Rozey Thorn Trees

 Here’s a couple of informative health clips from the meat health Instagram account about meat and dairy only diets in a couple of indigenous communities. A documentary of an explorer who lived with Inuits and discovered that their diet consisted of whale meat and fat, fish and water  for half a year and caribou the other half. At first he worried about malnutrition but discovered that he was healthier than he’d ever been before after 4 and a half months. He saw no evidence of heart disease and cancer in the community. The tallest tribesmen in Africa consume primarily milk and dairy. And a clip from a British 1958 documentary short called Eat Fat To Be Slim : eat less starch and sugar and more of everything else. Fascinating.  Note that longevity is improved with a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle and access to quality healthcare. The Inuit live about 10 years less than the average person in Canada and Greenland. And the tribesmen is about 50!

 Today I’m determined to reset my standards. I’ve got to look into Goggins’s mirror and get after my goals! I’m not going to curse at myself or feel sorry for myself about it. A hernia is a setback for me in man ways but not enough to excuse me from my weight-loss program, certainly not enough to stop walking again. It’s not too late. Now it begins.  My breakfast was light this morning because we overslept! I ate a half an apple and some peanut butter and drank half of my coffee. I grabbed my water bottle, two date bars and an Apple Izze to keep from starving and making poor decisions later.

I’m starting up walking, pull-ups, and push-ups again this week. At a slower pace so I don’t regret it. I feel that something is better than nothing now that I’ve been checked out officially and have January 13 on the calendar for surgery. I got several compliments from Liquid Industrial employees at the Christmas dinner on Saturday. One lady said to me when I sat down to eat my catered dinner: “Have you been on a diet? I bet you have by the looks of what’s on your plate!”  I'm proud of myself for not having any appetizers or  desserts either! One older couple came to me privately after the dinner and sensitively asked if I was on a diet or if I’ve been sick to lose so much weight!  Another lady asked me privately for the details of my diet. I told her to WFPB and to look up Engine 2 Diet and The Forks Over Knives video.

 I met with my surgeon today. He surprised me with the news that I have two hernias, one on each side of my groin. He noted that there are a variety of causes including being born with it. It can be caused by the birthing process. It could likely be the result of decades of being overweight putting heavy pressure against your abdominal wall.  The plan is to for him to use robotic arms for precision surgery to install a mesh that will cover the hole. The mesh will become integrated into the flesh as the body heals from the surgery. 

197.9 lbs. I found in my Apple Health history that two years ago I weighed myself at 257! I forgot about that! My doctor weighed me at 259 lbs in February. That was as high as I’ve  seen recorded of myself, but that’s with my clothes on, which is why I try to dress lightly on doctor visits. So there seems to be a silver lining with having abdominal pain:  It’s curbed my appetite a little. I’m drinking more water to keep me regular because straining adds to abdominal pressure. I’ve not replenished my supply of nuts. And I’m reducing my sugar intake to manage weight loss better.

199.0 is my lowest historical weight loss achievement to beat 193.0 will mark the end of my BMI Obesity category   180.0 marks my next quarter of a year goal which will be 75 lbs lost if I keep at this regimen successfully 

 200.6 lbs I ate light today. It seems my visceral pain has curbed my appetite. We’ll see if the weight scale agrees with that in the morning. I’m enjoying picking up again with Ultra-Processed People. There’s a very interesting report on an underrated study by Clara Davis in the late 20s on babies choosing their diet to prove that humans are designed to regulate their own nutritional intake (Ch 5 p 181). Very fascinating.

  201.5 lbs No sugar all day. Not a big deal. A handful of walnuts in a 1/4 cup of muesli with a half cup of frozen fruit for breakfast. A date bar for snack. Vegetable tofu barley soup for lunch and dinner. Lots of water all day. Hernia Update  I started pretty well. Feeling lousy by midafternoon much like the past few days. I’m going to urgent care because my doctor can’t fit me in for a week and a half. I’ll be alright, but walking and stretching will be light today. It’s disconcerting to see and feel my guts poppin up!😵‍💫 If it wasn’t for this hernia belt (delivered by Amazon on Sunday) keeping my guts in place, I’d be stuck in bed much of the day. It really helps a lot!

 I finished reading David Goggins’s book Never Finished. It’s good. It’s worth reading after reading his first book Can’t Hurt Me. It’s a powerful true story of a man who is eternally driven to be his physical best despite the odds against him. I love how raw he is about the pain he struggled with constantly to overcome his temptations to go easy on himself. He inspires me to do better!

