Friday Check In

We are officially 12 days into the challenge. One more weekend to go! How are you holding up. Hopefully things are starting to slip into auto pilot. You start to appreciate the taste of fresh fruits and vegetables without the need for the heavy dose of salt and sugar you had in the past. You are realizing that you don't have to have bread, rice, or pasta at each meal. You can drink your coffee black. You can say no to dessert. We hope this whole experience is one of personal growth as well as intellectual growth. We learn a ton every challenge and appreciate you helping us grow.

You are probably still getting a bunch of flack from friends and family who just can't get over the idea that you can exist without grains, dairy, and legumes. Below is a table that shows the relative nutrient density of various foods. It is tough to see, but was taken from a great post by Robb Wolf, where he addresses peoples concerns about their kids missing something by eating a Paleo diet. If you have the time, I encourage you to give it a read. The point of the whole thing is that you can get all of the nutrients your body needs from lean meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, without the potential gut irritation and huge insulin response triggered by grains, dairy, and legumes. Our point all along has been to try something different and see how you look, feel, and perform. If those three things are getting better, stick with it, if not do your own thing. We have had a lot of success with this way of eating and hope you have as well.

Stay the course and focus on how you feel, look, and perform for this next weekend. We will post on Monday what to do as we come off of the challenge. We have already had a few people ask to keep the challenge going and we encourage all to stick with it. We will continue to post info as we come across it, but the challenge will officially end on Monday.

On a side note we had several challenge members who could not deal with eggs in the morning and wanted to know what to do for breakfast. We had a hard time answering this question, so we decided to cut eggs out this past week. We went with making more of our protein for dinner and just ate that for breakfast. It was awesome and saved a bunch of time in the morning rush. We had roast beef with clementines and a banana, grilled chicken with spinach and almonds, grilled chicken sausage with an apple and pecans, and my Moms favorite, shrimp with sweet potato rounds and almonds. We may never eat eggs again.

We also had a great side this week of butternut squash fries that a former challenge member Kim(who has been very quiet this time around) told us about. We have pictures and will post the recipe in a blog this weekend.

Let us know how the challenge is going and have a great weekend. We will be back to wrap things up on Monday.

Exercise, You had to know it was coming!

Although we spend a lot of time talking about nutrition, we are, at our core, trainers. We are now 10 days into our challenge and hope that patterns are starting to form with your eating that are pointing you in a new and more healthy direction. It is now time to add in our second aspect of total fitness and that is exercise. We have a series of movement posts sprinkled in throughout the blog and we provide a workout that you can do with minimal equipment and in a fairly short amount of time. The workout can be found on the top left of the blog and is posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Our approach to exercise is first to get people to move correctly. We first teach people how to engage the muscles of their core, in order to stabilize their spine during movement. Once you can do that we teach you how to perform, whole body, movements that give you the most bang for your buck. We do not perform isolation movements in our workouts. Every exercise we do involves multiple muscle groups moving multiple joints through an entire range of motion, in an effort to mimic how the body should move in normal everyday life. We will continue to sprinkle in movement posts as we near our 15 day mark on this challenge. The workouts we post on the blog are made up of exercises we have explained in previous posts and we encourage you to give them a try.

Clean Eating for Skinny People

Many people find their way to a Paleo way of eating in an effort to lose weight and it is great for that purpose. Almost instantly you will start to lose weight and that helps to motivate you to continue with the process. What about people who don't need to lose weight? They are naturally lean whether they eat grass fed beef and spinach or pizza and Ding Dongs. Before you cuss them out for all of your struggles with weight, consider the real possibility that it is often even harder for these individuals to stick with a clean way of eating and the metabolic derangement is often the same as that of an obese person. It has been said that people who gain weight easily are the lucky ones because they get an outward sign that things are not right. Consider the below list of medical issues that have been linked to hyperinsulinemia - a state in which blood insulin levels are constantly elevated from excessive consumption of high glycemic foods.

There is mounting evidence linking hyperinsulinemia to:
• Hypercholseterolemia
• Hypertriglyceridemia
• Obesity
• Hypertension
• Immune disorders
• Thrombosis and platelet aggregation
• Cellular proliferation
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Mood dysfunction
• Brain dysfunction
• Arthritis
• Hyper inflammatory states
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Stroke
• Osteoporosis
• Metastasis
• Angiogenesis
• Cancer


Notice obesity is only one of those issues. There is much debate as to whether hyperinsulinemia is causative or correlative to these conditions, but in our limited experience we have seen first hand as people change their way of eating there is a positive shift in all health markers whether they are skinny or overweight.

