HOW TO GET LEAN N’ MEAN, PART I – Understanding Metabolism and Why Being Lean is Important

Introduction

Welcome back, esteemed Partisans! I hope all the Partisan Operators out there have been making good use of the American Partisan Workout Fundamentals series! I still intend to write more posts for that series to detail more good workout options, exercises, and other related elements. Good stuff coming soon!

For now, though, I’d like to take a bit of a detour away from the physical part of fitness, and get into the other side of the fitness “coin”, which is eating and nutrition. Even this is simplistic, since “fitness” can even cover mental, spiritual, and emotional considerations if one is considering all-around health. But for the sake of keeping things simple and not getting too abstract, I tend to stick with the fitness topics of exercise and eating/nutrition, because these are the elements of fitness that are under our direct control, and that we can modify at will. On the other hand, mental, spiritual, and emotional health are (in my opinion) much harder to control, and I’m no expert at that stuff; so, I’ll just keep my coverage of fitness to exercise and eating/nutrition.

But, let’s think about that for a second: when it comes to fitness and, by extension, general health, we DO have options and positive control. It’s vital for the American Partisan to realize this, because there are just countless things in life over which we have NO control, but that still affect our lives and our health nonetheless. Therefore, it is an American Partisan’s solemn obligation to maximize his health by attending to those areas of health over which he does, indeed, have positive control, since there are just SO many uncontrollable factors negatively influencing health that are a basic condition of modern living! Everyone’s stressed out; people suck; everything causes cancer; the air quality is poor; how could I forget COVID??? And the list goes on and on. Nothing we can do about those things. But we can and must focus on those areas of health that are within our control: exercise and eating/nutrition. By attending to these areas of health and fitness, we can make the best of our lives and actually live quite healthy and well, despite the many negative health factors all around us. This is the spirit of my writings here – to empower Partisans with knowledge and options intended to make the most of their health and fitness.

That all being said, today’s post is the first in a new series that will cover first the theory, and then, some specific methods of getting and staying lean for life. Today’s post will focus on getting into the right frame of mind on the importance of getting and staying lean, which is about much more than just vanity. Just like the critical need for discipline to actually commit one’s self to a tough and productive exercise program, the American Partisan Operator needs to get into a particular disciplined mindset of self-control and good decision-making in order to get and stay lean. The first several posts in this How to Get Lean n’ Mean series will pave the way for follow-up posts that will present actual details on methods and practices for leaning out. But, as always, the Partisan reader should find all the ideas and practical tips I present to be simple, to make sense at the gut level, and to be immediately useful/useable. Of course, here comes my usual disclaimer: the ideas presented are my own, and are the product of my 26 years of fitness experience, both living the life, and training people in fitness; my goal is to help Partisans achieve fitness independence! I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I am confident that many Partisans will find this information new, interesting, and useful. So first, we’ll get into theory – let’s get started!

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Why Being Lean is Important, Part I – Metabolic and Bodily Health

Where to begin? Being lean at all is a condition that seems to be quite uncommon in America and in pretty much any Western society these days. Everyone loves to consume, and one look around shows it very readily; not many people out there sporting the ol’ ripped six-pack abdominals. But a big old gut and excessive body fat are more than just unattractive; excess body fat and the negative physical effects that accompany it are just not healthy, especially in the long term. In fact, whenever you see a person carrying a lot of body fat, it isn’t just a sign of overconsumption; it’s also a visible sign of a dysfunctional metabolism

