-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

   

Quick Reactions....Just the Beginning

I'm back from Chicago where I attending The Whole 9 Foundations of Nutrition Workshop at Crossfit Tri Cities.  Damn, Chicago is colder than cold!  Stay tuned for posts this week, but I wanted to share the quick and dirty of it all.  Again, I'll elaborate much more this week.

1.  I need to eat more.  Pre workout and post workout snacks are bonus meals and a must for nutrition.  Sound good to you?  Sounds like more planning to me.

2.  I eat too much meat.  Not a fault of the Paleo philosophy, rather I think I graze too much thinking, "Well....I'm doing what they say."  Bottom line is personally I need to cut back.  MUCH MUCH more on this later.

3.  Time to RAMP UP the veggies.  This is an absolute must!

4.  Almonds:  Not the best choice.  Macadamia Nuts:  BEST.  

$ Cha Ching! $ :(

5.  I finally understand the Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio. 

6.  You are what your food eats.

7.  Boy, is alcohol bad!

8.  Food should not come in nice, geometric shapes!

9.  Scientifically, I now get why a lack of grains and legumes can lead to healthier living.  

10.  An alkaline diet is the place to be.

These are MY reactions to their message.  I have my own fitness and health goals, and I'll share that.  Having said that, I'll take the next several posts to elaborate on my list.  Above it all, yesterday was enlightening, energizing, and eye opening.  What I appreciated the most was their underlying message of, "We are not saying this is the only way to go.  We just thing you can do it better."  I'm looking forward to doing it better.

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.  

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:

Staying Busy, Planning, and Some Great Blogs

Well, it's the weekend and I'm coming up on the end of one week down with my 30 Day Paleo Challenge. You can see my Day 7 Food Journal here.  Starting last Saturday was a good thing for me seeing as though I put two weekend days in already.  The weekends.  They are always the most challenging for me.  Less structure.  More temptations.  I usually try to go to Crossfit on Friday nights as it forces me to continue eating well so I don't barf it up after.  I also won't blow my workout by eating poorly after it.  So I have the Friday night thing down.  Tomorrow...............

Need I say anything more?!  It's the playoffs!!!! So an 8 p.m. game poses some looming temptations.  But when my wife told me we were returning a babysitting favor for our friends.....wholah!  Problem solved.  I take the kids home to bed.  I plop in front of my t.v. and have the best seat in the house. And my neighbors know better than to tempt me this month.  You see, I think I learn a lot about myself as an eater when I partake in a 30 day challenge like the Whole 30 advocates.  I guess it's the same no matter what kind of "diet" you are on, but I don't like the word "diet" because, to me, it implies that it is temporary.  The one thing I really like about the Whole 9 site (they have created the Whole 30) is that they advocate for your eating being a lifestyle, a habit and not something you do for a period of time.  Although, when I am done with my 30 days, I treat myself to something like pizza or wings or beer.  But.....I only do that for one meal and not in too much excess.  At least I try.  The key is to get back on the wagon in the way that works for you the next meal or day and to live like that.........permanently.

By the way.  I feel great.  I feel energized.  My hand soreness has disappeared.  I'm sleeping really well and I wasn't when I was not eating a clean diet.  I need to plan my meals better, so I hope to do some of that this weekend.  I'm going to try a friend's homemade beef jerky recipe.  Our friend Lindsey shared it on her blog, which by the way......If you want OUTSTANDING food ideas.....check her blog out and check it daily.  She is a wealth of info. and she just started introducing Paleo into her family's life.  Her recipes are for all foods, but you can also find Paleo stuff there.  Click on the link below.  Her blog is titled "Enjoying Healthy Foods"

Another friend of mine just started blogging.  She and her husband both are Crossfit buddies of mine and Jen is sharing her experiences with being a full time mother, an avid Crossfitter, and an advocate of Paleo eating.  She is sharing great food ideas too at.......

Paleomomrx.com

I'd love to hear how your working out, nutrition plans are going and what challenges you.  Feel free to comment or drop me an email at cspinhealthy@gmail.com

30 Days of Paleo.....GO!

1/1/11.....what better day than today to start something.  I thought I'd wait until Monday when I return to work to start my second 30 days of strict Paleo, however I got off to a good start today after an indulging New Year's Eve.  


