I was just reading Gwen's latest, about a Mark's Daily Apple post which really resonated with her. HER part of the writing is reasonable and heart-felt, but more and more i get the feeling that what Mark writes is no longer very applicable to me.
That fact doesn't BOTHER me -- i don't expect his writings to have universal applicability -- but more and more he's writing things like (paraphrased) "EVERYONE needs to eat their veggies" and "EVERYONE needs x amount of exercise"....
NO. No, we don't, and i don't care how many appeals to authority he throws in -- actually the more he DOES, the less i'll take him seriously.
I certainly agree that to have a good life you have to prioritize and take care of your own health, through doing and eating things that will make your body and mind perform to the best of its ability. What i disagree with is that one is only doing so when personalizing HIS SYSTEM ... and yes, he's subtle, but that's the message that's coming across. We have to eat what HE considers "healthy," we have to get the KINDS of exercise he describes as effective, we have to participate in physical "play," we have to have the kind of social life that his research shows to be important....
We are all more different than he's giving us credit for. What some people consider "fun" i might consider stress. The diet that makes me feel best is actively harmful to others. Somebody else's cozy social life ... i frequently find disruptive to thought, and smothering.
We can't PLAN joy -- we have to recognize it when it pops out to surprise us. And savor it when it happens.
We can't please everyone, so we gotta please ourselves ... at least part of the time. And not feel guilty about it, or that we're doing it "wrong."
I got annoyed by Mark's posts regularly, the whole paleo thing is getting under my skin more and more, even though I do think that playing into a paleo game is 99% beneficial for the people who are involved. As a mother of a young man, I care about current behavior trends. With Paleo movement in a picture more people will buy grass-fed cows, attempt to eat liver, run bare-feet and avoid donuts, breakfast serials and bread together with the rest of grains. Way better than another wide-spread food movement - vegetarianism. So , overall , the existing of a paleo movement is doing way more good than any harm. There are not logical things which they are doing, but following stupid rituals is what people in a group do in order to conform their membership. Just look at religious rituals or at Masons. There are way more stupid religious food restrictions than in order to go to heaven without any proove that somebody actually went there at all. Paleos are interested in a such reasonable thing as getting healthier.
ReplyDeleteit's a bit of a grief to me that he's going down the road he is -- at one time he was the most reasonable and reliable voice out there. :-( oh well, "this too shall pass"....
DeleteI think it is better to admit that Paleo-movement is oriented on younger mostly male audience, and to low expectations that Paleo guru's advice would be reasonable for your case. We are different case, and we depend mostly on self observations. Many people looking for a clear set of rules and somebody's guidance.
DeleteTess, I agree with you. Mark is singing to the male and/or younger crowd which is ok. Old, fat women are really on no one's radar so we have to find what works for us on our own. I've recently gone back to the meat, bone broth and some eggs woe. Low carb with vegetables/berries doesn't work for me at all.
ReplyDelete:-D one thing about us older broads -- most of us have learned how to be strong-minded and stick to what we know is effective.... I think it's cute how Wooo is "celebrating the freedom of being older" at the age of 32!
DeleteWe can't ignore human nature, and it is unnatural for human beings to worry about health until it is usually too late, but some lucky individuals manage to wake up just in time, what is Gwen's case. It is normal to have different priorities in life than a healthy life-style, especially when young. We (my family members) have to manage our allergies, and I also have migraines, so we have to manage to find a balance between not having allergic flares and living our lives in the list disturbed by a chronical condition way, but it forced us to be more mindful about life-stile choices in general.
ReplyDeleteI give a Paleo movement a big credit for creating a cool reason for a healthy behavior for young people. Usually being young means being reckless. Younger crowd needs way more motivation than us, for better or for worse, our bodies are less forgiving when it comes to indulgences of any kind.
all this is so true! with out current food sources, water and air being in the damaged state they are, the younger these "kids" learn to take care of themselves the better! i'm SO happy my daughter is bearing it in mind with herself and family!
DeleteI'm at zerocarb again and I feel much better. Those oh so valuable veggies reek havoc with my system. The pain is awful and keeps me from sleep. I take a multivitamin with minerals about once a week...I don't care what other think anymore.
ReplyDelete:-) i'm still amazed on a certain level that my "very unbalanced" diet makes me feel so much better.... the brainwashing of a lifetime is not always easy to overcome!
DeleteI thought about Tess when I read that article. I also thought how I don't seem any worse for getting only 1.25 hours of exercise a week. I might get more if I lived in Malibu.
ReplyDeletelol -- oh dear, I hate to be too predictable! ;-) yeah, I don't "get exercise" very often ... but then again I have four stories of house in which I do most of the cleaning. I once tried to count how many flights of stairs I traversed on an ordinary day, but lost count after 18.
DeleteFirst off, Mark is paleo. He's primal (his phase), which is paleo with dairy if YOU can consume it, and a mindset about types of exercise he finds works best. That said, he is strong to push 'what works for you' and a general 80/20 principle. We shall agree to disagree on him and precepts. I don't do his type of exercise, although I mean to give sprints a try. I don't seek out grass fed meats because I can't really afford them. I try organic but don't sweat it when I can't get it readily. I like certain types of veggies, and I eat those. What I don't like, I trust my multi vitamins to handle, and don't sweat the small stuff, or 'macros' that are the going rage everywhere on the internet. I firmly believe all would benefit from virtually no grains, sugar, processed (chemically) foods but I realize I can't force a horse to drink the water, I can only lead (usually by example) them there.
ReplyDeleteI consider Mark a real guru for me, because his principles have revolutionized my health, but I realize not everyone will agree or might have body responses that make it difficult.
c'est la vie.
if he works for YOU, that's the valid point. when i started this path, i found him a valuable resource, and his core message hasn't really changed, but what he writes about has.
Deleteputting up a blog with new material EVERY DAY, you might just run short of things to say....