A quick note about our day and dinner and then bed!

Hey guys, 

This should be a quick one. I am exhausted and ready for a nice night of sleep. First let me say that Rochelle and I both had great days. She was at work and I got to be a house husband, getting as many chores as I could done while still enjoying my day. Mission Accomplished for me! Our paleo chicken picatta and bacon and green beans reheated beautifully and still tasted quite good! (I promise I will put a link to the recipe up here at some point!)

When Rochelle got home this evening I was putting the finishing touches on our dinner, Paleo Baked Bim Bim Bap from Health Bent (http://www.health-bent.com/eggs/baked-bibimbap). Once I got the veggies all cooked we left to go to the gym.
Rochelle’s WOD 

LIFT

Press: 3-3-3
Push Press: 3-3-3
Push Jerk: 3-3-3

METCON

AMRAP ladder in 7 minutes:

SDHP (75/55)

Plate Burpees (45/25) 

I spent the hour working on a progression of snatches and cleans as I don’t get as much dedicated time to practice them as I would prefer. My form is getting better but I’m not putting up the numbers I expect from myself. The issue for me is that I am great at simple power lifts (Squats and deadlifts) but not as great at complex/dynamic lifts. The other problem is that I am accustomed to my strength getting me by in most instances and with Snatches and Cleans that is not the case. Luckily my coaches are great and I’m sure this will turn around with some dedication and repetition. 

I forgot to take pictures of our dinner tonight because frankly we were both too hungry when we got back from the gym. Let’s say it looked exactly like the picture on the website and leave it at that! 

That’s it for me, I’m ready to lay down and catch some quality sleep. Have a great day everyone. 

Kyle  

Kyle’s daily info 8/30/2012

Good morning!

My weight this morning was 240lbs. 

WOD

5,000 lbs (m)/3,000 lbs (w) Ground to Overhead*

21-15-9

Pull-Ups

Burpees

*In the first part of the workout, the athlete will choose one weight and then do the corresponding number of reps to reach either 5,000 or 3,000 lbs (3,000/1,500 scaled). For example, if a male athlete chooses to lift 135 lbs, they will need to complete 38 reps of ground to overhead to reach the 5,000 lb limit. Likewise, a female lifting 95 lbs would need to complete 32 reps to reach 3,000 lbs. Choose wisely and scale accordingly. Once the ground to overhead reps are completed you will immediately move into the pull-up/burpee portion of the WOD

For the WOD I chose to do the weight scheme mentioned in the paragraph above (135x38) thinking this would be a manageable weight to do to get through the WOD. This WOD was a pain in the ass. Holy shit. I love lifting weights but repetition like that always burns me out. After doing my reps I moved immediately on to the pull-ups and burpees. All in all this WOD stomped a mud hole in my ass and then proceeded to walk it dry and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I came home feeling like hell, made Rochelle and I some delicious breakfast and now…off to work. 


Kyle  

An intimate letter to our followers from Kyle

Hello my fellow paleo/primal acolytes. It has been far too long since I have spoken to you and it’s past time I get real with you in order to achieve my goals. 


I think I wrote something a while back about needing to be stricter on the diet, blah blah blah. Well, I didn’t. Over the past 4 weeks I have eaten copious amounts of fast food and other non paleo approved foods with little regard for the devastating effects it was causing on my body. When Rochelle and I began eating paleo back in February we realized that along with the weight loss benefits other aspects to our life started improving. For example, we slept better, our skin and hair were healthier and the things that happened in the bathroom seemed less severe with no processed foods in the mix. Well, for 4 weeks I looked past the fact that all of these issues resurfaced with me and kept eating. Now, I know that I am an emotional eater. And before I go further let me be clear, I hate that fucking term, however, it is nonetheless an accurate title for me. When I am in a bad mood I want to eat fast food not until I am full but rather until I’m so stuffed I hate myself. 

I’ve been trying to think of what the reason for my change in eating could be. Work has been treating me well. My home life is better than it has ever been and I generally don’t have any complaints right now. So, with all of those potential stressers out of the way it leaves one option: Me. 

