Back in January we had a 30-day Paleo Challenge here at CFF with lots of success.Six months later, member Amanda Laskowski has put the challenge to herself. A testament to discipline, Amanda began her solo mission on the quest to Paleo. Her progress in the gym has been nothing short of extraordinary and her smile, which I didn’t think could have gotten bigger, has gotten even brighter. So I’m handing over the rest of this blog to Amanda to tell you her story in her own words:
The idea to become Paleo happened almost by accident. Before Crossfit I didn’t even know Paleo existed, but when you join a box, you find out what it is REAL fast. At first it wasn’t something I was interested in. “Wait, you want me to not eat BREAD?! But I LOVE bread, and pizza and cake and pasta!”
One day I decided that maybe I would give it a try for a month. I did a lot of research about what Paleo is and what Paleo isn’t. I think people get hooked on what Paleo isn’t and that’s what stops them from trying it. Paleo isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a way of saying “Hey, I’m going to stop putting crap in my body and start eating real food, not food that comes in a box and has ingredients that I’m not sure are in English.”
Long story short, I love Paleo. Not only have I seen results on the scale, but I feel stronger, more energized, and healthy, something I wasn’t feeling for a long time. I don’t miss grains, I don’t miss sugar (I do miss alcohol, let’s be real here). I’m not perfect though. Sometimes I splurge and have a coffee with sugar or some thai noodles, but I don’t crave it anymore, which is something I’ve been struggling with for a long time.
If you are at all on the fence about trying out Paleo, do it for 30 days and see how you feel. You won’t regret it! And feel free to ask me any questions that you have about Paleo or my experience with it, I’ll be the one snacking on bacon after a WOD.
July 9, 2012
Kelly
5 Rounds:
400m Run
30 Box Jumps (24″/20″)
30 Wall Ball Shots (20#/14#)
*30 Minute Cap
Compare to 110610
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YAY MANDA!!!!
Amanda, you’re always so working hard! Congrats on taking charge of trying something new and loving it! I can appreciate where you’re coming from. I had been a pescatarian bean-eating machine for 5+ years and 16 days into the Paleo challenge I craved chicken and turkey bacon. Thanks to Eric and my sister for bringing me over FULL FORCE. Bacon parties for all.
27:21 – Rx
Last time I did Kelly was 7/23/11: 38:18 (15# wall ball)
Great way to start a Monday!
UGH. this was fun an excellent slap back into reality after a long weekend!
4+7 Rx. i was really hoping to finish this one. next time.
June 2011: 29:38 Rx
July 2012: 27:24 Rx
Glad to see the progress. This workout has almost made me lose my lunch multiple times and I definitely wouldn’t be sad if I didn’t see it for another year (or five).
4+1
Rough.
Perfect timing on this post. My first day of 30 days of Paleo started this morning. This was just what I needed to kick things off.
Kate was a shock to the system today after a week off.
3+20 Rx
Joe, you’re such a ladies man with your WODS. Did you mean Kelly? Who is Kate? haha! Let’s talk paleo next time we see each other!
30:59 RX
Had 15 wall balls left at the cap, thanks Erika for letting me finish.
First time I thought I was actually gonna puke during a WOD…have fun everyone else!
28:28 with #14 wall balls and 20″ box. Legs were absolutely torched from a long run on MONSTER hills yesterday, so decided not to try and Rx this.
Nice job 5:30!
4 rounds, RX. Running is my favorite and I’m just so good at it. (This of course is sarcasm. One day, you will find me inside Sal’s…slices for time)
Thank you Mandy for getting me tissues. GOTTA LOVE SUMMAH COLDS.
And, for showing me how to rebound box jumps. Happy to be wearing flat shoes today. Thank you Eri for pushing me like only you can do.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ADIE!!!
I’ll do your running if you do my wall ball?
I like wall balls, especially those that my chin happens to catch. You and Shorty are two fast Forrest Gumps! Mandy Brown and her fabulousness got me to do #14 this Saturday. Now, there’s no turning back. And, anytime I think I can’t handle a wall ball, I think of Mary at Regionals!
There was a guy who got to the Sal’s patio with a slice a pizza during one of my runs. When I returned on my next one, he’d just finished. Think you can beat his pace of 4 slices/30 minutes?
This was me during that last 400m: http://i26.tinypic.com/1zmz8g0.jpg Not pretty.
WOD: 4 rounds + run 31:25 w/ 10lbs WB ….Erika offered for me to finish and I said “I’m good”….that was a doozy and I just didn’t have it in me for the last round of “stuff”….sometimes the cap is an excuse to quit…I guess I used the excuse today…. I won’t miss Kelly either – let’s try her during the fall sometime with cooler temps! The box already felt smokin’ at 5:30am!
i’ve done kelly three times since joining cff:
7/9/12 Kelly: 28:44 Rx
6/10/11 Kelly: 29:38 Rx
6/4/10 Kelly: 43:23 with a 20″ box and 1/2 @ 14lbs + 1/2 10lbs
This was a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’. I was just saying last week that it would be nice to do the girls and heroes on Mondays when we are fresh rather than after a week full of WODs…whoops, shoulda kept my insta-karmic mouth shut.
3/3/11 – 3+the run Rx
7/9/12 – 4+the run Rx
Improvement!
“Kelly”
6/10/11 – 4+0 w/10#
7/9/12 – 3+32 Rx
Wall balls slowed me down big time – not to mention I stubbornly refused to count no-reps and I had a bunch in the first two rounds, only to do much better in the third. I was actually pretty happy with this, as I’ve improved greatly on rebounding box jumps!
3 rounds + run & 3 box jumps with the ag box and 10# ball. It was more than I expected, so I’m happy, but it would have been nice to be able to keep up with the fleet feet in the 6pm class. Way to geaux!
3 rounds + run + 53 (subbed 12kg goblet squats for the wall balls, no shoulder movements for me till I get checked out by the orthopedist tomorrow)
4 rounds + run + 17 box jumps
I have GOT to learn how to rebound! My signature bunny hop is getting old. Goals, goals ….
First Kelly! 31:31 @ 24″ box jumps + 14# WB. I now know there are 16# balls. I’ll use those from now on, but glad I didn’t know that before the workout!
At the 30:00 mark, I was at 4 + 33. Collapsed on the floor and was just going to stop. Asked Joe if I could finish, and I did at the above time.
Bad cramps halfway through.
This was tough! 10# wall ball
4 rounds plus run- I literally almost through up twice during round three!
hope to improve this once my endurance gets back…