Becoming Paleo, Part 2: The Anxiety Barrier

Post by John Michael

If taking control of my eating habits were something easy to accomplish, then I would have stopped consuming cheeseburgers and brownies years ago. But the truth is that gaining control of our diets is often a difficult thing to do, requiring a measure of self-will and discipline that nowadays might be called out of the ordinary, if not simply extraordinary. Taking this into account, my transition from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to the Paleo Diet was not an overnight affair, but instead the culmination of several small efforts that I enacted over the course of two years.

If I had to point to where this transformation started, then I would say that it all began with my yoga practice. I had practiced yoga for several years, trying various styles, from sauna-like sessions of Bikram Yoga, to methodical and in-depth Iyengar classes, but it wasn’t until I began attending Abhyasa Yoga Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that I found the style of yoga which most suited me. The owner of this studio, J. Brown, had a simple philosophy, “Do what feels right,” which allowed me to strengthen my connection to both my mind and body, and so opened to me the possibility of real personal change.

J.’s philosophy, which he shared with me in a clear and accessible manner, while illustrating points with examples from his personal experience, was composed of variations on the yogic principle of ahimsa, or, non-injury. It doesn’t matter how you look in a pose, J. would tell me; what matters is how you feel. He once shared with me the story of how he had discovered this philosophy: he was an avid practitioner, who could do amazing poses and was often asked to demonstrate them for other students, but who found himself suffering from chronic pain that only increased. One day, he traveled to India to deepen his knowledge of yoga, where he met a swami with whom he decided to study. The swami, after asking him to narrate what he was doing in a certain pose, cut short J.’s long-winded description of his body’s anatomical positioning, and asked him, “Yes, but how do you feel?” The moment was an epiphany for J. From then on, the basis of his practice would not be meeting a pose’s requirements, but the extent that his body could comfortably enter the pose, which he gauged by paying close attention to how he felt.

Using measured breathing to calm myself, I gently entered each pose, directing my attention to both the exterior position of my body, and to the interior disposition of my feelings. As happens with all new habits, the emotional sensibility that I developed within the yoga studio began to appear in my daily life. Yoga, as J. had said, can happen anywhere, at any time. I soon found myself paying close attention to the emotional responses that I had to everyday situations, like waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, or dealing with an unruly student in the classroom. My yoga practice at Abhyasa had started me down the path of addressing the severe self-awareness deficit that I had developed by watching television, playing video games, and performing other sedentary, and, in my case at least, stupefying activities. 

I began to do an inventory of my feelings, for the first time ever getting concrete definitions for emotions like fear, anger, and shame. As my knowledge of these lower emotions grew, I began to experiment with changing them into their higher transformations: fear became courage, anger peace, and shame compassion. After about a year of self-study, I managed to quit smoking and limit my drinking. Things were going well, and I was pleased with my progress. But when I tried to control my eating habits, which were rather bad, often taking me off of my normal route to work in search of just the right chocolate bar, or causing me to eat a pint of frozen yogurt (sometimes two) per night for weeks on end, I failed miserably.

Each time I’d try to alter my eating habits, the same thing would happen: as the duration of my resistance to the cravings increased, I would feel anxiety building within me, a kind of jittery, unpleasant energy, that would grow until it cracked my will power, at which point I’d find myself driven out of my apartment in search of whatever junk food my mind presented to me as the best way of soothing myself. No matter how many times I attempted to stop my poor eating, I encountered this same emotional reaction, which I came to call the anxiety barrier.

Stay tuned for Becoming Paleo, Part 3: Breaking the Anxiety Barrier.

Related Posts
Becoming Paleo, Part 1: The Yale Food Addiction Scale
Becoming Paleo, Part 3: Breaking the Anxiety Barrier 
Becoming Paleo, Part 4: The Projections of Anxiety

Monday Quote: Geothermal energy

By drilling three to five kilometres into the Earth, enormous resources of geothermal power can be tapped that are clean and can’t be exhausted. 

Luisa D’Amato
The Record

Becoming Paleo, Part 1: The Yale Food Addiction Scale

Posted by John Michael

Society’s strong motivation to lose weight combined with the tremendous amount of energy and resources spent on the “obesity epidemic” suggests that the problem of obesity is not driven by a lack of motivation or effort.

