Paleo – What Is My Reason?

What is my reason for eating Paleo? Well, in hindsight it has been the easiest way I have ever found to control my body weight and composition without really thinking about it. I also believe that for me, simpler is better, the less I have to think about something the better off I am and the better I will do. That is why I think of myself as an extremist in most things, I tend to go black or white since it is easier.

In September 2010 my parents came to visit from their home in Switzerland and during their stay we went to visit my Dad’s brother in Huntsville. The conversation, as it so often does, went to health and we had a long discussion, the three of us, about our family history and the heart problems that are apparently rife throughout our family tree. Not only that, the health problems that my Dad and Uncle have had are at least in part due to poor diet choices and being (even if not grossly) overweight. Since it was 3 months since the birth of my daughter I was at a very emotionally sensitive place and the conversation said something very simple to me: Lose weight and get healthy or die and leave your baby daughter without a father and your young wife without a husband.

So, since October 2010 I have been eating Paleo which for me means basically eating most things that don’t even have labels. Fresh meat, veg and fruit, some nuts and seeds and lots of water. It’s been pretty easy, I have lost around 40lbs (50lbs from my heaviest) and I have to say that it has absolutely changed my life. I know lots of people say that, from movies to seminars to sporting events but there have only been a few things in my lifetime that have affected me as much as this. For example, emigrating to Canada from England changed my life. Getting married to the girl of my dreams changed my life. Having a beautiful baby and becoming her father has changed my life and along with those momentous things, changing to Paleo has changed my life.

It’s not a joke. I have written about it a couple of times and still I can’t explain it completely. So I will keep this page and add to it while I can. It probably won’t turn out as good as my standard reference page from Fitbomb, but I can try… right?

So consider this a work in progress…

The Paleo Pitch– From Whole9

Bad Grains 1 – From Whole9

Bad Grains 2 – From Fitness Spotlight

Bad Grains 3 – From Mark’s Daily Apple

Sugar, and Fructose (Fruit Sugar) are to blame, so eat fruit, but sparingly.

What if I don’t enjoy eating meat? – From Whole9

In fact, the Whole9 MANIFESTO page is a great read for any Paleo related questions….

Refined carbs, the problem in a nutshell – From Details magazine via Fitbomb

 

R5D42 – This Should Be Fun

Iseewhatyoudidthere

Another medium day, status quo so far but next week I think we start adding 4th and 5th rungs to each ladder on medium and heavy days. I have also managed to get a copy of the Art Of Strength Providence DVD workout that I think I will be attempting. There are some pretty interesting moves on the video, I can’t wait!

In the Vancouver Sun today, other than the Tsunami warning there was a small tag line about a series they are running tomorrow:

Sugar: Part 1 of a 6-part series
The way Canadians eat sugar has changed dramatically since the 1960s and growing obesity rates are evidence that we might be getting it wrong. In Saturday’s Vancouver Sun, read the first installment of a six-part series on sugar.

“Sugar: Part 1 of a 6-part series

The way Canadians eat sugar has changed dramatically since the 1960s and growing obesity rates are evidence that we might be getting it wrong. In Saturday’s Vancouver Sun, read the first installment of a six-part series on sugar.”

Might? We MIGHT be getting it wrong… talk about your understatement. I stole this from Fitbomb who has written a great piece on the Paleo diet that contains links galore as to why all of our current thinking is as much garbage as the food we are told to eat.paleo-pyramid

“Admittedly, I’m no scientist, and I’m far from articulate on the subject of human metabolism. But my reading comprehension skills are decent, and I’ve gleaned quite a bunch from Gary Taubes, Michael and Mary Dan Eades, Weston A. Price, Loren Cordain, Robb Wolf, Kurt Harris and others:

  • When eaten, neither protein nor fat — without carbohydrates — has any effect on blood glucose. But when we take in carbohydrates, our blood sugar levels shoot up. (This isn’t news; in fact, it’s the scientific basis underpinning the popular movement away from eating refined carbs like white bread, which have the effect of suddenly spiking blood glucose. But as we’ll discuss later, whole grains aren’t the bees’ knees, either.)
  • Whenever blood glucose levels rise, the pancreas reacts by releasing a surge of insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin is a hormone that happens to be the primary mover and shaker in human metabolism. Among its many functions, insulin manages nutrient storage by driving excess blood sugar, fats and protein into the interior of our cells, where they can be used as energy or stored as fat.
  • Although there are numerous factors that can affect how much insulin we produce, as well as how our bodies respond to insulin and blood sugar, the basic rule is this: The more carbohydrates we eat, the more insulin we end up secreting in reaction to the spike in blood sugar.
  • As a result, two key things happen:
    • First, with all the excess blood sugar and surge in insulin, the liver no longer stores glucose as glycogen — a fuel source for the body. Instead, the glucose is synthesized into fatty acids, which are exported from the liver as lipoproteins. These lipoproteins are ripped apart as they circulate through the body, providing free fatty acids to be sucked up into the body’s cells — including the body’s adipose fat cells, in which the fatty acids are then “bound up” together to form triglycerides.
    • Insulin also inhibits the breakdown of fat in adipose tissue by interfering with the mechanisms that enable triglycerides to split into their constituent fatty acids. Triglycerides are bigger than fatty acids — and too big to escape our adipose fat cells. In other words, once triglycerides form in your adipose fat cells, the excess insulin produced by your body makes it difficult for you to break them back down. So when we eat more carbohydrates and produce more insulin, more triglycerides — which are also now prevented from breaking down into fatty acids — are synthesized and locked up inside our fat cells.
  • And so, over time, our fat tissue swells.

In summary, if you take in carbohydrates in excess, your adipose fat tissue’s likely to expand. You get fat.”

There is so much evidence coming to light about the dangers of sugar, but only very slowly people are realizing that not only sugars, but things that your body turns into sugars are bad, like bread, pasta, grains of all kinds. We are not being betrayed by our bodies, quite the opposite, we are betraying our ancestry by eating foods that we were never designed to eat. Not only that, we are doing the same things to our animals, forcing them to eat grains to fatten them up so we can eat them.

Hang on…

We are feeding cattle grains to fatten them up? So they will produce fattier meat? But the food pyramid says…

You are getting the picture now cowboy (see what I did there…).

R5D40/1 – I hate Chelsea. Not Just The Football Team…

Challenged myself to do the Chelsea workout again since last time I did Cindy I only managed 18 rounds from what I recall, and the last time I did Chelsea I gave up after 20 rounds. Since I only had 30 minutes to work out I assumed I would crash at 20 again and be done. Surprisingly, I didn’t struggle too much, and once I got to 20 rounds I stopped not because I had to but because I wanted to. I probably could have done another 10, my last round only took 35 seconds so my rest periods were still pretty long.

Chelsea:
Each minute on the minute for 30 minutes

5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

Result: 20 rounds in 20 minutes with air to spare…

Day 41 was a forced rest day due to time constraints imposed by very poor weather on the way home. In honour of having a day off I think next time for variety I am going to try to do the Art Of Strength Providence DVD. The layout is like this:

Round 1: 2-handed swing, one arm swing, hand-to-hand swing
Round 2: Cleans
Round 3: Chest presses
Round 4: Squats/sumo deadlifts
Round 5: One leg deadlift
Round 6: Windmills into an overhead squat
Round 7: clean and press
Round 8: Flip and squat
Round 9: Tactical lunges
Round 10: Triple crush
Round 11: Sling shot into a figure 8 with a static hold
Round 12: Seated press
Round 13: One arm row
Round 14: Pullovers, Russian twists, Sicilian crunch
Round 15: 3 minute snatch test

Thanks to fitprosarah.com for the outline.

We shall see how that goes, but I am itching to do something more with the KBs…


R5D39 – Pancake Tuesday and Diabetes In A Can

Yesterday’s workout was pretty good, I am up to 3 rungs on 5 ladders and am in week 7 of the RKC. The workout went like this:

C&P left 1
C&P right 1
Pull Up 1
C&P left 2
C&P right 2
Pull Up 2
C&P left 3
C&P right 3
Pull Up 3

For a total of 5 repetitions. Since it was Monday it was snatch day with the 45lb which still poses a problem for me. 10 each arm with 1 minute rest for a total of 6 minutes. My forearms are getting less beaten up as time goes along, but pulling that KB down from overhead is still a scary moment.

