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Just another week in Paleoland

7/14/2013

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We are 7 days into this "Paleo Awareness" challenge.  Are we having fun yet?  Actually, the first week seems to be the hardest.  You are adjusting to a whole new way of eating, old habits are being tested, and you're still unsure if you're getting it right.   Let me start  by saying "congratulations" for even giving this a go.  You are one step ahead of so many others who still believe that the Standard American Diet (SAD) and food pyramid are the only way to health.  In fact, I was reading an article yesterday by a nutritionist who, in her infinite nutritional wisdom, chided those who cut "whole food groups" out of their diet.  Her concern was that people were missing out on crucial B-vitamins without grains.  Wait...I don't think you need fortified inflammatory grains to get your B vitamins.  I'm not sure this nutritional genius knew that the best sources of Vitamin B12 come from mussles, clams, oysters, liver, eggs, and beef to name a few.  And while many grainitarians choose to believe that whole grains are the supreme food choice for wholesomeness, fiber and vitamins, they are sadly misguided.  But who can blame them...rarely can you find a good article in the mainstream that "goes against the grain" so to speak.  For a great read on why we exclude grains from our paleo diet, check out the Grain Manifesto by The Whole9.

Now, off the soapbox, I want to give you a few resources for your weekly reading.  First, if you haven't gone to The Foodie for help with recipes, you're missing out.  There are a ton of great recipes to try...you just have to know what you like.
http://www.thefoodee.com/post/6262/

Here's another link I'd like you to read regarding soybean oil (it's everywhere) and High Fructose Corn Syrup (oh, it's everywhere too.)  Cutting these two things out of your diet is a must.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/23/united-states-health-ranking.aspx?e_cid=20130123_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130123

An article on the Whole30 and paleo:
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20130122/LIFE04/301220029

A google chart showing the increased interest in paleo:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=paleo%20diet

A Science Bite from Robb Wolf:
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=51021876189adc8125a6a9578&id=a3f7df4c81&e=cbdc0d1ad4
I listened to his podcast featuring John Kiefer from Dangerously Hardcore http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/category/nutrition/
and was fascinated with his take on partitioning most of your carbs in the evening.  Haven't we always been told to eat the bulk of our carbs early in the day?  More conventional wisdom gone awry.  I ended up purchasing his book Carb Nite and am finally getting a chance to sit down and read it.  I think it was written in about 2002.  On the podcast, he said he has changed some of his recommendations (as far as eating better, higher quality carbs as opposed to just junk carbs) since then but the theory is still the same.  I am playing around with this on myself to see if I notice any difference.  Essentially, I am eating about the same amount of carbs as I would have otherwise, but just saving them for the evening.  A sample day FOR ME might look like:
2 eggs, 2 cups spinach, 2 pieces of bacon for breakfast
mixed green salad with olive oil and red wine vinegarette and a piece of salmon for lunch
snack - rolled up ham with 1 T. homemade mayo
Dinner - baked or roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed greens, grilled flank steak, mushrooms and peppers, frozen banana and a few plantain chips.
All carbs are paleo and I will eat more or less depending on my activity that day. So far, my hunger has been pretty contained all day.  The protein and fat in my first two meals keep me satiated and the low carb approach during the day allows me to access stored fat easier since insulin secretion is drastically reduced.  Sugar highs and lows are diminished.  If I get hungry, I grab a protein/fat snack.  A hard boiled egg is a perfect example of that.  So I am accomplishing a few things at once...I'm becoming more insulin sensitive and more fat adapted as I rely on fat instead of carbs for energy.
I'm really just playing around with all of this for now, but find the science behind it intriguing.  We are all little experiments (N=1) of one so tinker with things to see what works for you. 

Check out those links, especially the Dangerously Hardcore link.  He has some great articles on his blog.  I hope I'm not overwhelming you with information, but you gotta learn about this stuff.  Can't rely on the the conventional widsom because they are consistently wrong!

Also, here are a couple of links for some great free ebooks.  The Flinch is a great one about changing behaviors.   F*** calories is a funny, irreverant view of food with a lot of good quotes. 
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flinch-ebook/dp/B0062Q7S3S
http://www.stumptuous.com/fuck-calories

This should keep yall busy for a few days!   Strap your seatbelts on for Week 2.  Remember why you're doing this.  It takes effort to learn and make change, but it is worth it.  You are worth it.