Preliminary Validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale

I’ve known about the Paleo Diet for several years, ever since my dad started altering his eating habits to match those set out in Dr. Loren Cordain’s book The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat. “The fact is,” Dr. Cordain writes on his website, “that virtually our entire physiologies operate exquisitely when they are functioning in the native human ecological niche in which they evolved – employing both the diet and exercise level of a hunter-gatherer.” I’d always had problems with diet and exercise (like many Americans, according to the statistics), so when my father told me about the Paleo Diet, I was interested, but acquiring it didn’t seem feasible, because, while I recognized that this diet was probably my best option, I couldn’t control my eating habits, which were driven by cravings that appeared out of my control, and the Paleo Diet is all about restricting what we eat to the foods that our hunter-gatherer ancestors enjoyed. The diet remained in my head, a seeming impossibility until recently, when Yale University published the Yale Food Addiction Scale, and I decided to take control of my eating habits. 

The Yale Food Addiction Scale is a survey designed to detect and measure the severity of food addiction. While food addiction’s not fully recognized by the medical establishment as a disorder, several studies have been conducted to explore the possibility of its existence. Although some of these studies seem strange, like the one which found that rats preferred high doses of sugar to comparable doses of cocaine, or the one which studied the fierce sweet tooth that former alcoholics can develop, others are serious attempts to define what food addiction is and to create tools that measure it. (Interestingly, all of these studies suggest that food addiction is caused by the exorbitant excitation of reward circuits that evolved in our brains during the times of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. This leads me to speculate that perhaps food addiction is due to an excessive stimulation of these reward circuits, which evolved in the absence of “high fat and high sugar foods,” and which were perhaps never meant to be as stimulated as they are today.)

After reading about the release of the Yale Food Addiction Scale, I decided to take it myself, because I had recognized my own eating problem in the articles that I had read about it. The survey, composed of twenty-seven items, is based on the American Psychiatric Association’s substance dependence criteria, as well as other scales “used to assess behavioral addictions, such as gambling, exercise, and sex.” As I took this survey, my eating problem began to take shape in my mind. It was most revealed by the items that I scored highly on. The first sixteen items are statements, like, “I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating more than planned,” that the participant scores from 0 to 4, with 0 being “never,” 1 being “once a month,” 2 “2-4 times a month,” 3 “2-3 times a week,” and 4 “4 or more times daily.” Among the statements that I marked 4 on were, “I find myself continuing to consume certain foods even though I am no longer hungry,” “I have consumed certain foods to prevent feelings of anxiety, agitation, or other physical symptoms that were developing,” and, “My behavior with respect to food and eating causes significant distress.” The second to last item asks participants to check foods that they “have problems with.” Which foods did I mark? Ice cream, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, soda pop, chocolate, doughnuts, and cookies.

Like I’ve told students in the classroom, the first step in solving a problem is recognizing that you have one. I had known for years that I had a problem with eating, and now, with the Yale Food Addiction Scale, I had begun to take the second step in problem-solving: observing the problem that you have, so that you can figure out a way to solve it. 

Stay tuned for Becoming Paleo, Part 2: The Anxiety Barrier.

Related Posts
Becoming Paleo, Part 2: The Anxiety Barrier 
Becoming Paleo, Part 3: Breaking the Anxiety Barrier 
Becoming Paleo, Part 4: The Projections of Anxiety 

John Michael is a traveling writer and a teacher with a deep interest in humankind’s connection to the natural world. Learn more.

Apple's Mothership: What does it have to do with modern Paleo?

Image: www.cultofmac.comOn June 7, Steve Jobs of Apple Computer revealed a proposed new addition to its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The building would be set on a 150-acre tract in part previously occupied by Hewlett-Packard. The unique design is being referred to by many news sites as a "spaceship" or "mothership".

According to MacDailyNews:

The design for the new Apple campus puts 12,000 employees in one building! “It’s a little like a spaceship landed,” said Jobs. It’s a giant 4-story ring; curved all the way around with not a straight piece of glass in the place. Jobs said that Apple’s experience building extreme glass for retail stores contributed to the campus’ design know-how.

