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April 24, 2014

4/25 "Friday"

Friday's Movements:Strength: Clean and jerkWOD: Burpee Pullups, clean and jerk"You are What you Eat Recap!"Thanks to those who came to the “You are What you Eat” talk yesterday! Our hope is to do more talks like this on a regular basis. Great information was shared! If you weren’t able to make it, here’s the recap!Why should we care about nutrition? Crossfit HQ put out a model similar to this, which gives us a great starting point for us.I made a mock-up of it and it (sort of) looks like this:The idea is that all of us fall some where on this curve. While there are specific measurements(blood pressure, body fat, bone density, etc.) that can tell us exactly where we fall on the curve, for the purpose of this write-up, I want to define "sick", "well", and "healthy" in simple terms relating to quality of life(or "everyday state of being").“Sick” doesn’t have to mean lying in a hospital bed. It could mean feeling tired all the time, being depressed, having a hard time recovering from illness, being unable to focus, etc. In the same regard, “healthy” shouldn’t be so focused in on aesthetics or the question of “am I skinny enough?” or “are my muscles big enough?” "healthy" looks like having energy, being productive, performing well in the gym, feeling well rested, etc.Hopefully, you don’t want to sit on the “sick side” of the curve, or even in the middle. Hopefully, you want to be the fittest version of yourself.How much sleep we get, how much stress we encounter, and what sort of fitness regime we follow all play a role in pushing us toward one side or the other on this curve. Though, the food and drink that we’re fueling our body with may be the most important determiner.The "healthiest" solution:You’re going to find that a lot of crossfit gyms answer the “diet question” with the primal, paleo, or zone diet solutions. I want to give you a broad idea of these diets without going too in-depth into any one. If you have further questions, they're well worth chatting with us about or doing your own research!Primal, paleo, and zone are similar in that they start by addressing the faulty American diet and encourage moving from a fast food, pre-prepared food culture to one that is focused on local, fresh, and home made."Primal and Paleo is based around the concept of eating like our ancestors.Similarities include:-Eating tons of veggies-Eating lots of protein-Avoiding grains-Eliminating gluten-Doing away with corn-Avoiding high fructose corn syrup-Avoiding sugar-Eliminating processed foodsDifferences include: -Paleo-ites avoid dairy (many making an exception for grass fed butter and ghee). Primal folks enjoy dairy once in awhile.-Some Paleo folks avoid saturated fats and limit their intake of fatty meats, eggs and butter.-Primal allows fermented soy products and organic edamame, while paleo has its followers avoiding soy.-Primal allows for occasional intake of legumes, while paleo says no."*Zone is focused on macronutrients and monitoring intake of fats, proteins and carbs by weighing out food. Zone does allow for legumes, some dairy, and small portions of grains and starchy carbs.Alan Harris, owner of The Urban Caveman then brought up some great ideas in relation to living the Paleo lifestyle. I’ll try to do justice to his portion of the talk by outlining some of his points.Paleo as a lens: -Paleo becomes a lens through which you view the world rather than a diet with a set of rules-Paleo changes how you view the world and becomes a lifestyle.Box analogy: We tend to view ourselves as a box and we fit in the things that are our priorities. Things like family, work, recreation, etc. Our health and self care tend to fit in last. What if, instead, we viewed self -care and our health as being part of the box and then everything else fell in around it? At the end of the day, our health and well being will determine how well we can be present in our highest priorities.Social stigmas: -Choose the hills you want to die on: Stick to the Paleo eating guidelines but don’t fight with grandma about how the thanksgiving pumpkin pie isn’t Paleo. Just shut up, eat the pie, and continue eating paleo the next day.Beer and “Paleo” bar etiquette:Obviously cavemen didn't drink beer, but in Wisconsin, it’s hard not to indulge in every once in a while. Alan loves beer but he’s realized that it pushes him too far to the “sick” side of the curve, so beer is something that he had to give up. If you have had to give up beer and are wondering what to order at the bar while all your friends sip their spotted cows, here are some ideas:- Tonic water with lime- a virgin bloody mary- gluten free beer options- hard cider.- Tonic water with a shot of100% high quality tequila and lots of lime juice (NorCal Margarita)“Preparing Paleo food in the hectic-ness of life”- Reality check: We’re all busy. Busyness is a cop out. If we wait around for that perfect period of time where our lives won’t be hectic then we’ll be disappointed, because for most of us, that time won’t come.-Preparing paleo food has to become a priority.-Learn to use a crock-pot. There are tons of paleo crock-pot recipes out there! It is so easy to throw meat and veggies into a pot and turn a dial.-Begin to view cooking as an adventure. It’s an opportunity for you to try something you haven’t before, cook with a new food, or a new method.-For those times where you know you’ll be traveling, plan ahead!Jen Ede, from Edible Milwaukee Magazine, had some great information about local sourcing, eating on a budget, and how to best shop for quality foods. She also put together this nifty outline of all the points she covered. If you need one, stop into the office and I can hand you a copy or you can print it out from home and hang it on your refrigerator!http://bit.ly/1npQ2VNAlso look for Paleo cooking classes soon to be offered in partnership with Jen and Edible Milwaukee magazine! We will definitely keep you updated on dates and times!Obviously we're passionate about food here and if you have any additional questions we'd love to chat more:If you'd like to reach us!Sara and Tyler: info@bagdercrossfit.comJen Ede: jen@ediblemilwaukee.comAlan Harris: Urbancavemantruck@gmail.com

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