You probably have already read Ruth’s post on Baby Steps for the Paleo Diet. If you haven’t, go check it out before reading today’s offering. In the comments to that post, Scott said:

Baby steps? I have never heard those words from Marcus! I’m used to ….”PALEO OR DIE!!”

Now while I’d like to think I’m a little more diplomatic than that, when I really reflect on that statement, it does ring true. What I mean is that there are so many deadly diseases that are exacerbated and/or caused by gluten intolerance alone* that going Paleo may just save your life!

Ruth advocates baby steps, saying that many people find it difficult to figure out how to reconfigure their diets to conform to Paleo foods. I agree that it does take a little bit of homework, but it’s not that hard, people! We at CrossFit Intrepid are big fans of Melissa Urban’s writings and she started a campaign back in July to “Change Your Life in 30 Days“. It took on a life of its own and CrossFit affiliates across the nation were jumping on the bandwagon. It is now known as “The Whole30” and is going strong to this day.

When laying the ground rules, she advocates strict by-the-book Paleo for 30 days. But why? Turns out it can take that long to purge all the gluten, lectins and other negative effects of non-Paleo foods from your body. A great advantage to going strict for 30 days is that you can slowly reintroduce foods afterward and see how they affect you. You might be surprised that you have been getting kicked in the rear without realizing it for years!

To those of you saying it’s “too hard”, Melissa also had some tough love to share with participants in her Whole30 system. I’ll leave you with those that rang most true to me:

It’s not that effing hard. (Yes, I wanted to throw an f-bomb in there.) Don’t you dare tell me this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is. Not. Hard. Substituting Sunday morning French toast in favor of a giant omelet and side of crispy bacon is not hard. Eating fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables every day is not hard. So I don’t want to hear one single complaint. You won’t get any coddling from me on this one, you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”, and you won’t get any second chances. Not in my house. It’s thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. So shut up and do it.

Don’t tell me you “slipped”. Unless you physically tripped and your face landed in a box of Krispy Kremes, you DID NOT SLIP. You made a choice to eat something of poor quality. It’s always a choice, so do not phrase it as if you had an accident. You make a poor choice, even once, you’re out. You don’t get to re-start, you don’t get to keep posting. Commit here, 100%, for the full 30 days, or go somewhere else.

You never, ever, ever HAVE to eat anything you don’t want to eat. You’re all big boys and girls. Toughen up. Learn to say no. Learn to stick up for yourself. Just because it’s your Mom’s birthday, or your best friend’s wedding, or your company outing does not mean you “have” to eat crappy food. It’s always a choice, and I would hope that you stopped succumbing to peer pressure in 7th grade.

* – There are a host of diseases, ranging from diabetes to Addison’s,  Crohn’s, Graves’,  Lupus,  myasthenia gravis, polymyalgia rheumatica, scleroderma, vitiligo, ulcerative colitis, alopecia, autoimmune thyroiditis, rheumatioid arthritis, schizophrenia, depression, chronic fatigue, and recurrent urinary tract infection, that result from gluten intolerance.

WOD – 11.16.09

Jumping Jackie
1000m Row
50 Thrusters
30 Box Jumps

Post times to comments.