8.30.2009

CrossFit KoP September Kick the Sugar Challenge is on...
For ONE month - ONE MONTH ONLY -just try it. Make the effort, see what it does for you. See how you feel, look, perform. You can do ANYTHING for one month, especially knowing it's for your HEALTH and PERFORMANCE. If you choose not to do it, if you haven’t sincerely tried committing to good nutrition, maybe it’s time you looked at your reasons. What are your excuses? How valid are they, really? Are you so invested in them that you’re willing to sacrifice your potential and long term health?

For those of you who missed the Sugar Challenge kick off with Evan, he provided us with an overview of three different ways of eating.

Paleo:

What is Paleo?

Paleolithic people were hunter-gatherers. All their food came from what they could hunt and find around them. For most of the period, most of the cultures tended to be nomadic, following food sources.
The period after the Paleolithic period is called the Neolithic, which began approximately 10,000 years ago. At this point, agriculture made it possible for people to settle in one place. People’s lives became more sedentary, although still active by today's standards. Especially, people started growing sources of starch, especially grains, which could be stored. Another big innovation in the later part of the Neolithic period was the development of pottery, which made it easier to cook and transport staple foods. Writers espousing Paleolithic diets point to evidence regarding both prehistoric people and more recent hunter-gatherer populations that agriculture increased chronic diseases such as heart disease in these populations.

Types of foods
Early on, before fire was controlled, only food which could be eaten raw was consumed. This ruled out grains, legumes, and some tubers such as potatoes. Even when early people started to use fire to cook food, they were mainly limited to roasting or toasting it. Besides meat, a few roasted nuts or grains by the fire were pretty much it. Additionally, before animals were domesticated (around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago) milk and dairy products were not consumed.
Obviously, any refined sugars other than occasional honey, or any processed foods, were totally out.
What exactly was eaten by early people clearly varied according to geography, but most of the diets are thought to be at least half animal foods (including insects), and many up to 70 percent food of animal origin. Gathering enough plant food to support highly active people simply wouldn't have been feasible in most places. Despite this, large amounts of vegetation were consumed; some estimates are that in many areas early humans ate up to 6 pounds of greens per day. This is a lot of greens -- about a grocery-bag full, but this produces only about 400 to 700 calories. However, the nutrient load of those greens is huge, producing many times the minimum daily requirement of most vitamins and minerals. Of course, other parts of plants were eaten, including nuts and fruit, though we probably couldn't recognize the ancestors of the sugary fruit we eat today.


Primal:

What is Eating Primal?
Eating Primal is eating the way nature intended.
It's not eating anything that didn't exist when man first walked the earth.
It's eating simply- fresh foods, whole, natural and non-processed foods free from hormones, chemicals and pesticides.
It's eating REAL foods, not the fake stuff.
It's shopping the perimeter of the grocery store for organic and hormone-free foods.
It's buying local at Farmers Markets. It's doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint by not eating foods shipped to stores from countries 3,000 miles away.
It's being aware of what we put in our bodies and avoiding poisonous things like refined carbohydrates (sugars, flours etc...), trans-fats, chemicals, pesticides, MSG, additives, food colorings, artificial sweeteners, most all dairy products and gluten. Read the ingredients, if you can't pronounce it, chances are you should not eat it.
By avoiding these things, we are able to eat the best foods possible in order to give our bodies the best nutrients available in order to live healthy lives free from the dark hole leading to no where- known as the Standard American Diet (SAD).


Zone:

What is the Zone?

The concept of "the Zone" is that food should be balanced "40:30:30" ratio of calories obtained daily from carbohydrates, proteins and fats respectively. This will promote the desired hormonal response throughout the day.

The goal of Zone dieting is to eat the correct balance of carbohydrates and protein so that glucagon is produced instead of insulin, because glucagon promotes the formation of "good" eicosanoids while insulin promotes the formation of "bad" eicosanoids that cause all sorts of diseases.
The Zone converts grams of Protein, Carbs and Fat into blocks of protein and carbohydrate and provides food lists and meal plans for these. No more than 5 blocks should be consumed in one sitting and no more than 5 hours below. The CrossFit Journal link below will explain in detail how many blocks for your body size and will list some great Zone Performance meals.

