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It could be something you've said, or something you've done. It doesn't have to be wild "for paleo" - it can be something that was wild "for you" at the time - something that stretched you personally!

Sample feats:

  • Finally bought pastured meat in bulk and filled your freezer.
  • Ate unreal amounts of offal after never before including it in your diet.
  • Lost a whole bunch of weight eating paleo-style.
  • Beaten your personal best in lifting.
  • Tried out no-'poo.
  • Started Crossfitting.

Sample "whys":

  • To impress someone else.
  • To impress yourself.
  • To try something new.
  • To prepare for a high school or college reunion.
  • To win a competition.

What is your wildest-for-you paleo feat - and what reason motivated you to accomplish it?!

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2 
 went to the artic circle to train in cold water to see the effects of uncoupling protein one. By the way it works. – The Quilt Feb 21 2011 at 5:48
@Dr. K: What does "Uncoupling protein one" mean. Are you referring to the protein UCP1? How did you train and disentangle the metabolic effects of shivering from mitochondrial uncoupling? What tests did you do on yourself? – mac389 Feb 21 2011 at 15:52
UCP1 is the thermogenic protein that uncouple oxidative phosphorylation at cytochrome position one. In effect it makes the mitochondria stop producing ATP and turns the fuel directly to heat. It is not effected by leptin resistance so it can be used even in those who are leptin resistant. Elite athlete use it to optimize exercise ability and outcomes. The best way to measure that is serial VO2 max assessment to see how you numbers improve with cold training. Also strength and body comp studies are done serially over time. – The Quilt Feb 22 2011 at 3:10
During training optimization you must assess total body response to thermal change both internally and externally and over all body surface area. Very labor intensive and expensive. There is much published data on the optimization of the uses of UCP1 but they are not accessible to most people due to time and cost. But it works well. Clinical research is now being done worldwide and the biggest clinical application now is by plastic surgeons in using the Zeltiq machines. One treatment is over 750 dollars. Again it works very well. – The Quilt Feb 22 2011 at 3:12

19 Answers

17

I lived in the wilds on the SD/WY border for a week, in a pair of shorts. I only brought a knife, a portable Berkey water purifier, Tango Papa, and a bow drill with a friction chord. I built a shelter out of fallen trees and covered it with pine limbs. Never rained, so I never got to see how well it would have kept me dry. I hunted with sharpened sticks and managed to kill a squirrel on my third day and two rabbits; one on the fourth day and one on my last day. No luck spearing any fish. Gathered some sage for purification/cooking and some chokecherries. I'd walk/sprint for miles up and the Black Hills (using stealth to avoid Rangers/tourists and I did stalk a few!), through valleys, crossed and swam in streams and climbed trees. I spent a lot of time gathering wood and picking off ticks. I saw grizzly, elk, mule deer, mountain lion, eagles and hawks among many others. I did it for only one reason....I simply wanted to experience a Human....BEING.

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I keep seeking that, just being. Every time I do just a day hike in the mountains or spend a day in the forest, I don't want to come back to civilization. – Chickenosaurus Rex Mar 6 2011 at 17:03
Learn to live amongst them, but devoid of them. – Tactical Savage Mar 6 2011 at 23:51
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  1. My days are so wild and crazy that I'm in bed no later than 10 PM and often by 9 PM.
  2. I love to sprint past runners half my age. Hey, who is that crazy "old" guy? I never believed I could run like I can now.
  3. One of my neighbors recently became quite disturbed by me doing pull-ups on a tree in the park. He kept staring at me like I was going to rob him or maybe take the donuts and beer he was unloading from his car. Was it because of the healthy paleo glow and shiny teeth? Was it my hair sticking up on end? I had taken off my running hat. I know, how awful, someone using the public park for FITNESS! Egads! I used to not be able to do 1 pull-up.
  4. I've dropped 2 or 3 pant sizes in the past 4 months. I thought I was doomed to keep gaining flab and looking like a pear.
  5. I tossed out all of the snake oil I bought when eating SAD. Too high in PUFAs from all the grain fed rats they were eating.
  6. After our recent blizzard, I shoveled snow for 2 hours and was barely sore the next day. Something like that would have put the hurt on me before for several days afterward.
  7. I've eaten more meat than I ever thought one possibly could and it feels great!
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1 
 shiny teeth!! ha ha love it! – texasleah Feb 21 2011 at 19:06
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 People will look at you even weirder if you start climbing the trees in the park. But it's perfectly normal behavior, really ... Congratulations on the weight loss and improved fitness. – Paul Feb 21 2011 at 21:22
@WCC Paul: Thanks! I do plan on climbing trees this spring. I can't wait for the reactions! :-) I agree, it is perfectly normal behavior. – Chickenosaurus Rex Feb 22 2011 at 16:14
@texasleah: They're not quite as shiny as Ross's became in a famous episode of Friends, but I'm working on it! :-)) – Chickenosaurus Rex Feb 22 2011 at 19:30
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Pwned my athletic team students (high school) in push ups :) I was the only one to last till 50! (well, not all were full, 27 regular, the rest on knees, but as a woman I was supposed to do all of them on knees!). it was during our school's version of the "Presidential Fitness Test" or something like that. In all of the points I did at least 100%. My plank was seriously best, even compared to some colleagues! yay!

