In 2012, I embarked on a Paleo/Crossfit 30 day challenge. Since then, I have been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer and am now continuing my efforts for a healthy lifestyle. I had very successful results with my 2012 challenge but there's the paleo way of eating isn't for me. It was a great way to kickstart my results.
Scroll down to read the roundup and results of my Paleo/Crossfit Challenge
Click here to begin with Day 1 of my Paleo/Crossfit Challenge
Click here to read Day 1 of my Focus T25 Challenge
June 2012 Paleo/Crossfit 30 Day Challenge roundup and results:
For most of my life, I pretty much ate anything I wanted, with a diet that consisted of chips, soda, pizza, any kind of pasta, and as much bread as I could get my hands on. Now, at age 38, I find my metabolism has taken a wrong turn. I have tried every diet pill, diet shake, quick diet fix, 3 day and 7 day diets... nothing works! I have a membership to a gym but can never find the time to fit that into my schedule. Can anyone relate?
There are people who have struggled with weight gain all of their life and have mentioned to me on several occasions that my poor diet will eventually catch up with me. Of course I never listened. Who has the better advantage? Is it the 38 year old woman who spent all of her life easily fitting into skinny jeans and now has to completely transform her way of life to include a diet and an exercise program into her week? Or is it the 38 year old woman who has spent all of her life watching her calorie intake and is already accustomed to regular exercise activities? Since the grass is always greener on the other side, I’m going to say that the advantage goes to the woman who already knows what it takes to watch her weight and doesn’t have to give up the only foods she has spent her entire lifetime eating.
There is a new form of fitness sweeping the nation, called CrossFit. In a nutshell, CrossFit is a toning and strengthening program that offers a 20 to 40 minute long, extremely intense workouts, mainly based on lifting your own body weight. You won’t find a room full of elliptical machines or treadmills: unlike typical gym’s, CrossFit carries rowing machines, weights and little else. I found it intimidating at first, but now I truly understand that doing exercises, using my own body weight and increasing repetitions over time, is what it takes to tone and strengthen. I always wondered why, spending a year at the gym, repeating the same routine (starting with my 30-minute cardio treadmill run) never returned any noticeable results.
The Crossfit difference is HUGE! The daily workout begins on the hour, any hour of the day. The WOD (workout of the day) is done as a team, with one of the trainers leading the group. Everyone supports one another and if you finish first, you are required to stay and cheer on the other group members until everyone has finished. On one occasion, the last portion of that particular WOD was a 200 meter run. Here is what was so inspiring -- although the other team members had finished their WOD, the group ran with me for that last 200 meters, supporting me the whole way. This is something I have never experienced at another gym!
To give myself a jumpstart into moving towards a healthier lifestyle, and of course, losing weight, I began a paleolithic diet, which was recommended by one of the trainers at my CrossFit gym, Dr. Ryan Stoffle, who is a chiropractic and nutritional counselor.
Often heard of as "the world’s healthiest diet," "Paleo diet" or "caveman diet," it is based on the simple understanding that the best human diet is the one to which we are best genetically adapted. The food template is actually pretty simple, here is a breakdown of the do's and don'ts: Do eat: fish, meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts. Do NOT eat: Grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.
The most important thing I learned during my 30-day paleo challenge: You will NOT see results if you are not able to stick with it. Seeing as though this is a no carb/no sugar program, I went through some pretty serious withdrawls and was thankful that I began my challenge with Dr. Ryan, who was available to monitor my health. I had absolutely no idea how high my daily carb intake was, until this challenge. A bagel for breakfast, a sandwich and some chips for lunch, and a quick and easy pasta dish for dinner. And this was considered a low-carb day for me!
With the paleo diet, as long as you eat the recommended foods, you can have as much of them as you like! There is no calorie counting, no eating small portioned frozen meals from a box only two times per day, and no shakes that replace a meal. I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy eating food, therefore, my desire to actually taste and chew the food in my mouth, will win every time over replacing a meal with some grainy chocolate or vanilla shake.
The Bottom Line...
During my challenge, I spent 30-days eating paleo suggested foods and recipes, and went to CrossFit 3x per week… I lost 20 lbs in the first 2 weeks of this challenge. My total weight loss for 30 days was 25 lbs and my body was tone, as shown in the pictures above. The sad news is that none of my clothes fit so I had to replace them all. But how sad is that really...
After this challenge, what became more important to me than even the weight loss, which was the whole purpose, was the fact that my digestive track seemed to be in perfect working order. Granted, I had not been to a doctor or had any exams on my intestines, but I also had not had a single stomach cramp in 30 days! Most people don’t leave home without their keys, I on the other hand, never left home without my keys AND my antacids! I’m thrilled to say that antacid medication is no longer a part of my diet.
The latest statistics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that more than one-third of US adults are obese, and obesity-related conditions such as: heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, are some of the leading causes of death in the United States. We are fighting for a lot of things in America, such as creating jobs, rebuilding the economy and equality, but let’s not forget that we NEED to be fighting for our health as well.
For a detailed, daily account of my 30-day paleo/crossfit
challenge, start here for Day 1.
