Recovery Protein- Retail $59.99.  CFP Price $50

Whey Protein- Retail $34.99. CFP Price $30

10 oz. Super Omega 3 Fish Oil- Retail $49.99. CFP Price $40

Now is the time to make positive lifestyle changes beyond the gym!

Any questions, email Coach Judah!

Eight Weeks to Thrive

A CrossFit Providence Health and Wellness Group

Open to Members and Non-Members

Meeting every other week on Sunday evening from 5-6PM starting January 15, 2012

SIGN UP HERE

Topics will include:

1. What is Health?
2. Hormone Control and what hormones do we need to control
3. Sleep
4. Exercise
5. Nutrition and Diet
1. Paleo Diet/All Natural Diet
2. Why Paleo? Benefits
3. What is NOT Paleo/Food Choices
4. Food selection and Goals
6. Lifestyle Modifications
7. Questions and Answers

Seeing the Whole30 challenge posted on the CFP site was kind of like seeing hand stands come up in a WOD: I tell myself I’m going to kick up against the wall this time, but I usually back out mumbling something about “next time”. I had been toying with doing the Whole 30 for 6 months or so, but was putting it off because there were a few elements of it that were as much in my comfort zone as being upside down trying to lock out my arms. With handstands it’s the idea of my head crashing into the ground, and with the Whole 30 it was the thought of maintaining a paleo-ish (not a word) diet w/o the crutches of cream in my coffee or aspartame-filled diet ice teas. I realize how completely ridiculous that sounds, which is why I had to take on the Whole30 this past month. Oh, and I had the complexion of a Caserta’s pizza and read that kicking dairy would help.

So it began…

I’d been eating paleo-ish (still not a word) for awhile, so it wasn’t a huge change for me. I missed the cream for a couple days, but found that Americanos were an easy segway to black coffee.  Going cold turkey on the diet soft drinks was very effective and immediately satisfying.

I was pretty upset when I found out that bacon was not “Whole 30 approved”, because there is added sugar in pretty much all bacon. I had a heart-to-heart with a butcher at Whole Foods regarding this conundrum. He helped me examine label after label, but between the two of us we could not find any bacon w/o sugar in the ingredients list. So no bacon. Turns out I lived.

An odd thing I experienced was a general brain fog and depressed mood from about day 5 to day 23. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when I look back at the amount of chemicals I used to take in via artificial sweeteners. That stuff is no bueno.

I also missed alcohol way more than I thought I would, but I chalk that up to booze just being so enjoyable.

By the beginning of the final week it was smooth sailing. I could do this standing on my head!(if I backed into it wall-climb style). Overall, it was a good experience. I’m very glad I did it and I learned a few things:

• I actually like black coffee. A lot. Cinnamon makes it even better.
• Almonds & cashews give me a stomach ache. I had been trying to blame it on everything and anything else, but the truth came out in the cold light of the Whole 30.
• Dairy makes my face break out.
• Drinking water and seltzer instead of diet soft drinks makes me feel superior to my co-workers.

Results:

• Significantly clearer skin (suck it, Proactiv!)
• Lost a few pounds
• Slept a bit better
• General sense of accomplishment

Now what? Well, today was the first day post-Whole 30 and I ate exactly like I did for the last 30 days. I’ll start to add things back in slowly. Dairy will stay out, except for grass-fed butter. Grains & legumes will stay out because they make me feel sick.  Sugar was an occasional treat before, but it will be a bit more occasional now. Alcohol is back in (I missed you, my friend).

Finally, if I smell like pumpkin beer and candy corn this week it’s just your imagination.

It’s official. I completed the Whole 30.  Although as tonight comes to a close I can honestly say that I did a Whole 31 and I am going to keep going – at least until Friday when I am going to go out and celebrate.

