Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Raw Paleo Diet Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: joej627 on August 11, 2012, 07:31:05 pm
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Hey guys,
Raw seems a lot easier to me during the summer. Lots of fruits, fresh veggies, plant fats, etc. As fall and winter are rolling in I can see me wanting more and more cooked foods, etc. For those staying fairly high-raw, what are some things you do to stay warm in the winter? Especially concerning food.
-Joe
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Long-term RVAFers invariably find that they improve their blood circulation etc. to the point where they can tolerate cold temperatures without any issues. I always eat a much higher percentage of raw plant foods during the summer.
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Just get as much cold as you can do. It will make your body produce heat. Brown fat.
I do this, and you get used. Everyone knows, when you have been in hotter climate it feels much colder when you go back to colder at first.
Cold thermogenesis. In winter you need lots of cold. And ketogenic food. Never eat fruit in winter, very stupid and unnatural (if you do not live in the tropics). That's how nature rolls, and how can it be wrong...?!
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Long-term RVAFers invariably find that they improve their blood circulation etc. to the point where they can tolerate cold temperatures without any issues. I always eat a much higher percentage of raw plant foods during the summer.
exactly this ^
i deal with the cold much better now. cooked food only helped me momentarily. raw fats keep me quite warm pretty much permanantly.
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Yea, This all sounds good. I just haven't fully delved into the large amounts of raw animal foods thing yet. My body is liking the transition. I think one thing I keep overlooking is eating foods more room temperature. I mean if we get back to "nature" as Inger states, animals that eat animals eat them warm usually. No warm-blooded animal is refrigerator temperature when they eat it. So yea, I think lots of salmon, bone marrow, raw butter, eggs, and fattier meats sounds like the way to go. @Inger, can you sum up cold thermogenesis for me real quick? I do hot/cold showers sometimes but my adrenals are not the best so I need to be careful with all of that to not get chilled.
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when i eat my meat meal i heat up like a little furnace!, so eating raw in the summer is what's more planning for me because i don't do well with plant foods. this summer, i've been eating more and smaller meals so i don't feel too much heat at one time.... it's working :)
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@ Ioanna, makes sense so you eat your meats at room temp? Honestly think part of my problem is congested liver/GB so the good fats are not digesting great all the time
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i leave my meats in the fridge on a rack to age... gives them extra flavor and better digestibility. so if i take some out for later (on a work day) it will be at room temp, but otherwise it may still be chilled. if it's fresh, i hate it from the fridge, i prefer at room temp. but if it's been aged a while it's good either way. i'm better than when i started, but my fat digestion is not so great yet.
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Eat a piece or 2 of high meat, every day, clean out. When I eat congesting/cheat foods I take an elixir of DE, magnesium, and MSM before bed. It sweeps my GI tract clean of inflammation and congestion. Do it a few nights in a row and a high meat appetizer in the morning. I can digest anything now. I often eat fruit, vegies, meat, and whole eggs in a meal. No gas, no bloating, and perfect stools.
I like warm food in winter too, especially at breakfast. I don't have time to set my food out before work. I make bone broth and heat a cup at a time and dip my cold meat in it or just put it all it the broth before I eat it. That is particularly good for cold fish and chicken. For beef I use a cast iron pan on low heat and melt coconut oil, olive oil, butter, marrow or fat. I use my finger and check that it is just warm and not burning me. I especially like it with salt, pepper and herbs. Then, roll meat in warm oil, until it is all soaked up, using your finger to check the temp. The meat is perfect this way. I should make a video so you see that it doesn't have to cook one bit, the oil probably a little damaged :'( . If it is a thick steak you can cut it or just let it be cool in the middle, when it is warm on the outside you won't mind. For lunch I just put it in my locker at my break and it is perfect by lunch. I feel like I've posted this before, sorry about deja post
The cold is really a state of mind, but you have to build up to it. Avoid hot showers, add as much cool as you can and still be comfortable. Do a few squats or a hand stand first so your warm going in. Then, switch to cold. I went cool then cold last year, but I think it's a waste. You will suffer until your skin is numb, then your fine. So, go directly to cold and get it over with quicker, I start with my legs then arms, chest, back, and head last. You stay in freezing cold shower until you are bright red and can't take it any more. Use a timer and play your favorite music. You're doing well if you can hold out a min on your first try, after a week you should be up to 3-5min and in a month 20min. Then, you can go to baths. Don't do a cold bath until you can go 20mins in shower, too dangerous. I can't get cold enough in my bath with a bucket of ice. I soak until the ice is all melted and I don't get a rewarm at all. Rewarm is when your body is warming the chilled blood on the surface and letting it back into the circulation. I used to shiver uncontrollable for 2 hours. So, that's progress.
