Blech!

Beer

Daiquiris

Cheese

Cheese Grits w/Shrimp

Beer

Chips

Bread

Hush Puppies

Beer

Island Drinks

Nachos

Hot Dogs

Beer

Ice Cream

Chipotle

Leftovers from my Kids

Oh, and beer

Just some of the gack I took in while on vacation.  Don't get me wrong.  We grilled chicken, burgers, etc. with salad and such for dinners in while feasting on great seafood our last night out, however on vacation I found myself with little conscience about what I was eating, how much I was eating and how often I ate.  All the while, I rationalized it as, "I've come so far.  One week won't destroy me."After all, it's vacation. I've needed a break from work and the stresses of life and I deserve it."  (more on this excuse in a bit)  Then.......

Upon returning home from a 12 hour car ride that consisted of a trip to Crackerbarrel and Chipotle, I woke up the following day to "get back into it" at Crossfit Carmel thinking I'd be a bit off my game, but.......

I attended the 9 a.m. workout which was.......

As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 minutes of......

5 pull ups

10 push ups

15 air squats

After my first round, I felt like.......

No energy, weak, and dejected.  I've never.....EVER wanted to quit a workout in my 10 months or Crossfit until this one, but I didn't.  I took my time and finished with 13 rounds.....much slower than I've done this in the past.  But......I thought it was a good warm up for why I showed up:  I wanted to re-try the Crossfit Games Sectional WOD #3 as I discussed in my previous post.  This was....

165 lbs. squat clean

165 lbs. jerk

On vacation I did this WOD at Crossfit Hilton Head and produced 7 rounds.  Not a great result by competition standards, but I was happy with it by my standards and expectations.  However, on this day, back at home, after the worst workout feeling I ever had, I could barely lift the bar over my head.  In fact, the first attempt at cleaning the weight sent me almost on my a*s!  BLECH!  I felt TERRIBLE and 

I wanted to start sending invitations to my Pity Party before the five minutes were up.  BUT.......here's why I love where I work out.  Here's why I love Crossfit:

People were still encouraging me, screaming at me to keep it up, get after it, stay focused all the while there was Trent next to me....a 44 year old guy pounding out his 26 rounds and Caitlin hammering out her 25 rounds!  And there's me....stating I want to bag it......clearly struggling..... and Lin, the owner/coach, is yelling, "Do another clean.  Just stay in it."  And so I did.  My result:  

2 rounds plus 1 clean. BLECH!!!

Since no one was attending the party I was clearly trying to throw, I reflected quickly on what I'd been doing to my body the past week and refused to pout, kick, or scream (at least not in public).

It's no great secret that eating poorly and not sleeping well have adverse effects on the body.  Certainly, this is not groundbreaking news.  But I made one decision based on this pitfall in which I found myself.  I'm not going this long eating this way again.  It's not worth it based on what I enjoy doing for exercise.  It's not worth the impact it has had on my mood, my confidence, and my spirit....all things often overlooked.

My solution?
--ramp up the veggies (nowhere near enough of them in my body the past week
--eliminate alcohol for a period of time (maybe one or two on the weekend if any)
--eliminate grains for at least a week (going back to my Paleo ways to cut back inflammation in the gut!)
--water, water, water (a given)
--Eliminate cheese (vacation was first time in several months!  Make me lethargic and tears up my gut!)
--Look into juicing (I've been toying with this idea as an occasional cleanse, so stay tuned on this.)
***BE REALISTIC:  Perhaps the most important here......

Clearly I was trying to be the guy on the left.  Who did I think I was?  After all, I'm the one studying to be a Certified Health Counselor.  I'm the one who has proven to myself that proper dietary habits combined with strength training and endurance training can transform my body, my fitness, and my spirit.  I'm the one who has been so excited to lead this new life and so who did I think I was with such an expectation?!?!  Shame on me!  So.....


It's a new day.  A new start to getting back on track.  And it's really no.  big.  deal.  I'm glad I've put myself through two Whole 30 Paleo challenges.  I'm glad I'm studying different dietary theories.  I'm glad I continue to surround myself with like-minded folks.  I think it allows me to not only be realistic, but it provides the confidence to snap right back into action and TAKE ACTION.  In the past, I would have wallowed longer than an hour or two.  I'd string a week like I just had into several weeks, months, and before long I'm right back to where I started on the left side of the My Progress page.  


