Paleo Comfort Foods Interviews Us

M and I were recently interviewed by Julie & Charles Mayfield of Paleo Comfort Foods -- you can check out the Q&A here.

We were flattered to be called a "Paleo Power Couple" by a real Paleo Power Couple. Their new cookbook is all kinds of awesome, and has been an object of much attention in our house since it arrived last week; the kids have picked out the recipes they want to try, and M's been busily cranking out meals from the book, from fried chicken to creamed spinach to poached pears.

M and I were lucky enough to break bread eat meat and hang out with Jules and Charles when we were in L.A. last month for the Ancestral Health Symposium. They're not only super-accomplished (they hold down full-time day jobs while also running a CrossFit gym AND writing a cookbook and maintaining a kick-ass Paleo food blog), but also incredibly smart, fun and funny. Eating the food out of their cookbook is the next best thing to chilling with this super-cool couple.

(What? You haven't pre-ordered it a copy of Paleo Comfort Foods yet? DO IT ALREADY!)

Grant Achatz on Terry Gross

A few years ago -- back before we turned into big Paleo nerds -- M and I celebrated an anniversary at Alinea, a damned fine restaurant. The food was awesome in a look-ma-no-hands! molecular gastronomy kind of way, featuring unexpected twists, textures, and flavor combinations with every bite.

But just a week or so after our meal, Alinea's young chef/owner, Grant Achatz, learned that he had been stricken with cancer. And not just cancer, but cancer of the tongue. The doctors recommended that he undergo surgery to remove most of his tongue and part of his mandible, which would've rendered the then-33-year-old chef of arguably the best restaurant in North America unable to taste food ever again -- and even then, he only had a 50 percent shot to live past the grand old age of 35. It was almost Shakespearean.

Ultimately, Achatz chose an experimental treatment that preserved his tongue, but required radiation that burned and peeled off his taste buds. It wasn't clear if he'd ever taste anything again.

Today, Achatz was interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air (to promote his book, cookbook, and new restaurant). His story is engrossing, harrowing, and uplifting, and foodies of all stripes should definitely give it a listen. Paleo or not, we should all share this guy's intense appreciation for flavors and food.

The Joe Bovino Interview (Updated)

[4/23/12 - Content removed at the request of Joe Bovino.]

The P90X Book Club

Quite a few of the folks in the P90X videos have made films, ranging from comedies to dramas to hardcore porn. But did you know that even more of 'em write books?

Tony Horton wrote one. (IMHO, it's not very good, but whatever.)

So did Pam the Blam (under her "Nashieqa Washington" pen name).

And let's not forget Mark Sisson.

The latest author to emerge from the P90X ranks? Joe Bovino.

I know it's been awhile, but you remember Joe from the "P90X Shoulders & Arms" video, right? The guy with fully-shaved armpits? He's written a book describing the "ethnic and regional subcultures of American women" in the format of a bird watching guidebook.

And no, I'm not making this up.

You have no idea how much I wish I had a copy of the book to review for you, but the "Field Guide to Chicks" isn't out yet. You can, however, click here to visit Joe's Facebook page and check out a preview of the book.



I swear: P90X is a gift that just keeps giving.

(Thanks to David Kohrell for the heads-up!)

Book Review: "Bring It!"

Since the start of the New Year, I’ve been slowly making my way through a thick stack of just-published health-related books sitting on my nightstand, including:

• "The New Evolution Diet" by Art De Vany
• "The 4-Hour Body" by Tim Ferriss
• "Why We Get Fat And What to Do About It" by Gary Taubes

As I finish ‘em, I’ll post reviews of each.

But first up: Tony Horton’s first literary work: “Bring It! The Revolutionary Fitness Plan for All Levels That BURNS FAT, BUILDS MUSCLE, and SHREDS INCHES.”

Read my review after the jump.

The Beast Weighs In

The Daily Beast just put up a review of both "Why We Get Fat" and "The New Evolution Diet." (Check it out here.)

