"....I swear, you Christians have made Christmas longer than Ramadan!" - Lewis Black, from his show, "Running on Empty" performed last night at the Chicago Theatre
Hello snowflakes,
Let me start by saying I am in a slightly better mood than usual, as last evening my Aunt Rocca and Uncle Dennis treated a few of us to a night of much needed laughter and levity, as we saw what I would have to call our family's favorite comedian, Lewis Black live at the Chicago Theatre. I have always felt a special kinship with him, as he is usually angry 95% of the time, can't wait to see how the President and the EXACT same Congressional make up are suddenly going to "get along" after playing 4 years of a political version of a Mexican Standoff, and hates, with tremendous passion, what we have done to the holidays. Particularly Christmas. He even went so far last night as to say, "I used to think that you Christians (note - Mr. Black is Jewish - I know, a Jewish comedian? How rare!) should start celebrating Christmas on the 4th of July, but now, just keep it going the whole year. Don't take the lights down. Besides, Christmas is the only time you assholes are happy anyway". So how can I not love this guy and agree with his entire line of thinking? Oh yeah, he hates social media as much as I do. For those of you who I haven't berated for this, here's my opportunity to do so - when you type your current status on Facebook, twitter, 4square, Linked In, Instagrampinterestnobodygivesashit, before you hit the "post" button, read it and ask yourself these questions - "If I saw this post on someone else's page, would I really give a shit? Would it affect the rest of my day, week, month, year, life?" If the answer is NO - and 10 times out of 10 it usually is, then don't post it. Unless you have the cure for cancer, AIDS, malaria, yellow fever, the common cold, the solution for global warming, the solution to balance the budget and the answer to end the possibility of any future chemical, biological, or nuclear warfare, then trust me when I tell you - its really not that important. And moreover, please stop feeling the need to share things that are rather personal with 1000 people who really aren't your true "friends". Not everyone needs to know how that colonoscopy went today and if its left you "feeling a little sore in all the wrong places". That's an actual post I saw. I can't make this stuff up. However, if you enjoy my rants, as much as I do, by all means post about your "Coke Zero tasting better than you imagined". I can't wait.
On to more serious stuff, I know some of you have started taking the 30 day Paleo challenge, and I am extremely proud of you and support you 100%. Its a huge step to adding years, quality years, to your life, and providing you with a deeper insight as to why we should be eating this way. I want to salute my sister for doing this as well, proving that you can be a parent and still go Paleo. By making this decision she is instilling better eating habits in my nieces, even though they may not feel that way right now, which will be even bigger dividends as they grow older. This way, they too will know the importance of eating clean, as it will enhance their ability to focus in school, sports, and enjoy life more in general. For those of you on this journey, and more importantly for those of you who aren't, I suggest the following - "The Paleo Solution", by Robb Wolf, "The Paleo Diet", by Dr. Loren Cordain, "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson, as well as www.marksdailyapple.com, a free, weekly, newsletter that provides great insight into this lifestyle.
If you haven't tried going Paleo, and have been considering it, my suggestion, and I am totally serious about this - start tomorrow. That's right, start on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Tell yourself that you will stay the course on this, and if you give yourself a running start, by Thursday, you won't want to stop your momentum. I can assure you that all the training in the world can be undone by how you eat. Its my contention that several top endurance athletes have short careers. At some point, a bad diet that doesn't properly address the fueling needs of the athlete or the recovery needs, will catch up with them and then its a domino effect - injury, over-training, you name it. There is no question that form is also a major factor in their breakdowns, but without eating clean, the likelihood of increased inflammation, GI problems or gastric distress - which in some athletes becomes a long term or permanent problem, poor sleep patterns, unstable insulin levels resulting in type 2 diabetes (think, skinny-fat) depression, anxiety, and in some cases, severe neurological disorders all become prevalent.
So I encourage all of you to consider making this dietary change. And please don't just take my word for it -talk to others who have done it. There are several on this newsletter, and check out the above mentioned books. Real science, hard data that will make you think very differently about how you eat and what you eat.
That's it for tonight - I am working on something that I need at least 1 more day to complete. That's why I called this one, Part 1. I'm trying to get my head around the most recent edition of "Men's Fitness", and their "Top 25 Fittest Men of the Year" story. I saw the first 3 names, dropped the magazine, went to the closest weight bearing wall, and began smashing my head into it, until I rendered myself unconscious, then, upon waking, had a cup of coffee and went for a run, and I still couldn't shake what I saw. So tomorrow should be a blast.
Side note- I need to know who ordered me this subscription, because I didn't. Seriously. So someone is having a good laugh watching me lose my mind at the inane and un-helpful articles they post. There is nothing germane to "men's fitness" in the entire magazine. So while I try to find the culprit, some of you will be happy to know that your Christmas present from me will be a year's subscription to "Cat Fancy" or "Living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome". Enjoy!
