What Gets The Green Light?

I want to expose you to simple tools that can radically transform how your body operates. With much study, experience and thought I now present the changes I have made, that have had the biggest impact. These are known as the “green light” choices.

This will be your reference point. A place you can easily come to for a quick check up on your progress. The intention isn’t for an in depth study but a summary of top tips.

Pick some of the green light choices that sit most comfortably with you, and feel free to ignore others. You have to let your convictions be a compass on what you adopt. I’m not looking to “indoctrinate” but to educate.

Nutrition

• Grass-Fed Meat
Best to get this from your local butchers (I use Quality Butchers in Maud Road by Dorchester Hospital)

• Organ Meat
Personally I struggle to eat my 2-3 portions of liver a week, but it is the most nutrient-dense food on the planet. I also enjoy slow cooked lambs heart. It sounds and looks disgusting, hence the cheap price, but tastes just like any other muscle meat.

• Seafood
Try to avoid tinned fish due to the BPA levels from the packaging. Grab some milled and ground seaweed from Naturalife Whilefoods in Dorchester and sprinkle this over your food.

• Vegetables
No peas or sweet corn found here as they aren’t actually vegetables! Mix the colours up, include plenty of green, and don’t overdo starchy varieties. I tend to have an avocado most days for essential fatty acids and energy levels. Try exchanging toxin-filled grains with sweet potato. Check out the “dirty dozen list” which exposes the most highly sprayed fruit and veg and use this to guide you when to go for organic in the supermarket. I have a weekly vegetable box delivered to my door from Riverford, which is fantastic.

• Nuts and Seeds
Nut butters are a good option, as long as they don’t contain vegetable oil, eat in moderation due to the calorific density. Bigger tubs can be purchased online from Myprotein. Peanuts are a legume so no prizes for necking those, although I do tend to have peanut butter as a regular treat to boost calorie intake. Brazil nuts are a great option as they are the best source of selenium. Almonds and pumpkin seeds are highest in protein.
Coconuts are a regular food source for me. They are actually a nut. In the Philippines the coconut tree is called the “Tree of Life”. I use coconut oil daily as a spread or to cook with. The only downside is that as this superfood is getting more publicity the prices are increasing, but this does mean that the saturated fat that coconut it mainly made up of, is finally getting the praise it deserves.

• Eggs
Check out my blog on eggs! I generally have around 3 a day, I buy these in Charminster next to the golf course.

• Organic Dairy Products
If you tolerate dairy this is a great source of nutrients. Butter is the easiest to digest which I daily cook with. Being high in saturated fat, its very stable and therefore safe to heat (extra virgin olive oil is also a great option). I drink unpasteurised milk daily, purchased locally from Modbury Farm in Burton Bradstock. I occasionally have unpasteurised brie from The Fridge in Dorchester. Making yoghurt from the unpasteurised milk, using a simple yoghurt making kit which can be bought cheaply from Amazon is another good option. If you are vegetarian these products are a must to get the protein and essential fats on board.

• Herbs and Spices
Get into a habit of using a wide variety of these with your foods. To name a couple: Turmeric, which contains Curcumin, is described by Dr Ajay Goel as “a complete well-being tonic – it benefits every organ in the body… It shows promise of fighting nearly every disease”. Rosemary contains phytochemicals which boost mind productivity, not to mention being the sole herb in which the fatigue-fighting Carnosol is found.

• Fermented Food
We’ve been eating this stuff for thousands of years, well until recently. This is a must for everyone, its an essential for healthy gut flora. Say good bye to your IBS. Homemade Sauerkraut and yoghurt are easy options. Try using unrefined salt in your Sauerkraut, which is actually a pink colour, unlike that found in the supermarket!

• Treats
The best treat for your body is chocolate. Sorry not dairy milk which is crammed full of sugar but dark chocolate, I’m talking 90%. As always try not to overindulge as it is calorie-dense. Also try having raw cocoa powder with cinnamon as a drink, cocoa has higher antioxidants than any other food.

• Supplements
The only supplements that I take are Lamberts Cod Liver Oil and Lamberts Pure Fish Oil, this will give you your Vitamin D and Omega 3 hit, that we are all desperately lacking. Try taking one of each a day.

• Drinks
Along with your hot cocoa (no added sugar!) try green tea with lemon and experiment with the herbal teas in the Pukka range. Get yourself a filter tap fitted (UK water filters.com). In terms of alcohol, a glass of organic red wine is the best option. What about your tea and coffee? There are some nutritional benefits but especially as a society we tend to become over-reliant on the caffeine fix rather than addressing the root issue of our fatigue.

• Red Lights

Try not to eat carbohydrates in isolation, only post workout in that 45 minute window.

Reduce sugar from your diet, as sugar gets you fat.

Avoid vegetable oil as they are off the chart in pro-inflammatory Omega 3 and full of Polyunsaturated fats, which are unstable and prone to oxidation, which in turn causes free radicals to go on the attack.

Use BPA-free containers. BPA (bisphenol A) is a hormone disrupter and leaks into food from packaging which contains it. Big culprits are the packaging of tinned tomatoes and tinned fish, as well as plastic drinking bottles. I use a BPA-free Nalgene bottle.

Limit use of the microwave. The word itself suggests the unleashing of atomic destruction.

Try not to drink with food, as this limits the body’s ability to digest due to pH imbalance in the stomach.

Branch out from just consuming grains as a staple. The only grains I have are porridge oats.(Check out this article)

BUT my biggest red light: Don’t be ruled by food. Have treat days and always eat what you’re given if you’re a guest!

