Congrats to our Paleo Challenge Winners…
5 long weeks of eating healthy, getting adequate sleep, taking the right supplements and working out…I mean who doesn’t love a Fight Gone bad, let alone 2 x in 5 weeks!
1st place winner was Alison Tipson
2nd place winner was Susan Logan
3rd place winner was Axel Gold
Everyone deserves a big pat on the back for a job well done …you all did amazing and it shows in and outside of the gym.
Combined we lost over 165 pounds and 95 inches!
So the challenge is over…NOW WHAT DO I DO? I have answered this many of times in the past 2 years to people at the gym. The way you are eating on the Paleo Challenge is the reason behind these changes in your body. So make the effort to eat better and make better choices…your body will thank you! If you can’t keep up the Paleo 100% then at least aim for the 80/20 rule. I would recommend that you reintroduce your cheats slowly over the course of the next few weeks. If you go ahead and blow it all in one sitting I guarantee you will feel like crap and how can you know which one of those cheats was the culprit? So make the transition slowly, if at all, maybe there were things you have learned to do without- like cream in your coffee, grains (let’s hope), sugar ….and will be able to keep them out for good? Whatever you do now, don’t go and blow it…keep up the good work, try and incorporate some of the things you learned into your diet and you will be sure to feel, perform and look better!
I found this post that I enjoyed and thought I would share with you!
Taken from CrossFit Adaptation in Virginia…. here is what she had to say to her members after their Paleo Challenge:
“My husband Ross is a really great husband by all accounts. I’ve often joked him that the only way I’m stepping out on him is when Brad Pitt pulls up on his yacht to invite me to see Mick Jagger play on Sir Richard Branson’s private island. In that case I’m outta here!
And so it goes with Paleo and all other diets. There’s always some reason good enough to break the rule, but most of the temptations that come at you everyday are your run of the mill boring nonsense. Not worth giving up all you’ve achieved over the last 6 weeks.
So your cheat plan falls into two categories going forward. Number one is the supermodel cheat- for those of you old enough to remember the classic Friends episode where Chandler gets stuck in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre its like that. If a remarkable moment in your life comes up all bets are off….I hearby give you permission to eat the cake at your best friend’s wedding, the toast buttered with icing your kids deliver you for breakfast in bed on mothers day, and all the cheese in France if you go there on vacation. Stick to paleo in these circumstances? Not on your life!
There is a guy on Facebook you can search he’s been strict paleo for over a year now. Impressive maybe, but seriously he’s not on my Christmas party list. Live your life.
The second part of the cheat plan is this: there may be some quality foods that you rationally choose to add back into your diet because they provide you immense health benefits with few of the drawbacks that have caused you grief. In my own case, I’m comfortable with a little steel cut oatmeal, quinoa, and cottage cheese. These are foods I can well tolerate, make me feel more healthy not less, and generally contribute to my overall feeling of awesomeness. Over the next few weeks add back in dairy, quality carbs, your morning cup of joe, whatever. Add them in one at a time, leaving at least 4 days in between and you will know which ones you respond to favorably and which you don’t . These are no longer “cheats” but rather part of the healthy eating plan you know works for you.
So what’s left? Only the lame-ass “I swear it didn’t mean a thing to me” attempt at abstention. And this is my big rant. Don’t give away your good health and your accomplishments over the last six weeks for anything but the best. Make your list of what comprises the first two types of cheats and have at it- but then don’t slide. No one should ever blow your paleo diet over the nutri-grain bar at the 7-11. Think people. Make your errors with bravado and enthusiasm. Any cheat that isn’t worth telling a good story about isn’t worth doing.”
So there you have it!
Cindy
Sean& Cindy took 2nd & 3rd place for their divisions.
