INTRODUCTION WHAT YOU LL EAT WHAT S DIFFERENT ABOUT PALEO?

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1 Paleo Challenge 3.0 November 28 through December 23, 2011 INTRODUCTION Migrating toward a Paleolithic/Ancestral diet ( with diet meaning the literal food and drink regularly consumed or provided ; habitual nourishment ) has boundless benefits to your health, well-being, longevity, performance, outward appearance and mood/outlook yes, mood and outlook. A Paleo Diet (plus a little CrossFit!) can be your Prozac, or counselor in times of need! Some of the benefits you may see from switching to this type of diet are: Increase in loads lifted (PR s on your lifts) Decreased total cholesterol Quicker WOD times Decreased blood sugar Increase in endurance (longer, faster) Decreased blood pressure Increase in energy (alertness during the day and Decreased resting heart rate energy during your WODs) due to a normalization of blood sugar levels Decrease in body fat Deeper sleep Increase in lean muscle mass Clearer skin The Paleo Diet is a lifestyle. With Paleo, your diet is based on food quality, specifically that which mimics the diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors and excludes foods that came from the advent of modern agriculture. These foods include dairy, all grains, beans, legumes, refined sugars, and additives/preservatives/chemicals commonly found in packaged and highly processed foods. WHAT YOU LL EAT meats, fish, seafood & eggs, poultry, pork non-starchy vegetables, seasonal encouraged fruit, seasonal encouraged, in moderation healthy fats nuts and seeds WHAT S DIFFERENT ABOUT PALEO? Well, here s what s on the No Fly List for the next 30 days and before you tune us out, there is good geeky-science to support the information below. This table represents the harmful, damaging elements (the bad guys) in our current diet, and which bad guys are associated with which foods. Page 1 of 6

2 GLUTEN/ GLIADIN PROTEASE INHIBITORS PHYTATES LECTINS SAPONINS PROLAMINES CASEIN INSULIN SPIKING BRAN GRAINS X X X X X X X CEREAL GRAINS X X X X X X X BEANS/LEGUMES X X X X X POTATOES X X X X X DAIRY X X X X X X SOY X X X X X TOMATOS-GREEN X X X SEED/PSEUDO GRAINS X X X X X X X 1. Grains are out. That includes wheat, rice, oats, millet, rye, spelt (yes, quinoa too!). Grains are not good for you; especially whole grains. Gluten a protein in wheat, barley, rye, millet, oats and spelt, among other grains, and is highly allergenic, addictive and all around bad for you. It And if gluten isn t present, Gliadin is and it s not that great either! Gluten and Gliadin increase gut permeability by weakening / compromising the tight junctions integrity of cells that line the gut. This lets the contents of your gut (including gluten and gliadin) leak into the bloodstream and body tissues. Your body sees these things as foreign invaders and launches an attack on them, creating antibodies to fight them. This cause inflammation and if your body mistakes other good proteins for these bad ones (because they can look alike to antibody), your body begins to attack itself leading to more inflammation and potentially autoimmune disease. Lectins are another protein found in grains, and they re nasty little buggers. They damage your gut by attaching to the intestinal lumen and then are transported intact through the gut lining (yep, another one!). Lectins are toxic, inflammatory and resistant to cooking and digestive enzymes. Similar to Gluten, WGA (wheat germ agglutinin one of the nastiest Lectins) is a protein that looks like other proteins in your body, good proteins, so the antibodies attach the WGA AND other healthy amino acids with a similar shape. Take them out of your diet and you re guaranteed to see/feel a difference. Phytates, also called anti-nutrients. They re found in highest quantities in whole grains (you know, heart healthy whole grains gimme a break!). Phytates bind tightly to metal ions (minerals) including zinc, calcium, copper, magnesium and iron, and impedes their absorption. Diets high in whole grains can lead to mineral deficiencies, decreased bone density and heart problems, just to name a few. Protease inhibitors are just another darn it in the book of whole grains. They turn off/slow down enzymes that break down proteins into amino acids. This allows large, indigested proteins to pass through the digestive system or into the blood stream, causing inflammation and risk of autoimmune disease. Page 2 of 6

3 Prolamines are storage proteins in the same family as gluten. They are hard to digest and remain intact in the gut, which increases inflammation in the gut and systemically as well.which can lead to autoimmune disease. Grains are also insulin spiking. They are a source of high carbohydrate which is converted to glucose in your blood. The levels of glucose in your bloodstream cause your pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream to clear out the circulating glucose. Two bummers here: 1) chronically high insulin levels lead to accelerated aging and inflammation and inflammation can lead to a whole slew of issues, including Type 2 Diabetes, and 2) when insulin is released, it signals your cells to store nutrients, including excess glucose. Your cells are in storage mode - they don t release nutrients or stored fat to be used for energy. In other words, the more you have high bouts of insulin, the harder it is to lose stored body fat. And finally, the bran you know, the heart healthy fiber from the outer covering of a whole grain? Boy, were we wrong just like with margarine and eggs! The bran is the outer layer of a grain kernel. Its insoluble, does not dissolve in water, and cannot be processed or digested by the host of cells or gut flora of the human digestive system. Bran causes mechanical damage to the intestinal walls/tract, triggers the release of mucus-like natural lubricant that shortens the transit time through the GI tract in order to limit damage. Sounds fun huh? So while we think the fiber is keeping us regular and keeping things moving they re moving alright moving to get out because they hurt going through the body! 2. No Dairy. Dairy is also not a part of the Paleo Diet. For one, domesticated milk producing animals didn t exist in the Paleolithic Era. Not many Wooly Mammoth s being milked! Here are some of the tangible issues with dairy; The most common and known issue with dairy is the lactose, or sugar, to which many people are intolerant. Like grains and some other carbohydrates, dairy causes an insulin spike spikes in insulin cause things to grow: yes, it helps muscles to grow, but it also grows fat cells, and tumor cells! Dairy also contains certain anti-nutrients, similar to phytates. The largest concentration of protein in milk is in the casein family. Like gluten, casein proteins are rich in the amino acid profile proline (see prolamines above) which are hard to digest. Finally, just like with babies and other mammals, mother s milk or milk from a lactating mammal causes the baby to grow. There are growth properties in dairy that cause human tissues to grow this includes muscle tissue, but also can include fat cells, tumor cells, and other things we don t want to grow. Although many people are somewhat tolerant of dairy, we re staying away from daily on the Challenge. 3. Legumes/Beans/Lentils/Soy ( fun foods that make you toot ) are out. Again, similar to grains, these foods are highly problematic and contain protease inhibitors, phytates (antinutrients) and gut irritating proteins (see above for descriptions of these). Page 3 of 6

4 These foods contain saponins, chemical defense mechanisms in plants that protect them from predators. They re found in seed grains and most Neolithic plants. Saponins protect plants from microbial and insect attacks by dissolving cell membranes. In mammals (you and me), saponins produce pores in the gut lining and increase intestinal permeability. Saponins destroy red blood cells. 4. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, peas and corn are also out. 5. Added sugar and artificial (or natural) sweeteners are out too. As a society we ve become addicted to sugar- sweet tastes. The more we consume, the more we want. So no sugar, honey, agave, Splenda, stevia, xylitol, fructose let s get used to tasting what food and natural beverages really taste like! 6. Vegetable oils that come from banned foods on this diet are also out: Soybean, peanut, corn, canola, safflower, grapeseed, and rapeseed oils, vegetable shortening and hydrogenated oils. Avoid them! 7. And finally, highly processed and packed foods/snacks are obviously out. Think M&M s Twinkies and protein / snack bars. If you look at the ingredients and the product contains anything that s not a whole food, it s out. Read up. Educate yourself. It may make a huge difference in your health and performance! THE RULES DOWN AND DIRTY: 1. APPLY 2. ANTE UP 3. SIGN UP FOR METRICS (optional) 4. REVIEW THE PALEO FOOD LIST AND THE NO FLY LIST 5. PREPARE! 6. BEGIN YOUR FOOD JOURNAL/SCORE SHEET MONDAY THE 28 TH. 7. SCORE YOURSELF FOR FOOD, CROSSFIT, BONUS POINTS, SLEEP 8. DO THE CHALLENGE WODS WEEK 1 9. SUBMIT YOUR JOURNAL TO THE BOX OR VIA FAX EVERY MONDAY FOR THE PREVIOUS WEEK 10. START A NEW JOURNAL EVERY MONDAY THE RULES IN DETAIL: 1. APPLY. Fill out the application form. Commit to the challenge. If we didn t believe in it, we wouldn t recommend, support, and live this lifestyle! 2. ANTE UP! Pay your $20.00 into the Kitty. (Half of the kitty will be paid out as the prize - once we have all the applications completed and paid, we'll announce the prize money - anticipating $500.00) Page 4 of 6

5 3. SIGN UP FOR BODY METRICS. This is optional. When you sign up for your classes, find a day that Sam or Nic are coaching that class, and write BF next to your name and highlight it. Metrics MUST BE DONE BEFORE YOU TRAIN! Your body tissues swell when you train and post WOD measurements are less accurate. Try to do this within the first 5-7 days of the challenge. 4. REVIEW THE LISTS OF PALEO FOODS (ENCOURAGED FOODS) AND OFF LIMITS FOODS (DISCOURAGED FOODS). 5. BEGIN YOUR FOOD JOURNAL /SCORE SHEET MONDAY. And it s more than just a FOOD JOURNAL, it s your journal to health! (cheesy, but true!). 6. SCORING: SUBMIT YOUR FOOD JOURNAL EVERY MONDAY. The game is this: a. FOOD: Keep your food logged every day. List every single thing you put in your mouth remember, no gum! You start with 5 points a day. Each time you veer from Paleo, you lose a point. Score yourself at the end of each day by listing the number of points you lost that day. Subtract that from 5 and that s your FOOD SCORE for the day. If you cheat more than 5 times, yes, YOU have to write 0. No, you can t go into the negative! Zero is Zero. b. CROSSFIT: You are eligible for 3 points a week for CrossFit. You get one point for each WOD you do, up to 3. If you CF 4x, great. But the point potential is 3. Write a 1 to represent if you trained or a 0 to represent if you didn t train. Training must be done at a CF Box, or if you re out of town on vacation, find the Travel WODS on our website under PROGRAMS ->CROSSFIT (bottom of the page). Do the Travel WOD, list your score and we will count that as training. c. RE-FUEL: You are eligible for a bonus point every time you eat whole food (protein or protein/carbohydrate) post WOD (paleo choice, of course). Examples: hunk of meat, tuna, egg, coconut water, fruit (cautiously). Shoot for at least 10 grams of protein and at least10-15 grams of carbohydrate, depending on the WOD. List you post WOD food for a bonus point. d. SLEEP: You get 1 point for each day you get 7 hours of sleep. You get 1.5 points for each day you get 8 or more hours of sleep. You can nap to accumulate hours. Believe it or not, it s critical to your success. Try to accumulate 8 hours in a 24 hour day. Document the number of hours you slept on your Score Sheet. e. WILD CARDS. Because we decided to do a Challenge during one of the most festive and party-laden times of the year, we re allowing two (2) Wild Cards. These are opportunities for you to indulge in holiday celebrations with friends and family. These are to be meals, not day-long wild parties! In order to keep the reins tight on this so we don t totally blow up all our hard work, these Wild Cards have a time limit. Your indulgences can last no more than 1.5 to 2 hours, the average long dinner. You will still need to document what you ate/drank, but you ll mark a W through the meal and you won t deduct Paleo points for it. It will be as if you didn t cheat as far as points are concerned. But plan wisely, you get two (2) Wild Cards in 2 7. DO THE CHALLENGES. Within the first 5 days, we need to test the following: Page 5 of 6

6 a. 800 M Run b. Max Rep BS at 65% c. Max hold on a strict plank and/or pushups These WODs are built into the programming for the week, but if you miss a day, they re easy to make up. 8. TURN IN YOUR SCORE SHEET EVERY MONDAY. It should be scored (by you) and fully completed. How much more can I highlight this to express its importance!? a. We will not accept incomplete journals. You will be disqualified if they re incomplete. Seriously, if the list of prizes isn t motivation enough to do this right, then use your health, longevity and the savings of co-pays at the ER and pharmacy! b. We will not accept late journals unless you have worked out an alternate time with Sam or Nic don t just tell any coach we re trying to tighten up the review of the journals so we can provide feedback to you for the subsequent weeks. c. If you absolutely cannot turn in your journal on time, you can fax it to: (the number is on the bottom of the journal). d. YOUR JOURNALS WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU BY WEDNESDAY of that same week with comments and suggestions. 9. COMMUNICATE. STAY STRICT! WIN PRIZES. BE BETTER. LOSE BODYFAT/GAIN MUSCLE MASS. Communicate. Find a partner in this competition and use them to help you stay strict. CrossFit is a community. This challenge is a community challenge. Sure, there s a winner, like with every WOD. But you are competing against yourself you are challenging yourself to be the best you can be in health and fitness. Use the blog! Post questions and comments there. This way, we re sharing our information and everyone s benefitting from the process. Our goal is to have an informative, educational, motivational blog post up on the RebelHealth page, every single day of the challenge. Find that blog linked to the WOD blog or at PRIZES. And finally, prizes. Prizes, prizes, prizes! First, the single winner with the overall highest score for points gets a portion half the total kitty back as a cash prize. It s looking like it could near $500! Next, the winner will receive one month FREE MEMBERSHIP! Also, dinner with the Head Coaches (woohoo!), and you ll create a WOD in your name (that the coaches will help construct so it fits the style in our programming and so we can use it!), and maybe a few other goodies. Well worth a mere 26 days of good, healthy habits right before the new year! Page 6 of 6