Yes 30 days of Paleo eating and all is good, well not just good but GREAT. Starting off with a 7-day cleanse was a perfect way to kick start the process, thank you Baltimore Health Coach. http://www.baltimorehealthcoach.com. In my prior blog I had just finished my 7 day cleanse and was a little worried about the go forward food prep; however, I found the food prep became easier because I knew what to do, yes 2 trips to the grocery store per week vs. the typical one, yes 2 times a week of doing some food prep for future meals (coaching at meal times can be difficult.) But the good thing is during this time of year it is much easier to shop for fresh-local food with various farmers markets located around the city and just about open every day. Plus if driving to/from the beach stop off at those road side farmers stands, blueberries $1/pint in Jersey!
After the cleanse I did the following: Added back raw honey, mainly to make tasty nut/seed granola and nut muffins, added alcohol but limited to weekends (except for a weeknight out with the girls & 4th of July long weekend at the beach.) Found beer upsets my new fine tuned stomach more than wine, but then again that is if I had more than 2....my beloved espresso.....Woody introduced me to a very tasty decaf (Counter Culture Coffee), but it was hit or miss on my stomach saying "bloat-yuck get it of my system!" I miss the taste and will experiment to see which brands my stomach do not reject or on certain days I will just Suck It Up to make my taste buds happy. The good thing - I do not need caffeine! Naps are sometimes necessary so I recommend to crawl under your desk and close the door or flop down on the bed/beach chair/bench press bench or curl up with your favorite CrossFit teddy bear aka medicine ball (20# for men/14# for women.)
Things I learned: In the past I was always goal oriented and did not listen-appreciate the path-process to the goal. Having goals is good but do not miss out on what leads you to them, since you will learn more on this path vs. when you attain the goal. The goal is the icing (paleo) on the nut muffin. So in this case I set a goal - 30 days eat like a cavegirl. Half way through I knew this was the way I want to eat going forward since I found the benefits outweighed what I was giving up, but I also was going to make my goal of 30 days, gosh darn it!
I only had one night out that really tested my resolve and the food served looked sumptuous, the majority of the items were healthy except for some desserts over the top, but I did not indulge. Appetizers consisted of fine cheeses, salmon ball & escargot, yes escargot, that was tempting. Dinner, grilled flank steak (+), crab cake - oh they looked good but knew had some grain & probably dairy, several vegetable dishes with either dairy or grain and a zucchini/tomato dish (+). Desserts were mouth watering but all had grain, sugar, dairy. I was honing in on the mixed berries until I saw a cheese/pita chip addition. Needless to say I was a little hungry after the party, but I was happy with my resolve and it made me more attuned to what people eat. I was craving for some kale during the night and when I got home I ate paleo granola with almond milk and berries.
Going Forward: I will add some dairy back but it will be for special occasions like escargot at Petit Louis or some really, really good cheeses. I thought I would miss my fat-free plain greek yogurt but after 30 days I do not need to go buy it. Yes if at a party and there is a tasty crab cake, I may devour, but these will be my fun days, no one can go 365 days eating the same way, plus I want to make my stomach upset & feel weak at a CrossFit WOD to remind me how I should be eating. Mark L & Jerry H - I am going with summer fresh cantaloupe all day long, may not have been around in caveman days but still a darn good treat in the summer. In my mind the key is to eat no processed/sugar/refined foods, eat as local as possible, organic-natural, fresh-in season fruit & veggies, and no grain-dairy-beans. Call it Paleo or just call it eating clean.
Benefits: Facts are in the numbers. Between my BOD POD tests (measures lean body mass & fat mass) 4.2.11 - 6.25.11 I lost 3.6 lbs: Lost 6.4 lbs of fat and gained 2.8 lbs of muscle. I think CrossFit increased my muscle and some fat loss but eating better really helped on the 6.4 lbs of fat loss.
Next Goals: Continue to increase strength so I can get: 10 straight kipping or maybe convert to butterfly, seems more efficient, pull-ups (really need to work on not tearing hands as well as strength) by 9.30.11, Standard hand stand + decent HS push-up by 12.31.11, Muscle up by 6.30.12 (hopefully I will hit all earlier than projected.) Finish reading The Paleo Diet For Athletes, so can help our PUSH511 endurance athletes meet their goals, and finally develop the best post workout smoothie - targeting egg powder as key ingredient for protein. The part I am really excited about is the path-process that will bring me to these goals. Oh yeah - have fun every minute during the process!
What are your goals and how will you reach them?