We found our way to Paleo eating in search of performance gains in our workouts and have stuck with it because of the results and the health benefits. Dawn is naturally lean, and can handle quite a bit of bad food without gaining a pound. I gain weight when I look at food. The interesting thing is that when we go super clean like on one of these challenges we notice a couple of things. The first thing I do is lose weight and that constant bloated feeling.  Dawn does not have the weight to lose, but she immediately notices that her breathing, and sinus problems clear up and she is able to maintain her energy levels late in the afternoon. All of this is anecdotal, but we have seen it in enough people to believe that the health benefits of this way of eating are just as important for the skinny people as they are for people wanting to lose weight.

With that said it can be scary for a naturally lean person to radically change the way they eat and suddenly drop another 15 pounds. This happened to Dawn when we first started to eat a Paleo diet two years ago. She went from a lean 130lbs to an emaciated 115lbs.

Dawn Aug 08

It took a while for Dawn to feel comfortable eating the amount of food she needed to eat to support her energy output in training.  This is the big mistake that many naturally lean people make when trying a new nutrition plan.   By upping her calories with post workout carbs(sweet potatoes) and increasing her protein and fat intake, she is now a solid 138lbs. What is even more impressive are her performance markers in her workouts.

Dawn Today

Dawn can now manipulate her food intake based on her performance goals. If she is training hard for a crossfit competition where strength is important, she increases her food intake, making sure to keep the quality high. If she wants to lean out she cuts out the post workout carbs and cleans up the meat selections, choosing only the leanest cuts of meat.

The point of this whole post is that this challenge is just as important for the skinny people as it is for ones wanting to lose weight. If approached with the understanding that you will lose weight at first and that your body will naturally reset to some sort of baseline, you will be prepared for the process. Most of us have been eating poorly for a number of years. It is going to take more than 15 days to completely change that. Once you have reset what normal is for your body, you can then manipulate your nutrition, with quality food, to produce any results you may want.

Monday Check In

Alright fess up, how did the weekend go? Did you stay on the wagon? Was it easy/hard? We hope that at this point you are starting to change the way you look at food. We look at meals and automatically think where is my protein, fat, and carbs in that order and hope you are starting to do the same. This check in will be a quick one, but we are working on some good posts for this week so check back in with the blog frequently.

We want to leave you with one fast food safe house we used this past weekend, Chipotle in a pinch, or anytime really. Chipotle offers naturally raised meat and vegetables and their food contains no added flavorings or preservatives. Here is what you need to do to make the meal challenge acceptable, you must ask for the salad, hold the rice and beans and go straight for the meat of your choice. We often go double or even triple meat, add the salsa of your choice and top with guacamole and you have a complete meal. We enjoyed a couple of salads Friday night.

And finally, I may be disowned for this next one, but I was searching for pictures for another blog post when I came across something that blew me away. My Mom(paul), was originally a sceptic of our crazy way of eating. When we came home from our first seminar, in the fall of 08, full of excitement ready to change the world, she shot down every attempt we made to give nutrition advice. Having just had a Dr.'s appointment and given a clean bill of health she did not see the need to "eat that way." Eventually we were able to guilt her into jumping in on our first challenge and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Sorry Mom, had to do it. The top picture is my mom in August of 08 shortly before the clean bill of health from the Dr. The bottom picture was taken shortly after completing our first challenge. Amazing results and she has been able to maintain those results for the most part since. Hope we are still on speaking terms Mom, I am proud of you! Love you.

Let us know how your weekend went and keep checking in for posts throughout the week.

Friday Check In!

Alright you made it through the week, almost.   How are you holding up?  Have you been clean all week?  Did you slip up? How are you feeling? Let us know what is going on.  We want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly.  It just might help someone else as we head into the weekend.

The weekends pose unique challenges for most of us.  Your normal routine gets thrown off.  You are faced with any number of social functions and staying clean becomes a real challenge.  It is these tough times where we have seen the greatest growth in past challenge participants.  So much of our eating is based on emotion and ritual rather than what is best for our health.  We eat the chicken wings because we are supposed to at happy hour.  We have that dessert or pizza on Friday because we deserve it after such a hard week.  You have to have cake it's (insert name here) birthday.  Past participants have found that it is even more rewarding and empowering to stick to your guns and the commitment that you made with yourself, during these tough times.  Prepare yourself for the challenges of this weekend and you will be fine.

A couple of hints as you are getting the hang of everything.

