Week 1 of Nutrition Challenge

The things I learned about myself, food, and fitness.

Last week I set out to begin the biggest dietary and fitness change that I have ever attempted in my entire 19 years, not like that’s saying much but still. Don’t ever let anybody downplay these challenges to you, they’re seriously not for everybody and they’re not the only things that work but in 1 week I have definitely witnessed why they do…

4 days this week I went to crossfit, stuck to the nutrition challenge rules, and drank more water than I thought was possible for my stomach to hold…. I’ve also peed about 85 times a day.

I’m not going to lie and say I feel great… cause I’m sore (only about from the top of my head to my toes), it’s hard to get up for work at 7 am when you were getting your ass kicked literally 12 hours ago, and the extra attentiveness necessary to maintain the nutrition guidelines as well as 10 credits online this summer is sort of hard to balance. One thing I will say though, I know I’m not quitting.

I’ve learned a lot this week, especially certain things that most definitely ARE okay during the paleo and most definitely AREN’T.

1. Almond Milk Lattes: ARE, they’re actually not terrible if you like the taste of coffee. Almond milk especially unsweetened is totally paleo and won’t be making you feel the least bit guilty about swinging through a coffee stand when you need an extra boost.
2. DO NOT attempt to make paleo cookies, cake, bread, or pretty much anything that the guidelines prohibit. Although I don’t really think that the strict rules against this are for the right reasons, I definitely think that it would be hard to me to not eat the real thing if I was just basically going to eat it anyway….
3. Buy more food than you think you need… the metabolism spike I’ve experienced has me eating almost every two hours… It’s actually ridiculous.

About Crossfit:

1. Everyday is different, which most people like. My crossfit gym does not post their workouts on the internet at the beginning of the week (I think they’d have lower class attendance on certain days if they did…) but some gyms do. Especially if you have certain weaknesses you’re working on knowing the schedule can help you plan your weeks. I like just showing up and being forced to do it though...
2. When you’re so sore you feel like you got hit by a truck: keep going. Your soreness will return occasionally and continue throughout the first couple of weeks, but it will never go away at all if you’re wishy-washy with your attendance.
3. Both crossfit gyms I’ve attended have extremely nice instructors, owners, and members. I seriously think there’s something about crossfit in general, the people are really that nice.

And finally, about myself….

1. I’m a lot tougher than I gave myself credit for: the burpees, pull ups, ring-dips, running, and any other form of torture crossfit could throw at you are hard to get through but I didn’t skip or quit during a single workout.
2. I actually like this challenge. The rules aren’t unreasonable and in fact, they’re logical… Don’t put artificial stuff in your body, seems pretty simple.

This weeks accomplishments:

1. 4 days of crossfit
2. 4 days of nutrition challenge
3. 7 pounds — not all weeks will be like this, this was primarily water weight, 2-3 loss per week and some muscle gain should be expected for the next month.
4. Half-way through Summer Quarter and I have a 4.0

Who knew changing your whole entire life could sorta be cool?