I just completed the 21 Day Sugar Detox put together by Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites. When I set out to do this at the beginning of the year, I got a lot of puzzled looks, questions of my sanity, and even someone who told me I couldn’t do it. No fake sugar and not much natural sugar…DONE! I decided to do it because for me, sticking to a definite plan is something I need in order to stay on track. Following Paleo and the occasional cheating gets me in trouble, because when I cheat, I really cheat, and then cheat some more and then go on a downward spiral with my diet and then feel like crap. I needed a reset, a way to start over and cleanse myself. I really needed those cravings to stop and this detox just did that! How did I do it? Great question, I have lots of answers!

First, I made sure that everyone knew I was doing it loud and clear! Why? So people could hopefully help me through it, keep me accountable, and hopefully not tempt me with bad things. I did not set out to do it to lose weight, but after 21 days lost around 5-7 pounds and had almost everyone comment on how much I leaned out…and I FELT GREAT. If that’s not positive reinforcement, I don’t know what is!!!

I made sure I was prepared. I cooked about 4 different meats and veggies on Sundays and mixed them up during the week. I had 4 pans going on the stove, one or two crockpots going, and never had to worry the rest of the week what I was going to eat, plus I had variety. If I had plans with friends, I either ate dinner at home before meeting up or checked out the menu ahead of time and picked out what I could eat. Was it hard, yes, was it worth it, definitely! I even chose an omelet during happy hour, that’s dedication!

I also cleaned out my pantry and fridge. I got rid of EVERYTHING non-compliant with the detox…and donated it all to a local food pantry. I knew I had to do that, there was there was NO way I could possibly be tempted at home. Work, I stocked my drawer/fridge with healthy snacks. Almonds, hard boiled eggs, nitrate and sugar free turkey, and carrots and guacamole were my go-to foods when I had a craving. I found out if you are having a craving you need to acknowledge it, eat something good, and move on. If you don’t acknowledge the craving, it will literally eat at you until you break.

Now, I don’t really want anything artificial, it kinda makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it. I weighed in at a CrossFit competition this weekend and was the lowest weight I’ve been in several years. I’m sleeping better, look better, and feel better. If that isn’t enough proof for you, I don’t know what is. Whether you are doing a detox, a paleo challenge, or just trying to eat clean, follow some of these tips so you can be successful!

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I met Jeremy at one of our CrossFit Friday Night Workout of the Day. (I was watching, by the way- not participating). I’d seen Jeremy before in the gym but had not had the chance to meet him one to one. I’d been impressed by his passion for the workouts and for his positive spirit. Jeremy wasn’t your typical CrossFitter- when he started doing CrossFit with us he tipped the scale at around 325 lbs. A year later, Jeremy now weighs 246 lbs. How did he lose nearly 80 lbs? Jeremy adopted a Paleo diet template.

When I sat down last week to talk to Jeremy, he told me that while he started working out with us in January of 2010, he didn’t really start to drop weight rapidly and consistently until he incorporated a Paleo template to his diet in July of 2010. That’s when he really started getting results, dropping from306 bs at the time to 258 in just 12 weeks.

To get started, he joined the city wide Cerner Fitness Challenge with some people from his work at the Kansas City Transportation Group. In the first week after switching to a Paleo template, Jeremy lost 12 pounds! And then he lost another 10 pounds the second week! After that, he says he’s lost a steady 2.5-3.5 pounds per week. “While the scale may slow down from time to time, the inches just keep peeling off, so I know I’m still losing body fat and keeping the muscle which is what I care about,” Jeremy told me. He knows the scale alone can be deceiving as it doesn’t always reflect what’s going on with your body composition. The proof is how much your body changes through inches lost. Jeremy knows- he’s already given away about 3 trash bags full of too big clothing!

JUST CHECK OUT JEREMY’S AWESOME RESULTS!

Jeremy also said that since he’s begun this program he’s had the following benefits:

• he sleeps better and more soundly
• his blood pressure is better
• he has better mental clarity and memory
• improved athletic performance and recovery times

When I asked Jeremy what advice he might have for others who want to change their lives through exercise and adopting a Paleo lifestyle, he offered the following tips:

1. “When you start eating this way, don’t think of what you ‘can’t’ have but what you ‘can’ have. Focus on what you can eat, then stock up on it and get creative about your meals. It doesn’t take long to develop a preference for the ‘can’ list and a distaste for those foods you have left behind.”

2. “Set a specific time goal. When I started, I did a 90 day challenge. That means I gave up eating anything that wasn’t wholesome – no crap for 90 days. I had a specific release date to be finished too- that following week I would allow myself anything I wanted to eat and to skip workouts if I wanted. Knowing I had a specific time date helped me stay on track.”

3. “Set smaller goals and track everything. It’s important to have big goals, but all the smaller goals along the way need to be celebrated too. I tracked everything so I could see the smaller successes adding up.”

