The Primal Blueprint 21 Day Challenge... Round 17

I have just begun my ump-teenth restart of the Primal Blueprint 21 Day Challenge. For anyone who does not know, The Primal Blueprint is my most favorite lifestyle movement. It is akin to Paleo, only less strict, with a dash of Keto, a chunk of congruent human movement, and a whole bag of good living.

I was introduced to Mark Sisson via an online interview with a chiropractor way back in 2014. Mark runs a website, marksdailyapple.com (since 2006), and wrote a book, The Primal Blueprint (in 2009), in which he details his observations and research into "Ancestral Eating and Movement Habits." Basically, how to "Live Awesome." His book details his research into his brand of Ancestral Eating and Living Habits, what did our ancestors do 100,000 years ago. He argues, quite eloquently, that the height of human evolution was 10,000 years ago and before. Since then we have declined drastically. I will not go further into the specifics, but I want to convey that his logic and logical leaps make good solid sense, and are being proven right by scientists and medical science.

• Commentary: Here is Mark's simple statement that is both a "...powerful and compelling rationale for living according to the Primal Blueprint:" 
• "Human beings prevailed despite incalculable odds by adapting to the life-or-death selection pressures in their environment over thousands of generations. Our primal ancestors were lean, strong, smart, and productive, which enabled them to survive, reproduce, and ultimately rule over more physically imposing members of the animal kingdom. This is no mean feat, yet conventional wisdom has essentially dismissed the legacy of our ancestors in favor of easy, quick-fix "solutions" to ill health that sell regardless of negligible long-term results." 

Shortly thereafter, I became a Primal Blueprint Certified Expert. An online program that has since become the accredited Primal Health Coach certification program. I maintain the certification every two years, much like my chiropractic relicensure every two years.

• Commentary: Lets be very fuh-ing careful here, I did not say they are equal. I can just hear the anti-chiropractic hacks saying something like, "you said 'just like your chiropractic license!'" The FACT is that the chiropractic degree and license is equal to a medical doctor's degree and license (except for prescriptive privileges, obviously). The Primal Blueprint course and certification is like any certification that deepens and broadens a persons knowledge base. I am certified in many things, none of which are equal to my chiropractic degree but all make me a better practitioner. My goal, as always, is to develop myself as a higher standard; to bring the highest level of clinical excellence to my patients and my work.

Since 2015 I have done The Primal Blueprint 21 Challenge 10 times, this number also includes my 21 day Standard Process Cleanses. Each time I do the challenges I come out the other side feeling better, thinking faster and doing great. Unfortunately, every time I commit to a challenge I lose no to little weight. This has been deeply disheartening. This year, though, I finally feel a breakthrough and I am committing differently. First, I am in dire need to move more. One of the "action items" is to move everyday and commit to 2-3 workouts per week. I have been remiss in this endeavor, every single time. Second, I am not going to focus on my weight. Instead, I will focus on vital signs, such as blood pressure, pulse rate and pulse ox, as well as body measurements, waist, chest, neck, thigh and arms.

My hope is that I will see definitive changes in addition to feeling better. I have so many stories of people failing themselves, just as I have, because they were utilizing too much willpower and not enough easy lifestyle changes. Even though The Primal Blueprint is among the easiest of any of the lifestyle programs, I have found myself trying too hard. This should be easy. It has been shown that the number one reason for poor compliance to a diet is reliance on too much willpower. Essentially, the harder a diet is to stick too, the less chances people will stick to it. The Primal Blueprint has ease built right into it, but somehow I have fuh-ed that up and made it about me battling me. This is a no win scenario if I have ever seen one!

This time to victory. This time to the truest expression of my health. This time to ease and gentleness. This time I will breech the walls of Troy, not with strength of numbers and willpower, but with clever, cunning and seamless ease.

I will keep this post updated as to my progress...

Thank you for reading,
DocBDC

Yvette posts schlock.

I was not interested in blogging about Yvette d'Entremont, but she just keeps writing schlock.

A few posts ago I wrote about my anger with Joe Rogan's interview with Yvette where they unjustly attacked chiropractors. He had has a personal story, in which I sympathize. She is a mere malinger, a hypercritic, with just a dash of slanderer.

