking at basic truths, and giving MY opinion, sharing MY views on how to get healthy. An African lion wouldn't stand on the shore, see a blue whale spout in the distance, and view it as a food source. (OK, the likelihood of THAT little scenario is pretty remote, but work with me here. I'm trying to make a point.) You shouldn't view those junk-type "foods" as a food source. I read someplace a while back, "Don't sacrifice what you want MOST for what you want NOW." My apologies to whomever wrote that, for no attribution, but I don't know the source. How true it is, though! Breaking over and eating that pizza may momentarily satisfy some misplaced craving for carbs and salt, but certainly won't help you in your Paleo lifestyle. It won't be as satisfying as you thought, either. 4. Movement, movement, movement. I use the tag "Simulate The Hunt" (c) at the top of the page. You need to move around to expend energy. If you take in too much and move too little, your body will store it for later. Simple simple simple. You've heard this before, but you have to move. Your body was made to move, to work, to climb, to run, to swim, in general to move through your environment. It is capable of amazing physical feats. Don't sit when you can stand, don't drive when you can walk, use hand tools instead of power tools when it's reasonable to do so. Increase your energy output. Walk, walk, walk. Run if you can, even a little and then increase it. Carry heavy (within your ability) objects. Move things, climb things. Jump, play, chase. 5. Enjoy your life. 6. Spend time out in nature. Even if it's a park in the middle of a city. 7. Get your bare feet and your hands in the dirt. 8. Use natural materials when you can.

NOT JUST RUNNING-LIVING

I often write about minimalist/barefoot running issues, minimalist shoe reviews, etc. Running is just something that I like to do. I want to look beyond ONLY the running, and talk about minimalist/barefoot LIVING. When you first transition from "traditional" shoes, you have to do it somewhat slowly, as your feet, primarily, are weak from years of being encased in rubber/leather/canvas, and your ankles, tendons, calves, (and on up the chain) are in need of conditioning to be able to run as you were made to run. Nearly EVERY runner that you see on the road, from those you see at the head of the pack in an event to the weekend casual "jogger", are running along, clomping down on the heel and slapping the toes down with every step. I have kind of made a game of it, in that when I am on the road, whether running or driving and see a runner coming toward me, I look to whether I can see the bottom of their foot as they take a step. Generally, if you can see the bottom of their shoe, they are presenting it as they reach out with their heel. As I started to say, barefoot/minimalist RUNNING strengthens your feet/legs. What about barefoot/minimalist LIVING? Do you have a good barefoot run, then throw on the old sneakers/worn out "running shoes" to prepare to work in the yard? If so, I think you may be missing a great opportunity for conditioning. I spend a lot of time working outside. I mean A LOT! We are fortunate to have a fruit orchard and large seasonal garden, however it takes a lot of physical work to keep it going. Whether I am trimming trees, removing stumps, fixing irrigation pipe or laying in firewood, I'm not wearing shoes. I do some of it barefoot, and much of it in some good old tire tread sandals with paracord laces. These are the ones shown in the photo above, taken before I did some customization on them, and switched to the paracord. Plenty of protection for the bottom of your feet from thorns, etc., but no cushioning, and lots of free foot movement. Such work strengthens your feet, as they move in ways that just don't happen while running. When I have worked outside for the day, my feet have that great "happy tired" feeling after a good hard trail run. I've been bending them, stepping on logs, rocks, pushing over stumps, you name it, for 8 hours or more. You can't buy that kind of foot workout. Now I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm not advocating anything, just providing my perspective and experience. I go so far as to chop and split firewood this way, and to the uninitiated, that could be fraught with danger. I'm just providing the point of view that our primitive ancestors didn't run down a buck, then change into their old Nikes to go gather firewood. This is about getting back to our primal roots, and living more closely to the way they did in order for our bodies to be healthy. If you don't do a lot of your living/working either barefoot or in minimal footwear, you are missing a great conditioning opportunity.