And so today, my in-laws were in town and took the family out to breakfast, and so we found ourselves a superior spot on the north side of Indianapolis called Tulip Noir, a great place for local, organic food, coffee, etc where the menu changes with the seasons!  I usually dive right in for a smoked salmon sandwich w/cream cheese, bagel, etc., but......remember my solutions above?  Instead I went for the veggie hash and eggs.  Check it out on the Spring menu. (My 8 year old son genetically ordered the smoked salmon sandwich and would not budge on giving me a bite!  Maybe all things do happen for a reason?!)

Have you been in a rut?  What have you done to get out of it?  I'd be interested in hearing from you.  Drop me a comment or an email.

I loved our vacation, our time with friends, the beach.  At the same time, it's good to be home.  I'll keep you posted.....

The Starting Line

So today is Day 30 of my 30 Day Paleo Challenge.  I've shared a few times that this is the second time I've done this:  gone strictly Paleo for 30 Days.  With the exception of one meal, one night, I was able to do this with absolutely no problem and I must say again....I feel great.  No bloating.  No digestion issues.  More energy.  I'm down 7 lbs.  And, I've seen more energy at Crossfit.  Most notably, I recently cut my baseline workout by just under one whole minute.  I wrote about it the other day in my Rounding Third post.  You can look over my entire month's worth of food complete with notes about workouts, how I felt, and some recipes along the way.  Most importantly, I don't see day 30 as the finish line, rather as the beginning.  The purpose of the 30 days is to rid the body of all the junk, eliminate any trace of food that may cause inflammation, and to now decide what foods I may re-introduce.  Below is the short list of the foods that I think about from time to time that are not endorsed by any health conscious blog, website, or aficionado:

1.  Pizza:  My crack.

2.  Beer, hoppy, dark beer!

3.  Bread:  I don't need it, but I do like the Ezekiel sprouted grain bread my wife buys, and I wouldn't mind an occasional sandwich now and then.

4.  Pasta in my chili:  I'm from Cincinnati.  Home of real chili.

I'll keep you posted.

-ification and some B and G

I recently heard the word Paleoification, and it reminded me of......

I thought I could think of more words ending in -ication, but I'm stumped.  


Either way.....Last week when I attended the Whole 9 Foundations of Nutrition Workshop in Chicago, Dallas and Melissa, founders of the program, proclaimed that one of the mistakes folks make with the Paleo lifestyle is the "PALEOIFICATION" of it all.  Paraphrasing what they said here.....


On the information superhighway we call The Internet, you can find Paleo Brownies, Paleo Pancakes, Paleo Pizza, Paleo Waffles, Paleo Cookies, and All Things Paleo.  The assertion:  These things should be avoided.  They are to be used as substitutes for the real thing.  Reason being....it will only lead to you wanting the real thing;  they don't taste like the real thing; there are a lot more healthy things you could be eating in its place.  (AGAIN...PARAPHRASING THEIR WORDS.  NOT MINE.)


And so there I was.....shocked!  Stumped!  Stymied!  I've fought with this the past week and I've come up with the following because it works FOR ME.....


I agree with what they are saying....now.  If you are constantly substituting Paleoified foods, then you may as well eat a bit of the real thing and get back on the wagon.  It's a trap many can fall into....It's like the first time I did Weight Watchers.  I lost 75 lbs.!  But......I did it eating everything and anything that could fall within my points.  It worked.....but a few years later I almost gained it all back.  It was not sustainable......for me, but I'm a fan of WW if you eat well doing it.  


Eating a certain way as a lifestyle is an evolving process which contradicts our innate sense of wanting to lose weight now and make it easy.  It's just not immediate and it's never easy.  So now I agree with Melissa and Dallas......if you are a newbie to eating Paleo.....if you are emotionally connected to food (something I plan to write more about as there are plenty of good, healthy ways to eat....not just Paleo.)


For me.....I don't have deep cravings for too may foods, but today I needed variety.  I eat eggs a lot.  We buy great eggs from our local CSA and pick them up every Wednesday.  I'm a food creature of habit and it does not take much to please me with food.  Paleo often works for me because a nice piece of chicken and veggies spiced well often works.......for me.  So this morning, my wife was out with a girlfriend, and daddy was being land-blasted with, "Daddy....what's for breakfast??!?!  We're hungry!!!!"  I took out a pound of sausage the night before with the full intention of making eggs and sausage.....again.  


Enter..........Paleo Biscuits and Gravy!!!