First and foremost, let’s provide a definition of metabolism, which is certainly an important concept to understand for the American Partisan interested in improving his overall fitness and health; I’m not just trying to use big-sounding words here. According to Webster’s Dictionary Online, “metabolism” is “the chemical changes in living cells by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities and new material is assimilated”. My more straightforward and functional way to define “metabolism” that is relevant to this post is: the way your body deals with food. Period. Food contains energy (measured in units called “calories”) and chemical elements (like vitamins, minerals, and other chemical substances – either natural and/or artificial) that are consumed orally to fuel the body’s diverse processes and physical movement; the general categories of foods (called “macronutrients”) are: fats; carbohydrates (also known as “sugars”); and protein. Then, “metabolism” can be narrowed down to different sub-types, according to what type of macronutrient the body is trying to absorb, so: fat metabolism, sugar metabolism, and protein metabolism (we’ll get into a more involved and detailed discussion of these various types of macronutrients and their metabolisms in later posts, as relevant). Granted, this is a very simplified and functional explanation of metabolism, but again, I like fitness to be explained in a simple way, and without all the big, scientific words. And clearly, understanding the way the body deals with food is important to the American Partisan so that he can make better health and eating decisions, both for himself and for his family (why not??).

So, back to excess body fat being a visible sign of dysfunctional metabolism. Now that we know what food is and have a functional definition of “metabolism”, then when we add the word “dysfunctional” (which is just another way of saying, “messed up”) into that mix, we get “messed up way the body is dealing with energy and nutrients”. Over time (after all, excess body fat levels don’t occur overnight!), the body of the person with excess body fat is continuously forced to deal with all of the ongoing consumption, such that the body is getting overwhelmed with calories (energy) and chemical elements that it doesn’t naturally know what to do with; the human body was simply not designed to constantly overconsume or deal with foreign food chemicals. The excess of calories is then visibly stored as body fat, which is essentially a locally-stored form of energy, designed by nature in case of a famine… that never occurs. And yet, there is more going on than meets the eye! Just think for a second about just what kinds of consumables might have caused the excessive body fat to appear, and what chemical elements they contained? In a basic sense, any excess of food or liquid consumption (i.e., excessive intake of energy beyond one’s needs) can lead to excess fat, but the truth is that people pretty much don’t ever binge on high-quality, natural, and nutritious food. Do people typically stuff their faces with carrots, spinach, cod liver oil, organ meats, Himalayan/Celtic Sea Salt, olive oil, alfalfa sprouts, or even a grilled steak? Probably not.

No, healthy and natural foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial chemical elements are usually not the tastiest foods around (alas), and don’t lend themselves very well to binging. Like fitness legend Jack LaLanne said so well: “If it tastes good, spit it out.” Pretty grim, eh? But that quote is definitely on the money! The body has a natural, defined appetite shut-off/satisfaction point for low- to no-processed, natural foods that makes us far less inclined to overdo them. You get to a point of having foods like water, salt, vegetables, fruits, natural oils, and even a big old steak, after which you really don’t want anymore. However, the food and liquids that DO make a person fat are the foods that taste delicious and that we love due to the adjustments and chemical additions made to them by the processing of human hands (or machines), and that are, much of the time, really just consumable junk that is of little- to no nutritional value at all. These foods are often deliberately manipulated through processing and chemistry, and will typically have a much, much higher appetite shut-off/satisfaction point (especially sugars!), largely due to chemicals added and to the low level of actual nutrition remaining in the highly-processed food; when eating these foods, the body is seeking in vain to obtain nutrients by eating more of the food, but only getting lots of calories and bad chemistry instead, and not much else. And let’s not leave out sugar-rich foods of all types – another huge factor causing weight gain in and of itself; worse yet are highly-processed, sugar-rich foods – a double whammy. These types of low-quality foods are particularly prevalent in the typical American diet, which is often based largely on fast food, grains, and a whole pile of crap (like snack foods; alcoholic beverages; and other junk) that is made for the consumer’s convenience and taste, and also for maximum corporate profit, but definitely not made with the health of consumers in mind.

