Yes, while in Paleo, I have had much better quality sleep. Absolutly no doubt about it. Read something recently, not sure where, human sleep pattern is 9-10 hours of sleep. Sleep begins after sunset, and lasts 4-5 hours, then there is 1-2 hours of wakefulness -- supposedly just lying around. There is then 3-5 more hours of actual sleep. Also of interest, when humans are totally removed from light cues, and allowed to run under body clock cues of when to sleep and wake, they will assume a cycle of 23 hrs :35min in a day. Earth's rotational speed is slowing, and even our evolutionary past shows this.

1. A thought from the evolutionary biologist. Consider when carbohydrates would be available to Paleo-man. In a brief period when whatever fruit grew in that region bloomed. The availability was very low. So, the body has evolved to store this awesome energy for later use. Jump ahead to today. Now, these same carbohydrates are available at every meal (instead of a few weeks out of the entire year). That is a reasonable conclusion. 2. Prenatal diet, Something to learn more about. Am I wired to love coca cola, because that was my primary 'nutrient' through my gestation? [Kelley, can you do this stuff for graduate credit? So much more fun that well, whatever test I am supposed to be taking right now.]

{Guess the lawyer has to come out every once in a while}. My view of Crossfit is a very narrow one, since I really haven't traveled around much. There is one story I can relate, though, and quickly see how it affects the Crossfit world view. One of our Beach Patrol officers is a PhD physiologist down at U of Miami. He relates that on any day, you can find someone on the beach, inviting people to join their group in a crossfit workout -- right on the beach. These new people are then 'allowed' to complete the WOD -- even though they really know nothing of the methodology, or even know the skills. As scary as it sounds, they hand them a kettlebell, and say 3-2-1. One can quickly see how activities of this kind can create a bad name in a hurry. Yes, the community part is something that should have been explored much more deeply. I am quickly growing tired of hearing the 'It will cause injuries' line being thrown around. It really is time for a study to put this one to bed. HQ really should ask affiliates for yearly injury statistics, and start pumping out some metrics on this. (As a lifeguard, all our agency statistics are submitted to USLA yearly, and risk calculations are routinely done). Detractors need to put up or shut up with this line. As far as the transverse plane criticism, this is something I have been pondering a bit. Compare Crossfit Kids workouts to Main site WOD's. Perhaps some more functional movements could be taken from the Kids side to beef things up in this regard. The nutrition criticism is interesting from the potential legal (read liability) perspective. But, anyone that read the news today will have noticed that we are entering a DIRE CRISIS with regard to Diabetes ( http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69L21Y20101023 ). I think the nutrition discussion needs to be forefront now. Systemically.

Steve, while reading the Robb Wolf book, going to have to call you out on the 1st sentence here. Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose + fructose. Fructose is a monosaccharide. Sucrose is broken apart in the small intestine into glucose + fructose. The glucose can be used directly by the body cells for energy in cellular respiration. The fructose can not be used by the body directly. It must be sent to the liver. Once at the liver, the body has 'choices' about what to do with it, including form usable glucose from it, form glycogen, or form fat to be stored in tissues. The idea to limit fruit consumption is looking better and better to me. And yes, Kelley, you just might have created a monster.

Ok, so some more research. A 'bag' of skittles = 2.17oz, which is 61grams. So end sugar comparison. 130g medium bananna: 20.2g sugar 1 bag skittles: 46.1 g sugar (close to package nutrition facts http://www.skittles.com/products.htm)

The table was most useful for me, yet does need to be tempered a bit. Values are grams of sugar PER 100 grams of food items. So, the total sugars column, is roughly percentage. Maybe apple and bananna look great with their lower total sugars, and dried fruit and candy look bad with their higher values. But, what is the serving size? Just for fun, threw a medium bananna and an mcintosh apple on the scale. 130grams each. (Bananna included peel). What would 100grams of dried fruit be like? The candies mentioned too, same question?

For once (ok, more than once) I'm going to claim ignorance here. For me, it was olive oil when the food was good, and vegetable oil when the food was cheap. This really adds more to my available choice. Never even heard of coconut oil.

