Dear Mark: Barefoot with High Arches, Oil Rankings, Foods for Family, Primal Blueprint Update, Heart Rate Spikes Lifting, Life Lessons

Re-sending this because the original email didn’t include the questions.

In my opinion the podiatrist advice is horrible. A high arch is an anatomical feature that is largely genetically driven. It does not mean it's either good or bad. Does not mean that it is strong or weak in and of itself. And in fact, if you look at the evidence we have of intact feet or footprints of ancient hominids and humans, most of them have visible arches. Maybe not “high” arches, but arches that were present and obvious. Of course, using arch supports to brace your “high arch” will allow that part of the foot to atrophy over the years. Ironically, then it becomes more difficult to go barefoot even if you wanted to or were given clearance.

I would submit that wearing Peluvas, letting the toes articulate and become involved in rebuilding a strong arch, would be one of the best things you could do. Just do it gradually, starting with 15 or 20 minutes the first day, 45 minutes or an hour the second day, and, of course just walking, not running. Always follow pain and discomfort. Things can be uncomfortable as you’re doing them, but the real “tell” is the next day. If you feel fine the next day, you can add another couple minutes. If you feel worse, pull back a bit - that’s a sign you went too far.

Also, the fact that the physical therapist has you doing the foot exercises in the office barefoot means that there is at least some level of barefoot ambulation he can tolerate, and that barefoot is probably ideal in these situations.

Here’s how I’d rank cooking oils:

Worst oils (very high in PUFA, low in mitigating antioxidants, avoid): soybean, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, safflower, sunflower, “vegetable oil” (usually a blend of all the aforementioned)

Middling (pretty high in PUFA, some mitigating micronutrients but not to be used regularly): canola, peanut, rice bran

Decent: mid-oleic sunflower, which runs about 55-75% oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat that’s resistant to oxidation)

Good: high-oleic varieties of sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, peanut (usually not genetic modification, mostly good old fashioned selective breeding)

Great: olive, avocado, coconut, macadamia nut, red palm, cocoa butter (although cocoa butter is limited in cooking applicability owing to its distinct flavor)

Here’s the “master list” of foods I’d focus on when feeding a growing family. Note that this may look a little different than you’d expect from reading me over the years. When you’re feeding a family of growing kids, you need to be more macronutrient agnostic. Kids need calories. They generally don’t need to be low carb. I’d even argue that calories are important NUTRIENTS for kids.

Ground beef

Chuck roast (can cut into steaks)

Primal cuts (whole roasts you can cut into steaks rather than individual New York strips/ribeyes etc)

Whole chickens

Pork loin, pork butt

Frozen fish

Canned fish (sardines, oysters, mackerel, tuna, mussels)

Eggs

Whole milk

Cheese

Greek yogurt

Potatoes

Rice

Sprouted oats

Dried pasta (gluten free available)

Pasta sauce

Frozen vegetables

Bananas, apples, and other “basic” fruits

Frozen fruit

Make every meal fairly basic: meat/fish, starch, and some plants (fruit or vegetables, or both). Keep it all separate so that people can choose what proportion of each they want. If Dad is keeping it lower carb, he can load up on meat and veggies, while the kids can load up on plenty of starch alongside the meat and veggies.

Don’t think you need to emphasize organic. I’d rather see you eat plenty of conventional whole milk, red meat, potatoes, and vegetables rather than break the bank trying to make everything as pristine and pure as possible.

Use plenty of salt and seasoning and as much fat as you need to make it taste good.

I’m pretty content with the way the Primal Blueprint went. If I had to change anything in a future edition, I’d probably focus more on metabolic flexibility - on the ability to utilize all fuel sources. That’s what I’ve come to realize is the ultimate marker of health: resilience and adaptability.

Not needing to constantly eat just to feel normal. Not requiring massive amounts of calories just to avoid fatigue. Not avoiding carbohydrates because you’ll go into hyperglycemia for hours if you even have so much as a single potato. Not limiting yourself to meat only. But being able to go out to a restaurant you haven’t meticulously planned for and find something to eat and enjoy it. Showing up to a party and having a few bites of what you’re offered. Eating what you want, when you want. Now, of course “what you want” will change, and the healthier you are the less you tend to desire the junk, but true health is freedom. Feeling constrained or restricted will negatively impact your mental health and ability to thrive.

And that’s the real thing: you don’t want to feel constrained by your diet.

Correct. Strength training and sprint/interval spikes to heart rate will be acute and transient. This is what you want. A large foundation of low heart rate training punctuated by brief bouts of intense output is ideal. Don’t overthink it.

As for the question about your HR during your recent training session, 114 average with a 143 max sounds right to me. At 78, you aren’t overtraining. You are training. You’re killing it, man. Keep it up.

If you do go for a FatMax test, search for “fatmax testing near me” in Google. You should be able to find a facility. And when you inquire, ask this to make sure you’re actually getting the right test: “Does your metabolic test show exactly how much fat and carbohydrate I’m burning at each stage, identify the point where fat burning peaks, and give me the heart-rate or wattage range where that happens?”

There are three primary pursuits or areas of focus for a family man. There’s family. There’s business. And there’s friends. I chose to prioritize business and family. I missed out on having close male friends, poker nights, trips with the boys, etc, because I wanted to make sure my business grew and I was available for dinner every night, date nights, coaching little league and soccer, going snowboarding and boogie boarding with the kids. Those were all mission critical and extremely time sensitive. You can’t have those years back.

Now after everyone’s grown up and started families of their own and the business worked out, I’m finally able to have close friends. I definitely missed out, but would I do it the same all over again? Yes, without a doubt.