I read the CFP post about the Whole 30 challenge the morning it started and just decided to do it. It was probably better than if I had read it and had to wait a week to start. I may have gone on a sugar binge trying to get my fixes in.  Truth is, I thought I ate pretty well to begin with, however, the Whole 30 experience gave me the opportunity to realize what I was really eating. I still can’t get over how hard it is to find products (even organic ones) that don’t have some form of added sugar or citric acid.  Even some spices that I had in my cabinet had added sugar and I never would have even thought to have looked at the labels. Unbeknownst to me, I had a LOT of sugar in my diet.

So what have I learned?

I have an emotional addiction to coffee. Having coffee without the cream and sugar tasted awful and my attempts to drink it black or with coconut milk weren’t fun. Truth is, I already drank decaf so the need to have my daily coffee wasn’t for the caffeine, but for the habit.  I’m not going back.

1. I love to cook again. Having to buy fresh produce and meats (and a variety of spices) has awakened the desire to try new recipes and even break out my crockpot.  I’m actually enjoying my food rather than grabbing the first thing I can find because I never made the time for it.
2. My man is awesome! Having his unconditional support when I went through my “I just want to eat something sweet” phases as well as adjusting lunches and dinners so they were Whole 30 compliant was a godsend.  His encouragement when I “would really like some ice cream” or helping me to see the positive changes in myself made a huge difference. Having love and support is sweeter than any dessert.
3. I feel great. Really great. It’s different. Ask my friends, and they’ll tell you that they notice the difference and it has nothing to do with losing weight, it’s coming from the inside (as cheesy as that sounds). I learned I want to keep feeling this way.  Feeling like this lasts all day vs. the 10 minutes I would enjoy if I were eating ice cream.
4. I don’t know how much weight I lost because I haven’t gotten on the scale, but I know I have because my clothes fit differently. In a way, the scale doesn’t matter because I am working on getting stronger and gaining more flexibility. The scale won’t be able to measure that. This is new for me. In the past, the scale always mattered.
5. In the last month, there were so many times that I thought I couldn’t believe there was nothing to eat when I was surrounded by food. This usually led me to connect with Tuna, who was also doing the Whole 30 and we would have a laugh about staying strong and sticking to the plan. When stressed, send obnoxious texts to people who will help you laugh and take your mind off things.  Accountability is important. Thanks Tuna!

I have learned a lot and this experience has really been a gift to me. However, the best part of the Whole 30 is that I was able to convince my mother to give it a try.  I showed her how to cook spaghetti squash and took her food shopping. We also talked about having healthy options on the menu for the upcoming holiday gatherings, which is practically unheard of in my traditional Portuguese family. She even made me some paleo soup last week. She looks better, I can see it in her face and that is how I understand what people are seeing in me.  I want her to take care of herself, to be happy and healthy. She is on Day 23.

As far as my physical being, I felt I was lacking in that area as well.  The No Bread Challenge was an epic fail.  Then one day I saw Judah with his shirt off he just looked different.  He’s always had a little extra belly hang (I’d guess you’d call it that) due to all the weight he lost, but a lot of it seemed to be gone.  I didn’t know it at the time, but about a week later he posted his Whole30 story.  It sounded crazy to give up all that you were expected to, so I was just going to incorporate some of it.  I figured I was 80/20 paleo, so I’ll kick it up a notch.  When October 1st came, I actually had two drinks that night at a friend’s house.  I felt like an ass and said, ‘I can do this’.  I then took the challenge very seriously and technically started on the 2nd.  I followed it 100%.  I ate only real food -eggs, bacon, sausage, avocados, meat, chicken, fish, some fruit, cashew butter and nuts.  I cooked everything in coconut oil.  I ate a lot and never deproved myself.  Sometimes I’d buy a pound of ground beef and have half of it for lunch and half for dinner.  That was on top of what I had for breakfast and veggies and maybe a sweet potato with lunch or dinner.

It was very tough mentally and physically at first.  Physically, when I started I had the jitters for about a week.  All day long I felt like I had drank on an empty stomach, woke up pretty wiped and needed like 8 of those chocolate frosted hostess donuts to calm me down.  I stuck at it though.

