30 day Paleo Challenge winners

Earlier Saturday afternoon I headed in to finally find out the 30 day Paleo Challenge that I completed at my local CrossFit box. There were over 30 people who took the challenge this year and our coach told us that it was a tight race for winning spots this year.

Seven paleo ‘competitors’ (4 women, and 3 men) made it to the announcing of the winners on Saturday. The coach took the first half hour and explained how he measured everyone’s successes and that he was impressed by everyone who took it upon themselves to do this 30 day challenge.

There were all sorts of prizes on the table for the winners and some door prizes to be drawn randomly.

I was starting to get a stomach ache and be a ball of nerves as he was stretching out the time, and not telling us who had placed yet. JEEZE.

Finally he started announcing the females placing starting with third and announced the inches she had lost, and the body fat percentage. It wasn’t me. I high fived her for getting third. Then, coach named off second place with her numbers – again, it wasn’t me. First place rolls around. He said my name. Then the inches I had lost, the pounds I had lost, and my body fat percentage change. I grinned but inside I was jumping up and down.

I GOT FIRST PLACE! It was a great feeling to put my mind to the Paleo challenge and come out with some great numbers along with some great prizes.

The numbers speak for themselves:

Paleo-Results

That above is how I did compared to the other women and men in the challenge. Their before numbers (like weight, for instance) was not included for privacy reasons, since I grabbed this off our very own CrossFit website. I don’t think many people would like their numbers published.

First place folks ended up getting some crazy prizes. I ended up with:  paleo-first-prize

  • Junk headband (popular amongst CrossFitters and they were at the Regionals last weekend)
  • $100 RMT massage with a girl who I’ve known at CrossFit for a few years
  • a CrossFit tee
  • $100 gift card to the local mall

Awesome hey? A few people at my CrossFit gym were asking how I did so well considering I’m already “so small”. I wasn’t kidding around when I told people my belly was the same size as my boob size from the start, that and the fact my diet consisted of a lot of candy, McDonalds and soda.

Everyone had to keep track of their food log which also had my sleep schedule, workouts for the 30 days, goals we wanted to achieve, the water intake at each meal, and the exact time I ate.paleo-book

It was pretty precise and I was so meticulous about carrying it around everywhere I went. Every. Where. I swear if I worked at toyotaparts.com toyota parts they’d love me for making such a detailed book of my entire month. It was nice seeing Coach C write a little bit on the back page for me:paleo-coach

Hard work pays off.

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Getting cold feet on healthy living

I’ll just jump right into it. I haven’t been eating well since coming off Paleo on May 7. To put it bluntly I have no self control and I’m back to the candy addictions and eating out. Have I not learned anything!? I am very disappointed in myself the past few weeks.

Last week I had one of the new McDonalds signature chicken wraps (the fiesta one) and I didn’t even like it!. I felt guilty eating it because I’ve been eating poorly all last week. Buying mini gummy bears at bulk barn and eating the entire bag.

I didn’t feel guilty about this meal though. My boss bought me one of my favorite McDonalds lunches. Plain cheeseburger, medium fries and a medium root beer.

I think that Paleo is a little too extreme for me, and I was feeling very apathetic. Little or no emotion. It was the strangest thing. I was definitely not myself, neither happy or sad. Just there. Let’s not talk about my toilet issues being on Paleo. My butt was not happy, let me just say that much.

However, I do want to change.

I don’t know why I’m writing this post, or what help (if any) I’m asking for. Maybe just confessing to you guys that anyone can slip up (ahem…for weeks on end). I just don’t understand why I can’t keep myself accountable for my own personal well being and overall health. I need to be accountable for my actions and have measurable goals.

I’ve already tried keeping a food log but as soon as I “cheated” (which is allowed, but not 15 days in a row!) I failed to write it down and just skipped writing every other meal there after, down.

Starting Sunday that just passed, I’ve jumped back on the healthy train and got my act together. I’ve started taking pictures of mostly everything I’ve been eating and publishing it on instagram again. So far so good.

Sunday night’s supper which I also brought to work for lunch the next day:

Monday night’s supper after a CrossFit wod:

Snacks are always the same with me. Dried unsweetened (scrumptious) mango and raw nuts with a few treats (mini M&Ms):

It’s amazing the difference you feel immediately after eating something good for you, than bad. TMI but I don’t toot as much when I eat well. Hey, it is what it is man. You come here, you get the real deal.

Perhaps seeing photos like this will keep myself motivated. It was inspiring to see me get healthy little abs on my stomach throughout paleo. I truly wanted to see what I was capable in the thirty days and I loved the results. I mean, who wouldn’t love 4.5″ gone off their waist in 30 days!? I’m still shocked that I was capable of doing that through Paleo and CrossFit/Climbing.

By the way, we still have no idea who won the Paleo 30 day Challenge at our local CrossFit box. It kept getting put off (long weekend in May, then the CrossFit Regionals) so now it’s happening this weekend. I’ll keep you posted.

