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Beating the February (Winter) Blahs

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It’s gray. It’s cold and windy. There’s snow in the forecast (dammit, there even is here in the DFW metro area today). The flurry of the holiday season has come and gone, as has the shiny gloss on the New Year.

Beginning in particular for our own family roughly two decades ago living in northern Utah and later Montana, we always found the month of February long, cold, and dreary, and often reached the peak of the winter blahs this month.

In Montana especially, while we were running an equestrian operation and show barn (along with my medical practice), starting and ending every day with barn chores in the dark cold dampened enthusiasm of our crew (the entire family comprised “the crew”) mightily.

February in particular was always a challenge for us, if only we’d known then what the past few years have taught to fight back with…

Whole foods, cooked at home. After the flood of indulgent treats tempting you all holiday season (and perhaps the weeks following), now’s the time to dial things back and embrace the better food options that abound – we’re talking nutrient-dense, whole foods, quality proteins, and good fats. Innovate with recipes and reach for a few different ingredients that are novel and interesting.

Sleep, sleep, sleep. Most of us have room to further optimize and improve our sleep habits and hygiene. Short days and lack of true daylight exposure can wreak havoc on your sleep cycle; be intentional and dial this one in.

Move all day. Granted, moving all day during the winter for those in winter climes can be a challenge – some days it’s simply impossible to take that quick walk outside around the office, shop, or school. Intention matters, small burst of movement and activity add up, and incorporating micro-workouts can really help.

Fitness matters (go ahead, change the routine, and grab some new gear). Several clients this year have had particular difficulty keeping their fitness and workout routines in play during Q4.19 and Q1.20. There are a number of ways to address this one – it may be time for a new class, a winter gym membership, or perhaps my favorite – a new home program DVD/subscription or new equipment (heavier kettlebells for us this year).

Update your winter wardrobe. It’s unbelievably easier to be active in winter (and the shoulder seasons too if you live up north) if you update your winter / cold weather gear. Today’s tech fabrics make layering up to meet whatever weather challenge is on the docket today a piece of cake, and you can tailor your updated wardrobe to suit your fashion sense and activity demands with endless options.

Gain strength in numbers. Genuine fellowship is vital for all of us year round, but having a workout buddy, group, club, or even a gym squad can make a world of difference when the winter blahs drain your daily motivation to keep things moving.

Implement a news and social media fast. The world will keep spinning without you updating your social feeds and seeing who said what in the news today. More on this topic to come, and by the way, turn the damned TV off to.

Plan ahead for bumps in the road, and remember how easy it is to recover. Personally I find it most challenging to be compliant with a keto/Primally-focused nutrition plan, the food plan that makes me feel the very best month-in and month-out, during the holiday and immediate-post holiday window.

I’m a HUGE believer in the value of being metabolically flexible, and while that does allow the occasional indulgence without disrupting your health and fitness dramatically, there’s a big difference on what I could and what I really should eat.

Those who thought it was difficult to break your initial carb-dependency need to be particularly cautious of wandering too far off the healthy path (whatever that might be for you). At least getting back on the wagon can always be done, and now you know how to best make that work for you.

Be pro-active when that runny nose and scratchy throat show up. And finally, it’s cold and flu season – even being mindful of exposures there are times when exposure is simply out of your control. Be damned proactive when the first sign of symptoms start or when you’ve had a known, significant exposure.

Hang in there; spring isn’t that far off…

A Useful Tool: Changing Your Routine

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There are times in life when routine can be your friend.

There are times when stepping into your routine can be reinforcing, choosing willfully to engage in behaviors that will become habits down the road, laying foundations upon which success will be built in the days ahead.

Some days stepping into your routine is downright comforting, allowing you to get on with the day’s business with less attention to details already smoothed by your routine, hopefully spending minimal time on less critical decisions, and smoothing the tugs and pulls of daily decision making.

There are times in life, on the other hand, when routine can become dull, limiting, repetitive, and soulless.

Some days (or weeks, or months) we need a change in the routine, something to shake things up and inspire a new view of life and the challenges of the day.

