Paleo Day 5- Over the Hump?

Paleo Cocoa Creme Pie

Ingredients: Crust- Almond meal, Coconut Flakes, eggs. Filling- Coconut milk, Egg, unsweetened cocoa, coconut flakes. Topped with Granny Smith Apple and coconut flake. Takes approximately 20 minutes to bake.

Mix the Almond Meal, cocount flakes and Eggs together in a bowl. Spread into a lightly oiled pie tin.

Mix 2 eggs, coconut flakes and unsweetened cocoa along with a pinch of almond meal

I pre-baked the crust a little bit before putting the filling in. Then put the filling in, put the cut apples on top with some coconut flake sprinkles.

WELCOME TO DAY 5!!!!! How are you feeling???

For anyone else out there, I felt a HUGE difference again today. In fact today was a pretty awesome day. I hardly slept because of my energy level from yesterday. Today, i chose to take today to rest and recover and cook some pretty awesome meals. Being that I am working at the fire station today, it was fun for me to be creative with the food.

For those of you who have a hard time with the family and cooking for yourself and the family, this is one tip that I run with the guys at the station.

The bae of all the meals I cook for the guys is paleo food. In other words. I'll use tonight as an example. I cooked thefollowing meal:

Paleo Beanless Chicken Turkey Chili- (I will post the recipe later)

What about the boys? Well in this case, we made a green salad and then bought dinner rolls for the boys to add in to their meal. The greatest part of this is the family (in this case the firefighters) get a healthier base to their meal and still have the option to add in their "Breads and grains". It is not m place to force my eating style upon others if they choose not to follow it, but educate them along the way as to why I eat the way I do.

How any of you have already had people pick on you a little about the food choices?

I have had people look at me funny here but in reality they are enjoying the new recipes and the new style of eating. They are feeling good about the food they are eating. My statement to them has been I eat this way to perform well, not to look good. Looking good is a side effect of me eating the way I eat and combining that with the high intensity training.

Alright so I pose this question to you tonight:

What has the hardest part been up to today of following the paleo lifestye?

Paleo day 4, 080410

Sorry for the late post today. I ended up going to.. Sushi... with a friend of mine tonight. Props goes out to Ooi Sushi on Clovis and Herndon in Fresno tonight for keeping me Paleo this evening. (Picture not of the actual rolls I ate)





In case you didn't know.. for you sushi lovers (yes that includes me) That you can have rolls made as "hand rolls" or "Temaki-zushi " WITHOUT the rice. This little treat was pretty awesome!! In fact, so awesome I probably ate one too many of them!!! But let me say this... When I left the plate of sushi with the rice puffs on it, it looked like "Rice Droppings" if you will. I didn't feel bad of course choosing to eat the foods I wanted rather than having to stick to the menu. SO my recommendation for you sushi lovers... try the hand made rolls and ask for maybe a spicy scallop roll or some yellow-tail sashimi, etc. It means you don't have to skip if sushi is one of your favorites.



Day 4- How we feeling? I felt like I was on CRACK ALL DAY!!!! Energy level definitely up from yesterday. In fact so much I was really surprised at how I felt all day! I have been going since 4 AM today and STILL have enough energy to finish the post, PLUS i got to workouts in today at pretty decent times.



I know that we are working on getting over the hump... but check this out:

Paleo Lunch Burritos-

Flank steak Cut and cooked

Bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, fresh salsa, avacado, (add any other veggie you see fit)

All wrapped in 2 iceburg lettuce leaves with a side of berries in coconut milk.

It turned out to be an amazing lunch yesterday!!!

More information tomorrow! Look for it and let us know how you are doing!!!

Paleo Day 3- Paleo Blues???? And GREAT JOB STEVE!

Congratulations to Steven Platek out of CrossFit Gwinnett for his PR on Fran today. 4'03" is a GREAT time for Fran!! Way to knock the socks out of this workout.

I have received emails from a few people on their workouts, so thank you for continuing to send them in. I had the opportunity to watch Tara Noble do her Fran today. Awesome job girl!!! Getting stronger and stronger every time you work out! I love it!

Another resource for you:

http://www.paleotreats.com/paleodiet.pdf

I just read through this PDF File and it is AWESOME!!! It really breaks it down to help with the learning curve of paleo. Thank you to Paleo Treats (http://www.paleotreats.com/) for putting it on your site!

