“Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues.” – C.S. Lewis

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time.  (If you haven’t seen it, go watch it now.  I’ll wait.)

Keep the blade in its scabbard until the proper time

In a famous scene, one of the villain Vezzini’s henchmen, a Spanish swordsman named Inigo Montoya, corrects his boss.  Vezzini replies to every bit of unfavorable news with the exclamation “Inconceivable!”  After several such eruptions Montoya cocks his head and says, “You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.”

In a previous post, I encouraged you to “be a leader and try something different — chastity.”  I realize that I may not have explained what chastity is and what it is not.

Making love right

Chastity is about the proper use of sex.  For the single, chastity means waiting until marriage.  (Most people, whether they agree or not, get that part right.) For the married, it means remaining faithful to your wife — “forsaking all others” as the traditional marriage vows say.  That means you invest your sexual interest and energy  – your thoughts, affection and loyalty — in your wife and in no other woman, real or imagined.

Chastity is not lifelong celibacy

Unless you are called to singleness, chastity doesn’t mean no sex for you — ever.  Yes, celibacy’s required before marriage, but in marriage, celibacy gives way to sexual exclusivity.  By the way, the Bible teaches that husbands and wives are not to deprive one another sexually.  Our Roman Catholic friends call this the marriage debt — and like all other debts, bad things happen if it isn’t paid.

Chastity is not anti-sex

In fact, the opposite is true.  Chastity places a higher value on sex and therefore doesn’t allow for the cheapening and commodifcation of such a great gift.  These days, women’s bodies are treated like props to sell us all kinds of products.  And with the ways we are marketed to constantly, in our culture we have become consumers — consumers of beauty, consumers of women.

Chastity honors the imago dei – the image and likeness of God — that He designed into us.  The complementarity of maleness and femaleness and the attraction of men and women to each other is for our benefit. It impels us toward love and its fullest expression in marriage, but the way is not broad and lighted like a runway.

It is easier to follow the herd and to become a consumer of women, rather than the lover of one wife.  But this more difficult way is the appropriate environment to discover what God reveals about Himself through the gift of sex.

Chastity is not about what you cannot have

I follow the slow-carb diet and I’m strict about it.  Friends ask me how I eat and when I tell them, many say, ” I couldn’t do without bread.” Or potatoes.  Or doughnuts — whatever.  This is the wrong way to go about a diet, and it’s the wrong way to go about living a chaste life.  Constantly thinking about what you can’t have is a way to make you miserable, and becoming obsessed with the forbidden is a nearly flawless way to give in to it.

Chastity is about the good of the individual and the community

Author Wendell Berry wrote that sex has a communal basis — that ultimately, it’s everyone’s business.  This idea is completely at odds with what our society believes is strictly personal.  But look at it this way: God gave human beings sex to be a picture of the love He has for His bride, the church.  God is revealed in scripture as a totally faithful — and jealous — lover.

In its proper place, sex is the deepest, most exclusive kind of knowing and being known.  If marriage and the family are the cornerstones of civilization, marital and sexual fidelity are the mortar that holds them together.

You unmarried guys need to see us older married guys living right so you know it is possible.  And we older married guys need to see you young single men living right so we aren’t led astray.  Let’s encourage and set a Godly example for each other.

Choosing to be a leader and to live a chaste life honors God and helps you to avoid one of the classic blunders.  More on this later.

So how about you?  What are you doing to help you live a chaste life?  Add your comments below.

“I don’t care how old I live; I just want to be LIVING while I am living!” – Fitness pioneer Jack Lalanne

In previous posts, we’ve talked about the principles of fitness, the proper technique for pull-ups, and the correct macronutrients for getting strong and staying lean. Today, I’d like to tell you about some of the supplements I take. Before I do this, I want to offer the following disclaimer:

I am not a doctor, and I am not telling you what you should do — I’m only telling you what I am doing. You’re an adult so do your homework and check the facts with your own doctor. If you ignore this paragraph, you’ll want to read my upcoming post on wisdom. Still with me?

The only iron supplement a man needs.
(photo by Marcin Czaja – used with permission)

The rationale

We live in a broken world. Death, disease, and deterioration are, ultimately, unavoidable, but rather than giving in to fatalism, I have decided to do what I can with what I have to influence those aspects of my health that seem to respond to supplementation.

My criteria for adding something to my regimen are straightforward. I want to see well-documented, independent reports of the alleged benefits — not carefully masked advertisements from the ones who stand to profit from it. I will try the supplement for a month, and attempt to measure its effects. Better sleep, less joint stiffness, or improved endurance are the kinds of things I’m looking for. And I want to understand how the supplement might interact with other supplements.

The background

I have no chronic illnesses and no prescriptions, so I have less to be concerned about. Also, I do not smoke (anything) or drink alcohol. We can talk about that later, if you like.

The supplements

Acetyl L Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid – Few things in life are as terrifying as dementia. In addition to exercise, I take a daily dose of this potent antioxidant combo to help preserve my brain. I do not get Limitless-like special effects, however.

Resveratrol – This extract of red wine grapes reportedly holds some promise for extending longevity. Since it is derived from food, I do not regard taking it as a risk if the science doesn’t hold up.

Glucosamine Sulfate – As my body ages, I have to be concerned about conserving joint cartilage. The most recent research I read showed that glucosamine alone outperformed the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin. I have taken his supplement faithfully and have remained active, so I’m sticking with it.

Saw Palmetto – I have read in more than one source that almost every man can experience enlargement of the prostate gland — it’s simply a matter of when. The research is less than overwhelming, but I began taking saw palmetto before my 40th birthday to help slow the process. So far so good.

Potassium gluconate – If you increase your protein intake, your body will eliminate the excess in your urine. This diuretic effect can take potassium with it. I take a potassium supplement to help replace what get flushed out. This helps me avoid muscle cramping and keeps me from feeling lethargic.

Probiotics – I am fascinated with what we are learning about the role our microbiomes play in ensuring good health. To keep my gut flora healthy, I have eliminated artificial sweeteners from my diet and I take a supplement every day. I also have added more fermented foods to my plate.

Vitamin D3 – My doctor recommended this one to me several years ago. Given how little time most of us get outdoors, and the more frequent use of sunblock when we do, we are inhibiting our bodies’ opportunity to synthesize vitamin D from sun exposure. I take 2,000 International Units per day, and I have noticed greater capacity for work and more rapid recovery, with less tendency to get sick. If you’d like to know more about this supplement, you can read how and why college and professional athletes are using vitamin D3 here. If people who make their living outside can be vitamin D deficient, you could be, too.

Selenium – I don’t take this in a pill form. I get selenium from Brazil nuts. Unless one has a medical diagnosis I am not in favor of testosterone supplements. I am in favor of increasing my body’s own production. Zinc and selenium — along with lifting — seem to work for me.

No silver bullets

No one supplement will guarantee health or longer life. I take a systems approach to my health, as I do with most things these days. I’m seeking small (in terms of cost and energy) changes that will have outsized benefits. This way, my health rests on multiple columns of activity, nutrition, hydration, rest, prayer, and supplementation. It’s going to be very difficult to knock all of those down at once. I’ll let you know how it goes when I’m 110 years old!

So how about you? What supplements have you found most helpful in your fitness regimen? Add your comments below.

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” – Charles M. Schulz

Recently, I wrote about how I broke through from fat to fit. In that post, I promised to share what I’ve learned over time about eating for optimum fitness. Some of this might be new to you — even contrary to what you may have been taught. I hope you’ll do your own research and try what seems best to you. Eat the meat and spit out the bones

Protein and fat — it’s what’s for dinner!

The Basics

There are only three macronutrieints: protein, fat and carbohydrates. Each contains calories, but one flaw in most nutrition strategies is the assumption that all calories are equal. Using this logic, well-meaning people cut back on their eating across the board — or worse, shift to a higher percentage of carbohydrates in their diet.While they may lose weight, they end up with a higher percentage of body fat and less muscle, thus becoming a skinny fat person — a lose-lose scenario.

At one level, you could say that an excess of calories from any source would necessarily cause you to pile on the pounds. However, it’s not as simple as that.

Of the three, you only need protein and fats to survive. Carbohydrates can have a place in your diet, but you do not require them. Protein supplies you with the amino acids you need to support lean body mass – the most metabolically active and desirable stuff for health. So whenever you sit down to eat, make sure you’re taking in adequate protein and eat your protein first.

How to calculate protein requirements

Let’s start by saying that, unless you have a history of kidney disease, we’re going to calculate the minimum daily protein. To do this, you need to know your lean body mass. There are multiple ways to calculate this. (I like the method devised by husband and wife M.D.s Michael and Mary Eades — authors of the book, Protein Power.) If you don’t have access to the tables and constants, you can use an online calculator like this one.

Once you know your lean body mass, you can determine how much protein you need per day. If you’re athletic, you should aim for 0.9 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass a day. If you weigh 175 pounds and have 15% body fat, your lean body mass is 148.75 pounds. An active man with this lean body mass should take in at least 134 grams of complete protein per day. Spread over three meals a day, that would be approximately 45 grams of protein per sitting. And for your information, one ounce of lean meat contains approximately 7 grams of protein.

Wait? Fats are good for you?

In a word, yes. Eating fat will help you to feel full, but it won’t make you fat unless you combine that fat with carbohydrates. They provide the kind of fuel you need, and interestingly, when you’re consuming fat, your body takes this as a signal that all is well and you do not attempt to store it.

At our house, we use grass fed butter, avocados, nuts, extra virgin olive oil and unrefined coconut oil as our sources of dietary fats. This, of course, is in addition to the fats present in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products.

If you want to gain a better understanding of the ways dietary science has been skewed to disfavor fats, check out the book, The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz. She reports how the entire country’s eating habits — and nutritional education — rest on some shaky foundations.

But let me tell you that your brain needs fat to function. And your body needs cholesterol in order to produce testosterone. That’s right. In our area there are radio and TV spots talking about America’s plummeting testosterone levels and selling remedies. And this while we are telling men to avoid cholesterol in their diets. If you want to avoid being low-T, crack some eggs.

For the record, two-thirds of your serum cholesterol is produced by your liver. It does this, not in response to cholesterol you eat, but in response to insulin you produce — that production happens when you eat carbohydrates.

If you’re concerned that eating protein and fat will skew your health metrics, I have been eating this way for over 15 years and my cholesterol numbers are consistently within normal limits.

Kick carbs to the curb

So let’s say you’ve figured out how much protein you need per day, and you’ve decided to let fat back into your diet. Good man! You lack one thing: you must now break your addiction to carbohydrates and cut your consumption of them way back.

Let’s start with what sports trainer Mark Verstegen calls “the Devil’s carb” — high fructose corn syrup. This inexpensive sugar appears as a leading ingredient in nearly all sodas and many, many prepared foods. Become a reader of food labels and wherever possible choose whole foods, or at least options that are free of high fructose corn syrup.

You can get rid of a lot of carbohydrates easily through your choice of beverages. I drink black coffee, unsweet iced tea and water — all of which have zero calories. The only exception to this practice is the protein shakes I use to make sure I get enough protein every day. Quit drinking your calories. And if you’re serious about getting fit, that includes alcohol.

But don’t stop there. Eliminate all white carbs from your diet — sugar, bread, rice, noodles, potatoes. These spike your insulin, which is the master fat storage hormone.

Tim Ferriss says

In his book, The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss decribes an eating plan we’ve followed for the past four years. The Slow-Carb diet employs a lot of the principles above, but replaces refined carbohydrates with legumes — beans. Six days a week, you eat meat (protein), non-starchy vegetables and beans, while avoiding white carbs, fruit and dairy. One day a week, you’re allowed to have a cheat day where everything is back on the menu. We have found this to be rather easy to sustain over time, but you should know there is no exit plan when one hits his ideal weight/body composition.

Ferriss says, “The decent method you follow is better than the perfect method you quit.” I think this is great guidance as you make progress toward the best possible version of yourself. Don’t be afraid to experiment and to modify any plan to enable you to improve your appearance and your health.

So how about you? What method have you used or do you plan to use to improve your fitness, your health, your life? Add your comments below.

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” – Charles M. Schulz

Recently, I wrote about how I broke through from fat to fit. In that post, I promised to share what I’ve learned over time about eating for optimum fitness. Some of this might be new to you — even contrary to what you may have been taught. I hope you’ll do your own research and try what seems best to you. Eat the meat and spit out the bones

Protein and fat — it’s what’s for dinner!

The Basics

There are only three macronutrieints: protein, fat and carbohydrates. Each contains calories, but one flaw in most nutrition strategies is the assumption that all calories are equal. Using this logic, well-meaning people cut back on their eating across the board — or worse, shift to a higher percentage of carbohydrates in their diet.While they may lose weight, they end up with a higher percentage of body fat and less muscle, thus becoming a skinny fat person — a lose-lose scenario.

At one level, you could say that an excess of calories from any source would necessarily cause you to pile on the pounds. However, it’s not as simple as that.

Of the three, you only need protein and fats to survive. Carbohydrates can have a place in your diet, but you do not require them. Protein supplies you with the amino acids you need to support lean body mass – the most metabolically active and desirable stuff for health. So whenever you sit down to eat, make sure you’re taking in adequate protein and eat your protein first.

How to calculate protein requirements

Let’s start by saying that, unless you have a history of kidney disease, we’re going to calculate the minimum daily protein. To do this, you need to know your lean body mass. There are multiple ways to calculate this. (I like the method devised by husband and wife M.D.s Michael and Mary Eades — authors of the book, Protein Power.) If you don’t have access to the tables and constants, you can use an online calculator like this one.

Once you know your lean body mass, you can determine how much protein you need per day. If you’re athletic, you should aim for 0.9 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass a day. If you weigh 175 pounds and have 15% body fat, your lean body mass is 148.75 pounds. An active man with this lean body mass should take in at least 134 grams of complete protein per day. Spread over three meals a day, that would be approximately 45 grams of protein per sitting. And for your information, one ounce of lean meat contains approximately 7 grams of protein.

Wait? Fats are good for you?

In a word, yes. Eating fat will help you to feel full, but it won’t make you fat unless you combine that fat with carbohydrates. They provide the kind of fuel you need, and interestingly, when you’re consuming fat, your body takes this as a signal that all is well and you do not attempt to store it.

At our house, we use grass fed butter, avocados, nuts, extra virgin olive oil and unrefined coconut oil as our sources of dietary fats. This, of course, is in addition to the fats present in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products.

If you want to gain a better understanding of the ways dietary science has been skewed to disfavor fats, check out the book, The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz. She reports how the entire country’s eating habits — and nutritional education — rest on some shaky foundations.

But let me tell you that your brain needs fat to function. And your body needs cholesterol in order to produce testosterone. That’s right. In our area there are radio and TV spots talking about America’s plummeting testosterone levels and selling remedies. And this while we are telling men to avoid cholesterol in their diets. If you want to avoid being low-T, crack some eggs.

For the record, two-thirds of your serum cholesterol is produced by your liver. It does this, not in response to cholesterol you eat, but in response to insulin you produce — that production happens when you eat carbohydrates.

If you’re concerned that eating protein and fat will skew your health metrics, I have been eating this way for over 15 years and my cholesterol numbers are consistently within normal limits.

Kick carbs to the curb

So let’s say you’ve figured out how much protein you need per day, and you’ve decided to let fat back into your diet. Good man! You lack one thing: you must now break your addiction to carbohydrates and cut your consumption of them way back.

Let’s start with what sports trainer Mark Verstegen calls “the Devil’s carb” — high fructose corn syrup. This inexpensive sugar appears as a leading ingredient in nearly all sodas and many, many prepared foods. Become a reader of food labels and wherever possible choose whole foods, or at least options that are free of high fructose corn syrup.

You can get rid of a lot of carbohydrates easily through your choice of beverages. I drink black coffee, unsweet iced tea and water — all of which have zero calories. The only exception to this practice is the protein shakes I use to make sure I get enough protein every day. Quit drinking your calories. And if you’re serious about getting fit, that includes alcohol.

But don’t stop there. Eliminate all white carbs from your diet — sugar, bread, rice, noodles, potatoes. These spike your insulin, which is the master fat storage hormone.