She calls herself the "Scibabe", a handle in which a colleague of mine wrote, "... to which she is neither a babe nor a scientist." Briefly, she has degrees in forensics and chemistry, but left her life of science to pursue her blogging career. Her mission is to, "create a formula of busting commonly accepted pseudoscience with a combination of accessibly written, accurate science (and a side of dirty jokes) ... reliable and entertaining source of information in a world wrought with fake news."

I can honestly say that had Yvette actually stuck to the science part of her bio, I would not have a problem. She seems grossly unable to separate actual science from her "humor", though. It seems that in her attempts to blend her "humor" with science, she struggles with personal bias. Therefore, her articles are filled with half-truths, misconceptions and conjecture... basically, schlock. Lots and lots of schlock. Which I might add is exactly what "fake news" is.

Below is a response I wrote to my mother when she emailed me one of Yvette's articles about the Keto diet and how it may be terrible for you. Enjoy:

"I read the whole article. Yvette brings up some interesting points as well as some cause for consideration. I agree that dieting is a very personal decision and that “sticking” to a diet has higher outcomes. I don’t agree that, “...calories are calories are calories.” A statement she makes in the article AND contradicts multiple times. 

She continues to try to compare Keto to Atkins, but she is mistaken... or trying too hard. The paleo/primal/Keto movement has spend a good deal of effort to correct the flaws of the Atkins diet and paleo/primal are not the same as Atkins. The similarity between Keto and Atkins is not as close as she presents. She spends about 1/2 the article talking about Keto & Atkins, this is not impressive. 

The trick of dieting is finding what works for you, this I completely agree. If it’s Keto, low-carb, paleo, primal, Mediterranean, Siberian, Native American, Ayurvedic, quick weight loss, etc., a person must find the diet-style that they can make their own. I take it 1 step further in saying that a persons nutritional needs may require some blending of 2 or more of the above. Personally, I feel great when I’m on Keto, but I feel even better when I cycle Keto with Primal. 

Ryan and I were discussing that the people who experience unparalleled success are going so far to track, not only their macros (protein, carbs, fat), but their micros (electrolytes, minerals, vitamins, etc). This requires tremendous intention and planning, which brings us back to sticking with a diet. This is the key. Planning makes a diet or eating style doable. That, in my opinion, was why quick weight loss worked so well. You were planning everyday, every meal. It was set!

On a more personal note, Yvette d’Entremont is on my  shit-list. She calls herself “The Scibabe” and makes a living using science, or her opinion of science, to criticize and delegitimize professions and movements. Nothing I've seen from her is an original. Her opinions are usually predictable and the “science” she uses to support her view is often cherry-picked to support whatever she’s discrediting. I’m sure the research she referenced in the article is the same. Her education is in forensics and chemistry, yet I usually find her demoting healthcare professions & practices, and now diets. Read her commentary with full knowledge that she is a muckraker... and not a very good one. 

Also, The Outline is an online “media” company who’s goal is to create a small social media footprint by having people come directly to their website to read their articles. They were founded in 2016 and had 16 employees, all of whom were from entertainment magazines like Vox or Buzzfeed. I am suspecting the budget is tight. 

This year all of the employees were fired and the company only uses freelance writers. This is where “scibabe” comes in, she’s only written for them since earlier this year. You guessed it, all of her articles are about bashing others. From celebrities, to pet healthcare, to the dangers of Chiropractors, and now Keto, she covers some ground. 

I just wanted to give you some context on the article. Thanks for sending it to me."

So there you have it. My response to my mom. It was not as complete and detailed as I like, but it covered the basics. Yvette d'Entremont is an uneventful neerdowell. As I checked her past articles in "The Outline," nothing was original. One article that caught my eye was titled, "Chiropractors are bullshit." I am not going to do myself the disservice of reading it, but I know what is written there within, more Yvette schlock.

I really wish her well, in anything else other than what she is doing now. She apparently wants to make a name for herself as some sort of "truth-seeker" or "science vigilante", but her game is tired. It has been done before by much smarter and much angrier people. They are gone and chiropractic is still around, stronger than ever. They also flung poo, like so many poo-throwing monkeys, but their stink did not stick. The greatest part of all of the "chiropractic is antiscience" idiots, is that no one remembers them. Chiropractic continues to flourish, yet no one remembers the fools that tried too hard to bend facts to meet their theories. I fear for Yvette that she is heading down the same road. That for all of her effort, she will drift further into obscurity never having had made a positive impact on the world. Do better, Yvette. Be better.

