Paleo Diet Day#2

So yesterday was day #2 and I will have to say it was a little harder than day one. First off I didn't pack enough calories and secondly I didn't pack the right types of food, I was left to fend for calories at a truck stop on my way back from Des Moines. Luckily I stopped at the right place and they had bananas so a couple of those and a package of almonds (which I had to restrain myself to only eat a 1/3 of the bag) saved the day.


I did get a short bike workout in last night after dinner, my entire body is still sore from the Spartan Race on Saturday so riding my bike trainer for 30 minutes and some jump ropes to warm up and cool down was all I could muster. This is actually the perfect time to introduce this diet, my activity level this week will be considerably reduced as I recover from the race. Next week I will get back into more of my normal routine, working out 5-6 days a week with a couple of doubles mixed in. Going to keep the volume down for now and allow my body to adjust to functioning on different diet.

Big goals for next week are to:
1) Get back into my normal sleep pattern; I have been really bad about going to bed on time since the fall TV schedule started back up.
2) Start weight training again.
3) Getting my morning workout in and stop sleeping in everyday (really dependant on #1).

I weighed myself in yesterday morning @ 215.2 which is outstanding considering I pigged out this weekend before and after the race. I pretty much ate everything I knew I was giving up knowing it would be awhile before I had certain foods again. I am down 2.8 pounds from a few weeks ago when I topped out at 218 after the QC Marathon which is the heaviest I have been in over a year. I was pretty disappointed in that when I saw it at first but then I realized I have gained a significant amount of muscle over the last year with training for triathlons and rededication to weight training.

I didn't state this before but my motivation for doing the paleo diet is not centered around losing weight, but more importantly about getting leaner and ultimately living a healthier life. So many of the diseases that are running rampant in our society today can be traced back to our diets, specifically on processed foods that God never intended for the human body to consume. I believe in this diet because it is focused around eating lean meats, vegetables, fruit and nuts and eliminating foods that don't naturally exist on their own. Most diets when you hear what you have to eat or what you can't eat you question whether it really will work or if it's a scam to buy their products but it would be pretty difficult for anyone to argue that eating a diet consisting of lean meats, and fruits and vegetables is bad for you, heck isn't that what doctors have been telling us for years? In my mind it makes sense and I'm really passionate about it.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Paleo Diet - Day #1

So I have toyed around with starting the Paleo Diet for months now, I've given it a trial go a couple of times but have yet to stick with it for more than a few days. I finally decided that the only way to do this is much like everything else just jump in with both feet and "just do the darn thing" so today starts the quest.

First, for those not already familiar with the Paleo or "Cave Man" Diet, it essentially is eliminating any processed food and only eating foods that would have been readily available to early man. So meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables and nuts. No white sugar, flour, bread, pasta, pizza etc...

Now before I continue let me state for the record that I do not intend to follow a "Strict" Paleo Diet, I will adhere to the basic principles but I will be modifying to accommodate my endurance training by following the eating principles laid out in the book The Paleo Diet for Athletes, which more or less allows for certain modern foods to be eaten immediately before, during and after intense and prolonged training and or races. I will still have 1-3 meals a week that wouldn't even come close to counting as a Paleo meal, hey I am a husband and father whose family isn't exactly on board with my idea of a diet. And there will be those times when traveling, vacation, family get together etc. where I will have to set aside principles for practicality.

I'm starting this now with the intent to get as lean as possible over the winter, in addition I will be focusing more on strength and conditioning by lifting weights, incorporating a Crossfit style workout 2-3 times a week. I know that the first week or 2 will most likely be the most difficult but I'm dedicated to following the diet as strictly as I am able to. I know by best weapon to achieving success is preparation and planning so meal planning will be essential. I have a Paleo Cookbook that I will be using for recipe ideas and hopefully that helps, because no matter how much I love grilled meat, fish, chicken with sweet potato's, eating that 2-3 times a day everyday will get old very quickly.

Tomorrow I will weigh myself in like I do every Tuesday morning to get a starting point to track my progress through out this journey. Looking forward to some awesome results, and I know that the scale will not be the ultimate determination, body fat % is really my main goal to get it down to the 10% range, I currently (according to my scale at home) am around 24%. At 215 pounds that's roughly 50 lbs of fat I'm carrying around, I would like to lose at least half of that.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Thursday night ride and a busy weekend

Great ride last night, legs felt surprisingly fresh after my run that morning. Really glad I decided to do this workout almost skipped it, felt so good after an hour I decided to push for a little more, and then a little more. Probably could have done 2 hours if I had the time. Might not get a long ride in this weekend with camping on Friday night so glad I got 2 30 milers in, if I can get an hour in tomorrow night and whatever on Sunday watching football I'll be happy with that.

Speaking of camping, kind of excited for Casey's first Cub Scout camping trip tonight out at Loud Thunder, even though it is going to be wet and rainy all day today and tonight, we should still have fun. Afterwards tomorrow afternoon, my new baby niece gets baptized and I have been chosen to be the Godfather, which really means a lot to me especially since their family is Catholic and I am not, I know the significance this means and I'm honored that they chose me. Part of my Relentless Forward Motion mantra is tied around my faith and my spiritual beliefs. This is one area in my life I really have worked on over the last couple of years and undoubtedly have so much more work to do but being asked to be a Godparent shows that I have made strides. I still see those people at Church every Sunday and hope someday I can be as open and forthright about my faith, and celebration of God as them but I know it is always a work in progress because there is no perfect person, but God is perfect and through Him I can do all things (that is something I try to remind myself during those tough miles in a race or training run).

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Saturday Long (Cold) Run

I'll be honest my run this morning sucked, it was way too cold to really get warmed up and my hands were so cold they started to hurt so I cut it short. I originally planned for 10 miles but ended up with 6.9. My legs felt heavy and just couldn't get into a comfortable rhythm, oh well there is always later today for a couple more miles or maybe not.


Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Time for a change

I came to the realization the other day during a run (isn't that where it always seems to happen) that it was time for a change. It was time to change the title of this blog. I'm no longer on a quest to lose weight, yeah I have a few pounds to whittle away but a far cry from where I was 3.5 years ago when I began this journey. I needed something that is truly more reflective of my current state, it's actually a change I have been contemplating for some time now but I just couldn't think of anything that really grabbed at the essence of what this blog really means to me. And then it hit me during my run on Tuesday morning, Relentless Forward Motion, that is really what my life has become about over the last few years. Along with all the changes I have made in my health and fitness I have also become dedicated to improving as a person, a father and as a husband, so even in my personal life I have become dedicated to Relentless Forward Motion.

It has been a great run as the Incredible Shrinking Man but now it's time for a change, time to move on and move forward, and for those of you who know me well, you know my passions (obsessions) can turn on a dime, but isn't that how we evolve as a person, in our professions or as an athlete anyway? To constantly change? To get better at anything you have to change, try new things, and never be content with your current situation.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.