In fact, you could rightfully say “edible garbage” to describe the food people typically eat so much of in modern Western societies; I will use the term “edible garbage” from now on for food or drink that is unnatural, adjusted, high in sugar content, and/or excessively processed somehow by human hands or machine to look and taste good. Back to Jack LaLanne: “If man made it, don’t eat it”. Correct again! And, the more processing a food/liquid goes through for consumption, the less nutritional value it’s typically going to have, even under the best of circumstances! Some processing to make raw food more palatable is obviously necessary and acceptable. I mean, you could potentially eat a caveman-style diet of raw everything and that would truly be best, but most normal folks like their dinner cooked, some seasoning on their meat, or what have you; nothing terribly wrong with some rice and beans, a plate of pasta with marinara sauce, or a baked potato or two to go with your 18 oz. prime rib! But again, we’re referring to excessive processing as being a part of the overconsumption problem. Processing includes any type of heating (baking; frying; grilling; etc.); adding of preservatives; adding sugar; and/or chemical processes used to somehow modify the food or enhance flavor. And keep in mind: anything unnatural added to food – in other words, any substance added to food that is completely artificial – is a toxin present in your food. The American Heritage Dictionary Online defines “toxin” as “a poisonous or harmful nonbiological substance, such as a pollutant”. And so much of the “food” people are consuming these days is heavily loaded with toxins, which are obviously not healthy. On top of all that, there are also naturally-occurring food toxins; one classic example is alcohol. Not to say that a beer or shot or two is the end of the world, but let’s be honest… alcohol IS a caloric and toxic beverage that will potentially cause weight gain and health problems. 

Once again, the calories contained within “edible garbage” have little to no nutrition in them – they are so-called “empty calories”, a term most people have probably heard before. However, the term “empty calories” almost sounds innocent and doesn’t even seem like a big deal, as if nothing were really happening except maybe some weight gain, which people falsely convince themselves they can just lose later. Wrong. The term “empty calories” doesn’t in any way address the actual harm these toxin-laden calories are causing to the body, as well as the amount of extra digestive work the body has to do to somehow assimilate all the calories contained in this “edible garbage”! The unhealthy, toxin-laden calories from “edible garbage”, etc., could more accurately be called “zombie calories”, because they actually cost your body precious nutrients and energy when the body has to counter the effects of the toxins and deal with these unreal foods that it wasn’t designed by nature to deal with. This detoxification process takes vital life force energy away from serving other important and necessary functions of the body, to boot. A high “zombie calorie” count will also put a person’s digestive system into an exhausting overdrive whose chemical and biological (“metabolic”) demands are much greater than what would otherwise be necessary for the body to process more nutritious, higher quality foods with a lower calorie count; this all comes at a price to your health over the course of time. That all being said, might you then say that the body can be damaged in dealing with (i.e., “metabolizing”) this “edible garbage”? You bet it can! There are many negative health consequences of a body’s difficulty (and later, the exhausted body’s outright inability) to process the excess of calories and food toxicity that go beyond simply carrying around extra fat; let’s just say that there is a “damage done” component to taking in too many calories from “edible garbage”, and the bill always comes due.

See, when we’re young and resilient, excess body fat may be the worst obvious result of overeating, and that’s already bad. But over time, after literally decades of consuming too many “zombie calories” from “edible garbage”, along with other potential negative factors (like a sedentary lifestyle – another major problem), the accumulated damage from forcing the exhausted body to deal with the steady stream of incoming toxicity, together with the excessive amount of caloric energy from poor eating leads to… bodily breakdown showing up as chronic illness. And the specific diagnosis of the illness is irrelevant; take your pick: heart disease; dementia; diabetes; even cancer! With any chronic illness, the body is breaking down as a result of decades of abuse and metabolic fatigue such that even the presence of excess body fat becomes a secondary issue! From the onset of chronic illness onward, it will be a life of pharmaceuticals and doctor visits for the chronically ill person, as well as a reduced quality of life and probably an early death. Not nice, and it almost makes being fat irrelevant at that advanced point of deterioration. I mean, a determined person can always takes steps to improve their health and reverse disease once diagnosed with a chronic illness, but it’s a serious uphill battle, for sure. From all this, it should then make good sense as to why obesity is cited as a major cause of morbidity. It’s not that being obese by itself somehow causes disease. Obesity is merely a byproduct of lifestyle, and is the extreme physical representation of the dysfunctional metabolism (resulting from the ongoing toxification and overloading of the body over time) that actually causes the increased morbidity of obesity. Make sense?

