We are doing Annother Paleo Challenge Shortly in mid-August. Here are some tips a and tid-bits from other dedicated CrossFitters.
1) The First Time is Never Your Best- you can read into that if you want but just like doing a WOD for the first time trying to dial in your Paleo eating will be a VERY bumpy ride. What I did was try and eat/stay Paleo prior to the beginning of the challenge so I could feel what it was going to be like both physically and mentally. I suffered but I was stronger. That way, once the ‘official’ challenge began I was ready for some of the initial bumps, etc. and could push through. If you don’t have this lead time/experience don’t worry you’ll just have to hold on harder/longer and you can!!
2) This is the Fight of Your Life- now this may seem extreme but believe me your body and mind will be resisting you while you do this and you are the toughest opponent you will ever face. Treat it like a pro-longed battle fought with every meal and impulse and celebrate your victories… let momentum be your co-pilot.
3) You will be an alien to yourself and others and that is OK!- You’ll smell food, prepare food that isn’t Paleo and it’s not for you and that is ok. Strange as it sounds I would take pictures of food I couldn’t/didn’t eat to somehow capture but not eat it. You will be at restaurants, etc. and there will be no Paleo options other than water. You’ll have to get creative and make your own menu. You will feel different/be different but that is ok… you are doing something amazing… stick to it! Same is true at home… everyone may be eating pizza, whatever… stick to your plan and have that chicken/salad and all things Paleo.
4) Head start- If you prepare chicken/eggs and other foods well ahead of time they become just as available to you when you are hungry instead eating cookies and other junk. Having healthy options immediately available will help steer you in the right direction.
5) Forget the scale and PRs- If you are looking for feedback with your weight and CrossFit performance, believe me, it is a long-time coming (at least not at first). Don’t set yourself up for failure. Just know you are in it for the long haul and get after it. Trust me on this… it sounds a whole lot better when someone says how good you look versus some numbers on a scale. You WILL feel like crap, your WODs may not go as well initially, but hold on and things will turn around. You just have to believe.
6) Team Up- Tell your family and friends what you are doing and why. They will support you 100%. You’ve got the support within CFNE, and within yourself, why not stregthen it outside the box?!? I’d also recommend finding a Paleo Partner, someone else in CFNE who is doing the challenge so you can call/email each other to help stay on the Paleo Path. Sure you can do it alone but together you can do it even better. Contact me if it helps.
7) Nuts and Fruit- I used almonds and pineapple as my ‘cheat/dessert’ during the first couple of weeks. If I felt hungry between meals I had a few almonds… when I wanted chocolate or something sweet I had some pineapple. You will be amazed how good these taste once your mind/body realizes they are the new ‘treat’. Later when I was REALLY dialing in my Paleo I cut these out but the great news is I no longer have the same ‘urges’ or ‘hunger’ as I had before.
8) Portions- Initially as long as I was eating Paleo I didn’t pay any attention to this but once I felt like I was making solid progress I made sure to keep portions to a reasonable size. Trust me, the plates at restaurants and accompanying food could feed you 3x over. Save money take the doggy bag and Paleo/portion victory.
9) Hold on- As I mentioned before your body will tell you that it is hungry, in fact it will think you are in survival mode and will retain fat, water, etc. You are in a FIGHT. Your mind will also work against you and convince you that you can cheat just a little… DON’T DO IT!!! Your mind/body will wait you out, longer than you even know, but you have a secret weapon and you’ll need it— SPIRIT. You just have to dig down deep and own this challenge show you who’s boss. It will fight back, it won’t move that dial on the scale… in fact it might even punch you in the emotional face and move the dial up… who cares… you shouldn’t be on the scale… save that for later. Just hang in there.
10) The Tipping Point- I can’t say when this will happen for you… everyone is different but believe me it is farther than you hope… I felt awful, headaches, etc., nothing seemed to be going right for weeks into the challenge and then… all of a sudden it happened… my SPIRIT overcame the body/mind that I had neglected. Instead of feeling hungry I didn’t want to eat as much, the temptation were still there but my urges weren’t, instead of feeling tired I had more energy, instead of the scale people told me what I was already feeling… things were turning around and I was heading in the right direction.
11) The Science of Wellness- This article in the NYTimes really inspired me and I highly recommend it. Basically, recent studies now show that the longer one stays at a heightened body weight or lacks fitness the harder it is to get back to your optimal state. Now this might not seem new to folks but what amazed me was that the sooner you can get back on track the more likely you were to succeed, let alone improve your wellness. Most people get to a stage where they let medicines do it for them but the reality for me was that any medicine would help in one way and would kill you in another… “I’ll lower your cholesterol but you’ll be more likely to have a heart attack… I’ll help you lose weight but you’ll be moody and may have kidney failure”… who the hell want’s that!!! I’ll do it the hard way but I’ll do it naturally and, believe it or not, I’ll be better for the journey and so will you! http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html
12) Steven Pressfield- I have always found the writing of Steven Pressfield and his team to be truly inspiring not because of the stories and narrative but because it somehow helps ignite and spark my intrinsic motivation. I first learned about Resistance from Steve’s book, The War of Art (which to me is THE classic catalyst for anyone on a personal mission). If it provides fuel to your inspirational fire all the better- http://www.stevenpressfield.com/page/2/.
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