Mentally it was even tougher.  I had a good friend in town from Australia who I won’t see until May, and he left the first week in October.  I met him out at a bar the last two nights he was here.  I just had water.  I was then invited to the NYLO Hotel grand reopening 2 days after my friend left.  I was forced to take a glass of champagne as I entered.  I put it down when I got outside.  They had a glorious spread – the bread and cheeses looked great.  I had shrimp and meat.

The days passed and I was doing well.  I stayed in on the weekends for the most part.  And then came The Giorgi’s Pumpkin Carving Party.  All of my favorite people were there – drinking Octoberfest and Pumpkin Ales, eating and having a great time doing it!!  I had apple cider, butternut squash lasagna and water.  I thought I was going to crack.  Everyone was supportive (except for Jorge).  He kept on trying to make me drink (someone needs to kick that otherwise awesome human being in the shins).  I then went to another party (at a bar) and more of my favorite CFPers were there.  More alcohol and fantastic looking cheesecake.  I had water and no cheesecake.

I kept trudging along and not derailing.  With about a little over a week left I was thinking about something Bryce said a few months back in a WOD.  I remember it so vividly.  He kept urging us to ‘stay uncomfortable’.  It’s really the only way to do a WOD.  I was thinking about the Whole30 (it consumed just about my every thought) and how his words applied to this month, well really about life if you truly want to break it down.  But back to the Whole30.  I stayed uncomfortable – the whole time.  Though it had gotten easier with each day and I wasn’t actually suffering; there was still temptation.  I was out of my element.  I tend to drink on days that end in Y, but could not.  I could not have a protein bar, peanut butter, one slice of pizza, a glass of milk, one small piece of chocolate…not one deviation from the Whole30 plan!!!  Eating like this was so, so different than what I was used to.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my Whole30 buddy – Erica Lima.  She did it also.  We texted each other every day.  We’d remind each other how many days we were in, how many days left, we’d send pics of what we were eating (Whole30 porn), how good we felt during the month and that we’re friggin’ rock stars.

While many of you were finishing up the No Bread Challenge, I was in the middle of 30 days of a pretty regimented nutrition plan.  I am constantly stalking the internet for new information to enhance my knowledge of nutrition, so that I can better serve our members.  One of my normal stops on my way around the net is at WHOLE 9.    Whole 9 has a 30 day no-nonsense, just eat real food plan.  There are no slip ups, or special occasions for 30 days.  30 days to change your life.

When I returned home from Iceland, I decided to try the Whole 30. Why?  Not really sure.  I had wanted to try it out as I heard it was very effective, but was skeptical what type of results I would get personally, as I live a paleo-template lifestyle.  I wanted to try it out to give guidance to those who may be interested.  I wanted to try it out, because the “No-Bread” challenge was so effective, I wanted to “up the ante” and run a more expansive Whole 30 challenge from October 1-October 30.  I also wanted to see if I had the self control and will power to go 30 days without some of the foods you are required to stay away from (mainly, dark chocolate, dark beer, and raw milk).

What is the Whole 30? In a nut shell, many foods potentially people eat are inflammatory, without them knowing it.  The idea is to take them all out of the diet, and see how you feel.  Do you lose weight?  Do you stop having aches and pains that are unexplained? Do your energy levels go up?

I did not really go into it with any intent to lose weight, or gain in health. My intentions were to more mentally test my will power in that it is a pretty restrictive eating plan.  Could I make it 30 days without any intentional slip ups?  I told myself if I could not go 30 days without any of these foods, I had much bigger issues with self-control.  Would it have an impact on me in any way?

Background info on where I was starting:

My diet had been pretty strict consisting of primarily, non-processed foods primarily, local vegetables, organic fruit, local grass fed meats, or organic varieties from the market, lots of eggs, and raw dairy (milk and cheese), or regular full fat greek yogurt.  I did supplement with some Larabars or Fruit Kind Bars as a snack here or there.  I did have a weekly cheat (usually ice cream).  I do eat dark chocolate (85% and above, low sugar) regularly.  I also consumed a fair amount of nuts.  Supplements are high end Fish Oil and post workout recovery protein (Stronger Faster Healthier).