In Never Finished , Goggins asks “Who’s in your foxhole?” in his chapter called “Evolution No. 6.” He emphasizes the importance of keeping a core group of people in your life who have your best in mind both in words and actions, both to build you up, come along side of you, and make it personal that you reach your goals. It might be best friends and family members or it might not be. “Not all friends and loved ones react that way when you change and become committed to perpetual growth. Some are genuinely offended, and you don’t need or want their voices in your head… When you evolve, your inner circle, must evolve with you” (189-196). I am most grateful to my wife for telling me the truth last winter about my seriously unhealthy condition and my need to change course immediately. I’m grateful to my brother Gregg and my dad for helping me setup a structure  to be successful in breaking my unhealthy habits. I’m grateful for my longtime friends Nate, Jared, Mike, and Derek. It’s funn...

 I’ve been wearing my weight vest while on the treadmill this week. 25 lbs. I’m surprised at how heavy that is to lift, but not so heavy to wear. I’ll add 25 more pounds of weight to the vest this week to see what it’s like to carry my starting weight from 6.5 months ago! I bet picking up the vest will add some muscle strength to my arms too. 

 In David Goggins’s Never Finished , in the chapter “The Art of Getting Hit in the Mouth,” he writes about how unbelievably difficult the Moab 240 trail run (Yes, 240 miles!) was for him primarily because of his preexisting health issues like Raynaud’s phenomenon, hypothyroidism, sickle cell anemia, and also the high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) he was suffering from (a dangerous condition in which the lungs fill with blood and plasma). He doesn’t like hearing himself whine to his pacer about all of his excuses for why things aren’t going well. He recalls the numerous people in his life over the years who were whiners: “I called upon past triumphs, push me forward. I wouldn’t let myself bitch about the fact that my body had to betray me yet again I blocked that shit out and ran on” (161). “ This is the mentality we should all strive for when we’re stuck. Because when you’re in the hurt locker, you must be your own motivator, your own drill instructor. In the darkest moments, you...

 Me: The Engine 2 diet recommends buying food with no more than a 1:1 ratio of sodium to calories, correct? ChatGPT: Yes, the Engine 2 Diet recommends selecting foods where the sodium content (in milligrams) does not exceed the calorie count per serving, establishing a 1:1 ratio of sodium to calories. This guideline aims to help individuals manage sodium intake effectively, promoting heart health and overall well-being. However, condiments are an exception to this rule.  Adhering to this ratio can be challenging, especially when considering that many processed and packaged foods contain higher sodium levels. Therefore, it’s advisable to focus on whole, minimally processed foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, which naturally have lower sodium content. Additionally, reading nutrition labels carefully and being mindful of portion sizes can assist in maintaining this balance. It’s important to note that while the 1:1 sodium-to-calorie rat...

 My yearlong Fruitive WFPB SOS-Free Diet Challenge is at the halfway mark today! I started May 1st, 2024. I end it April 31st, 2025, a very different person. I hope a better, healthier, wholier person, body, mind, spirit, and future. Upside  I am disciplined regarding when, what, and why I eat I love healthy eating  I’m about 50 lbs lighter  I enjoy my workouts I have a stretching routine  My friends and family members have been very supportive  I have a daily health and fitness reading regimen to keep my mind in the game  Downside  I struggle to stay disciplined day to day I don’t always love healthy eating  I have 50 lbs to go in 6 months to reach my goal weight I don’t push myself as hard as I should to workout more  I regret not living this way all my life! Whatever! Here I am! I’m a healthier me looking forward to getting healthier beyond my 6 month plan. Gettin’ after it!

I watched a biochemist offer a cheap and easy hack to reduce glucose spikes by up to 30% and to lower your energy crash after meals.  Add a tablespoon of vinegar to 8+ oz of water a half hour before your biggest meal of the day. The vinegar’s acetic acid interacts with your digestive enzymes  and the water dilutes the acid so that it doesn’t etch away your teeth enamel.  I add apple cider vinegar to my water bottle every day anyway, so all I need to do is drink the 8 oz ahead of my big meal and see if I can tell the difference.

