I consider myself a pretty social person, but I’ll admit I need my “cave” time – those periodic hours away from everyone and most everything. After a long and compact business trip, a joint vacation with extended family or friends, the ruckus of the holidays, or a week of house guests, I hit my threshold – beyond which I slip into an irritable, irascible version of myself. Usually my wife catches it before I do and gently reminds me to retreat for a time until I’m fit for society again. After a brief self-imposed seclusion (usually a day of hiking), I’m as good as new. In short, a bit of regular solitude keeps me civilized.

Last week The Boston Globe ran a piece called “The Power of Lonely: What We Do Better without Other People Around.” The article mentioned a number of recent studies that underscore the need to go it […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Last week’s bibliotherapy post got folks talking about their reading practices – both favorite books and personal motivations. There were even a few professional bibliotherapy practitioners among the mix. Small world it is. Thanks, as always, for the amazing feedback and conversation. Today’s topic – and flip side of reading therapy: writing therapy. Just as we learn through the lens of others’ tales, we gain insight by composing our own. Avid journal keepers out there are already nodding their heads. Anyone who’s faced down deep grief, been flooded with joy, been plagued by confusion and picked up a pen in response is likely recalling the trigger of that moment now. When we’re drawn to fill a page, we’re often surprised at what is summoned. Oftentimes, we don’t truly know our thoughts until we put language to them. That’s the point of writing therapy (or one of them anyway). Words act […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Olive oil’s reputation has been besmirched. It isn’t the magic life elixir fueling the teeming hordes of Mediterranean-dieting, crusty bread-eating, moderate wine-drinking centenarians, but it doesn’t deserve to be tossed in the trash heap with soybean, grapeseed, corn, and canola oils. I sense that it’s fast becoming a “fallen fat” among our crowd and I think it’s a darn shame. Are a few extra grams of linoleic acid, one or two unfortunate incidents of adulterated oil, and gushing praise from vegans, vegetarians, and the American Heart Association alike enough to turn us against a staple, phenolic-rich food sporting several thousand years of storied history?

Allow me to explain myself. Early this week, I got an email from a reader: “I often roast my veggies with EVOO. Would butter be a better alternative, or are the fats in EVOO just as well?” This is an extremely common, totally innocent question. I […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Does intermittent fasting preserve muscle mass during weight loss? A new study claims it does. This is quite exciting, so I’m interrupting my planned schedule to give you the low down on these findings. I just got access to this paper and I’ll be writing this post as I read through it.

The study:

“Intermittent versus daily calorie restriction: which diet regimen is more effective for weight loss?”

Intermittent what?

Right off the bat, let me note that the title and abstract does not mention intermittent “fasting” anywhere. Instead, the author is using intermittent “calorie restriction” (CR) as a catch-all term for various intermittent fasting regimens. This includes intermittent fasting (IF) and alternate-day fasting (ADF). Below I’ve listed the studies for intermittent CR included in the review:

Halberg N, Henriksen M, Soderhamn N. Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men. J Appl Physiol 2005; 99: 2128–2136.

Michalsen A, Riegert M, Ludtke R. Mediterranean […]

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Martin Berkhan)

First on the docket for this round of Monday Musings: steak. Steak is an objectively good thing. It can heal wounds and improve your squat. There’s really no conceivable reason not to eat steak, and plenty of reasons to cram it down one’s gullet on a regular basis. O sacred slab, thou finest fuel for metabolic processes. Gift of cud and hoof… Okay, let me get to the point, before I get off track and turn this post into a terrible 2,000 word ode to steak.
Steak is a rich source of B-vitamins, especially B-12 (fish and dairy are also good for it), which is crucial for infant neurological development. A new study suggests prenatal B-12 levels might even influence a baby’s propensity to cry. Researchers tested the B-12 levels of 3,000 pregnant women three months into their pregnancy; after their children were born, they measured the infants’ crying patterns. Kids born […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Complete 3 cycles for time:
10 Clean and Presses
100 Meter Partner Carry (Fireman, Piggyback, Bridal, respectively)
100 Meter Sprint
20 Lateral Weight Tosses (10 each side)

How-to:
Warmup: 30 second Grok Squat, three light sprints at 70%.
With just a few seconds of tectonic friction, nature has the potential to level manmade structures, conjure massive tsunamis that flood coastlines, and be a generally overwhelming nuisance to life as we know it. And as we’ve seen in recent months, this potential is occasionally realized to great effect. What can you, the individual, do to prepare yourself? I’m not talking about having enough consumables. I’m talking about physical preparedness. Can you save your own life? Can you save the lives of your loved ones while retaining enough strength and energy to grab enough water, food, and fuel to last a few weeks?
Let’s find out.
Imagine disaster has just struck. It could be an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, an invading […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

The comments on my last post really made me stop and take pause. They made me realize that it’s really easy to lose your way in this business.
I have a little over 200o friends on facebook. A good number of these friends are fitness and nutrition professionals.
As a result when I log onto facebook (I do so daily) my news feed is full of the usual.
The usual being “This sucks, that sucks, carbs suck, fat sucks, this person doesn’t know what they are talking about, that person is an idiot…train heavy or you suck, if you’re fat your lazy blah blah blah”
This industry is becoming very negative, very quickly.
And I understand why ==> I’m just as guilty as anyone when it comes to dipping into the negative mood stuff
Yes, there area  few exceptional marketers making exceptional money with…well… interesting takes on physiology and metabolism.
Yes the magazines and newspapers do us […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

Kale is such a powerhouse vegetable that we never get tired of discovering new ways to cook it. We’ve made crispy kale chips, creamed kale, and kale sautéed with olives and though we’ve loved them all, we may have just found a new favorite recipe. Kale marinated in coconut milk then seared on the grill is a side dish that’s sweet, smoky and a bit spicy. This dish manages to taste decadent, which is something not often said about kale. We’re talking about kale with some real character, kale that might even win over those of you who resist this leafy green.

Marinating vegetables is not something we do often. Meat, yes, but vegetables? Not so much. That’s changed now that we’ve tried kale marinated in coconut milk. The coconut milk takes the astringent bite out of the kale and replaces it with a sweet, rich flavor. Marinating the kale in […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

I once read that “People aren’t afraid of change, they’re afraid of being changed” –  A statement I think is kind of silly considering I really don’t believe people ever change.
Sure they get older, more experienced, wiser (hopefully) but their inner nature?  I think it stays the same.
Which is why I think diet rules are silly – They try to change you.
As I type this I’m eating an espresso brownie while drinking an Americano – This habit isn’t going to change anytime soon. So any diet that tries to force me to quit this habit is going to be met with resistance, and ultimately failure.
For dieting to be successful, you need to understand yourself.
If you don’t understand yourself, you can’t really respect yourself and therefore you are easily influenced by others…Jumping from diet to diet, fad to fad.
To be successful at weight loss and changing your body you need to […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

Does a Primal lifestyle help with type 1 diabetes? Today it is my pleasure to share with you the sixteen year journey of Dr. Lazarus.

If you have your own Primal Blueprint success story and you’d like to share it with me and the MDA community please feel free to contact me here. Have a wonderful Friday, everyone, and thanks for reading!
–
Mark,
My name is Ryan Lazarus and I have an incredible story. Sixteen years ago, at the age of eighteen, I crushed two of my organs in a serious sports accident. I had emergency surgery to remove my spleen and 60% of my pancreas. After a prolonged stay in the hospital, my athletic 160 pound frame was transformed into a feeble 120 pound skeleton who struggled just to get out of bed. After I was released, I participated in 3 months of intensive physical rehabilitation […]

Original post by Mark Sisson