Those of us working hard to improve our health, for example via optimizing nutrition and activity, changing our routines often becomes an integral part of the game.

Simply moving off the standard American diet is a huge change for most people, not to mention a genuine run of nutritional ketosis, adding fasting days, or even going full on carnivore. Carb cycling is another great example, and the lay fitness literature is chock full of recommendations about changing up the exercise game (see this, this, and this for example).

The trick of course is knowing what to change and when to do it.

And let’s face it, changing the diet and fitness games is sometimes a matter of trial and error, or an N=1 experiment if you prefer. Listening to your body is key, as is not changing too many variables in too short a time frame.

I recommend you always have a reason to implement change, however simple it might be, and it’s often incredibly helpful to run your ideas and goals by a trusted friend, mentor, or coach.

Maybe it’s time to change up your fitness and/or food plan this week. Git ‘er done.

Picking the Low Hanging Fruit: Walk, and Walk Some More

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Continuing our series on picking the low hanging fruit (the simpler, foundational principles) along one’s path to restoring (or improving) your overall wellness and health, today’s installment focuses on an activity that is accessible to just about everyone on the planet and can bring immense health benefits – the simple act of walking.

As noted in prior Low Hanging Fruit posts, what follows is again primarily aimed at those who are following an approach to fitness and nutrition much more aligned with the Standard American Diet (the infamous SAD approach) and largely sedentary modern lifestyle, not necessarily those thoughtful folks who have already begun to take a hard and discerning look at the healthy – and the unhealthy – aspects of their activity and nutrition plans.

And once again, of critical note, your best fitness and conditioning plan will be one that is UNIQUE TO YOU, given, for simple example (out of many possible factors), your current body composition, your overall metabolic health, your daily activity package, your current health, wellness, and fitness objectives, your overall general health, and where you happen to be in your “recovery” journey.

The Benefits of Walking Have Been Known for Years

I’ve been writing about the benefits of walking here on the Older Bolder Life for months now, for example looking at walking and longevity here, walking as a foundational part of basic fitness here, studies looking at walking versus jogging (including specific cardiac benefit and injury rate comparisons) here, and ten ways that walking boosts brain health and function here.

There’s a host of good literature and research that’s been penned over the years covering walking; I’m working on an extensive review to post a few weeks down the road.

So How Much Do I Need to Walk to Derive Genuine Benefit?

Of course the best answer depends on your personal health and fitness specifics as they stand today, though there are some ballpark recommendations you’ll see noted again and again.

For example, the venerable American Heart Association (drawing from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition published by the Dept. of Health and Human Services) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week (or at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity). Using those guidelines, if one were to simply walk six days per week, that’s only 25 minutes per day.

For clients I’m coaching who are faced with the duel challenge of dropping weight AND reconditioning from a very low fitness level, I encourage an initial goal of at least 30 minutes of walking a day, 6 or 7 days per week, with an hour (or more) bringing additional benefits to the table.

Amazing, I’ve had people who have been so astoundingly sedentary they can only tolerate 15 to 20 minutes of walking a day; one is now walking 90 to 120 minutes per day, six days per week, and got there in a matter of months with consistent effort, and has become an entirely new person in the process. It can be done.

I’m a huge walking fan myself, starting off just about every day with a 45-60 minute walk on trails in a nearby park, and taking another 30-60 minute walk later in the day as well, six or seven days per week.

Lace up those walking shoes and git ‘er done.

Picking the Low Hanging Fruit: Dump the Toxic Industrial Seed Oils

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Continuing our series on picking the low hanging fruit (the simpler, foundational principles) along one’s pathway to restoring (or improving) your overall wellness and health, today’s installment has a particular interest for me, as many allopathic physicians across the fruited plain continue to recommend the consumption of high-PUFA industrial seed oils instead of far healthier saturated (and mono-unsaturated) fats.

