FREE PALEO TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDES - BY ROBB WOLF

HERE'S ANOTHER USEFUL TOOL TO MAKE EATING HEALTHY MORE CONVIENENT AND LESS CONFUSING... PALEO TROUBLESHOOTING

The Athletic Gene - From Brian Mckenzie of Endurance WOD

We spent some time during our Nutrition Fundamentals class talking about controlling and regulating hormones through proper nutrition. But did you know that you can unlock or suppress certain genes in the body just by what you eat?  Here's an in-depth look at how this happens. I'll admit that it is a bit complicated but the presenter does a great job of tying it all together at the end.

The Get Jacked and Tan Winner is...

1st place Winner is Shanna!

WT:  125#/126.6#
BF:  28/28
1 RM of Deadlift:  193#/223#
7 Min AMRAP:  3 Rds + 200m / 3 Rds + 200 m and 3 pullups

Shanna kicked butt during this challenge, did not cheat once...even took Starbux out of her diet.  Her goal was to eat more, consume a ton of protein and get stronger in the gym.  She is well on her way!  Great job girl!!!!!!!

2nd Place Winner is Donnie Drake!

Donnie was able to put on a couple lbs of lean muscle and increase his Deadlift from 315# to 325#

Winner please see me Monday for your prize!!!

Get Shredded Division Winner is.....

The 1st place winner is Nick T!                                                       

WT: 207#/186.4                                                               
BF:  18/9                                                                                                
1 RM on Deadlift:  385#/405#
7 Min AMRAP: 3 Rds + 200m Rxd/ 4 Rds

Awesome Job Nick for really sticking it out....it was fun having you on my team!  -Coach Dee

      

                          

SECOND PLACE WINNER IS KRISTEN

**Kristen did extemely well with cooking very balanced foods paleo friendly meals, did not drink alcohol for 33 days and PR'd on her deadlift by 10lbs.  Pics soon to come!

Both winners please see me for your prizes on Monday!!!!!!!!!!

Winners of the Challenge will be announced....

...THIS WEEK!  So stay tuned and keep your eyes on this blog. To those that really stuck it out....great work, seriously.  We saw some huge changes in body composition and performance numbers in just 30 days with you guys!  Can you imagine what the next 30 days will do for you????

I will continue to post thoughts, recipes and articles on this blog.  If you have any great material or would like to start up a discussion about something, just shoot me an email and I will get it on here.

Have a great weekend and a fantastic holiday!!!

Coach Dee

DAY 33: THE LAST DAY- journals are due!

Hey guys-

You finally made it.  Today is the very last day!  So you owe us journals and we owe you final feedback, scores....measurements, pics and the announcement of the three WINNERS.  Honestly, everyone that really kept up with the challenge did such a fantastic job.  I am so excited to hear that so many of you really made some honest changes to your nutrition.  I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday.  Please give us some time to get through these journals, look over the work out scores, pics and ALL OF THE ABOVE so we can decide the winners...fair and square.  I hope to have the winners announced after the July 4th holiday. 

So you have worked hard these past 33 days....how are you going to keep this up...moving forward????

Here is one gym's perspective, (www.crossfitcityofangels.com) that I think we, as a gym, would agree with as well....

Life after the Paleo Diet Challenge

So you just successfully finished the Paleo diet challenge at your local gym. Congratulations! You disciplined yourself for (x) number of days and saw improvements both physically and mentally. Now you’re going to put on your party clothes and show off your new svelte figure at the Paleo Diet Wrap party and eat every “Paleo-prohibited” food you can with your fellow former dieters. In between the swigs of beer and mouthfuls of sinful food, all of you swear that come Monday, you’re going to go right back to eating healthy and exercising with rigor. You continue to stuff yourself all weekend long, knowing that soon you’ll have to return to that restricted diet again.