So how many out there are having the day 3 Paleo Blues? ( I am not here to talk about all the science behind stuff... I'll leave that to the books, this is more of a practical discussion and maybe a slight overview of what is going on. )

Well, it's about that time. For those of you whom have never experienced this before, it may have even have started at day 2. Headaches, being tired, cranky, feeling like you want to kill someone, Not having "energy" to work out. This is not uncommon when starting to eat this way. And let me just say.. for those of you who are eating paleo even without it being fully organic, grass fed everything and simply removing the "highly Processed" foods and going to lean meats, nuts and seeds, fruits and veggies, little starch and no sugar, are probably going to experience a few days of feeling blah.

Well let's analyze what just happened (Yes.. THAT JUST HAPPENED) As Ryan pointed out in our lecture on Sunday, our bodies have become reliant on sugar, have changed how the insulin receptors are working, have had complete and utter chaos in the hormone production and metabolic balance department.. all because we LOVE those processed foods... with all those GREAT Chemicals...

Well.. How many of you are coffee drinkers out there and have EVER removed Coffee from your "daily diet" and experienced the MASSIVE crack headaches, the splitting ones that bring tears to your eyes, get moody, want to kill everyone ON SIGHT? Well.. this is kind of similar. If you think about what's happening in the body. You are now removing HUGE amounts of chemicals, refined and processed sugars, resetting your system, and allowing things to return to a metabolic normal if you will. And this HURTS!!! IT SUCKS... but as with all hard things.. THIS TOO SHALL PASS. As we discussed at the seminar it may take one day, it may take three days, it may take (Like the FIRST time I did the paleo challenge) two weeks!!! ( I literally slept for a few weeks the first time I went paleo lifestyle)

This is normal. you aren't the only one going through this process right about now. Even as we speak I am coping with a splitting headache and dropping energy levels. I know the light at the end of the tunnel is amazing because of the energy that will come out of it!! I have been here before and for me.. in two weeks.. I won't be able to sit still for more than ... well. wait that happens now.. but really.. My energy level ends up increasing drastically.

OK.. enough rambling for today. How are all of you doing out there? Getting over the hump? Getting of the crack as we say????

Right on. Keep it up!!! You are all troopers with great success ahead of you! I look forward to seeing and hearing from all of you!

Paleo Day (080210)

Hello and Welcome to day 2 of this Challenge!!! So how did we do today? well here's a little story about what is happening on the west coast. We have had some awesome pre-measurement results coming out of the last few days. We have had over 18 people (including Coach Kev) get weighed, measured and put through the ringer. they are all in the process or have already finished their wods and are ready to move forward. It has been awesome to watch everyone come in and give their best effort and ask questions about the paleo plan.

OK.. a few more resources today.... if you go to http://crossfitftf.typepad.com/ftfcommunity/2010/08/paleo-informational-sheets.html

you can download a list of foods that are acceptable on paleo as well as get a reference for seasonal fruits and veggies. These two resources come in handy as you are building your meal plans throughout the day or week.

So here is a funny story.... Coach Kev was at his house, working on getting some stuff together when the power went out (about 3 hours ago). So I went out and did what I do best.. found a track and performed a CFE WOD. Well, I came home to a dark house, in which i didn't know when the lights or power were going to come back on.... so what did I do?

I packed my bag with a pair of clothes and enough paleo food to last a few days just in case the fridge goes bad at home. So I am camping at the gym tonight with my paleo food for the morning ready to go. (See the Paleo Casserole Recipe I am about to post after the dinner recipe)

Please remember, I have a small amount of dairy in my meal plan- Recipe for this beauty- Spinach, Random Greens, Blueberries, Strawberries, Pan seared Flank steak (cooked in Olive Oil and lightly seasoned) Avacado and my dairy addition- Feta Cheese. The dressing is a mixture of Balsamic Vinegar and Fresh salsa.. with a little bit of tapatio to spice it up :) I'm pretty sure Cavemen in Mexico had Tapatio!!!

OK and for the breakfast frittata recipe:

Recipe- 8 Eggs, 15 total (whites the rest) Coconut Flakes, (about 1/2-1 cup) about 1/2-1 cup of Almond Meal, Add ALL the veggies you want. Stir all together. Then pour into baking pans coated with Olive Oil. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes. Serve hot or chilled. I pre-made this so I didn't have to cook at 4:15 AM!!!!

I will post my workouts to comments.

How about the rest of you. how did you do today?? Did anyone else have cravings today?? I found myself a little angry I couldn't just whip out the Ice Cream and start snacking away!

