Immediately after bonking at my first marathon back in 2000 my fat adaptation journey started with a simple question…”What were the evolutionary pressures which shaped us as humans?”
‘Primitive’ Man, did not have a bowl of oatmeal, then grab a couple of gels before he went hunting. His and his tribe’s lives depended upon mental and physical performance without the modern man-made methods we’ve been ‘sold & told.’ He did not count his calories nor calculate his macros to maintain a lean and robust physique and grow a large brain. . . it was those evolutionary pressures which gave humans both the adaptive stressors and rich, bio-available and balanced nutrition to thrive as a species. And it all happened in what I call ‘the elegantly chaotic order of nature.’
This simple question has led me in a quest for answers, The Holy Grail of health and performance if you will. My conundrum though is with every answer are a host of new questions to take me down infinite rabbit holes of inquiry. Yet out of this has emerged three constants I’d like to share with you in today’s video. So, at the risk of becoming labelled a present-day Don Quixote or the characters from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, here are the three guiding principles of OFM.
Principle # 1- YOU are an individual!
There is no “one size fits all,” no one diet, no specific exercise regimen that is optimal for YOU. We have been ‘sold & told’ into this diet or that exercise program and the result has been a health and fitness crisis even many athletes don’t escape. While most will see some level of benefit from following any diet & exercise program over the standard SAD diet and sedentary lifestyle, YOU cannot optimize your health and performance unless it is individualized. Unfortunately most of the well-intended health and performance information out there is set up to commoditize the individual without his/her realizing this. Why? Because there is NO money in the individual. Think about that for a minute then recognize ‘Nobody does your push-ups for you.’
Principle # 2 - We are meant to metabolize fat
Humans, in our human ingenuity, have taken ourselves far afield of our natural ability to metabolize fat at the rates and aerobic intensity levels nature shaped us for. As demonstrated in The Faster Study humans are able to metabolize fat at far higher rates and intensity levels than the “science” to date suggested was possible...but there is more YOU should know. Virtually all of the Low Carbohydrate Diet Cohort in the FASTER Study practice a form of OFM and use VESPA in the real world of training and racing and were personally guided by me in their initial fat adaptation!
Principle #3 - We are meant to MOVE . . .a LOT!
Our bodies evolved to be physically active for hours. We have ‘devolved’ from our evolutionary heritage to the point anyone training for an endurance sport is considered an outlier and far from what is ‘normal.’ There are no shortcuts to this and whether you are relatively sedentary, an Ironman Triathlete, Crossfitter or a Special Forces Operator if you cannot function well for 2-3 hours without needing calories or taking a break YOU are metabolically compromised.
Our team’s experience in ancestral health is unprecedented because it is backed by performance results at the very outer edges of real world human performance. We harness the ‘Science of Nature’ and not the man-made lab to guide you to your health and performance potential. If you want to learn more on how OFM and Vespa can help you reach your peak metabolic state book a free consult.