As noted in prior Low Hanging Fruit posts, what follows is again primarily aimed at those who are following an approach to nutrition and food much more aligned with the Standard American Diet (the infamous SAD approach), not necessarily those thoughtful folks who have already begun to take a hard and discerning look at the healthy – and the unhealthy – aspects of their nutrition plan. That said, the more I talk to people about food and nutrition, good folks from all across the health, wellness, and fitness spectrum, the more surprised I am about how little attention some people pay to the disastrous effects that seed oils can have on the human body.

And once again, of critical note, your best food plan will be one that is UNIQUE TO YOU, given, for simple example (out of many possible factors), your current body composition, your overall metabolic health, your daily activity package, your current health, wellness, and fitness objectives, your overall general health, and where you happen to be in your “recovery” journey.

So Why Dump the Industrial Seed Oils?

There are a host of great reasons to absolutely eliminate the toxic industrial seed oils from one’s diet; entire books have been written detailing the litany of problems these products can cause. Outlining the expansive, detailed case for dumping industrial seed oils often makes the eyes of neophytes to healthier eating glaze over or causes suspicion to creep in as after all, the experts have been touting their benefits since the 1970s.

Let’s make it simple, and look at just four reasons industrial seed oils aren’t your friends.

One, industrial seed oils disrupt the delicate balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the body, contributing to a chronic state of inflammation in, which in turn contributes to the avalanche of chronic diseases issues impacting the world today. Ancestral omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratios were estimated to be close to 1 to 1; today’s Westernized diets feature omega-6 to omega-3 ratios anywhere from 10 to 1 to even 20 to 1. Industrial seed oils are the largest contributor to this essential fatty acid imbalance in the modern diet.

Two, industrial seed oils are damned unstable, meaning they oxidize easily when exposed to light, when heated, or exposed to other chemical influences. When that happens, two particularly harmful products are produced – lipid peroxides (toxic byproducts that damage proteins, DNA, membranes, and more) and trans fats, the infamous contributor to CVD, T2DM, and more.

Three, and related to the instability issue above, industrial seed oils are full of additives in the form of synthetic antioxidants to extend their shelf life, attempting to prevent oxidation and eventual rancidity. Agents commonly used include BHA, BHT, and TBHQ; for the sake of brevity I’m not going to address their litany of problems in detail, but these compounds have been implicated as disrupting endocrine homeostasis, being carcinogenic, and critically impacting immune function.

Four, the overwhelming majority of industrial seed oils are derived from genetically modified plants. The top genetically modified plants in the US, for example, are those very plants used for industrial seed oil products. In the US, 94 percent of rapeseed, 94 percent of cotton, 93 percent of soy, and 88 percent of corn comes from genetically modified crops. Dr. Gundry’s explanation on the immune system impacts of plant lectins is probably the best in the game, to explore further pick up his Plant Paradox for an informative read.

There are many other reasons to drop the industrial seed oils and replace them with far healthier fats, like butter and ghee, coconut oil, olive and avocado oil, pastured tallow and lard, and even duck fat, though when walking new clients through the rationale for implementing changes in their food plan, I like to start here, keep it simple, and build from this foundation.

If there are still industrial seed oils in your kitchen, it’s past time for a pantry purge. Git ‘er done.

Picking the Low Hanging Fruit: Dump Highly Refined Foods from Your Diet

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Continuing our series on picking the low hanging fruit (the simpler, foundational principles) along one’s journey to restore (or improve) your overall health and wellness, here’s a companion principle to yesterday’s Dial Back the Carbs post – if you haven’t already, it’s time to dump the highly refined foods from your diet.

As noted yesterday, what follows is again primarily aimed at those who are following an approach to nutrition and food much more aligned with the Standard American Diet (the infamous SAD approach), not necessarily those thoughtful folks who have already begun to take a hard and discerning look at the healthy – and the unhealthy – aspects of their nutrition plan. That said, the more I talk to people about food and nutrition, good folks from all across the health, wellness, and fitness spectrum, the more surprised I am about how little some people care about consuming edibles that have literally been “refined to death”. (Another topic for another day perhaps…)

And of critical note, once again, your best food plan will be one that is UNIQUE TO YOU, given, for example, your current body composition, your overall metabolic health, your daily activity package, your current health, wellness, and fitness objectives, your overall general health, and where you happen to be in your “recovery” journey.

