The Paleo 30 Day Challenge

Ladies and Gentlemen....On August 1st 2012, I am embarking on a 30 day Paleo Diet Challenge. I am going to eat nothing but Paleo approved meals which means I will be cutting out all processed sugars and white flour or wheat products from my diet for 30 days. We have been reading the book Paleo Solution here in the office and researching the effects of refined sugars and grains on our bodies. The results are in and eating refined sugars and grains have been harming our bodies by causing inflammation and leading to chronic diseases such as auto immune disorders, food sensitivity, sugar dysregulation, and hormone imbalance. If you haven't heard anything about the Paleo diet or the "caveman" diet or the hunter-gatherer diet as its also known, I highly recommend picking up this book, The Paleo Solution. It's a bit technical in some parts but really gets the point across about how refined sugars and carbs are affecting your health on a cellular level.

For others that are curious what this diet is really all about, the main idea is that we return to the diet of our ancestors who foraged off the land and had to keep moving to survive instead of setting up farms. They ate a diet full of protein and rich in seasonal fruits and vegetables. Their lives might not have been as long as ours, however they lived full lives with plenty of activity and traveling long distances to forage the land. This is the one part of our lives that is missing now, the movement part. Many of us sit at a desk or stand in one place on our feet all day and then return home to eat large meals and sit on the couch and watch TV. In addition, we eat a diet full of processed and refined carbs that cause us to pack on the pounds. In the wake of this change, we've seen droves of disease and metabolic disorders rise in astounding numbers in our population. I won't bore you with more details, but if this sounds eye opening to you I'd highly suggest you look more into "paleolithic diet" or "caveman diet" or "blueprint diet".

In the meantime I do want to share some family and kid friendly recipes, because the application is the hardest part in our society today. So below find a 2 year old approved breakfast compliments of my daughter Camryn and an easy crockpot dinner that will impress guest's palates.

In case you're wondering whats on her plate: Pork sausage cooked with fresh basil leaves and chopped garlic for the hair, 2 slices of ripen peaches for eyebrows, green grapes for eyes, nose, and earrings, and banana sliced for the mouth. Fried eggs or hardboiled eggs also work great for eyes.

Now for dinner: Cranberry Pork Roast

Ingredients: 1/2 cup to 1 cup all natural cranberry juice, 2 tbsp coconut flour, 1/2 cup golden raisins, 2-3 tbsp ground ginger, 2 tbsp dried mustard, 2 tbsp garlic powder or 4 sliced cloves, salt and pepper, 1/2 small lemon for garnish, 2-3 lb pork roast, and a crockpot. I also added some fresh basil leaves for a bit more flavor punch but it tastes great without as well.

Pour cranberry juice in bottom of crockpot until fills whole bottom about 1/2 inch. Wash and pat dry pork roast. Rub all spices into roast and place in center of crockpot. Sprinkle coconut flour and raisins over roast. Garnish with 2-3 thin lemon slices. Cook in crockpot on low 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Enjoy :)

What is Crossfit?

You may have heard the word "Crossfit" come up in casual conversation with a friend or new acquaintance , on a website, or even in our office, however many people have no idea what to expect or what "Crossfit" really is. So I'm going to give you a breakdown of what it is, how it helps, and what to expect at your first class.

Crossfit is an international fitness program that is focused on function and natural body movements. There's no restriction on what you can do and they apply an intense and varied workout for everyone that attends class. You won't do the same workout twice in a week and you'll have the opportunity to create a fitness family on whom to rely for support, encouragement, and a team mentality. This program is used to train not only our law enforcement, fire and military professionals, but also prepares us for the challenges of everyday life such as lifting a heavy box up to or down from a taller shelf. Crossfit's goal is a build small tight knit fitness communities so it's members can enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle for life! Crossfit will help you to achieve your health and fitness goals and exceed your expectations of what you really thought was possible.

Crossfit helps transform our bodies by varying workouts so that we can train the body together as one rather than focusing on one area of the body. This ensures that you will be able to avoid injury from repetitive movements or moving the way a machine was designed to move rather than how your body is built to move. In addition Crossfit will help you strengthen, tone, and tighten your body like you never thought possible. Many people have a total body transformation in as little as 5 -10 weeks in which they lose many inches and gain plenty of muscle to sustain that body. Many Crossfit gyms also support the Paleolithic diet which is essentially the hunter gatherer diet of our ancestors that decreases your risk for cancer, auto immune disease, and many other chronic illnesses. They usually will give you a crash course in Paleo diet in order to help you get the nutrients your body needs to support your Crossfit experience.

Here's a video of some of the things that can be done in Crossfit Note: This video may be a little deterring to think you can perform these exercises and motions, but with training and time you'll be amazed that you can do these things!

I went to my first Crossfit class last night and wow was it intense! After viewing some videos online and talking to people to find out what to expect at the first class, I did not think that it would be a workout I could enjoy. After yesterday's class, I can say without a doubt that it was nothing like I expected and it is definitely something that I can do to achieve my goals for fitness and health. At my first class we did a combination of squats, planks, whole body stretching through dynamic movements, and short bursts of running. The only equipment we used was our body, a pvc pipe, a wooden box, and a weighted ball to carry while running. The intensity varied for each person based on their abilities and changes were suggested for those having a hard time keeping up or those with injuries. I've included a video below to give you an idea of what a more beginner type of workout at Crossfit might be.

If you'd like to try a Crossfit workout, I'd recommend calling a local Crossfit gym and talking to them about trying a class for free. Many gyms have days where visitors are welcome to drop in and try a workout.