oh, and I did it to impress myself and the kids as well. I like to be the kick-butt teacher ;-)

Fasting. Anything. I used to get sick after just a few hours of not eating, now I can go whole day (most I did was 24h) and I feel great!

I never before did weight lifting. It's the first time in my life that I own a bench and weighted vest :)

oh, and just for the personal satisfaction - I like to eat my 5 egg omelet in the faculty room, with them eating all the low-fat, "diet" meals and "egg beaters" knishes... The terror in their eyes is precious ;-)

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1 
 +1 - I love (unfortunately rare) P.E. teachers and coaches who can actually nail the drills they RX! – familygrokumentarian Feb 21 2011 at 3:23
That's awesome Yoannah! \o/ – sherpamelissa Feb 21 2011 at 3:41
1 
 thanks! and I am NOT a PE teacher! I actually teach ... Bible and history ;-) – Yoannah_offca Feb 21 2011 at 16:38
Whoops - my bad! Either way when you're a teacher besting your students physically it's impressive. :) – familygrokumentarian Feb 21 2011 at 17:06
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raw liver smoothie

raw bison liver, raw milk, raw honey, raw cacao powder

not as awful as it might sound

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+1 for your bravery, sir! ;) – Kimmie Feb 21 2011 at 2:07
Jaw agape here. +1! – familygrokumentarian Feb 21 2011 at 2:08
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 I just threw up in my mouth a little..but bravo. – bittykitty Feb 21 2011 at 2:09
1 
 well, the idea that cooking denatures food is part of it. Liver is probably the single most nutrient dense food, some people call it nature's multi-vitamin. Being from grass-fed bison (and the milk is from grass-fed cows), I didn't worry much about e coli or anything. Also, I eat about 5-8 raw eggs each day (in a smoothie) so it wasn't that much of a stretch. A good book about raw foods (meats, etc) is 'We Want to Live' by aajonus vonderplanitz. I don't agree with everything he says but he does make some good points – Jeff Feb 21 2011 at 2:30
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 I wonder if I could get one of those at my gym's food bar? :-) – Chickenosaurus Rex Feb 21 2011 at 17:34
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I fasted for 3 full days (75 hours total)! This is unheard of for me as I am at minimum a two meal a day girl, and I usually snack too. It was not as hard as I thought it would be, the hunger just vanished. I did it in order to determine what "real hunger" feels like in an attempt to kill cravings. A few months ago, I made it 24 hours with pure determination, but knowing when the finish line was just seemed to make the hunger miserable. The last few months I have tried the 16/8 feeding window, which I have no problem with skipping one meal, but I have a problem with eating too much during that window because it does nothing to abate my appetite. This time, I started the fast with no time goal, just a goal of refraining from eating until I truly needed to eat to function and this mind set made all the difference. Continuing the fast for as long as I did seemed to put an end to "mental hunger" and it was liberating to be free from food cravings.