4. “Go public. Tell your family and friends what you are doing and why. Ask for their help and support. Cultivate those positive people and relationships that help you move forward to your goals. Your gym community is a rich source of support.”

5. “Help others. One of the best things about CrossFit on 18th is that EVERYONE, not just the staff, is helpful to each other. When I first signed up for the trial membership, I was a bit nervous like anyone new coming into that situation. But the very first day, Brian came up to me and said, ‘just do about half of what you think you can do today,’ which was so helpful because it allowed me to relax and have fun. Everyone is there to see that everyone else is going to give their best- no one’s going to let anyone else quit. I think that’s part of what makes this community so special.”

Jeremy with CrossFit compatriots Matt Scanlon,

at a recent CrossFit Charity Throwdown.

Jeremy wanted me to include his contact information should anyone need some extra help getting started on their own Paleo template. If you would like to talk to Jeremy, please email me, tina@pilates1901.com and I will be happy to put you in touch with him.

Thank you Jeremy for sharing your amazing success! You are an inspiration to all of us!

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When talking with people switching to Paleo, Zone, Primal, or clean eating, the biggest complaint is missing their beloved bread and pastas. Although there is no replacement for those carbs, here’s a quick list of simple swaps that I use almost daily for those dishes or ingredients that you are missing. Some things just don’t have a substitute or if they do you will be greatly disappointed. I have yet to find a replacement for pizza that compares to the real thing. However, I know I am making better decisions by skipping out on pizza all together.  Check out this article from Mark’s Daily Apple for other great substitution ideas and recipes.

• Soy Sauce – Coconut Aminos
• Butter/Vegetable Oil – Coconut Oil or Ghee
• Noodles – Spaghetti Squash or julienne sliced zucchini, carrots, or other squash
• Lasagna Noodles – Thinly sliced zucchini, eggplant, or butternut squash
• Rice – Riced cauliflower
• Mashed potatoes – mashed cauliflower, turnips, sweet potatoes
• Pizza – Thinned out chicken breast, topped with natural pizza sauce and your favorite veggies
• Tortillas – Large lettuce leaves, soaked jicima slices
• Chips and Dip – Jicima slices, carrot chips, cucumber slices and guacamole
• Sandwiches – Sub large portabella caps for buns
• Fries – Baked sweet potato wedges
• Milk – Coconut milk or almond milk
• Milkshakes – Coconut milk, ice cubes, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract

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As CrossFit continues to grow we find more and more disciplines being incorporated into programs across the country.  It’s also the consensus of several of our trainers that we will see strongman inplements incorporated into this years CrossFit Games.

Strongman training is also for women and not just huge guys.  Of course at the elite level some of the guys can be huge.  For example last years Worlds Strongest Man Champion Brian Shaw is 6’8″ and 460 pounds.  But like the CrossFit games champions Rich Froning Jr. and Annie Thorisdottir he is the extreme of the human race.  What we hope to bring to CrossFit on 18th is another modality of training that will help us realize the goal of increased work capicity over broad time and modal domains.

CrossFit has been known to put a spin on strongman with much longer WODs than traditional strongman competitions.  A typical strongman competition will have a single apparatus that the competitor would have to do maximum reps with a 60-75 second time limit.  A CrossFit strongman WOD would use mutiple apparatus and take 5 to 10 or more minutes to complete.

Hybrid athletics is a CrossFit gym in xxx that incorporated strongman work into their workouts.  Here is a video of one of their athletes Katie Burke discussing how strongman helped her CrossFit performance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is another great video from Rob Orlando (CrossFit strongman legend) discussing why we need to lift heavy and not always with the same exercises and reps progressions.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our first Strongman class will be held this Saturday January 28 at 2pm.  This class will be taught by Dave Craft and other members of KC Strongman. Dave has an incredible resume as a National Champion in Raw powerlifting and he holds national records with the North American Strongman Association.

Dave will be teaching teaching technique in the farmers walk, Yoke, log and keg lifts. We will follow this instruction with a CrossFit Strongman WOD using these apparatus.

This workshop is free to all unlimited and the cost to all introductory members is only one class. Space is very limited so sign up early. Even though this is called Strongman women are very welcome (because most of you can kick our asses anyway)

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Unlike any of the CrossFit benchmarks this particular workout seems to totally trash the very best and the new people alike.   While all CrossFit WOD’s are written to challenge the fittest on earth this one continues to be the one we all love and hate at the same time.   I guess what I mean is no matter how fit you ever get this one will continue to be hard.  Regardless we all keep coming back looking to do better each time.

If you’re new to CrossFit or a casual reader wondering if you want to try us out I hope I haven’t scared you.  What I hope is that you will read this post, watch the video and be totally psyched up for the challenge.