My dear friends I have become lazy. Rather than put in the extra time at home to make something delicious and nutritios to take to work for lunch I have chosen to eat out. At first I rationalized it, “It’s just sushi, it’s not that unhealthy, look at the Japanese!” and then I gave up, “Hi, can I get a sourdough Jack and a medium curly fry? thanks”

Well that stops now. 

I have decided to come back to blogging everyday. I work in sales so I definitely have the time! At the very least I will blog everything I’ve eaten per day and what my morning weight is. I know there are many people who think you shouldn’t weigh yoursef daily but I’m not one of them. Weighing myself is like checking my bank statement every morning. The information may not do much for me, but I feel better knowing it and it makes me work harder to improve the number. 

So, here we go, again? Thanks for being faithful followers, readers and friends. 

Kyle

RX does not mean you're better than me!

My gym’s website www.americanrivercrossfit.com posted an article this morning detailing why it is important to scale your WODs. I’m not going to go into it here because the article does a better job of it than I ever could. Suffice it to say this has completely changed my outlook on my WODs. 

Enjoy!

Please feel free to comment or question on any of the posts on our blog. Rochelle and I love hearing from you.

Also, is there something Rochelle and I haven’t talked about? Are there requests, ideas for new 30 Day Challenges, or just general inquiries? Feel free to send us private messages or comment right on the blog (I think that can be done…)

We hope to hear from you soon!

-Kyle  

Why this is important to me

Before I begin, I promise this won’t be as long as the last one!

I work in sales and we are notoriously terrible eaters. Energy drinks, loads of coffee, sweet, fast food, and cigarettes. All in a day’s work. It gets difficult to stay on the straight and narrow. Which leads me into today. 

This morning one of the reps for a manufacturer whose product my company carries (ambiguous enough?) brought in a dozen hot Krispy Kreme donuts for us. I fully admit that Krispy Kreme donuts pretty much suck and that grains are bad for you yada yada yada. HOWEVER having a hot donut in front of you…that’s a whole other story! All of a sudden I start forgetting about the genius that is Robb Wolf and how hard I have worked. In the interest in being honest, I did have a donut. If I’m honest it smelled better than it tasted. 

As soon as I ate it I remembered why this is so important to me. 4 months ago I was 40lbs heavier than I am today. I was horribly out of shape, depressed, and lying to myself. Now, while I haven’t reached the weight I want to be at I am happier, healthier and my self esteem is back to where it should be. In short, the 40lbs of fat and gunk I lost was 40lbs of baggage that had been holding me down. 

It is easy to trip on this or any diet. I have done it plenty of times. Sometimes I’m glad I did, there are some foods that no matter how much I think they poison me are really fucking good. Then there are the days like today where frankly I wish I wouldn’t have eaten it. It didn’t cause me to get sick, feel bloated, or get sweaty. It made me feel guilty. I felt guilty for letting not only myself down but also the people I regularly workout with at American River CrossFit who have been nothing but supportive of me. I felt guilty about cheating on the diet when Rochelle has been doing this with me and I’m sure she would like to take breaks on it but instead today she was out getting a refrigerator full of paleo awesomeness for us to eat throughout the week. Hell, I feel guilty because of everyone who has read this blog. Some of you I know personally, others just kind supporters of the work Rochelle and I are trying to do. You have been wonderful to us and there is no denying that I let you down. 

Luckily, tomorrow is a new day. I will be up early and destroying my WOD. Thank you all for your continued support.

-Kyle  

Whole 30 Challenge

Here….we….go!!

Whole 30 Challenge

So we are starting another Whole 30 Challenge on Monday and this time we are blessed to have several of our closest friends joining us! A BIG welcome to Austin and Janell Zertuche and Kurt and Molly Frandrup! We are very excited to have you along with us on this journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Ready. Set. Go!

