1) Don’t Starve Yourself These Last Few Days– This Paleo Challenge has been more about a lifestyle change and a quick 25 day exercise in educating each of us on the paleolithic diet rather that starving our bodies to see who can lose the most weight.
Yes, it is a competition and Yes, we will have prizes but at the same time the goal is to perform well on the Post-Challenge WOD (as this is one of the criteria for judging) so not having energy would be negligent to your performance. Continue the same habits you have and stay the course til the end…
Which leads me to…
2) DO NOT… DO NOT… DO NOT… jump right back into your bad habits. I personally have a first hand experience that I can share with all of you if interested on my first Paleo Challenge. (I was the “what not to do!”)
The Challenge officially ends Thursday (or Friday/Saturday- whenever you get in for measurements and post WOD).
Have a game plan! By that I mean, know what few cheats you are going to bring back into your life, BUT don’t just eat everything bad that you can think of just because you can now.
Many symptoms can occur from adding carbs, refined sugars, processed foods, etc. back into the diet that have been deleted for the past 25 days.
Nausea
Upset Stomach
Bloating
Diarrhea
Fever
Shakes
Energy Loss
The list goes on…
Some can relate to this reaction by the body. Just imagine treating your body the same way day after day after day and then suddenly shocking it with new chemicals. Things are going to happen! (not good things)
Be smart!
Here are a few links regarding more detailed information on the topic to get you started.
http://norcalcrossfit-fuel.blogspot.com/
http://whole9life.com/2011/07/ride-your-own-bike/
http://whole9life.com/2010/06/life-after-whole30/
http://whole9life.com/2010/11/eating-dirty-1/
CrossFit NapTown Paleo Information 
“Be Smart!”
Yah, probably not going to happen for me this weekend.
Umm…there are homemade potato chips from the cafe about 6 inches from my desk.
I will resist.
I will.
Pre-paleo, I would have eaten the whole bowl before the client even arrived.
All I want is some pizza! I plan on keeping it Paleo for the most part even at Super Bowl parties this weekend, but I want some PizzA!
A challenge that I will put out to the group is: have you met your goals? If not will the diet/lifestyle help you meet them moving forward?
I personally have not met my goals in regards performace and body appearance I believe that this diet will help me in part- meet the goals I have set so I will continue it with some modifications to meet those goals using the diet.
Open meals will most likely be a way of life. I think that one to two a week will be the allowance that I set. My problem will be moderation during those open meals. I am an all or nothing person. So…… once I start smoking the carbohydrate/sugar crack pipe…….who knows how long the binge could be!
Goal for tomorrow: Complete Domination!
As this challenge comes to an end, I think back to November when the previous trial-paleo challenge was ending and the great feast of Thanksgiving dinner was around the corner. The last week of the challenge I was constantly trying to figure out what food/drink I had missed the most and what was going to be my first cheat. I couldn’t think of any one item that I couldn’t live without- which is either a sign that I had accepted the paleo lifestyle and knew that any cheat item was going to leave me feeling terrible, or there were so many treats to be had that I didn’t know what non-paleo item to indulge in first.
For me, it truly was the former because being on the paleo diet had made me feel so good that I couldn’t return to my old grain/dairy/sugar/legume eating habits.
I will be honest that I have enjoyed some of these items since that first challenge, but have been strict with myself since this new challenge began. I am not sure if I have made many changes physically for the measurements and will be waiting to see my performance stats tomorrow, but overall I am happy with the paleo lifestyle and will be staying strong with it after the challenge ends. Here is a blog post that I find to be a helpful thought as we near the finish line for the paleo challenge.
http://thingsweforget.blogspot.com/2012/01/800-enjoy-struggle-as-much-as-prize.html
Hope everyone enjoyed the unbelievably awesome weather today!
yeah, merrit, i agree. i have not been dreaming of what to eat on my first cheat. i do like the paleo lifestyle and like that my body does not react negatively to what i am eating. i do hope i can keep up the strict eating as long as our pocketbook allows.
and eric, i guess i didnt start the diet with a certain goal in mind. i decided last minute to join the challenge so the biggest goal to me was to do it and make some good meals while preparing well for jared’s lunches and snacks too. however, i am interested to see how my body keeps transforming after another month or more of paleo. i would have liked to get to CFNT more during the challenge, but our living location and having 2 girls really impact that decision. i think that would have made a big difference on the challenge for me. i dont know if i can say if my workouts felt better or not….so maybe more time will tell (or the post paleo workout!)
BRU Burger here I come!! I’m going to take it easy this weekend, but can’t say I’ll be too successful!
Yeah, I already alluded to this in my last post, so I will just reiterate my position of not indulging post-Paleo. I’m not craving anything non-Paleo that I wouldn’t be able to substitute with a Paleo-approved version. I’m not so worried about filling cravings as I am about turning down items once they are around. I may not seek out food that will make me sick, but will reason and logic still reign once it’s right in front of me? I drove by the pizza place near our house tonight and I swear I could taste the breadsticks and pizza. Ah, cheese! I learned my lesson after breaking my fast, and even after pre-Paleo challenge experimentation, that it will hurt and hurt A LOT!
Did I meet my goals? Well, in some ways I have already because I’ve noticed physical changes in my body and lost some weight. However, my priorities lie in how well I do in the Paleo WOD tomorrow, not including how much better I feel everyday when eating Paleo. I have found a lifestyle that I believe best fits my body’s needs, and that’s a victory for me:)
I have met most of my goals I set for the challenge:
Eat more vegetables than fruits – done.
Limit nut intake – done.
Avoiding processed meats – done. (Didn’t rely on Canadian bacon for breakfast.)
Making sleep a priority – ehh. This is one goal I need to continue to work on.
I’m also like Eric in terms of being an all or nothing person…once I start w/ an open meal – it’s hard to get back on track and not make every weekend an open weekend. I have a feeling the real challenge will begin after today.