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Wow! That is a long fast. Did you weigh before, at the end, after resuming eating? Not that the number on the scale is the absolute, but I'm such a data collector that I would probably be doing that. You've piqued my curiosity - maybe some time after a few steady low carb days I can give your fasting mindset a try and see what my body tells me. – familygrokumentarian Feb 21 2011 at 3:03
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 I lost about 4 pounds, close to a pound a day, but from what I have read that rate of weight loss would have slowed after five days. Probably mostly water. But the best thing that I lost was the thought that I could not do it :) – texasleah Feb 21 2011 at 3:27
1 
 Wow! +1 for grit and testing your limits. – Chickenosaurus Rex Feb 21 2011 at 19:49
thanks! it was an eye-opener. – texasleah Feb 22 2011 at 15:06
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Sometimes, I just feel like running a little bit for no apparent reason. Like maybe I will be going to my car to get something, and I'll decide to just run to the car. Sometimes someone will ask me what's wrong? Why are you running? And I'll say, "Nothing, I just felt like running." And they'll look at me like I'm totally bonkers.

ANother thing I do is ask the butcher for the cut of meat with as much fat as possible. They always ask me why and when I tell them that is how you eat when lowcarb eating and you can lose weight that way, they act like I am totally insane. One guy said he has been a butcher for 21 years and no one has EVER asked him for that! And you should see the look they give you if you try to tell them that it's healthy!

I also did try out the no shampoo thing. For someone who showers every single day, it took some mental adaptation. And it's not something others can easily assimilate if you suddenly announce that you have decided to no longer use soap! Again, it's something that if said to others could tempt them to think you may be needing a straight jacket next because the aliens from Mars have infiltrated the white house! In the long run, I found that mild totally natural oil based soap makes my hair look much better though.

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I get a freezer special of assorted meats from our local butcher once a month. The first time I got it he explained that I could substitute anything I wanted from the standard package at market rate. His example was that I could sub boneless skinless chicken breasts for the bone-in breast and legs that it comes with. His jaw almost hit the floor when I was like "no chicken at all please--just give me the fattiest roasts you've got and some of those marrow bones there instead." – amanda Feb 27 2011 at 5:36
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  • Lost 77 pounds eating paleo since august 1st.
  • Cooked, prepared and ate pig's feet for the first time yesterday.

Before:

alt text

After:

alt text

Recipe:

http://bit.ly/gGW82T

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  • Tried heart, tongue, and liver for the first time.
  • Wore Vibrams FFs around the office and out in public.
  • Started going to the gym at 5:30 am before work.
  • Used a rowing machine for the first time.
  • Going to bed by 9.
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1 
 I love the gym at 5:30am, except at 4:30am when the alarm goes off! – sherpamelissa Feb 21 2011 at 14:36
oh if only vibrams or barefoot worked with skirts in a conservative office! – texasleah Feb 21 2011 at 16:48
I go in at 5:30 to swim. If I went in the afternoon or evening after work I'd have to deal with too many rugrats in the pool. – Carl_Stawicki Feb 21 2011 at 18:10
That's hardcore Carl! I did swimming once a week at 5:30am for triathlon training and DAMN. THAT WATER IS COLD that early in the morning. – sherpamelissa Feb 21 2011 at 18:20
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  • Offering to help people move/rearrange furniture in the name of lifting more heavy things
  • Stopped shampooing my hair
  • Repeatedly Googled long ingredient names and waded through scientific monotony to try and find out what the heck is in the things we buy
  • Occasionally don't eat for 22+ hours at a time, just for the heck of it
  • Sent a waitress to the kitchen 3 or more times with questions (politely, but sorry!! at least I tip well..)
  • Spent $7 on a dozen eggs
  • Generally offend the veg*ns in my life :)
  • Bought a pullup bar (as someone who previously prided herself on doing as little exercise as possible)
  • Put up some hideous blackout curtains in the name of better sleep
  • Bought raw milk out of the back of a van in a Walgreen's parking lot (long story)
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Hah, I offered to help someone move for a free workout too! – Stephen-Aegis Mar 2 2011 at 3:00
+1 for hideous blackout curtains. – mari Mar 3 2011 at 23:16
+1 for the back-of-the-van-milk – Meghan Oct 21 2011 at 23:54
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Eat coconut. Eat oil. Eat beef. Eat butter. Eat macadamias. Eat bacon. Eat whole yogurt...

EAT FAT!