A few rules to abide by:

  • No dairy: Use Coconut Milk or Almond Milk
  • No sugar or other sweeteners (Agave, Honey, Stevia)
  • No potatoes, rice, bread, grains, beans, corn, peanuts
  • No soy products, canola oil
  • If you are trying to lose weight, you should only have one serving of fruit per day. Fruits should include berries, melons and apples and NOT tropical fruits

We have put together a sample meal plan for the week with some of our favorites so far….

Asian Lettuce Cups

Grilled Spaghetti Sauce w/Sausage

Rosemary and Pecan Crusted Salmon

Portabella Burgers

Chicken Lo-Mein

Bacon, Apple, Avocado Salad

All of these recipes should make more than enough food for 4 servings. Kyle and I typically will eat half of it for dinner and then section off the leftovers for lunch the next day.

For breakfast we both eat a few eggs, bacon or sausage and a veggie of some sort. There are all sorts of recipes for “Paleo Pancakes” etc but you should stay away from things like that until after the challenge.

Here are a few tips that have made eating Paleo easier for us:

  • Have plenty of Chicken and Curry sauces in the house at all times for a quick meal.
  • Avocado/Guacamole can be a life saver.
  • If you can, take a look at what veggies you are going to eat each week and chop/slice them all up on Sunday to save time during week night cooking.
  • You MUST have protein with every meal but try to eat more veggies than protein.
  • Need something sweet? Grab some berries and dark chocolate (70% or higher cacao). It will save your life.
  • Not the best for you but great in a pinch: Lara Bars, In N Out (protein burgers) and Chipotle Burrito Bowls (no rice, beans, sour cream or cheese)
  • Drink A LOT of water. You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in water every day.
  • If you drink coffee or tea, no artificial sweeteners or dairy/creamer
  • Cook with coconut oil, ghee, FOC (Fat of Choice) ie bacon grease when you can.
  • There are hundreds of websites and blogs dedicated to the Paleo lifestyle now, if you are in a rut, a simple google search will introduce you to all sorts of new recipes.

We also highly recommend you take before/after photos and take measurements. We didn’t do this until we were already a ways in and definitely regret it.

Lastly, don’t get overwhelmed! It is a lot of information to digest but once you get going it becomes really easy. Most importantly, we have already done it and are here to help! Call, text, email or message us with any questions, comments or concerns. We are eager to help you through the challenge and we can’t see your results at the end of the month!

Welcome aboard, mateys!

-Chell & Kyle

I just failed

Forgive me fellow paleo acolytes! I succumbed to weakness and ate a chicken Caesar salad from the cafe at my office. I did NOT have croutons on it, however there was parmesan cheese and of course Caesar dressing.

This will not set me back and it is not an indication on things to come. I posted this in order to have better transparency and be honest about my failings. Don’t hate me. Be my faces of love!

-Kyle

Weekend Update with Kyle!

This weekend was awesome.

The highlights! Saturday we tried our best to drink Sonoma county dry of their wine. We failed but still felt like winners! Amazing wines at Roche, Highway 12 winery and Sonoma Wine Shop! Awesome! Chell and I went a little off paleo (No where near as bad as our Valentine’s Day Dinner!) and we suffered the concequences. It’s truly funny how eating just a little off the diet can make you feel terrible inside and out. It’s a good motivation for us to stay on the right track.

Sunday we did the grocery shopping and Chell went to the gym with me to watch me attempt the 12.2 WOD again of snatches. Unfortunately (due primarily to dehydration caused  by too much wine the day before) I wasn’t able to beat my previous score of 61. All in all still a good day. We went home, had some dinner and watched the Walking Dead and were in bed by 10. We’re old and fine with that kind of a night

 So, I know I said I would have a new challenge for us to start for today but unfortunately I don’t. We’re still 100% paleo but I’m looking into Intermittent Fasting for myself. I’m not sure if Chell will do it with me or if she’ll just want to stick with paleo. I will let you all know as soon as I know. We still love paleo and how it makes us feel and want to convert the world!!!!!!!!

Not really. Eat what you want.

-Kyle

2/29/12 The End of the Challenge (BUT NOT THE BLOG!)