• If you are a soda person and not having soda is killing you, try seltzer or mineral water with a twist of lemon/lime or strawberries.  It may provide that little fizz you need to forget about the sodas.
• Spinach is our staple carbohydrate and provides the base of most of our meals.  It is possible, however, to get so sick of spinach that you can't look at it.  We have experimented with kale greens and love the change in texture and taste.   We heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and throw in cleaned and dryed kale with some salt and pepper or some of the no salt seasoning and cook it down until it is tender and almost crispy.  Swiss chard, and collard greens work well this way also.

• Another carb we like to work into the rotation is squash.  We use all kinds of squash.  We showed you the picture of the spaghetti squash earlier this week.  We eat that and acorn squash frequently in the winter months.  To prepare both we cut them in half, scrape out the seeds and brush with olive oil.  Place them cut side down on a baking sheet and bake them at 450 degrees for 40-60 minutes depending on the size of the squash.  The top of the squash should be tender to the touch.  For the spaghetti squash use a fork to scrape out the good stuff inside and treat it just like noodles.  For the acorn squash we have found that a knife works better for trimming off the skin.  We than add butter and mash the squash. Tonight we had our favorite squash.  A combination of yellow squash and zucchini squash.  We slice them into circles, place on a cooking sheet, brush them with olive oil mixed with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and broil them until they are a crispy brown.  It's a bit labor intensive but worth the effort.  Even our kids eat these!

Hang tough this weekend and we will check back in with you on Monday.

Let go of the fat

One concern people have when they begin this challenge is that they are hungry. If you are hungry, then you are not eating enough. We say this often, but it needs to be repeated, this is not a caloric restricted way of eating. We want you to identify quality foods and eat as many of them as you need to to get full. You should finish breakfast and be full until lunch time rolls around. Now many people find themselves hungry after lunch and before dinner time. This is a perfect time for a snack, but the snack should include a protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Just having almonds is not going to do it for most people. Then you have dinner and a snack before bedtime. There is nothing wrong with eating a clean snack before bedtime! Some people may find that they don't need a snack before going to bed which is also fine. Long story short, you must eat until you are full! Eat a protein with lots of veggies, a little bit of fruit, and some fat. Just having a piece of turkey for lunch or coffee and one hard boiled egg for breakfast is not going to cut it. One common thread among my clients who are eating clean, busting their butts during workouts, and not losing weight is that they DON'T EAT ENOUGH!!! When you don't eat enough, your body goes into survival mode and holds on to fat. It will not let it go! It might be helpful to keep a journal of what you are eating so you can make sure you stay on track. As soon as my clients dial it in and track their eating, the weight comes right off.

Here is a sample of what a great day of clean eating would look like for one of my female clients:
Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled up with 2 pieces of bacon, spinach fried up with some olive oil, and a clementine
Lunch: one whole grilled chicken breast on top of lettuce with tomato, raw broccoli, a few carrots, and some almonds or olive oil and vinegar dressing.
Snack: half of a hamburger or turkey burger and a lara bar
Dinner:About 3 ounces of grilled flank stank on top of lettuce with as much grilled zucchini and squash as you want with some guacamole thrown somewhere in the mix
Snack(depending on the person): a piece of deli meat and a few grapes with a few teaspoons of sunbutter on top or a few nuts

The point of the 15 day challenge is to change the way you view food. Remember food is not there to entertain us, it is there to nourish us. This does not mean you can't enjoy your favorite food or dessert once a week when the challenge is over. You need to have control over food, not the other way around. Sorry for the rant, but we want to be very clear on this. Our way of eating is based on finding quality foods and eating them until you are full.

Two days down, 13 to go!

Almond Meal Pancakes

Almond meal pancakes are a tasty break from eggs, but should be considered a treat and not eaten every day. The recipe is as follows:

In a bowl mix together the following

5 eggs

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup coconut meal or unsweetened coconut

1 cup of almond meal

1 tsp cinnamon

You can play with the recipe and add more or less of the ingredients listed. 5 eggs give you the protein hit you need and keep the pancakes from being too dry. This recipe will yeild 6-8 of the pancakes shown. They can be saved and eaten as a snack. They take care of your protein and fat requirement but you will need to add in a carb.

1st Monday Check In

The first day is just about in the books, how are you doing?  We stuck to our normal routines, but did have the almond meal pancakes for breakfast.  We wanted to get pictures so we could get the recipe up.  It will have it's own post.  We had leftover chicken fingers (done with almond meal as well) for lunch thrown on top of romaine lettuce and tomatoes with some nuts.  For dinner, we went with the old fashion cookout hamburgers, hot dogs and sausage, with a side of spaghetti squash topped with homemade tomato sauce and some spinach cooked in olive oil.  We will not add fat to this one because the meat is so high in fat.  We do eat more red meat than some people may be comfortable consuming.  We try to get meat of the highest quality such as grass fed beef and free range, pastured, poultry but sometimes our budget just will not allow it.  If you are concerned about consuming red meat or your main focus is fat reduction, you should substitute leaner cuts of meat for your meals.  Below are ours and our kids meals.


