You Can't Handle the Truth! - A Few Good Men Movie Clip
One of my favorite movies and probably because of this scene which creates a cinematic crescendo in the orchestral plot.
Now I in no way am implying or intending that the following information / anecdotes in any way parallels the subject matter or significance of context of this fictional situation in cinematic history but the Jack Nicholson outburst does kind of represent how I want to respond to people in the following situation which I will get to at the end of this post.
And let me also do my lists of qualifications, conditions and considerations for your consideration:
- I am not a medical doctor or a nutritionist or a certified trainer or anything - well I'm a chemical engineer - which I guess helps with some things but penalizes me in other things - but that's material for another post.
- As such, you should consult your own doctor before doing any of the shit I write about and practice.
- Finally, this information is worth what you're paying for it, which is nothing, so put that in your bank account and see how much interest you collect.
Let me lay down a little groundwork here for this literary bitch - that's funny - I guess you could take that 2 ways.
I am a Literary Bitch that wants to express a Literary Bitch.
Anyway - no big secret - one of my highest life priorities and daily time and energy consumers is...
Being healthy.
And not only being healthy but looking healthy, fit, lean, muscular blah blah blah.
And I am all into pushing the envelope on what is "normal and natural and universally established and accepted" in regards to that look and the approaches, practices and long term consistency that justify the means to an end.
But I am also into exploring, researching, learning and applying new knowledge and information toward the short terms results of being healthy, having a lean, muscular, "extreme" physique but, as importantly, figuring out what it takes to maintain, sustain that condition for the long term.
In recent times - let's say the last 18 - 24 months - I have changed my perspective on longevity.
Prior to this period, I was "All In" - balls to the wall - adamant that I wanted to "burn out and drop out" probably by the time I was 70 years old.
I've written about this many times before but present these links again for my previous philosophy for your edification or sympathy or criticism....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bOKsOveYD0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CZfac0N0E
The main reason I have changed my perspective on the desire of duration for my personal life span is because I have new data.
What?
New data?
You mean to tell me Discovery - that you have changed your mind about something as critical as how long you would like to live....
Based on new data?
How revolutionary and reasonable and counter culture of you!
Yeah - Yeah - I know - I tend to be a Life Gangsta Salmon that way - always swimming against the current.
So - spill the Beans Wills - what's this all about.
All right - here it is in a nutshell.
There is a ton of information / data / medical and clinical studies / research out there that has all come out in the last 5 - 10 years that states and concludes the FACT that consuming too many carbs / sugar destroys / rots / deteriorates your body / cells from the inside out.
I'm not going to provide umpteen links / resources to PROVE this is true.
You can do your own due diligence - just start Google-ing, doing YouTube searches, Internet searches for appropriate keywords, phrases, etc. - and then spend 4 - 8 hours reviewing the information and you'll get the picture.
In a nutshell, restricting "bad carbs" like grains and grain products, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, high sugar fruits, processed foods and other "high-glycemic index" foods, IS THE KEY to being physically, mentally and emotionally healthy AND to living a longer life - both by reducing / eliminating the risk of disease but also by making your core body components last longer.
On a same daily caloric intake basis, replacing the "bad carb" intake with "good carbs" - like cruciferous and green leafy vegetables and I mean a lot of them - like 10 - 12 cups per day on a raw basis - whether you eat them raw or cooked - ensures that you get the critical vitamins and micronutrients WITHOUT soliciting or incurring significant insulin / blood sugar responses and swings.
And Insulin Stability / fixing or reversing Insulin Resistance on a cellular level is the KEY mechanism for this entire Life Giving / Health Improving process.
I'm putting out a lot of "general" concepts and information here because, frankly, if I started getting off into the details of how all this works - I would still be writing this post this time tomorrow.
While I'm in the process of presenting terms, ideas, concepts, techniques and metabolic and body functions and mechanisms that contribute to this cellular repair of the body, let me throw a few more things at you.
Adjusting your percentage or proportion of daily caloric intake to favor a higher percentage of "good fats" - found in meats, nuts and seeds, avocados, butter, cheese, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. - will cause your body to go from "sugar burning / glycogen dependence" to "fat burning / ketosis" mode. FYI - Ketones are an alternate fuel source produced by your liver in the absence of stored glycogen (sugar) in the muscles and liver. So - you limit the carb intake, you go into ketosis.
And yes - I know - we're talking about the "ketogenic" diet which gets a lot of bad press and bad rep but there are many different versions of the keto diet and the one that I have researched, edited / modified and followed for the last 10 - 12 months is what is best described as a "Modified Atkins / Clean Keto" eating plan with about the following macronutrient daily caloric intake percentages:
50% good fats (as described above)
35% protein (pork, beef, chicken, fish, eggs, etc)
15% good carbs (as described above - basically a bucket of green leafy and cruciferous veggies and berries)
Combine a "high good fat / low bad carb" eating plan with Intermittent Fasting aka Time Restricted Eating and you have the Perfect Storm for Health, Well-being and Longevity.
