Jonathan Brown » Crap

Getting Started with the Paleo Diet

Jonathan Brown — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:56:14 +0000

One week ago I started the Paleo diet (otherwise known as the “Caveman” diet). I’ve been listening to Dan Benjamin’s great 5 by 5 podcasts, and while Dan doesn’t preach the Paleo lifestyle, he drops enough hints here and there that his life has changed for the better since he started living Paleo. So I decided to give it a try.

After researching this “diet” it became clear that this is not a diet at all–it’s a lifestyle. The average human intake over the last 5,000 years is the real fad diet. Foods have been introduced to our chain with the advent of agriculture that we’re not supposed to eat–including the manufactured animals that are fed byproducts of our own agriculture!

So the gist of the diet is to revert back to the eating habits of our paleolithic ancestors, pre-agriculture. The theory is that our bodies were fine-tuned over 2+ million years of evolution to persist on a diet based on hunting and gathering–grass fed beef, poultry, pork, wild caught fish and shellfish, vegetables, fruits and nuts. No wheat. No grains. No rice. No legumes. No gluten. No fructose. No carbs. And that means no bread. Apparently, farming is killing us. Who knew?

My goal is not to lose weight, but to feel a little bit better most of the time. I started reading Robb Wolf’s book, The Paleo Solution, about a week before I started to ensure this was something I really wanted to try.

During the first four days I had constant hunger and a mild headache. Nothing I ate, no matter how much I ate, made me feel satisfied and fulfilled. That made me cranky.

By day five the headaches were gone, but I still had constant hunger. The book said that I was supposed to feel more satisfied after a meal and would rarely ever feel hungry, so I was a bit confused.

Over the last week I’ve strayed on two occasions which were situational. Warning: excuse alerts! On Friday I had some waffle fries because I was driving two hours to Jacksonville to visit my Gramma and it was more convenient than alternatives (and I didn’t want to feel hungry for two hours while driving, sue me). On Saturday I took my daughter to Dairy Queen, which was a treat for me when I was a kid spending the summer at Gramma’s, so that was a nostalgic thing.

Other than those two instances, I’ve remained true. I’ve had nothing to drink besides one glass of unsweetened iced tea, water and coffee. I’ve had very substantial meals of meats and veggies with light snacking of carrot sticks, some turkey lunch meat and mixed nuts. Even gluten-free, wheat-free brownies are okay (I think).

Sunday I took a swim and did a few laps in earnest, and afterwards felt light-headed and shaky–exactly how I felt when I didn’t eat before a workout. I chalk it up to blood-sugar issues getting used to what’s going on with my body.

Things really started clicking last night when I noticed I felt good. I wasn’t hungry. Nothing hurt. My mind was clear and stress and anxiety levels were non-existant.

I’ve noticed some physical changes as well–my face is slightly thinner and I’ve lost a little from my abdomen region. As long as I don’t drink afternoon coffee, I sleep much better. I sleep a lot more deeply the first few hours with much less tossing and turning, and I’ve naturally risen way before my normal wake-up time (like before 6AM!) a few times. These are all benefits that are expected from the diet.

So here we go on to week two. I’ll post updates as I get along.

Vacation Out, Reality In

Guitar Frets: Environmental Enforcement Leaves Musicians in Fear | Postmodern Times – WSJ.com

Jonathan Brown — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:12:37 +0000

This is crazy. So one of the few storied manufacturers left in the US has to deal with this kind of crap every few years? We have no shot at rebuilding our manufacturing base with the overreaching environmental community, I’m afraid.

On border patrol and customs:

It’s not enough to know that the body of your old guitar is made of spruce and maple: What’s the bridge made of? If it’s ebony, do you have the paperwork to show when and where that wood was harvested and when and where it was made into a bridge? Is the nut holding the strings at the guitar’s headstock bone, or could it be ivory? “Even if you have no knowledge—despite Herculean efforts to obtain it—that some piece of your guitar, no matter how small, was obtained illegally, you lose your guitar forever,” Prof. Thomas has written. “Oh, and you’ll be fined $250 for that false (or missing) information in your Lacey Act Import Declaration.”

Guitar Frets: Environmental Enforcement Leaves Musicians in Fear | Postmodern Times – WSJ.com.

Hat tip to @stringsn88keys

My New Guitar

Beatles Abbey Road Pumpking

Jonathan Brown — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:26:50 +0000

This pumpkin from 2007 started the annual
tradition that Alexandra and I carve a Beatles themed pumpkin each Halloween.

Posted from my Flickr account.

The Beatles Jumping Pumpkin

Jonathan Brown — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:19:55 +0000

This year’s Beatles pumpkin (the 4th since we started this tradition) is the famous Beatles"jump" photo taken by Dezo Hoffman in April 1963.

Alexandra helped a lot this time around. She cleaned the pumpkin and carved out Paul (the far right) and Ringo (2nd from left).

Posted from my Flickr account.

Halloween 2010 – Alex as Na’vi

Jonathan Brown — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:49:41 +0000

Another House Photo

Jonathan Brown — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:12:49 +0000

This image is tone-mapped from three bracketed exposure shots.

Posted from my Flickr account.

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My Abode

Jonathan Brown — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:57:52 +0000

After spending the afternoon working on the yard, I decided this was probably the best it was ever going to look with me doing the landscaping.

Posted from my Flickr account.

Griffey Jr. Goes Yard

Alex’s Webkinz Contest Video

Jonathan Brown — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:03:57 +0000

Alexandra’s submission for the Webkinz Video Star contest. She needs views, people, so please help her out and pass along to friends.

Posted from my YouTube account.

Beatleween 2009

Jonathan Brown — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:05:21 +0000

For this year’s pumpkin, I wanted to take a stab (no pun intended) at a carving with some shading technique. After considering Alex’s choice (the boys jumping), I decided I wanted the band with their instruments.

This carving turned out to be quite involved. The carving alone took about six hours, but I was slowed by my side project–a stop motion animation of the carving. This added greatly to the time, having to clean and snap a photo after every cut.

Overall the project turned out pretty good if I say so.

Here’s the animation:

Don’t Hang on the Rail!

Jonathan Brown — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:58:15 +0000

Alex hangs from a hand rail in the pool. Used iPhone 3GS with Vint Shift app to take photo and Photoshop for iPhone to add vibrancy. Very cool combo.

Posted from my Flickr account.