Whewf. Glad I got that all off my chest.

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My Paleo eats (week 4)

paleo foods

Made a little image for the paleo challenge series. Hee hee. See what I ate during week 1 and two and three.

Overall I’m feeling great. I feel like my body hasn’t really changed in the last week and a half. Sort of staying where it’s at. My performance at CrossFit still feels the same. I don’t feel immediately stronger nor did the “magic” happen where I got all powerful. To be honest, I’m pretty weak in some cases at CrossFit. Front Squats and wall balls? My enemy. I do not and will always have a hard time upping my shoulder strength. I do love cleans though. I know this is probably jibber-jabber for those who do not understand the lingo.

My birthday is on Tuesday and I thought I’d have to go all day Paleo on my Birthday. But the coaches sent out an e-mail where we could get measured yesterday (no thanks – I’m not done the 30 days yet!!) or come in on Tuesday, or Wednesday. So – I’m taking a really late lunch and heading over on Tuesday to get my weigh-in and measurements taken. Then it’s PIG OUT TIME. I’m half serious. I have a list of things I’ve been dying to eat since I have not cheated on this challenge.

Believe it or not I’m not going for the sugar as soon as I come off. I want to have a ciabatta bun sandwich filled with chicken, lettuce and veg. For supper, we’re going to grab Smoke Poutinery! I hope I don’t vomit.

I do want to keep up the paleo lifestyle somewhat. Not as strict as I’ll be doing. I may end up posting my food on a daily basis, but not EVERYTHING I eat (because holy that’s time consuming as I take pictures with my Blackberry. E-mail them to myself. Download, then upload to instagram.)

Alright. Onto what I ate for the week…

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paleo-day-22

Sunday April 28
Breakfast: 2 pieces of bacon, 1 egg + 2 egg whites and a mango
Snack: N/A
Lunch: Leftovers: Homemade beef burgers with mustard, tomatoes and a sweet potato
Snack: Dried apricot, plantains, trail mix and coconut covered dates
Supper: Leftovers: Spaghetti squash with homemade tomato and beef sauce
Water intake for the day: 64 ounces

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Monday April 29

paleo-day-23
Breakfast: 1 egg + 3 egg white omelet with bell peppers and tomatoes
Snack:  plantains and 1 coconut covered date
Lunch: Leftovers: coconut covered chicken dipped in mustard
Snack: Chicken spinach salad with veg
Supper: Lemon pepper chicken stir fry
Water intake for the day: 80 ounces

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paleo-day-24

Tuesday April 30
Breakfast: 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 pieces of bacon
Snack: Orange pekoe tea with cranberry/blueberry crunch trail mix
Lunch: Leftovers: Lemon pepper chicken stir fry
Snack: 3 chopped strawberries
Supper: Chicken spinach salad with veg, cranberries and seeds
Water intake for the day: 56 ounces

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paleo-day-25

Wednesday May 1
Breakfast: 1 egg + 2 egg white omelet with bell peppers, 2 pieces of bacon, cucumber and tomatoes
Snack: dried unsweetened mango, 1 coconut covered date and a pomegranate white tea
Lunch: Leftovers: Lemon pepper chicken stir fry
Snack: trail mix
Supper: Spinach salad with chicken, cucumber, carrots, celery, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and tomatoes. Dressing: Balsamic vinaigrette with coconut oil, garlic and pepper.
Water intake for the day:  56 ounces

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paleo-day-26

Thursday May 2
Breakfast: 1 egg + 2 egg white omelet, cucumber, dried mango, trail mix and 2 pieces of bacon
Snack: N/A
Lunch: Spinach salad with chicken, cucumber, carrots, celery, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and tomatoes. Dressing: Balsamic vinaigrette with coconut oil, garlic and pepper.
Snack: N/A
Supper: Leftovers: Lemon pepper chicken stir fry with a sweet potato
Water intake for the day: 80 ounces

 

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paleo-day-27

Friday May 3
Breakfast: 1 egg + 2 egg white omelet, 2 pieces of bacon
Snack: Orange Pekoe tea with 4 pieces of unsweetened dried mango
Lunch: Spinach salad with chicken, cucumber, carrots, celery, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.
Snack: Handful of trail mix
Supper: Pork chop and sweet potato
Water intake for the day: 64 ounces

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paleo-day-28

Saturday May 4
Breakfast: His & Hers breakfast. Mine’s the one on the right, obviously. 2 pieces of bacon with 1 egg + 1 egg white omelet

Snack: N/A
Lunch: Chicken romaine salad with carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, pecans, bell peppers with homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Snack: 1 honey crisp apple, 4 pieces of unsweetened dried mango and trail mix (raw nuts)
Supper: Coconut covered chicken strips with spices
Water intake for the day:48 ounces

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