Here were the “rules” I had to follow, and my thoughts on each in red, and some thoughts from the 30 days.

1. Eat real food – meat, fish, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats.  Not a problem.  I actually ate more fruit and starch during the 30 days than I had before I started.  I do not recommend this route for everyone.  A lot depends on the person, as certain individual’s genetics allow consumption of a little more starch (Banana, plantain, sweet potato) or sucrose from fruit.  If weight loss is a goal, it was not for me, limit the fruit and starch intake to 2-3 a day.
2. Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc.  This was not a real issue.  I typically do not use sweetener of any kind.  I was very diligent even with condiments to look at labels and exclude any such items containing any bit.  This means no gum! If you are a gum chewer which I am not.
3. Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks or meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc. No Processed foods.  I try to eat real food.  However, there is something about the convenience, and sweet taste, of a Larabar, or a Fruit and Kind bar.  Once school started, packaging food for 12-14 hour days was tough, so the only exception I did make to the rules was I allowed myself protein powder on long days.  Being that I eat a lot of Real Food normally, and it was not a new concept, I granted myself this exception.  If you are not used to eating primarily real food do not make this exception.  The idea of this 30 days is to get you to eat real food as a habit.  It is inconvenient eating real food all the time.  I pre-packaged my lunch and breakfast the nights before.  I cooked a ton of meat on Sunday to last me the week for lunches and any travel breakfasts.  It takes some work to be eat this way, but the trade-off is amazing.
4. Do not consume alcohol, in any form The first weekend this was tough, however, as the 30 days went on, it became easier.  At first I craved a beer, but stuck to my guns, and self-control won over.  I did go out and socialize.  I drank club soda with lime.  Drank a lot of it.  Being around people drinking at a bar, I got to enjoy the social interaction, but avoided feeling like crap the next morning.  There were times a good beer would have been nice, but I stayed true to the rules, and avoided all alcohol.  This was probably the biggest test.  After a week or two, not an issue.  I did miss having a good beer, however, the trade-off was worth it
5. Do not eat grains. Not an issue.  I typically stay away from breads, pastas, rice, etc.  I always read labels and avoid anything with wheat or wheat by products.  The only test was when I had to bypass some pretty delicious looking carrot cake (I love carrot cake, but no cheats for 30 days)
6. Do not eat legumes (No beans or peanut butter) This was not an issue.  Typically I do not eat beans (hummus is from legumes, so no hummus), occasionally I eat peanut butter, but not in the past month.
7. Do not eat dairy I have always eaten dairy and even when I switched to a paleo-style eating plan I still incorporated full fat dairy in my diet.  For the past year or so, I have had a glass of raw milk every day.  Once or twice a week I had a full fat yogurt.  Big fan of raw milk blue cheese.  This was going to be a new experience for me.
8. Do not eat white potatoes. No issues with this one, I typically eat sweet potatoes if I eat potatoes.
9. Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold.  This means no “Paleo-fying”  less-than-healthy recipes – no Paleo pancakes, Paleo pizza, Paleo fudge or Paleo”ice cream. If you read my article on cookies, you know my take on this.
10. One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale during your Whole30 program. I don’t really pay attention to the scale, forgot to get on it at the start.  If you are a scale watcher, get rid of that habit.  Weight means nothing.  Body composition is more important.  There are many skinny, light weight unhealthy people out there.  Muscle is heavy.  Muscle is a highly demanding metabolic tissue.

The 30 days in all were not a big challenge really to follow eating this way.  Biggest adjustments were replacing the dairy I drank at breakfast, and not allowing myself any of my normal cheats (alcohol, chocolate, larabars, and a shitload of nuts).

