Follow your Instincts

How many of you tinker with your diet?  Ok, raise your hand if you cringe at the word, or would never consider even living a life on a diet?  First, click here and read what the word diet itself means.

Its about improving your life by deciding what, how much and why you eat what you eat.  Its about feeling better.  If I’ve spoken with you recently, theres a high probability I’ve discussed the paleo challenge or told you to read it. It was written by Robb Wolf from CrossFit Norcal as a one month challenge to his new members.  It was also used at CrossFit Seattle with amazing results in seven weeks.  This of course got me thinking again about how I ate, so I thought I’d give it a try for a bit…or at least cut down on the cheese I eat with every meal!

Watching what I eat is a new lifestyle for me.  I lived for years as a cocky young man, eating anything and everything I wanted.  I never gained much weight in college and have weighed between 150 and 160 for the past ten years.  There was a terrible secret…I felt like shit…A LOT!  From the end of college until about a year ago, I preferred to be hungry than to eat and most likely feel like shit.

  I went through a variety of theories:  I was eating too late at night, I drank too much, I ate too fast and swallowed air, I was lactose intolerant.

In the end, it was the reduction of my high glycemic foods that saved me.  Pasta 5 nights a week, lots of alcohol, pizza and mexican daily, working at a sushi restaurant.  I read the zone concepts and cut all those things out.  It was like magic.  Now I know how good all those things taste, but its nothing compared to how good I felt afterwards.  It was addicting.  It was simple.  I felt empowered for the first time in years.  I know there are others that are suffering in silence and its ok!  No one was taught this stuff.

When I talk to people about their diet, I’ll ask them something like, “What do you get when you eat vegetables?” a blank stare, and I’ll continue, “Like how meat is protein, what’s a vegetable?” more blank stares.  If this sounds like a joke to you, then you’re ahead of the game.  I would say that 95 percent of people I have asked don’t know the answer to that question.  Like most people, I only knew of carbs being in potatoes, pasta, bread, etc., let alone what carbs actually do for you.  By learning to categorize food as carbohydrates, protein and fat, we can begin to answer the question of why we eat what we eat.

Here are some more things I’ve learned about tinkering:

Pressing Progression:

Shoulder Press 1-1-1-1-1

Push Press 3-3-3-3-3

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5

There is no time component to this workout, but try not to break longer than 2 minutes between sets.  Remember your breathe when lifting heavy!  If you are new to these movements, go light and perfect your form.  You’ll have plenty of time to go heavy.  Read here for detailed info on the presses and set up.