Now....I must tell you....I would BATHE in biscuits and gravy....I love it that much.  


If that description is a 10, then I'd give this recipe a 7.5.  I took it from Robb Wolf's blog.  Check it out because he has great info. and recipes.

Looks like the real stuff huh?  The gravy was pretty close to the real thing.  Next time, I'll use less cayenne pepper.  I don't prefer it that hot and neither did the kids, but they ate it.  I added a bit more salt to offset the heat for them.

These worked out well.  I did't have almond flour so I used almond meal and Peanut meal, so they came out a bit dry, but when you drape the gravy over them who freakin' cares, right?!  

The finished product.  First words out both kids' mouths:  "Mmmm....This is good."  Sometimes they are the best food critics.  (At least when they like it, right?!)

So........This worked for me today.  It offered me variety and a break from what we always make for breakfast.  Sure, I could have had more healthy options for breakfast, but check out the past 29 days of what I've eaten.  Now, I agree with The Whole 9 folks in that this should not serve as a substitute for the real thing, but I'm not craving the real thing.  I'm not new and struggling to find things that satisfy my food cravings.  I was not having this food craving today.  I just wanted something different to eat that could keep me committed to my 30 Day Challenge.  I'm not emotionally missing biscuits and gravy.  Pizza on the other hand.....that's a bit of a different story, but I only get that way when I'm around pizza.  I don't miss pizza because I feel awful after I eat it (probably because pizza is crack....CRACK, I say, for me.)  I can't just eat one piece.  

So....the Paleoification of pizza for me is not the best idea, but in my opinion.... once in awhile I think it's better than the real thing from a strict ingredient standpoint.

-fication

suffix

Production; making: jollification.

Origin: Latin -ficātiō, -ficātiōn-, from -ficātus, past participle of -ficāre, to make, from -ficus, -fic.

from YourDictionary.com

Rounding Third.......

I think I've shared that I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Home of the Reds, Bungles, Greater's Ice Cream, Larosa's Pizza, and Skyline Chili.  While Indianapolis is home, I remain connected to a few of my roots.  I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I love the Reds.  As I near the end of my 30 Day Paleo Challenge, I can hear Joe Nuxhall with his famous line saying, "This is the ol' left-hander rounding third and heading for home" as he did every.....single....game.

I remember listening to games on the radio and watching t.v. just to hear him say that.  

Well, I'm rounding third and headed for home.  I feel like I'm heading for home like this......

Man....for a jerk who messed up, he was a great player to watch.

I feel great after eating so clean for 30 days straight.  I set out to go 100% Paleo and log all the food, snacks, workouts, etc. for the entire time.  I did have one night, one meal where I was......

CAUGHT STEALING!  

Beer and cheesy potatoes with the bbq sauce on the duck.  Click here to see and scroll to Day 14. 

So I have to say.  I followed the Paleo Way as prescribed by The Whole 30 (part of The Whole 9 Website) 99%.  

The first time I did this I made several observations about my eating habits and the impact of the 30 days on my health and fitness as I was a guest blogger for Crossfit Carmel.  You can see what I had to say here.

That post was dated December 6th, but I had already completed my 30 days several weeks prior.  A couple of months later, I have the following thoughts:

1.  I just flat out feel great:  no stomach bloating.  I'm full most of the day.  No major food cravings.

2.  I have more energy, and I see it in my workouts.  To note (and not bragging here):  Just yesterday at CFC the workout was the baseline.  That is the workout you would first do if you were just joining Crossfit.  Aside from rowing, the exercises are all bodyweight stuff.  It's a "baseline" of your fitness.  

500 meter row

40 air squats (to a medicine ball)

30 sit ups

20 push ups

10 pull ups

My time a couple of months ago was 4:57.  My time yesterday:  4:09.  Huge, huge gain.  Now....I work out 4-5 days per week, and that has something to do with it, but I've also paired that with an almost impeccable diet the past 30 days.  

3.  Paleo is not hard.  Feeling like crap every day is hard.   

4.  This is a sustainable way of losing weight.  I started these 30 days weighing 246 lbs.  Today, as I'm rounding third and heading for home, I weigh 237 lbs.  A lot of that was water weight, I imagine, and remember....I work out consistently.  For some of the four weeks, as you can see in my journal notes, I did not work out as much as others. 

