As many of you already know, last week wrapped up my 30 day Super Paleo Challenge! And as much as I bitched and complained, deep down inside, I really kind of enjoyed it...pretty sick and twisted huh? It brought a unique discipline to my life...the rules gave my lifestyle purpose...and the restrictions gave me motivation. The point of the challenge was as an educational adventure and I will say I learned a ton about myself and how my body interacts with different foods. More importantly I learned that even when I was eating Paleo..my habits and practices were not ideal...YES, YOU CAN EAT PALEO AND STILL EAT LIKE SHIT! In fact, I want to continue many of the habits I have developed over the past 30 days.
Since the end of the challenge I have reintroduced some things back into my diet. Fruit and nuts have been brought back, but slowly and in limited quantities. I found that I was 100% over eating nuts in the past, mostly as a result of their convenience...grab a handful and go. So as I carefully bring them back into the picture, I plan to restrict the quantity and timing of my nut consumption...that sounds, uh, awkward! I battled back-and-forth for days about if and how I should handle the coffee situation. I was incredibly proud of myself for breaking the habit and could hardly believe I made it a full 30 days coffee free...but damn I just love the taste and smell too much to go on with out coffee in my life again! So wouldn't you know, the first thing I put in my body after the challenge was over...was a giant cup of joe! And let me tell you, it was like drinking fucking rocket fuel...ZING!
I did not enter into the challenge expecting to see many changes in body composition, however over the course of 30 days I lost 7 1/2 pounds. Nothing staggering, but I was fairly lean to begin with so I imagine the result could have been far greater depending on my starting weight and body fat. As far as my workouts went, they certainly suffered initially as my energy levels were low and re-adjusting to my new eating habits. But before I knew it, I began to really flourish. I achieved 3 PR's during the 30 day stretch..and well I should partially (or completely) contribute this success to improvements in both form and movement patterns for these lifts...I am gonna go ahead and claim it was 100% a result of my dietary changes. Haha, lets be serious here...I did experience an increase in energy, faster recovery, and improved strength gains.
Thank you to Jen Sinkler who took the plunge with me and was my roll-dog for the past 30 days. It was so important to have that other person there, holding me accountable and keeping me honest. I must say I believe I had the stronger will power of the two of us...but nonetheless I couldn't have done it without her sharing my pain! I also want to thank you all for bearing with my whining and complaining over the past month! I hope that my experience can help me to better advise you all, our athletes, when it comes to nutritional tweaks and over-hauls.
Because I enjoyed the Super Paleo Challenge sooooooooo much, I've decide to partake in another adventure...the ZONE! So stay tuned as a tackle the Zone Diet starting Monday, April 26.
Day 18 -
I know that the majority of my post here have been...well, lets say full of complaints and misery...but honestly if i can;t complain to you, who can I complain to? And well I have made the past 18 days out to be a living hell, it hasn't been that bad. Don;t get me wrong, it's by no means been peaches n' cream nor would willing accept this challenge again anytime in the near future, but I have learned a shitload about my body and the way it interacts with different foods. And that knowledge has been worth every second of misery!
Day 19-
I decided to head home to Connecticut for the Easter Holiday to get a little R&R and spend some quality time with the fam. I am convinced that my parents listened to nothing I have said about the past 18 days of my life because i am engulfed with temptation. I am being serious when I tell you that my house is filled food that could send me off the deep end in a heartbeat! My Mom was delighted to tell me that she was making one of my favorite dinners...spaghetti..."yea Mom, I don't eat pasta"...and she had baked me her delicious homemade brownies..."yea mom, I can't eat brownies"...and my Dad had bought an entire case of our favorite wine for dinner..."yea Dad, I'm not drinking wine." Fuck me, I am such a buzz kill!
Day 20 -
What can I say, I am completely spoiled by Mom's home cooking. And while some of her best work is "off-the-charts" illegal for my style of eating right now...no matter what she whips up, it is pretty damn good! I've tried to convert my family to Paleo...but they still look at me like I have 10 heads when I talk to them about it. Let's be honest, I feel borderline weird eating around my friends and quite frankly even eating in public...but at home, the safest place in the world, you'd think i'd have the support of my family...NOPE, WRONG ANSWER! Yesterday my sister saw contact solution in my bathroom (it wasn't mine it was left there by a friend of mine). Knowing that I have 20/20 vision and no need for the solution, she reasonably deduced that I must have found some new way to ingest/eat/drink contact solution to help improve upon my diet....SERIOUSLY?? Am I really off my rocker that much....???
Day 21 -
Easter dinner was delightful! Finally by day 3 of being home, my Mom was able to pick up on my quirky and impossible eating habits and prepared an awesome and completely legal Easter dinner. Thanks Mom!
Day 22 -
I am entering into the home stretch boys and girls! I can honestly say that I am feeling rather accomplished for fighting off a weekend long of temptations (including a late night fiending for some ice cream that honestly almost picked my ass up out of bed and drove me to WAWA). Woke up this morning feeling incredibly refreshed and rejuvenated! I am ready to attack the last 8 days of this challenge...watch out meat, eggs, and vegetables...HERE I COME!