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The Paleo Awareness Challenge

7/6/2013

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It's inevitable this time of year and it always seems to happen just after the 4th of July.  My summer indulgences begin to overtake my sensibilities and suddenly my diet looks nothing like the paleo diet I so strongly endorse.  I get lazy about reading labels and foods that were only occasional for me have become staples.  Gasp!  I've also been out of town for the better part of June and without the structure of my own kitchen, I'm left in restaurant land and it has all taken its toll. 

After talking to a number of people who also find themselves in a similar situation, I've decided it's time for a paleo tune up.  I'm calling it THE PALEO AWARENESS CHALLENGE because that's my goal...to bring awareness and good nutrition back into my day to day.  The best way to do this is with the concentrated effort of a group.  Many of us have done the Whole30 Challenge which is an amazing 30 day paleo challenge started by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.  This is a very strict form of paleo and it is a great way to establish a baseline of health.  However, I've done it before and while very effective, the restrictiveness is not practical for me this summer.  I am looking for an approach that allows for some minor indulgences from time to time, but using a paleo framework.  For example, I will allow a moderate amount of wine on the weekends.  Knowing that I have that option makes this much more doable for me.  (Why is it that alcohol is the deal breaker?!)  Summer also presents occasions where you find yourself traveling or going to outdoor parties and finding good quality paleo food is hard.  It is those instances where this "practical" approach comes into play.  You do the best you can under the circumstances, still trying to stay away from grains, dairy, legumes and sugar but realizing that if you have something that is not quite paleo, there's no guilt...just awareness and honest effort to do the best you can.  Now realize that the more effort you put into this, the better your results will be.


DETAILS:

Challenge starts MONDAY July 8th, 2013. 
Challenge ends  TUESDAY August 6th.

You need to take photos and measurements.  If you have a reliable scale, use it to see what your start weight is.  However, know that the scale is NOT the best measurement of success.  There have been many people who have gained weight on the paleo challenge but have lost fat and inches and their before and after pics tell a different story than the scale.  Get a piece of paper and write down the date you weighed and measured and all the measurements.  Write down your start weight.  You will revisit this after the thirty days.
 
PHOTOS:  Everyone has a phone with a camera.  You need to take before pics.  Do not skip this step!  A picture tells a thousand words.  Take a picture of yourself from the front, the side, and the back.  You can do this in the mirror or have someone take them for you.  Ladies, wear a sports bra and gym shorts.  Guys wear no shirt and gym shorts.

MEASUREMENTS:  You will need a measuring tape to do this.  Here are the measurements you should take:
Waist  (your natural waistline)
Belly Button
Two inches below belly button  (to catch the muffin top area)
Hips (through the part of your butt that sticks out the most)
Upper thigh (for ladies only -the thickest part right below your butt) 
Neck (for guys only)
Any other measurement that you think will give you information about body changes.

Paleo Rules:
For the next 30 days, you will avoid all grains (corn, rice, wheat, barley, quinoa, rye, etc).  Stay away from gluten free crackers and snacks that are still made with other grains.  This is the most important thing you can do right now next to avoiding sugar.
Avoid dairy as best you can.  I will allow Kerrygold butter and pastured cream in your coffee if that is important to you. 
Avoid legumes.  We are talking peanuts and peanut butter, beans and soybeans.
NO sugar or artificial sweeteners.  Read labels and try to avoid anything that has sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, dextrose, agave, or any other sugar. Slaying the sugar dragon is key.
Enjoy good quality proteins like grassfed beef, pastured eggs, wild caught salmon, chicken and pork.  Fill your plate with green leafy vegetables.  Fruit is good, especially berries, but be careful of overdoing the fruit.  It still contains a higher amount of sugar, albeit natural, that can keep you on that sugar high.  Summer is a great time to try delicious local produce, so take advantage of what is in season.

Restrict alcohol to weekends and only moderate amounts. 


EDUCATE YOURSELF
I will be posting recipes, tips and links to help keep you on track.  Check this site frequently along with my facebook page Project Paleo-StL.  I will also post on Melissa Hurley's blog called "Get it! Get it! Girl".  It's important that you do everything you can to learn about why we do what we do.  This evolutionary approach takes more than diet into consideration.  Other areas to work on are getting more sleep and reducing stress.   If you haven't had a chance to check out my resources page, please go there for suggested blogs and books.  Below are some links that will help you understand what this paleo diet is all about.  Educating yourself is part of our 30 day plan.  You have to take the initiative and make informed decisions. 

http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/

http://whole9life.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/


http://balancedbites.com/2013/03/faqs-what-is-paleo.html


If you are looking for good books, there are two that I would suggest:
It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig
Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo
I've also got other good suggestions on my resources page.