5.  While there are many ways to eat well and be successful, this is just one way.  I believe it's a good way to go if you can commit yourself to it....if you are ready.  Again, check out the Whole 9 if you think you may be ready.  I can't say enough good things about them as a resource!

My plan is to allow some foods back into my diet to see how I react to them.  I can see some pasta and other grains, legumes, and alcohol in infrequent, small quantities making their way back.  The trip to Chipotle, out for sushi, drinks with friends, etc......all those things that I found ways to avoid or politely say no to can have their place.  The weekly cheat meal is also a must.  Food deprivation only leads to food yo yo'ing in my opinion.  But the old me would string too many of those cheats together.  I've come too far to let that happen anymore.  

Well......rounding third and heading for home makes it sound like there is an end to this.  Quite the contrary.  The key for me now is to take this momentum and live it.  It really is a long term lifestyle.  The goal I have is to determine what foods I absolutely will stay away from because they impact me negatively while finding the others I can add back in that work for me.  

This is the almost-40 right-hander.....rounding third and headed for a lifetime of wellness.

Clean Eating

If I'm going to eat beef, I want my cow eating this......

Not this........

If I'm going to eat chicken, I want my chickens being raised like this.....

Not this......

I learned a ton from this past weekend's Whole 9 Foundations of Nutrition Workshop in Chicago.  And I've thought about how I can fill up post after post with all that I learned.  However, all that is readily available for reading at the Whole 9 website and because Google is now a verb....you know what to do. I've decided for you that you don't want to hear my take on the balance of Omega 3's to Omega 6's, why an alkaline diet is better for you, and why grains and legumes lead to inflammation.  (But if you do, email me at cspinhealthy@gmail.com b/c I freakishly like talking about that stuff.)  What keeps resonating with me from the weekend is the importance of just eating well.   One of the best things I heard from the weekend was, "You are what your food eats."

The Paleo dietary lifestyle works for me right now.  It's a damn healthy way to live.  It's a tremendously sustainable way to eat.  It's restrictive to many, however my food goals are specifically related to my fitness goals.  High intensity, interval training and eating a clean diet are paramount for me.  But that's me.  As I round third and head for home on my 30 Day Paleo Challenge, I've come to realize again what I don't necessarily need in my diet while there are indeed other things I miss that are not that bad for me (ketchup, mustard, small amounts of yogurt for smoothies).  And.....there are those things I miss that I know are bad for me (pizza, wings, hoppy beer).  There's no doubt in my mind I'll indulge on such things again, but the key for me is doing so with limitations and be able to hop right back on the wagon.  My goal:  a 85/15 split of Paleo/Non-Paleo.  I think a Paleo dietary lifestyle can do better than most conventional diets, and I encourage you to do the research on it, try a 30 day challenge and see how you feel. 

Again....If you want to talk grains, legumes, lectin, protein, fat, or fish oil (all topics covered this past weekend) give me a shout.

By the way.....great movie if you haven't seen it.

click on picture for link to Food Inc. website

   

My Kind of Paleo Town

DIRECTIONS:  Play video then read on...

Headed to Chicago early Saturday morning to Crossfit Tri Cities.  Nope.....no workout tomorrow.  I'm going to hear Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Urban, founders of The Whole 9 speak about nutrition. See what they will share with me here. 

I'm looking forward to soaking up all the information and to the challenge of maintaining my 30 Day Paleo Challenge  (I have ten days to go!) while traveling.  For those of you who don't know, I work in a school so packing food every day is easy for me, I must say.  However, tomorrow poses a different challenge in planning.  I've made that Costco run and will spend tonight packing the cooler.  Stay tuned for a later post on how it all went including my reaction to the day. I'm pretty excited to get some of my lingering curiosities and questions answered by two professionals in the field.    

On and off the Wagon

Yesterday started a bit differently for me.  My normal Saturday routine is to get a cup or two of coffee and head to CFC for the Saturday Hopper workouts.  Check out the link if you are unfamiliar with Crossfit.  However, since I'm heading out of town next Saturday to the Whole 9 Foundations of Nutrition Workshop in Chicago, this was my morning to be Mr. Mom, so my wife could head to the downtown Indianapolis Farmer's Market.  Check out her very non-Paleo find here.  If you like marshmellows you should check it out.  At least she brought back some sweet and spicy buffalo jerky for me.  

