An open letter to those that are seeing August’s Challenge through:

Remember, the challenge (and burpees) are still going through Friday. However, as things are wrapping up, you might be itching to cheat… figuring you were only going to eat paleo for a month and you’re done with it. First, I’d ask you to read this blurb from Whole9Life.com:

“The only way this will work is if you give it the full thirty days. Anything less and you are selling yourself, and your results, short. You may start to see and feel improvements within just a few days, but … the healing process takes significantly longer. Just ONE cheat could irritate your digestive tract, promote an inflammatory response, upend your insulin sensitivity and send you running for the nearest Dunkin Donuts. It will ruin the effect of the ‘reset button’ you are trying to push.”

That’s why we were so strict on the guidelines. (In fact, click on the paragraph above to see the way Whole9Life advocates 30 strict days of paleo.) Adding sugar back in ruins your insulin sensitivity, while adding gluten can damage your intestinal tract for up to 3 weeks! Now it’s typically advised to also avoid dairy, as that can be an irritant for many, but as we were trying to accommodate our vegetarians, we allowed dairy. Ruth, Sean and myself have eliminated dairy previously and know what causes us distress. Likewise, we’d encourage you to try the same, to ensure you’re not shooting yourself in the foot.

So where do you go from here? First thing, try to cheat wisely. You want to cheat with just ONE category at a time, so you can see how it affects you. Gluten should probably be saved for last to experiment with, since it can leave you trashed for weeks and you want to see what other items you can/can’t tolerate. Sugar is one to keep in check, as you don’t want to screw up your insulin sensitivity you’ve worked so hard to regain. Alcohol isn’t a biggie, but see how adding it back in affects how you feel. Lectins from beans are another one… but keep them separate from gluten so you know which of the two makes you feel worse.

Then, when you do cheat, follow the guidelines in the two part article I’m going to link below . It will help you keep a more even keel. You might find out gluten and sugar don’t tear you up too much, so you then you know you can handle french toast as the occasional treat. But if you go hog wild the first day off challenge with pancakes and syrup, then later with sugary BBQ and gluten-filled beer and perhaps ice cream, you’ll be guaranteed to end up with a stomach ache and have no clue which of those items are holding you back. You worked hard for 30 days, so don’t blow all that effort in one fell swoop. Congratulations and good luck, ladies!

The Whole9 Guide to Eating Dirty (Part I)
The Whole9 Guide to Eating Dirty (Part II)

P.S. I’ve shown this before, but for those of you who don’t quite grasp the concept of insulin resistance from my explanations, check out this video:

WOD 09.02.10

Make Up Day