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| October 10th - November 9th |
The Details
■Eat a diet rich in nutrients and minerals made from real whole foods that your grandmother would recognize: meats, vegetables, fruits and nuts. A diet that supports your physical efforts by giving you energy and reducing inflammation but does not store itself as extra fat on your body. Participants should commit to a diet that they feel is reasonable and sustainable given their lifestyle. Modifications should be as minor as possible (for instance, if you know you’ll never make it a month without booze, throw in a couple allowed drinks.)
■W.O.D at least 3 days per week if schedule allows.
■Keep a food log either online (we recommend a Tumblr log used in conjunction with an iPhone app) or offline scribbled in a notebook. This is REALLY IMPORTANT because it will let us diagnose problems should they arise (e.g. “why aren’t I losing weight?” or “why is my hair falling out?”) Not to mention that it’s an invaluable tool for becoming truly aware of what you’re eating!
■Throw out your Scale. Weigh in once and do not look at a scale again until November 9th. This is important because it will show you that being a slave to a number on the scale is the worst thing in the world. Notice changes in how your clothes fit, how you feel, and how you live and train and the numbers will follow. This is about lifestyle change as well as looking good in a bathing suit.
What Do I Eat??
(courtesy of Whole9Life and CrossFit Seattle)
Summary
1. Eat real food – meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, healthy oils. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re fresh and natural.
2. Limited Dairy. This includes butter, cheese (hard and soft), yogurt (even Greek) and milk (including cream in your coffee).
3. Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn (I count corn as a grain), oatmeal, and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains. That’s not real food, right?
4. Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. (No peanut butter, kids.)
5. Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. If you must sweeten, use minimal quantities of honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar. No Splenda, Truvia, Stevia, etc.
6. Do not eat processed foods. This includes processed bars (like Zone bars), dairy-free creamers, etc.
7. Alcohol in moderation
More About Meat…
■Animals, including fish, raised in commercial farms are not healthy so try to get grass fed beef, USDA certified organic meat, wild fish, and/or locally raised animals.
■If unable to do any of the above, then eat the leanest cuts you can and trim visible fat. (Eating the fat of healthy fish, birds and animals is good for you. Eating the fat of unhealthy creatures is not.)
■Eggs are good. Eggs from birds allowed to forage and run around are better.
■Buffalo, elk, venison and other types of wild game are excellent choices if you can get them.
More About Vegetables…
■Non starchy vegetables should be a big part of each meal. Virtually all vegetables offer excellent nutritional value.
■When possible choose organic, locally grown vegetables that are in season. Each of these factors will improve nutritional value.
■Experiment with sautéing, roasting and grilling your veggies. Try different recipes and different ethnic foods. Learn to use herbs and spices. This stuff should taste good!
■Variety is king! There are TONS of yummy veggies out there — try squashes, eggplant, garlic, leeks, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green, cabbage, celery, kale, dandelion, spinach, tomatoes, radish, parsnips, mushrooms….
■Avoid starchy vegetable – potatoes, etc. If you must eat starch (it happens) try sweet potatoes.
■Avoid legumes. Beans, peas, lentils and soybeans should be avoided. Why?
More About Fruit…
■A paleo diet allows virtually all fruit consumption. There are a few issues though. We need to consider how the fruit was grown as well as the type of fruit to evaluate nutritional value. Also note that fruit is a very rich source of sugars, which although natural may hinder weight loss if consumed in excess.
■Scavenge the local farmers market for fresh local seasonal fruit. Organic is best.
■If possible avoid GMO (genetically modified organism) fruit.
■A little fruit juice occasionally can be okay but, fruit juice is really candy.
■Some fruits like bananas and pineapples have a high glycemic load and should be avoided if you are trying to lose fat.
■Berries are awesome! Eat lots of berries!
More About Nuts & Seeds…
■Nuts and seeds are filling, nutrition, and packed with protein, fatty acids, enzymes, antioxidants and lots of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium and magnesium.
■Some great choices: walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, almonds NOTE**1 handful at a time is usually the right portion.
■Beware of peanuts and cashews. These are not nuts, they’re legumes. Don’t eat peanuts or peanut butter.
■Lots of packaged, shelled nuts are covered in trans fats! Read the label! Best to buy raw, unsalted nuts and spice them at home. When in doubt, buy walnuts and/or macadamia nuts.
More About Fats…
■Fat is good for you. Fat is essential to your well being and happiness. (This is not hyperbolic writing. Having the proper fat profile makes a huge difference to your mental outlook and moods).
■Fat is a great source of energy. Fat triggers our sense of being full. Fat is an essential part of many of your cellular and hormonal processes. We sicken and die fairly quickly without adequate intake of essential fats.
■However…there are many bad fats in our food supply!
Good Fats
■Fat from healthy animals is good for you! Chicken, duck, goose, lamb, beef and pork fat can all be eaten and is an excellent choice for cooking because of heat stability. Lard is internal fat from around the kidneys. Lard from naturally (not grain) fed pork and beef is a very good choice. Lard from grass fed animals is hard to find though, so butter can be used instead. If you can find some high quality, nitrate-free bacon, the fat leftover after cooking it can be used for cooking all sorts of other delicious things!
■Coconut oil is good for you and a good choice for cooking. Choose organic, cold processed coconut oil.
■Olive oil is very healthy. Go for the extra virgin, cold pressed and use liberally. Extra virgin olive oil does not have great heat stability so use non-virgin olive oil or something else for high heat frying.
Bad Fats
■Trans Fats – fats damaged by heat. Trans fats can be extremely destructive to our health. Trans fats can be made at home!! Start with a healthy, unrefined oil, naturally high in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids – apply excessive heat and presto! Health wrecking trans fats. Easy!
■Hydrogenated and/or partially hydrogenated oils. Terrible! Reread the previous paragraph.
■Canola – should be avoided. Canola has a very good omega 6/ Omega 3 ratio. However, to be used commercially it has been genetically modified, highly refined, partially hydrogenated and deodorized. Yikes!
■Margarine – see trans fats.
■Peanut, cottonseed, soybean and wheat germ oils… not good!
I would like you to work with the diet. You are still dividing your plates up into one third of each of the following; Fats, Protein & Carbohydrates (F-P-C). More Veggies than Fruit. Balance is still key.....just no precise measuring of food is required. The day should still consist of THREE PRIMARY MEALS and 3 snacks consisting of any and all of the food groups F-P-C. Halloween weekend is a tough one.....do you best. The biggest key is PRE-PLANNING. Pre-grill meats, veggies in bulk. Boil eggs. Pack Jerky. Canned tuna....think portable for the work week. Trust that what you're doing will change you....just keep rolling with it!
**TWO WEIGH-INS - One on the first day and one on the last day.
FINAL QUOTE - "If you make a half-assed effort half the time, you'll get a quarter of the results...and it will be twice as hard to accomplish your goal!" -Mark Sisson
Good luck!
Stay strong!
-Johnny
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