 Oh, wow. I spent too much time scrolling through this Kuwaiti guy’s foodie TikTok page . I’m astounded at how much calorie dense food he can put away in one sitting. The food looks great! Mostly fast food it seems but from the Middle East. It makes me want to visit some day. There was a time not that long ago where  I could easily imagine myself putting away large calorie meals. My reaction to most of his videos was not only that it’s too much food but also it’s too sweet. I can’t believe he’ll keep his weight down. I’m concerned he’s getting on the diabetes train.  In 6 more months, I’ll be free of my WFPB commitment. I prefer my disciplined approach to eating right now. I know I’ll be eating outside my boundaries when presented food like the Kuwaiti guy eats! I’m planning to partake but in sampling portions on rare occasions. MayGod give me strength to resist my glutinous instincts of times past!

I’m watching Dan Buettner’s beautiful series about the famous Blue Zones around the world where communities have the highest longevity on average in the world. He explores why researchers believe these people outlive the rest of us generation after generation. It’s true that diet and exercise has something to do with it. It’s also true that there are diverse contributing factors for why they live to 100 or more. Here are the key factors presented in episode one of four in the Netflix series: Okinawa, Japan: Medicinal Food / Caloric Density / Hara Hachi Bu / Balance / Moai / Ikigai  Always have fun, be easygoing, forgive quickly Food is medicinal Meat, eggs, fish is less than 1% of their diet Purple Sweet Potatoes that are full of complex carbohydrates, antioxidants  Mulberry leaves Okinawa Tofu lowers heart disease  No single ingredient but the range of nutritionally dense whole foods They eat 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day compared to 3,200 to 4,000 plus for Americans...

David Goggins writes about his cookie jar method of motivating himself to get through his challenges. He digs deep into his cookie jar of memories of past challenges big and small that he achieved. He admires each cookie carefully before each bite to savor its flavor.  I could use this method right now!  Our treadmill lubricant came in. Laura applied it last night. I plan to tread on it this week at night to make up for missing steps!

I’m stuck between 205 and 210 right now. Partly because that’s been my pattern. Also because it was my birthday last week so I’ve eaten a little more than I planned to. My teen made healthy birthday cupcakes for me 🥳. My wife and I ate at Olive Garden. Very little can be eaten there by me. Have you seen their calorie portions?! I settled on a soup and house salad. 

 I love how brutally honest David Goggins is in Chapter Six about how stupid it is to presume that because he was a seasoned SEAL he could run an ultra marathon without any training and then fail miserably. As honest as he seems to be with himself, he still has to learn things the hard way just like the rest of us.  I have not kept up with my PT myself for no good reason. I need to look in the mirror tonight and fess up and be real about my intentions and what I’m going to do about it. Until I get back on track, I can say goodbye to meeting my goals! I can’t let that happen!

  Foods to Avoid with a History of Contamination as documented in the film Ground burger: needs to be cooked at 155 degrees internal temperature; order to temperature—if they can’t then order something else  Chicken (salmonella): 1 in 4 meat products contaminated; the producers tested 29% of their Perdue brands samples were contaminated; salmonella is still legally allowed in most chicken products in the USA Romaine lettuce (E coli): especially bagged Cut Fruit Caramel Apples Tomatoes  Onions Cookie dough Similac  Lucky Charms  JIF Peanut Butter Cake mix Cantaloupe: especially the outside because once the knife cuts through the skin it contaminates the inside of the fruit Sprouts  Bagged lettuce (all the outbreaks involved triple washed and bagged); wash your own single head of lettuce  Raw fish, oysters Any menu item with a disclaimer that says consumption of undercooked meat can expose you to meat 

 Dara Torres explains the difference between high intensity workouts and endurance workouts In chapter 3 of her book Age is Just a Number . High intensity workouts The goal is to create both more strength and more capacity in the muscles to process lactic acid If too much lactic acid builds up in the muscles, you get a condition called acidosis Acidosis is the main reason sprinters muscles get fatigued after 20 or 30 seconds It’s why longer sprints are harder to recover from A real sprint breaks down your muscles. If you want to improve, after you sprint, you have to let your muscles recover, and build back up. Really high intensity workouts should only be undertaken once or twice a week Within workouts, maximum effort needs to be followed by plenty of rest “Speed is like money. If you don’t spend it wisely, if you just go for broke day after day, you’ll soon find it gone.” Endurance training  Endurance strength is built, slogging through massive numbers of meters day after da...

