Progress and poetry

Worked out again this morning at CrossFit South Bay. Which wouldn't be unusual, except that it was Forrest's first class as the instructor!
We did squat cleans -- a tough movement to teach. But he did it really well. So cool to see... So now that he's training, he's also sharing the responsibility for writing blog posts up there. To commemorate his first day, I wanted to share the post he did right after going through last weekend's level 1 certification.
Feeling super tough, he decided to blog about it ... in Haiku.
This one is my very favorite:

Functional movement
I need help off the toilet
Not so functional

You can read the rest of them here if you're interested....(And in case you're wondering, yes he did Photoshop his head on top of one of the winners of the CrossFit games. He's the one in the pink glasses...)
In Paleo news, I'm feeling like I'm at the point where I can't imagine returning to my old eating habits. Last night at AJ's going away dinner, Justin ordered onion rings and I was surprised at how surprised I was. I mean, I realize that as time goes on, I'll have a fry or a cupcake from time to time just like Justin occassionally can order onion rings. Just strange how right now, I'm really not feeling like eating any of that stuff. The results are too good to ignore... My clothes are super loose and earlier this week I hit a two-rep deadlift max of 200 pounds. A month ago, my one-rep max was 180.

Day 6: After the marathon

Ok, so I'm not talking about a real marathon. But the past two days have felt like one: Up before 6, in bed after midnight, with jam-packed days.
And miraculously, no need to cheat.
I owe a big part of that to two people who helped me out huge this week.
First meet Laylan, my roommate and dear friend. I had one hour after work on Thursday to pack for a trip, shower, take apart my bed for the new mattress delivery guys and eat before I had to rush to LA for a meeting. Laylan to the rescue.
I've got to start by saying, Lay is a great cook. And part of the reason for that is she's not cheap with the ingredients that make things taste delicious, such as olive oil and cheese and cream and bananas fried in butter with ice cream and Nutella. So when I first told her I was doing paleo, the conversation went something like this:
"What about rice?"
Me: "No rice."
Lay: "But you can have tortilla chips?"
Me: "No."
Lay: "Golden Spoon?"
Me: "I wish"
Lay: "Good luck with that.."
So fast forward to Thursday, and Laylan tells me that she's going to have dinner ready so I can just eat really fast and leave. She grilled cod topped with a homemade sauce of pureed garlic and spices from her garden. Then she baked cauliflower with spicy red flakes on top and made a paleo version of caprese (without the cheese, but add pine nuts). Um, hello five star restaurant in my living room!!












So awesome person #2 is Forrest. Let me start by saying that Friday was equally nuts. I was up at 5 a.m. to get to the airport for a quick work trip up the coast. Didn't have time to eat before I left, so I ended up having this sort of disgusting scramble at LAX:
I also grabbed some almonds and water at the airport for snacking later that day, and I raised some eyebrows at lunch, when, at this fancy restaurant with a pretty limited but very specific menu, I was ordered my meal with tons of modifications and turned down the waiter's offer for a free dessert.
My returning flight was delayed and didn't get in until 9. But I hadn't eaten anything but coffee and almonds since 2, so Forrest picked me up from the airport, and when I was showering and about to pass out, he was grilling steaks and veggies: broccoli and artichoke hearts. It was so good, and I'm bummed that I was too tired to think of taking a picture of it.
So this brings me to a new dilemma: I leave next week for a week-long surf trip in Nicaragua. I'm going to pack a couple bags of nuts, maybe some nut butter, and beef jerky in case the villages where we go don't have enough paleo food. Anyone have some suggestions for what else I should do to prepare for that?
When I can find a computer, I'll update from there about how THAT's going.

Day 1 Paleo Challenge

Hi everyone. I'm starting this blog to track my food and fitness during a three month Paleo challenge at Orange Coast CrossFit in Newport Beach.
I never thought I'd do something like this. I'm a total foodie -- even freelance dining reviews when I'm not working. So the idea of eating only what the cavemen had available (ie: no breakfast burritos or gelato) has always been slightly horrifying.
But for the past two months, I've been working out at CrossFit, and I'm in love with the challenging workouts, the encouraging people who are sweating next to me every day, and how strong I feel after only a couple months.
If I can feel this great without watching my diet at all, imagine how trying this diet will feel! Plus, I'm going to try to take photos and describe the food I eat to see if Paleo is as limiting as it sounds.
Judging by breakfast this morning, I'm going to do just fine:
Three eggs, scrambled with turkey bacon, shallots, red and green onion and fresh cilantro. Half an avocado on top.
Yeah, it's a big meal. But I had a big workout this morning.
3-3-3 Deadlift. My last round was at 160.
After that we did five rounds for time of 7 pullups, 7 dumbbell thrusters (#20), 7 ring dips and 30 double unders.
Today I weigh 147.5. I'm 5'8.