Upon my wife's return, I headed out to spend just a couple of hours at the Great Lakes Crossfit Invitational at a nearby Crossfit box in Noblesville, IN, just down the road.  What an event by Crossfit Indy North.  I've been Crossfitting since July and it's changed my life as I've written about in post after post, but I can not begin to describe to you what I experienced in as just an audience member and cheerleader at this event.  

The intensity of the athletes!  The endurance of the athletes!  The passion of the athletes, men and women alike!  The athletes!!!!

These folks started competing at 8 a.m. and had 4 workouts to try to finish in the top 20 which allowed them to compete in the final WOD.  I watched one guy do the following in just six minutes!!!!!

3 Rounds of...

20 back squats (115 lbs)

20 toes to bar

20 double unders

And that was after 3 previous workouts!!!  Unreal.  

Made me think of this....

An intended two hour stay turned into six hours of me cheering on the CFC folks who have become my workout friends.  Here's some of them.........

Reijo doing toes to bar

Kevin and his toes to bar

Keith getting ready to squat and Nick in the back right.

Kyle fighting through his toes to bar

I wish I would have felt like Superman a few hours later as I knew I was going out to eat with friends.  We went to one of the best places around our area:

Bonges Tavern

In the wam months this place encourages tailgating outside while you wait on a table.  While it's "controlled and civil" tailgating, it's a blast.  And the food inside..........Check out the menu.

This was my second trip here.  No tailgating, but our friends are neighbors with the lead chef, so we walked right in and probably pissed off the fifteen people waiting in the foyer near the space heater.  Anyone who knows me needs half a second to tell you what I ordered......

If I was tech savvy I would enter an mp3 soundbite here of the Pac Man sound when Pac Man get eaten.

While the cheesy horseradish potatoes are obviously not Paleo, the duck....yes....duck!  That heavenly tasting rolled duck with bbq sauce on top and stuffed with some kind of cheese that delicately oozes out of each slice......NOT PALEO........ok folks.......and neither were the three Sun King We Mac Brown Ales that I had.  

Not quite part of my 30 Day Paleo Challenge.  I've logged the food in my daily journal and today.....well.....I move on......No guilt.  No worries.  Just back on the wagon and off I go.  I don't feel any real impact to my digestion or how I feel this a.m.  It's one meal.  It was a damn incredibly good meal from start to finish.  Not what the 30 Day Challenge prescribes, but.........

While I'm a life-long fan of R.E.M., I'm not Superman.  I'm human.  Today is a new day and I can't wait to get to Crossfit tomorrow.  

Halfway There.....

Well these guys dominated the 80's and today......it's hard to discount that Jon Bon is still relavent.  I was not a real fan of Bon Jovi back then, however when I am able to consciously hear the music during a Crossfit WOD, this one always gives an extra kick to my motivation.  Come on......It's Bon F*%CING JOVI.  

Well......I'm just about halfway there.  30 days of strict Paleo.....cleansing all the crap from my body and eating as clean as possible for 30 days on my way to feeling better every day and hopefully performing better when I work out.  


Here is my food log for the 30 days to date.

I've done this before and it was somewhat challenging to start, however now it just feels like the way I eat.  Like a lifestyle.  Have there been sacrifices?  I guess.  I have come to not wanting eggs every morning, but I know how to make them, it takes little to no thinking for me, but my morning tastes are changing.  I crave sweet things in the a.m., and let ME TELL YOU.....if my wife is reading, she has probably fainted or fallen over in her seat, and if you are reading and you know my wife you are either laughing out loud or you have fainted because you know it takes an act like this to make her react like that.  Point being....I never, EVER....NEVER used to want fruit or anything sweet in the morning.  NEVER in my almost thirty-nine years on this planet have I wanted anything other than eggs, sausage, bread, oatmeal, or any other traditional breakfast food in the morning.  If fruit was ever served, I deflect it like this.....

GET THAT FRUIT OUT OF HERE!

BUT NOT ANYMORE!!!!

My tastes have changed.  It's not that big of a deal.  I feel clean.  My digestion in the morning is better.  I don't have big periods of hunger where I roam the kitchen for things to eat when I am really not hungry. I don't feel like I'm on a diet, rather it feels like this is the way I'm supposed to eat.  I feel stronger when I work out.  Perhaps it's because I'm don't feel sluggish and have the energy.  I don't think eating this way makes me stronger.  I think eating this way 24/7 provides energy unlike the way I ate before, thus I have more fuel stored away to perform better at the gym.  

I'm halfway there.  I've given thought to foods I may creep back in and see how I feel.  

