Cavewomen Don't Get Fat (21 page)

• Drink coffee thirty minutes to an hour before working out. If you need some caffeine throughout the day, drink green tea, which contains L-theanine. This calming amino acid can positively impact the brainwaves that promote relaxation.

• Limit your heavy lifting workouts to sixty minutes (unless you are walking or doing yoga) and your high-intensity interval training to thirty minutes. Longer workouts can raise
and keep your cortisol levels elevated for hours after you finish, resulting in fitful sleep. Here comes that three-in-the-morning wakeup call!

This is a great protocol to clean out the toxic wasteland in your body via your liver. If you feel sluggish in spite of good sleep, have dark brown circles under your eyes, PMS, joint pains, or wake up between the hours of one and three nightly, then this liver cleansing is for you. These symptoms are signs that your liver is having a hard time trying to detoxify itself. Poor liver function also means that you may have a hard time detoxifying estrogen and cortisol.

• Be sure to drink a glass of freshly juiced greens once a day or drink 1 tablespoon of PaleoGreens mixed with 8 ounces of water three times a day.

• Saunas are the it-girl of beauty treatments and detoxification. Infrared saunas can pull out toxins such as metals and plastics, while heat saunas can facilitate fat loss. To get rid of those toxins and stay hydrated, drink ice water in a metal bottle while basking in the glow of the sauna's dry heat. Try to hit the hot box for fifteen minutes at least three times per week.

Forty-five minutes before a sauna treatment, take the following:

Although heavy metals occur naturally in nature, they can be harmful to the body in large quantities. Trace amounts of heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, and lead enter the body from food, water, and air. Our bodies store these metals in tissues such as the brain, kidneys, intestines, and fat. Over time, and with continual exposure, heavy metals can build to the point of toxicity. High levels of heavy metals in the body can cause symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, hypothyroidism, weight gain, yeast and sinus infections, and irritable bowel syndrome. So detoxing them will be imperative for getting your health back.

The protocol listed above provides guidelines that you should follow in your treatment, but
only
when working with a nutritionally oriented practitioner. You will need to be supervised throughout your detoxification process. Everyone reacts differently to detoxification, so go about it carefully—it's your body and your health.

The DMPS (dimercaptopropane sulfonic acid) challenge is the most reliable way to test your body's levels of heavy metals. DMPS is a chelating agent that will pull mercury out of the body as efficiently as possible. DMSA (dimercaptosuccinic acid) is an oral chelating agent that can displace mercury and expose it to the brain, so unless you know your genetic profile or are working with a qualified practitioner, don't mess with it. Heavy metals are stubborn suckers. You have to find a good practitioner to mobilize the metals from their storage sites and eliminate them from the body. And you need to protect your brain and internal organs from metals as they leave your body.

Visit the American College for Advancement in Medicine (
www.acam.org
) to find a nutritionally oriented MD in your area who can do the testing for you, and give you chelation and nutritional therapy if needed. Once you have metals, you will need to manage them for a lifetime. Even if you carefully avoid mercury-laden fish,
remove your mercury-based dental fillings, and keep a green home, the environment is a constant source of pollutants.

As you go through your detox, hop into an infrared sauna for fifteen minutes at least three times a week to help flush toxins from the blood and eliminate them via the sweat glands.

• Dissolve two cups Epsom salts in a warm bath and soak for twenty minutes.

• Exercise is a great detoxifier too!

• Make sure that your diet is rich in protein and fiber to support detoxification in both the liver and the gut, where metals love to hang out.

• PectaSol, which is a form of modified citrus pectin, helps clear out mercury from the microvilli of the intestines. (Dosage listed below.)

• Sprinkle two tablespoons of flax meal or chia seeds into your salads or smoothies to give you a daily dose of fiber.

