My Paleo Start

A couple of months ago I told you I was reading up on All Things Paleo (diet) and that I was going to partake in a 6-week challenge hosted by my CrossFit gym.  FINALLY I am writing about it, despite the challenge being over for a couple of weeks now.

Here’s how the challenge started: I logged my food intake for a week and then went to see my trainer at CrossFit.  He asked me what I thought about what I had logged, and I admitted that I thought it was a “typical healthy American diet, but I realized not a healthy diet by Paleo standards.”  It was good balance of whole grains, fresh fruit, low-fat….

So after talking it through, he wrote out my prescription and then did a body analysis using calipers in about 8 places on my body.

Prescription:

1. Protein: 3-4 servings daily.  That means in every meal you have, you have to have a palmful of animal protein (eggs, pork, lamb, beef, chicken etc.) If it had a soul or a face, eat it.

2. Only drink H20, Tea, Black Coffee: no juice,  milk, shakes, smoothies, sugar-free beverages, or alcohol.

3. No gluten: wheat, wheat flour, barely, rye, oats.  This is incredibly damaging to the gut, keep it out of your mouth.

4. No bars: no raw, luna, kashi, bars etc. Instead have some cold cuts and nuts.

If you’re knowledgeable on the Paleo Diet, you’ll recognize that this is very entry-level.  I wasn’t to be concerned with legumes, although I mostly cut them out, and I certainly didn’t stress about what kind of oil something was cooked in, although I already only use olive oil at home.  I actually upped the prescription a bit myself.  I turned #3 into NO GRAINS, leaving out even gluten-free grains such as rice.  I also added in NO DAIRY as I have learned in the past that cutting dairy makes me feel better.

Mmmmm, Paleo Breakfast

The first few days were kind of hard, as I was always a little hungry, had a mild headache, and trying to do it while at Epcot with my parents.  I wouldn’t say I was the best prepared for eating this way at a theme park.

By the second week it got better and even easier the 3rd and 4th weeks, but week 5 was a real doozy.  There were moments I just wanted a BOWL OF CEREAL! I didn’t cave, though.  Somewhere, in one of the books, I remember reading about how it takes gluten 14 days to be totally out of your system.  I kept telling myself I was too far in to cheat now, and eventually it passed and I was back to feeling great during the last week of the challenge. Later I thought about this and realized that I would have been ovulating during week 5.  Hormonal influence? YES!

The challenge ended just before my sister’s wedding, so it was a great timing for a “cheat.”  But you know what?  I really didn’t want to at first.  In fact, I saved all the sweet treats, grains and dairy all weekend for Sunday night.  At the rehearsal dinner my brother-in-law, sitting across from me, was notably glorifying his bread and I just giggled.  First, because I knew he was going to do it, but second, because I don’t even crave it.  It’s amazing how (with the exception of week 5) your body just knows you’re better without it.  Did I get sick Sunday night after the root beer float, cupcake and my mom’s 7-layer bars?  YES, right before I went to bed.

Even though I knew I was feeling good with steady energy, good sleep and a leaner body, I don’t think I really realized how much better I’ve been feeling until my chocolate, wine and pizza binge this past week….and still not fully until I finally got back in the groove and went to workout Saturday morning.  Boy was it a tough workout, and I’m already doing the modified workout!  It made it even easier to start eating well again.

AN INTERESTING NOTE: On Thursday night, after indulging in pizza for dinner, I noticed the return of tinnitus in my left ear!  (See the story here.) Funny how you don’t notice the disappearance of an annoyance, just its return.  I also had to get up in the middle of the night to pee AND get a drink of water.  This has happened to me a couple of times before and gives me the fear of being pre-diabetic, but it never happened while I was in this challenge.

So what were my body composition results?  After the 6 weeks my trainer re-pinched me with the calipers, did a little subtraction and determined that I had a 27% reduction in fat!  (Hmmm, since it’s a test with calipers isn’t it just sub-cutaneous fat?  But still, it’s a reduction in fat and I’ll take it!)  Sorry I don’t have my pictures to show you (they’re on my trainers phone), but I think it’s too early to see that much of a difference anyway.  I do think I may get myself re-tested in another 6 or 8 weeks.  It definitely works.

If you want to read up on more of the science, check out The Paleo Diet, or if you want the science more layman friendly,  The Paleo Solution.