I know the occasional spirit is in order

I know I'll add cheese here and there (raw cheese)


Those are the ones that glaringly stick out.  But the point is to add things back in and see how that feels, not to just start in and eat the excluded foods in mass quantity.  That's what a diet prescribes.  This is a dietary lifestyle.  

Stay tuned for my first trip out to eat.  Tonight we are joining friends to one of the best hidden gems in this state.  Bonges can only be described by seeing their website.  It's the kind of place you must have a drink, so stay tuned to see how I do.  Quite frankly.....I'm not sure.    What I know is DUCK is on the menu I can't wait.  

This duck deserves to be eaten!

Situation 1 and Situation 2

If you've read prior posts, you know that I'm on a 30 day Paleo Challenge
structured/endorsed by The Whole 9 website, the best resource to me out there on all things related to my fitness and well being interests:  Crossfit and eating well/Paleo.  You can see my food journal for the 30 days here.  If you are new reader, the Paleo diet is not a temporary, fix-it and lose weight diet.  It's a dietary lifestyle.  I usually refer people to The Whole 9 or to Robb Wolf's site, one of the handful of experts on the topic.  The Paleo dietary lifestyle is easier to explain terms of what you can eat versus what you can't:  

No grains, legumes, sugar, processed foods, or dairy.  

The positive spin:  Eat meat, veggies, fruits, nuts, and eat food in it's natural state.  (Nothing processed.)

I've run across several people in my everyday life recently that have given the Paleo dietary lifestyle a try or they have heard about it and have made every excuse why it sounds crazy.  However, I must share two success stories that have been wonderful to watch:  

Situation 1

My colleague has complained about how she feels for several years.  She's had two children, is in her mid 30's and would find every excuse in the book as to why something like a Paleo diet would be too difficult for her.  I've mentioned it to her from time to time and she's seen me eating my meat, veggies and fruit while others indulge in their Taco Bell or pizza lunch stating, "That looks so boring to me.  I want to be excited about my lunch, my food!"  She tried Crossfit for awhile but the hustle and bustle of spouses working full time and a young family was a real disrupter to the nightly schedule of Crossfit.  Understandable.  However, she admits that working out is a chore despite it making her feel better.  Also, understandable.  Not everyone likes to work out.  I get it.  However......fast forward to the recent holiday barrage of food we are all exposed to and she recently hit her breaking point.  She was ready to start, wanted resources, and dove in.  She does not work out much, but she's in week 2, has been emailing me her daily food logs to keep accountable and states, "I can't believe how much energy I have, how good I feel, and how my cravings for certain foods changed."  She's even lost a few pounds (not that she needed to but she has her goals she wants to reach weight-wise.)  Whoalah!  I said.  All that success and she's not even really working out!  She and I have worked together long enough, my reply was, "I told you so!"  Now.....she would not mind me saying b/c she knows me but I thought.....if SHE can do it....ANYONE can!  I think she'd tell you the same.  I'm very proud of her!  It's never easy work.

Situation 2

Another colleague of mine is a PE/Health teacher and has been athletic his whole life.  He had reached a weight with which he was not comfortable and I had told him about Crossfit and trying to do something with the kids at school related to it.  Long story short, he gave Crossfit a try and loved it and he incorporates it into his own workouts now.  Along the way he asked me about Paleo stuff and came to a recent workshop at Crossfit Carmel to learn more about it.  He's been 90% Paleo for three weeks now, has lost 25 lbs. since he started just watching his what he eats, and just said to me today, "It's so nice to lose an X off my shirt size!"  Instead of talking football with each other, the first thing he often will say to me when he sees me filling up my coffee in the a.m. is about his latest squash dish or how he spiced a dish differently the night before and how we should exchange recipes.  I hear people telling him how good he looks and ask how he had done it and it's so great to watch.  I'm super proud of him too.  The great thing is he has made it work for him and while he is not 100% Paleo 24/7, he's pretty darn close and has had tremendous results.  

I've run across a few other people recently who have asked about the "diet" I am on, and when I tell them that it's not a diet rather a "cleanse" for 30 days to detoxify my body and then work certain things back in they continue to say things like......

"That sounds so restrictive and not fun at all."

"Oh, I couldn't live without my this or my that."

"I could never do that."

But these same people complain about their weight and how they feel.  What I'm trying to say is this...........

