If you aren’t part of our_Paleo Challenge Facebook Group, you may have missed these cool videos Ivory posted. Interesting that the reporter had to stuff her face with whole foods in an effort to keep her current weight, yet in 10 days lowered her cholesterol, dropped her blood pressure, and reversed her insulin resistance (she wasn’t aware she was pre type II diabetic).
Speaking of cholesterol, be sure to make it in for the next wellness seminar with Dr. Brittany Burns, as that will be one of the subjects covered! Date and time TBA!
It is time for our annual PALEO CHALLENGE! For those of you who are new to crossfit and have not been eating strict paleo, here are a few websites to get you familiar with the concepts:
Now that you are familiar… the CHALLENGE starts January 2nd and lasts for 6 WEEKS until February 10th. This gives everyone plenty of time to make drastic changes to their body compositions… and just in time to look your best for Valentine’s Day!
Take a peek at the links below for previous Paleo Challenge winners:
These results happened in just 6 WEEKS!!! Bring on the New Year with a healthy change in life style and a new outlook on nutrition!
Stay tuned for competition rules and buy in! If you are interested in the challenge let us know in the comments below. You will win enough money to buy a new few clothing items for your new body! Remember, this is a body composition change challenge… not a weight loss challenge.
In case you guys haven’t signed up for Gluten Free January and are missing out on the great info being put out, here is the latest email from Matt Lentzner. Check out what he has to say, then see whats on the menu for our recipe of the week!
“Ever heard of “Leaky Gut”? I’ll admit it sounds a little ridiculous, but it’s real.
Technically, the inside of your stomach and intestines are still outside your body. Food is brought in, processed, the nutrients absorbed, and the waste passed out. Your digestive track is the most highly immune system protected area of your body. If you think about it, this is the most likely point of entry for any invaders or toxins.
The idea here is that when your small intestine gets damaged then it leaks. It’s not like a leaky tire, but more like a screen door with a hole in it. You want the fresh air, but not the flies. Get enough holes and the screen door is an open invitation for all the bugs in the world to come into your house.
It is like this with leaky gut. Bacteria, undigested food, toxins, get through the gut barrier and into your blood stream. This causes an immune reaction inside your body. Your body will assume it is under attack and produce antibodies for any foreign objects it encounters. Things get dicey when your body makes antibodies for proteins that happen to look like structures in your own body. This is called auto-immune disease. When you body’s own immune system attacks it’s own tissue.
It’s a real crapshoot. It varies from embarrassing hair loss (alopecia) to permanent nerve damage (multiple sclerosis).
Where does wheat and gluten fit into this? I’m glad you asked.
Gluten is a gut irritating substance. In other words it can damage your gut. If the damage gets bad enough then tiny gaps start to form in the intestinal lining. Next thing you know you have leaky gut. Of course some people are more sensitive than others, but I think everyone suffers from it to a greater or lesser degree. Even if your gut doesn’t actually leak, this constant irritation keeps your immune system on red alert all the time, making allergies worse.
Other stuff like aspirin, NSAIDs, and alcohol can also irritate the gut. So you want to take it easy on those things. But for most people the constant bombardment is coming from gluten. For many people it’s every meal of every day for their entire lives.
Eating gluten is like gambling except there’s no winners – only losers. And some people are gonna lose bigtime.”
You guys have seen it: organic sweeteners designed to fool consumers into thinking they’re choosing a healthy option. Evaporated cane juice, sugar in the raw, blue agave nectar…
My take on it has always been the same; you’re body doesn’t care if it’s high fructose corn syrup or agave nectar. It ALL gets metabolized as sugar, and any form of sugar should be limited.
Check out this post for and expose’ on agave nectar. Post to comments if you have any questions.
So we are about three weeks into this whole paleo challenge, and I’ve noticed a progression in the gym:
Week 1: “I can’t eat bread and sugar!? What am I supposed to eat!?”
Week 2: “I’ve dropped 6 pounds already! This is awesome!”
Week 3: “I tried this new paleo recipe -insert recipe here- it was delicious!”
Hopefully week 4 will bring some of you a new outlook on your food.
Some of the recipes people have been telling me about sound great (samples for the trainers are always appreciated). Darcy has a good one for Paleo Candy Bars; we are in negotiations with her right now to trade them for her membership. A few of you have been raving about the Roast Sticky Chicken found in our recipe section (try out some of the links found there to websites for more recipes). A couple of you asked about the Apple and Pork Roast I was bragging about (I held the sugar and added sweet potatoes)… yea, I love my crockpot. Here are some yummy breakfast options Kristin H. sent me.
So, you can see that whole, “What am I supposed to eat!?” question is easily answered. The possibilities are endless. I told someone today that I eat more variety and better tasting food now then before I started eating paleo. It’s about eating real, fresh food; not foodlike products made in a factory, packaged with a health claim on it.