But why is the article accompanied by a photo of the books' covers and a woman with a single piece of uncooked broccoli on her plate? I'm reading both books right now (along with a few others -- probably why I can't seem to finish any of 'em) -- and I'm fairly certain neither book advocates a raw vegetarian starvation diet. Quite the opposite, in fact.

On second thought, is she sneering at the broccoli? But that'd be weird, too. It's not like Art De Vany and Gary Taubes are anti-vegetables.

I'd have been happier with a stock photo of a woman cracking up over a bowl of salad. At least then, we could add it to this list.

Give It a Rest

At the start of a new year, it's easy to get amped up about attacking one's fitness goals, but don't overdo it.

From Art De Vany's just-released "The New Evolution Diet":

I fail to see how anyone can train 5 or 6 days a week in the gym and for hours at a time. That is factory or agricultural work, not anything human beings were evolved to do. And the paradox is that you will gain less strength and fitness if you overtrain. You will join the thousands who quit exercising out of sheer boredom. Overtraining increases your stress level, interferes with your sleep, raises your level of stress hormones, and reduces your level of growth hormones and testosterone. It leads to less muscle gain, not more, along with loss of fitness and boredom. Boredom is one way your brain stops you from harming yourself.

Chris Highcock says the same thing. Listen to them. Those guys know their stuff.

Why We Get Fat

I know -- you tried, but couldn't get through all the dense science-y stuff crammed into Gary Taubes (excellent) "Good Calories, Bad Calories." But today, just in time for your New Year's Resolution-planning, Taubes has released his CliffsNotes version of GCBC: "Why We Get Fat - And What To Do About It." It's shorter, punchier, and aimed at a broader audience.

And even if you don't feel like springing for the book, check out Taubes' recent interview with WNYC:



If you haven't already noticed, I'm a bit of a Gary Taubes groupie.

Uh, Not Quite.

Author A.J. Jacobs has written books about self-experimentation before (notably, he lived in strict accordance with Biblical rules for a year), but he's now tackling a project to become "The Healthiest Person Alive." He's consulting with numerous health "experts" and is trying all sorts of different diets and fitness plans.

But from the video below, it looks like he's following a lot of wrong-headed advice. I have a feeling that "The Healthiest Person Alive" isn't someone who's using a treadmill desk and endlessly chewing on a a plate of raw food. And while Jacobs talks about having a single meal (of one blueberry and one walnut) with a bunch of extreme caloric restriction dieters, let's not confuse "healthiest" and "longest-lived." In my book, being miserable and on the verge of starvation doesn't make for good health.



Still, Jacobs is trying out barefoot running. Add some kettlebells and a Paleo-esque diet, and he's good to go. (And I'd actually buy that book.)

(Source: CNN)

New Evolution Diet: Go or No Go?

Art De Vany's new book, "The New Evolution Diet," hits bookstores next week, but the Kindle version's already available. De Vany's one of the pioneers of the modern caveman lifestyle -- plenty of folks first learned about the Paleo eating and evolutionary fitness from his website (before much of the content was hidden away behind a paywall). De Vany continues to be a prominent leader in the Paleo community, and I'm looking forward to checking out his book. I mean, the guy's in his seventies and maintains 8% bodyfat. He's obviously doing something right.

I was a bit disheartened, however, to read on Melissa McEwen's blog that De Vany's views hew closer to the Loren Cordain "eat only what cavemen ate" approach rather than the Robb Wolf/Mat Lalonde "Paleo isn't about historical reenactment -- science is the ultimate arbiter" approach. Surprisingly, De Vany cautions against consumption of red meat, fat (but recommends canola oil rather than coconut oil) and egg yolks -- none of which jives with what I've found to be true. Of course, my conclusions are based only on personal experience, my bloodwork, and what I've gleaned from folks like Wolf and Lalonde. Perhaps De Vany's got it right. But a diet without grassfed butter, big steaks and deliciously gooey egg yolks? Thanks, but no thanks.

Still, I'm going to buy the book to decide for myself. I can't wait to dig into De Vany's sections on evolutionary fitness and exercise. And if (1) you're relatively new to Paleo, (2) you've already read Robb Wolf's book but want more, and/or (3) you've got ten bucks burning a hole in your pocket, you'll likely get some good stuff out of De Vany's book, too. Just keep an open mind about the whole saturated fat thing.

