Alright, IT IS TIME!  Time to clean out the cabinets, get rid of all the junk in the house, and start eating PALEO.  It has been a month since our last challenge and as some of you have stuck with it, others have fallen off, and then there are those of you that have yet to do one of these challenges.  Well, I want all of you involved in this one.  This one is for the veterans and the amateurs.

A big THANKS to everyone who came to the KICKOFF DINNER last night at our house.  Thanks for bringing some amazing dishes and sharing with everyone!  I will get those recipes posted soon.  Ryan and I always enjoy having you over and eating some GOOOD food too!  The FOOD INC. movie is circling around the CrossFit Hendersonville family.  Please let me know if you want to borrow it and you can take it home for a night.

So for the details…

When does it start?  How long does it last?

We are starting this challenge Thursday, January 28th.  You have almost a whole week to get ready by cleaning out the not so Paleo food that is in your house!  It will last 6 weeks.  That puts us finishing up March 11 with a celebration dinner!  Winners will be determined that evening, Thursday, Mar 11 at the PALEO PARTY!

How do I learn what to do?

I will host the  NUTRITION SEMINAR  this Thursday night at 7:00 pm in our box.  For those that can’t make Thursday, I will repeat the seminar Saturday at 9:15 am following our morning WOD.  I will be discussing the basics of the challenge and getting everyone signed up!  I will answer questions to, “What is Paleo” and “How do I figure out the Zone?”  Both Paleo and Zone will be discussed.  Expect to be there for an hour.

In the meantime, visit these sources.  Educate yourself and if you have any questions in the process send them my way.  I will discuss those Thursday/Saturday because if you have them someone else does as well!  Shoot me an email this week if you come across anything confusing.

Start here and watch the “Paleo In a Nutshell” video.  It is a quick video describing just how simple Paleo is.

Then, go here and read what foods are PALEO.  This is a long list describing in each food category what is allowed.

Click here for more great Paleo info!   This site will give you a list of another handful of easy to read articles.

And finally, a quick and easy video on tips for eating Paleo.  Watch here.

Read here to learn why I don’t recommend Dairy, Wheat, Legumes, and Sugar.  This is an excellent post on what makes these foods harmful to someone’s health.  Plus, these foods contain a high glycemic load which is known to spike insulin levels, causing you to store fat in your body!

Now, for the Zone.  Click here to figure out how many blocks you need and what a block is.  After figuring these numbers out, scroll down the page and look at the Featured Links category.

Read here for tips on eating out.

And again, refer to the RESOURCES page or search the RECIPE AND NUTRITION CATEGORIES for more ideas/articles.

What do I need to do to get sign up?

*Write your name down on the sign-up sheet in the gym.

*Show up to the seminar Thursday or Saturday.  If this is not doable with your schedule, please see me and we will make arrangements.

*Pay $15 to be contributed towards the “Winner’s Pot.”

*Have your picture taken.

Yes, I said it.  PICTURES!  Quit freaking out and just give me a minute to explain.  The winners will be determined by before/after pictures.  We will see which male and female leans out the most in 6 weeks and they will split the pot.  The more people we have sign up, the greater potential for big winnings! I don’t care what you have to do, but get your CrossFit classmates involved!  You suffer alongside each other during class, drag them along to participate in this challenge.  I can only bug you guys so much.  Start bugging each other to do this!  Hold yourself accountable to a friend.

I will be taking front, back, and side pictures of the women and Ryan will take for the men.  These are confidential and will not be released.  I will determine the top 5 male/females.  Then, those top 5 people will determine the ultimate winners, one male and one female.  Guys will take pictures with shirts off/shorts.  Girls will take pictures in sports bra or other fitness type shirt/shorts.  Be prepared to take pictures Thursday and Saturday.  This has been shown as the most successful way to do a Paleo Challenge with gyms across the world.  It might take you out of your comfort zone, but don’t you do that everyday during our workouts anyway?

So, that’s it?

All I have to do is show up, pay my money, and take a few pictures?  No POINT SYSTEM this time.  Yes, that is right.  No point system, however if the point system helps you then by all means do it!  The only other requirement is that you turn in your nutrition logs every week.  Writing down what you eat will help tremendously.  These will be turned in to me every Monday (except for the first one.)   I will send printable nutrition logs in an email for those that need a format.

The participants that are very disciplined and stick with it 100% will be the winners.  The pictures will prove it.  It doesn’t matter where you are starting from because it is based on YOUR before picture.  Everyone has the opportunity to lean out (for different people that might be lose weight, firm up, build muscle, etc) but your body WILL CHANGE!

Last note, please do not let the picture thing inhibit you from participating.  You are all about to bust our your swimsuit a few weeks after the challenge anyway, so what is a few weeks earlier?  Plus, if the Biggest Loser participants can get on national television in their shorts/tops(women) then you can take a quick picture.

SIGN UP SHEET WILL BE POSTED IN THE GYM TOMORROW, SO PUT YOUR NAME DOWN AND LETS MAKE THIS THE BIGGEST CROSSFIT HENDERSONVILLE PALEO CHALLENGE YET!