When I get into something that I believe in and that works for me I go full steam ahead often with blinders on.  I get so enthusiastic about it that I want everyone around me to know about it so they can feel successful too.  However, I know full and well not everyone is wired the same.  I love Crossfit.  Many people despise working out at all.  But......Situation 1 and 2 are MAJOR, MAJOR success stories so far simply because both have said.....

"This is doable."  

"It's all about perspective and choices."

"This just takes planning."

MAJOR POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE:  Paleo is not for everyone, and it's not the only thing out there.  It's works for me, and it can yield some TREMENDOUS change and success in your health.  

That being said, it's been great to watch two people succeed and feel better about their food, their weight, their overall health, and their lives.  There is an energy about the both of them and quite honestly it's just fun and energizing for me to watch.  Change can be hard.  Eating can be emotional, but if met head on and taken one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time, then before you know it.....you are on the way to feeling better and improving your life.  It's hard to listen to others make excuses and complain when I explain the ins and outs of eating Paleo.  I guess because it's just become how I eat.  I don't see it as restrictive, annoying, and painful.  I see it as how I fuel my body so I perform better in the gym, on my run, and it just makes me feel better in general.  

I'm looking forward to learning more about things as I'm going to be attending The Whole 9's Foundations to Nutrition Workshop on January 9th at Crossfit Tri-Cities in St. Charles, Illinois (in Western Chicago...about a three hour drive).  I can't wait to get more info. so I can take my nutrition to another level.  It's going to be an information packed day and I can't wait to share what I learn here when I return.  

I Found a New Drug!!!

Remember this video?  I once saw them in concert.

I love pizza.  No......wait.......I can devour pizza.......no wait.......if pizza is around, I now need to leave the room.  In fact, the only connection I have to any kind of recovering addict is that I imagine them needing to get out of dodge when they are in the presence of whatever it is they are addicted to.  Ask the folks with whom I work.  Schools order pizza all the time for kids.  In the past, I could never.....ever have just one slice.  I just could not control how many slices I ate.  Have I mentioned I love pizza?!!?  On a Paleo diet, sausage and cashews (not together, of course) are the same for me.  I'm working on not eating cashews for this entire week.  Not easy.  But back to the pizza......

My favorite:  New York Style:  The thin crust and savory sauce.  

I don't need all that doughy Chicago style crust.  I don't hate it.  Don't get me wrong.  I just prefer taking a trip back memory lane to my aunt's house in Brooklyn and now Staten Island.  Nothing beats actually going into a real pizzeria and taking in that waft of Italian air baking in those huge ovens.  

So what's all this have to do with a blog about being healthy?

Well tonight, I took a stab at my first Paleo pizza and I found my new drug, Huey Lewis fans!!!  I took the recipe from one of my favorite Paleo blogs

This gal is the real deal.  She's a certified Crossfit coach and a mother of three!  Go to her "About" page and get the link to her before/after pics. of her.  She has truly transformed her body the healthy way.  

I took her Paleo pizza recipe and followed it exactly.  I was concerned that the crust was not as hard as her recipe makes it sound, but it ended up working out.  Here's the link to her recipe if you are interested as I can not take any of the credit.  

My discovery:  The almond meal is not the same as floury dough.  No real earth shattering breakthrough there, huh?  But.....it was good.  In fact, if I would have doubled the amount of rosemary I put in, I think it would have been really good.  And.....next time I won't cook it as long.  But......this MOST DEFINITELY fills the void left by choosing to omit such foods from my diet to attain the fitness goals for which I am striving.  This meal confirmed for me that living a Paleo lifestyle is more than attainable with real food.  It just takes some extra time and patience.  On a side note, tonight is my wife's night to work, so I'm Mr. Mom for the few hours that she is gone.  When I put the Paleo pizza on the table, my seven and five year old both said.....

"What is that?!?!"

"That does not look like pizza, dad!"

"I don't like this crust."

"Yeah, dad.  You need to work on the crust for next time."

Tough crowd.....However.........both kids ate both of their slices!!!  

So it can be done.

Here's a few shots of the b/f and after......

Crust on pan raw.  Pretty thin.  I was worried it was going to be too thin.

Crust after baking for 20 minutes.  I was wrong.  It turned out to be just the right thickness.

Finished product:  Sausage, black olives, onions, and spinach!!!

I found a new drug!!!!

P.S.:  On day 10 of my 30 Day Paleo Challenge.  Read my journal here.