District CrossFit

Paleo Challenge: Day 11.  Click Here for the blog!!!

Press
12 x 3, OTM

“Di-Fran”
21-15-9
Deadlift (225/155)
Pullups

Level 1 Skill: Deadlift

10 Things To Know When Starting Paleo (That I Learned The Hard Way)

I stumbled upon this piece that I wrote during last year’s challenge and I thought it may be useful the second time around.

1. Your friends will make fun of you. The non-paleo ones anyway, if you decide to keep any of them around.  They’ll snicker when you get your sandwich without bread and when you order a tequila instead of beer.  Pay them no mind.  They’ll ask “How long are you going to keep doing that weird diet thing?”.  The correct response is “As long as I keep kicking ass at everything”.

2. You’ll feel crappy for a few days.  Don’t freak out, it’s totally normal.  If your current diet resembles the contemporary American one, your body is used to getting its glucose supply from dietary carbohydrates.  When you cut these out, your body has to change where it’s getting it’s fuel supply from.  It’s a big switch for your body and it feels a little bumpy.  If you’re an athlete or regularly active you’ll almost certainly notice a dip in performance, but rest assured this is only temporary.  Ride it out, and once you adapt to the new fuel source you’ll feel much better… forever.

3. Cook in bulk. I personally really enjoy cooking, but I realize that not everybody wants to spend the time to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day.  So if you’re going to take the time to roll up your sleeves in the kitchen, make a lot more than you need.  Feel like some chicken? Awesome, cook a whole one.  Brussell sprouts on the side? Make the whole stalk.  Bacon with your eggs? Fry up the whole package.  Having tons of leftovers around is tremendously helpful.

4. Fats are our friends. Dietary fat has been demonized time and time again, but for us paleo ninjas it’s a very important macro nutrient.  If your initial goal when starting paleo is to lean out and lose that spare tire, you can get by without too much fat intake for a while (your body will supply it).  But when your fat reserves start to dwindle you’ll need to get it from your food supply, especially if you’re the athletic type.  Avocados are a personal favorite of mine – make friends with them.  Coconut milk is equally fantastic – cook with it, chug it, put in in your coffee.  It’s as versatile as it is delicious.

5. Crock-pots are magical.  For serious, they’re the best thing ever.  If you’re not familiar with slow-cooking by means of this most wonderful tool, it goes a little something like this: Add a whole bunch of anything, turn it on for 8 hours, and it comes out fantastic.  It’s cooking made embarrassingly simple, and when you’re done the whole house smells amazing.  I strongly suggest you invest the $30 to get one in your kitchen if you haven’t done so already.  There are about a bazillion different things that you can cook with your crock-pot, so to get started try here.

6. It’s great for cheapskates.  Now there are certainly some parts of going paleo that are a little pricier than what you may be used to, such as getting grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish.  However, I was pleasantly surprised when I started eating paleo to see that my monthly food budget actually declined.  Why is that?  You’ll very quickly learn that cooking something is almost always cheaper than getting it prepared for you.  Take-out for lunch is a particularly big one.  If you start bringing tasty paleo treats to your desk instead of plopping down $9 every day at the deli, you’ll be surprised at all of the extra presidents hiding in your wallet.

7. People are defensive about their diets.  It never ceases to amaze me how many (unhealthy) people will fight to their last breath about well their diet works, and how stupid the whole paleo thing is. I eat grains and I’m fine! Cavemen only lived for 40 years! Red meat is bad for you! Get used to hearing things like this.  If you’re the non-confrontational type I’d go with something like “It makes perfect sense to me, I’m as healthy as I’ve ever been and I feel great”.  But if you’re like me and you want to spread the good word, prepare yourself for battle.  For a little scientific ammunition, I recommend reading these books from Robb Wolf, Lierre Keith and Gary Taubes.

8. Restaurants can be mine fields. Even us modern-day cave men deserve to go out on the town every now and then, but navigating menus can be awfully tricky.  I never realized how few items there are that don’t come fried, smothered in cheese or between two pieces of bread.  I recommend sticking to the salad and seafood sections to stay safe.  Just be sure to choose your dressing carefully, swap some asparagus for the french fries, and prepare yourself for dirty looks from your server.

9. Farmers markets rule. Hopefully you’re in an area with relatively easy access to a local farmers market.  They’re fantastic resources for getting fresh, responsibly grown food in a setting that’s a whole lot more fun than the supermarket.  The quality of product from farmers markets is almost always exceptional, plus it’s a great chance to meet the source of what actually goes on your plate.  If getting to a farmers market doesn’t fit into your schedule, look into finding a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. CSA’s involve buying a ‘share’ of crop from a local farmer or group of farmers.  This entities you to a portion of seasonal produce at regular intervals, often delivered right to your door every week.  It may not have the atmosphere of a farmers market, but the quality is still top notch and you can’t beat the convenience.

10. Get rid of temptation. If you really want to take the plunge and go paleo, make it easy on yourself and get rid of anything unhealthy in your house.  If you elect to keep a case of hostess snack cakes around for, ahem, ‘emergencies’, you’ll find a reason to eat them.  Remove temptation from the equation and get rid of them. To paraphrase from my hero Robb Wolf, “I don’t care how much you believe in monogamy – if you down a bottle of tequila, drop Ecstasy and spend the night at the playboy mansion, bad things will happen”.