That Said, What Highly Refined Foods Do You Say Goodbye To?

When you get right down to it, some of what follows is actually just simple common sense; the further a food product is removed from its native state, the more it’s been processed, adulterated, and changed, the less likely you’ll be able to harvest the bounty of macronutrients, micronutrients, fiber and prebiotics, taste, and flavor the raw, unadulterated foods provide.

So what are some of the highly refined foods that are easier to identify and dump? (The list is longer, but let’s talk today about the easy ones…)

At least in North America, all bread, sugars, and flour products, including almost all sweets and desserts, candy and confections, and pastas (most would include the special pastas enhanced with other legume or vegetable flours).

Unnatural, highly refined seed oils, drenched in PUFAs, the poster child probably being canola oil, though soybean oil, corn oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and cottonseed oil should never make it to your pantry or kitchen, and even grape seed/flax seed oils, often touted as acceptable options, carry a fair amount of negative baggage (mainly their PUFA content).

Most baking ingredients besides flour, for example corn meal, corn starch, typical baking powders (milk, bread gluten, maltodextrin), pre-package baking mixes.

Highly refined sweeteners including of course but not limited to the abomination that is high fructose corn syrup, such as corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, lactose, malitol, and xylitol. I personally toss agave-based syrups in this pile as well.

Prepackage condiments like standard ketchup, jams, jellies, preserves, honey mustard, mayonnaise (unless you’re making your own with good oils!), salad dressings with PUFA oils, low-fat salad dressings.

Fast foods, prepared-ahead, and convenience foods (frozen and reheat) are often disasters in terms of their carb and fat content, and are often constructed from the cheapest, most highly-processed components available to the industrial manufacturer. Beware, a fair number of these sorts of products make it to the kitchens of chain restaurants (Olive Garden, I’m looking at you…).

If you’ve not purged the highly refined foods from your diet, I’d challenge to take a week, heck, even three days, and look at every item on your plate and consider how whole vs. how processed each bite or food item is. Don’t sweat this transition away from the processed food world, the more attention you pay to your food sources, the easier this becomes over time. Just get started today.

Git ‘er done.

Picking the Low Hanging Fruit: Put Protein In Its Place

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Continuing our look at picking the low hanging fruit (the simpler, foundational principles) along your health and wellness journey, let’s tackle one – consuming the optimal amount of good protein – that’s fairly straight forward, yet often overlooked when moving away from the standard American diet (SAD) to a more intentional, and healthy, food plan.

So Just How Much Protein Do I Really Need?

For most of us, those of us living fairly normal lives and not training to become championship level body builders or Olympians, and not dealing with some major medical condition, there are several useful rule of thumb methods to ballpark your protein needs.

Please note that I abhor “one size fits all” nutrition plans; the type and amount of food you consume every day should be carefully customized to fit your very own physiology, metabolism, and activity demands, and will of course change over time throughout your life. Run from anyone who tells you they have a magic plan handed down from on high that you must follow.

That said, I most often suggest that people who are reasonably active start with the simple guideline of aiming to consume 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass per day, and adjust from there.

There’s a bit more detail about typical adjustments made to protein intake in this post from a few months back, and critically you’ll probably end up doing some experimentation to see what works best for you.

Protein Quality Matters

Sourcing great proteins for your food plan doesn’t need to be overly complicated, and like most things we eat, for most of us there are a variety of options and choices available.

Several months ago I spent a fair amount of time detailing some general principles in sourcing proteins, looking at game, beef, pork, and lamb here, seafood here, and fowl here.

I encourage folks to make the absolute best selections of your protein choices within budgetary and availability constraints, though it’s possible now to have just about any variety of amazing proteins shipped to your front door with a few clicks or a quick call.