Image: www.cultofmac.comSo, what does this have to do with the modern Paleolithic lifestyle? Well, more than it first appears. It is certainly very modern, even ultramodern. However, as these images suggest, it also helps reconstruct the natural world. Nature is not treated as an afterthought such as a thin rim of landscaping around a building perimeter or trees and bushes at the edge of a parking lot.

MacDailyNews:

The site will go from approximately 3,700 trees to around 6,000. The employee count increases by 40%, space will increase by 20%, landscaping by 350%, the aforementioned trees by 60%, and the surface parking (asphalt) decreases by 90%.

Apple plans to generate their own power via natural gas and other means that will be cleaner than using the electrical grid. They will use the grid as a backup, not as the primary power source.

If approved, the building may serve as a model for future business development, at least where similar space is available. But, why not take it a little further? Plant vegetables and fruits in the central courtyard to supply the café. If similar reconstruction occurs near the campus in the future, connect the building to nearby rings through underground travelways and extend the natural component even further. Then, further and further ..... to a modern Paleolithic.

More images of the "mothership" here and the video of Steve Jobs' presentation to the Cupertino City Council here. 

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Monday Quote: 50 years of oil

“We’re confident that there are around 50 years of oil left.” 

Karen Ward, HSBC Senior Global Economist
New York Times

Paleo Foods: Andean Meats

Post by John Michael

One of the dilemmas that people face when switching to the Paleo diet is an apparent loss of variety in what they can eat. By becoming Paleo, we leave behind a great number of foods that human ingenuity has fashioned from the products of the agricultural revolution; whether it’s the grain-based cereals that we’ve become accustomed to eating in the morning, or the dairy-based desserts that send us off to bed at night, there’s a lot we leave behind. But, in my experience switching to the Paleo Diet, I’ve found that, instead of having my culinary horizons narrowed, this diet has actually revealed to me the great number of foods and flavors that exist outside of the realms of grains, dairy products, and heavily processed foods. These blogs, which will all be entitled Paleo Foods, are an attempt to share the diversity of delightful flavors that can be found within the alimentary domains of fruits, vegetables, meats, and nuts and oils, which together form the basic components of the Paleo Diet.

Anticuchos

A traditional Peruvian dish, anticuchos consist of cow heart sliced into knuckle-sized portions, and then spit and roasted on slender wooden skewers. When I ordered my first anticuchos at a restaurant in Lima, I found them to be of a tender and almost spongy consistency, although they were in no way chewy.

As I ate, their rich flavor dominated my tongue, causing a faint tingling sensation that stopped just before it reached the threshold of stinging. There was also a slight bitterness to the meat, which I associated with the blood that must have once suffused this highly perfuse organ. All in all, the anticuchos had a savory, somewhat salty flavor. After eating the four pieces of meat on my two skewers, I found myself pleasantly satisfied.

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My Plate: Progress, but still a long way to go

The Department of Agriculture just trashed the food pyramid and replaced it with "My Plate". Progress, but still a long, long way to go. Thankfully, half of the plate is now vegetables and fruits. However, grains and dairy still take prominent roles.

At least we can be pleased that vegetables and fruits have been upgraded in importance. To the right, according to Civil Eats and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, is what the Standard American Diet (SAD) really looks like. Let's get real, most of the calories come from added fat and sugar. Grains capture the most calories for a single segment. Vegetables and fruits are treated as a footnote. A long, long way to go.

Slowly, slowly, the plate may someday reflect the healthy original human diet, know today as the Paleolithic diet: vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, nuts and berries. 

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Hiking: Chautauqua, Boulder, CO

In 1898, residents of Boulder, CO had the foresight to preserve Chautauqua Meadow at the base of the Flatirons. Over 100 years later, and now known as the Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark, the park still provides a great outdoor experience. Despite 54,554 participants in the Bolder Boulder 10K run on Memorial Day, the drive to Boulder and and park access were surprisingly manageable.

The parking lot can be found by traveling west on Baseline road. With 140 miles of trails in the park, all degrees of difficulty are available. As my second hike since the cycling injury last September, we chose an a 2 1/2 miles route asceding about 1,000 ft.

Made of conglomerate sandstone, the Flatirons were raised during a mountain building period about 80 to 35 million years ago. They are thought to be named for the flat clothing irons used in pioneer America (Boulder was incorporated in 1871).