Mmmm... Diabetes
Mmmm... Diabetes

Today is Tuesday, not just any Tuesday, but Pancake Tuesday. Today, historically I would have come into work late after going to Golden Griddle and overindulging in the golden wheaty goodness that is the North American pancake. As a child I was treated to the British staple, the thin crepe, filled with Lyle’s Golden Syrup which, if you haven’t tried it, is like eating diabetes straight out of the jar! It is probably the single best condiment in the history of the world however and regardless of the fact that there is an apparently dead lion on the tin, you should definitely try some! I know, I am now Canadian and the Canadian way is to stick to Maple Syrup as the food of the gods but seriously, Lyle’s kicks Maple syrup in the groin and then laughs about it. Anyway, today will be the first time in years, and I mean probably 20+ years that I won’t be having pancakes. I know I have discussed this Stunning Revelation before but for the first time in my life I just don’ t think about food. I have spent all my adult life thinking about food 24 hours a day. That may sound like an exaggeration but it really isn’t. I was so bad that while I was eating I would be thinking about what I was going to eat for my next meal. It didn’t matter if I was dieting or not, I still thought about it all the time. Since going Paleo,  food doesn’t cross my mind until the clock tells me it’s time to eat or I have a break in my schedule and know I have something in the fridge I am supposed to eat. It’s the single biggest change to happen to me in my lifetime. It’s like someone has taken that addictive part of my brain and shut it down. I am still obsessive about some things, I am still guilt of overdoing certain things but the out of control factor is gone. If you had told me before the last 6 months that I would not be having pancakes on pancake day I would have told you that you were delusional. But the last 5 months have been an eye opener for me, letting me know that no matter how old you are, you can change and that (in a bizarre turn of physiological truth) what you eat really REALLY does affect not only how you feel, but WHO YOU ARE!

Grains were controlling my life and that is so far out there even I have a hard time grasping it!

Variety Is The Spice Of Life (and the pain in my chest)

Variety day went off almost as planned, it was a chest-centric WOD like this:

For time:

  • 20 Bench chest extension (45lb KB)
  • 30 bench press (205lb)
  • 40 V-Snaps not Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 squats
  • 20 bench press (205lb)
  • 50 squats
  • 40 V-Snaps not Abmat sit-ups
  • 30 bench press (205lb)
  • 20 Bench chest extension (45lb KB)

Since the 70lb KB was too much to manhandle for the chest extensions, I ended up using the 45. It was not for lack of trying and I almost wound up with a 70lb brain surgery. The bench wasn’t easy either and I realize that doing this for time was not a mistake, but rather a completely different beast than taking my time and working until I was done. That said, there was simply no way that I was able to get the weights changed and attempt to do 20 255lb bench presses this time around. I know I can do it, just not sandwiched in between all the rest of the movements. The whole thing took 18 gut busting minutes and since I very rarely do any kind of abdominal work, the situps (or vsnaps in this case) were a killer too. I don’t know what 18 minutes is like for this, I am sure if I do it again I would do better, so maybe I will wait until then to pass judgement.

Saturday at 11pm I was at work for a scheduled network downtime which lasted until 630am. Not only that, driving there in a huge blizzard when the roads weren’t plowed was ridiculously dangerous. Anyway, I was so tired I skipped heavy day and since at this point (as stated several times) the workouts are pretty much the same, I am not doing a catch up day, just moving on. Sunday, on the couch watching Liverpool gloriously dismantle Manchester United I was filled with a warm glow and a searing pain in my abs and chest. That’s timed WOD’s for you though, I love them, but I hate them!

R5D35/37 – Medium Day / Rest Day/ More Variety

Medium day again for Wednesday which is getting better and the 50 swings, although still disconcerting, are getting done. 8 minutes worth this time. We also added an extra ladder, so we are at 4.

C&P left 1
C&P right 1
Pull Up 1
C&P left 2
C&P right 2
Pull Up 2
C&P left 3
C&P right 3
Pull Up 3
The pullups have gone from 5 to the Rx number simply because I am doing strict to the chest pull ups not the beat-n-cheat kind.

Rest 1-2 min repeat another 3x for a total of 4 ladders.

50 swings with 20 seconds rest between sets for a total of 8 minutes.