Tim Ferriss says

In his book, The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss decribes an eating plan we’ve followed for the past four years. The Slow-Carb diet employs a lot of the principles above, but replaces refined carbohydrates with legumes — beans. Six days a week, you eat meat (protein), non-starchy vegetables and beans, while avoiding white carbs, fruit and dairy. One day a week, you’re allowed to have a cheat day where everything is back on the menu. We have found this to be rather easy to sustain over time, but you should know there is no exit plan when one hits his ideal weight/body composition.

Ferriss says, “The decent method you follow is better than the perfect method you quit.” I think this is great guidance as you make progress toward the best possible version of yourself. Don’t be afraid to experiment and to modify any plan to enable you to improve your appearance and your health.

So how about you? What method have you used or do you plan to use to improve your fitness, your health, your life? Add your comments below.

We all get the same 24 hours — what will you have to show for yours?

“Do you see a man skillful in his work?  He will stand before kings.  He will not stand before ordinary men.”  -Proverbs 22:29

So here we are with Thanksgiving two weeks away, and Christmas less than a month after that.  Whether you’re trying to make your sales quota, or trying to maintain your GPA, this point in the year seems to jam a stick in many men’s spokes.  Whatever the reason, the temptation appears this way: Why not just throw it in neutral and coast ’til the new year?

We’ve talked before about living a life of consequence so let me give you some grade A elephant chow — you cannot make your mark in life if you don’t finish strong.

Here’s my personal checklist to get and stay motivated:

Sleep — How many hours a night do I need, and how many am I getting?  It’s remarkable how much easier it is to stay motivated when you’re getting enough quality sleep.  This is one of those things where you must be present to win.  You can’t outsource it and you can’t be your best without it.  Without adequate rest, your judgment is impaired and your attention is spent trying to stay awake rather than on doing quality work.

Note that sleep researchers have determined that your brain needs that downtime to process all that great thinking you’ve been doing all day.  In a similar way, all the benefits of your exercise regimen accrue while you’re asleep. That’s right — you don’t build muscle in the gym, you build it while you’re asleep.

Depending on your age, you need between seven-and-a-half and nine hours of sleep per night for optimal health. (More than nine hours a night will shorten your life.  Seriously.)  Biologically, the sleep cycle is 90 minutes, so to be able to wake up when you mean to without feeling drugged, count back from your wake time in 90 minute blocks.  For example, since I want to get 7.5 hours of sleep and to wake up at 5:30 AM, I need to be asleep by 10:00 PM.

Naps are good — just keep them under 20 minutes.  Oh, and if you need more sleep than you’ve been getting, try turning in earlier.  Wayne Cordeiro calls that “sleeping in on the right side of the clock.”

Hydration — Am I drinking enough water?  I know coffee contains water, but your body and your brain need good old dihydrogen monoxide for you to feel like yourself.  You wouldn’t operate your car without oil in the crankcase would you?

Attitude — Am I able to see the tasks in front of me as important parts of the life and legacy I’m building?  Are they providing me with knowledge or experience I’ll be able to use later?  I have learned that I don’t always have the best vantage point to make that judgment while I’m in the middle of them.

Without a doubt there are assignments that do not seem to fit the context of your mission — and the younger you are, the less likely it is you can refuse them and live.  Strive to connect those mandatory tasks to your calling, wrap them up successfully and move on.

Anxiety —  Am I allowing fears to distract me?  When I am facing the likelihood of undesirable results or the fear of failure, I sometimes find it easier to procrastinate than to move forward.

This is the heart of it:  You and I must take authority over these fears and silence them.  Even if they seem to be the most real things in our lives, even if there is empirical evidence accompanied by 95% confidence interval statistics that predict that the thing you dread is coming true, you must run toward it to overcome it.  As Michael Hyatt says there is no failure — only learning.

Nutrition — Am I taking in enough of the right kind of foods?  You need protein and fats (yes!) to maintain muscle and brain health.  We’ll talk more about this later, but make sure you aren’t starving yourself and make sure you aren’t getting most of your calories from carbohydrates.