Because of the addictive effects that sugar has on brain biochemistry, your body can experience withdrawal symptoms when you give it up. Ease these symptoms by following the Paleo Chic program and eating plenty of fats, protein, and dark green leafy veggies. Every time you want to reach for chocolate, grab half an avocado and some shredded chicken or raw nuts and seeds instead to nip those cravings in the bud. Avoid diet sodas and artificial sweeteners and use stevia instead, and quell cravings with 1 tablespoon organic cocoa powder and
¹
/
₈
teaspoon stevia steeped in 8 ounces of boiling water. Once your taste buds adjust to low-sugar living, the sweet stuff won't taste so good anymore.

Any time you have a food craving, mix 5 to 10 grams of glutamine powder in 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and drink it. You'll be amazed how quickly it works! L-glutamine is an amino acid that is essential for the health of the immune system and digestive tract. It strengthens the mucosal cells and in turn helps leaky gut and sugar cravings. Glutamine also helps promote optimal muscle growth and strength and has shown to be particularly useful in helping prevent muscle wasting.

How do you know if your body is circulating excess estrogens? If you have PMS, irregular and/or heavy bleeding during your monthly period, migraines, polycystic ovarian syndrome, insulin resistance, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, and/or breast cancer, you are very likely circulating excess estrogens that are not excreted by the body. You can also get your blood levels checked through a nutritionally oriented physician to monitor your estrogen-to-progesterone ratio.

• Maintain intestinal health and bowel regularity by eating 30 grams of dietary fiber every day. The fiber found in flax meal can bind to estrogen so that it will be readily excreted from the body. Add 2 tablespoons of flax meal to smoothies, juices, or applesauce.

• Reduce exposure to plastics.

• Avoid gluten.

• Drink plenty of freshly juiced greens and eat liver-supporting foods such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, dandelion greens, radishes, and beets.

• Eat lots of dark leafy greens to support liver function and provide you with extra lignans that will bind to estrogen and help the body excrete it.

• If you drink alcoholic beverages, make it red wine. Even moderate alcohol consumption increases estrogen levels in both men and women. Red wine that is rich in resveratrol has been shown to lower estrogen levels. Aim for no more than a glass of red wine once or twice a week. Sardinian and Spanish wines make good choices, as do Pinot Noirs and Merlots.

• Get adequate exercise and control your weight to curtail the overproduction of estrogen. Excess body fat results in conservation of estrogen, but lowering your body fat can reduce your hormonal burden.

When it comes to working out, there are steps you can take before and after you exercise to light a fire under those fat-burning hormones:

Put the right balance of nutrients into your body before a workout to improve energy use and insulin sensitivity. You can exercise on an empty stomach if you prefer, but I recommend eating protein and fats at least one hour before activity to boost your brain neurotransmitters and optimize your performance. Limit your fructose intake so that you can access and mobilize your body fat stores during your workout. Pears, melons, berries, figs, dates, pineapple, apples, and raisins are all high in fructose, so save them for your postworkout meal.

Take one hour before your workout.

Take the supplements listed below, along with a postworkout shake, within ten minutes of finishing your workout. This will help your body repair and build muscle tissue, increase free testosterone, and lower your cortisol levels. Cortisol inhibits the release of growth hormone, so if you want to build those gorgeous muscles, then clearing your cortisol with a postworkout shake is a must.

POSTWORKOUT MUSCLE MOCKTAIL

I recommend making your shake at home and taking it with you to the gym so that you can enjoy it immediately following your workout.

1 to 2 scoops whey protein powder.

1 cup unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or water.

1 cup frozen or fresh fruit, such as berries,
¹
/
₂
banana, mangoes, and so on.

Cinnamon

Blend with ice and a dash of cinnamon; the ice will keep it fresh until ready for consumption.

• Sleep is both a fat-loss and an anabolic nutrient, so make sure you hit the hay by ten o'clock and get at least seven to eight hours of sleep, or more if your body requires it.

• Eat plenty of protein, fiber, and quality fats at each meal to help your body access its own fat stores.

• Avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners, and excess booze, which will not only spread your waistline but also hit the pause button on your fat-burning efforts.

• Do a combination of high-intensity interval training and lifting heavy weights at the gym at least four times a week to give you rapid results in the least amount of time. Work it!