Didn't intend such a phallic image but do chuckle every time I see it.



We have to warn you of some potential withdrawal symptoms that are frequently associated with switching from a diet that provides constant processed carbs for energy to a diet where you burn more fat for fuel.  Your body has become addicted to the carbs and you will most likely face some very strong cravings as well as other symptoms commonly associated with coming off any drug.  Headaches, fatigue, dry mouth, & dizzy spells.  These are quite common and can last for up to 10 days.  Most people who completed the challenge with us in the past notice these symptoms clear in the first few days.  Stick with it and you will see your energy soar and your mood improve.  The goal of the challenge is to reset your body so that you switch from feeling like crap when you eat good, to feeling like crap when you eat bad and that helps the motivation for continued clean eating.

One question that came up already was about being hungry.  This is not a calorie restricted way of eating.  We are not concerned with how many calories you are consuming, unless you are not consuming enough, and this happens quite frequently!  Every meal should have 3 to 6 ounces of a protein(think the size of your hand without the fingers), some fat(1/2 an avocado, 12 almonds, 1/4 cup of olive oil) and as many vegetables as you need to eat to feel full.  Fruits should be treated like a desert and consumed sparingly.  This is usually enough to hold people over on three meals a day.  However if you are more active and train at a high intensity you may need to add in some snacks.  One of our favorite night time snacks is a couple slices of deli turkey and grapes covered with Sun Butter.  Larabars are another all natural, on the go option, but check the labels as some have peanut butter and you would still need some protein.




Hope your first day went well, leave us a comment and let us know how things went and what you ate to get through the day, as well as any question you may have.  We will post the almond meal pancake recipe and share how we prepare different types of squash and greens in the coming days.

Are you ready?

The challenge starts tomorrow, are you all set?  Planning and preparation are going to be the key.  Know what you are going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner the day before, so you are not starving and searching for clean food.   Breakfast can be tough.  Eggs get old after a while, and many of us struggle with finding time to brush our teeth in the morning much less, whip up an omelet.  So make sure you set things up the night before.  Cook the bacon or sausage ahead of time, scramble the eggs and leave them in the fridge.  We will share a recipe for almond meal pancakes that we have been perfecting since the last challenge, they make for a nice change of pace for breakfast.  When in doubt keep it simple and remember you just want to make sure you have a carbohydrate(some form of fruit or vegetable), a protein(lean meat, or tofu), and a fat(seeds, nuts, or oil) with each meal.  Eat when you are hungry, until you are full and don't eat when you are not hungry.  Sounds simple right?  The little things that have become habits for you are going to be the hardest these first few days, the cream and sugar in your coffee, the afternoon diet coke, the cheese in your eggs.  Be conscious of everything you are eating and stay strong.

A couple of reminders as we head into the first day.

• We will have official "check in's"  where we send out an e-mail on Monday's and Friday's.  Otherwise we will not send out e-mails but will continue to put up posts.  Make sure you check the blog frequently for updates.
• If you have any questions leave them in the comment section and we will do our best to answer them answer them as quickly as possible.
• Use the comment section to let others know how things are going.  The first few days for some are going to be unpleasant(more on this tomorrow) Stay the course and see the 15 days through it will be worth it on many levels. 
• My mom pointed out to me that we did not say that you could not have alcohol.  We share a passion for good cheap wine.  This was an oversight on our part, however, we did say that you cannot have grains and most alcoholic beverages are grain based and are therefore included in our list of can't haves.  The exception being wine, and 100% pure agave tequila.  So enjoy!

A day of clean eating

We want to take you on a day in our life of clean eating. One of the tricks we use especially for very strict challenges like the one we are about to begin is to be boring. We find a few things we like that fit in with what is allowed and stick with it. We eat close to the same thing for breakfast everyday, most of us do this anyway but it is usually a bagel or some sort of breakfast bar and we make very large dinners and pack the leftovers for lunch the next day.
We went to a nutrition seminar given by Robb Wolf( a Paleo guru and gym owner) a couple of years ago and he said something that really stuck with us. "Your food is not there to entertain you, it is there to nourish you." This next 15 days is not so much about finding clean foods that taste great and that you like. It is more about cleansing your body and finding out if you possibly have some issues, allergy or otherwise with certain types of foods that have been identified as causing problems. It is also about breaking the emotional control that food has over us. That whole idea of "I have to have.....insert crappy food here...." We, in some cases, are addicted to sugary and salt tastes of these processed foods. The first part of this challenge is going to be tough enough(more on that later) without having to spend hours coming up with meals. What follows is what we eat in a typical day followed by links to posts from the two previous challenges, where we share another days meals and a weeks worth of Clean eating.

