September 5, 2010 · Posted in Nutrition · Comments (24)
The Details
- Duration: Tuesday, September 7th – Saturday, October 7th
- Eat a diet rich in nutrients and minerals made from real whole foods that your grandmother would recognize: meats, vegetables, fruits and nuts. A diet that supports your physical efforts by giving you energy and reducing inflammation but does not store itself as extra fat on your body. Participants should commit to a diet that they feel is reasonable and sustainable given their lifestyle. Modifications should be as minor as possible (for instance, if you know you’ll never make it a month without booze, throw in a couple allowed drinks.)
- Work out at least twice a week.
- Keep a food log either online (we recommend a Tumblr log used in conjunction with an iPhone app) or offline scribbled in a notebook. This is REALLY IMPORTANT because it will let us diagnose problems should they arise (e.g. “why aren’t I losing weight?” or “why is my hair falling out?”) Not to mention that it’s an invaluable tool for becoming truly aware of what you’re eating!
- Throw out your Scale. Weigh in once and do not look at it again until October 7Th. This is important because it will show you that being a slave to a number on the scale is the worst thing in the world. Notice changes in how your clothes fit, how you feel, and how you live and train and the numbers will follow. This is about lifestyle change as well as looking good in a bathing suit.
What Do I Eat??
(courtesy of Whole9Life and CrossFit Seattle)
Summary
1. Eat real food – meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, healthy oils. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re fresh and natural.
2. Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, cheese (hard and soft), yogurt (even Greek) and milk (including cream in your coffee).
3. Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn (I count corn as a grain), oatmeal, and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains. That’s not real food, right?
4. Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. (No peanut butter, kids.)
5. Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. If you must sweeten, use minimal quantities of honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar. No Splenda, Truvia, Stevia, etc.
6. Do not eat processed foods. This includes processed bars (like Zone bars), dairy-free creamers, etc.
7. Do not drink alcohol, in any form.
More About Meat…
- Animals, including fish, raised in commercial farms are not healthy so try to get grass fed beef, USDA certified organic meat, wild fish, and/or locally raised animals.
- If unable to do any of the above, then eat the leanest cuts you can and trim visible fat. (Eating the fat of healthy fish, birds and animals is good for you. Eating the fat of unhealthy creatures is not.)
- Eggs are good. Eggs from birds allowed to forage and run around are better.
- Buffalo, elk, venison and other types of wild game are excellent choices if you can get them.
More About Vegetables…
- Non starchy vegetables should be a big part of each meal. Virtually all vegetables offer excellent nutritional value.
- When possible choose organic, locally grown vegetables that are in season. Each of these factors will improve nutritional value. Here’s a nice guide to autumn fruits and veggies.
- Experiment with sautéing, roasting and grilling your veggies. Try different recipes and different ethnic foods. Learn to use herbs and spices. This stuff should taste good!
- Variety is king! There are TONS of yummy veggies out there — try squashes, eggplant, garlic, leeks, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green, cabbage, celery, kale, dandelion, spinach, tomatoes, radish, parsnips, mushrooms….
- Avoid starchy vegetable – potatoes, etc. If you must eat starch (it happens) try sweet potatoes.
- Avoid legumes. Beans, peas, lentils and soybeans should be avoided. Why?
More About Fruit…
- A paleo diet allows virtually all fruit consumption. There are a few issues though. We need to consider how the fruit was grown as well as the type of fruit to evaluate nutritional value. Also note that fruit is a very rich source of sugars, which although natural may hinder weight loss if consumed in excess.
- If you can grow your own fruit or pick wild fruit – go for it!
- Scavenge the local farmers market for fresh local seasonal fruit. Organic is best.
- Try to avoid fruit from far away. Flying in kiwis from New Zealand is not really helping our health.
- Avoid GMO (genetically modified organism) fruit.
- A little fruit juice occasionally can be okay but, fruit juice is really candy.
- Some fruits like bananas and pineapples have a high glycemic load and should be avoided if you are trying to loose fat.
- Berries are awesome! Eat lots of berries!
More About Nuts & Seeds…
- Nuts and seeds are filling, nutrition, and packed with protein, fatty acids, enzymes, antioxidants and lots of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium and magnesium. It is possible to screw up your fat profile with nuts though. Lots of nuts have an unacceptably high omega 6 / omega 3 ratio.
- Some great choices: walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, almonds
- Beware of peanuts and cashews. These are not nuts, they’re legumes. Don’t eat peanuts or peanut butter. Peanuts contain lectins and other anti-nutrients which can cause some real health problems.
- Lots of packaged, shelled nuts are covered in trans fats! Read the label! Best to buy raw, unsalted nuts and spice them at home. When in doubt, buy walnuts and/or macadamia nuts.
More About Fats…
- Fat is good for you. Fat is essential to your well being and happiness. (This is not hyperbolic writing. Having the proper fat profile makes a huge difference to your mental outlook and moods).
- Fat is a great source of energy. Fat triggers our sense of being full. Fat is an essential part of many of your cellular and hormonal processes. We sicken and die fairly quickly without adequate intake of essential fats.
- However…there are many bad fats in our food supply!
Good Fats
- Fat from healthy animals is good for you! Chicken, duck, goose, lamb, beef and pork fat can all be eaten and is an excellent choice for cooking because of heat stability. Lard is internal fat from around the kidneys. Lard from naturally (not grain) fed pork and beef is a very good choice. Lard from grass fed animals is hard to find though, so butter can be used instead. If you can find some high quality, nitrate-free bacon, the fat leftover after cooking it can be used for cooking all sorts of other delicious things!