[UPDATED: De Vany's none too pleased with McEwen's post.]

A Very Paleo Bedtime Story

While cleaning the house, I found this book that my parents brought back from a trip to Asia as a gift for my kids. Either something's lost in translation, or children's stories in Hong Kong are just straight-up hardcore:

"In a hot summer day, there was a little thirsty lamb drinking water in the river."

"A wolf was passing by the river, too. He felt so happy when he saw the lamb."

"The wolf said to the lamb: 'I can't drink clean water because you make the river dirty. So I must kill you!'"

"The frightened lamb explained: 'Can't you drink clean water as you stay at the upper stream?'"

"The wolf replied angrily: 'I know you always spoke ill of me last year. So I must kill you!'"

"The little lamb argued: 'Mr. Wolf, I was not yet born last year!'"

"The wolf said impatiently: 'Your master and friends all want to kill me. Isn't it true?'"

"The little lamb still wanted to argue. But the fierce wolf had already pounced upon and ate him."

THE END.

The moral of the story: Lamb is super-tasty. (Though raw lamb's not my cup of tea. I prefer lamb kofta kebabs.)

Retail Therapy

Just in time for Black Friday, I've put up a link to my new Amazon shop (it's on the upper right of the page, see?), where readers can find a bunch of stuff that might be of interest -- from books on fitness and nutrition to equipment for exercise and cooking.

My online storefront ain't gonna make me rich, but it finally dawned on me that sending readers over to Amazon (and other vendors) without collecting a cut is, well, kind of dumb. It's like strolling past a dollar bill on the sidewalk without bothering to pick it up, right?

Don't worry -- I'll still keep this blog ad-free, and I won't stop recommending non-Amazon vendors and products. (For instance, I still think Rogue Fitness is the best place to buy CrossFit equipment like bumper plates and barbells. And Dragon Door remains my favorite source of high-quality kettlebells.)

Nonetheless, I suppose I can no longer say that I'm not trying to sell you anything. After all, I now have a financial incentive --  a whopping 4 to 6 percent kickback! -- to get you to buy stuff. So feel free to call me a sell-out. And once you've gotten it out of your system, go check out my shop and pick out something nice for yourself.

Reading is Fun

The next time you find yourself at the library and apoplectic with anger because that douchebag who checked out the one copy of "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" still hasn't returned it, take a deep breath and consider some alternatives. Here are a bunch of books you might like if:

You're curious about paleo nutrition:

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf – Robb is the man. This is easily the best and most accessible book on the mass market about the science and implementation of a paleo diet. If your budget allows for just one book on nutrition, buy this one.

The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson - Despite my misgivings about Sisson, The Primal Blueprint is a solid introduction to paleo nutrition and fitness, and it gave me my first taste of what a clean, sustainable dietary approach should look like.

Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes – If you’re a biochem nerd, you will geek out on this massive tome about the science behind (and benefits of) low-carb, pre-agricultural nutrition.

The Protein Power Lifeplan by Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades – The Eades (creators of the Sous Vide Supreme!) have been on the low-carb, whole-foods scene longer than just about anyone else. This book is a great representation of their work.

The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance by Loren Cordain & Joe Friel – Although this book is geared towards long-distance runners, bicyclists and triathletes, there’s still a lot of information in here about how to a paleo diet can take the place of an endurance athlete’s traditional carb-loading approach. (If you're not an endurance athlete, check out Loren Cordain's The Paleo Diet instead.)


Your vegetarian friends are harassing you about eating meat:

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith – Keith’s writing can get a bit florid, but her story and arguments are compelling. Her personal narrative (about her switch from vegan to omnivore) is intertwined with strong counterarguments against the moral, environmental and health claims often asserted by vegetarians.


You want to improve your Olympic lifting technique (because you're CrossFitting, or just because you want to develop some kick-ass explosive power):

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe – Whether you’re new to Olympic lifting or a grizzled vet, Rip’s book is the bible on all things barbell-related.

Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & Coaches by Greg Everett – While Rip’s book focuses like a laser on basic movements (deadlifts, squats, etc.), Greg Everett gets into the nitty-gritty of the explosive O-lifts, like snatches and clean & jerks. Together with Starting Strength, you pretty much have all the bases covered.


You're eyeing a pair of Vibram FiveFingers shoes:

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall – Suspenseful, engaging, informative, eye-opening. This is the book that triggered the barefoot running craze. Vibram really ought to cut McDougall in on a share of the profits from the company’s FiveFingers sales.

The Barefoot Running Book: A Practical Guide to the Art and Science of Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Running by Jason Robillard – This little book is comprehensive yet fits into your pants pocket. It’s a great primer for those looking to transition into barefoot running. (My only complaint with the first edition of the book is that it’s printed in Papyrus font, which I abhor on a visceral level.)


Yoga's your cup of tea:

The Athlete's Guide to Yoga: An Integrated Approach to Strength, Flexibility, and Focus by Sage Rountree – When I started doing yoga, I had no idea what to watch for, or how to correct my form. Rountree’s book helped immensely, and it (thankfully) glosses over the spiritual stuff in favor of discussing yoga's effects on athletic performance. Plus: color photos!

The Great Oom: The Improbable Birth of Yoga in America by Robert Love – A strangely compelling biography of Pierre Bernard, arguably the father of American yoga, and certainly one of the most oddly charismatic figures of the early 20th century. The Great Oom is a fascinating read, filled with scandal (seduction of young girls! sacred orgies!) and general weirdness (midgets playing baseball! body piercings under trance!).

Happy reading!

Modernist Cuisine

"Modernist Cuisine," Microsoft bazillionaire Nathan Myhrvold's doorstop of a cookbook on molecular gastronomy, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

For $500.

Still, just the preview photos from the book almost make me want to plunk down the cash. Almost.

By the way, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to cook eggs with a bullet.

Check It Out: The Barefoot Running Book

It's been a while since Jason Robillard was kind enough to send me a review copy of "The Barefoot Running Book: A Practical Guide to the Art & Science of Barefoot & Minimalist Shoe Running" -- an excellent primer on running unshod.* My review, however, has been delayed -- and not because it took me a long time to get through the slim, 61-page volume. The truth: I'd wanted to try out Jason's running program before writing about it, but with CrossFit dominating my exercise time of late, I've not been doing much running (outside of my WODs). I'm feeling slightly guilty about writing about something I've not managed to put into practice lately. But my feelings of guilt over procrastination finally prevailed over my feelings of guilt over not doing more barefoot running, so at long last, here's my review.

In a nutshell: Regardless of whether you're a lapsed, current or prospective runner, you'll find a lot of useful information about barefoot running crammed into Jason's book. And if you're serious about running without footwear, Jason's book may just be the best single resource on how to transition from a tentative barefoot walker to an expert barefoot runner.

In case you're not familiar with Jason Robillard, he's a Michigan-based teacher, author and ultramarathoner (who somehow also finds the time to run the Barefoot Running University website, a motherlode of resources on footwear-free running). Here's how he describes his running workouts:

I routinely train on a variety of terrain, including asphalt roads, concrete sidewalks, sandy beaches, woodchip trails, dirt trails, and a few other varied surfaces. I train in a variety of conditions, ranging from the heat of summer to the bitter cold of winter. So far, I've been able to run in snow as long as the temperature stays above 20 degrees. My training mileage peaks around 100 miles per week about a month before major goal races. Almost all of this training is done barefoot.

In his book, Jason covers virtually anything one could ever ask about barefoot running (including which minimalist shoes to buy, and how to handle everything from blisters and bad weather to cross-training and hecklers). The book is organized according to a 12-week, four-stage training progression: "Pre-Running," "Starting to Run Barefoot," "Intermediate Barefoot Running," and "Advanced Barefoot Running." In each chapter, Jason gradually adds layers of technical skills and training concepts in bite-sized chunks, and before you know it, you've added fartleks and hill training to your shoe-free runs.