Thank you for reading

DocBDC

I deleted my Facebook

As a forty first birthday present, I deleted my Facebook account... forever. There have been a number of reasons for this, but ultimately, I just never use my account.

I have been angry at Facebook since the 2016 elections where they knowing collected personal data and sold it to foreign companies. I was also angry about Facebook's refusal to take responsibility for all of the misinformation being originated and passed around it's platform. I was enraged about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. I was infuriated that Facebook dragged its feet to track and delete the foreign and domestic bots that had set up hundreds of thousands of fake accounts all with the intent of wreaking havoc to social discourse.

Facebook's lack of responsibility and greed for money has changed the political and social landscape, possibly forever. I do not believe it has been for the better, but for the worse.

Facebook finally began doing something about the aforementioned crimes, but it is 2018. For me it is too little too late.

Yet, I just read last week that Facebook is under investigation again for allowing anti-gay groups to advertise "gay-cure camps" on the Facebook pages of young LGBT people.

I have had it. I do not know much about it's interior structure, but Facebook is shaping up into being the social media equivalent of Monsanto. For those of you who do not know Monsanto, they are "Round Up," and they may be the most evil company on the face of the planet.

That is why I left, because I never use my account and I no longer wish to associate with Facebook.


Thank you for reading,
DocBDC

A podcast to which I just listened

I recently finished listening to a podcast by Drew Manning. Drew is the face of the Fit2Fat2Fit brand. A number of years ago he wrote a book detailing how he went from, you guessed it, fit-to-fat-to-fit again. He is a driving force in the keto movement and his work is well researched as well as uniquely being reported first-hand.

His podcast was celebrating it's centennial, 100th episode, and he decided that this was the perfect opportunity to detail his challenges over the last few years, but more importantly, his growth. I am not getting into too much detail so here are the bullet-points: He had a very conservative Mormon upbringing, the early teens brought the discovery of pornography and masturbation, because of the conservative nature of his upbringing he felt unsafe to confide in his support structure (family or temple), this began a spiral of self-loathing and disgust due to his "sinning", the spiral never stopped because he never dealt with it to which ultimately lead to an affair, this of coarse lead to a divorce, which lead him to a path of self-discovery. This path is where he is now where he has learned to love and forgive himself. This growth has been freeing and he no longer seeks pornography nor masturbation.

In the end he is happy. He has discovered his "true-self" and is living his authentic truth. This is freeing and he has taken responsibility for his actions and choices. Better still, his life has become fuller and he is more authentic, which means he enjoys even more success in all areas of his life.

• Commentary: I do not understand Mormons, I never have. I dated a Mormon in college. She was in full rebellion of the faith but her family practiced religiously. This was my first and most intimate experience with Mormons, other than "Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet." Over many more years, I met and acquainted many more. There seems, in my opinion and with all due respect, a very distinct thread that connects them all. Whether they are practicing Mormons, recovering Mormons, or just not practicing, there is just something in their behavior or in the way they hold themselves that "gives them away." I usually describe it as an "oddity," but that is unfair. It could be described as "quirky," but that is too simple. There is just something different about them, and as a Jew with our long history, I find it somewhat off-putting. Call me paranoid, but my people have a long and rocky history with religions where the figureheads "talks with g-d."

So I will begin my portion of this post in the same way I will end it. This podcast was deep and courageous. I am sure that I could discuss my demons openly if I were pressed or my life crashed down around me, but I do not want to in any way. The fact that he did is inspirational. I appreciate his words, his story, and especially how he found his truth and joy. So instead of podcasting or broadcasting my story I will summarize it here.