Eating out some possibly questionable items. Have some 'egg beaters' to get rid of. 3 eggs, salsa, some walnuts. Cooking out the freezer too. There will be some incidental corn the next few days, as I eat out all the mixed veg bags. None new will be bought.

Nope, no racks here.

Now I know Steve is baiting me. This was the epic thing that destroyed us last year. See you at 545!

And the hydrocodone is to numb the pain of watching fox news, right.

first

Last day of school madness was today. Been looking for a great ass kicking to get back into the swing of things. See you tomorrow @ 7am!

I think once you get the naming scheme down, this site could be useful. I also choose banana first, spelled it wrong, and got zero results (not good). I then tried to search for pork (pork chops for breakfast)... and got hundreds of hits. Some are very specific (a type of packaged food exacting details). As to the fats, a fat is basically a long chain of carbon molecules. Saturated fats have the maximum number of hydrogens attached to the carbons (so, the carbons have no double bonds between them). Saturated fats have a very regular structure, which lets them pack tightly and are solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats have some double bonds between some of the carbons (it is called unsaturated because it has less than the maximum number of hydrogens attached). Most of the named fats (omega's) describe where the double bonds are, or how often they occur. Unsaturated fats have a less regular shape, and so don't stack as well next to one another.... and so are liquid at room temperature. This is interesting to the organic chemist in me, because of normally double bonds and charged molecules (like oxygen and nitrogen) can move the extra electrons around... resonance. So, I don't think these double bonds should be depicted as being in fixed positions...

Ok, so of course the scientist goes to pubmed, and does a peer reviewed journal search. Some results... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19209185 Metabolic and physiologic improvements from consuming a paleolithic, hunter-gatherer type diet. BACKGROUND: The contemporary American diet figures centrally in the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases-'diseases of civilization'. We investigated in humans whether a diet similar to that consumed by our preagricultural hunter-gatherer ancestors (that is, a paleolithic type diet) confers health benefits. METHODS: We performed an outpatient, metabolically controlled study, in nine nonobese sedentary healthy volunteers, ensuring no weight loss by daily weight. We compared the findings when the participants consumed their usual diet with those when they consumed a paleolithic type diet. The participants consumed their usual diet for 3 days, three ramp-up diets of increasing potassium and fiber for 7 days, then a paleolithic type diet comprising lean meat, fruits, vegetables and nuts, and excluding nonpaleolithic type foods, such as cereal grains, dairy or legumes, for 10 days. Outcomes included arterial blood pressure (BP); 24-h urine sodium and potassium excretion; plasma glucose and insulin areas under the curve (AUC) during a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); insulin sensitivity; plasma lipid concentrations; and brachial artery reactivity in response to ischemia. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline (usual) diet, we observed (a) significant reductions in BP associated with improved arterial distensibility (-3.1+/-2.9, P=0.01 and +0.19+/-0.23, P=0.05);(b) significant reduction in plasma insulin vs time AUC, during the OGTT (P=0.006); and (c) large significant reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides (-0.8+/-0.6 (P=0.007), -0.7+/-0.5 (P=0.003) and -0.3+/-0.3 (P=0.01) mmol/l respectively). In all these measured variables, either eight or all nine participants had identical directional responses when switched to paleolithic type diet, that is, near consistently improved status of circulatory, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism/physiology. CONCLUSIONS: Even short-term consumption of a paleolithic type diet improves BP and glucose tolerance, decreases insulin secretion, increases insulin sensitivity and improves lipid profiles without weight loss in healthy sedentary humans. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19604407 Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. ...CONCLUSION: Over a 3-month study period, a Paleolithic diet improved glycemic control and several cardiovascular risk factors compared to a Diabetes diet in patients with type 2 diabetes. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17522610 Effects of a short-term intervention with a paleolithic diet in healthy volunteers. OBJECTIVES: Prevention of cardiovascular diseases by paleolithic or hunter-gatherer diets has been discussed during recent years. METHODS: Our aim was to assess the effect of a paleolithic diet in a pilot study on healthy volunteers during 3 weeks. The intention was to include 20 subjects, of whom 14 fulfilled the study. Complete dietary assessment was available for six subjects. RESULTS: Mean weight decreased by 2.3 kg (P<0.001), body mass index by 0.8 (P<0.001), waist circumference by 0.5 cm (P=0.001), systolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg (P=0.03) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 by 72% (P=0.020). Regarding nutrient intake, intake of energy decreased by 36%, and other effects were also observed, both favourable (fat composition, antioxidants, potassium-sodium rate) and unfavourable (calcium). CONCLUSION: This short-term intervention showed some favourable effects by the diet, but further studies, including control group, are needed. One thing really sticks out to me, and is mentioned in the last study. Given it is a very small n sample, which skews the data. Biggest thing I noticed, each subject consumed 36% less calories than their previous diet. This makes it very hard to tease apart the effects of food choices VS. straight restricted calorie diet.

