Saturday, March 21, 2009

The following is a document I offer people I meet who are interested in pursuing a healthier way of life. Feel free to pass it along to anyone who may find it useful.
The Health and Fitness Primer
Charles E. Hair
Copyright 2009

The First Step

What to Eat

Eat the following foods until you are satisfied:
Any vegetable
Any fruit (tropical fruit only occasionally)
Any meat (preferably w/o preservatives) & Eggs
Any fish
Coffee, tea, water
Nuts (almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, cashews, etc.) Peanuts are not nuts!
** Limit nuts to one to two servings per day if your main objective is weight loss.
Seeds
Find ideas for meals at: http://mypaleokitchen.blogspot.com/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/

What to Avoid

Bread
Cereal
Candy
Sugar
Potatoes (yams and sweet potatoes are OK on a rare basis after the first month or two)
Pasta
Most things in boxes
Stuff with flour and grains
Milk/Dairy

The Second Step

Get 8 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night in a very dark room.
Turn off all electronic devices at least one hour before bed.
Avoid eating 1-2 hours before bed.
Go to bed by 10:30 pm.
Wake up on your own (without an alarm clock) as often as possible.
Simply sleeping for 8-9 hours per night will increase your dopamine production and your secretion of growth hormone (anti-aging properties).
Get some sunlight everyday.
Avoid rushing around and chronic stress. Choose to live life, as much as possible, at a relaxed pace.
Pray often and live with purpose.

The Third Step

Exercise 2-3 times per week.
Make your exercise sessions brief, intense and fun. Examples include CrossFit, bodyweight calisthenics, sprints, weightlifting, playing, etc. Avoid a lot of long, slow cardiovascular stuff (except walking).
Walk around a lot.


The Fourth Step

After speaking with your doctor, consider taking the following supplements:
1 multivitamin per day
3,000-4,000 milligrams of fish oil per day
Calcium if you feel you need it.


The first two weeks of this way of living are sometimes plagued with inconsistent energy and cravings for simple carbohydrates (sugar, desserts, etc.). Hang in there! This is simply your body switching from using glucose (sugar) as its primary energy source to accessing your fat stores for energy. If you experience intense brain fade (very low energy and fuzzy thinking), eat a piece of fruit or dark chocolate.

It is important to resist the temptation to monitor your progress too closely or control things too much. Weigh yourself once per week in the beginning, less often as time progresses. Let it happen. It will.

Acknowledgements

http://www.crossfit.com/
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://www.arthurdevany.com/