The new year brings people an opportunity to a sort of clean slate, a new beginning and a chance to start over. I personally see it as a cornerstone; its a good starting point and easy way to gauge a change you want to make in your life. 2012 was a yo-yo year for me, especially when it came to my weight and body composition. Early in the year I was at a point where I felt in the best shape of my life and just 8 short months later I feel the exact opposite. My terrible lifestyle choices in the second have of 2012 caused not only a 20 lb weight gain, but also a terrible bout with indigestion and a bad self complexion in the mirror. Luckily, everything is reversible and I've done it before. For those of you reading this who have major health issues like diabetes, indigestion, celiacs disease, or any other issues primarily due or controlled by your diet (unfortunately this list is grossly big primarily due to the current trend in our countries available food supply), my new lifestyle change is something you need to look into.
I have chosen a lifestyle change (notice I didn't say diet) that I'm familiar with and have dabbled in before and absolutely loved. I was introduced to the Paleo diet over a year ago through a short campaign in Crossfit. I followed the diet loosely for about 3 months and never felt better. If you are looking for weight loss (or lean muscle gain), better sleep, more energy or just an over all better feeling... Research the heck out of the Paleo diet. Below is a list of websites, apps and references that I use for information and pull recipes from:
Websites:
http://www.livingprimal.ca/
http://cavemanstrong.com/
http://www.paleoplan.com/
http://beta.primal-palate.com/
There are a ton of websites out there dedicated to paleo.
Apps:
My Kitchen App for iphone and droid free of charge. (phenomenal app)
My fitness pal for iphone, droid and blackberry free of charge.
A quick and simple way to explain the Paleo lifestyle is that it's what our bodies were designed to eat and what our ancestors ate before food was processed and mass produced. Whether you believe in Paleo or not, its hard to not agree that it makes sense. You eat lean, natural meat, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, nuts and fats. The concept is argued over because of its strong stance against wheat, grains, oats and dairy... Things our society has been force fed since we figured out how to farm and mass produce these crops. The reality is our bodies aren't designed to break down grains and especially legumes (Why don't we eat grains and legumes? for a good read on this issue). The other issue people have is that it's a low carb diet. I've done a low carb diet before and felt like punching myself in the face come 5:00 pm. The difference with eating Paleo is that it includes a high amount of fat in its diet and your body burns (converts to energy) fat way more efficiently than it does carbs. Not to mention Paleo's lack of sugar intake will stop that late afternoon crash and stop your body from going into fat storage mode.
The Paleo diet is a great concept, but it literally is all about making healthy, conscious food choices. Receiving your vitamins and nutrients from a natural, healthy food source is the only proper way our bodies were designed to absorb them... Although big pharm would like to argue with me on that.
This time around, I will be much more strict than my previous attempt at eating Paleo. I will be capturing my journey, as well as the journey of my girlfriend and friends, of our 2013 lifestyle change here for your viewing pleasure. We will have recipes, workouts and tips to hopefully guide you through the process. If you have any questions, you can reach us at ignitefitnesstraining@gmail.com.
Happy 2013 and cheers to good health!
-Keith
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