Click here for CrossFit Journal Issue 21, Zone Performance.



The Rules:

1. All participants must commit by posting to comments below. You can choose one of the above options or try a combination of all three that works for you. The Challenge starts on September 1st and ends at midnight, on September 30th. Evan and I will post some helpful tips, recipes and ideas along the way. Please feel free to post about how you are feeling on your NO-Sugar Journey!
2. The way to kick sugar is to not eat ANY sugar of ANY kind.
3. Only consume sugar that is found naturally in foods such as fruit - and limit the consumption of too much, choosing low glycemic index fruits primarily.
What is the significance of Glycemic Index? Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI describes the difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose and insulin levels.
4. The best way to be successful with this is to eat clean. Create meals from meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and NO SUGAR. No processed and refined foods with high fructose corn syrup and high sugar content (i.e.: chips). Shop the perimeter of the grocery store; avoid the aisles where labels and long shelf-lives increase the sugar content. Limit bread.
5. If you drink adult beverages, only pure spirits (vodka, whiskey, rum, etc.) and wine are allowed in small quantities. No dessert wine, or any other alcoholic beverage made with added sugar, such as beer.
6. Keep a food log, writing down EVERYTHING you eat. At the end of each week, show it to either Aimee or Evan and have them help you with your choices of foods and staying on track. The winner will be the person with the most consecutive days completed successfully. The runner-up will be the person with the most overall days completed successfully. This may be the same person or persons.
7. Please feel free to email myself or Evan or post to comments with your own input, comments, encouragement, articles, recipes, struggles and victories.
*There will be a special prize for those who complete all 30 days!!!*
WHO’S IN???

27 comments:

Jen S. said...

I'm in! I'll be following Zone without using any breads or pastas for my carb blocks. September will be an extremely tough month for me...but I am going to try my best!

Patti said...

I'm in too! I am going to do the Zone plan. I just need some helpful hints for when I work. Since I'm a nurse and work nights I usually drink coffee with ALOT of sugar, what should I do instead?

Swine said...

I'm in

Joe A said...

Patti,

I used to drink cups of coffee with lots of sugar too. Lots mean 6-8 packets of sugar.

I replaced it with something called agave syrup which is sold at trader joe's and actually taste better than sugar. I load up on 5-8 bottles and take it with me to work and leave some for home too. That cuts down on a huge portion of my sugar intake.

Chris P. said...

I'm down...will try to eat as clean as possible, not so much measuring. Meat might not always be grass-fed due to budget, but will try!

also, I think coffee is allowed, just with no sugar (Robb Wolf is a big fan of espresso or cafe americano which is espresso with hot water) He sometimes adds whole cream instead of milk

Patti said...

Thanks Joe, I will look into getting some of that syrup. This will be a challenge for me!

Ray said...

I'm in. I already eat somewhere between Paleo and Primal with an occasional low glycemic pasta slurge (Dreamfields pasta). Only 5 net carbs per serving vice 35 to 40. I can do without it for a month though. Beer is the only other vice. I usually go with lower carb varieties like Corona Light or Guinness. I could fall off the wagon at the FGBIV post party.

Ray said...

3 quick WODS at home today:

#1:
100 Pull Ups
100 Sit Ups
Forgot to time it.

#2
3 Rounds w/ 35# KB
10R Squat
10R Push Press
10R KB Swing
Repeat for Left
9:22

#3
500 Meter Row in 1:31
Took a breath and finished the rest of the 2K in 8:45.

Kit said...

I'm game. I will be honest, I have no idea how well this will work for me but i will do my very best. It will be interesting to see how i pack my MRE's (meal ready to eat) for my field exercises. I try to eat Zone right now. I don't measure, but i did for a bit so I have an understanding of the portions, but now its rather general and thats the best i can do for my situation. If nothing else, it will give me something to distract me from some of the monotony of my day.

Curin said...

im in!!!!

Jeff said...

I'm in, with the exception of watching the Eagles when some sugar may be consumed via truly excellent Triple Chocolate Cake - but leaving the icing.

Cindy said...

I'm already doing no sugar, (thanks to the last sugar challenge!) and trying to keep to gluten-free. Almost all my carbs are from fruits and vegetables so there's not much left from a primal perspective. I guess I should pass on the challenge since I believe that certain whole grains (like quinoa) have been essential to cultures for thousands of years .. Incas anyone?

