Cool your jets, bucko, it'll be ok...

"[The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy] looked insanely complicated, and this was one of the reasons why the snug plastic cover it fitted into had the words DON'T PANIC printed on it in large friendly letters."

Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Now, before anybody freaks out about the nutrition portion of the Lockdown, just relax, take a deep breath and settle yourself. It'll be OK. You get to eat. In fact, possibly more than you want to (which to me sounds like a great idea). You'll get a packet of info to go thru and there'll be an in-briefing before we start that will explain everything. Here are the basics:

For 45 days you'll commit to a basicPaleo eating plan - Meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch andno sugar. Easy. No weighing, no measuring. Eat a palm-sized serving of protein - meat, fish, eggs - as muchvegetable matter as you want and a good chunk of healthy fats. Do this three or four times a day,anytime it works for you. Eating regularly may be a radical idea for some of you. Get overit. This might be a lot of food for others. Ditto. There's nobody who can't do thisregardless of circumstances, life style or any other lame-ass excuse you can come up with.It just requires a little forethoughtand the commitment. We'll figure it out together. The results are so totally worth it.

The Big Bugaboo

Here's where I expect the most whining. No grains. Including but not limited to: bread, pasta, rice, amaranth, barley, oats,quinoa, rye, spelt, cookies, brownies (ouch!), donuts, PopTarts, Clif Bars, granola, etc. Oh, and alcohol. Easy, down, big fella, let me explain. Alcohol is concentrated, liquid carbohydrates and almost all of it is made from grains, the obvious exception being wine. Yes, you can do it. No, it's not impossible. All you're committing to is 45 days. People kick drug habits in less time, you can certainly live without a Twinkie.  And I hate to tell you but potatoes are not a vegetable. Sorry...

If you have a little of any of these things will you die? Of course not. Will you get maximum benefits from the Lockdown? Of course not. It's up to you. This is supposed to be life changing. Why the hell are you training CrossFit if you don't want to change your life? If you finish this successfully, and, somehow, aren't happy with the results, don't see the value in what you've done, and truly want to go back, then have at it. I'll buy you the first Domino's sub. Here are the before and after pics of Robb Wolf's clients to give you and idea of what's possible. 2 days a week training CF, this eating plan, different time frames for each person, none very long. It's truly amazing. We haven't even talked about how good you're gonna feel.

This is the thumbnail. You'll have specific questions, some will be answered in the handout you'll get, the rest, ask me.

Comments

[Kath]

I love the Hitchhikers Guide LOL

[Kath]

Why no quinoa?

[Tony Young]

Kath,Quinoa (keen-wa) is less offensive than some of the other things on that list since it isn't a true grain. But it's still an incredibly dense carb source. Insulin spike city.

You like Hitchhiker's!?!! You might not be so bad after all... ;-)

[Tim W]

Wow that amaranth thing is gonna be easy to quit--since I never heard of it. Bread and oats on the other hand, I eat daily. I'll have to think about some good breakfast veggies. I like peppers and onions in my Waffle-House hashbrows, does that count?? :)

[Dr D]

"Thanks for all the fish, now its time for us to go" said the dolphins (the most intelligent creatures on the planet) as the jumped into space.

IIs fish considered paleolithic? Hmmmm.

found a good read in wikipedia on paleolithic man and the nutrition:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic

BTW: Amaranth is considered a weed and leaf vegetable. (Read on wiki) Its when its processed it is concentrated and can cause that oh so bad spike in our bodies blood sugar and then the body responds by storing the carbs as fat. I think the whole point of paleo and zone is to keep our blood sugar levels at a modest level.

[Dr D]

Tony,

I saw the food list on the wall at CFNA yesterday and I know we get a packet of info which outlines the food list. Are there any plans to post the paleo food list here on the web site or a link to where we can scope it out?

[Tony Young]

Dr D,

Fish is absolutely Paleo. http://www.thepaleodiet.com/

Right on about the amaranth. Not so good for your blood sugar. And it tastes like ass.

Paleo food list - Good idea, I'll work on it.