Exercise — Am I skipping my workouts?  Physical activity will increase your confidence, boost your mood, and bust your stress.  If you have access to a gym, make time for regular exercise.  If you don’t, do what I do — train at home.  If you outgrow a pull-up bar and a 55-lb. kettlebell, mister, I’d like to shake your hand.

Discipline — Am I considering how my actions or inaction will affect my family, my colleagues, my friends — the ones who depend on me?  Am I allocating my time,  attention, effort and money to get the outcomes I desire? I am a big believer in to-do lists as well as in Evernote for keeping track of the things I must get done.

Pro tip — For us men, testosterone is where a lot of our get up and go comes from.  Nearly everything on my checklist will affect your testosterone level for good or ill.  Look into it and stay motivated.

So how about you?  What’s weighing you down?  What are you doing to overcome it?  What did I miss on my checklist?  Add your comments below.

Keep the blade in its scabbard until the proper time!

“Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues.” – C.S. Lewis

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time.  (If you haven’t seen it, go watch it now.  I’ll wait.)

In a famous scene, one of the villain Vezzini’s henchmen, a Spanish swordsman named Inigo Montoya, corrects his boss.  Vezzini replies to every bit of unfavorable news with the exclamation “Inconceivable!”  After several such eruptions Montoya cocks his head and says, “You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.”

In a previous post, I encouraged you to “be a leader and try something different — chastity.”  I realize that I may not have explained what chastity is and what it is not.

Making love right
Chastity is about the proper use of sex.  For the single, chastity means waiting until marriage.  (Most people, whether they agree or not, get that part right.) For the married, it means remaining faithful to your wife — “forsaking all others” as the traditional marriage vows say.  That means you invest your sexual interest and energy  – your thoughts, affection and loyalty — in your wife and in no other woman, real or imagined.

Chastity is not lifelong celibacy
Unless you are called to singleness, chastity doesn’t mean no sex for you — ever.  Yes, celibacy’s required before marriage, but in marriage, celibacy gives way to sexual exclusivity.  By the way, the Bible teaches that husbands and wives are not to deprive one another sexually.  Our Roman Catholic friends call this the marriage debt — and like all other debts, bad things happen if it isn’t paid.

Chastity is not anti-sex
In fact, the opposite is true.  Chastity places a higher value on sex and therefore doesn’t allow for the cheapening and commodifcation of such a great gift.  These days, women’s bodies are treated like props to sell us all kinds of products.  And with the ways we are marketed to constantly, in our culture we have become consumers — consumers of beauty, consumers of women.

Chastity honors the imago dei – the image and likeness of God — that He designed into us.  The complementarity of maleness and femaleness and the attraction of men and women to each other is for our benefit. It impels us toward love and its fullest expression in marriage, but the way is not broad and lighted like a runway.

It is easier to follow the herd and to become a consumer of women, rather than the lover of one wife.  But this more difficult way is the appropriate environment to discover what God reveals about Himself through the gift of sex.

Chastity is not about what you cannot have
I follow the slow-carb diet and I’m strict about it.  Friends ask me how I eat and when I tell them, many say, ” I couldn’t do without bread.” Or potatoes.  Or doughnuts — whatever.  This is the wrong way to go about a diet, and it’s the wrong way to go about living a chaste life.  Constantly thinking about what you can’t have is a way to make you miserable, and becoming obsessed with the forbidden is a nearly flawless way to give in to it.

Chastity is about the good of the individual and the community
Author Wendell Berry wrote that sex has a communal basis — that ultimately, it’s everyone’s business.  This idea is completely at odds with what our society believes is strictly personal.  But look at it this way: God gave human beings sex to be a picture of the love He has for His bride, the church.  God is revealed in scripture as a totally faithful — and jealous — lover.

In its proper place, sex is the deepest, most exclusive kind of knowing and being known.  If marriage and the family are the cornerstones of civilization, marital and sexual fidelity are the mortar that holds them together.

You unmarried guys need to see us older married guys living right so you know it is possible.  And we older married guys need to see you young single men living right so we aren’t led astray.  Let’s encourage and set a Godly example for each other.

Choosing to be a leader and to live a chaste life honors God and helps you to avoid one of the classic blunders.  More on this later.

So how about you?  What are you doing to help you live a chaste life?  Add your comments below.