Offtopic, from my genetics grad class this week.. "An interesting phenomenon has been discovered in dolphins that may shed some light on diabetes in humans. Although dolphins are not very closely related to humans, they have very large brains like humans. In order to power their large brains, they need a consistent supply of sugar. Dolphins, however, have a protein-rich diet of fish, not carbohydrates. In order to keep the sugar flowing to their brains, they are able to “turn on” and sustain a hyperglycemic state when they are fasting. This keeps a high level of sugar in the blood stream. When the dolphins are fasting their blood sugar levels are very high, but after a large meal the blood-glucose levels return to normal. This helps keep the brain supplied with enough sugar even when the dolphin hasn’t eaten in a while. This hyperglycemic state is very similar to the diabetes mellitus in humans. In humans with diabetes mellitus, high blood glucose levels develop as a result of not enough insulin or a resistance to insulin. These dangerously high levels of glucose cause vascular and nervous system problems. Unlike dolphins, humans cannot turn the diabetes switch on and off. Research has indicated that this ability has been evolving since dolphins returned to the ocean. It was evolutionarily favorable for the dolphins to be able to keep the high sugar levels feeding their brains. Since humans used to have a more carbohydrate-rich diet, then following the Ice Age, they switched to a more protein-rich diet, could there possibly be a similar ability in humans that has yet to be discovered or was an adaptation our ancestors have lost?"

Supplements... blah. Eat right to start, and you shouldn't need any. Besides, any supplements you take, 90% pass through you without being absorbed.

Worst - 'missing' many things. Happy hours, a breakfast, a luncheon, looking at things I can't do. Best - learned a lot about myself this week. Learned that some of my food addictions are completely psychological, and not physiological in the least! Learned that maybe the excessive dairy consumption causes my congestion... and maybe some of my allergy like symptoms. Learned that my past diet (as in eating, not starvation) plans included way too few veggies! Planning meals in the order of meat, low starch veg is fantastic! I will be taking this out on day 31. Need to closely examine/scrutinize fruits. (Plenty of fats). Might sound strange, but my focus really is on day 31. I can see myself eating paleo in day to day, but also not holding back from the fun things in life when they come. For example, I don't see myself reintroducing lots of dairy to my diet in a day to day thing. If I want to go out for a cheeseburger, I will. But, I won't buy it, and bring it home. Same thing for most grains.. better to have ground beef and broccoli than ground beef in a taco shell... these are better choices... but when going out with friends, will eat reasonably normal food (if there is not a better choice).