But then a funny thing happens. On Monday, you start off strong with a healthy breakfast, but by noon, your cravings kick in - either a coworker has brought in donuts and you give in, or you go on your lunch break and think to yourself, “What harm is one more cheat meal going to do? I can always start eating healthy tomorrow.” But the next day, you continue to eat like crap, swearing that the following day, you will clean everything up. And that, unfortunately, is how the downward spiral begins…

Help! How can we avoid this? Below are a few helpful tips for not losing everything you just gained.

First of all, the key to overcoming the swift decline into unhealthy eating and “yo-yo dieting” is to think of the Paleo diet not as a temporary process (because it is not), but rather a permanent one. Paleo is a way of eating and a way of life. We should be in this for the long run because of how great it makes us feel and because of the powerful disease prevention that coincides with it. We have to want better for ourselves and be willing to see beyond the instant gratification (i.e. having those cookies) in order to gain perspective of the long term benefits in resisting that instant gratification (i.e. no bloating or sugar crash, etc.). The minute you we start treating Paleo as a diet instead of a lifelong way of eating, we are doomed for failure. 95% of all people on diets end up gaining everything back, which goes to show that diets simply DO NOT work. Losing 10 lbs. in a month has no benefit if it is regained a month later. Therefore, we must adjust our perspectives and attitudes so that we see Paleo as a lifestyle change and are willing to make that change.

Know what foods have a negative effect on you and be strong enough to cut them out of your life as much as possible. We have to be willing to look within ourselves and ask, “Do I really need that piece of cake?” If the answer is “no”, then don’t eat it. If the answer is “yes”, then save it only for special occasions, or try to make a less detrimental version. Does that mean that we have to permanently give up certain foods? Not necessarily. The minute we forbid ourselves something, our minds will find a way to subconsciously sabotage it. And no one is perfect. We all make mistakes and must not beat ourselves up over a slip up. It’s OKAY, it’s human, just as long as we don’t give up completely, pick ourselves up, and continue the journey towards better health.

Also, keep Paleo manageable by taking it day by day, meal by meal. Make smart choices EVERY day at EVERY meal. Remember that there are two kinds of food: those that make you healthier, and those that do not. Before consuming a meal, ask yourself, ‘Which kind of food is this?’ And if it’s the kind that does not contribute positively to your health, ask yourself, ‘Do I honestly need it? Is it worth it? Really?’ Reevaluate yourself at the end of each week and decide, ‘Did I make more healthy choices than unhealthy?’ If the answer is yes, then you are on the right path towards permanent, positive change!

Finally, keep yourself accountable. Often times we start to slowly get less and less compliant with Paleo until one day we realize that we have completely fallen off the wagon! In order to prevent this, find a way to stay on track. If you’re an emotional eater, recognize what causes you to make unhealthy choices and why. A great way to become conscious of unhealthy craving triggers is to keep a food journal where you note every time you either eat a non-Paleo food, or think about doing so. Note why you think that might be: stress, boredom, time of day, etc. Become aware of any patterns that start popping up. Being conscious of why you do what you do can many times prevent you from doing it and even help discover the root of the problem in order to fix it. If you’re not an emotional eater but want to keep your weight in check, you should find a way to objectively measure whether or not you need to get stricter with your eating habits. If you have the means, get your body fat percentage measured once or twice a month. If you do not have the means, you can take simple measurements of yourself once a month with a paper tape measure. Measure your stomach, hips, and thighs just to make sure that the inches are not creeping up on you.

I hope that these tips will help you stay on track – permanently – because it’s not about losing a ton of weight in a short amount of time, it’s about healthy living. We should all be on the quest towards feeling better and having a better quality of life, and Paleo will accomplish that. Make the switch for life, and your life will taste sweeter – yes, even without the donuts.