Tim,Ummm, no

[Michael H.]

Good stuff Tony - look forward to hearing/learning more at tomorrow morning's introduction at 6am.

[Tim W]

OK, so last night I made this gigantic pot of chicken-sweet-tater soup. It's pretty damn good. I got 3 sweet potatoes, a can of rotel tomatoes, an onion, some olive oil (not sure maybe a quarter cup?), and one of those rotisierre chickens that is already cooked that you see at Kroger. I boiled the sweet potatoes first. I pulled all the meat off the chicken and threw it in after the potatoes were getting soft, then threw in the other stuff for about 20 minutes on low heat. It's pretty damn good! Did I say that already? I figure leftovers will last another few days. I'm eating a bowl right this minute.

[Tony Young]

Tim,Awesome! Sounds great! I hope you made enough for the whole class...

[Mike A]

I went to La Parilla for lunch around the corner Primavera Steak Salad

Our delicious grilled steak laid on a bed of spring mix (seasonal greens). minus mandarin slices, sprinkled Gorgonzola cheese,but with roasted almonds, dried cranberries, fried corn tortilla strips and tossed in our exquisite cranberry vinaigrette

That was ok right?

[Elizabeth]

I love that salad! I ate it all the time while I was pregnant...

[Tony Young]

Mike,Yep, good eats. Like we talked at the gym the orange is OK, the strips are a decent stray - good crunch! Make sure you get enough meat on that. Could be a little light on the greens. Measure some at home to see what 9 gms looks like. We're not measuring but you need to make sure you eat enough. Hunger is a good gauge but it doesn't hurt to check.

[Tony Young]

Elizabeth,

What salad are you talking about?

[Kath Knox]

Okay I know I've asked this a million times, maybe I don't want to remember the answer due to selective-amnesia. I am not eating peanuts/peanut-butter/beans legumes -- but I want to explain to a friend why not... What's the reason again??

[Tony Young]

Kath,It's a bunch of things. There is a connection between lectins (part of what makes a bean a bean)and immune disorders due to increased viral and bacterial adhesion to mucosal membranes, leading to higher rates of cold, flu and infection (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0999/is_/ai_54561205). There's some solid science that suggests that legumes can destroy insulin signaling (Kitava study - www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6823/5/10). Not to mention the wicked carb wallop they carry. This and more at the in-brief later this week.

[Kath Knox]

Okay what about club soda?? Or soda water? (Ann-imal's askin)I just know tonic-water is not sugarfree or calorie-less, which most people think it is. But I think club-soda is...My guess is it's okay as long as it doesn't have artificial sweeteners/flavors in it (to set off the mouth/brain pavlov thing)

[Kath Knox]

I think the main question is, is it a comparable substitute for REAL water? (regular non-bubbly water)

[Tony Young]

Kath, Ann-imal, et al,

Tonic is indeed sweetened. Club soda and seltzer (my fave) are not and agreat change of pace from plain water. Avoid the artificial sweeteners forexactly the reasons you state.

T

[Kevin Fay]

What about Zone Bars? Zone Perfect bars more specifically?

[Tony Young]

Zone Bars are not much better than candy. A splash of protein, a decent balance of carbs and fat but in the end, they aren't really food. You can do better. Try some jerky, an apple or a pear and some nuts. Better all around.

[Tony Young]

Kath,ummm, yes

[Kevin Fay]

How about Coffee and salad dressings that aren't adding a butch of things together and claiming it to be dressing? Is there a site that gives recipes?

[Tony Young]

Kevin,Coffee rocks, period. Unless you're bathing in it (don't tell me) dressings are generally not an issue. Try EVOO and some coarse (kosher) salt and pepper. Simple, fantastic. Try www.thepaleodiet.com and google paleo recipes.

[Travis]

you can also hit the EVOO straight from the bottle like TON-LOCO was doing before Kelly on Sunday. Yikes.

I can knock back about anything liquid - but watching you take a pull on that bottle was a bit rough. I have to try it now of course... just for the man factor.