What you are trying to do is eat a protein, carbohydrate, and fat with each meal. This allows your insulin levels to remain steady throughout the day and helps you to maintain your energy level. A typical day for us looks like this.

Breakfast
Eggs(protein)
ham(protein)
spinach(carb)
almonds(fat)
Paul uses 4 eggs with 3 slices of ham while I eat 2 eggs with 2 slices of ham.

Lunch(usually consists of whatever is leftover from dinner)
Chicken breast(protein)
asparagus(carbohydrate)
clementine(carbohydrate)
guacamole(fat)(We mash up the avocado and a little bit of salt and pepper)

Snack before dinner a few slices of turkey(protein) almonds(fat) grapes(carbohydrate)

Dinner
Meatballs(made with ground beef, almond meal(fat), eggs, fresh garlic, onion, oregano, basil, and a little bit of salt and pepper)(protein)
Spaghetti squash(carbohydrate)
lettuce and tomatoes(carbohydrate)
olive oil and vinegar dressing(fat)

If we are hungry a snack before bed
A few slices of deli turkey(protein)
Some grapes (carbohydrate)
Sun Butter (Fat)

The take home message is to make sure you start with a protein and include a fat source and a carbohydrate source for every meal. We bet most of the snacks you currently eat are all carbohydrates.

Here are the posts from previous challenges
A day of eating paleo
Putting it together

Shopping for the challenge

Hopefully at some point this weekend you will head out to the grocery store to stock the fridge with clean foods. You can find everything you need to complete this challenge at whatever grocery store you currently shop. There are no secret foods or special supplements that you have to buy. With that being said, our focus is on food quality and some stores offer much more variety of higher quality foods. We are currently in the Annapolis area and have convenient access to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and a new store called Fresh Market, as well as numerous local farmers markets but they can be very expensive. We want you to get the best quality foods that fit within your budget and that you will eat. Food quality can be looked at as on a continuum of the yucky processed food stuff(think McDonald's dollar menu and snack machines) on the left and the good, real, foods(grass fed, organic, fresh, local) on the right. Figure out where you are on the continuum now and our goal is to move you to the right over the next 15 days. At the very least we want you completing this challenge at the middle of the continuum.

Again, this can get geeked out more than necessary. Lets take meat as an example. On the left of the continuum we have chicken nuggets from Mickey D's on the right we have a grass fed beef, free range chicken and wild salmon etc. Right smack dab in the middle lie deli meats. They are not the best things for you to eat but are far better than chicken nuggets. Vegetables are the same. The best would be Wendy's way of growing your own and picking them right before dinner, then local farmers markets, then super market produce dept, then frozen, then canned, then vegi chips. Do you see where we are going with this? Shoot for the best you can, but at the very least, land in the middle. We went as far as to buy a cow last year.

We will occasionally link back to posts from previous challenges to help clarify things and because the info is just too good to only be read once(slightly biased opinion there). Here is the shopping list post from a previous challenge. Below we are also cutting and pasting a portion of a previous post that will help you on your trip to the grocery store. There are also a couple of tricks to keep in mind as you head to the store. The first is to be a more informed consumer and read food labels. You would be surprised how many foods have ingredients in them you cannot pronounce. The second is to shop only the perimeter of the store. That is where all of the good stuff is(with the obvious exception of the bakery). There is nothing, with the possible exception of a few spices and seasonings, in the aisles that will work on this challenge.

Below is a list of foods that are encouraged or discouraged in the Paleo diet. This list was obtained from the book Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain (Wiley and Sons, New York 2002 pages 104-112). We have deleted the portions of Cordains list the we differ on or that are just impossible to find. for the whole list you can check our archive on the right for the post labeled Food quality & what to eat. One of the things that we differ from Dr. Cordain on is his meat restriction. Again if you think about the continuum his prescription of very lean meats is firmly on the good side, but we have had great success and better compliance when we allow some processed deli meat, bacon, and sausage. Use this list as a shopping guide next time you head to the store.

