Change the way you eat!! Gain a new perspective on food in our society. Challenge yourself to be stronger (mentally, physically, emotionally) than you may believe yourself to be. Overcome the "convenience" excuses that has put our society in the sad state it is today.
One of my mentors once said, "No one ever put something into their mouth by mistake." Rather take accountability for yourself and your daily actions. Including what you choose to consume day in and day out.
Join fellow CrossFitters around the globe who are taking steps to change their lives and discover how great they could feel if only they rid themselves of the unfortunate side effects of eating a typical American diet. For a great deal of further information and links please refer to the blog of fellow CrossFitter Melissa Byers here who is challenging CrossFitters worldwide to realize their true potential of gene expression via healthy eating.
Melissa presents some basic guidelines and below you will find the guidelines agreed on by myself, Corey and David Hughes. (A big thank you to David for initially inspiring myself through his goals. I feel it is only appropriate to further extend the inspiration to the rest of the CrossFit Asheville/greater CrossFit community. Thank you David. I can't wait to witness your continued progress!)
- Eat REAL food-meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits, oils (like EVOO, canola, coconut, etc.)
- Eat foods with no ingredients listed at all because they're fresh and natural. If it comes in a package proclaiming how healthy it is, it's not.
- Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, cheese, yogurt (even Greek) and milk (including cream in coffee) Why no dairy? See Dallas's great post here.
- Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn (debatable), oatmeal and all of those gluten-free "pseudo-grains". They have been altered to make them that way and as such are not part of the plan.
- Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils and peanuts.
- Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. No agave nectar, Splenda, Stevia, Truvia or Sweet 'n Low type products.
- Do not drink alcohol in any form.
- If you have serious inflammation issues like arthritis you may want to consider avoiding nightshades as well.
Depending on the paleo resource you use there are many differences concerning what is allowed and what is not.
- We ARE allowing organic and local honey and maple syrup. However, no drinking straight from the containers. Limit your quantities.
- We ARE allowing sweet potatoes but not white potatoes.
- We ARE allowing packaged products without preservatives. Applegate products are a great example as seen here.
These guidelines will be amended as different questions arise.
Corey's birthday was Monday July, 13th so after we delighted in some delicious ice cream cake we declared the start date of July 14th. We are eating clean for 30 days straight (ending August 20th for us). A total of 10 "cheat meals" will be allowed after that. A cheat meal involves a three hour time period during which one may indulge on whatever food products/beverages one so desires. (The interesting part will be when you realize how crappy those foods now make you feel, but still quite enjoyable in the moment nonetheless.)
I am not one for scales, but we did take photos the night of July 13th and will continue to do so on a weekly basis. The initial trial period of paleo style eating will end on our 1 year wedding anniversary Oct 11th or 83 days from July 14th. At this point we will assess our experience and hope to be inspired to continue a paleo lifestyle. If not, at least we will know.
We welcome any interested parties to join us on this journey. Read about the many individuals who are commenting on Melissa Byers' blog many of which began their 30 day challenge on July 1st and decide for yourself. If you determine this is something you would like to try, set your own goals, IN WRITING. Comment here on this blog and get excited to discover how great you could truly feel!
This blog post is meant as a communication board both for those involved AND for those supporting the efforts of others. I welcome any guests posts. Feel free to email me ShannaDuvall@gmail.com and I will put up a post for you. If you have ideas for an appropriate post please let me know as well. One thing we are looking for is local Asheville eateries with menus which include paleo-friendly foods. Please update me when these are discovered and we will begin a list.
I look forward to the many success stories to come from the wonderful group of people we have in this community!
This all began here.
Shanna I just want to take the opportunity to thank you and Corey for inspiring me. I look forward to this adventure, with yourselves and all the others who join in. Good luck to all and lets support each other.
ReplyDeletei agree! i look forward to what day 30 brings and i already feel the same support and community for this challenge that drew me in the first day of crossfit, this is what its all about.
ReplyDeletethis was a tough day for me, made it, but ohhhh so hard.
ReplyDeleteOkay, guys, I'm here for moral support! Who knows...maybe I'll jump on the paleo wagon after my trip to Antigua. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeletedavid, yesterday was, so far, the most challenging so far for me, too...what kinds of things were hard for you? what thoughts? or foods? or anything?
ReplyDeletefor me, it wasn't so much about not being able to eat this or that, but wanting to grab whatever was around to munch on. the habit of snacking on crap.
and after that, because i couldn't eat the peanut butter and pretzel snacks solomon had, then i wanted chocolate, or maybe JUST ONE mocha :), and last, i drank a bunch of water, but still felt dehydrated, ...but like you, i made it through. i am too curious to see what the end of this challenge brings, physically, emotionally and spiritually...and a lot of my motivation is everyone else who is doing it.
Anna, today i found lara bars, life will never be the same again
ReplyDeletemmmmm...these look good, where did you find them? g-life?
ReplyDeletei also found these real fruit munches at the food co-op, sweet and sour and all they consist of is the fruit and dehydration. yum.
Rei first, then went to earthfare, a little cheaper there.
ReplyDeleteshanna/corey,
ReplyDeletei have a question...since we started the challenge, i have felt dehydrated. is this normal for eating habits like paleo? my water intake has, if nothing else, increased. The foods i've eaten have been obviously fresh meats, fruits and vegetables with a few exceptions of sliced turkey (which tastes very salty to me, but i don't eat it a lot), almonds and cashews...i do not add salt to anything, season my food with fresh garlic/vinegar/olive oil. and as you both well know, i haven't even been working out regularly...this is abnormal for me and it started at the same time i began this challenge. what are your thoughts?
French Broad Food Coop has Lara bars on sale for $1.19 ea. So good...
ReplyDeletewalmart has lara bars @ 1.25 but limited selection. Anna, I've been more dehydrated too, my weight has dropped 9 pounds since Tuesday morning most of it has to be water.
ReplyDelete