Paleo Recipe Resources and info sheets from yesterday

Post-WOD meal for Coach Kev. Handful of cashews, half sweet potato, Spinach with cocount milk for dressing and Grilled Chicken with spices (about 4 ounces).

This is an email we received from Coach Steve Platek from CrossFit Gwinnett who is also participating in the challenge:

Kevin,

Just wanted to let you know, in case you didn't already know, I maintain a Paleo/non-processed recipe page/blog.

Blog: http://paleolickinggood.blogspot.com/

On face book it's here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=455916401531&saved#!/pages/Steves-non-processed-Paleo-recipes/108489865856384?ref=ts

Steve- Thanks so much for the resource!!!! And thanks for doing the work to put it together!!!

Also, I will be emailing out the sheets that Ryan said he would have for us yesterday. CF Gwinnett and Redpoint peeps--- shoot me an email at kevin@crossfitftf.com so I can add you to that email. it's a great sheet with seasonal Fruits and veggies as well as a Paleo "approved" food list...

Paleo Challenge day 1

Thank you to all who came out today for our Paleo Nutrition Seminar. We had 15 people come out and listen to Ryan Koshi present his information. There was a great deal of information presented in this lecture today. Anyone who would like to register for a distance Webinar, please let us know. The cost of the webinar would be $5 per person to recover cost for the webinar software and it would last about an hour. It would be presentor Ryan "Koshi" Murakoshi and Coach Kevin Hughes answering questions regarding not only Paleo Nutrition but also an open Question Answer session regarding working out during this period. Please email kevin@crossfitftf.com if interested.

How was the first day of Paleo Nutrition for everyone? Well.. let's see what Coach Kev had for dinner:

This is Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna Steak with Unsweetened Coconut Flake on the outside for "Breading" along with the obvious veggies. Seasoned with Pepper, basil and garlic. It turned out very good.

So where is everyone at today? Give me some feedback. How did day 1 go? What were your workouts??

Mine- NO workout today. I have spent most of today prepping meals, training, coaching and I did get an awesome massage!!

I will post my food intake for the day in a comment. Let me hear from you!!! How are things at CrossFit Gwinnett? What about Redpoint??? How are things out there???

Fitness Assessments, Measurements and Photos

Hello All!!!

We would like you to have MEASURABLE and achievable results from this paleo period. So we would like to have you participate in the following WODS in the first few days of your challenge and either post your results, or send them to kevin@crossfitftf.com so we can keep track of times etc. We are going to be looking at changes in performance over the next 30 days as it relates to the paleo style of eating.

Here are the Wods:


Fitness Assessments as follows:

Fitness assessment:
(Day 1)
1 minute of MAX REP PUSHUPS

rest 2 minutes

1 minute MAX REP Situps

rest 2 mintues

1 minute max rep squats

rest 2 minutes

12 minute max distance run


these are all valid and measurable fitness evaluation tools. We will be able to get an indicator of what your overall fitness level is by using these assessments and comparing to the "standards" and norms.

12 minute run test Results calculator

To calculate your estimated VO2 Max results (in ml/kg/min) use either of these formulas:
•In Miles: VO2max = (35.97 x miles) - 11.29.
•In Kilometers: VO2max = (22.351 x kilometers) - 11.288


Performance WOD:
Fran: 21-15-9 of
Thrusters (95/65)
Pullups
(day 2)

Then:

Strength Work:
CF TOTAL (day 3)
Back Squat
Deadlift
Shoulder Press


Then:

Final Gnarly metcon measurement (for those that choose) :
3 Rounds of:

Run 400 Meters

Room #1


1.20 Push Ups
2.20 Sit Ups
3.20 Squats
4.10 Box Jumps (20″/24″)
Room #2


1.15 Kettlebell Swings (53#/35#)
2.15 Deadlift (135#/95#)
3.15 Dips
4.15 Dumbbell Push Press (20#/30#)
Room #3


1.10 Cleans (95#135#)
2.10 Thrusters (45#/65#)
3.10 KB Snatch – 5 each arm (35#/53#)
4.10 Burpees

This last one is not a requirement for performance but a goo dmeasure of total work output over time. I guarantee that you will see some change over the course of the month.

Please also keep track of body composition and circumference measurements as well. We have been using a 7 site skinfold measurement as our standard and using www.exrx.net to calculate our compositions. This is an awesome number to see change over time!

Please send all the results so we can tally them for the final results write-up!!! :)

Have an amazing day!