This is probably old hat to most of you, but if you told me 2 1/2 years ago - when I was anorexic, plagued by digestive problems and weak as a kitten - that these would become my diet staples, I would have thought it as likely and appealing as cannibalism.

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4

I'm new at this and my newbie brave thing was to try coconut oil in my green tea! I know, not so brave compared to many, but it took a bit of convincing myself.

It was kind of comforting. I bet I could get used to it. :)

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Do you know I had never thought of trying coconut oil in green tea - will definitely be doing this! I quite like cream in my green tea which is another thing some people find strange. – Jason Feb 22 2011 at 16:29
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Ran flat out for 1 mile. (yes, I thought I was Jason Bourne)

Filled my freezer with grass fed beef.

Have eaten more bacon in the last few months than in my whole life.

Converted several of my friends and they have all lost weight.

I have abs, can actually see them. 15% Body Fat. Lost 15lbs.

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Last month I filled up my freezer w/grassfed beef- even a heart (that one's a big deal for me, haha)! I have yet to cook it though. I've cut down to shampooing once a week, used coconut oil as sunscreen, and am horrifying everyone I know with my saturated fat intake :)

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3

It's not truly "wild" but I raised my calories from 1200 per day to 1500 per day. This was HUGE for me. As a calorie counting weight loss junkie it was an amazing step for me towards unweighed/unmeasured and learning to eat to satiety. I still have a long way to go, but inching up my calories while increasing my fat intake was a major change.

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Not the craziest thing, but then again, the logic can definitely be questioned:

As a life-long chapstick addict, I just threw out an unopened 3-pack of Chapstick when I realized that it's full of soy. My girlfriend found a brand at Whole Foods called Badger that makes some without soy, but I think I'm going to go at it sans lip supplements and see what happens naturally.

I doubt this effects my health much, but I'd rather not support Monsanto, even in the slightest.

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1 
 Then don't support Whole Foods treehugger.com/files/2011/02/… – Tactical Savage Mar 2 2011 at 14:50
Yes, I was crestfallen to hear about that. I like to believe they made their decisions with the consumer's best interest in mind, but who really knows. Corporations are very scary things. I figure albeit a small act, eliminating soy/corn products (not just food) out of my life is another "vote" for the better. – Ryan Mar 2 2011 at 15:18
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So you know how our furry four legged friends make their vitamin D? Secretions from their skin interact with UV light then they ingest it by licking themselves. Well...I've taken a new approach to supplementing my vitamin D ... and my pets are looking much cleaner...

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LOL! That's pretty funny! – vdh1979 Sep 2 2011 at 14:11
2

I think the "wildest" thing I've done so far was complete a Tough Mudder run last month - 10 miles of running, swimming, crawling, jumping, balancing, climbing and carrying. Big fun!

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How was it? I'll be doing my first tough mudder in April. – GPS Feb 22 2011 at 12:24
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 GPS - it was great. I found it very challenging (my longest run ever + the obstacles). I highly recommend some cold-tolerance conditioning! We had to swim three different times and the cold water really shocks the system. I prepped by switching to cold showers 2 months before the run and doing some outdoor cold-weather runs and exercising. I really think that prep helped me out a lot. – Aaron Feb 22 2011 at 14:17
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Also did the raw Liver Smoothie.

Raw liver, avocado, kerrygold. Garlic and cayenne.

Spicy Guacamole. Was good, but was very leery to take the first sip.

Edit: today, I tried Raw, Medium Rare, and Well Done Liver. Grassfed. Disliked it all. Disguised Smoothies for me!

Also, I slipped the organ meat in her chili.

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2

Wow! Looking through these answers, I realize I haven't done anything that wild.

Honestly, for me, switching to Paleo was pretty radical. Giving up things that I thought would make me healthy was difficult; it's a wild idea! My family thinks I'm nuts and my coworkers don't get it. It's so far from the traditional ideals of "health" that I'm compelled to classify my change from SAD to Paleo as the wildest thing I've done.

Why? I'm not sure. Something about it just made sense. When I really thought about it, agriculture and processing food just....didn't seem right. So, I gave it a shot just for kicks! I'll never go back.

And that's my humble answer (compared to the others in this thread).

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