Lifestyle

Time management:

• Have section of Down Time in the day. This may be one entire block (morning, afternoon or evening) or if you’re in a busy season, 10minutes, where you shut your eyes, switch on some music and escape. We aren’t designed to endure stress over an entire day, without moments of calm.

• Try to arrive 10minutes before your appointment. When you are late, you have a big sign over your head. Every light will go red, every slow driver will be realised onto the roads and your wallet and keys will hide from you. Allowing for extra time overcomes set backs.

• Turn off all electronic devices and enjoy just “being” not “doing”. We complain about being too busy, but we are to blame for our busyness. The motivation for our busyness is normally driven by wanting more. Strive for success, aim high but learn the art of contentment. Start resting and stop adding to your endless to do list.

• Ensure you have one day off a week.

Sleep:

• Power Naps. If your diary allows, try to pencil in a quick power nap – it will energize you more than any caffeinated drink or sugary snack.

• 8 hours of sleep. I know you know this one, and don’t give me “I can survive on 4 hours a night!”. Its generally best to be early to bed and early to rise. Adjust your sleep patterns to the time of year, during winter you will always needs more sleep.

• Sleep mask. This is geeky but I always wear a sleep mask in bed. Even the smallest bit of light can disrupt melatonin (sleep hormone) levels.

• Avoid bright lights before bed. This means your TV and laptop. Try installing Flux onto your computer which blocks out the melatonin-lowering blue light.

• For more info check this out.

Hygiene:

• Use chemical-free body products. Get along to Medusa Apothecary (High East Street, Dorchester or the new branch in Bridport) for some expert advice and quality products that will last.

• A side note that I hesitate to add… for the last 3 years I have only cleaned with water. I use an organic facial moisturiser from Medusa (which has lasted 2 years), coconut oil-based hair wax, “Pitrok” a natural antibacterial mineral deodorant and I make my own toothpaste from coconut oil and bicarbonate of soda. The secret is out! Due to the length of time that these last, it’s a very inexpensive option, and no I don’t smell! Your skin is your biggest organ, what are you feeding it?

Socialise:

• Laugh often with others and at yourself

• Meet with a wide variety of people, its healthy to get alongside others with different personalities, options and ways of doing things.

• Charity. This shouldn’t be done to fill a guilty hole but because we were made to serve, and when you make a sacrifice, you will also find pleasure and meaning.

• Don’t count out Church. No not a dull, religious building, full of judgemental snobs but a vibrant community of people that want to help you in any way they can. Consider going on an Alpha course to explore the Christian faith. I go to Dorchester Family Church.

Get outside and explore:

• Plenty of sun, for your vitamin D boost.

• Be wise on suncream choice (see my blog)

Fast:

• Try a 20-24 hour fast once a week or intermittent fasting (see my blog)

What is the biggest red light?

• Stress. Remember stress kills you. Now don’t stress about being stressed!

Exercise

• Limit endurance activities. The body isn’t designed to take the ongoing stress of continuous exercise at moderate intensity, it exposes the body to cortisol, the stress hormone. This kind of exercise is great to throw in occasionally but unless you are training for a specific sport, I would heed caution. It always puzzles me when people say they have taken up running to burn fat!

• A low intensity exercise like walking is key. Activities like this are the antidote to stress and in fact lower cortisol. We have been walking since the beginning of time and I suggest you do a lot of it.

• Lift heavy things. From teenagers to 90 year olds, we should be weight training. I enjoy Olympic Lifting and am a huge fan of the Crossfit training style.

• Sprint often. Rather than your long run, try a sprint session for fat loss, increased muscle, more power and extra time saved. You will become a functional, speedy machine, keep it up and the grandkids wont know what hit them!

• Try new sports and skills. What about rock climbing, skiing, weightlifting?

• Have clear goals and overall vision. Set yourself challenges from a Rock Solid Race to completing a pull up.

• Encourage others to exercise.

• Train in groups for greater motivation.

• Don’t over-train, and tone down your exercise rate if you’re busy or tired. Rather than stopping exercise completely its always a good idea to do an “active recovery” session, whether that be a walk or mobility and stretching exercises.

• Remember your workouts and exercise should be:

Intense. There isn’t a workout where I don’t feel “ouch this hurts!”. Intensity is what brings about improvement. Why not go from your hour-long gym session to a 10 minute all out effort.

Varied. I generally workout weekdays with weights and body weight exercises, with walking or rock climbing at the weekends. Very rarely do I ever have a workout that is the same. Our bodies are adapting machines, give it new challenges and it will wonderfully develop.

Functional. Train not for the sake of training but to become more functional. To cope more efficiently and effectively with all those everyday tasks that life brings. Train for the unexpected.

• Moblize often. Buy a Fitness-Mad spikey massage ball from Amazon. Get in that paleo chair daily. Not sure what a paleo chair is? Just copy how the nearest child to you crouches!

• Get those shoes off! Walk around the house barefoot or go all out and buy a pair of Vibram five finger shoes. I have had mine for 3 years, I love them. We weren’t designed to wear trainers.

• Red Light: Don’t live to workout. But workout to live

Try adopting one new green light choice a week, see how your body responds and enjoy the progress you will make!

 

Please remember to contact me, Dave Wall if you are interested in personal training in the Dorchester area or if you would like to trial an exercise / fitness class. Increase fat loss, strength and functional fitness to get you moving better and feeling better.

Dorset based personal training