Wednesday, October 7, 2009

2 months already?

Weigh-In: 210.2 lbs.

Whoa, has it really been 2 months since my last post? Sorry about that, folks. I haven't been slacking of on the fitness front, but I guess I haven't really felt the desire to write about it lately. But I'll try to recap and bring you all up to speed with where I am.

I did let the diet slip a little bit for a few weeks, and got up to 216 lbs. But some of that weight was muscle, and I've been hitting personal records like crazy. I got my deadlift up to 395, my shoulder press to 165, and my push press to 215. I've been working on my grip strength so that I can start getting better numbers on pull-ups. And I've still been hitting the high intensity workouts hard, so my conditioning is still improving.

As of October 1st I decided to do a 30-day Paleo diet challenge. Many of the Crossfit sites and affiliates have been doing this, with great results, and so I figured I would give it a shot. The diet excludes all grains (including corn) and grain products, all sugar (except for what's found in fruit), all dairy (although I do allow butter), legumes, any artificial ingredients (including sweeteners), and alcohol. So what does that leave? Meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, and oils. There's actually a lot you can do with that list, and I've been trying to include as many new recipes and foods into my diet as I can. As of today I've lost 6 pounds in 7 days, while still eating enough food to keep me quite full. I expect the loss to slow down considerably soon, as much of it is water weight, but I do feel lighter and less bloated. My hope is that I'll get close to 200 lbs. by the end of the month, and use that momentum to blast through into the 190s.

Crossfit + Paleo = fitness and fat loss. I feel better than I have in months. My sleep is so much better (with vivid dreams), I wake up at 7:30 every morning without issue, I'm getting stronger and leaner, and mentally I'm much more focused. I know that part of that has to do with the "no alcohol" part of the Paleo diet, but I've done alcohol-free months before and haven't felt the same way, so I know it has something to do with eating quality food and staying away from the stuff that would serve to damage my body. I urge anyone who really desires to get lean and fit to check out Crossfit and look into the Paleo diet. You won't be disappointed.

2 comments:

Ripx180 said...

Glad to see your still battling away at the fat and health. The diet your doing sounds really hard. No WW or dairy would be tuff for me. I already feel like there isn't much variety. I did a strict low carb for a while and had great weight loss results but couldn't maintain it for the long run. I am still trying to get where I am headed. Anyway good to see you posting and keep them rolling.

Ripx180 said...

Thanks for the comment man. I guess I might struggle with body image a little but I did get quite a few pictures that of course I didn't post (shirtless etc). I still have a pretty high fat % (mid 20s) last time I checked. Still got lots of work to do. Anyway I do really appreciate the support.