My teen years also brought the discovery of pornography. I remember my neighbor gave me a VHS and told me I could watch it while I took care of his house, as he was away for work. It was awesome. Needless to say, I quickly found my way to masturbation. I was not brought up in a conservative household. We are Jewish and our values/beliefs land us somewhere between reform and conservative Judaism, that means we were pretty liberal. My parents were both activists in the 60's and 70's, so we were brought up with a fair and lenient hand. My mother was, and still is, an active feminist. Growing up the only thing I knew about my mom's views on porn was that she believes it objectifies women, and she did not want her sons objectifying women. So I never told my parents about my porn collection or masturbation, but both were extensive.

As I got older, I did struggle with the sheer power of my urges. This lead, briefly, to questioning my inner strength, discipline and self-worth. However, by the time I was 26, I was long past anything that resembled self-loathing, and I would never describe myself as disgusting. I had quite a few girlfriends that did not understand, but it never got in the way nor became a reason to breakup. I also had girlfriends that did not care, or encouraged me, so it seems that my masturbation never really amounted to much. For me, masturbation was, and still is, a wonderful release, and pornography is a great tool to enhance the experience. I am in my forties now, and I do not hate myself, nor question my actions. Masturbation is one of the ways in which I find an "outlet" and it does not lead me toward any ill-gotten behavior.

• Commentary: The thought did cross my mind while I was writing this that I did not openly discuss masturbating over the years. I guess an argument could be made that my actions belie some possible shame. To this though, I retort that nobody talks about masturbation in our society, so I did not either. It might have been embarrassing if someone was pressing me about it in order to squeeze a laugh, but I have never been embarrassed by the act itself. Another reason I did not discuss my masturbation in much the same way I do not discuss having sex with my wife. It is just not part of my daily, weekly or monthly repertoire. I was never the guy in the locker room bragging about the girls I slept with, those guys are just fuhing scum, period. 

The biggest difference between Drew and I is that I loved and accepted myself much earlier, including my masturbation. For far longer than he, I was at peace with my choice. It in no way makes me a bad person. It is not a "sin". I do not bring judgment unto myself for partaking in a "quick wank" now and again, nor do I judge anyone else.

I am married to a gorgeous woman and we have two beautiful daughters. I feel secure in my vows to my wife and our family. Drew mentions that he never thought he would engage in an affair, but that it just happened. I have never experienced a "just happened" with anyone, for anything. It takes work to build to intimacy, physical or otherwise. So I do not understand what he meant, but I am confident that I have depth enough to veer away from any potential "just happens".

So here I am, a forty-something that watches porn and masturbates periodically. I probably have a porn addiction to some degree or another, possibly like a functional alcoholic. However, my family has had some life changing lows over the last couple years, and I have not wanted to wander, nor has masturbation reach any fervor pitch. I am not so foolish as to say that porn is helping me from cheating, but as it stand right now, my masturbation is not garnering a "crack in the armor". It is not "making" me a bad person, nor "ushering" me to choose poorly.

I admit, I have never cheated on anyone. I have been cheated on a couple of times and that hurt, a changed my life kind of hurt. As I listened to Drew divulge his demon, I realized fast that I could only empathize/sympathize part of the way. I was not able to understand about half of what he was talking about. Maybe it was his delivery, the way in which he speaks, or maybe there was not enough common ground between him and I.

Regardless, this is my confession. It is the only one in all of the world and I have posted it to a blog in which almost no one reads nor do I allow posted comments. On the one hand I can say I have purged this into the 'verse, and on the other, it remains mine alone.


I conclude by saying again, Drew is brave. His podcast and full expose' of his transgression, his demon and redemption, is inspirational and powerful. I hope for him the best, as well as his ex-wife, in all of his endeavors. The lesson I took away from this is that we must actively seek out those things in our heads and hearts that pull us down and try to break our spirit, our demons and delusions. We must shine a light on them and deal with them. Seek help from life-coaches, therapists, support groups, psychologists, etc. Read self-help book or seek the gurus. I recommend Aubrey Marcus' "Go for Your Win" course. It helped me tremendously, and as I have said in posts past. The course is not something brand-new, Aubrey just packages and presents in a way I can understand and mentally digest.

Thank you for reading. This was not a difficult post to write, because I truly believe no one will ever read it. However, if you are here, you have read the whole thing and know much more about my life that most. I appreciate your attention.

