Thursday 01.29.15

Sara at the Garage Games, OHSing 120#

The 6:30 PM WOD this Friday, 01/30, is CANCELLED.

 
Our 30-Day Paleo Challenge starts SUNDAY. If you are on the fence about participating, here is a guest post about #Paleo living by Sara Sulzberger, our Warrior that practices what she preaches, yo. The results have been remarkable. Thank you for sharing your story, Sara!!
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Bread.
Cheese.
Milk.
Alcohol (more specifically, my weekly margarita date).

What does life without these things look like? Do I even want to know? That was all I could think about when I first heard of Paleo. It sounded like an awful lot of sacrifice without much in return. Oh, wait, there was the promise of gains. GAINZ (with a ‘Z’ because I take working out seriously). But was that enough? It wasn’t. I mean, did you know you can’t eat cheese on Paleo? It wasn’t until a family member got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis that we began to look at Paleo, and food in general, in another light. Other than a ridiculously overpriced monthly prescription, diet change was the only option for her, and to be supportive, Tyler, several other family members, and I began a Paleo diet/lifestyle as well.

Because I had NO clue what the heck I was doing, I subscribed to a weekly meal plan/grocery generator from paleoplan.com. We committed to it for a month, kept the recipes we liked, and forgot about (at least I wish I could forget…) the rest. I won’t sugar coat it, it sucked. At first, it really, really sucked. Not because the food was bad or because I felt I was being deprived. I honestly didn’t feel that way. But I had to completely change the way I viewed food and it wasn’t easy. I had to get familiar with ingredients I had never heard of before and it was scary.

A lot of people think Paleo is simply dairy, grain, legume, and sugar free (is that all?), but what this journey has really lead me to ask is, “Why? Why are those things ‘bad’ for me?.” I beg you to ask the same questions and see where they lead you. Inevitably, you’ll find that eating Paleo is Less about what sections on the food pyramid you are or aren’t eating and more about the quality of food you are consuming. And lesbehonest, the more you learn about the food you’re eating, the easier it is to avoid the ones that aren’t doing your body good.

Before you write me off as another paleo-crazed nut you can’t relate to, let me humanize myself a bit. We eat 90% Paleo at home. I continue to buy coffee creamer, wine/beer/Cayman Jack’s hybrid deliciousness, and something for my sweet tooth almost weekly. I also really enjoy eating out for entertainment. When we do, we allow ourselves to cheat – which almost always includes cheese. And while our two-year-old eats about 60-70% paleo, I keep a well-stocked pantry of kid-pleasing snacks including crackers and fruit snacks. I’m not a complete glutton for punishment.

So, now for the cool part. We’re going on 10 months of practicing more conscious eating habits/Paleo and some really gnarly things have resulted. In particular, my family member with UC hasn’t had a flare up in months and only does when she strays from her diet. My father, who has been a Type II diabetic for over 10 years, has been officially cured and was taken off high-risk insurance last month. Seven of the nine of us who made the switch have lost weight (the other two are beanpoles so I don’t count them against us). And let us not forget the GAINZ. In all seriousness, I’ve noticed a dramatic improvement in my performance at the box (and it’s also pretty evident when I’ve cheated more than usual). Both Tyler and I can attest to how much better we feel when we’re sticking to Paleo, and the piles of you-know-what we resemble when we’re not.

 Look, I get it. This stuff can be pretty annoying. Food is personal and no one wants someone else telling them how or what to eat. I’m not trying to convince you to change anything you don’t want to. But IF you’ve thought about it and wondered if you could do it or didn’t think you could it, I’m here to say You Can. You totally can.

I feel like I should say it one more time: You. Can.

My favorite recipe resources include:
Danielle Walker – Against All Grain (cookbook and Facebook page)
Nom Nom Paleo (http://nomnompaleo.com/)
PaleoOMG (paleomg.com)
The Paleo Mom (Facebook page)

WOD

"CrossFit Total"

Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep