"Where For Art Thou Paleo?"
Like the smooth flowing lyrics of Biggie Smalls, "I'm going back back ...back back.... to Cali, Cali." I'm going back back to the paleo way of eating. For the last two months I've tried something else. In the beginning I felt fine but over the last few weeks I've felt like Rocky when Mr. T unleashed his power of "Pitty The Fool" on him during their first title bout. Okay maybe not that bad but I definitely wasn't feeling the "Eye of The Tiger." So what did I do.... I emailed the paleo guru Josh Bunch at
Practice CrossFit and picked his brain. Not only is Josh a standup guy but he's also very knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition. I had the pleasure of meeting Josh last year at "Back At The Ranch" in Troy, OH for my very first CrossFit competition. He definitely made a lasting impression on me after the few minutes we spent discussing the paleo diet, CrossFit, and getting my first 95lb thruster and pull-up a month after starting CrossFit at the competition.
Josh recently came to
Portsmouth Spartan Kettlebell Club, my local gym, and held the often imitated never duplicated Paleo Nutrition Seminar, "Don't Eat Dumb Sh%t." Unfortunately due to conflicts with my work schedule I was unable to attend, but I did score the club a bunch of chairs and tables to use for the event. I'm sure it was interesting and in the future I hope to attend a seminar so I can take it in first hand. Even though I missed it what's great about the members of PSKC and Josh is that if you ask for help/guidance you're going to get it. So between the members of PSKC and the TONS of information Josh Bunch sent me via email I loaded up on what I needed to do and my journey as of March 13th officially began.
I'm sure by now if you follow me on Facebook you're getting tired of my "Food Porn" pictures so I thought to myself what better way then to use this blog I have to share each and every day with you. From what I eat, how I feel, and what I'm doing as far as workouts. My only goal is maybe I can help someone out there to find inspiration like I have to be, as Dale King would say, "More awesome than yesterday." So without further notice, seeing how this blog is a couple days late, I'll get to what I've been eating, how I've been feeling, and what exercises I've been doing over the last two days down to the last detail.
Day 1(March 13th)
Breakfast:
6 Slices of Nitrate Free Bacon
4 Fresh From The Farm Brown Eggs(These are really from my neighbors farm. Chickens are free-range vegetarian fed) cooked in 2 Tbsp of EV Olive Oil
2 Cups Black Coffee
20oz of H20
Fish Oil +D3
Strength Training:
5/3/1 Back Squat
5/3/1 Bench Press
Post Training Shake:
2 Scoops of Progenex Recovery
20oz of H20
Lunch:
8oz Ribeye Steak
12 Asparagus Spears
2 Tbsp of EV Olive Oil
20oz of H20
Fish Oil +D3
PSKC WOD:
Running Dirty 30(Workout available on WODstack.com)
Post WOD Shake:
2 Scoops of Progenex Recovery
A ton of H20(Psycho Cindi(I spelled it right this time) made me sweat a ton trying to stay ahead of her)
Dinner:
4oz of Salmon
12 Asparagus Spears
2 Tbsp of Coconut Oil
20oz of H20
Fish Oil +D3
So that's what I ate for Day 1. How did I feel? I felt okay at the end of the day. What, you didn't feel great you say? I'd be bullshitting you and wasting your time if I said that for two reasons. #1. It's day one, it's going to take some time to detox my body. #2. I did heavy back squats and then hit up a WOD later that day that involved 2 miles of running, 150 hand release pushups(Which only 2 1/2 rounds were RX), 150 AbMat Situps(I love the AbMat, btw), topped off with 150 Kettlebell Swings @ 53lbs. If someone tells you they felt great after that either a politician or a straight up bad ass like C.U.W. or Quadzilla. However, I did beat my goal of 40 minutes to complete this by 6 minutes largely in part to "Psycho" Cindi, with an "I" bearing down on my heels the whole time. Thanks for the push! There's plenty more I could say about Day 1 giving you my fat, protein, and carb breakdown(Because I'm anal about tracking everything I eat but I won't because JB said it best, "Worry about eating real food.")
Day 2(March 14th)
Breakfast:
4oz Ground Turkey
4 Slices of Nitrate Free Bacon
6 Asparagus Spears(I know what you're thinking, "That's a bunch of Asparagus man!" I know, but I love it. It makes your pee smell manly too. I've already found myself marking territory in my yard to warn the neighborhood dogs I'm a bad ass)
2 Cups of Black Coffee
20oz of H20
Fish Oil +D3
Lunch:
6-8oz Broiled Shrimp
Broccoli, 1/2 a plate full
Tossed Shrimp in 2 Tbsp EV Olive Oil before broiling
20oz of H20
Fish Oil +D3
Pre-WOD Shake:
2 Scoops of Progenex More Muscle
20oz of H20
WOD:
Hammer Farts(Like Hammer's Farts It Was Deadly. WOD available on WODstack.com)
Post-WOD Shake:
Progenex Recovery
Tons of H20(I was sweating like a Baptist Preacher during a hot summers day revival ....swamp ass sweaty)
Dinner:
8oz Eye of Round Steak
1/2 Plate Full of Harvest Cut Green Beans
2 Tbsp of Coconut Oil
Fish Oil +D3
20oz of H20
So that's Day 2. How did I feel today? Pretty good! The biggest thing I noticed was the soreness. I had very little which I thought would have been more due to the amount of work I did the day before. During the metcon I hit 155lb Power Cleans for 4 rounds(24 reps). To me this was great because my max power clean was 175. Was it nutrition, was it 5/3/1, was it because I had Shep pushing my ass, that lead to all of this? I don't know to be honest, but I will say I don't care what it was because I set a goal of 3 rounds and I got 4. That's what I care about. Setting goals and hitting the mark or breaking it.
So there's my first 2 days of 25. Something I should note. I drink water constantly not just with my meals. I make it a point to hit 2 gallons a day and will probably up that even more, seeing how we are getting warmer weather, to 2.5 - 3.0 gallons. Hydration to me is more important than nutrition. And yes, that's all I drink is water and the occassional cup(s) of coffee in the morning(s).
Another thing I've decided to do and this breaks my heart to say it.... I'm giving up alcohol. I haven't drank since February 22nd and I'm not going to anymore. Does that mean I'm not one of the cool kids now? Probably does, doesn't it?
In closing, I just want to say how proud I am of the individuals who will be completing their 25 day challenge as of March 16th. I really do hope you guys stay with it. Also a shout out to Mike "The Snatch" Dillow who continues to impress me by the strength and endurance he's gaining and the weight he's losing. You're going to need some new clothes mayne! Congrats to everyone on a challenge completed. Oh and those who didn't stay the course and folded.... You can always do it again!
