ABC News Does Paleo and Crossfit!

Ok folks......so I've been blogging about this for a few months now, talking about how the Paleo diet is not a diet but a lifestyle.....that it's transformed my life in many ways.....that it may not be for everyone, but it's been for me.  Well thanks to my Crossfit friend Jen (who also blogs on this kind of stuff) I stumbled upon this clip from ABC News.  No matter where you are in your fitness journey, you may want to consider giving it a try.  While the part about the guy hauling his truck is a bit over the top for me, the rest of it is spot on.  AND......it features, Robb Wolf, who I have mentioned in several previous posts.  AAAAND.....it talks about Crossfit in a very positive way.  That it's not geared just for crazy insane workout freaks, rather it's a functional program for everyone and anyone.  Kudos ABC!  Hope you enjoy it.  Let me know what you think by posting a comment.  I'd love to hear your feedback.  

-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

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.  

Silly Bandz, Swatches, and Mullets

These are some of the fads in my home of late.....

These did not last long....thank goodness

If I find one more of these on the floor, I'm going to floss my kids' teeth with it!!

OK.....So I like these too!  

Of course these are some of the fads I remember.....

Had one!  Was the soccer cut though!

Who didn't do this?!?!?!!

Like Crocs for your wrist in the 80's!

However..........

NOT

A

 FAD

As you may know, I'm on my second go 'round with The Whole 30's Thirty Day Paleo Challenge.  The first time around I learned tons about myself, and this time I'm hoping to not only learn more about me, but I want to flush all that holiday eating out of my system and really try to impact my fitness more than before.  

Yesterday, at Crossfit Carmel, one of our members and nutritionist, Jennifer Jones (read all about her Paleo experience here, because what she says just may surprise you) provided a workshop on the ins and outs of the Paleo Diet.  What was great about Jen's approach is that she did not say the following:

"You must do this."

"This is the answer to everything."

"This is the way you should eat."

Rather, Jen spelled out the facts.  She presented the science and nutritional background involved, and explained the benefits and rationelle behind it all.

WHAT I LEARNED

I've read Robb Wolf's book The Paleo Solution.  I've scoured blog after website. However I needed to hear again the benefits of this dietary lifestyle in my body.  What resonated with me is the following:

1.  Glucose:  This is most abundant in grains.  It's absorbed by the liver, but our livers can only take so much.  So when the liver is "full" it spits glucose to other parts of our bodies as fat often to our muscles.  

2.  Gluten:  Often called grain protein.  Found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, millet and sorghum.  These contain lectins, hard to digest proteins leading to inflammation.  Dairy and legumes can stimulate the same issues as gluten and lectins.

I realize I am not detailing the E=MC squared explanation.  You can read up on that info.  What I want to share is that this workshop hit it home for me......

*My hands don't ache at night like they used to. 

*My digestion issues are better.  (ok...I'll say it....I don't have as much gas and I'm not running to the bathroom in the a.m. like I used to.)

That's enough for me to believe that this works......FOR ME.  Oh......so what about the Silly Bandz effect?  Is this another fad?  My answer:  

It's not a fad at all because.....

Fad diets are restrictive.  Hell, all diets are restrictive for that matter.  But, fad diets promote weight loss, but they do not tell you how to maintain your weight loss once you have deprived yourself of everything.  What I like about Paleo is not that it restricts me from bread, sugars, etc.  Rather, it gives it to you up front:

1.  Do this for 30 days to flush it all out and here are a slew of resources to assist you i.e. recipes, email support, etc. 

2.  Decide what you want to add back IN MODERATION to see how your body reacts to it.  If negatively, cut that food out.  If not, add it in IN MODERATION.

3.  If you can not go cold turkey now for 30 days, start slowly.  That is, start cutting things IN MODERATION and lead up to a 30 day challenge.  

HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE

There are all the excuses in the world to make.  However, for me...once I found Crossfit and saw what it does for my body, I KNEW that once I paired sound dietary lifestyle with it, the sky is the limit.  I love what the Whole 9 says.  "This is not hard.  Kicking a herion addiction is hard.  Beating cancer is hard.  This is about choices that impact your health and fitness."  Paraphrased of course, but it was all I needed to make try this out and see how it works for me.  It works for me.

Thank you Jen Jones, nutritionist and Crossfitter.  

Thank you Robb Wolf

Thank you Crossfit Carmel

Thank you Whole 9 

Oh......and thank you 1980's for keeping all of the following:

Day 2 of 30

Click here to see my Day 2 Journal

So I'm glad I decided to start this over the weekend and not wait until Monday.  I guess it's a good thing I've done this before, know what to expect, cook on the fly, etc.

Made a great omelette this a.m.

  

Inflammation observation:  I will share with you that I have been going through a ton of hand/wrist discomfort during the night.  My hands ache beyond belief and I often wake up several times as my hands are asleep as if they weighed 100 lbs. each.  Not fun.  I'd say this has been going on for several weeks now.  I will also share with you that I've let my diet slide considerably from where it has been.  Having shared both points, I will tell you that last night I slept through the whole night.  No hand pain.  No hands/wrists falling asleep.  

What I'm NOT saying:  I am not concluding that this was due solely to a 100% clean Paleo day one.  I am not sure what only one day can do.  Perhaps I did not sleep on my hands as much? At the same time.......

What I AM saying:  My diet was drastically clean and different yesterday.  The only thing I changed, and the Paleo experts conclude that a lack of grains translates to a lack of inflammation in the body.  Here's a link to Robb Wolf discussing this topic.   

I'll keep you posted as things progress.  I'll also share that I'm going through the worst knee injury ever right now.  It's kept me away from Crossfit and any other intense exercise for almost ten days.  I'll be curious to see how my diet helps expedite my knee recovery (that is hoping that it's just a sprain and nothing is stretched or torn).  

I'm Not Perfect, BUT.......

I am a counselor for a living, and one great technique I tend to point out is when someone uses the word, "but" in the middle of a sentence.  Like this....

"I wanted to say I was sorry, but I thought if I did....blah blah blah." 

Everything after the "but" is white noise, pointless, and an excuse.  I try not to use but, BUT it's not easy.  

When it comes to my eating, I try to be pretty spot on.  I am not perfect.  I indulge.  I have to.  It keeps things real.  This blog keeps me motivated, on track.........focused most of the time.  MOST.  Since I work in a school, I have the past two weeks off.  I've had my favorite hoppy suds.  I've eaten more than I should have, yet it's not a habit.  I get right back on the train the next day and get it going in the right direction.  Not the case a year ago.  Not the case before I educated myself.  Before I found the resources and people with whom I surround myself with now.  

When I return to work on January 3rd, it's game on.  Another 30 day Paleo challenge (and I'll report on my journey regularly).  However, 95% of the week I don't diet.  I HAVE a diet.  And it consists of foods that are:

NATURAL

ORGANIC

PALEO (most of the time)

That's easier than listing all the crap I don't eat.  i.e. high fructose corn syrup, sugar, pop/soda, etc.....

I don't eat perfectly all the time.  Bu.....er.....at the same time.......

My father lost his battle with cancer 8 years ago.  He had just retired, was a traveling the world, and adored his grandchildren, my sister's kids.  He never got to meet my kids.  My first child was born a year after his passing. Cancer struck.  I hate cancer.  However, I never met my paternal grandfather.  Cancer got him before my dad was in college.  You see where I'm going?  

I want to do all I can in my time on this planet to make sure that I see my grandchildren.  So that I can break the cycle.  While I will let myself indulge around the holidays, I no longer fall off all the way like I used to.  I think it's because I finally have that balance:  

The food knowledge + a consistent mode of exercise that I enjoy. 

There are a ton of resources out there about how certain foods can cause cancer and how others can help prevent them.  Here's a few I've found....

WebMd Article on Eating Raw

Watch Food Inc.!!!

LiveStrong Article on Eating Raw to Prevent Cancer

Read up on Robb Wolf's Research.  He's a Paleo guy.

  I will say that I don't get consumed in reading all the research and proving what works and what doesn't.  This is a choice I make.  I feel better when I eat this way, and I don't want to feel the other way.  I'd rather give this a shot seeing as though we have to eat.  I'd rather eat my way to preventing THE BIG C rather than popping pills to do so some day.  

I want to see my grandchildren someday.  Plain and simple.

I'm struggling today to accept that I need to take a week off from Crossfit.  I don't say this to prove how much I exercise or gloat.  Rather, I say this because I have never been that excited to work out day in and day out before I met Crossfit.  It's what I look forward to (albeit some days with anxiety depending on the WOD of course).  


After throwing my lower back out and seeing my chiropractor who just happens to be a personal friend and after listening to my coach at Crossfit Carmel, I am accepting that I need to take at least a week off.  


One of the best resources I've come across is from Robb Wolf, who wrote the book The Paleo Solution.  He talks about recovery being mandatory and how diet is a necessary part of recovery.  As I read articles in The Crossfit Journal, I like when he says, "recovery comes down to: Eat a Zone favorable or other hormonally intelligent diet with predominantly antioxidant rich "Paleo" foods. Sleep 8–10 hrs per day in a completely dark room. Go to bed as early as possible. Laugh. Avoid excessive stress." All great things to focus on in a time of letting my body heal.  


As I struggle to accept that I can not work out in a way that I FINALLY love doing, I look to credible folks like Robb Wolf, my chiropractor, and my certified Crossfit coaches, who know what they are talking about.