 Today is my birthday! 52 years old. I feel my age I think because of my diet; plus, I woke up with a stuffy nose. The girls were very sweet to sing happy birthday to me this morning. I explained to them on the way to school that we wouldn’t have a birthday party today because of our busy schedule; However, Sunday afternoon, we would celebrate by going to the movie theater to watch a 3-D movie of The Wild Robot as a family. They like that idea. I treated myself today by playing disc golf at Paw Paw Park. It’s been a month since I’ve played. I could tell I had gotten rusty. My Udisc app tracked my steps at 6,744, 3.1 miles, and 2 floors of elevation. My steps for the day are 12,097. Not bad at all! I remembered that I could get a birthday discount off a drink at Biggby. I downloaded the app. The Barista showed me how to use it to get my coffee for free. I ordered a 12 oz Fortaleza with Coconut milk and I added a raw sugar and a Stevia packet. Delicious! No Cake and ice cream for th...

 In Age is Just a Number , Dara Torres explains that there’s a difference between trading to sprint and sprinting, not to be confused. Sprinting as large heat anaerobic exercise, which requires too much energy and too short a time for the oxygen in the bloodstream to keep up. When that happens, your body has to burn the carbohydrates in your muscles. This releases lactic acid and causes your muscles to hurt. In contrast, aerobic exercise exercises are lower intensity, exercise exercises, like jogging, cycling, and endurance swimming. You get most of the energy you need by burning the oxygen in your blood. Short races are primarily anaerobic while longer races are primarily aerobic. (pp 62-63) Very good to be reminded about this.

 I’ve started listening to Sickening by John Abramson, M.D. about Big Pharma’s commitment to profit over quality healthcare. It’s depressing because it’s believable, presumed actually that America’s capitalist driven system of health care has a serious conflict of interest when it comes to keeping their customers healthy as possible. The healthier the patient, the less likely they’ll need to get medical treatment which affects the bottom line. Becoming a doctor is considered the height of professional achievement in our society for good reason, it takes intelligence, dedication, many years of intense training, finances, and continual practice to become a PhD and achieve the big salary that comes with it. It’s sad to see how the profession has become such a tool to push Big Pharma’s new expensive drugs that to often merely treat the symptoms, or worse, cost lives, i.e., the opioid crisis, the Merck Vioxx scandal….

 I continue to be amazed by Goggins’ story of overcoming a traumatic childhood, poor academics, poverty, and obesity to fulfill his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL. It seems that at least in his case, he had the fortitude to turn his life of trauma into a power source to help him not only survive hell week, but also to do it triumphantly. The physical injuries and sheer torture of surviving, freezing cold ocean waters and brutal overwhelming feats of strength and endurance boggles my mind. Strangely enough, his stories are giving me serious incentive to pick up my pace with my own physical training and weight loss regimen; More importantly, I need to zero in on the various other weak areas of my life. To make  plan and achieve it! I did intense tread mill walking last night. My intent was to work out for at least an hour, but at about 44 minutes in, the digital screen warned me that I needed lubricant for the treadmill. I had walked intensely and achieved 2.7 miles distance, whi...

 Goggins has an incredible story about how he became motivated to turn his life around from a morbidly obese failure into a lean mean fighting machine in just 3 months!  That is 100 lbs in just three months! That’s amazing! When he was at 215 lbs he was already able to do over 100 pull-ups, swim 2 miles, run 6 miles, and bike 20 miles daily! He’s a machine! He reached his goal weight of 191 lbs and passed his entrance exam right on schedule. That’s how badly he wanted it. It makes me rethink what real motivation means for myself in my current situation. I appreciate his example despite his unorthodox commitment to joining the military at the expense of his wife and kid. But I recognize that I mustn’t judge. Wha would be toxic and dangerous for the average person was what he needed for himself to overcome his life unfortunate circumstances that he blames no one but himself for. I’m at the part where he is on his second attempt to make it through the notorious Hell Week of Basic...

 I clicked on a YouTube video put out by Dr. Anthony Chaffee, the Plant Free MD. He’s a proponent of a 100% plan free diet called the carnivore diet. He explains that our evolutionary Ancestors were meat eaters. If we eat a diet of only meat, dairy, and eggs, will achieve optimal health. A large number of plants are in fact, toxic to human beings because of poisons like lectin and cyanide. He claims that people would be surprised to find that the carnivore, diet heels, Ally of health problems, including allergies, asthma, skin conditions, even neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease. It didn’t take me long to discover that there’s a rabbit hole of videos and resources of doctors and patients and self acclaimed health experts who are promoting this diet. Honestly, I had no idea. Well, that’s not exactly true. Yes, I’ve heard the term carnivore diet before. I know someone who has lived his whole life not eating plants because vegetables made him gag since he was a kid. I hea...