So let’s recap this section really quickly below to sum it all up:

  • “Metabolism” = the way the body deals with food (my simplified definition)
  • Food = energy and chemical substances used to fuel various bodily functions and movement
  • Excessive body fat results from a dysfunctional metabolism (= “messed up way the body is dealing with food”)
  • Foods that are high in caloric energy but low in, or totally lacking nutrition (“edible garbage”) due to processing are toxic and promote overeating; they also overburden the digestive system and take energy away from necessary bodily functions in order to help the body contend with the toxic, high-calorie load
  • Continuous overeating of “edible garbage” will not only lead to likely excess body fat, but will likely lead to chronic illness over time, and being fat almost won’t directly matter anymore
  • Chronic illness will cause you to become a ward of the medical establishment for life and your quality of life will suck… all because you didn’t watch your weight or food intake for too many years, and ignored one of the first signs of distress: excessive body fat/obesity
  • Take command of your eating, and don’t let any of this happen in the first place!

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Why Being Lean is Important, Part II – General Well-Being and Mood

Whew! Well, there’s the low-down on Why Being Lean is Important in regards to metabolic and bodily health. It almost seems like a compelling enough reason by itself to be lean, I’d say! But, there are even more good and important reasons to be lean. Here’s another nice and simple reason for why being lean is important: because to look good, is to feel good! Very basic! Not to sound shallow or vain, but being happy with your reflection in the mirror is a pretty primal need for emotional / spiritual / psychological well-being. A man doesn’t have to be obsessed with his appearance like some urban metrosexual (as an aside, I find those metro types, more often than not, to be overgroomed, wispy, and fragile-looking, in addition to me simply preferring a more basic and rugged outfit: jeans, boots, and a t-shirt!) in order to value a lean, tight look to his body. It just feels GOOD not to have to suck in your gut, to look good in a tank top, or to fit well into a two-piece suit! Feeling good about one’s self is VERY important, and fosters a generally positive mental attitude. 

And we’ve all seen it – the dude that keeps pulling his t-shirt away from his big gut as if to hide it, or the guy at the beach wearing his shirt the entire time – despite the heat and sun. Chances are that these dudes don’t feel too hot about their appearance, and this has both obvious and subtle effects. The obvious effect of feeling poorly about one’s appearance is the awkwardness of trying in vain to hide it (as just mentioned) – but, people just KNOW you’re sucking in your gut or trying to hide it, so it’s futile and kind of silly… and the overweight person knows it, but does it anyway. Then, feeling badly about your appearance may even lead to a certain subconscious bitterness that makes you grumpier than you might otherwise be, or even makes you downright mean. A perfect and relevant example these days of the bitter overweight person (even if a bit extreme), in my opinion, is the iconic basement-dwelling social justice warrior, as embodied oh-so-well in the meme presented below:

Typical Overweight Social Justice Warrior from Mommy’s Basement

I’d say that the meme were funny if these overweight social justice warrior types weren’t so numerous, shrill, and visible! But at least you get the point: being overweight can, and often will cause poor morale, which has many negative downstream effects. But the reverse is true as well: if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you’re usually at your best! Being lean n’ mean thus maximizes your generally good mood and positive mental attitude, which usually leads to good outcomes. A good mood goes hand-in-hand with a “can-do” attitude, which is a critical mindset for the American Partisan Operator. All that from being lean n’ mean! What’s there not to like?