Here is what I ate:

Breakfast: Some days I did some strength work in the AM before school started at the school gym.  These days I ate breakfast at school, and I learned, and it is important for anyone trying this plan or any like it, to step out of what is a normal breakfast.  I ate chicken thighs, hamburgers, leftover roast, and tuna fish straight from the can for breakfast at points.  Days I ate at home, it was eggs.  Any of these days I also had bananas, and some coconut (pain in the ass to get, but delicious and a great source of medium chain fatty acids) or avocado, a cup of coffee (dark roast black), tea and I was good to go, fueled for the day.

Lunch: Some meat, a piece of fruit, and coconut or avocado.  I had veggies or salad if they were left over from night before.

Snack: Coconut, Protein, fruit, cashew butter (minimal nuts throughout 30 days, if I did consume any it usually was in the cashew butter form)

Dinner: Meat, veggies, salad, fruit

What happened:

Within 14 days, I noticed a few differences than before.  Mind you, I had been eating relatively clean for the past 2-3 years.  I felt great.  Better than I had in both mental and physical realms.  I had plenty of energy, granted I tried to get a good night’s sleep.  I watched minimal TV, read more, but still spent a good amount of time on internet reading blogs.  I did change my training routine, to a one day on (two wods in that one day), one day off schedule, which could also be a reason for my overall feeling better.  My body felt good.  I also had no GI issues.  Things were regular and healthy feeling and looking.

I did get leaner.  I did not weigh myself before I started, so I could not tell you if I lost weight, but, I did lean out. While I do not care about weight, my weight stayed about the same, however, areas which had been resistant to losing pudge (love handles) shrank.  It was surprising to hear from people that they noticed a difference.  I did not think it was that substantial, yet, all of my pants fit looser.  I did not lose strength, nor did I lose my conditioning, at least I don’t think I did, or feel that way.

Am I surprised, yes, and no.  I have known milk is very insulinogenic (raises insulin, a storage hormone), however, my fasting insulin levels have been low for the past two years.  I did not think this was having much of an effect on my body composition.  I also was not drinking a lot of alcohol, but had a few drinks a week.  Dark Chocolate, every now and then if I had it.  If I could attribute any one thing, I would have to say it was the milk, and it was the addition of a little more starch/glucose (from bananas(starch) and fruit).  For some people on a low carb diet, the addition of some starch to the diet helps accelerate fat loss.  Not the general rule for everyone, especially if you are trying to lose weight, and are just starting this style of eating plan.  Stick with veggies.

All in all I feel great.  I am honestly considering making many of these rules, my basic diet.  If you want to change yourself in 30 days, I would say there is no better way to start than this.  The Whole 30 is all it is cracked up to be and then some!

First Place: $150 gift certificate to Whole Foods and a Bottle of Fish Oil

Brock Leiendecker

Since the No Bread Challenge started, Brock is an entirely new person, in both looks and performance.  He lost over 10 cm from his body, improved his performance by 900%, and will be putting his new found health and fitness to the test this weekend by participating in his first triathlon!  Great job Brock, Keep up the great work!

Second Place: $100 gift certificate to Whole Foods and a Bottle of Fish Oil

Cathy Weise

Since the challenge started Cathy lost only 5 points, improved her performance 250% and lost cm’s at all locations.  The plateau she had hit in her health journey is now a thing of the past, and she has started a new, healthier course!  Awesome job Cathy!

Third Place: $50 gift certificate to Whole Foods

Paul Molin

Paul lost only 1 point the entire challenge, and he did this while on location with ESPN at the Little League World Series for two weeks.  He had the will power to stay away from losing points when he was almost being force fed concession stand food.  Amazing willpower.  He lost cm’s all over, and improved his performance by 150%

Runner’s Up

While they are not in our top three, and not a prize winner, we should acknowledge three contestants who were knocking on the door.

