Dear Paleo

The conversation on ‘preparedness‘ was taking place on a soccer field sideline as it relates to ‘lahars‘…massive mud & debris flows that travel at 40 miles an hour down the sides of volcanoes. Something that’s in the back of your mind when you live at the base of Mt. Rainier in the Pacific Northwest.

Max Muscle's $25,000 Winner Don Dona is Prepared! Paleo & Crossfit Baby!

You’ve seen this scene a million times.  It’s Saturday morning in suburbia, you drive by a soccer field, and there it is.  The great gathering.  A weekly fellowship of conversations consisting of safe talk, honest updates, and awkward moments talking to parents you disagree with on a myriad of levels.

I find this time of the week amazingly fun, and not just because my son or daughter is out there tearing up the field.  No, this is a special time to engage folks in conversations about anything you need ‘outside input’ on.

This past week I decided to talk to a few folks about ‘preparedness’ and see how they defined it, and furthermore, what they did personally to define preparedness.

Their answers varied depending on who you spoke to, and the odd thing was the answers varied by the person’s body type.  Correct.  Body Type.  Ask an Ectomorph, your typical skinny guy, and get a totally different answer than a Mesomorph (fit person) or Endomorph (a bit chubby).

Here’s the interesting thing;  The Mesomorph, almost without fail, said ‘Eat Right & Exercise’ or some variation thereof.  When I further queried these individuals about what eating right and exercising meant to them, I heard everything from ‘cutting out fats’ to ‘I use an elliptical every morning…’.

Taking this further, I decided to geek it a bit and Bing a few hunches.  I came up with this:
Americans spend billions each year on diet and exercise habits, it seems only a few are exercising at all, according to the CDC.

The study shows dismal rates of healthy behaviors among Americans overall, a factor known to contribute to high rates of obesity and chronic illnesses.

Just one in seven U.S. adults reported regular physical activity along with consuming five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Nearly 17% of men who described themselves as being of mixed ethnicity said they regularly combined both behaviors, compared with 13% of white men.

Seventeen percent of white women reported both healthy eating and exercise, compared with 15% of Hispanics and 13% of African Americans, according to the study, conducted by the CDC.

“Prevalence of engaging in both behaviors is low among all racial/ethnic populations,” the study concludes.

Clearly, the marketing message of “Eat Right & Exercise” was too vague.  If it were on the mark we might get a similar answer from everybody.  Alas, we do not.  We get things like the ‘Lemon Detox Diet‘ mentioned in a grocery store rag and it becomes the next press darling…especially if those lemons come from a tropical rain forest!  Queue Angel Choir…

Regular readers of Dear Paleo know my background is pure marketing.  Eat Right & Exercise needs to be put to bed, and we all need to adapt the mantra of ‘Paleo & Crossfit’.  Why?

Specific definition.

You see, “Eat Right” is far too open for interpretation.  It CAN mean the Lemon Detox Diet to Bubba Convenience because, “Look!  Nutritionists recommend it!”.  He was marketed to.  He believed what he read without a shred of concern for the source.

You’re better than that.  Market to me, sure.  But I’ll check your claims Mr. Advertiser Man…

Same deal with “Exercise”.  OMG.  That’s been defined as sleeping for cotton-pickin’ sake.  Dumb down the media and you’ll see these treasures delivered at rates that will scare you.  You’ve seen Ab Rocket?  Just sit back and lean back.  Help me.

These same people are voting for your next President and they buy that line!?!  You better be prepared.

“Paleo”, by definition that we all basically agree on, means:  Lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, lean meats and poultry, wild fish and natural, unprocessed fats.  No sugar, refined grains, dairy.

“Crossfit” is best defined by Greg Glassman:

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

Paleo & Crossfit.  I’ve condensed a life’s healthy methodology to two words and an ampersand.

Combine the definitions of ‘Paleo Diet’ and ‘Crossfit’ and simplified them for marketing.  Goodbye “Eat Right & Exercise” and hello “Paleo & Crossfit”.  Specific, defined, and unlike the Shake Weight For Men, together they work.

Be prepared.  Paleo & Crossfit.  Spread the words.  Visit itsPALEO for more on the subject.