Thursday I decided to take as rest day, I had to be at coaching early and since I know on Friday I will be home early with plenty of time before my 6pm coaching gig it made sense to take Thursday off and use Friday as my variety day.

chest_musclesVariety this time is a bench day for me but I think this time I will work a light (225lb) bench into the following WOD:

For time:

  • 20 Bench chest extension (70lb KB)
  • 30 bench press (205lb)
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 squats
  • 20 bench press (255lb)
  • 50 squats
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 30 bench press (205lb)
  • 20 Bench chest extension (70lb KB)

Some people may say that the laying chest extension is actually a lat exercise and to a degree they are correct, the lats and pecs are involved with the movement which qualifies it for Crossfit almost perfectly.

Biggest Loser. Bitter Taste Of Unnecessary Victory.

It’s great to see people lose weight. It’s great to see the success, the happiness and the emotional roller coaster. But it is sad to know millions of people let themselves get that way in the first place. If you don’t think it can happen to you, you need to check yourself. If you realize it could happen to you and you are working to make sure it doesn’t, then you are the real hero. It’s all well and good to see these people telling stories about how they can be there for their families, how they will be able to play with their kids now or how they will be there for their spouse. What about the last few years? Where was that commitment? Are we all really so closed minded that we can’t see the issues as they are arising? What person gets to 200, 300 or 400 lbs and doesn’t think about their family? What person can’t fit into their car but doesn’t think that might be a problem? It’s great that less than 1000th of 1% of the people are getting help. How about the next million who are right now stuffing their faces with crap, sitting in front of the TV doing nothing while their kids are out shoplifting because Daddy didn’t play with me or Mommy didn’t love me enough. It’s going to take more than a TV show, it is going to take a societal change in the way we treat our responsibilities.

Your life isn’t about you. It’s about how you respond to your responsibilities to others. It may be your spouse, your kids or your friends but there are people who depend on you, maybe not financially, but they need you there. Think about them next time you finish off half a pizza in one sitting, or a dozen cookies, or half a box of donuts. You may like to watch the Biggest Loser, you may even be motivated by it and that is great. But ask yourself for a second, how did I get to the point where I need a TV show to tell me that my child needs my attention. Why is Gillian or Bob telling me that I need to be healthy so my spouse isn’t left a widow at age 38? Once you figure that out, pass it on.

If I am ever in doubt as to why I work out the way I do or eat the crazy things I do and constantly search for the latest information on health and fitness, I just look at these pictures. It’s just that simple.

Elyse crawl NWedding

R5D33/34 RKC ROP Week 2 – What Variety Means To Me

Day 1 - Time To Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

Monday is light day and until I get to the 5 ladder stage, each day will continue to look and feel about the same. Other than the fact that on Mondays I have to do snatches which still scare the crap out of me with a 45lb KB, Mondays are pretty easy. I mistakenly thought Tuesday was a day off, forgetting that Friday and Sunday are rest days and so I had to quickly find something to do. Luckily I have a couple of workouts in reserve all the time so I can jump to something if I need to. The following was within my digital reach when it was time to go:

The double under sandwich for time:

  • 50 double-unders
  • 21 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
  • 21 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 21 Abmat sit-ups
  • 15 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
  • 15 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 15 Abmat sit-ups
  • 9 wall ball shots (20-pound ball, 10-foot-high target)
  • 9 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 9 Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 double-unders

Since it is not warm enough to go outside and do wall ball and I don’t have a skip rope:

The burpee sandwich for time (yes, sandwiches used to make me burpy!):

  • 25 burpees
  • 21 strict press (95-pound barbell)
  • 21 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 21 Abmat sit-ups
  • 15 strict press (95-pound barbell)
  • 15 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 15 Abmat sit-ups
  • 9 strict press (95-pound barbell)
  • 9 hang cleans (95-pound barbell)
  • 9 Abmat sit-ups
  • 25 burpees

Total time 18  minutes and if I had a bucket I might have thrown up into it. Doing the reverse system is not for the faint of heart I can tell you and since I was raised on pyramid sets rising to a low rep 70-90% max this was brutal. I was actually quite impressed that I managed to do all 50 burpees since they are something of a challenge for me even with my weight loss, even with my increased flexibility they are still not an easy thing for me to do. In fact, let me just say that if you ever want to feel like your weight loss (if that is what you are going for) isn’t working, try a few burpees, you will feel like  you are on Day 1 at the Biggest Loser Campus.

