I have an experience I wanted to share with whoever is interested about the Paleo diet.

My friends and I decided to start our own Paleo challenge around a month ago. My main goal for this challenge was to lose 15 lbs of weight that I gained and can't seem to lose from going on vacation and just being stressed at work. I was getting frustrated with the fact that I worked out hard during the week doing crossfit or martial arts and sometimes doing both on the same day.

Whatever I was doing wasn't working because I couldn't seem to lose any weight, in fact I was getting heavier and bulkier. My goal was to be lean and I thought if I kept the same diet but just increased my workout time, I would eventually slim down.

After around a month of doing this I finally thought to myself that this wasn't working and I'm ending up overtraining my body. I always felt sore from conditioning work @ lalanne and then get even more beat up in the evening after either kickboxing or jiujitsu. I felt like crap the next day.

Enter: http://paleofor6weeks.wordpress.com. My friend started this blog for both of us and we just thought it would be a good way of keeping track of what we eat and critique one another. I guess we were trying to use peer pressure in a positive way and wanted to experiment if it worked. We were both crossfitters, (lalanne and DCF) and thought maybe having the mentality of coaching, cheering, logging, and improving would help us get to our goals. If the same concept works when applied to WODs it should also work for eating and staying healthy.

My experience during the 1st week was great. I was excited to start this so I thought to myself I better stick with it. I rode the momentum for the first 4-5 days and started eating just PALEO type food from restaurants. I don't cook so I figured I'd just order meat, greens, salads, stir fried beef or whatever seemed PALEO. I have to admit this wasn't easy yet it wasn't that hard either. I could eat whatever I wanted as long as it was meat, veggies, some fruit and nuts and seeds.

2nd week was harsher. I somewhat cheated already during the weekend and for some reason, things always came up at work where I wasn't able to make healthy choices. I started cheating a little bit here and there and before I knew it I was drinking beer, eating rice, bread (the stuff I wasn't supposed to eat). I thought this sucks. I've already failed and it is only my 2nd week.

The 2nd weekend came and I thought, maybe I should give this up again and just restart it another time. My friends convinced me through our website that this is normal and the only thing you can do is get back on the wagon as soon as possible.... so I did.

3rd week flew by great. I started taking pictures of what I ate and started posting them on our website. I got comments here and there from the original participants and a few new ones too. A guy also joined who was doing the Zone diet and had a lot of information to share. By the 3rd weekend I told myself to make a no cheating challenge and see how I'd fair. Surprisingly it was a good experience.

That same weekend I attended a PALEO seminar hosted by KMSF (Krav Maga San Francisco). It was very informative and we went to WHOLE FOODS right after. I bought a shit load of meat, veggies, spices, nuts, coconut juice, fish, and everything that was PALEO approved. I ended up with so much food in my fridge and I didn't even know how to cook.

That week I started going to the internet and started looking up recipes of food that I enjoyed eating and were simple enough to make. By the end of the 3rd week, I learned how to make: huevos rancheros, paleo guacamole, salsa, mahi mahi ceviche, protein burgers, steak and eggs, paleo salads. I'm even used to using olive oil as salad dressing instead of the creamy stuff that has a lot of flavor.

It's been 3 weeks and a half now and within that 3 weeks, not only did I learn how to eat right, I also learned how to cook, how to stay focused, how to get back on the wagon, how to be a positive influence, and how to improve myself.

It's probably not a lot but I've lost around 5-6lbs during this challenge and its only a little over half way done. The best part is that I'm not craving for the bad carbs anymore and can probably keep this lifestyle change going even after the challenge. To whoever is interested in doing something like this I highly recommend doing it with friends who share the same mentality and the rest will follow. We had a few non-believers start the challenge to because we tried to lead by example and they saw results.

Anyway, just wanted to share. If you want more info about our website it is located here:

http://paleofor6weeks.wordpress.com/

Cheers!

JV