Walking sticks, also called trekking poles, unload the knees. As noted at Slackpacker.com, they "reduces the pressure strain on the opposite leg by approximately 20%" and "reduce the body weight carried by the legs by approximately 5 kg" on level ground and by 8 kg on an incline.

If you are in the area, Chautauqua park is a great place for a morning hike. Afterward, head to Pearl Street and have lunch at one of the many small restaurants. 

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Monthly Finds - May 2011

ENVIRONMENT

• Swap Till You Drop: Smarter Living Rates The Top Online Swap Marketplaces - Natural Resources Defense Council
• What is Upcycling? – Naturally Savvy
•  'Small fry' fish just as vulnerable to population plunges as sharks or tuna, Stanford researchers say - Stanford News

MODERN DISEASES

• Unnoticed celiac disease worth treating: People with antibodies but no symptoms are better off avoiding gluten  - ScienceNews
• Paleolithic diet much better for diabetics than conventional ‘diabetes diet’ -  drBriffa
• Egypt Mummy Pictures: Scans Show Ancient Heart Disease – National Geographic

NUTRITION

• Farmed Seafood: What's Safe and Nutritious – Mark’s Daily Apple 
• Expert panel calls for 'transforming US agriculture': Changes in markets, policies and science needed for more sustainable farming - EurekAlert!
• The Diet That Shook Up Tennis? Starch Madness: Novak Djokovic's Domination of the Sport Has Coincided With His Gluten-Free Turn – Wall Street Journal (via Hunter-Gather.com)
• Something Fishy: Baked, Broiled Fish Cuts Heart Failure Risk - MyHealthNewsDaily
• Strong Sales of Organic Foods Attract Investors – New York Times

Monday Quote: Man & nature

Man is part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.

Rachel Carson

Paleo Foods: Andean Fruits

Guest Post by John Michael

One of the dilemmas that people face when switching to the Paleo diet is an apparent loss of variety in what they can eat. By becoming Paleo, we leave behind a great number of foods that human ingenuity has fashioned from the products of the Agricultural Revolution; whether it’s the grain-based cereals that we’ve become accustomed to eating in the morning, or the dairy-based desserts that send us off to bed at night, there’s a lot that we leave behind. But, in my experience with switching to the Paleo Diet, I’ve found that, instead of having my culinary horizons narrowed, this diet has actually revealed to me the great number of foods and flavors that exist outside of the realms of grains, dairy products, and heavily processed foods. These blogs, which will all be entitled Paleo Foods, are an attempt to share the diversity of the delightful flavors that can be found within the alimentary domains of fruits, vegetables, meats, and nuts and oils, which together form the basic components of the Paleo Diet.

I’ve encountered many new fruits during my travels through the Andean mountains, and in this blog post I’m going to share with you three of my favorites.

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The Stockholm Memorandum and the strain of the Anthropocene

The Feb. 27^th entry on PaleoTerran presented the debate on whether we have entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene. This week, The Stockholm Memorandum, produced by the 3rd Nobel Laureate Symposium on Global Sustainability held Stockholm, Sweden appears to make it official: 

Humans are now the most significant driver of global change, propelling the planet into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. 

Whether this group, or the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), has the authority to name a new epoch is unclear. (The ICS site has not been updated for sometime.)  Nevertheless, the name of the epoch is not the issue; the subject of Memorandum is the strain humankind is placing on the planet. 

Unsustainable patterns of production, consumption, and population growth are challenging the resilience of the planet to support human activity. ...Evidence is growing that human pressures are starting to overwhelm the Earth’s buffering capacity.

In a series of pregnant statements, eight priorities are outlined:

1. Reaching a more equitable world
2. Managing the climate - energy challenge
3. Creating an efficiency revolution
4. Ensuring affordable food for all
5. Moving beyond green growth
6. Reducing human pressures
7. Strengthening Earth System Governance
8. Enacting a new contract between science and society 

While the challenge is clear and daunting, the document also serves as a roadmap for future entrepreneurs.

To learn more, download The Stockholm Memorandum.  

Related Post:
Welcome to the Anthropocene: Humankind's layer on Earth