 In David Goggin’s book,  Can’t Hurt Me , he writes about how each night he faced himself in his accountability mirror to face the reality of his past, present and future, to hold himself responsible for his struggles, not his abusers, not his bullies, not the system. He shaved his head the summer before his junior year to take on a new identity and become the person he knew he had been o become to earn respect.  This morning I looked in the mirror and smiled in celebration of finally meeting my weight goal of 210 lbs after a month of struggle. It feels great to shift down to the next goal of 205 lbs, then 200 after that…!

 Well, I tried intermittent fasting this past week. I’m still not a fan of it. I think it was helpful though! Last week Friday I stopped eating after 6:00 pm. The next morning I skipped breakfast, which wasn’t that big a deal because of sleeping in. I took my daughter to soccer practice with a healthy snack bag all ready for us at 10:00 am to eat in the car. 16 hours of fasting accomplished, no problem! I had a pretty big lunch and dinner plus healthy dessert. I made the rest of the day that put me at 10:45 PM my last time eating for the day. I figured that I’d give 16 hours another try anyway. After church, I ran errands and broke my fast when I got home again, no problem! However, on day three of my fasting experiment, I was not doing too well. I felt famished, slow and groggy all day, which hurt my productivity even after my meals I felt like I wasn’t recovered from a weekend of fasting intermittently. The rest of the week I ditched the 16+ hour plan. I would do it again when I ...

 I started reading the book Ultra-Processed People  by Chris van Tulleken. His first chapter begins with his experience with a popular British frozen dessert that he discovered didn’t melt like he expected it should. I’m impressed and appalled by the science, history, and commercial reasons that he delves into to explain how and why society is fine with how far gone we’ve become in a brief period to accept the poor nutrition, weight gain, and disease that has resulted from our era of UPF. I’m hoping that this information will keep me motivated to sustain my healthy diet!

 Penn writes about how he has discovered that fasting has become an important part of his healthy lifestyle: “ not eating used to mean, I would be headachy, ornery, panicked, and lethargic. Now not eating means I’m jacked up, happy, and focused. I love it.” Fasting 16+ hours daily In between 24 and 48 hours weekly has been a game changer for him. Not only does it help him maintain his target weight and manage his blood pressure better. It also gives him an energy boost.  In my teen years, I experimented with fasting, partly for health reasons and partly because it’s a part of the Christian faith that hardly anyone seems to practice anymore. I remember hating it. I felt miserable so I stopped doing it. There have been a couple of times as an adult. I considered fasting but thought better of it because I knew I would hate it, also because my wife highly discouraged it. Her strong opinion was that it’s not something one does without medical reasons and under medical supervision....

We put the girls to work processing a large bag of carrots so they don’t go to waste. I noticed about 3 cups of carrot peels leftover in a bowl. I thought about composting them but why do that if I can make carrot bread out of them! ChatGPT gave me three carrot peel recipes: the soup looks great. Regrettably, I went with the cake recipe (Bland!), but made up for it with a pretty good carrot juice smoothie: Carrot Peel Soup Recipe (WFPB) #### Ingredients: - 2.5 cups of carrot peels (make sure they’re thoroughly washed) - 1 onion, chopped - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1-2 potatoes (for thickness and creaminess), chopped - 4 cups vegetable broth (make sure it's low-sodium or homemade if you're following SOS-free) - 1 tsp turmeric (optional, adds flavor and anti-inflammatory benefits) - 1 tsp ground ginger (optional, for a bit of spice) - Salt-free seasoning to taste (e.g., nutritional yeast, herbs like thyme or rosemary) - Juice from half a lemon (for brightness) - Black pepper to t...

 I ground up cocoa nibs yesterday. The powder was too fine for the drip coffee maker. I couldn’t find my Italian stovetop coffee maker, so I tried an Espresso maker tube gadget I like, but I couldn’t make it work. Turns out the powder dissolved into the water easily in my cup.  It tasted a bit bitter. It wasn’t bad with added maple syrup and coconut cream. I might experiment more with it this week with a different grind and if I find both my stovetop coffee maker and my mother-in-law’s Turkish coffee maker. I blame TikTok for my cocoa brewing curiosity.

