Every year we make New Years Resolutions. Most of them have some sort of weight loss/fitness aspect to them. The key to reaching your goals is self discipline. Food is a very emotional topic. Some of us crave certain things when we are happy, sad, tired, etc. The food we then eat, affects us physically and psychologically. Physically, the macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) regulate our hormones which effects our appetite and how we feel. For example, we eat a candy bar, this spikes our blood sugar, making us very energetic. Then, insulin comes along to lower our blood sugar, now we are sluggish and hungry again. So we go for more sugar or carb loaded food. This causes a never ending cascade. Hate to say it, but that insulin response=fat storage. Without getting too nerdy, your muscles store carbs in the form of glycogen. The liver is able to store a little as well. Collectively, they can store around 2000 calories combined in glycogen. We use this glycogen in INTENSE exercise. Intense means something that is unsustainable for more than a few minutes. So guess what happens when you eat a bunch of carbs and your muscle and liver glycogen are topped off… You guessed it, right to your hips and butt.
Now how does this relate to paleo? Lets not call it that. How about a whole foods diet. Well, fat does not affect insulin, and Protein slows or stops insulin and stimulates its adversary, glucagon. This hormone mobilizes stored energy for use (good guy). Whole foods don’t have a ton of carbs added to them. Read the label of a box of cheerios and an egg. Not only is 1 cup of cheerios 120-150 calories, virtually all of them are from carbs. 1 large egg is 70 calories with about a 55/45 split of fat to protein (no carbs). So, 2 eggs, or a cup of cheerios? Which will make you feel more full? Case closed.
Eating this way will control your hormones, and allow you to be in charge of your cravings. Not only that, some of us have food allergies that we don’t even know about. The preservatives in processed food (MSG, xanthan gum, gluten) cause water retention, bloating, gas, fat storage, and probably contribute in some way to getting sick. So, we ask that for 30 days, you cut out grains, dairy, lugumes, sugar, and anything processed. Your Whole9 nutrition guide will provide you with the dos and don’ts. We also have more intense Whole30 specific guides at the gym. Its only 1 month and your body will thank you for it.
We are starting our Whole30 on January 2 (you can still eat whatever you want on January 1 to make up for whatever you put your body through on New Year’s Eve). If you have any questions about what is or is not ok on the Whole30 please ask us (commenting here is best so others can get read the thread and get answers too). We are here to help you! CrossFit Coronado will be having a Whole 30 potluck on Saturday January 12 after open gym (potluck starting at 11) to share recipes you’ve discovered and give each other some positive reinforcement (more details to be posted about that later). Eating out can be difficult on the Whole30 (but it can be done). The Whole9 and Whole30 guides have great resources so please use them.
A few guidelines that I know people will ask: honey, agave, maple syrup and all other “natural” sweeteners are NOT ALLOWED. Butter and all dairy are NOT ALLOWED. Clarified butter or ghee is ok. Bacon is ok but CHECK THE LABEL. Most bacon has added sugar. Be careful with sausage and other packaged meats. Check your seasonings. Believe it or not, the garlic salt we use almost every day has sugar in it (guess we’ll finding a new brand).
Some great resources include:
Your whole9 nutrition guide
www.marksdailyapple.com (not as strict but still a good site)
We hope that you will take this challenge and see how much you can benefit from the dietary changes. You’ve got 168 hours in a week and only a small fraction of those are spent with us in the gym. Find someone (one of your trainers counts) to hold you accountable for what you eat in the next 30 days. You owe it to yourself to start out 2013 as healthy as possible.
Heck yeah! And Kristan Davis Kaine and Dave Kaine are joining us!
The Coopers are in!
Me too!