Personally, I don't think there's one right way of eating (which is why I like this challenge because there are choices). I know that my body responds very differently to my diet now, versus my diet even three months ago.

It's a process and an experiment and I encourage people to take the challenge. You will find out more about yourself and your body than you expect!

KDitty said...

I'm in from a primal/paleo type. I am not ready for measuring yet. It is going to be tough, but I really interested to see how my body reacts. Here goes nothing...I'm excited!

Megs said...

I am going to try as well! The long days of leaving home at 545 and not getting back till 7 or 8 pm will be hard!!

JZuck said...

I am in. I will be trying to keep a strict Primal Diet. I am going to head to the farm that Evan suggested for some grass fed beef sometime this week, so if anyone wants to take a trip or wants me to pick up anything for them let me know. I will probably place a bulk order of ground beef, in addition to some steaks.

Megs said...

JZ - when are you going? I want to try some jerky!!!

Unknown said...

I'm in, as well. This is going to be a HUGE challenge for me and I'm excited to see how far I can get.
I'm not quite ready for all that measuring yet either, so I will be heading more towards the paleo/primal direction.
Here goes nothing!!

Ray said...

Jon or Evan, where is that grass fed beef farm? I am a big fan of free range buffalo and wild game. As Ted Nuggent states, "Kill it and grill it!!!"

Nikki said...

I'm in too. For the past few months I've been eating zone proportions, but selecting foods from paleo as much as possible (almost all carbs from fruits and veggies, very few grains). Can't see myself going totally paleo b/c i rely on eggs and Greek/Icelandic yogurt to get enough protein in my diet.

The first week of the challenge will be the hardest since I'll be on vacation... I'll bring some nuts, apples, and jerky for snacking and hopefully find some healthy restaurants to eat at! (Can't imagine a beach vacay without pizza, icecream, and beer... but I'll do my best!!)

Liz said...

I am going to give it a try, mostly trying to watch the sugars. Not sure I can handle Paleo.

JZuck said...

Ray it is called Hendricks Farms and Dairy and it is located in Telford, PA.

Mike F said...

I'm in. I may have to try a combination of all 3. It is going to be difficult with the start of College and Pro football season on the horizon, but if I can make it through 30 days I should be able to keep it up past then.

Mike F said...

Any tips for breakfast? Lunch and dinner I think I am OK with, but any ideas for breakfast? Are Egg Whites acceptable? What about Oatmeal?

Chris P. said...

Mike, whole eggs (not just the whites) are usually a good staple since the yolk has the majority of the good stuff. Scrambled, over easy, hard boiled, omelets, poached, etc. Sometimes I make them the night before to bring to work and heat up. Pair it up with some fruit (e.g. apple) and fat (e.g. almond butter) and you're good to go. Some people recommend forgetting what you know about breakfast and eating lunch/dinner meals within the confines of paleo/primal/zone. I've had tuna for breakfast or more common, steak and eggs. It also seems like Evan has some good ideas, as does Mark's Daily Apple.

Some Crossfitters have oatmeal, others say it's a big no no.

Laura Pappas said...

I'm in, since last No Sugar challenge in Feb I've greatly changed the way I used to eat, but have been clinging to grains. I'm going to shoot for more primal foods while keeping dairy, and reduce/eliminate the bread and pasta carbs that I am back to eating now (although in MUCH better moderation that I have before). I've been clinging to oatmeal to get me through breakfast, now I have motivation to try something else.

PS I missed everyone and the workouts while we were away, and was SUPER bummed I missed class tonight, but I guess that's what happens when you take 8 days off from work. Hopefully I'll see y'all tomorrow!

Mike F said...

Thanks Chris. I think I am going to try to switch it up between plain oatmeal with fruit (blueberries and strawberries) and egg white omelets with piece of fruit. My doctor has me off the regular egg because of my high cholesterol. What were some of Evan's ideas?

Tim Pappas said...

I'm in for the zone count too. I've been doing zone dinners for a few months and it's become routine now so I'd really like to improve upon that and apply full zone to all three meals each day. My fitness and exercise levels are where they need to be and I believe that coupling that to a full zone diet will help me reach the level I want to achieve.