 My wife is not adventurous with her food. She’s British is her excuse. She prefers not to know how I’ve prepared my meals and she doesn’t believe me when I say my meals are delicious. She’s tried my diet food. Usually she doesn’t get past the smell test. The fact that I’m mostly SOS-free doesn’t help.  Yesterday, she squirmed when I said my smoothie was delicious and asked if she wanted to know what was in it. No. But it was so delicious! Okay, but it better not be gross. Frozen fruit mix, coconut milk,… Okay. Peanuts, maple syrup, water, … Yes, and that’s it? Leafy greens, just a little. No, now it’s starting to turn. Beans. What! Beans. Beans?! What?! No, that’s so wrong! But it was so delicious! You’re so weird! Do you remember how everyone loved my sweet potato brownies? It’s the same concept. Ughhh…!

 Raymond Cronise’s No Exercise rule was an important part of Penn Jillette’s quick and successful weight loss program. It’s another unconventional rule in Penn’s book that rings true to me. Penn explains that exercise increases your appetite which increases your food intake which builds up muscle mass which slows down your weight loss. Walking, however, is an exception to the rule because it helps to keep your blood flowing and your digestion working smoothly.  I’ve been struggling getting to my next weight goal. I’ve been hovering between 212 and 215 for three weeks now. Before that I hovered between 225 and 220 for 6 weeks. I blogged before that I think it’s because of my over consumption of peanuts, cashews, nut butters, date bars, etc. So delicious! But those fatty-goodness nuggets are slowing me down!  I’m going to restrict myself to a handful a day of peanuts, cut out the nut butter, and maybe go back to logging every meal in MyFitnessPal to track my calories like I...

 Well, today I had a craving for peanut butter cookies because of a church picnic. I wasn’t tempted to eat any, but it occurred to me tonight that I could bake some that I could eat. Here’s ChatGPT’s recipe for WFPB Peanut Butter cookies that even my daughter and wife appreciated: To bake the WFPB peanut butter cookies in an air fryer, follow these adjusted instructions: ### WFPB Peanut Butter Cookies (Air Fryer Method) #### Ingredients: - **1 cup natural peanut butter** (no added oil, sugar, or salt) - **1/2 cup maple syrup** (or date syrup) - **1/2 cup oat flour**  - **1 tsp vanilla extract** - **1/2 tsp baking soda** - **1/4 tsp salt** (optional) - **1-2 tbsp plant-based milk** (optional, to adjust consistency) #### Instructions: 1. **Preheat the air fryer** to 325°F (160°C). Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper (you can cut the paper to fit the basket). 2. In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until well combined. 3. Add the oat flour...

 I finished watching the 2023 Netflix documentary “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut.” I really recommend it. It’s about how our gut microbes play a powerful role in our overall health. I’m fascinated with the idea that our mental and emotional health is closely influenced by our diet. The documentary explains how complex and unique each of our micro biomes are and how eating the same food or meal affects us differently in many kinds of ways including weight gain and loss. I’m particularly interested to know where my gut health falls in the spectrum of overall health. Unfortunately, it’s a relatively new branch of healthcare. There’s much more to learn still.

 I’m teaching myself and my children the concept of growth mindset. A child psychologist recommended that I do that to foster a culture of confidence:  “Having a growth mindset means believing that you can get better at anything if you keep trying, even when it’s hard. It’s like when you’re learning to ride a bike—at first, you might fall a lot, but if you keep practicing, you get better and better. The same goes for school, sports, or any new challenge. Instead of saying, ‘I can’t do this,’ you can say, ‘I can’t do this yet, but I will keep trying until I can!’ Mistakes are okay because they help you learn and grow stronger.” —ChatGPT Here’s the list of key Growth Mindset concepts that I want my family to become familiar with enough this school year that we can include in our discussions about school, home, and life: 1. Believing You Can Get Better: Knowing that you can get better at anything if you keep practicing and learning. 2. Liking Challenges: Seeing hard things a...

 As Penn gets closer to his goal weight, he and his health coach negotiate how he’ll adjust his diet to sustain his weight. Part of Penn’s planning is determining when and how he would stray from his WFPB diet: ChatGPT summary of this is “ Penn Jillette's *Rare and Appropriate* guideline refers to his philosophy of occasionally straying from his strict whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet in a controlled and mindful way. After achieving his weight loss goals and transitioning to maintenance, Jillette developed this approach to allow for flexibility without derailing his progress.  The idea is that indulgences should be **rare**—not part of a regular routine—and **appropriate**—meaning these moments should be special, intentional, and truly worth it. For Jillette, this wasn’t about giving himself regular cheat days or allowing for random indulgences. Instead, he made sure that when he did go off-plan, it was for a meaningful occasion, such as a special celebration or a rare dini...