Next time I need to grab something quick I am thinking of this. However, since I do so much KB work, I may sub the KB swings for hang cleans or strict presses:

For time:

  • 20 burpees
  • 30 overhead kettlebell swings (53 pounds)
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 50 squats
  • 60 double-unders
  • 50 squats
  • 40 Abmat sit-ups
  • 30 overhead kettlebell swings (53 pounds)
  • 20 burpees

Reasons To Love Bill Gates and A Note To My Athletes

Bill Gates speech: 11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school

Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

So why post this here? Well, I have been working on a piece to give to my new gym girls to try and pass along certain messages. It started with what was a quote from Jeff Tucker, a crossfit coach, that I assume he posted for the benefit of his “athletes” as follows:

“I am not your best friend. I am not your drinking buddy. I am not the guy or gal who is there to make you feel warm and fuzzy. I am not a part of your sewing circle or gossip clan. I am not the one you call in the middle of the night and ask financial advice from or borrow money from. I am not the one you ask, do these Lu Lu’s make my butt look big. I am certainly not the one you ask why all my reps did not count…. So just who am I? I am your coach. The one you hired to kick your butt, the one you asked to be honest with you in how to train; the one whom you listen too and take facts from as you grow within the realms of CrossFit. I will make you jump, crawl, pull, push, throw, stuff while spitting profanities or praise, which ever apply. Come here and train – that is why you are here. Train and then go eat some good food, not that crap that makes your results stifle hard work. I will stay late for you, I will come early for you, I will make sure you get the advice you need on movements or food. We are allowed to disagree with each other – and if you can’t handle that then you have choices, we all do. And yes, if you call me in the middle of the night and need help with a get out of jail card, I will do that too. So get in the gym, and GET SOME!”

Since it was too much for my kids, I worked it a bit and came up with something that gives me goosebumps every time I read it…

We are about to start an amazing journey together, a journey that will bind us together in a common goal. It is a journey whose destination is a place you may not even be able to see at this moment. Each step of the way, we will build on your success, celebrate your victories and challenge your shortfalls. As we go you will learn to face your fears, to break down your ideas of what is possible for you and set goals that will inspire and amaze you. I am committed to showing you the endless possibilities you have as an athlete and a person, and I promise to protect you, to assist you and encourage you in every step of that journey. If you fall, I will catch you, but if you hesitate to take a step, I will watch and wait. Your responsibility in this journey is not to me, it is to yourself. You have to take responsibility for who you are and what you do. Your work rate, your skills and ultimately your success will depend on your commitment to yourself as a competitive athlete. To compete is to test yourself against others, but the real test of character comes in the challenges you set for yourself.

But let me be clear…

I am not your best friend. I am not your school buddy. I am not the guy who is there to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. I am not part of your Facebook friends, Twitter followers or gossip clan. I am not the one you call for advice about school or the one you borrow money from. I am not the one you ask if your new Lululemon outfit looks cute and I am certainly not the one you ask why all your pushups didn’t count. Who am I? I am your coach, the one who is accountable for kicking your butt, the one who will make you work harder than you ever though you could. I am the one who you will hate, love and come to understand as the key to your success. I will be the one to cheer loudest at your success and be the first to console you during your challenges.
So train as hard as you possibly can.
I am committed to you, I want success for you, and I want you to work your heart out for it. I will stay late for you, I will come in early for you, I will give you the advice and guidance you need. We will fight with each other, we will laugh with each other, we will go through wars together and emerge victorious from the trenches.

So do us both a favour and get in that gym and work like your life depends on it!

R5D32 – RKC Heavy Day (Followed by a day of CPR re-cert)

Still looks the same as medium and light day but that will change. Plus I did one of the 3 ladders with a 70lbKB

C&P left 1
C&P right 1
Pull Up 5
C&P left 2
C&P right 2
Pull Up 5
C&P left 3
C&P right 3
Pull Up 5
Rest 1-2 min repeat another 2x for a total of 3 ladders.
I skipped the pull ups. I did a few sets after the fact, the stairs were killing my timing.

Second part was a little easier, the dice roll came up 6 so for 6 minutes I did this:

45lb KB Swings, 50 reps
Rest 10 seconds, repeat. 50 swings are still the killer for me. My mind starts to wander and I start to second guess myself. Hopefully I will get over that, it’s annoying.

Sunday was CPR recertification day at Evolution. It was fun, but long and not very much activity.