Not afraid of the fat. But am interested in why the advice is to pick meats that are lean or very lean, then then add nuts. Same thing with eggs, the advice seems to be discard the yoks.. but have nuts too. Why pick ultra lean, then add fat back in. I am learning to shop in this challenge. Just picked up 2# of bananna for 1$. And bananna is supposed to be fantastic for post WOD recovery. Careful shopping can yield great benefits... just need to go into the supermarket with a wide open array of options. The last two days will be no points for me. Breaking some habits is proving hard. It it amazing how strong some cravings are... even though per say I find myself not hungry, but craving something. Must also break out of the zone mentality to let this work. If you zone paleo meals, your daily food intake will be ridiculously low. Need to stop measuring (or estimating), and eat to satiety when hungry. Not have an incomplete two block snack when scheduled. One thing I am really thinking about is day 31 and beyond. I tend to work hard for a goal, then when it is accomplished, am kinda stumped. On the winter challenge, ate pretty good for 12 weeks, but not long after the challenge, old habits crept back in. Really want to focus on normalcy. (Even if it is a new normalcy). The other day, I was planning was day 31 was going to be. Planned a complete carbohydrate overload. Then kind of took a step back and said, where would that get me. So, trying to figure out longer term here. Would rather leave this challenge with a better long term/life plan than just crash back into old habits.

Actually, have been noticing this recently, and have been curious. Would be interesting to do a post intro questionaire and examine how thought processes differ between men and women.

Hal, reading what you wrote saved my challenge today. At 2:30, was experiencing the mid afternoon slump. Was negotiating with myself. by 3:00pm, was mostly decided that I was headed to Hardee's to get a monster burger, then just go home to take a nap. But, after reading what you wrote.. blew off those feelings and gave it a chance. Workout this afternoon sucked. But the weight is just falling off. I know it it a lot of water going now (prob water and glycogen).. but this is the lowest my weight has been in a long time. But weight is not the best indicator, i know... this little fat ring around my abdomen is. So, I might need some help these next few days. What I need is a few text messages between 3:00pm and about 3:30 reminding me that it is not ok to just head off to hardee's. Four ten, 603-9998. If someone else has a hard time of day and needs the same, just let me know.

If you are scientifically minded (like me, when I can think straight). I use this site to analyze what I am eating.. http://www.mypyramid.gov/ If you visit, second coulumn, second row is a thing called 'My Pyramid Menu Planner'. We use this with the kids at school. But, it is a great little tool. I put my old zone plan in there, of interest, the total calories came out to 1776. Just put my paleo plan in there, and of course, it comes out to about the same calories. It it quick to point out that I total have 3.5 cups fruit (RDA 2), and 2.75 cups veg (RDA 3.5). It even breaks it down by type of veg, so I have some more things to explore to try to get that veg number up a bit higher.

Felt pretty good today. My energy levels were a bit more stable than usual, didn't have the 2pm crash. But, it was a nice and relatively easy day. Need a bad stressful day to challenge me. Temptation is everywhere. Was laughing on drive into SBY watching a McDonalds truck drive across an overpass. At lunch, looked around and saw what everyone else was eating. Yikes. At a meeting later in the day, looked around and saw everyone with a coke. After the WOD this evening, as I was leaving, in my brain I was deciding where I wanted to pick dinner up from. My brain had decided on chicken selects from mcdonalds. But, somehow made it home. Brain wanted walnuts.. was happy to supply that. My dinner steak had a bit more fat than I wanted (should have realized that the price was too good), but one step at a time.

Kelley, you get the ribbon for today. I don't think I could have done that! And yup, talk about being different. Realized how nice vibrams would be for running on and off the beach all day long (sandals don't work well on beach). So all the sudden, I'm seriously looking at vibrams, shopping for organic food, and reading ingredients on food labels. This really is different. Somehow, we all need to survive tomorrow. Tomorrow brings stress, vending machines, and driving by fast food 'restaurants'.

Haven't really tossed anything yet.... well, found some bad veggies that had to go, and need to donate the cottage cheese. Made some observations today: 1. Why do so many products need HCFS, or even sugar? For example A1 steak sauce... why does that need sugar? Why does any salad dressing need sugar? 2. Of those things in my June bag, they will be fine in there until june. Is that a problem? I mean, what does that say about a food item that will be fine for 30 days with just mild refrigeration? Need to look carefully for good sources of bacon, and deli meats... all seem to have more sugar heaped on them. Went grocery shopping this morning.. was a but more expensive, but was fun too!