THURSDAY 2-16-2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 10:24AM Paleo Challenge starts March 1st.
Here is the repost from our first challenge along with rules;
Good luck all!!!!!
PALEO CHALLENGE
March 1st to March 31st
This is not a weight loss competition. This challenge is a way to better health and a longer happier life.
Here is what is required out of you:
$20 Entry fee… all entry fees will go towards cash prizes.
The winner gets 50% of the total entry fees, second place 30% and third 20%.
Commitment and a willingness to change.
This WILL BE a lifestyle change. Fast food meals and cheese and crackers will not win you this challenge, you need to be committed to SHOP AND COOK! It’s that simple.
Hard Work.
Inside and outside of the gym.
A food log.
You must log your meals, even CHEAT MEALS, and I will occasionally review them with you throughout the challenge. Get a subscription to Beyond the Whiteboard and log your meals along with your WOD's.
Measurements:
Body weight, waist circumference
Performance Test:
5K Run for time, CrossFit Total for total poundage, Karen (150 Wall ball Shots) for time.
Daily Requirements:
Eat a Paleolithic Diet.
Record you daily food intake on the Beyond The Whiteboard
Show up to classes and train hard a minimum 3 days per week. If you can get in here more often, even better, but you must be getting in your CrossFit WODS at least three times a week.
The Winner
At the end of the challenge the top three performers will be selected based on:
1. Measurement Improvements: weight, waist
2. Performance Improvements: 5K Run for time, CrossFit Total for total poundage and Karen (150 Wall ball Shots) for time.
3. Scoring: Points from daily nutrition log
Scoring:
You will be required to keep track of your eating on the Beyond the Whiteboard meal log. From this log you will give yourself a score of 0-4 based on your compliance with the Paleo Diet.
Four Points: (100% Compliance) You are a hunter-gatherer (meat, veggies, some fruit, nuts and seeds).
Three Points: (99% Compliance) One time during the day, you had a little something that wasn’t Paleo, but wasn’t horrible: for example, some peanuts, green beans, or hummus, a little sugar or artificial sweetener in your coffee.
Two Points: (90-98% Compliance) You messed up. You had a small amount of “not real food”. Maybe it was a fully Paleo day, but you couldn’t resist having a beer on the weekend, or you finished your kids french fries, but the rest of your day was solid.
One Point: (80-89% Compliance) Most of your day was Paleo, but there was one full meal that you fell off the wagon. Maybe it was the rolls at dinner, a sandwich, pasta, a soda, juice or bag of popcorn, two slices of pizza, or a drink or two…Not three.
Zero Points: You had a bad day and made more than one mistake. Three drinks, dessert, a couple slices of pizza or more than one processed meal.
BONUS POINTS:
1. You get one extra bonus point for everyday you participate in a CrossFit workout at CFHK. I believe rewarding people for being at CFHK will serve two purposes. First the more you are at CrossFit the more support and exposure you will have during the Paleo Challenge. Being around others that are going through the same experiences you are will enhance your chances of success. Second, the benefits of Paleo are exponential when combined with a training program that has constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements.
2. You get one extra bonus point for everyday you consume at least 4 grams of Fish oil.
Post Work Out
Post workout is the one time I will allow a slight deviation from Paleo. If you are unable to stomach solid foods after training, a protein drink is a great alternative. For fast and complete recovery I suggest Progenex and a banana. You should mix the Progenex with water (or milk if you are trying to gain weight). If your primary goal is to decrease body fat and get leaner skip the milk and possibly the banana. If you just finished Murph, Eva, Badger or other 30+ minute intense workout, go higher on the carbs, hence the banana to replace glycogen. Your performance the next day is dependent on it.
What is Paleo?
Paleo = meat, veggies, nuts, seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO SUGAR! Basically removing all the processed bread, rice, and pasta-like items from your daily plate (and any and all sugar/artificial sweetener infused beverages) and eating clean for 30 days. To be successful you should empty your cupboards of all such processed junk so as not to be surrounded by it. You must keep a detailed food log for me to review periodically. You will try to reduce your stress and sleep more. All of these lifestyle factors influence whether or not you are lean. This is a Paleo Challenge, which means you are consuming “meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit little starch and no sugar.” Tofu nor any other soy product, beans and rice, or dairy as a protein source is acceptable for this challenge.
“Eat meat that once had a face and a soul” – Robb Wolf
You must consume vegetables.
You don’t have to like them, but you must eat them, ¼ to ½ pound per meal.
Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. You have tons of resources at your disposal to help you with a plan and encourage you along the way!
Tips to get started:
When shopping only shop the perimeter of the grocery store; produce, meats, nuts, etc. Don’t wander down the isles in the middle of the store unless it’s to get spices! Try shopping in bulk at Costco. Get lots of chicken, ground turkey, lean cuts of beef, shrimp, fish, etc. Buy containers of cashews, almond butter, almonds, and pecans. Buy flats of fruit- strawberries, blueberries, apples, etc and big bags of veggies- broccoli, green beans, onions, and asparagus. Read labels! Be sure that the food is not processed. If it comes in a box, and has funny names listed in the ingredients that you don’t recognize, chances are it’s processed. Play with spices! Buy garlic salt, black pepper, parsley, crushed red pepper, Italian herbs, cayenne pepper etc. Experiment with them. Mix and match them in your dishes. Also, shop for spices in bulk at Costco because you will use them up fast if you are doing things right!