The bottom line is Eating / Consuming Food and all the processes that go with it is destructive to your body mainly through the need to introduce insulin into your blood to control blood sugar.
In the past - again Old School nutritional technology - the way to address this was calorie restriction with many studies showing that a daily caloric intake of less than 1000 calories / day increases life span.
What the new studies are showing to be true and more effective and obviously easier to implement is to "give the body a break from eating / digesting / assimilating macro and micronutrients" through intermittent fasting / time restricted eating which basically means you skip breakfast, eat a late lunch and eat a 2nd meal if necessary within 4 - 6 hours of the 1st meal. In effect, you are increasing your daily fast from 10 - 12 hours to 18 - 22 hours.
This extra 8 - 12 hours of fasting per day induces AUTOPHAGY!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy
In a nutshell, when you fast, the restriction of calories forces the body to find fuel from another source....
From Within!
In the absence of food - while fasting - the body takes diseased or damaged cells and extracts the "trash" from those damaged cells and recycles that "trash" to the liver where the liver generates ketones to be used for fuel for the existing healthy cells.
Autophagy is a critical piece to this whole life enhancing / body building process because it reverses aging and the effects of aging by making you younger on a cellular basis.
Pretty incredible - by fasting - you force the body to regenerate damaged or diseased cells and increase the percentage of healthy cells.
All right - let's throw one more wrench at this Monkey - Exercise!
From all the research I've done and the workouts I've practiced over the past several years, the studies and my personal experience have led me to the conclusion that the most effective form of exercise for short and long term health and anti-ageing is - drum roll please.....
HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training.
Especially in a Fasted State - No I didn't say Fast State - like New York - I said Fasted State.
In other words, you work out on an empty stomach.
All kinds of good shit happens when you rely on stored body fat and diet-induced ketones for fuel for your workouts vs glycogen stores in the muscle and liver.
Studies have shown that naturally created Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Testosterone rise to peak levels while doing HIIT in a fasted state.
Obviously, this whole process of adjusting your body / mind / spirit to these new eating plan / schedule and workout type and timing takes TIME.
The short term effects of weaning your body off sugar dependence is no different from quitting smoking or drinking alcohol - there will be withdrawal symptoms - the most acute occurring during the 1st 3 - 7 days after the bad carb restriction begins.
My experience with this whole process is that it happens in phases:
- 3 - 7 days of craving bad carbs.
- 7 days - 8 weeks - Adjustment to consistency in the eating plan to rebalance the macro nutrients to the percentages described above.
- 8 weeks - 6 months - Getting into full ketosis, refining your eating plan, schedule and macro and micronutrient intake to coordinate with and support your daily lifestyle, schedule and physical, mental and emotional needs and feeling and experiencing the positive effects of this in your workouts and general daily life challenges is the best thing since not eating sliced bread.
- Adjusting the macro percentages of daily caloric intake to reduce / minimize insulin response, i.e. a high good fat, moderate to high protein, low bad carb high volume good carb eating plan.
- Induce Autophagy through Intermittent Fasting for at least 18 - 23 hours per day.
- Exercise with as much intensity as you can with a HIIT approach especially in a fasted state, i.e. towards the end of your daily fasting cycle.
- There's a lot of other things you can add to this including establishing and maintaining an organized approach to stress management, restorative sleep, staying in sync with your Circadian rhythms, the incredible importance of taking in sufficient levels of critical vitamins and micronutrients / trace elements like Vitamin D, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc, etc. and adding in supplements as appropriate to fill gaps, but if any of this info has piqued your interest, you'll do your own due diligence and quickly realize it's all relevant, true and does provide a pathway to a New You.
Which brings me FULL CIRCLE to the introduction and theme of this post.
I am in the BEST SHAPE of my life - both from an internal and external fitness level.
I am leaner, stronger, more flexible, more muscular and in less pain and joint and whole body inflammation than I have ever been.
At age 57.
How is that possible?
How can I be better at 57 than I was at 45.... or 35..... or 25!
The answer is pretty simple.
I have "Discovered" the Fountain of Youth.
And it's location and contents are described above.
Now - does that mean I will live forever?
Of course not - but again - as I alluded to above - I am now convinced with all this new research, knowledge and practical application - that I can be a Kick Ass 100-year old.
And be lean, muscular and active till the day I die - whether that's 70, 80, 90 or 100 - doesn't really matter to me....
Because in the end analysis - literally - the endpoint is not what is important.
It is the Life line that is drawn between the Beginning and the End.
I want that Life to be full of Wonder, Discovery, Activity, Adventure and....
Accolades!
Ha - there's that Vanity thing again - James Dean style - right?
I wanna Live Hard, Die at a Ripe Old Age and - what's that?
Yeah - leave a Pretty Corpse.
