One Man and Paleo (Day 6/7)

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All righty, then end of a week of Paleo.

Here’s the wrapup. I knew going in that the weekend (Day 6/7) was going to be tough. Weekends are traditionally, for me, the times when I get lax and slip up. Well, I didn’t. Stayed strong, except on Sunday evening but that was by choice.

Saturday went well and I ate well. Had more fruit then veggies on this day but part of that is because it’s what was in the frig. Still jamming on the chicken/salsa/avocado concoction. Although I will say the last time I went to the grocery store my eyes just about popped out of my head at the price of avocados. Sheesh.

Feel good, not blouted. I lost 4 1/2 pounds of the week. Read that again. 4 1/2 lbs. Take a good look at that and remember I was doing NO training. I hope this helps to emphasize just how important nutrition is in your overall well being.

Last thing to take away from this. I’m going to do it longer. I’ve decided to do an entire month of paleo. Want to see how my body adjusts (I’m not sure a week was really long enough for it to start making the changes that I suspect will happen.) I’m also going to add in one meal that’s higher carbohydrate then the rest of the week. In this meal I’ll eat some starchy carbs like bread or pasta. But it’ll be for one meal. My idea behind this is much like exercise. Changing things up so your body never completely adapts. I think the one ‘off” meal will give my body some variety. Also, I’m going to start adding some training back in. This may see some adjustments to HOW MUCH I’m eating but I’m not planning to change WHAT I’m eating.

I’ll keep blogging about my experience but only every Monday. I’ll give the week wrap-up then.

If anyone has questions, please feel free to leave a comment here or drop me an email.

By the way, the cheat meal I had last night was pizza at the loop. A white pizza with lots of chicken added. Very yummy.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

One Man and Paleo (Day 5)

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Day 5 and I keep rocking. Had some more shrimp and a little pork tenderloin today to go with the fruits and veggies. Cravings have gone away for the most part.

Two more days! See you soon.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

One Man and Paleo (Day 4)

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Day 4. Food is good. Today made a few change-ups in what I’m eating. I had a huge salad with lots of greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and two nice salmon fillets and ate on this throughout the day. Quite good when you throw in a handful of olives and a few walnuts. Also still had my concoction from Day 2 and 3 as one of my meals.

I think I may have over done the nuts a little. I found myself snacking on an almond/cashew/pistachio mix a little too much and consequently I felt ‘full’ most of the day.

The one psychological/physiological thing that happened was going all day craving a snickers bar. Not just any sweet. I was just jonesing for a frozen snickers bar. Thankfully I got through it all right without indulging.

All in all, I think everything is going pretty well. Haven’t weighed yet (I’ll do that for Day 7) but I can tell I’m done some. Except for Day 4 I’m actually getting to enjoy the slight hungry feeling all the time. It’s got a sense of urgency to it that keeps me motivated.

See you all tomorrow.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

One Man and Paleo (Day 3)

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All right, Day 3 has come and gone and I’m feeling pretty in the grove with the diet. I will add though that yesterday was the first day I had any specific cravings; I really wanted some bread. But didn’t give in and had a good day of eating. I added a few things from Day 1 and Day 2, I had a bit more handfuls of nuts. I carried around a bag of raw mixed veggies to nosh on when I needed it and I had about two dozen small shrimp for dinner.

One little tidbit I’ve used to help things taste good is that in a pinch if I need a quick meal I through some beef or chicken (about 6-8 oz) in a bowl along with a whole avocado and about half a cup to a full cup of good fresh salsa. Heat up for about two minutes and you get a nice fast tasty meal.

All in all so far I feel pretty good. I’ve noticed a decided lack of feeling bloated (I’m pretty certain this comes from ditching the processed carbs.) Energy seems to be okay, though I felt a little more tired at night then I do normally. Probably just need an adjustment in calories. A few more fruits and veggies should probably help.

Remember, a nutrition bar or whey shake is still processed! All natural, all real. Pick it. Kill it. Eat it.

See you tomorrow.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

One Man and Paleo (Day 0)

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So if you haven’t heard, this week Empower Personal Training is doing a week long nutrition challenge using the Paleo Diet. The gist of the diet is that if you can pick it and eat it raw or kill it it’s fair game (pun intended). So, no legumes (that includes peanuts), no processed foods, no processed carbs like bread (you’re welcome to eat all the uncooked grain you want but I’m not sure your stomach will like that.) Dairy should be keep to a minimum and you can sprinkle in some nuts. But mostly it’s lean meats, raw fruits and vegetables (cooking the meat is good but try to keep most of the veggies raw.)

I’m doing the challenge because I’m hoping it’ll jump start a nutrition/fitness program for me that has been lacking due to injuries for the last two years (yeah, believe me, it’s not been fun.) I’m still in the injured category but things are starting to come aroundand as the winter hits the tendency is to become more sedentary. I’m betting that this kickstarts some good stuff for me and sends me into the winter months ready.

I’ll be blogging every day this week to talk about how it’s going. Each day I’ll describe what and how much I ate plus how it may be effecting me physically and/or emotionally (goodbye to bread is going to make me grumpy.)

Stay tuned for all the fun.

Mike

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS

USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Master Trainer

Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024