So to wrap this up here is a video I shot of a few of our people doing this workout.  Forgive me if the camera work is poor as my entire body was still shaking after just finishing the workout myself.

So congratulations to everyone who had personal bests this week and we will hit this one again in a few months.

Scott

Click here to view the embedded video.

ps.  I choose Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein because Fran is a horrible monster.

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Last Saturday’s assessment day had an amazing turnout of 40 people.  We can’t wait to do this again every 2nd Saturday and track your progress.

The following are excerpts from the Futurex.com website explaining your results.  Our system is 1-2% accurate of underwater weight where calipers are up to 10 or more percent off usually on the low side.  So even though some of you had what you thought were high readings they are the most accurate reading you have ever had unless you have been weighed in a tank.

The number that seemed to get the most attention was Excess Body Fat.  CrossFit continues to be one of the best forms of exercise to aid in the reduction of bodyfat.  However no bad diet can be exercised away that’s why we want to invite you to Paleo Eating For CrossFit Performance Saturday January 21 at 1pm.  Click on this link to sign up.

So here goes from Futrex.com:

There is a common misconception that all body fat is bad. In truth, some body fat is needed to protect the person’s health as well as supplying a reservoir of energy for performing various body functions. To better understand this, the total weight of body fat can be subdivided into three separate categories:

Weight of “Essential Body Fat” - This amount of body fat is needed to protect the body from infectious diseases and to protect the internal organs from bruising damage.
Weight of “Reserve Body Fat” – The amount of additional body fat that does not cause any medical risks, and provides a reservoir of “fuel” for use by the body.
Weight of “Excess Body Fat” – The amount of body fat that is over and above the combination of Essential Body Fat plus Reserve Body Fat. Excess Body Fat causes the risk of serious health problems such as strokes, heart attacks, diabetes and certain forms of cancer.

The following further discusses the three parts of the total body fat.

ESSENTIAL BODY FAT

During the development of the FUTREX Body Composition Analyzers, approximately thirty medical “gurus,” that specialized in the study of body fat on human health, were contacted. These experts were asked what is the minimum percent body fat that is necessary to avoid health problems. Although there wasn’t a total consensus, the majority agreed that the minimum healthy body fat is six percent for males, and nine percent for females of normal body weight. These levels are needed to avoid bacterial and viral diseases as well as provide the body with the needed insulation for temperature extremes and to protect internal organs from bruising. This Essential Body Fat can be considered composed of two different components.
The fat layer that is directly under the skin – - – called subcutaneous fat. This fat layer provides thermal protection and bruise protection.

The body fat that is contained in the muscle – - – called intramuscular fat. This is similar to the thin layers of fat you see within meat when you buy a well trimmed steak from a butcher. This fat provides an emergency “fuel” source for the total body and “cushions” (i.e., protects) the vital organs from shock forces. The minimum percent body fat is higher for females than for males because of reproduction needs as well as other body functions.

Admittedly, world class athletes, in order to achieve maximum speed and agility, have body fat below the recommended levels for “Essential Body Fat.” For example, world class runners have body fat typically between three and four percent. Similar low levels are typical of professional football wide receivers. Another example, world class gymnasts typically have body fat below three percent. In fact, no member of the United States Olympic Gymnastics Team had body fat above three percent. Yet, it is widely known that such low percent body fat can cause severe health problems later in life.

RESERVE BODY FAT

In the last twenty years, the scientific literature contains many studies to determine what level of body fat is allowable before introducing health risks. Many of these studies were performed at the Cooper Institute
(Dallas, Texas), and by the National Institutes of Health’s Framingham Studies.
The scientific literature shows that the maximum amount of allowable Reserve Body Fat is a function of a person’s height, age, and gender. For example, a six foot tall male who is 35 years old can have Reserve Body Fat anywhere between 0 lbs. and 23 lbs. However, for a male 55 years old and six feet tall the allowable Reserve Body Fat can be anywhere between zero and 30 pounds without increasing his health risks.

EXCESS BODY FAT

Any amount of body fat over and above the combination of Essential and Reserve Body Fat introduces serious health risks. Moreover, NIH research shows that these risks increased as the amount of Excess Body Fat increases

From the accompanying figure, two facts are obvious:

It is much better to be underweight than it is to be overweight (there is much lower “mortality ratio”; i.e., the statistical death rate is lower).
As you become more overweight, the curve tends to run away. In other words the risk of death is greatly increased

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One of the things I’ve heard about sticking to the Paleo lifestyle is that it is expensive. I can’t argue that a Totinos pizza and bottle of Coke is cheaper than an organic chicken breast and salad, but the long term health costs associated with eating frozen pizza and diet sodas will outweigh spending a few dollars more right now. But you will find that by eating healthier and cutting out Starbucks, ice cream, and the like you will have more money than you think you to buy real food.