Encouraged Foods
Lean Meats
Lean beef (trimmed of visible fat)
Flank steak
Top sirloin steak
Extra-lean hamburger (no more than 7% fat, extra fat drained off)
London broil
Chuck steak
Lean veal
Any other lean cut
Lean pork (trimmed of visible fat)
Pork loin
Pork chops
Any other lean cut

Lean poultry (white meat, skin removed)
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Game hen breasts

Eggs (go for the enriched omega 3 variety)
Chicken
Duck
Goose

Other meats
Rabbit meat (any cut)
Goat meat (any cut)

Organ meats
Beef, lamb, pork, and chicken livers
Beef, pork, and lamb tongues
Beef, lamb, and pork marrow
Beef, lamb, and pork “sweetbreads”

Game meat

Fish

Shellfish


Fruit
Apple
Apricot
Avocado
Banana
Blackberries
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Cantaloupe
Carambola
Cassava melon
Cherimoya
Cherries
Cranberries
Figs
Gooseberries
Grapefruit
Grapes
Guava
Honeydew melon
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Lychee
Mango
Nectarine
Orange
Papaya
Passion fruit
Peaches
Pears
Persimmon
Pineapple
Plums
Pomegranate
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Star fruit
Strawberries
Tangerine
Watermelon
All other fruits

Vegetables
Artichoke
Asparagus
Beet greens
Beets
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collards
Cucumber
Dandelion
Eggplant
Endive
Green onions
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Mustard greens
Onions
Parsley
Parsnip
Peppers (all kinds)
Pumpkin
Purslane
Radish
Rutabaga
Seaweed
Spinach
Squash (all kinds)
Swiss chard
Tomatillos
Tomato (actually a fruit, but most people think of it as a vegetable)
Turnip greens
Turnips
Watercress Encouraged Foods

Nuts and Seeds
Almonds
Brazil nuts
Cashews
Chestnuts
Hazelnuts (filberts)
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Pine nuts
Pistachios (unsalted)
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts

Foods To Be Eaten In Moderation
Oils
Olive, avocado, walnut, flaxseed, and canola oils (use in moderation—4 tablespoons or less a day when weight loss is of primary importance)


Beverages
Coffee
Tea


Paleo Sweets
Dried fruits (no more than 2 ounces a day, particularly if you are trying to lose weight)
Nuts mixed with dried and fresh fruits (no more than 4 ounces of nuts and 2 ounces of dried fruit a day, particularly if you are trying to lose weight)

Foods You Should Avoid

Dairy Foods
All processed foods made with any dairy products
Butter
Cheese
Cream
Dairy spreads
Frozen yogurt
Ice cream
Ice milk
Low-fat milk
Nonfat dairy creamer
Powdered milk
Skim milk
Whole milk
Yogurt

Cereal Grains
Barley (barley soup, barley bread, and all processed foods made with barley)
Corn (corn on the cob, corn tortillas, corn chips, corn starch, corn syrup)
Millet
Oats (steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and all processed foods made with oats)
Rice (brown rice, white rice, top ramen, rice noodles, bas mati rice, rice cakes, Rice flour (all processed foods made with rice)
Rye (rye bread, rye crackers, and all processed foods made with rye)
Sorghum
Wheat (bread, rolls, muffins, noodles, crackers, cookies, cake, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, wheat tortillas, pizza, pita bread, flat bread, and all processed foods made with wheat or wheat flour)
Wild rice

Cereal Grainlike Seeds
Amaranth
Buckwheat
Quinoa

Legumes
All beans (adzuki beans, black beans, broad beans, fava beans, field beans, garbanzo beans, horse beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, pinto beans, red beans, string beans, white beans)
Black-eyed peas
Chickpeas
Lentils
Peas
Miso
Peanut butter
Peanuts
Snowpeas
Sugar snap peas
Soybeans and all soybean products, including tofu


Starchy Vegetables
Starchy tubers
Cassava root
Manioc
Potatoes and all potato products (French fries, potato chips, etc.)
Tapioca pudding

Salt-Containing Foods
Almost all commercial salad dressings and condiments
Cheese
Frankfurters
Ketchup
Barbecue Sauce
Pickled foods
Pork rinds
Salami
Salted nuts
Salted spices
Smoked, dried, and salted fish and meat

Soft Drinks and Fruit Juices
All sugary soft drinks
Canned, bottled, and freshly squeezed fruit drinks (which lack the fiber of fresh fruit and have a much higher glycemic index)

Sweets
Candy
Honey
Sugars

There you have it. You should be able to fill your cart with that list. A day of eating clean will be the next post.

Getting things in order.

As we prepare for the start of the 15 days there are a couple of disclaimers we want to throw out there. First and foremost we wish that we were intelligent enough to come up with this idea on our own, but we didn't. We originally got the idea from Melissa Byers last summer when she started a 30 day Paleo challenge. We frequent her blog The Whole 9 often for hints and advice. Since Melissa's first challenge there have been thousands of people who have completed the thirty days and have been amazed by the results. You can google 30 day paleo challenge and check out any number of ones going on throughout the country.

