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Today is my 46th birthday. And yesterday was our 23rd wedding anniversary. That means I have been married to Michelle for more than half my life. I remember, 23 years ago, one day shy of my 23rd birthday, standing there in Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol, CA, waiting to be married to the woman I love. I remember all our friends around us, holding swords, saying words over us, playing Greensleeves, or just watching us and cheering us on as we pledged our lives to each other. I remember grinning like a fool, and watching her cry her eyes out. I remember taking endless pictures, and then walking back to join all the guests, and saying “Thanks for coming, did you get some food?” ...

We have decided to cut out added sugars and sweeteners during the month of January. Anyone else interested in joining the challenge? Reply to the post, or contact me privately if you prefer. I’m borrowing a page from Whole30 (It Starts With Food) and we probably won’t follow ALL of Whole30 but for now we will cut out sugar and see where that gets us. Check the following link for more info. ...

About a dozen of my friends and contacts got spam labeled “From Greg Connor” and I believe the contact addresses came from my Yahoo.com mail account. Even though the spam was not sent out through Yahoo.com mail servers, the contacts were unique to my Yahoo address book. (I don’t use Yahoo mail but I had imported the contacts over a year ago in an attempt to sync them to my phone or something). ...

CAVES OF MADNESS Welcome to Springvale! Usually, life in our small cozy valley is quiet and peaceful. So quiet that many of us have left the valley to seek our adventure elsewhere. But recently, something has disturbed our quiet town and threatens our neighbors and loved ones! Some folks have come back home to defend our families and neighbors from the new threat. Prologue: Mad Caves Visitors to Springvale may hear about the Mad Caves, and how they are filled with both treasure and danger. The locals love to tell stories about the Mad Caves, but none of the locals actually believe the stories. Really, it’s just an old copper mine, abandoned by the Dwarves in our grandparents’ time. Isn’t it? ...

I’m getting ready to do another Whole30 along with a friend. It is not very different from my current eating plan, so it’s not a huge stretch for me. It will be more difficult for her, so giving up my dairy and dark chocolate for a while is one way I can show support. Anyone interested in joining us? If you are satisfied with your current way of eating, more power to you. Keep on doing what works. But if you want to try something new, think about joining us for 30 days: June 1-30. ...

Some great coverage yesterday on the “Whole30” plan and “It Starts With Food” book: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/30-dieters-eliminate-foods-shed-pounds-23760830 I have been on the “Paleo” plan for some years now and I’m still quite happy with it. I am both happier and healthier. I really do believe that it literally saved my life (since I was pre-diabetic and I’m not anymore). Yes, it is a really restrictive plan, but that’s why it’s only for 30 days. The point is not to banish potentially problematic foods forever–the point is to reset and re-evaluate and actually determine what makes us healthy and happy. Almost nobody will stick with the restrictive plan, but most of the folks I have helped/guided through the Whole30 have found it to be life-changing. ...

Here’s why I truly believe “diets don’t work”… I happen to think motivation is overrated. If you’re in the first 4 weeks of a new plan, motivation is super important. But if you have been on the same plan for 6+ weeks and you are having to keep “psyching yourself up” to stick to the plan, it is not a good life-plan. 1. Is your plan too hard? Running out of motivation after 6 weeks probably means your plan is difficult to follow. Take the opportunity to examine why your plan is difficult to follow. If you’re thinking “How can I find more motivation?” you can spend some time thinking about what makes your plan difficult. ...

Great article from Business Insider: “The 11 Most Destructive Nutrition Lies Ever Told” http://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-most-destructive-nutrition-lies-ever-told-2013-11 Some of my favorites: 2. Saturated Fat is Bad For You; 3. Everybody Should be Eating Grains; 5. Low-Fat Foods Are Good For You; 6. You Should Eat Many Small Meals Throughout The Day; 7. Carbs Should Be Your Biggest Source of Calories. All of these are persistent lies that have made it into the mainstream conventional wisdom, and this article debunks them, giving links to actual scientific studies. ...

I’m a huge fan of the Paleo diet, but I’ve come to realize that it’s not for everyone. And whatever plan we start with, being able to adjust, adapt, and change is hugely important. Modifying a plan for our own needs is crucial for long-term success, and sticking to a single plan strictly is a recipe for failure. So this morning I found this great guest post by Chris Kresser on Mark’s Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-personalizing-your-diet-lifestyle-key-success/ This means that two of the Paleo community’s important leaders have joined forces to share the message that Paleo is not the perfect plan for everyone, and that we should be able to adapt and adjust. So perhaps there is something to this. ...

Low-fat diets are starting to be discredited all over the place. Here is a study that spent $700M over 8 years, trying to prove that low-fat diets with lots of added veggies and whole grains helped post-menopausal women avoid or recover heart disease and diabetes. http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/7343/5494 In fact it found the exact opposite. “Women with diagnosed cardiovascular disease at the start of the trial who adopted the ‘healthy heart’ low-fat eating option had a risk of developing future cardiovascular complications that was 26% higher than that of the non-intervention group.” “The leanest women at the start of the trial gained weight on the low-fat diet and those with the least insulin resistance at the start of the trial were at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) if assigned to the low-fat diet.” “The low-fat diet also worsened glucose control in women with diagnosed diabetes” ...