And unlike a lot of barefoot gurus who may come across to some as crazy-eyed, bearded hippie cultists, Jason is anything but. His everyman persona is reassuring even to those who find the concept of running without shoes faddish and bizarre. Plus, Jason's writing style is entertainingly wry and engaging: Instead of a dry instruction manual, "The Barefoot Running Book" reads like a casual (but super-informative) dinner conversation, sprinkled with lines like "[t]here is as much research supporting the use of modern running shoes as there is supporting the existence of unicorns, Sasquatch and funny Pauly Shore movies."

Jason lays out a structured training plan for those who are curious and intrepid enough to venture out without shoes, but instead of focusing solely on different activities to master, he takes frequent breaks to educate readers about concepts to keep in mind while running barefoot. (My favorite: "Run Like a Ninja.")

Finally, it's kind of awesome that Jason gives a shout-out to his local CrossFit affiliate in the final pages of his book, and shares a number of CrossFit moves that add variety and intensity to his training. (With the exception of Olympic lifting, I try to do just about all of my CrossFit workouts in Vibram FiveFingers or barefoot, and I definitely recommend giving it a shot.)

If you're mesmerized by Christopher McDougall's "Born to Run" and contemplating going barefoot on your training runs, I can't think of a better starting point than "The Barefoot Running Book."

*Full disclosure: Yes, I got a free review copy of the book from Jason, but trust me: My review is unbiased. When it comes to criticism, I'm not known to hold back, but I would have given "The Barefoot Running Book" a thumbs-up even if I'd just happened across it on Amazon.)

Check It Out: Power to the People

Pavel Tsatsouline is nothing if not prolific. Over the past few months, I've already read a couple of his books (Enter the Kettlebell and The Naked Warrior), but a quick glance at his online store makes clear that there's no end in sight to his "Evil Russian"-style brand of training advice. 

I'm now making my way through Tsatsouline's "Power to the People," a book focused on building raw strength through daily practice of just two exercises: deadlifts and presses.

The "Russian strength secret" that Tsatsouline teaches in "Power to the People" can be summarized in one sentence: "Train heavy, but keep the volume, or the total number of reps per workout, low." Why? So we can "minimize the amount of 'torn down' muscle -- and the reconstruction that follows." 

This approach won't turn anyone into a bodybuilder because the point isn't to grow big-ass muscles. Rather, the focus is on gaining "wiry strength" such that "[m]ost likely your measurements will not increase, while your weight will go up a few pounds. the packing density of your muscles' contractile proteins has increased, the first thing to happen when 'real' muscle growth takes place." By periodizing and increasing the amount of weight that's being lifted but without going to exhaustion, Tsatsouline says, you can steadily enhance your full-body strength without constantly destroying and rebuilding the muscles in your body

Sounds good to me. My health and fitness goals don't include bulking up or becoming a bodybuilder. I do, however, want to get stronger, and I definitely want to improve my deadlift. So this program sounds like it's worth a shot.

Whole9 modified/customized Tsatsouline's "Power to the People" program by adding some warm-ups and metcons to the deadlifts and presses. It's simple and easy to follow, which is a big part of why I've decided to try it starting today. On the days I don't head to my CrossFit class, I'm going to follow the Whole9 program and see where it can take me in 2-3 months' time.

Hence, my workout today was cribbed directly from Whole9:

DAY ONE

Buy-in: 3 rounds of 0:20 handstand hold + 15 KB swings (Russian) + 10 plyo box jumps

Deadlift: Warm up with some DLs at lighter weight

• Set 1: 60% of 1RM, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1, 3-5 reps

Press: Warm up with some presses at lighter weight

• Set 1: 60% of 1RM, 3-5 reps
• Set 2: 90% of Set 1, 3-5 reps

Cash out: 3 rounds for time of 30 Double-Unders + 15 Hanging Knees-to-Elbows

I followed Whole9's directions carefully and used weights that felt too light for me. I'm sure it'll get harder as the program progresses, but right now, I can't see how this is going to get me that much stronger.

Still, the full workout wiped me out completely. I'm nodding off while typing this. Time for bed.