- Coconut oil is good for you and a good choice for cooking. Choose organic, cold processed coconut oil.
- Olive oil is very healthy. Go for the extra virgin, cold pressed and use liberally. Extra virgin olive oil does not have great heat stability so use non-virgin olive oil or something else for high heat frying.
Bad Fats
- Trans Fats – fats damaged by heat. Trans fats can be extremely destructive to our health. Trans fats can be made at home!! Start with a healthy, unrefined oil, naturally high in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids – apply excessive heat and presto! Health wrecking trans fats. Easy!
- Hydrogenated and/or partially hydrogenated oils. Terrible! Reread the last paragraph.
- Canola – should be avoided. Canola has a very good omega 6/ Omega 3 ratio. However, to be used commercially it has been genetically modified, highly refined, partially hydrogenated and deodorized. Yikes!
- Margarine – see trans fats.
- Peanut, cottonseed, soybean and wheat germ oils… not good!
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24 Responses to “30 Day Paleo Challenge”
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I am in for the challenge!
After this weekends cert, I think I’m going to try a combined version of using Paleo foods with the Zone blocks.
Cant wait to see everyone progression after the 30 days.. Try and lean on each other and use this new bloggin section to post , how your feeling and doing, comments and concerns..
use this to aslo post new fun recipes
Where is the new blogging section?
robin your in it!
we will have periodic posts under the nutrition tab at the top of the main page..
here we will speak all about Paleo the zone etc etc..
make all nutrition posts here.
Paleo the Spanish Puerto Rican Pimp.
I heart CornerStone Tom.
i heart Nicks brother Ben
I’m in can’t wait!
In and IN! I’m all stocked up for my first week and highly motivated.
Day 1. Me and my husband J. are in it. I made my Paleo Chicken Salsa – I have my big lettuce leaves, my water, and my apple.
Steve is very happy right now!
I am so pumped and doing this 100%. I’m committed!!!!! Lisa (steve’s sister) can you come by the box and meet us!! I can’t wait to meet you. I’m proud that you are doing this challenge with us. Be encouraged. I have lost a total of 75 lbs. and it has been a long long journey. With the Paleo I lost an extra 20 lbs. so keep at it no matter how difficult it gets. WE are here for one another!! Woohoo!
Let’s DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey guys if you can
Take a pic of yourself with todays or tomorrows newspaper in hand.. lets get some great before and after shots..
Tonight I made a Mole type of dish and here is what I used : Grass-fed ground beef (from the steer order that Brad helped us get), onion, eggplant (cubed), one box of Pomi (an absolute staple in this house for Paleo eaters) and spices: 100% cocoa powder, chipotle chili powder, salt, ground mustard and pepper
Cook it all up (ground beef first) and let simmer for a little while. It was pretty spicy but Vic and I just spooned it into a bowl and were full after that. (One bowl full=1 1/2 cups)
When we want to eat right, one of the easiest meals to make is a meat (ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, chunks of beef, chunks of chicken, sliced organic turkey sausage (I spurge once in awhile on Applewood Farms)) and after that is cooked up, add any veggies diced and one box of Pomi. Cook for 5 minutes and add spices and you’re done! Easy meal and not too many ingredients.
PS Pomi is a “box” of tomato basically. Ingredients are tomatoes. Google it so you can see what the box looks like.
Also, just to be clear, I only pick one of those meats and add the Pomi, veggies and spices. A great meal and leftovers for lunch the next day.
Thanks Deb…Found the Pomi at Fairway…I’m all stocked up for the week too!
Sandra youe doing great.. keep up the PMA
Literally. On day #1 of PALEO CHALLENGE I chose to start on an Intermittent Fast. Never have done one, but I chose to begin the fast after breakfast (Needed to start the day as a Champion!!!!). I’ll anticipate breaking my fast tomorrow morning with a power Paleo breakfast. Why did I choose to go on an Intermittent Fast on Day #1? I felt as though I needed to begin on a clean slate in order to do this the correct way, the true Paleo way. Last week’s food and drinking binge really did me in and messed with my system for quite a few days. My digestive system cursed me out and hurled at me such wretched unmentionable insults. I have since been forgiven and my body seems to have recovered.
Went to Fairway tonight (not recommended during the fast unless you do not mind drool foaming from your mouth) and bought all the super foods I need to take on Day #2! Organic Grass Fed Roast Beef and Organic Chicken Breast, hello! Let’s get this Paleo Party Started!
Deb, I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE MOLE!!! HOLY MOLE! I can’t wait to try this.
Thanks Steve…Stef, I went to Fairway tonight 2
Sandra and rest of the gang, shameless self-promotion, but i post pics of my meals and post stuff about paleo on my blog if you get bored and need some inspiration. hehe =) OMG Fairway!!! Organic _Grass Fed Roast Beef in the deli meat section!!! I do heart.
http://stephyfullofgrace.tumblr.com/
Day 1 was good. I ate my slow cooked chicken in lettuce wraps – and at night we ate center cut pork chops with a salad, pineapple pieces. I was too busy, I need to do a better job preparing myself.
Since I am a coffee drinker, I decided to give it up all together. I just cannot do black coffee. And (Steve I know) add the heavy whipping cream, just cannot do it. So I switched to Brewed Black Tea. Unsweetened. Trader Joe’s makes the BEST!!! its so so good.
OH! and this morning I accidentally made ice cream.
I was trying to make a fruit smoothy to take to work.
I put frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana
a heap of ground flax seed
and then I added 2 coconut milk ice cubes (I froze the milk in an ice tray)
blended all together and then added a little water to make it creamy.
Well it came out the consistancy of ice cream and it was really really good!