Keep in mind that this is only ‘my’ experience with trying to gain a better understanding of what it means to live a healthier lifestyle and if you plan to try it for yourself, make sure you are under the guidance of a qualified professional.
Scroll down to read the roundup and results of my Paleo/Crossfit Challenge
Click here to begin with Day 1 of my Paleo/Crossfit Challenge
Click here to read Day 1 of my Focus T25 Challenge
June 2012 Paleo/Crossfit 30 Day Challenge roundup and results:
For most of my life, I pretty much ate anything I wanted, with a diet that consisted of chips, soda, pizza, any kind of pasta, and as much bread as I could get my hands on. Now, at age 38, I find my metabolism has taken a wrong turn. I have tried every diet pill, diet shake, quick diet fix, 3 day and 7 day diets... nothing works! I have a membership to a gym but can never find the time to fit that into my schedule. Can anyone relate?
There are people who have struggled with weight gain all of their life and have mentioned to me on several occasions that my poor diet will eventually catch up with me. Of course I never listened. Who has the better advantage? Is it the 38 year old woman who spent all of her life easily fitting into skinny jeans and now has to completely transform her way of life to include a diet and an exercise program into her week? Or is it the 38 year old woman who has spent all of her life watching her calorie intake and is already accustomed to regular exercise activities? Since the grass is always greener on the other side, I’m going to say that the advantage goes to the woman who already knows what it takes to watch her weight and doesn’t have to give up the only foods she has spent her entire lifetime eating.
There is a new form of fitness sweeping the nation, called CrossFit. In a nutshell, CrossFit is a toning and strengthening program that offers a 20 to 40 minute long, extremely intense workouts, mainly based on lifting your own body weight. You won’t find a room full of elliptical machines or treadmills: unlike typical gym’s, CrossFit carries rowing machines, weights and little else. I found it intimidating at first, but now I truly understand that doing exercises, using my own body weight and increasing repetitions over time, is what it takes to tone and strengthen. I always wondered why, spending a year at the gym, repeating the same routine (starting with my 30-minute cardio treadmill run) never returned any noticeable results.
The Crossfit difference is HUGE! The daily workout begins on the hour, any hour of the day. The WOD (workout of the day) is done as a team, with one of the trainers leading the group. Everyone supports one another and if you finish first, you are required to stay and cheer on the other group members until everyone has finished. On one occasion, the last portion of that particular WOD was a 200 meter run. Here is what was so inspiring -- although the other team members had finished their WOD, the group ran with me for that last 200 meters, supporting me the whole way. This is something I have never experienced at another gym!
To give myself a jumpstart into moving towards a healthier lifestyle, and of course, losing weight, I began a paleolithic diet, which was recommended by one of the trainers at my CrossFit gym, Dr. Ryan Stoffle, who is a chiropractic and nutritional counselor.
Often heard of as "the world’s healthiest diet," "Paleo diet" or "caveman diet," it is based on the simple understanding that the best human diet is the one to which we are best genetically adapted. The food template is actually pretty simple, here is a breakdown of the do's and don'ts: Do eat: fish, meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts. Do NOT eat: Grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.
The most important thing I learned during my 30-day paleo challenge: You will NOT see results if you are not able to stick with it. Seeing as though this is a no carb/no sugar program, I went through some pretty serious withdrawls and was thankful that I began my challenge with Dr. Ryan, who was available to monitor my health. I had absolutely no idea how high my daily carb intake was, until this challenge. A bagel for breakfast, a sandwich and some chips for lunch, and a quick and easy pasta dish for dinner. And this was considered a low-carb day for me!
With the paleo diet, as long as you eat the recommended foods, you can have as much of them as you like! There is no calorie counting, no eating small portioned frozen meals from a box only two times per day, and no shakes that replace a meal. I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy eating food, therefore, my desire to actually taste and chew the food in my mouth, will win every time over replacing a meal with some grainy chocolate or vanilla shake.
The Bottom Line...
During my challenge, I spent 30-days eating paleo suggested foods and recipes, and went to CrossFit 3x per week… I lost 20 lbs in the first 2 weeks of this challenge. My total weight loss for 30 days was 25 lbs and my body was tone, as shown in the pictures above. The sad news is that none of my clothes fit so I had to replace them all. But how sad is that really...
After this challenge, what became more important to me than even the weight loss, which was the whole purpose, was the fact that my digestive track seemed to be in perfect working order. Granted, I had not been to a doctor or had any exams on my intestines, but I also had not had a single stomach cramp in 30 days! Most people don’t leave home without their keys, I on the other hand, never left home without my keys AND my antacids! I’m thrilled to say that antacid medication is no longer a part of my diet.
The latest statistics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that more than one-third of US adults are obese, and obesity-related conditions such as: heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, are some of the leading causes of death in the United States. We are fighting for a lot of things in America, such as creating jobs, rebuilding the economy and equality, but let’s not forget that we NEED to be fighting for our health as well.
For a detailed, daily account of my 30-day paleo/crossfit
challenge, start here for Day 1.
Keep in mind that this is only ‘my’ experience with trying to gain a better understanding of what it means to live a healthier lifestyle and if you plan to try it for yourself, make sure you are under the guidance of a qualified professional.