I'm sure at this point people are a mix of headaches, foamy mouths, sluggishness, and cravings.
It's okay. You're going through "the change".
Changing habits doesn't make everything all better overnight.
Think of this not as just flipping a switch in the circuit breaker, but rewiring our bodies, changing the bulbs, and adding dimmer lights. It's a process. If you're not an electrician and you're trying to make these upgrades on your own, there will be a lot of questions and even some mistakes along the way. It's a learning process, and it takes time.
We're getting away from pre-packaged meals, fast food, and convenience of eating food with less nutritional quality. So make some time to find some recipes, read labels, chop veggies, roast chicken, and enjoy the time in the kitchen. Sure, it can be time consuming, but I love the smell of squash soup on the stove, or a pot roast in the crock pot ready to eat when I get home from work. I feel a sense of accomplishment to try a new recipe and I like to share it with others so they can expand their palate.
So let's keep sharing what works/doesn't work, how to deal with cravings, etc.
Here are a few tips that I've learned from previous paleo challenges
- Drink heavily - I mentioned it in a reply, but aim to drink half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 200 lbs, you should drink 100oz of WATER a day (minimum). This is just a guideline, but sometimes you might be thirsty when you think you're hungry. This doesn't apply to during working - you are neither thirsty nor hungry, you are stalling. (PS - how much water drinking went on during "Annie"?)
- Sleep - This is where I fail as I typically get 6-7 hrs of sleep. Your goal should be 8+ hours of uninterrupted sleep in a dark room. What you do during workouts helps you get stronger, but you make your money when you sleep, which is when your body is working to repair itself so it can be ready for the next workout.
- Eat meals, not snacks - I used to snack a lot during the day especially on sugar snap peas, apples, carrots, etc. I'm to the point where I'm set with 3 meals, maybe something small post workout, and a handful of carrots and a hard boiled egg during the day. The last bit I'll grab when I don't have stuff together, but I like to have smaller meals in place of a snack. I'll take it with me to work, but I don't feel the need to eat it if I'm not hungry. Before, I felt like I HAD to eat everything I packed.
- Eat more - If you're getting plenty of sleep and drinking enough water, yet you still have headaches or cravings.. eat more. Protein and fat will keep you satiated and take longer to digest.
- It's okay to be a little hungry - Your body doesn't have the usual amount of carbohydrates to use as fuel and it doesn't know what to do, but the stored fat is there to pick up the slack. You can go more than 2-3 hours without eating, so have some water.
- Plan ahead - I find I have more structure and eating paleo is easier during the week than it is on the weekends. On weekends, I might spend more time in front of the TV where I'm more inclined to snack, or I might be out for a few hours running errands. In one case I might have the munchies and in the other I might forget to eat. In either case, have a plan. Either have a good, filling meal before or during your TV show(s) or before going out, and take some paleo snacks and water with you.
- Use frozen/pre-chopped veggies - If you're going to cook something in the crock pot, sometimes it's a timesaver to buy pre-cut veggies and throw them in the pot than it is to chop eevvverything up. However, if you've got the time to chop, chop away and store the extras to use on a salad, in an egg scramble, as a side dish, etc.
- Write it down - I don't want this to turn into a laborious process of weighing, measuring, tracking, tallying, etc, but if you're hungry, tired irritable and you can't figure out why, chart your progress. Jot down what you ate and how much sleep you got that night as well as rate your stress level on a scale of 1 (chill) to 5 (pulling my hair out).
Use this weekend to check out some recipes here on the website or on some of the blogs I've linked to on the side, then hit the grocery stores. Check out the Guide to the Grocery Store on the Whole9 website, and the FAQ section on Robb Wolf's website for some good ideas.
Finally, I would like to have a pot luck dinner at the end, and the only weekend I have available is November 19-20, which is the weekend before Thanksgiving. We could do Thursday the 17th if people are heading out of town that weekend. Or we could have two pot lucks! Even if we have to wait until December, we can do that to make sure as many people as possible can attend. Let me know if the 17th or 19th would work, or toss out some other dates that fit your schedule.
