Today was probably the hardest day and a good reason to have not started this program until AFTER the weekend!

But, I will use today as a great example of how LIFE WILL ALWAYS HAPPEN. You get to choose how to show up.

So, I did my first ever crossfit competition today. Normally, in the midst of being nervous, I would have probably had oatmeal loaded with sugar for breakfast, and I know for sure I would have relaxed and ate whatever I wanted for the rest of the day feeling that I “earned it”.

None of that happened.

The hard part was figuring out what to eat and keeping it simple.

Meal #1 and #2: 3 eggs and egg whites, piece of chicken sausage, and probably a half cup of sweet potato. I ate half of this meal in the morning before the competition, and then finished it after. I felt pretty good all day.

The next big hurdle was a wedding reception.

I guess what made this harder than usual for me is that literally… I haven’t gone out to a fun event since last year! It’s been a while! And while I don’t think I would have gone “hog wild”… I would have liked to have nice glass of red wine, and one of the mini cupcakes for dessert.

But I didn’t. Instead, I drank sparkling water with lime, savored every bite of a truly delicious dinner. And while some were chowing down on sugar-laden cupcakes, I was getting funky on the dance floor! I was a little concerned with dinner, but as you’ll see below, they offered a perfect selection of foods that any of my hunter-gatherer ancestors would have recognized as food.

Dinner: Mussels and butternut squash, chicken onion and spice dish, steamed spinach with tomatoes and onions.

Helllloooo Day 3!!!

Yesterday was a little rough for me. With a mile headache and a little brain-fog, I definitely wasn’t performing at 100%. I go through “dairy kicks” where I’ll look at my diet and realize that I am consuming dairy every day. Then, I’ll go through periods of time where it’s just never in the house and I go without most of the time.

For the past year, I have noticed it creep back into my daily diet. When certain foods, like dairy, gluten (think grains and flour), and sugar become a staple in your day to day regime, you can rest assured that you are creating daily inflammation in your body, which over time leads to compromised health. This 30-day program is disguised as a “caveman” diet, when in actuality, it’s the best possible cleanse/detox you could ever do. Giving your body a break from the foods that cause inflammation in your body allows your body to heal. We’ve essentially gotten rid of all foods that our body just simply is not equipped to handle in large loads.

Dairy

Glutenous grains (like wheat and wheat flour), and ALL grains (including Oats, quinoa, rice, corn)

Sugar (in all forms for the first 7 days, then 1-2 servings of fruit are allowed after 7 days)

Beans/Legumes (one my favorite foods on earth, but can cause some tummy upset in many people

Soy (the most genetically modified food on earth and extremely processed)

So I am using this time to get a grip on my thoughts and beliefs. ….”I HAVE to have a glass of milk! What about cottage cheese…why can’t I have that? Wait… what if it’s a gluten-free cookie?…” And the dialog goes on and on and on. When it’s all said and done, by cleaning and detoxing my body, I’ll be in a better space physiologically AND psychologically to be able to make smarter choices that are guided by my BRAIN and not my CRAVINGS.

Please note:

You should NOT be going hungry! If you have the mentality of “dieting” and you are purposefully starving yourself… remember… In the words of Geneen Roth in the book Women, Food, and God,”every diet has an equal and opposite binge”. Eating REAL FOOD is not a diet. It’s a way to LOVE YOURSELF and give your body what it needs to heal. If you need to, go back and read my hunger scale that I wrote after returning from a sugar-laden family reunion. This is NOT a diet and you SHOULD NOT be starving yourself.

Now…with that said…. it’s 3pm right now, and because I STILL haven’t really gotten to the grocery store or planned any real meals, I sat here in my home quite hungry because I didn’t want to make the wrong move! The best advice I can give you is to be prepared (which I am fully not…yet). You shouldn’t go hungry just because you didn’t prepare, and you DEFINITELY shouldn’t mess up and eat something you shouldn’t because you let yourself get too hungry.

My solution:

I bought a month’s worth of food from the Meal Movement and I keep it in the freezer for situations like today. The Meal Movement is an attempt to get busy people eating REAL FOOD instead of processed, filler crap (read: pasta). Your meals are basically any combination of veggies and a meat entree. Now, I’m not a fan of using this as your sole source of food, but I AM a fan of having something like this around for when you are in a pinch. So there’s really no excuse. Check out my meal #3:

I used the left over salmon from yesterday, and because I haven’t gone veggie shopping all week, I heated up 2 servings of the Meal Movements yummy veggies. Added a little avocado and… viola! Meal #3 is served. : )

(Meal #1 was the same as yesterday’s, and Meal #2 was a single serving size of Trader Joe’s raw almonds. Boring? Yes. But when you are starting something new, it’s a very good idea to limit your choices. As soon as you get all crazy with choices, it’s easy to freeze and then do nothing at all.)