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Why Being Lean is Important, Part III – Tactical Readiness

Finally, and very importantly – in fact, extremely importantly – is that being lean n’ mean is a sign that your body, which is really the only true physical possession that can’t be taken away from you, is in peak operational form and ready to rock. This by itself may dissuade a potential enemy from messing with you! A lighter body that is unburdened by dead fat weight will be able to perform better in pretty much every conceivable way than a body that has visible excess fat attached to it. That’s not to say I haven’t seen overweight dudes hold their own marvelously in a fight or out in tactical field training, but more often than not, this is just not the case. The fat dudes are usually sucking wind much sooner with any increase in physical movement intensity, and this is obviously a huge liability when it comes to warfighting. In fact, so much about warfighting depends on mobility and on being in good cardiovascular and conditioned shape to sustain that mobility, that a body carrying around excess fat is probably going to have a tough time meeting the breathing and movement demands of a high-intensity and/or continuous physical engagement of any sort – fighting with or without weapons; running uphill; jumping over chasms or fording obstacles; loading vehicles; and whatever else. The warrior that can carry on and better carry their own weight will likelier be the one that wins.

Just think about it: excess body fat is literally just useless, dead weight for the mobile, fighting warrior. Excess body fat has to be carried around whether you like it or not. Body fat insulates (causing higher body temperatures and faster fatiguing, as a result), and it has no functionality for the fighting man whatsoever; on the contrary – it’s an additional load to carry, but unlike the other components of your combat load, excess body fat is a tactically useless load that doesn’t fire any bullets, doesn’t provide any immediate fuel or nourishment; and doesn’t provide any trauma care. It’s just dead weight that slows you down, as such making you an easier target for your enemies, while also making you less functional and valuable to your team’s needs and mobility; in actuality, the excess body fat is increasing the danger to you and your team by slowing you down. How is that good at all? It’s not! 

Finally, carrying around excess body fat is a huge burden on your joints, especially the hips, knees, and ankles. These workhorse joints already have to work hard, but now also have to bear the brunt of any excess body fat by having to support the dead weight of the fat with every step you take. Over time, this unnecessarily wears down your joints, which will already get worn down by aging and rigorous use, regardless! So why accelerate the breakdown process when you could instead enjoy excellent mobility to a ripe old age by eating well, staying lean, and maintaining a low body fat? Just check out the legend Jack LaLanne in his 70’s – almost unreal:

Jack LaLanne in his 70’s – Look at what’s possible!

So, as if metabolic/bodily health and looking your best weren’t compelling and important enough reasons to be lean, then for the sake of your family, team, community, mobility, and the overall training and organizing efforts of American Partisans nationwide, you need to get lean so that you can be a better warrior. End of story. You are needed and you are irreplaceable, and so it your DUTY to be lean n’ mean, so that you can fight better for whenever that time actually comes. And it will. So be lean and be ready!

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Conclusion

Hopefully, after reading through this post, my fellow American Partisans can well understand that being fat isn’t just unattractive, it’s a big problem in many ways; carrying excessive body fat is a liability to both the overweight person AND to people around them, as described. Thus, you owe it to yourself and your people to lean out for several critical reasons, as detailed above. And if that’s you, then be realistic, own it, and start thinking about how to correct the matter ASAP. ANYONE can do this, and remember: time is marching on. Tick tock… (h/t: Vagabond).

As this is a new series I’m beginning, I’ll get into some more theory on what it takes to lean out, as well as get into details on exactly HOW to lean out most effectively. For now, Partisans should keep attending to their hardcore workouts using the American Partisan Workout Fundamentals, and start preparing themselves to make some adjustments to their way of eating, if that’s what’s needed. Be honest with yourself! Eating and nutrition is not something you get around to; it needs to be actively managed and cared for if you want to get the best outcomes that actually mean something.

I’ll leave you with this final quote by Jack LaLanne: “You only live once, why be miserable? Fat people are miserable — you are carrying 50 lbs on your shoulders all day, you get a disease called ‘pooped-out itis’. Don’t tell me that they are happy with the way they look and feel. I have to be honest, that is all I have.” Go Jack!!

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Next: HOW TO GET LEAN N’ MEAN, PART II: LEAVE DIETING BEHIND TO ACHIEVE YOUR BEST BODY AND HEALTH EVER!

