Crossfit London UK Lent Challenge Daily Diary

Firstly, I think ‘Paleo’ is a rubbish name……Robb Wolf has stigmatised the diet/lifestyle from the start. Luckily I am a thick skinned soul and have turned the explaining-to-friends-part into a bit of a game. The rolling eyes You-freak-you-don’t-need-to-lose-weight-give-up-wholemeal-pasta-you-got-to-be-kidding-me-and-milk?-you-weirdo look that I have been getting initially takes a bit of getting used to, and there aren’t hours in the day to explain to people (so they get it) the key concepts.

I have not found it that hard at all, although working from home and not trying to be 100% exclusive has helped but I find arguing the toss over whether potatoes should be included and other arguments on the periphery pretty tiresome and really detract from what is a very nutritious diet.

I love bread, I love cheese, I love peas, I love beer, I love sticky toffee pudding – and I am pretty sure that I will continue to eat these food after Lent – but I think my last two months of more-or-less-gluten free has changed the way I eat for good.

If you can look beyond the cartoon connotations of Captain Cavey (showing my age!) then I think this type of eating is highly relevant to most people. If we to rename the diet from Paleo to ‘eating healthy food that your body is designed to eat, and not processed crap and toxins that will kill you’ then I think Paleo might suffer less credibility issues…..although my new name is less catchy, granted.

It depends what your view on grains is, but for me, the main benefits that I have derived would appear to be linked to cutting them out. The premise of Paleo is you are not designed to eat them and they are bad for you’. I think I am starting to agree. My recommendation for anyone attempting this lifestyle, is if you do anything at all – cut out grains/gluten.

Here is a summary of the benefits that I have observed so far:

- Wealthier. Have gone out far less (this is also a negative
- Achilles tendinopathy still nowhere to be seen. I have been smiling all the way through sets of box jumps. It did recur a little after a cheat-weekend sailing but then went again.
- Little finger – no sign of the pain that used to be there constantly
-Sleep – I would have marked my quality of sleep around 4/10 before this project. Despite upheaval in my life at the moment (I used to be a stress bunny) I am somewhere around 7/10. Sleep used to be the bain of my life.
- Dental hygiene – don’t know if down to anti-inflammatory nature of diet, or less sticky sugars and starches but gum health has been much better
- Stress – seem to be less stressed
- Trumpy – I am way less trumpy on paleo
- Alcohol – I used to drink most days. Having a day off was unusual. Have felt almost reticent about having a drink on cheat days (this may btw, feed back into sleep and stress)
- Weight – back to 13st 3llbs after last weeks flirt with 12 stone something. I have been scoffing my face but weight seems to slide off when eating paleo. I have noticed quite a few other crossfitters in this project have observed similar
-Performance – need to go back to my benchmark test at the end of Lent before I can really say – but I have gradually been building up my strength this month. I have played football throughout, and have not felt fitter or faster on the pitch since I was about 32. Set a few PRs this month – so don’t seem to be getting weaker!

All in all, very pleased that I joined in. Thanks for running it people!

@Kate – is there any chance we could have a midweek slot for photos/Kat’s cals?

Well I’ve really enjoyed the experiment, but I haven’t lost any weight at all. At first I was snacking on fruit and nuts, but I’ve cut back on those after people said they might be the reason why.

Really enjoying all the fresh cooking, and feel a lot more healthy (and think we’re saving money taking in lunch every day and shopping for the week at the market etc), but I will enjoy the occasional treat (ie mochas. Mmmmmm). Although knowing my luck, I’ll prob gain lots of weight when I start drinking them again in spite of not losing any when I quit them! Will be interesting to see if my body fat has gone down at all
[Kate - afraid we're not around on Easter Sat, but will be in classes the week after Easter for measurements etc]

Apart from the mochas, and being less rigid on alcohol and bread on weekends, I reckon we’ll keep eating like this. It’s not that different from our previous diet, but just a bit ‘cleaner’ in terms of bread, hummous, quantity etc.

http://everydayisaschoolday.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/diary-of-caveman.html