What next?
Clean out your fridge and pantry and get rid of anything that might derail your efforts. 
Head to the grocery store and stock up on fresh produce, quality meats and eggs. Get some good turkey or roast beef at the deli to use when making a quick lunch.   Make a grocery list and plan your meals a few days in advance.  Meal planning and preparation will be key in your success.  I always make a big batch of paleo mayonnaise to use in chicken salad, deviled eggs, broccoli salad, and to mix with chipotle powder to make a dipping sauce for chicken.  This will keep for about 10 days. I also like to cut up melon and other grab and go veggies.  Boil a dozen eggs for a quick protein snack.  Whip up some fresh salsa to eat on eggs or to dip plantain chips in. (all of these recipes are on my recipe page).

Consider subscribing to the Whole30 daily which is an email that comes to your inbox every day for 30 days with tips, information and guidance through the 30 day challenge.  There is a fee for this, but it is well worth the $15.
Subscribe to Chris Kresser's free Beyond Paleo email series.  This is a tremendous resource filled with lots of great information and it's free!


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The next 30 days are about becoming more aware and lending a little structure to our choices.  You will be learning to listen to your body and to feel what "health" feels like when you fuel properly.  What are your goals?  What do you want to accomplish this month?  Write those down and let them motivate you to do the best you can.  Your input will help greatly as well.  If you make a great recipe, post it to Project Paleo, or email it to me and I'll post.  If you find a delicious paleo friendly recipe, let us know about it.  The more you participate, the better we all benefit.  Start preparing for next week.  Take those pics and measurements and plan out a menu.  Don't be scared or overwhelmed, rather “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”   Are you ready?   Here we go...
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Paleo Challenge 2013

1/15/2013

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We had a tremendous turnout for our January Paleo Challenge held at CrossFit St. Louis this past Sunday.  We kicked it off with a paleo nutrition seminar.  For those attendees who wanted to commit to a Whole30, strict version of paleo in our 5 week challenge, we began the process of taking Pre-pictures and weighing and measuring the participants.  While they waited, they got the chance to visit our "Paleo Expo" which included some of the local movers and shakers in the St. Louis paleo scene.  Local Harvest Grocery, Feed Your Vitality, Mac's Local Buys, and Dr. Adam Hughs were among our expo guests, on hand to show off their wares and demonstrate to participants how their businesses could have a positive effect on making the transition to paleo an easier one.
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Local Harvest Grocery's Maddie Earnest
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Leeny going into the details of why grains, dairy, and legumes are not part of a healthy nutrition plan.
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Starting today, Tuesday January 15th, we begin day one of our Whole30 challenge.  This is a stricter form of paleo, meant to be used for establishing a baseline of health.  In the next 30 days, we will be restoring our gut health, decreasing inflammation, and maintaining a consistent hormonal response as we enjoy a wide variety of quality proteins, veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, and healthy, good quality fats.  We will avoid all grains, dairy and legumes as well as sugar in all its forms, artificial sweeteners and alcohol for thirty days.  This is going to give us a good, hard reset and show us how feeling good really feels.  Making this transition can be tough because bad habits can be so hard to break.  Our bodies have gotten used to running on refined carbohydrates for fuel so switching gears can be hard at first.  But did I tell you how worth it it is?  As the weeks go by, you will eventually come to see how healthy feels. 
"The diet used to prevent disease is the same one used to treat it."  -Whole30

Question time

At the seminar, someone asked, "What can you drink if you're cutting everything out?" Personally, I like to use flavored sparkling water and add a small amount of fruit juice for flavor.  Just a quick pour gives it that extra little somethin' somethin'.  Citrus, mint, cucumbers, or strawberries also add nice flavor to sparkling water.  Iced tea can be a great option.  Fool around with different types of flavored teas and brew them with your regular tea.  I like the Mr. Coffee iced tea pot to make a fresh batch every day.  Yeah, I like it that much.
Mark Sisson also has some good tips for tasty beverages that you can read on his blog at Mark's Daily Apple.
  Also, the Whole9 website posted something today about drink options on a Whole30.  Read about it here.