Cold alone is not enough, you have to sleep at night too and of course eat well. Inger's all about Jack but I like Wim Hoff too. He eats garbage and smokes cigarettes, but he has beautiful philosophy with cold training. He loves the cold so dearly that it rubs off on you. When you love something you embrace it. That is the key. He says any cold training is good cold training. That is the idea behind what Inger posted. Every bit of cold you gets makes you stronger. Even cold food and drinks.
When we are cold we feel vulnerable, but as you adapt you become strong and flexible. A breeze that once would have chilled you and sent you off to find a sweater, makes you suck in the cold air and clears your head. Once you are cold adapted you still feel the cold but you have a constant inner fire. Have you ever chopped wood in a tee shirt with the snow falling? You know the snow is cold but it doesn't get inside you. Jack explains the biochem really well, your hormones (think thyroid) respond better. It also improves circulation and nerve flow - that I have had huge improvements with, my hormones are still trashed, but I've had tons of carbs and stress for 40yrs, I cheat myself , and my metabolism is trashed from 16 years with type 1 diabetes. It takes time to heal that much abuse on your glands.
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I prefer to challenge the body via exercise, rather than cold.
But if you enjoy the cold so much.. why not :D
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Eat more fat and you will stay warm in winter.
Plus wear more clothes - I like to wear a T shirt + poly dressing gown + padded dressing gown and am nice and toastie warm all winter evening without heating ;D
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Very interesting on the cold thermogenesis stuff. I always wonder like, how can thin-furred critters like birds, squirrels, rabits, etc stay warm in the winter? Obviously they have a fur coat but if I had their "coat" it would not keep me warm. I do instinctively think that humans have evolved to handle a lot more temperature extremes than we currently do. more of a health thing. I will try the cold showers thing because I love the idea of sucking in cool fresh air. I actually enjoy just breathing air especially in the very early spring and fall/early winter. I feel as I get healthier I will be living off of the elements more and less off of food so it's good to keep learning about it all =) I also liked the idea of rolling the meat in a little oil on a skillet.
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I'm excited for you. The water is quicker to train in than cold air, because it freezes your skin rapidly. Your arms and hands won't move right when there numb. You will have to endure the rewarms too. Commit to a week or so until you get to at least 8 mins in the cold shower. It will be hard to notice changes this time of year. I started in the winter. I noticed after a few days that I was comfortable in less clothes when people around me were complaining. You will have full use of your extremities and the cold ache will be gone. You'll go from brief shock to numb. Wim advises feeling the spot in your center where you are the warmest and keeping/returning your focus there. It builds and reassures you -Not much at first, but it is something. The cold is a hard teacher, but she will make you strong. Wim Hoff and realize what is possible. He is just an old man with bad habits. You likely could achieve more.
I'm going to duck hunt in Oct. I'm excited because I can wade out in ice water and not need all the gear. I imagine hunting in general will be much easier with light clothing and foot wear, cleaning and skinning without having my fingers go numb. Sitting quiet for hours in the snow is powerful training too.
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Obviously they have a fur coat but if I had their "coat" it would not keep me warm.
Sure it would, at least it does those that buy such fur coats.
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Yea, This all sounds good. I just haven't fully delved into the large amounts of raw animal foods thing yet.
I have found that to be the key--especially raw animal fats. Since including lots of raw animal fats in my diet, I've come to enjoy all but the most extreme cold weather in winter. Raw suet seems to generate the most heat of the foods I've tried. I now prefer winter temps to hot, and even warm, summer temps (though I like the sunshine of summer). The ideal weather for me now is a cold winter day with clear, sunny skies and little wind (the rapidly changing chill from wind is more difficult for the body to adapt to than low temps) and an icy river to dip my feet in.
For the first time in my life, I find myself looking forward to winter (in childhood I enjoyed it, but not to the extent of looking forward to it) and recently told a coworker that I miss the invigorating cold of winter (which surprised her, of course). It helps too that I don't have to drive to work.