So try some new recipes and let me know how they go!
So, is everybody feeling like they need to jump start their nutrition for 2010? Indulge in the holidays a little more than expected? I know I did. Enter the Paleo Challenge.
Here are the rules:
Keep a detailed food log. What you ate, how much, and what time.
Eat Paleo foods. Meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, NO SUGAR.
Get your before picture taken at the gym before Jan. 8th.
Participants will put $10 in the pot, winner takes all. The winner will be chosen by two criteria: food intake quality, and body composition change. Notice I didn’t say weight loss. This isn’t the Biggest Loser. If your body needs to lose weight you will; however, this is a poor indicator of fitness. Body composition shifts (decreased fat and increased lean body mass) are much better for this.
Check out these pictures of JR. I had a little over a month with him on his Paleo Challenge and the changes were awesome!
So what do you have to lose? The worst thing that can happen is you lean out, improve your performance, and look and feel better. The challenge starts Monday Jan. 4th and ends Feb. 1st. Get after it!
Hopefully, everyone is still eating like they should with me not there to pour Tabasco on your english muffins. Here is an email I got from my Dad (check out his blog) today about his progress:
“I remembered this morning that it’s been 90 days since I started Paleo. I’ve lost 20 lbs. It’s been pretty enlightening for me, and so easy. If only people would realize that high-carb, calorie laden foods don’t satisfy you, and before you know it you’ve consumed more calories than you need, and a short time later you’re hungry. I see it all the time. It’s so easy to understand, nothing magic or hard to prepare.”
He also told me about a lady at my Mom’s work dying of a heart attack at 50. Kind of reminds us that this stuff is for our overall health and longevity, not just looking good at the beach!
I’ve added a few blogs to our links list. Randy’s will be there so you can check up on him, as well as Kristin’s and Alex’s blog. Check’em out!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
Pulse garlic cloves in a food processor until minced. Add onion and jalapeno, and pulse until minced again. Scrape the onion mixture into a large bowl along with the turkey, blue cheese, eggs, and olive oil. Season with tamari, dried parsley, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Mix well.
Roll the mixture into 2 inch balls, and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 25 minutes. These can also be prepared in a muffin pan for mini meatloaves or in a loaf pan for a full sized meatloaf. (Be sure to place on a baking sheet or tin foil to avoid a mess)
I’ve had a few questions about going Paleo recently. Where does dairy fall in the Paleo Diet? Strict Paleo omits dairy altogether. Think about it for a second…what animal drinks milk from another animal? What animal drinks ANY milk as an adult? Kinda’ against the laws of nature if you ask me. There is also an insulin response from milk, and that is what we’re trying to minimize here. Also, many people are lactose intolerant, and MANY more are intolerant to a lesser degree and don’t even know it. You may be able to digest milk fine, but the symptoms can vary from person to person…everything from psoriasis and eczema to acne and arthritis. People live with these things all their lives and never think milk might be the causative factor.
So, do I drink milk? Yes I do, because it’s delicious and I love it! I went sans dairy for a while and didn’t notice any difference in my body composition, performance, and any other measures. But that’s just me. Will dairy derail your Paleo progress? I would say more than likely not. The grains and sugars are the real enemies here. But remember, if your going to drink milk, go for the whole kind. Anything else is more processed, and taking the fat out intensifies that insulin response.
Another complaint I get is Paleo is so hard! Well, that is a lame excuse. It is easy and affordable. I eat A LOT and am a poor Mo Fo. Which means I shop exclusively at Costco. Here are a few staples of my diet:
Trident Salmon Patties: (Wild Caught). At $13 for a pack of 12, this is poor mans Salmon. I cook 2 of these bad boys up, throw on a slice of cheese, and go to town! No buns!
Hunk-O-Turkey: Costco also sells a large chunk of deli style turkey meat. This is the stuff you see behind the counter at the grocery store before they slice it. They run about $19 for one (not sure how much they weigh, but they are big) and it lasts a long time. I usually cut it in half and throw one in the freezer so it doesn’t go bad. I slice it up and it goes on my 2 minute salad.
They also have a big tub of organic spring mix salad for $4. This is the same price you pay for a small tub anywhere else. See the salad above.
And one of my favorites…2 whole young chickens, for $10. See the roast sticky chicken recipe (scroll down), it’s delicious. Just one chicken serves 4 or 5 people.
There is a lot more, but this should keep you busy for the week. Do you have any Paleo recipes you want to share? Post ‘em to comments or email them to me!
While you’re cruisin’ the net, be sure to check out Alex’s blog. She has jumped on the Paleo bandwagon, and her and Jarod tell me they love it and have never felt better. I have definitely noticed Jarod’s performance improve in the gym as well.
Questions? Post to comments or ask me directly. Be sure to check the nutrition tab up top for more recipes/guidance.
The New Food Pyramid
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