The Paleo Diet was developed by Dr. Loren Cordain and he explains the diet this way, "The Paleo Diet is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors - combinations of lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. By eating the foods that we are genetically adapted to eat, followers of the Paleo Diet are naturally lean, have acne-free skin, improved athletic performance, and are experiencing relief from numerous metabolic-related and autoimmune diseases." His argument is that most of the western diseases that are plaguing our society began with the onset of grains and processed foods.

We base our challenge loosely on the Paleo diet. We have found, in the past, people tend to geek out on whether a food is "Paleo" or not and lose site of the big picture. The big picture is that we are trying to change our eating habits and eat natural foods that will nourish our bodies.

We have also found that many people know what they should be eating but struggle with the behavioral aspects of sticking with any kind of diet. To say, "I am going to eat clean for the rest of my life starting on Monday April 19th." is to set yourself up for failure and it discourages you from trying again. But the idea of saying I am going to eat clean for the next 15 days and see how my body and mind react to that is a real possibility.

So before we start throwing shopping lists and meal plans at you we want to give some of what Melissa Byers calls tough love. You can do this. You may choose not to but you can do it. That distinction is a very important one. We spend our lives rushing from one thing to the next rarely pausing to even think about what we shove into our mouths as fuel to keep us going. If it were our car making a funny sound or our house with a leak in the roof we would be on the phone immediately to get it fixed. When it comes to our own bodies, however, we just keep rolling along because everything else is more important. It is going to take time and effort on your part. We will be here to help, but the only way to make any lasting change is for you to change. There is a reason weight watchers has been around for 40 years. It works as long as you are chained to them but if the behavior has not changed as soon as you go off, the weight comes back on. We hear I need someone to give me everything laid out in a plan. No you don't. You want that, and guess what, that will never work long term. It is time for you to take control of this crucial aspect of your life.

Feeling like a million bucks at 33!

The response to the 15 day challenge has been awesome. I am very excited that so many people are open to a positive change. Paul usually writes the blog posts because my posts tend to be quite cheesy and come across as overly energetic, but I feel compelled to bring on some more cheese. I have to talk about how clean eating has affected my life as a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend(the list is endless) in so many ways. Where to start? My morning starts at 5:15 and doesn't end until I hit the sack at 10pm. I rarely have even a moment of down time with two kids and personal training part time, but I couldn't be happier. I feel better than I have in my entire life. I just turned 33 today and feel like a million bucks! Clean eating has helped me both mentally and physically and I will never turn back. I eat meat, veggies(tons), nuts, seeds, and a little bit of fruit. I am also a big fan of sweet potatoes post workout as well as the occasional protein shake. I used to suffer from asthma and chronic sinus infections. Not any more! How can that be? I don't eat grains or dairy sans the occasional cheat meal that I enjoy with Paul and the kids. I never thought in a million years that I would be able to give up bread, oatmeal, white potatoes, rice, etc. I don't miss them at all. Migraines used to plague me a better part of my life and now they only occur after a cheat meal. I had no idea I was allergic to foods that are supposedly healthy. I often wonder how many chronic problems I could have avoided had I known then what I know now. My energy levels are through the roof and I never thought I would be pushing my own body weight over my head(135lbs). If the kids want to run around from dusk till Dawn, I am right with them. I feel alive at 33. Many of my good friends have taken the challenge and have had amazing results. My friend Kim refers to clean eating as her anti depressant because she feels so good. I couldn't agree more. This may not be easy in the beginning, but stay the course and amazing things will happen. We will have posts up tomorrow and Friday to help you get set for the challenge.

Spring 2010 Clean Eating 15 Day Challenge

It is time lady's and gentleman for us to polish off the last of the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, enjoy your last pizza, or pancake breakfast. Finish off the last of the ice cream in the freezer and the bread in your bread box. We are getting ready to start our 15 day Clean Eating Challenge. We have done two 30 day challenges in the past and are trying something new with a shorter version this time. We will start the challenge next Monday the 19th and run it through May 3rd.

We have added some new members to our ranks so we are going to start from the beginning and explain what we mean by clean eating and why you would want to subject yourself to this for 15 days. Below is the why, what, and how of the process. If, after reading that, you want to join us, leave a comment letting us know you are in and stay tuned. The next few days you will get all the info you need to complete the challenge.

