So how am I doing at taking control of my health?
My objective is to line up my life to how I was designed to live by evolution. (Yes I will not be saved in the Rapture this weekend). Science tells me that if I do this - I can plateau my fitness where I am now or even pull my active age back a few years. I can be fit, active and healthy until I die.
So here then is the "Map" I am using
Every part of our environment is important. But for simplicity's sake, you can divide it into 3 areas.
- Fit your diet to what we are evolved to eat. In short that means no industrial foods and no foods of the agricultural era such as grains (sugars), legumes and dairy. It means that 65% of your calories should come from protein. Currently 85% come from grains and plants. Diet is the most leveraged area to work on. It is also where most of the establishment is wrong. If you struggle with this one - recall what your ancestors ate.
- Fit your social world into what we are evolved to be most stress free - have a partner - work hard to have real friends - work to give yourself the most control possible (get out of debt would be a start - reduce your costs of living another) - Train your mind to shut up - recognize your metal patterns and rewire the destructive ones
- Fit your life into the natural world - that means first of all be active don't sit - don't rely only on exercise if you sit for 8 hours a day - that means get 8 hours sleep a night (light is the key factor try and use it less at night) - avoid radiation wherever you can - it means look at all the chemicals we take for granted at home
This is not about living in a cave but about seeing what we have allowed to creep up on us and redesigning our lives to give us the best fit possible to who we really are.
For more context here is the link to Michael Rose's 55 Theses which is why I had the confidence to take this route.
And here is the link to the support site that I have set up The Missing Human Manual to offer us all the practical steps.
So what about me and what about some lessons that I have learned as I have worked in these 3 areas?
For me the diet side has been reasonably easy. I grew up in England after the war. There was no fruit and no sugar then. I did not develop the cravings for it. I did love bread and cereal and dairy though. But when I lost so much weight in the first 2 months and felt so much better - this feedback helped me. My wife Robin encouraged me too but she is a real sugarholic. - it has been harder for her. But seeing the changes in me has helped her. And now she too is 3 dress sizes smaller - lost her cellulite (I did not ell you this) and also feels great. Her arthritis is much better too. So my point is hang in there and the results will motivate you.
Sugar is a drug - you can be addicted to it - so I will not minimize the struggle. But it has a terrible price attached. Hopefully you can keep that in mind?
Can you afford this diet?
Some of you have asked me about the relative costs. So far we are spending about the same as we did before. We eat a lot more meat but we have also been smart about that too and eat a lot more organ meat and cheaper cuts that we make into stews etc. I eat many more veggies even for breakfast! Spend a lot less on fruit too. You can have it but not too much - the key again is to keep your sugar intake low enough so you don't have an insulin spike. By rebalancing our grocery shop - we have kept the costs in the range.
Diet is where you will find the highest imediate return. But the other 2 areas are multipliers. It is not only about diet. It is about making the best fit with our best total environment.
There are 2 parts to this. Your social world and control.
Socially - It is very good for us to have a life partner. Even more for men who have weaker friendships than women. As you struggle with him or her - and who doesn't!!! It helps to know what is at stake and what this partnership can mean. Don't break with your siblings - especially if you are a woman and the sibling you hate is your sister. Reconcile with your parents - you don't have to like them or honour them but forgiving them will help you. Pay attention to your friends. Nourish your friendships - we are tribal beings - we need to be loved and acknowledged in a social group. If you work for the MAN - this is so important - you cannot change your workplace - but you can have a tribe outside of work.
After many years of putting work first, after many years of taking my partner and my family for granted, I don't any more. I won't go into any detail but to let you know that I was as big a fool as many men are and that there was no easy and smooth journey home.
Our parental relationships can also be very toxic. Mine were. It took years of hard work to expose what this meant and to reconcile. Our parental environment shapes us like no other. Sorting this out in later life w worth the effort - I promise you.
But I am convinced that after our own body, looking after our social health is a key priority. We are pack animals. Without a strong social structure we are not all we can be.
Control - We are designed to have a lot of control in our lives. Modern life - espcially the workplace works against this now. I was a true work slave for 25 years. I gave that up. It was literally killing me. I had a complete breakdown.
I am not advising you to follow in my footsteps. You may have a job and a skill set that precludes you having control at work. Again changing that right now is beyond your control. But if you have a lot of debt then the MAN has you in his control and you have none.
How best do you reduce his power over you. Get rid of your debt! The stress relief of having no debt is worth any house size or toy or vacation. Like changing your diet, you have to choose this.
Getting out of debt took years of work. It also meant for me - leaving the big city and moving to PEI. That may not be for you. But managing your housing is key. Also if you are young today - having student debt puts you in the control of the MAN right away. Look at your major costs - we got rid our our second car (a car cost about $8,000 a year to run) Insulate your home. See every way that you can reduce your run rate. Eat at home! Add up your coffees and food at work and see what this means. You will be surprised.
The new area that I am exploring in my own life now is my fit with nature and my ideal physical environment. The easy steps have been to stop sitting - the worst thing you can do. But I have also traded money for my own work - heating with wood - gardening - growing food. I am doing things all day. You too can design activity into your life.
What is newer still and worries me is what are all the chemicals I have allowed into my life? I now use baking soda to brush my teeth - look at the ingredients in toothpate! I am going to find real soap. Some don't wash their hair any more. All my clothes are the old fashioned - you have to iron clothes.
Then there are all the cleaning products - teflon pans - plastic bottles and comtainers. I am at the very early stages here of "seeing" what I have added to my own space.
The good news is that I spend a lot of time outside. Having a dog helps, 4 walks a day no matter what the weather. Having a big garden can be a bore but again it forces me out all summer and spring and fall. Like a farmer I get the winter off.
I go to bed at 9.30 and switch the light off immediately. I average abour 8 hours of sleep. Remember when you were a teen and had those wonderful dreamy states when you slept in? I have this every night. It comes from having enough sleep. Sleep is one of the best things we do. It is also an area where many of us trade off.
In summary - I am finding this exciting. Maybe the most control that I can give myself is to take charge of my health and to see that it is working.
My stick is my parent's lives my carrot is my own life - I don't want to end up a wreck as they did - good luck to you too
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