Day 3 of Paleo

Ok day 3:

At 5am I had 4 over-easy eggs cooked in 1tbs of bacon fat and 1 tbs of coconut oil. 1/4 of mashed sweet potatoes, and 1/4 of a large avocado. 1 cup of coffe!! Great breakfast!!...

At 11 I did the TOD 5x5 back squat (225, 265, 295, 325, 355) and then 5 rounds of 9 DL, 6 HPC, and 3 Push Presses all at 155#: 5:32... And no I did not leave the gym or bring a snack before my workout and I felt great!!

At 12 noon I had another Orange Plate Special (OPS): Meatloaf (I wiped the sauce off of it), broccoli, 1/4 of sweet potatoes, 1/2 of a large avocado.

At 4pm I had a handful of an energy mix: mixed nuts (no peanuts), dried various fruits and an apple. And I was still feeling good!

Then at 8:30pm I went to dinner at Hyde Park with a friend. I was STARVING!!! I had a 9oz New York Strip with a side salad with oil and vinegar and 3 cherry tomatoes. With collard greens and bacon. Then I added 2 tbs of guacamole. When I finished all that I was still hungry and ordered another entrée ahahaa... I said I was starving. It was 2 small chicken breasts with broccoli and more collard greens and bacon, with 2 more tbs of guacamole! It was all very tasty!! And guess what? I wasn't stuffed. I was perfect, feeling like I had a complete meal.

So through tonight's meal I CRAVED dessert!! I wanted a ceasar salad! AAAnd there was a gelato place next door. But through all that "torture" I feel really good and super glad I didn't give into the temptation. So if any of you are struggling, keep it up and know you're not alone. It will get easier once the habits are broken and new ones are made!

So I didn't get to bed as early as I wanted last night but what can you do? I got roughly 6 1/2 hours of sleep. Not enough for my body to run at its best! To put things in perspective for everyone who says,"I dont feel as good when I get more than 5 or 6 hours!" Blah blah blah..... B.S!! And if you just say its only Robb Wolf, I need more proof! Well click here, here, and here. All studies done with humans. Easy to read as well, so have at it! Here is another excerpt from The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf:

Cortisol

Without being the least bit cynical, I could boil life down to food, sleep, and sex. On the food side of the equation, we have all that goes into getting it (brains to plan, and brawn to procure and defend). Once we have that food, we eat it and either burn it or store it. This is all related to our short and long term energy management, body-fatness, fertility, etc. Insulin and glucagon are there to help regulate our storage and utilization of energy. However, Cortisol is also a player in this game, as it also has effects on energy storage and a host of other functions:

1. Regulating the immune response. Too much of an immune response can lead to autoimmunity or significant problems from "collateral damage" caused by an overactive immune system. Many diseases are not fatal in and of themselves (like H1N1 flu), but they sometimes become fatal because of an overreaction by the immune system. Cortisol "puts the breaks" on the immune system and is very important in both our susceptibility to disease and how we respond to illness.

2. How much sodium we have in our blood. More cortisol means more sodium and thus more blood volume. Typically, this will lead to higher blood pressure, with the associated stress on the heart, vasculature, and kidneys.

3. Regulates connective tissue strength. Too much cortisol can weaken connective tissue in our skin and elsewhere. Cortisol can and does make you wrinkle faster.

4. Perhaps most important to our discussion here, cortisol releases glucose and fatty acids from the liver and blunts insulin sensitivity.

Most people are familiar with the idea that cortisol is a "stress" hormone, but this is misleading and more a function of our modern lives than cortisol really being a "stress" hormone. Cortisol is in fact critical to life, and a lack of cortisol will mean significant health problems, including death! This is again a story of shooting for the right amount of a hormone, and if you have been paying attention thus far, we are talking about levels that we might find in our Paleolithic ancestors.

A normal day for our Paleolithic ancestors would start by awakening with relatively high cortisol levels. This in not the Monday morning commute blues: Paleo Edition. This is nature's way of making sure we are alert, energized, and ready to go! Cortisol causes the release of glucose and fatty acids from the liver. That's energy our Paleolithic ancestors needed to move camp, hunt, gather, and generally get the day going. Now, this scenario was normal and, in fact, non-stressful. Keep in mind there are normal operating parameters for all our hormones and it is quite normal for Cortisol to be elevated in the morning.

Cortisol works in synchrony with insulin and glucagon to regulate our energy levels. When we need more energy (early in the day or fleeing from a predator) Cortisol is relatively high. In the evening, when we are winding and going to bed, Cortisol should drop. Now, what if our Paleolithic ancestors were ambushed by a rival camp or they were stressful. But the stresses of Paleolithic consequence sorted themselves out quickly. For good or ill. They tended not to drag on and they did not happen every day.

Our modern life may not involve the risk of being eaten by a bear (generally), but it does come with a host of its own stressors. Some quite immediate and tangible, others more mental. But in general, our stressors in modern times are chronic, as opposed to the acute stresses for which we are so well equipped. Possibly losing a job in a bad economy, getting mugged while on the train, a near miss while driving, thinking about the kids' college education.....lack of sleep.

These are modern issues that register as a stress, and in a cumulative fashion, they can crush us...............................

...................................... When you are subjected to stress, particularly chronic stress, your body releases cortisol much more frequently than it should. This gets ugly when cortisol is not only high in the morning, but all day long, even at bedtime. The consequences can be dire, as the more stressed we get, the worse our ability to deal with stress becomes. It is a nasty snowball effect that is called a "feed forward" mechanism in biology. Abnormally elevated cortisol begins to disturb sleep, which makes us more prone to daily stress, which raises cortisol. The consequences of the downward spiral include suppressed immune function, chronically elevated blood sugar levels, decreased insulin sensitivity, impaired ability to form long-term memory, and decreased sex drive and libido. Yes folks, cortisol is a big deal.