I'll try to post pictures of meals, share some recipes along the way, and maybe even some videos.  (It's New Year's Day, so I'm feeling pretty adventurous....right now.)  Nonetheless, below is what I had for dinner.  I'm trying to focus on portion control.  i.e. filling my plate with more veggies than meat, something I neglected the first time I tried this challenge.  One conclusion I made then was that it was easy to overeat thinking, "I'm on a diet.  I'm doing something healthy, etc."  However, those calories add up, and I often do not let my brain catch up with my
stomach.  

Pot Roast, cabbage, and cooked carrots

I have created a separate page on the blog titled, 30 Day Paleo Challenge.  I'll have a new post as close to daily as possible with a link to that page that will show what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, and what I'm doing from exercise.  I'm sort of structuring this thing as I go.  As shared in the past, you can read all about the challenge and get started yourself at The Whole 9.  It's a wealth of knowledge.  

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to email me at cspinhealthy@gmail.com or just leave me a comment.  I'd appreciate it and welcome all the input I can gather.  

One day down..........

Resolution Schmesolution

It's that time of year.  Everyone is going to lose weight.  Weight Watchers, Sugarbusters, The Zone Diet, gym memberships, no sweets, no this, cut that......

 Resolutions schmezolutions!  They never last.  They often look like this.....

My solution to no resolution.....

Set a goal and go get it.  

Start slowly and plan.

Find a friend and partner up.

I'm going to start 2011 by continuing on my path.  I'm going to do the following:

1.  Go Paleo 100% for 30 days straight and integrate into my dietary habits full time afterwards:  No grains, no legumes, no sugar.  Eat all things in their natural state.  I'll email a friend doing the same thing after every meal to stay accountable, and he will do the same.  This worked great last time.  The goal here is to cleanse my system and hopefully find gains with my endurance and overall health.  Check out all the details of The Whole 30 plan I will follow.  It's part of The Whole 9 website, a great foundation for all things Paleo.  I'll be reporting regularly on what I eat, how I feel, and what I do working out, so be sure to follow and share your thoughts if you like.   

(I did this once before and you can read about it here as I was asked to share my thoughts with my Crossfit Carmel friends.) 

2.  Continue to use Crossfit as my main means of getting stronger, increasing my endurance, and losing weight until I reach my goal:  Be under 225 lbs.  (When I started Crossfit in June I was 260 lbs.  I've taken photos of my progress along the way.)  I have yet to find anything that works for me better than Crossfit.  It's pushes me to my limit and beyond each and every time.  While I realize it is not for everyone, I have seen huge gains in my strength, endurance, and confidence about myself fitness-wise.  It's the most humbling thing I've ever done athletically.  Again, it's not for everyone, but it is for me.

3.  Run another half marathon (I'm considering the Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio.) and at least 1 sprint triathlon in 2011.  My PR for a half marathon is 2:07, however the Flying Pig is full of hills, so we'll see.  I have not run any long distances since starting Crossfit back in June.  I have all kinds of Crossfit goals.  Some of them I will share from time to time, however I've said all along that I want to use Crossfit as a means to do other stuff.  

So what will you do this year to stay healthy?  I'd love to hear from you.  Feel free to post a comment or email me at cspinhealthy@gmail.com

 

You deserve it!

Coming Soon

It's the day after and the week before.  You may be returning to work after a few days off, or you may have some time to yourself.  Either way, if you are like any other human on earth, you have been bombarded with Ghosts and Vampires luring you to eat foods of comfort and joy.  No matter what your challenge may be the rest of this festive week, I want to preview some posts that will be coming up this week.  These are things that are on my mind that I hope help you too......

1.  My Relationship with Food:  I'm reading my second book on my new Kindle, the New York Times Best Seller, Room, by Emma Donoghue.  While the book makes me think about my own kids, there is a point in this story where I connected to my relationship with food.  Here's a New York Times Review of the novel.  I'll explain this week.....

2.  Why I Eat Clean:  Paleo may not be for everyone, but it has really made a difference for me.  However, there is one huge reason that makes me want to "eat clean" no matter what.  Stay tuned......

3.  Resolution Schmezolution:  Go ahead and make yours this week, but I challenge you NOT to make any New Year's Resolutions rather think about how you might make a plan and just start living differently, one step at a time.  It works for me, BUT IT'S NEVER EASY (all the time).

4.  The Whole 30 Success Story Contest:  I'm entering this contest and will share my essay that I submit.  I just need some silent time to myself to get it all together.....something that's hard to come by in our house these couple of weeks.