DocBDC

Sexist? Let's be careful

I was going to refrain from posting this for a few reasons. One, I do not like calling individuals out (not that I am going to name names, but I do not like getting specific). Two, this tangentially concerns the "me too" movement and I have learned one thing above all else, "do not mess with 'me too,' do not even breathe. It is still new and people like me, nobodies, usually end up as collateral damage." Three, there is no way that I walk away from this without having someone agree with the accusation against me...

• Commentary: To that I say fuh-you, fuh off and, of coarse, go fuh yourself.

A few days ago I was discussing my daughter's schooling with a patient. The patient had spent her career in the county school district and she seemed an excellent resource. I pointed out that my daughter was struggling with reading and reading comprehension. Her math scores where impressively high and she was helping the boys with their math problems, but her reading was behind. I momentarily spoke that it is odd that a mid-elementary school girl would struggle with reading, but not math. I have always learned, through neurology courses and books, that boys and girls are about even, as it comes to math and English, at 6 years of age but as they get older they tend to gravitate toward, girls: English and boys: math.

• Commentary: I'll wait as you create your preconceived notion, my patient certainly did. Understand, I have read numerous books and taken even more classes about neurological development, developmental delays, and general neurology, with regard to examination and function. I've read books authored by John Medina, PhD., Dr. Micheal Hall, Dr. Drew Rubin, Dr. Martin Rosen, R. John Leigh, Stanley Hoppenfield, and many others.

I mentioned to my patient that everyone is different with varying skills I did not mean to imply... She cut me off and said, "Sexist. You are a sexist."


I was hit like a ton of bricks. I did not know how to respond. In a flash, I realized I could disagree, argue my innocence. I could backtrack or side-step. I did not know what to do. She just stood there looking at me waiting for my response, to which I said, "Sure. Sure, I'm a sexist." I hated saying that and I despise her for putting me in that position. I have been chewing on that filth all week and I am angry about it. It is not just that I said it, it is that I said it to "save a sale," to "keep the patient happy" and to "mind the peace." I did not provide my honesty, my integrity...

• Commentary: That's my fault and I own that shit. I have to, and I have to live with the fact that I let myself get cornered and I did not stick up for myself.

My mother is a feminist, my father completely supports feminism, my wife is a feminist, I've aunts who are feminists and my sisters-in-laws are strong independent women. I have two daughters and I want for them to be strong independent women who do not rely on anyone. I want my daughters to build strong productive relationships with men who honor their strength and independence. Much like I do with my wife.

I am not some sort of latent sexist. It is ridiculous. At what point do we just relax? At what point do we stop looking with a magnifying glass for the evils in people? At what point has it gone too far? When do we realize that there needs to be some fuh-ing balance? and while I am on this tangent, at what point do we allow the men who have done some wrong a chance to redeem themselves? At what point do we allow it to be ok to a be a fuh-ing human?

I am not making an appeal to pardon the wicked. I am merely saying that while you are conversing with a good man, perhaps you could dial back the traps, accusations and verbal condemnation.

As you can read, this patient left me with a great deal of disdain and turbulent anger. I am considering ending our doctor-patient relationship. I am afraid that I cannot treat her objectively, right now. In the end, though, I will move past it. This entry will help move that process along. The next time the patient comes in, I will great them with my usual gregarious self, but I will be diminished.

• Commentary: Perhaps, at the end of this, my point is that we all need to be careful what we say and how we say it. You may never know how your words cut into the soft underside of someones soul. You may never know the malcontent you breath life into someone else. The worst thing is that you may never know that someone will hide their true-self from you because of your callousness or thoughtlessness.

As always, thank you for reading and much love,
DocBDC

It was about... But now it's about...

Ok. This is going to read as a bit strange, but I have moved past this subject matter and I do not want to dwell on it anymore.

My original topic was about the "open relationship", the polyamorous, or multi-partner relationships. I follow Aubrey Marcus' podcast, have read his book "Own your day, own your life," and I've taken his "Go for your win" online course.

• Commentary: I would strongly advise his book and/or his course. The information there within has been covered by self-help gurus and biohackers, but Aubrey's style of delivery makes his work very worthwhile. Personally, his book and course have helped redirect my life and choices to better myself and become the best version of me. I know, that sounds super-cliche and dumb-cheesy, but his work was the perfect material at the perfect time and I do not apologize for loving it.