So here's where we close the Loop.
As a result of this transition, which I feel is a true reversal of fortune in Ageing, Fitness and Health - meaning Yeah - I have turned back the Hands of Time and am and look fitter and leaner and more muscular that 90% of the 25-year old participants at the gym where I go and 99% of the population walking the streets of Santa Fe - and actually several cities in Texas - which recent trips to that Hot and Humid state have shown.
So - what happens with this State of the Physical Union?
Well I'll tell Ya.....
People are regularly and randomly walking up to me and asking me What I am Doing to look the way I do.
And not only look the way I do but physically perform the way I do - with things like 34" box jumps and Walking Overhead lunges with 70# plates and dancing for 2 - 3 hours at a time... just to mention a few.
So I tell them - what I just told you - what is written above - what has been learned and practiced.
In as few a words as possible befitting a new conversation with a new acquaintance.
And you know what the responses sound like?
"Oh - I thought bananas were good for you" (despite the fact that a banana has 24g of net carbs compared to 4g of net carbs from a teaspoon of table sugar which means when you eat a banana - on an insulin response basis only - you might as well be eating 6 fucking teaspoons of white sugar!)
And then there's the "but my doctor says I should be on a low fat diet for my cholesterol".
Well - first of all - 95% of the medical doctors have no nutritional training or knowledge - and if they do - it's based on the 1950's food pyramid.
I am amazed at how many doctors have no knowledge or consideration and no communication / recommendations to their patients for Insulin Resistance - which was called "Systemic Inflammation" 10 - 20 years ago because researchers / medical community didn't have the benefit of the specific information and mechanisms that create this condition that they know now.
And all of the downstream maladies of it...
Like being linked to nearly EVERY Chronic and Acute Condition that befalls mankind today:
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, rheumatoid arthritis, skin conditions, neuromuscular and brain-degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis and yes....
The Big C - Cancer.
You know who invented the Keto diet?
Hippocrates - yeah the low carb / high fat eating plan has been around for thousands of years.
And you know why he created this eating plan?
To treat children with epilepsy.
Because damaged brain cells that CANNOT assimilate glycogen (sugar) anymore can use Ketones (again - generated from the liver in the absence of stored glycogen (sugar) in the liver and muscles as a better fuel source for all body metabolic functions especially brain cells) for fuel - it allows damaged brain cells to be regenerated and restored through an alternative fuel source. So a high fat, low carb diet that induces ketosis is good for all kind of brain and behavioral dysfunctions and diseases.
You know one of the latest / cutting edge treatments for cancer?
Starving the Cancer cells of glucose / sugar / carbs.
Why does this work?
Because Cancer cells have 5 - 7 times (yep 500 - 700%) more glycogen receptors than a healthy cell.
Cancer fucking feeds, thrives, grows, expands and metastasizes on sugar!
You don't eat sugar - you starve the Cancer Cells to Death!
Amazing - right? - how many people know that right now?
Which is a travesty of the whole medical industry but don't get me started on that.
Gotta keep people sick. Why?
Cause sick people generate revenue.
What's the Key Takeaway here folks?
Yep - again - to repeat - eating too much sugar aka Carbs ROTS and Destroys your body from the inside out on a cellular basis and promotes / feeds all kind of bad conditions and mechanisms including Cancer.
Cut the Carbs - eat only those Carbs that are low-glycemic aka don't solicit a huge insulin response - and eat more good fats and restrict your eating to a 4 - 6 hour window every day and work out and exercise as hard and as intensely as your body and schedule will allow and your body, brain and spirit will soar!
And reverse its steady course of Ageing.
Now of course - all of this comes with a good dose of required Due Diligence Research and Learning, Change in Thinking, Unlearning many "Conventional Wisdoms", Self-Discipline, Sacrifice, giving up the life and eating plan you had before and some of the favorite foods and favorite confirmation biases you have had toward eating, exercising and life philosophy in general.
And all that can be Bothersome, Uncomfortable and maybe even -
Painful.
Hey - there ain't no free rides in this Roller Coaster of Life.
So that's the Truth.
But when I tell people The Truth -
Guess What?
They want to argue about it... or against it.
I feel like saying - "Geez - you asked me. You wanted to know what I'm doing. If all you're gonna do is argue with me and tell me I'm wrong about all this shit that I'm doing to look and feel this way - WTF did you ask me for?"
Or just say "Look - you see any other 57 year-olds around here that look and work out like I do? You know why? Cause I ain't doing what everybody else is doing. Duh."
There's a saying I got off a CrossFit shirt a while back that has stuck with me and pretty much encompasses this whole argument -
"To Have What Others DON'T - You Must Do What Others WON'T".
Hmmmm.... Take a bite of that life axiom - will ya!
The Bottom Line is....
Most People Can't Handle the Truth...
Or the Pain to find and experience the benefits of the Truth.
And that is not a Discovery I was expecting or prepared for.
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