CFDV "SOS" Challenge-Weeks 3&4. Eat Real Food, Get Your Cavegirl On!!!

[Katie Connolly-Staffelbach]

Yesterday started Week 4 of my CrossFit Delaware Valley SOS Challenge.  My habit for weeks 3&4 is “Lose Body Fat/Inches” by eating 100g of carbs or less Daily.  I’m doing this by incorporating the “Eat Real Food” habit along with a Paleo-style diet.

 

“Eat Real Food” means single ingredient foods, or foods with 7 or less “real” ingredients.  No chemicals or additives. Seems easy, right?  The single ingredient things are easy: meats, fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.  It’s when you start looking at labels on pre-made foods things get a bit hairy.  It’s amazing how many seemingly single-ingredient foods have additives.  I’m spending more and more time in the outer aisles and organic section of the grocery store than I ever thought.

 

For the 100g of carbs or less, I’m sticking with a Paleo-style diet. My carbs come from veggies and an occasional serving of fruit after a workout. No grain, legumes, or dairy. That’s about it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  The upswing of giving up my bread and pasta is that I get to eat lots of good meats and healthy fats: BACON, grass fed beef, olive and coconut oils, avocados, and did I mention BACON!?!?!

 

So how do you get to eat a higher-protien and moderate amount of fat and still lose weight?  It has to do with insulin production and here I’m going to suggest looking into Robb Wolf’s  (www.robbwolf.com) “Paleo Solution” and Mark Sission’s (www.marksdailyapple.com) “Primal Blueprint.”  Those guys are the gurus of the Primal/Paleo movement and explain it way better than I ever could.  All I know is that I’m looking, feeling, and performing better.  This shit works.

 

I guess the “challenge” part of this habit is that I’m cooking a ton of food.  Working 12-16 hour shifts means I need to pack all of my food. That equates to a ton of time in the kitchen, but since I love to cook, I’m having a really good time creating new recipes.

 

For those who don’t want to dive into the Paleo thing right away, start with one meal a week. You already have eaten paleo for one meal or another, you already have the knowledge.  Breaftast of eggs and bacon? Paleo.  Lunch of spinach salad with salmon?  Paleo.  Dinner of steak, sweet potato, and broccoli?  Yep, you guessed it, PALEO!!!! 

 

Now go get your cavewoman on…