Keep it up!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Day 1 of a new challenge
I'll keep this first post short and sweet. As a change from our last 'in gym' challenge, when we had our own rules and point system, we'll be following the rules as posted by Whole 9 - http://whole9life.com/2011/10/whole-30-v5/
... Here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.
- Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
- Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks or meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc.
- Do not consume alcohol, in any form. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
- Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, corn, rice, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
- Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, kidney, lima, etc.), peas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, tamari and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
- Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… (NEW!) with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
Do not eat white potatoes. They are carbohydrate/calorie-dense and nutrient poor, and you’ve got an excellent, nutrient-dense option in sweet potatoes or yams. (refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).
- Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no "Paleo-fying" desserts or junk food – no Paleo pancakes, Paleo pizza, Paleo fudge or Paleo ice cream. Don’t try to replicate junk food during your Whole30 program! That misses the point of the program entirely.
* * * * * *
One more to add to the above - if you have to ask if it's paleo, it probably isn't.
I don't want you to be a slave to the scale. If you'd like, weigh yourself today (or tomorrow AM) and take some basic measurements - bust/chest, hips, thighs - then hide the scale and measurements until November 23rd, when the challenge ends at 11:59pm. Another thing I'd like you to do is try on a pair of jeans or a top that might be a little snug. Get see how they fit, then put them back in the drawer until the end of the challenge.
Now the above might list a bunch of negative things about eating paleo, but there's a lot of GOOD things you can still eat.
Check out the FAQ section on Robb Wolf's website. He has a lot of great links and guides to get you started.
I'll be keeping this blog up to date as we go along, but go back and read the previous posts and check out the video of my paleo fridge/kitchen. Things have changed slightly since I first filmed that, but I still keep it pretty well stocked with protein and fresh veggies and healthy fats.
So keep your meals that simple - a protein, veggie, and a healthy fat - try to keep your daily life simple and low stress, get at least 8 hrs of sleep each night, and stay hydrated. There is a link to some recipes on this blog, so check those out if you need ideas. I'll update that with new recipes I've tried, and send me what you've made (and approve) and I'll include your recipes as well. We're in this together, so let's use each other for support.
... Here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.
- Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
- Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks or meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc.
- Do not consume alcohol, in any form. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
- Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, corn, rice, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
- Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, kidney, lima, etc.), peas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, tamari and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
- Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… (NEW!) with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
Do not eat white potatoes. They are carbohydrate/calorie-dense and nutrient poor, and you’ve got an excellent, nutrient-dense option in sweet potatoes or yams. (refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).
- Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no "Paleo-fying" desserts or junk food – no Paleo pancakes, Paleo pizza, Paleo fudge or Paleo ice cream. Don’t try to replicate junk food during your Whole30 program! That misses the point of the program entirely.
* * * * * *
One more to add to the above - if you have to ask if it's paleo, it probably isn't.
I don't want you to be a slave to the scale. If you'd like, weigh yourself today (or tomorrow AM) and take some basic measurements - bust/chest, hips, thighs - then hide the scale and measurements until November 23rd, when the challenge ends at 11:59pm. Another thing I'd like you to do is try on a pair of jeans or a top that might be a little snug. Get see how they fit, then put them back in the drawer until the end of the challenge.
Now the above might list a bunch of negative things about eating paleo, but there's a lot of GOOD things you can still eat.
Check out the FAQ section on Robb Wolf's website. He has a lot of great links and guides to get you started.
I'll be keeping this blog up to date as we go along, but go back and read the previous posts and check out the video of my paleo fridge/kitchen. Things have changed slightly since I first filmed that, but I still keep it pretty well stocked with protein and fresh veggies and healthy fats.
So keep your meals that simple - a protein, veggie, and a healthy fat - try to keep your daily life simple and low stress, get at least 8 hrs of sleep each night, and stay hydrated. There is a link to some recipes on this blog, so check those out if you need ideas. I'll update that with new recipes I've tried, and send me what you've made (and approve) and I'll include your recipes as well. We're in this together, so let's use each other for support.
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