Chell

  • Breakfast: Lara Bar and an orange
  • Lunch: Chicken (thigh) salad with apple cider/Dijon vinaigrette
  • Snack: Trail mix and cuties
  • Dinner: Butternut squash and spicy sausage with caramelized onions and sunny side up eggs.
  • Workout: 1 hour on the elliptical

Kyle

  • Breakfast: Apple, breakfast sausage
  • Lunch: Chicken thighs and burger patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and mustard
  • Snack: Apple
  • Dinner: Butternut squash and spicy sausage with caramelized onions and sunny side up eggs.

So we are technically at the end of our 30 day challenge. We’re still alive. In fact, we’re not just alive but we’re THRIVING! Chell and I have never felt better in our lives. Paleo is not a diet to us but rather a way of life. We feel better, sleep better, eat better, look better, train better and in general are just better. We are beginning to shop at the local farmer’s market every Sunday morning and this week plan on getting there nice and early (like 7am CHELL!) so that we can get our meat for the week from the awesome sources at the market.

On behalf of Rochelle and I, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us through this endavor. From the other paleo tumblrs out there, the people who follow us on Facebook, Rochelle’s co-workers who joined her in the gym (GREAT JOB ALLISON AND JEN! I’M PROUD OF YOU BOTH!), the awesome team at ARCFIT who have and will unfortunately continue to deal with my constant questions about the diet (Sean, Ryan, Christian, Larry, Gina, Elijah, Randy) you guys have been awesome and truly welcoming. I am proud to be apart of our broken crew of CrossFit psychos! And also to my friends who train with me at ARCFIT, you are all amazingly supportive. My thanks to all of you as well!

Also, to those people who doubted the diet or thought we were speeding our way to heart disease and a host of other health problems, thank you. The great warrior poet Katt Williams once said something to the effect of “Haters gotta hate! That’s their mother fuckin’ job so let them do their job!” Your messages were heard and then chucked out the window and, for me, made me work harder and recommit my efforts to Paleo and CrossFit.

Also, to our close friends who we have neglected due to the diet because we didn’t want to force our ways on you (Kurt, Molly, Austin, Janell, Aaron, Jana and Baby Sierra) we love all of you very much and I promise things will return to a relative normal flow, except a lot less pasta dinners!

So, this is the last post of this challenge but we are going to begin another. Chell and I might approach the challenges in a different way on the next one, or maybe we won’t! We’re going to discuss it this weekend and update everyone about it on Monday (Maybe Sunday night, after The Walking Dead, of course).

What I do know is that we will keep blogging. It has been a great way to keep us honest and get us a whole bunch of new paleo friends. Also, I know that today, we’re not eating grains, sugars, dairy, or legumes and we have no plans on changing that anytime soon.

Stay classy you paleo bastards!

-Kyle

2/29/12 The End of the Challenge (BUT NOT THE BLOG!)

Chell

  • Breakfast: Lara Bar and an orange
  • Lunch: Chicken (thigh) salad with apple cider/Dijon vinaigrette
  • Snack: Trail mix and cuties
  • Dinner: Butternut squash and spicy sausage with caramelized onions and sunny side up eggs.
  • Workout: 1 hour on the elliptical

Kyle

  • Breakfast: Apple, breakfast sausage
  • Lunch: Chicken thighs and burger patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and mustard
  • Snack: Apple
  • Dinner: Butternut squash and spicy sausage with caramelized onions and sunny side up eggs.

So we are technically at the end of our 30 day challenge. We’re still alive. In fact, we’re not just alive but we’re THRIVING! Chell and I have never felt better in our lives. Paleo is not a diet to us but rather a way of life. We feel better, sleep better, eat better, look better, train better and in general are just better. We are beginning to shop at the local farmer’s market every Sunday morning and this week plan on getting there nice and early (like 7am CHELL!) so that we can get our meat for the week from the awesome sources at the market.