Community Spotlight...Local Harvest Grocery in Kirkwood

I gave a paleo nutrition seminar at Local Harvest Grocery on January 10th, and was blown away by all the wonderful, quality food offerings they have.  If you get a chance, go by there and take a look.  I recommend purchasing some tasty, locally pastured eggs or try some of their delicious, quality bacon.
So here's to all of you embarking on a 30 Day Challenge, or just trying to make some positive changes in your nutrition.  It will pay off in spades in terms of feeling and looking better.  Cheers to you!
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Whole30 Paleo Challenge

8/18/2012

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I am leading another wonderful group of people from CrossFit St. Louis and CrossFit Xtra Mile through a 30 day Paleo Challenge that started this past Monday, August 13.  We kicked it off with a nutrition seminar and then got busy taking pre-pictures and measurements.  When the gig is up on Sept. 11th we will take our after pictures and measurements and then bask in the healthy glow we will have developed after the thirty days of clean eatin'.
So far, I think everyone is on the right track.  We've had a few people succumb to the "carb flu", feelings of sluggishness that are common in the first few weeks, but usually subside as the month goes on.  We are trying to become more "fat adapted" and shift our metabolism away from being a "sugar burner".  For more on this, Mark Sisson has a great article and so does Nora Gedgaudas from Primal Body Primal Mind.  You can find her article here.  I just want people to be reassured that this decrease in performance, tired, sluggish feeling doesn't last forever.

I think the biggest problem people have is trying to figure out what the heck to eat since the grains and dairy have been removed.  Wheat is in everything!  But with some creativity, some good recipe websites and some planning, you will find that your effort pays off in spades in the way you look, feel and perform.  I have to use my sister-in-law as a prime example of how much better you can feel once you ditch the grains, especially wheat gluten.
Natalie (not her real name) and I have been tennis partners for years and I've also encouraged her to join our CrossFit gym to work on strength and endurance.  She has complained about her knees bothering her and would find lunging, squatting, and deadlifting painful.  It was frustrating as a coach, because I knew she needed to do these movements to strengthen up her quads and hamstrings, but with limited mobility our strength gains were at a standstill.  I talked to her about changing over to more of a paleo type diet, but she, like so many other people, didn't really attribute her joint issues to anything else but age. 

Finally, after one particularly sugar and flour laden Easter, she woke up the next day in full body pain.  She said even the joints that normally didn't bother her were hurting.  I told her that she had a choice...cut out the gluten, which is a known gut irritant and plays havoc on your immune system and adds inflammation to the body, and cut out the sugar for just a WEEK, or continue to be in pain all the time.  "What have you got to lose?"  Long story short, she did as I asked (FINALLY!) and has since sworn off gluten.  She is a new person.  She is almost pain free.  She doesn't even need the knee brace she used to wear to tennis.  And I don't have to her her whine! hehe
So now Natalie is my new spokesperson.  She isn't completely paleo, but the changes she did make work for her and have allowed her to continue the activities she loves without the joint pain.

So there you have it.  You really don't have anything to lose...except maybe that tire around your middle, and the acne on your back, and the joint pain...the list goes on!  Here's to all of you challengers brave enough to embark on this nutritional journey and to ask the hard questions about what is really healthy.  We don't need no stinkin' food pyramid. 



Mark Bittman's Oven Baked Ratatouilli

Ingredients:

 10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half

 2 large onions, thinly sliced

 2 large eggplants, about 2 pounds total, sliced 1/2-inch thick and salted if time allows

 4 red or yellow bell peppers, stemmed, peeled if desired, seeded and sliced into 3 or    4 pieces each

 4 ripe red tomatoes, cored, skins and seeds removed and cut into thick slices

 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, rosemary or savory leaves

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, basil or chervil leaves for garnish

 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 WHAT YOU DO

Make a layer of onion, followed by one of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper and  garlic cloves. Repeat.

 Drizzle the ratatouille with oil and place it in the oven. Bake for about an hour, pressing down on the vegetables occasionally, until they are all completely tender.

 Garnish and serve, hot or at room temperature.

 Serves 4.

 (I also make it with thin slices of zucchini cut length wise as an added layer)

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This is a great recipe, especially this time of year when the produce is so wonderful.  Fit as much as you can into your baking dish as there is shrinkage when you bake.  It is also better the next day!
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    Author

    My name is Leeny Hoffmann and I am paleo curious. Come out of the "Standard Diet" closet with me and let's find out what the paleo lifestyle is all about.

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