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About the Author: conan

Conan has been working out for over 25 years, with extensive experience in lifting weights; he has also been a personal fitness trainer for 22 years now. He has experience both doing and training people in various modes of fitness and exercise throughout those decades. He enjoys hunting, martial arts, shooting, and studying history and world cultures. He seeks to share his extensive knowledge of physical fitness, as well as his recent experiences in taking tactical training courses and transmitting acquired tactical skills to the people in his AO. Contact Conan at: [email protected].​

30 Comments

  1. Anonymous June 12, 2021 at 11:00

    0.5

  2. Theodore June 12, 2021 at 11:24

    You combine a great writing style with high level, no BS advice that people need to hear. Your eventual dietary recommendations will be interesting. If it tastes good, spit it out is a fine quote. If I’m eating for taste, why don’t I just eat ice cream for every meal?

    • conan June 12, 2021 at 12:16

      Spot on – eating for taste is the enemy of a lean body. Some occasional fun and enjoyment in eating is necessary, but the smart Partisan will eat more for function and performance, and as little as possible at that! A good understanding of how to manage your eating helps in maintaining eating discipline and making good food choices. More to come! Thanks for your praise.

  3. Cajun Preacher June 12, 2021 at 11:36

    Conan
    Thanks so much for starting a series in nutrition. It’s right on time and just what I’m interested in.
    Once upon a time I made my living running up and down Ardennes, hanging out at Green Ramp, and toting the big green tick. For about 30 years. Now I’m a grey beard. Hardly an operator. Just a guy that knows some stuff and tries to live by the New Testament. We all know to fight our wars according to the Old Testament. Even Saul had a fighting auxiliary crew; David didn’t just show up Sua Sponte.
    That’s all in the past. Now life is considerably less physically demanding outside 3x weekly PT. Nutrition is my stumbling block. Probably the same for a lot of folks. Looking forward to some concrete guidance and helpful hints.
    Thanks again for your generous donation of your expertise and experience. We all need to know how to properly maintain this earthly tent so we can continue in the Lord’s work.

    • conan June 12, 2021 at 12:14

      Glad to be of service, sir. I will be getting more into theory on this for readers’ proper understanding, and then into solid “how to” details you can put to use immediately, so stay tuned! Thanks for the kind words.

  4. Luke June 12, 2021 at 12:01

    Great article, sent to my friends and fam. I have been out of shape a couple times in my life. The tactical edge one has being “lean and mean” is hard to overstate.

    • conan June 12, 2021 at 12:09

      You got that right, brother. The tactical edge of being lean n’ mean is hard to overstate, and is not substitutable. Thanks for reading and for sharing too!

  5. LionHeart June 12, 2021 at 12:40

    That’s my deal. I’m getting on in years, have a respectable deadlift, can ruck with the cool kids, commute hard urban via bicycle, eat clean preparing all my own food, very light on the alcohol intake, fast water only once a week for 36-38 hours and my weight is under control – yet I still have a “gut”. Having that buffer should I get very sick is nice and I can take a helluva punch down there, but at the end of the day I have a gut.

  6. Michael in AK June 12, 2021 at 12:53

    Great article! I hit the point where I knew I had to change….i have been eating a high protein, fruit and veggies diet (only a few starches) for the past 2 years. Dropped 52 lbs….
    Sharing your article widely

    • conan June 12, 2021 at 13:02

      It’s really quite shocking (in a good way) what happens once starches and sugars are removed from the eating line-up: you lose weight, have more energy, and have less brain fog – among other benefits. Sounds great! Thanks for sharing the article.

  7. Mark. June 12, 2021 at 13:42

    I eat a lot of meat, along with vegetables and fruit. I try to keep white sugar as far from my diet as possible, and something that is not mentioned in the article is teeth health. Little or no sugar means a much healthier mouth. Another consideration is that supporting Big Food is like supporting Big Pharma, it is helping the enemy.

  8. Delroy June 13, 2021 at 02:14

    I don’t think healthy food has to taste bad. Most people, and I’m taking to myself here, simply eat too much and exercise too little. We cook a lot from scratch, but still eat some canned beans and tomato products but not boxes of Mac& cheese or Doritos. It’s definitely portion control and exercise for me. I’m 61 with a desk job and a bad leg eating as much as I did when I 40 busting my hump six days a week. Still looking forward to some tips I can use.