On behalf of Rochelle and I, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us through this endavor. From the other paleo tumblrs out there, the people who follow us on Facebook, Rochelle’s co-workers who joined her in the gym (GREAT JOB ALLISON AND JEN! I’M PROUD OF YOU BOTH!), the awesome team at ARCFIT who have and will unfortunately continue to deal with my constant questions about the diet (Sean, Ryan, Christian, Larry, Gina, Elijah, Randy) you guys have been awesome and truly welcoming. I am proud to be apart of our broken crew of CrossFit psychos! And also to my friends who train with me at ARCFIT, you are all amazingly supportive. My thanks to all of you as well!

Also, to those people who doubted the diet or thought we were speeding our way to heart disease and a host of other health problems, thank you. The great warrior poet Katt Williams once said something to the effect of “Haters gotta hate! That’s their mother fuckin’ job so let them do their job!” Your messages were heard and then chucked out the window and, for me, made me work harder and recommit my efforts to Paleo and CrossFit.

Also, to our close friends who we have neglected due to the diet because we didn’t want to force our ways on you (Kurt, Molly, Austin, Janell, Aaron, Jana and Baby Sierra) we love all of you very much and I promise things will return to a relative normal flow, except a lot less pasta dinners!

So, this is the last post of this challenge but we are going to begin another. Chell and I might approach the challenges in a different way on the next one, or maybe we won’t! We’re going to discuss it this weekend and update everyone about it on Monday (Maybe Sunday night, after The Walking Dead, of course).

What I do know is that we will keep blogging. It has been a great way to keep us honest and get us a whole bunch of new paleo friends. Also, I know that today, we’re not eating grains, sugars, dairy, or legumes and we have no plans on changing that anytime soon.

Stay classy you paleo bastards!

-Kyle

Tuesday 2/28/12

Chell

  • Breakfast: Didn’t eat breakfast
  • Lunch: Rotisserie chicken breast and salad
  • Snack: Orange and trail mix
  • Dinner: Asian Lettuce Cups

Kyle

  • Breakfast: 2 breakfast sausage and an apple
  • Lunch: Leftover chicken Lo Mein.
  • Snack: Trail Mix
  • Dinner: Asian Lettuce Cups

Workout: (14:00)

  • 3 Rounds for time
  • 300m row
    20 wall balls (20/14)
    10 pull-up

Tuesday went by with little complaint on our part. In fact, we had an awesome dinner! Asian Lettuce Cups (I swear I will have the link to the recipe posted!)
The dinner was crazy awesome and very easy to make and so filling. The only problemI had was over doing it (which I did) on the sriacha. Needless to say, my stomach was not too happy with me. Regardless, it was an awesome meal that both Chell and I look forward to having again soon. 

I did my workout at 5 am and I loved it. I’m shocked to admit it, but I loved getting up that early and putting in work and getting on with my day. It made me feel stronger and more alert throughout the day. It won’t be a regular thing for two reasons. First, I will run myself down too quickly doing that. Secondly, some of my 6pm crew (Sonic in particular) will miss me far too much for me to do that all the time, and I am a man of the people. But I will be sneaking in a couple early mornings every month. Who knows, maybe I’ll do two-a-days just like summer training for football?!

As I write this (Wednesday 2/29/12) it’s my rest day and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been sleeping well but a little more couldn’t kill me.

-Kyle

2/27/12

Chell

Breakfast: Apple and a cup of coffee
Lunch: Grilled veggies and marinara
Snack: Trail mix and orange
Dinner: Chicken Lo Mein (Paleo version)
Workout: 1 hour on the eliptical

Kyle

Breakfast: Apple
Lunch: Chicken salad w/ apple cider and Dijon vinaigrette
Snack: Granola
Dinner: Chicken Lo Mein (Paleo version)
Workout:

AMRAP in 21 minutes:

21 db snatches each arm (45/25)
12 chest to bar pull-ups
21 double-unders
12 ground release push-ups
21 sit-ups
1200 foot run (400m)

Monday was weird. I didn’t go to work and instead went to an early class at the gym and then hit the steam room for some relaxation. Chell returned back to work after her “Stay-Cation” all last week. Dinner was an awesome paleo chicken lo mein. I’m looking forward to having more of it today for my lunch.

-Kyle