Planning food for the week:
Cook a big batch of chicken or other protein and keep it refrigerated in containers to use throughout the week for meals or in your favorite dishes. Cook batches of veggies and keep them refrigerated in containers to use throughout the week for meals. Always plan ahead. Make your own lunches to bring to work. Always have nuts and seeds to snack on if you get busy and need first, you must eat meat (fish is fine) at every meal.
You will be partnered up with an accountability partner.
You and your partner must communicate 5 out of 7 days per week. Communication can be via phone, email, text, or in person.
This is a challenge lasting only 4 weeks, after the challenge you can tweak your diet to fit your needs.
There is an alcoholic drink limit of 4 drinks per week.
Do not consume all four drinks on the same outing. Beer is not Paleo, and Gluten Free beer is not Paleo. Alcoholic Beverages ok to consume,
1) Red or White Wine
2) Nor Cal Margarita 1-2 shots of tequila, squeeze of lime, salt on the glass, soda water.
3) Vodka with a squeeze of orange and soda water
4) Gin with soda water (not tonic)
5) Any non-sugar beverage you can create
There are NO cheat days on this Paleo Challenge
This is a very strict 30 days. If you cheat you are not kicked out of the challenge, but you are doing a disservice to all the hard work you have put in. It takes up to a whole week to recover from a cheat. It can take up to two weeks if it was a blow out. Please eat clean and reference recipes, ask accountability partners, or me for ideas on how to eat clean during a special event.
Other questions:
Is milk, dairy, cheese or yogurt allowed?
Only if you are trying to GAIN weight will you be allowed any of the aforementioned foods, and then only dairy allowed is milk, whole milk, up to a gallon per day, as long as you aren’t lactose intolerant.
Peanuts, peanut better allowed?
While classified as a legume and traditionally not thought of as a “nut” it is allowed, sparingly. In reality, it is only 30 days; so really try to go without it for the 30 days. If you cannot give up peanut butter for 30 days, chances are you have larger issues to deal with!
What if I am a vegan, vegetarian, don’t eat meat, eggs and only eat vegetables, fruits?
To be Paleo, you MUST eat meat. Vegans didn’t exist in Paleolithic times, and we didn’t evolve from herbivores, hence the eyes on the front of our head and our sharp incisor teeth. We evolved from meat eaters and we are supposed to be meat eaters. We are omnivores; we eat both meats and vegetables/fruits. Don’t fight evolution. EAT MEAT.
Stone Age Substitutions from The Paleo Diet
Salt: Powdered garlic, powdered onion, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon crystals, lemon pepper free of salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, commercially available salt-free spice mixes, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, ground cloves, oregano, ground allspice, celery seeds, coriander seeds, ground cardamom seeds, or any spice or combination of spices can be used to replace salt. I do not recommend using any of the so-called "lite" salts or potassium chloride salts because chloride, like sodium, is undesirable when it comes to your health.
Vinegar: Substitute small amounts of vinegar with lemon or lime juice (fresh or reconstituted from fresh).
Butter/Fat: Replace butter, margarine, shortening, lard etc. with olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Olive oil has a wonderful flavor and is high in the health promoting monounsaturated fats but generally has a poor omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio (~13). The same situation exists for avocado oil, and these two oils should be frequently complemented by or blended together with other oils containing better (lower) omega-6 to omega-3 ratios such as flaxseed (0.24), canola (2.0) or walnut (5.1) oils.
Sugars: Concentrated sugars of any kind even natural sugars (honey, maple sugar, date sugar), really were not a staple component in most pre-agricultural diets. Sugars should be obtained primarily from fruits and vegetables and not from concentrated sources. That being said, fruit purees, flavored with lemon juice and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, mint leaves, ginger, vanilla, and other spices), can be used in recipes to add sweetness to sauces, condiments, and desserts.
Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages were clearly not a component of true Stone Age diets, and should be limited to an occasional glass of wine, beer or spirits as a part of your "open meals." Wine, as long as it does not contain salt (as most cooking wines do), can be used to marinate meats and add flavor to many cooked dishes. When wine is used in this context, the amount of added alcohol and sugar is negligible – furthermore, wine contains a number of health promoting phytochemicals and antioxidants.
So there you have it. I am always accesible for questions, so if you run into any problems, don't hesitate to ask me. I also "borrowed" a great list of Paleo foods from High Altitude CrossFit which I will have as a handout.
WOD
3-5 rounds for time of:
Row 1000 meters
9 Muscle-ups (this translates to 27 pull ups and 27 ring dips per round)
Reader Comments (5)
Just signed up for Tough Mudder in October, over at the raceway in NJ! For anyone who is interested here is the link... https://www.raceit.com/register/groups/default.aspx?newgroup=true&event=10006
P.S. For those of us who can't swim.... we're allowed to pass on the opportunity of drowning.
Also there is a discount for early registration.
I'm in! Have always wanted to try a Tough Mudder.
Also Anthony has put up some poster at the box for the Civilian Miliary Combine (CVC). There's one on April 21st in VA and another on May 19th in PA. Jonathan did it last year and had a blast. Here is the link with more info
http://www.civilianmilitarycombine.com/events/tri-state/
If you're interested, give me a shout when you see me at the box or email me at fred.fournier@yahoo.com and I'll coordinate.
I really want to do this, but can't participate in the workout pieces of it. Can I offer myself up as a motivational third to a pairing?
(um, the paleo challenge, that is. not the Tough Mudder. Ha!)
I'm in it to win it...