    • conan June 13, 2021 at 05:32

      To say “if it tastes good, spit it out” is pretty extreme, but I think LaLanne was just being metaphorical. I’m no fitness monk or shining example of fitness like LaLanne was. I regularly eat foods I find extremely tasty (including occasional junk food), and even enjoy some alcohol a few times a week; I don’t think Jack LaLanne would approve at all. But do I strive for a reasonably healthy eating lifestyle much like you do – the majority of my eating is “pretty healthy”, and I make room to eat the tasty, not-so-healthy foods I like by adjusting my lifestyle to make it work. I also take supplements to try and make up for any shortfalls in my quality of eating. Like you said, preparing food from scratch, which is what we do at home for pretty much ALL the food we eat, is definitely the best way to go; it best preserves the nutrition of your food and also assures control over food content and quality. Foods that are the healthiest are the ones that are natural, least adjusted/processed, and closest to their raw state, but natural ways of flavoring or lightly preparing can help a lot to increase taste and appeal, and that’s what we do at home. But once you start getting into fried foods, processed foods, as well as grain-based starches and sugars… that’s where potential calorie level shoots up and the nutritional value starts to plunge. Thanks for reading! I believe you’ll find the upcoming information useful.

      • Delroy June 13, 2021 at 10:20

        Certainly. I think I am most interested in the part about grains. The ancient world built their civilizations around them. We don’t sit around shoving handfuls of wonder bread down our gullet but we do eat bread most days, in winter I often eat a hot grain cereal for breakfast and of course pasta at least once a week. I make sourdough (need to get a new starter going), and pizza regularly. As I said before for me it’s too much input and too little output; I’m going to change that. Also, what do you think about fermented foods? I make and eat sauerkraut and make kombucha. Also too much coffee I know. :/

  9. JB June 13, 2021 at 08:52

    There is an entire industry dedicated to the destruction of the human body, with scientists, process engineers, marketing experts, financiers, distributors, sellers, and lawyers. They operate freely, often with the aid of congress and target specific segments of society with tailored advertising for specific market segments of society.
    I despise the nanny state, and abhorrent state of the political forces and special interests controlling our country. But unless something is done to change the eating habits and general health of Americans now, today, the decline of the country and the shamefully high social costs of welfare will bankrupt and weaken the the country to self destruction. In fact we are there today. Hell, our Armed Forces has a fat problem both in active duty and reserves, and in the increasing rejection rates of voulunteers. By the way, have you seen any fat Chinese and Russian soldiers ?
    Assuming the trends of the country continue, and predictions that China will conquer the US in a coming war, first thing our Chinese masters will do is to kill off the sick, obese and infirm because of their large contribution to the debt burden. Slaves must be strong and healthy and produce more than they consume.
    Its quite possible the active measures against America by China and Russia include influencing the sickening and obesity of Americans. We know Wall Street and many Fortune 500 companies are now under Chicom control and have many Chinese Nationals and PLA soldiers in high level positions. The Chinese play the long game and so its possible they are behind among other things the weaponization of food.

    • conan June 13, 2021 at 18:30

      I agree with everything you said. Research and Development for “Big Food” (the cousin of Big Pharma) is in the billions – they’re studying on killing us, and we’re doing a great job at it. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that there is a Chinese and/or Russian link to these efforts. The growing divergence in the individual level of readiness of our military vs. the hardened Chinese is something that really unsettles me, whether it’s the “inclusive military” nonsense or the fat soldiers. There is a plan being executed to see this all through, I’m quite convinced. And again, we Americans are only too eager to participate in this “fattening for the slaughter” phenomenon. Thanks for reading and commenting, JB!

  10. Josh June 15, 2021 at 00:11

    I’ve got to say, the section on metabolism is very well done. It’s always difficult breaking these concepts down for the average layperson, but you did it with excellence.