Each one of us has a budget for food and to start out you may have to make a little sacrifice in other areas but long term, you will feel better, look better, and have less medical costs.

Whole 9 makes  these recommendations when budgeting:

1. Pay more for meat, seafood, and eggs so you are getting high quality animal protein sources, which is far more important than organic produce. Try to get grass-fed, pastured and organic meat as often as possible. If you have a few extra bucks this meat, buy more meat and freeze it for a week that you may not have as much money. If you really can’t afford organic meat, follow these recommendations: Beef – choose the leanest cuts available and trim and drain all fat before eating. Chicken – only get pieces without skin. Pork – avoid all pork products. Commercially raised pork is poorly treated and filled with hormones and fillers.  For fish, choose wild caught but do your research and find out which seafood options are sustainable. Frozen is almost always just as good as fresh and is usually less expensive.
2. Move onto the produce section next. Focus on what is fresh during the particular season. Produce that is in season is more nutritious and less expensive because they don’t have to be shipped as far. Go for organic with the “dirty dozen” produce that tends to gave the highest pesticide levels commercially. Check out Whole 9′s guide to produce here. Then you can choose conventional produce for all the rest that is not included in the dirty dozen. If you are really pressed for cash? Skip the organic and load up on dark, green leafy items. These tend to be more nutritionally dense so you get more bang for your buck. Frozen vegetables are also a good option if you need to lower the grocery bill a bit more.
3. Fats are the area where you can go cheaper compared to protein sources and produce. Although nuts and seeds are a nice little snack, they tend to be more expensive and should be consumed in moderation to just garnishing meals anyway, so avoid the expensive nuts. Sometimes if you just need a handful, go to the bulk section. A bottle of pine nuts can cost up to $20 but a handful from the bulk section is around $3. Coconut milk (think cans with no additives) is very cheap as well as some other coconut sources. Tropical Traditions (see resource list for more information) always is running a sale on something coconut and you can buy in bulk to make it more affordable. Extra money left over? Buy the high bulk items like coconut oil, olive oil and such that will last you a month or two.

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The 2011 Games were amazing and the 2012 Games promises to be an even more exciting experience. Not only because the world level promises to be even more exciting but more important we at CrossFit on 18th are looking forward to large numbers participating in the open and having our first qualifier to the regionals.

The games for 2012 follow the same format as last year with the open competitions taking place at affiliate gyms around the world. The best from the open go to the regionals and the best from the regionals go to the finals.

In preparation for the open CrossFit on 18th will repeat the 6 events from the 2011 games starting Thursday January 12th.

Here is a recap of last years WOD’s and the day we will be running them:

January 12th

10 min AMRAP of:
30 Double-unders
15 Power snatch

January 19

15 min AMRAP of:
9 Deadlifts
12 Push-ups
15 Box jumps

January 26

5min AMRAP of:
Squat clean
Jerk

Febrary 2

10min AMRAP of:
60 Bar-facing burpees
30 Overhead squats
10 Muscle-ups

February 9

20min AMRAP of:
5 Power cleans
10 Toes to bar
15 Wallball

February 16

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First goals must be measurable.  Simply saying I want to “kill the WOD” and get super lean isn’t measurable or specific enough to drive serious results for the year.  At CrossFit on 18th our goal is for our members to have specific results that will make a huge and measurable difference in their lives.

CrossFit as a training modality is perfect to measure results because everything we do can be measured in either time, weight or rounds for time.  Recording each and every workout will give you a measurable record of your progress and success.  If you aren’t currently using beyond the whiteboard your missing a key component to your success.  Click here to learn more and ask for an invitation.

Starting this Saturday January 14th at noon we will be offering a free monthly assessments for all unlimited members.  An assessment is photo, circumference and most importantly bodyfat.  We recently purchased a near infrared unit from Futrex, INC.  This unit uses a single site 5 second test that gives us total body fat, essential body fat and excess body fat.  This unit is 1% accurate to underwater weight which is the gold standard to which everything else aspires.  WARNING: Measuring bodyfat with calipers is notoriously low so while this unit is far more accurate it might upset you with the real probably higher number.

So please go to click on the Mindbody scheduling section click on the workshop tab and sign up for this event.  If you cant make event on every 2nd Saturday we will be happy to do the test anytime for $20.

See you in the gym.  We are totally committed to helping you get into the best shape of your life.

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Most of us are concerned (maybe) about making good food choices over the holidays so here’s a good choice from Stephanie.

Make sure to mark your calendar for January 21 at 1pm for Stephanie’s Paleo nutrition workshop.  While a paleo diet is wonderful for weight and fat loss it’s actually an even better to optimize CrossFit and general athletic performance.

Here’s a little treat for the Holidays, a paleo-friendly bread pudding recipe, tried by a few of you at the gym already! You won’t even know that it is gluten or dairy free!!! Try it out on your family this holiday season!

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