Doug Chabot- Lost 0 points and dropped a ton of weight in the process

Alycyn Bouckaert- Lost 7 points, lost some cm’s all over and had a huge increase in performance

By Coach Gino

We have all been there before.  In fact it is more likely that we recognize being there, now that we are Crossfitters.  The crossroad between eating a paleo meal and what we know as a “cheat meal”.  Between meat and veggies or that deep dish, thin crust, whole grain, deep-fried, stuffed, vanilla/strawberry/chocolate, alfredo, flaky, crunchy, creamy, yummy goodness.  Though we work hard to obtain as good a workout as we can, there are still corners being cut, pardons being issued, and cracks fallen through when it comes to our nutrition.  The following is just a perfect man’s opinion of what cheating is when it comes to paleo and what it means to stay within its realms.

To properly go on this journey, we must accept three ideas.  The first is our definition of what “eating paleo” is.  The earliest interpretation found in CrossFit will be used in this essay:  Eat a balance of meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar (this being defined as no processed or artificial sugars).  That’s it.  If it is not on that list, it is not paleo (we will get to dairy soon).  The second thing we must accept is that everybody cheats.  In fact, a liar is the person who says they are not tempted to fall back into the comfort foods by which they are surrounded.  Coaches cheat, professionals cheat, and lactose-intolerant/celiac/diabetes sufferers cheat.

The last accepted idea is that a little bit of cheating, despite of how infinitesimal is still cheating.  Doing so on a relationship, exam, or worse yet, a workout is still cheating no matter which way you present it.  The same goes for that drop of dressing you put on your salad, that half of a half of a peanut, or those fifty three free samples you just enjoyed in the Whole Foods parking lot.  To not stick perfectly to the aforementioned regimen is to cheat on your nutrition.  To cheat on your nutrition is to take a step back on your journey to being the healthiest and fittest person you can be.

Accepting those three ideas and living by their terms can only help.  By doing so, we have a clear outline of what is and is not allowed, which eliminates doubt.  Eliminating the grey areas can allow us to be more efficient when prepping and planning meals.  We work hard to learn proper form in our lifts and work harder to stick to it, so why not do the same when it comes fueling our bodies.

What about paleo cookies/muffins/cakes/almond flours/pizza/pancakes?  Are those allowed?  Nope.  They are not allowed.  Wasn’t that easy?  Despite their all paleo profile, these food items throw off the macro-nutritional balance that comes when eating paleo well.  What about dairy?  No other subject is more debatable than dairy.  Understand that we are talking about things like cheese, sour cream, milk, cream cheese frosting, and other items of that nature.  Soy/almond milk don’t belong in this conversation.  Dairy makes for a powerful tool to build muscular strength and as a perfect recovery drink after we all finish our fiftieth muscle up, but that is not to say that it is paleo.  If you see a caveman drinking from a stone gallon jug of whole milk that he got from a cow named paleo, that caveman is still cheating.  Referring and sticking to the definition of paleo listed here can be the most important tool in avoiding any other grey areas that may come up in time.

It is also important to note that eating things that also eat paleo holds merit.  There are arguments about whether or not organic foods are better for you.  The reality is that nature has been doing things a certain way for a long time and the further we deviate from it, the more steps we put between the original and the final products, the less likely we are to obtain the benefits provided by them.

But as a perfect man, I do want to make a few things perfectly clear.  This article was written over the delight of not one, not two, but three handfuls of chocolate covered almonds…for breakfast and I feel awful right now, but my heart and my soul are happy.  For every step I just took back with my fitness, I took a step forward in enjoying my quiet morning.  Will I do this again?  Absolutely.  There is an actual drug-like high that we get from cheating.  Everyone knows how satisfying that ice cream is on that hot summer day.  How pleasing cookies are with milk.  How gratifying that pizza and beer can be when watching Rich Froning demolish the competition.  So it is important not to forget the idea of eating something just because it is delicious.

All in all, I vote we stop calling it a cheat meal.  Call it a joyful meal and appreciate it for all its worth.  Just be sure to make them special and worthwhile, and in order to do so, make them the rarity.  After all, that new 1RM weighted Muscle-Up-Clapping-Handstand-Push-Up-Snatch-Jerk-Box-Jump is not just going to do itself.