    • conan June 15, 2021 at 04:20

      Thank you for the praise, and for reading/sharing the post! More to come.

  11. vagabond June 17, 2021 at 07:31

    These articles could easily be distilled into an ebook (or maybe better, some kind of licensed course so you can go ‘kaching, kaching{) Keep up the good work.
    As for grains, once upon a time at an outdoor survival course in the UK ( I lived there for some years) a debate was literally raging in the press about low carb/keto diets vs. heaps of grains/carbs. At the course was a ‘paleoethnobotanist’ which is a scholar who studies plant use in prehistoric times, so I had thought to ask him, reasoning that early people ate good food they were adapted for, kind of what is known today as the ‘paleo’ argument.
    His answer was fascinating; first, the human diet is variable over seasons so there is no ‘one’ way to eat. But the money quote was that arthritis and tooth decay didn’t really show up in the fossil record until the domestication of wheat and corn, which are really the first ‘gmo’ crops. While the modified crops were better suited to cultivation, they were not the nutritional equivalents of the untouched versions. So, when you see the drawings of hunched over early man, they were early farmers, NOT cave men and hunter gatherers.
    The second reason went to dietary variability; if they ate too much of only their crops they were simply deficient in heaps of other nutrients, and suffered accordingly body structure.
    BTW, the Great Jack LaLanne was initially a weak kid who became a chiropractor, but started making so much money inventing gym equipment, juicers etc. and training people he never practiced.

    • conan June 17, 2021 at 11:50

      Thanks for reading and commenting, Vagabond. I’m honored by it! I’m actually working on a course to present this information to interested patriots. Stay tuned!
      Also, your mention of the paleoethnobotanist is particularly interesting to me. I did lots of reading on early humans on my own, and even studied anthropology for a semester (before I fled the program, due to the overwhelming presence of Marxist professors that are so prevalent in the social sciences – I was more naive back then, and this reality came as a real shock and rude awakening to me); the archaeology professor got into the diets of prehistoric man and later, into the domestication of grains. It was all very fascinating to me that early man basically didn’t eat any grains at all, unlike today, where modern civilization is made possible and almost entirely based on grain consumption. It was my conclusion that homo sapiens had reached its greatest level of physical and brain development WITHOUT grains, and that with the arrival of the agricultural revolution/grain-based diets around 6000 BC or so, diseases and infirmities previously unknown began to show up in the archeological/fossil record. That really says a lot about modern diets, I think. Like you said, the modification of crops through selective breeding lowered the nutritional value of the grains quite much, which was the trade off for quantity and convenience of growing. I’ve even read in places that homo sapiens is currently devolving in physical and mental capacity as a result, and I can believe that when I look around. I can dig the “paleo” argument, but I do like to eat a limited amount of grains in order to power my heavy lifting; I did a paleo diet for around 2 years with next to no grains, but my lifting strength and all-around energy really plummeted, and I lost too much weight, which I hated, so I reintroduced grains and legumes on a limited basis, and that’s working very well for me.
      Anyway, thanks again for commenting and for reading!

      • Vagabond June 17, 2021 at 13:34

        A quick follow-up; yep, apparently humanity to permanent Walmart shopping and Jerry Springer land; cromagnon had brains maybe 15% larger, whatever than means for intellect. And my initial degree was anthro cause I’m insanely curious, but I only survived – or tolerated if you will, 1 year of a PhD program at UT Austin; we parted paths for an identical reason.

  12. Anonymous June 19, 2021 at 04:53

    4.5

  13. Anonymous June 20, 2021 at 09:15

    5

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  15. Tennessee Budd July 2, 2021 at 09:08

    I’ve recently started eating a bit better; less for health reasons (although those are very good reasons) than simply because it tastes good. My new girlfriend, at 51, had never had Brussels sprouts, so I steamed some fresh ones. She loved them, & I started exploring the steamer. She had the idea of steaming potatoes for mashing, instead of boiling them. The taste was so much richer that she swears she’ll never boil another potato! (I know, starch, but we’re Southerners.)
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