DAY 31: Eat Right for Your Blood Type

I came across this book a while ago and found it to be a really interesting read!  Personalized health care has always been very intriguing to me, because what works for someone else never seemed to work for me.  Reading this book helped me understand more about my blood type and how food is treated very similiarly to different blood types...when broken down.  So for me....I am an O neg, so foods like dairy and certain nuts and definetly wheat...when broken down... resemble the same characteristics of other blood types in which I am not receptive too....so therefore I have all the symptoms of bloatedness, weight gain, stomach pains etc....but it's also very interesting if you try and eliminate one thing and then reintroduce it into your body a few weeks later....you should be able to see some sort of change.

Here is an excerpt from the book that highlights what I am talking about....

How Blood Type Determines Your Health
Excerpted From: Alternative Medicine Digest, Future Medicine Publishing  

One of the hallmarks of alternative medicine is the recognition of the biochemical uniqueness of each individual and the need to tailor treatments and prescriptions to match that individual variability. While a person's genetic code, ultimately, is the basis of this individuality, basing treatments on genetic factors is too broad an approach and not consistent with alternative medicine.

According to naturopath Peter J. D'Adamo, N.D., in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type, the missing link might be the four basic blood types: O, A, B, and AB. "There had to be a reason why there were so many paradoxes in dietary studies and disease survival," why some people lose weight and others do not on the same diet or why some people keep their vitality as they age, and others do not, says Dr. D'Adamo.

His research into anthropology, medical history, and genetics led him to conclude that blood type is "the key that unlocks the door to the mysteries of health, disease, longevity, physical vitality, and emotional strength." Dr. D'Adamo explains that the practical application of the blood type "key" is that it enables you to make informed choices about your dietary, exercise, supplement, and even medical treatment plans. With the blood type "road map," these plans can now "correspond to your exact biological profile" and "the dynamic natural forces within your own body."

Type O-People with type O blood fare best on intense physical exercise and animal proteins and less well on dairy products and grains, says Dr. D'Adamo. The leading reason for weight gain among Type O's is the gluten found in wheat products and, to a lesser extent, lentils, corn, kidney beans, and cabbage, Dr. D'Adamo explains. Ideal exercises for Type O's include aerobics, martial arts, contact sports, and running.

Type A-Those with blood type A, however, are more naturally suited to a vegetarian diet and foods that are fresh, pure, and organic. As Type A's are predisposed to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, "I can't emphasize how critical this dietary adjustment can be to the sensitive immune system of Type A," says Dr. D'Adamo. Type A's prefer calming, centering exercise, such as yoga and tai chi.

Type B-Type B's have a strong immune system and a tolerant digestive system and tend to resist many of the severe chronic degenerative illnesses, or at least survive them better than the other blood types. Type B's do best with moderate physical exercise requiring mental balance, such as hiking, cycling, tennis, and swimming.

Type AB-Blood type AB, the most recent, in terms of evolution, of the four groups and an amalgam of types A and B, is the most biologically complex. For this group, a combination of the exercises for types A and B works best, says Dr. D'Adamo.

Blood type, with its digestive and immune specificity, is a window on a person's probable susceptibility to or power over disease, according to Dr. D'Adamo. For example, Type O's are the most likely to suffer from asthma, hay fever, and other allergies, while Type B's have a high allergy threshold, and will react allergically only if they eat the wrong foods. Type B's are also especially susceptible to autoimmune disorders, such as chronic fatigue, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. Type AB's tend to have the fewest problems with allergies, while heart disease, cancer, and anemia are medical risks for them.

With arthritis, Type O's, again, are the predominant sufferers because their immune systems are "environmentally intolerant," especially to foods such as grains and potatoes which can produce inflammatory reactions in their joints, says Dr. D'Adamo. Types A and B are the most susceptible to diabetes, while types A and AB have an overall higher rate of cancer and poorer survival odds than the other types.

While you cannot change your blood type, you can use knowledge about its nature to implement a dietary plan biologically suited to your makeup, says Dr. D'Adamo, who supplies copious details on eating plans for all four types. "Most of my patients experience some results [within two weeks of starting the diet plan]-increased energy, weight loss, a lessening of digestive complaints, and improvement of chronic conditions such as asthma, headaches, and heartburn."