The Thinking About Protein is Evolving, Particularly in the Longevity Arena

As you’re working through your protein plan, I’d encourage you at some point to read some of what Dr. Gundry has written about protein (The Plant Paradox; his new book The Longevity Paradox is just out, though I’ve not picked up a copy as of this morning!).

Guidry (among many) opines that most of us eat far more protein than we need, and probably more than is optimal for our metabolism.

We’ll come back and visit this issue in more detail in another post, my intent is to stir your curiosity a bit and have you keep an eye out for changes in how the best minds are conceptualizing our optimal relationship with proteins.

Picking the Low Hanging Fruit: Move, Move, Move

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As the first post in our picking the low hanging fruit to get started series, let’s actually tackle one right off the bat that isn’t food and nutrition related – the simple principle of choosing to move more during the day.

For those starting from a more or less sedentary lifestyle, there are a host of simple actions to take to integrate more movement into your lifestyle. (Even if you’re well along the way to optimizing your fitness and functional capacity, there’s likely even useful movement you could be doing.) Let’s talk about three easy examples that anyone could start with today.

Unchain Yourself from Your Desk (or Couch)

Without belaboring the devastating consequences of sitting all day, whether collecting dust on the couch, or chained to a desk at work, let’s agree to stipulate to the fact that prolonged, for the most part uninterrupted sitting opens the door to a host of issues, and has the potential to negatively impact just about every system in the human body. (Another topic perhaps for another day, and trivially easy to research in detail yourself).

I advise friends, family, and clients to get up at least every thirty minutes (some would argue twenty might even be better) and move around for two to three minutes, even if just a walk down the hall or around the house. Years ago I had a medical practice partner who would run to his office and do pushups or an uber-quick kettle ball routine for two minutes, then jump right back into his day.

Every two hours, take a longer break for 5-15 minutes; this is a perfect time for a quick walk outside if access, weather, and your schedule allows.

Park and Walk

We all have errands to run; some of us with busy families and friends seemingly have a never-ending list of errands to run just about every day.

One of the simplest ways to add more movement to your routine is quit playing the ‘search for the closest parking spot’ game and instead choose to park on the outermost reaches of the parking lot and walk.

Recently a data-nerd client sent me a tally of walking time she’d added to her week parking in the North Forty parking lots as she calls them – it added up to nearly two and half hours during a busy shopping week.

Add in Two Short Walks a Day

I’m a huge fan of walking. Walking offers an extraordinary array of benefits physiologically and even psychologically, is accessible to just about every one on the planet, is an extremely economical way to add useful exercise to your routine, and can be done anywhere.

As most of the country moves into the spring season, I’ve been challenging clients to try a quick walk in the morning to start the day (personally I’m not sure what I’d do without my 45-90 minute early morning walks), and another quick walk after dinner in the evening. These don’t need to be a trek worthy of Lawrence of Arabia; if just starting out 10-15 minutes at a time will get you on the road to recovery. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your conditioning, and enjoyment of the process, develops.

More on picking the low hanging fruit on your health journey to come.

Starting a New Series This Week: Pick the Low Hanging Fruit First

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We’re going to start a new series of posts this week on the blog, using the tried and true analogy of picking the easy to reach, low hanging fruit first.

My goal here is to outline a plan of attack for someone wanting to jump into the “improve my health” game, yet is overwhelmed by the number of self-proclaimed experts promising astounding results if one just follows their magical meal plan (available for three easy payments of $49.99 each), reads their book, attends their seminar, takes this array of supplements, drinks these teas or coffees, follows a complex workout routine, eats only meat – oh wait, or is it eats no meat?

Should I eat paleo? Or primal? What about the Whole 30 Plan? Vegan? Pegan? Carnivore? Vegetarian? The grapefruit diet? I’ve overheard a pitch in a local grocery this week for the gummy bear diet plan…

There’s a genuine risk of newcomers to the game being overwhelmed by all the chatter, and all the choices to be made.

So let’s take a walk on the simple side of things over the next couple of weeks looking at implementing some very attainable changes – picking the low hanging fruit – toward a healthier lifestyle, particularly when it comes to your approach to a rational, practical, and enjoyable food plan.