Why would I want to participate in this?
You want to lose weight, you have no energy, you have autoimmune issues(crohn's, celiac, diabetes, arthritis, psoriasis, etc. the list is long), you want to look good naked, you want more self discipline and self confidence, your ready for a change, you like a challenge, etc. The obvious improvements will be in your health, with weight loss, more energy, better mental clarity, better skin complexion, disease prevention etc. But the less obvious benefits include the confidence grown from gaining control of the addiction that many of us have to processed food and sugar. An addiction that can be just as strong as one to alcohol or drugs and just as hard to break.The reasons are many, but what we have found through doing this challenge ourselves and from the many people who have completed it, is that it will improve your knowledge about food and your relationship with it. It will change your life. 

Many of us have issues with certain types of food and we do not even know it. The goal of this challenge is to spend 15 days eating nothing but naturally occuring REAL food and allow your body time to cleanse itself and recover from the inflamation and irritation caused by our current eating practices. There are many benefits to participation, but lets be real, bathing suit and wedding season is just around the corner, what more motivation do you need?

What does clean eating mean?
It's really very simple, but not easy. Eating clean means you eat nothing but meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, and oils (like coconut, or olive) That's it! The following is a list of what you cannot eat.

• Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, cheese (hard and soft), yogurt (even Greek) and milk(including cream in your coffee).
• Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn, oatmeal, and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains.
• Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. (No peanut butter)
• Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Truvia, Stevia, etc.
• Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, processed bars (like Zone bars), dairy-free creamers, etc

That"s crazy! why no pasta, rice, bread, Dairy, or sugar?

Two reasons: Allergies and Hormones

It is estimated that 75% of the population has some sort of lactose(dairy) intolerance, 48% are allergic to either Lectins(beans) or Gluten(breads & pasta) or both, and 35% are allergic to Fructose or Sugar. Most of us have been eating these foods for much of our lives and have grown accustomed to being bloated, inflamed,  and foggeyheaded.  We use coffee, energy drinks, and sugar to deal with the energy swings that result.  It takes time for your body to "reset."  We can then add back in these foods one at a time and see if you have any negative reactions.

This is a complicated process that we are trying to make very simple, but here it goes.  The hormone that we are trying to keep in check is insulin.  Pasta, rice, bread, dairy, and sugar are all types of processed carbohydrates that cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and a large insulin response.  Insulin helps clear all that blood sugar out by storing it as fat.  The constant eating of processed carbohydrates means insulin is constantly in the blood stream and you are constantly storing fat.  Over time your body stops producing insulin which leads to diabetes.

How am I going to do this?
It's simple, make the decision right now that you are in. Click on the comment section and tell the world that you are committing to 15 days of clean eating. We will do the same and we will be here to help you through the process. We have a dedicated group of veterans who have been through 30 days of this twice before and we will all be here to help you out. We will post shopping lists, menus, meal plans and motivation in the next few days and as we progress through the challenge. The people who have had the most success with the challenge are the ones who actively participate in the process through the comments. It is not a requirement, but it helps. We will have two check ins each week and regular posts throughout the challenge. We will help hold you accountable for your commitment.

As we have said many times before this will not be easy, but very few things in life worth anything are easy. Make the commitment now to join us in the challenge. Leave us a comment and let us know you are on board.

The Handstand

Next up in our movement series is the handstand. The handstand is one of those functional body weight movements that most of us gave up on shortly after our fourth grade gymnastics unit in elementary school physical education. Just like the pull-up, we are bringing it out of retirement. The ability to support your body weight in an inverted position requires great upper body and shoulder strength as well as trunk stability and whole body coordination. Just like the pull-ups the handstand will take quite a bit of practice. We have been working it into our warm-ups for the past year and are very happy with the results. The following is a progression that will have you standing on your hands in no time.

The first skill to work on in your warm-ups is what we call the 1/2 hand stand kick up. You lunge forward place both hands on the ground, extend your arms fully and kick your legs up, just off of the ground. Only kick your legs up as high as you are comfortable. This simple move shown in the video below, will help you to develop the shoulder strength necessary to progress to the full kick up. A good starting point is to add 10 1/2 kick ups into your warm-up.




The full kick up is the same as the 1/2. Just kick a little farther up, be sure to extend through your shoulders and squeeze your belly. The biggest mistake most people make is relaxing their core, allowing their back to fall into a huge hyper extension. Tighten the core to help straighten the back out. As demonstrated below.


Once you have that down it just takes some practice and letting go of that fear that you are going to flip over and your handstands will come easily.

Another option is the headstand

Banner Week?

So much for a banner week. We had big plans on getting up a bunch of posts. Today is the last day of spring break and we are wondering where the week went. We are so much more productive when we are so busy we don't know whether we are coming or going. We did a little of this and a little of that but most of all we did nothing this past week and it was awesome. We slept late, hung out in our jammies, finished a bunch of tedious little things that have been lingering and played, played, played. We need these weeks every now and then.