Aubrey advocates for open-relationships. He and his fiance are actively exploring what they call their "open relationship experiment," and he talks a good amount about it. He argues that if, IF, you are going to use the common ideology that, "in order to optimize your greatest expression of health, you must give your genes what they 'expect'", then you must also look to how primal man/woman partook in relationships. His answer to, "How did primal man/woman partake in relationships?," is that they had, what we would call, open relationships...

• Commentary: If you want to learn more there are some great interviews with Dr. Chris Ryan, I think that's his name, on Aubrey Marcus' podcast. Dr. Ryan wrote a book detailing tribal living and sex. In the book he talks about some of the sexual rituals and relationships of tribal living. It's interesting, at the very least, and he makes a good argument.

I was going to avidly disagreed with this position. I was going to comment on how my people, the Jews (among the oldest of the civilized peoples), have been practicing marriage and monogamy for many millennia. I argued that this is because monogamy addresses the dark side of humanity, jealousy. I argued that polyamory may work in a tribal, intimate, environment, but it does not work in the close, over-crowded proximity of city life. Finally, I argued that humans evolve. We have evolved into monogamy. Monogamy has come from physical, emotional and spiritual needs to connect.

I argued all of this, and then I looked around...

Most of my friends parents are divorced. Most of my friends remain unwed or have divorced. I have friends that have lost their marriages due to an inability to "keep it in their pants," both men and woman.  I have friends that have let the ravages of time tear away at the fabric of their relationship until there was little to none left. I have watched as the people around me, "grow apart," "let it whither," and "change too much."

I thought it was because they did not put enough into the relationships. Did not communicate enough, did not show vulnerability or express their ever-changing desires. I thought it was because one or both parties stop listening and ultimately stop talking. Perhaps this is all true.

However, how many people have to fail at relationships before we realize that maybe it is the structure of the relationships that is at fault. Unreal expectations, inability to verbalize needs, and poor listening skills may just be part of being human and perhaps expecting people who are obviously not ready to commit to one person is folly... ???

I am married to a stunner of woman and we have two amazing daughters. I CANNOT begin to image being intimate with anyone else, but I do have urges, I find women attractive. I sincerely believe this is part of being human. I also sincerely believe in the commitment I made to my wife. I do not feel lessened because I deny my urges. I feel empowered. Empowered because I am in charge of my body, my mind and, most importantly, my choices. The covenant with my wife is not meant to be easy, but then again, nothing that matters is...

I guess where I end up is that I understand the argument for open relationships better than I first thought. After careful deliberation I see the arguments for polyamory to be valid on a cultural level, and also how it can productively impact the ever growing divorce-rate. However, I believe that for my person health and empowerment, for me to "win" at being me, I choose the commitment to my wife. I do so without judgment, resentment or jealously to those that choose to live differently. I have merely found what works best for me.

Thanks for reading.
DocBDC

Blog Update: "Above, Down, Inside-out, and Everything in Between"

Ok! Last name change, I promise.

When I changed the blog from "Doc B on Health & Fitness" to "Linked Life, in Style", I was trying to connect the theme while paying homage to my roots in Linked Lifestyle. Linked Lifestyle was an idea that never took shape, inspired and originated by Brian Barry and myself. We wanted to grow Linked Athletics into something bigger, something that could change lives, not just fitness levels. The idea was to create 5 aspects of health, inspired by my chiropractic education (salutagenesis) and Brian's fitness background. The result was conceptualized in the following graphic:


I am still so very proud of the hard work and thoughtfulness that went into this project. In the end, time, money and energy were the limiting resources... plus I got married and had children.

Back to the point.
I wanted to somehow link the concepts and have that "easter egg" as the title of the blog. After I made the name change, though, I was left unsettled.

My blog had become my journaling station, my thoughts and ideas made digital. It was not about health or fitness or Linked Lifestyle, no matter how much I wanted to make it so.

So I've come to the decision to "rebrand" my blog to "Above, Down, Inside-out, and Everything in Between". It is a mashup of a chiropractic philosophy epitome and a Douglas Adams books. It encompass' everything, and therefore titles this blog perfectly.

Thanks for reading,
DocBDC