Also, I’ve been supplementing with L-glutamine and green powder 1-3 times a day on an empty stomach whether I workout or not. Today’s workout will be an active recovery day, so I’ll be leaving for my Hot Yoga class in about 20 minutes!

Now… stay tuned for tomorrow. Sincde I started on a Wednesday (how random is that?), tomorrow is my first Saturday. The funny thing is… I NEVER seem to EVER go out on weekends these days, but of course, tomorrow night I have a wedding reception to attend. Also, as luck would have it, I’ll be competing in my first Crossfit competition tomorrow afternoon. I’ll make sure to take pics and keep you posted!

Post your food choices and questions below for the community to answer!

Okay… today was a bit harder than yesterday. I was a little brain-fogged-out all day and definitely messed up my food timing a bit…..but overall, I’m completely impressed with my ability to stay on track.

Before I keep going with Day 2, I want to make sure you check out the resource I’ve found for you for creating different “Cave Wo(man)” meals in LESS THAN A MINUTE! This site, I believe, will become my savior as I get a little deeper into this. It’s called TheFoodee.com

They have a daily blog and send out a fabulous, delicious recipe that is always very easy to make and will be perfect to eat for the next 30 days!

Meal 1: Same as yesterday, 2 eggs, egg whites, chicken sausage, avocado (still haven’t bought any veggies). I also took my vitamins and downed an Emergen-C pack in a big glass of water. (I do this a few times day if I’m healthy, or up to 5-6 times a day if I’m stressed or fighting off a bug)

Workout. If you’ve never tried “Death by Burpees”, I highly recommend it. : ) Great metabolic conditioning. Only problem here is I should’ve had a little snack before the workout because I went into the workout a little hungry, which meant I was hurting by the end!

Postworkout: Scoop of L-Glutamine (6-7grams) 1cup coconut water, scoop of Amazing Grass Green Powder. (normally, I would have added to this a little post-exercise recovery and/or my favorite protein powder, but since I’m going “cavegirl” for 30 days, I’m giving these up.

Now, the logical question to ask here is, “then why are you still using green powder and L-glutamine?”. Great. Glad you asked.

L-glutamine is an amino acid (part of protein). One of the biggest reasons to do a 30-day Cavegirl Challenge is to clean up foods that irritate your system or cause food sensitivities. During this time period, you are giving your digestive system a break from the foods that cause the most damage. L-glutamine is the preferred “fuel source” for the cells that line your small intestines, and it’s the only nutrient that these cells can utilize without first going through the blood stream. This means your gut gets superior nutrition and thus has a greater chance to heal from all the processed crap-ola you eat on a regular basis. Healing your gut/digestive system is one of the most important things we are doing during these 30-days. Chances are you are over-fed and under-nourished. Part of this problem is our inability to digest foods fully because of a damaged digestive process. L-glutamine will play a key role in healing your belly. : )

Green Powder is a mixture of the highest quality green veggies and super foods (all veggie, fruit, algae, etc). This is extremely alkalizing to the system and does a great job of blunting cortisol after workouts, thus improving overall recovery. So then guess what you can go do again? That’s right… workout! (I want cavegirl arms…I want cavegirl butt!)

Meal 2: 1/2 cup sweet potato and grilled chicken breast. This meal is calculated and on purpose. It’s the perfect post-workout meal if you are going for whole foods. I much prefer my post-workout shake for convenience, taste, and exact science, but in my cavegirl state… I’m going for real food.

Meal 3: More of a snack… 1 package (single serving size) of Trader Joe’s raw almonds.

Meal 4: Grilled Salmon on top of big bed of salad and veggies (same thing I mowed down yesterday... except I increased the salmon to a 7oz portion and added avocado)

Not sure if I’ll eat again tonight…it will depend on if I get hungry, but as of right now, I’m not hungry or full. Now that’s a nice feeling!

DIGESTION: The focus for today for the remainder of your challenge is to do two things:

1. Take L-glutamine 20min before you eat at least 3X a day to coat your small intestines.

2. Sit down to eat. Take a few DEEP BREATHS before you eat. Chew your food S.L.O.W.L.Y. Put your fork down occasionally. This routine alone can have a profound effect on your body’s ability to digest your food completely. Go gettem tiger. have a great day!!!

Record your food and questions below.

Okay, I just gave my nutrition lecture last night and made the public announcement that I was starting the 30-day “Eat Like a Cave Wo(man) Challenge” tomorrow.

Tomorrow turned into today, and I must say that I would highly recommend doing this with a little more preparation. I hadn’t really hit the grocery store, didn’t know what we had in the kitchen, and truly was flying by the seat of my pants.

Right now it’s almost 3pm and I think I’ve done okay so far.

MEAL 1: Turned out we had eggs, chicken sausage and avocados in the fridge, so that’s what I ate for breakfast. And yes… today was my first day to actually drink black coffee. I’ve also told all my “starbucks friends” to keep an eye on me. I’m only allowed to order black coffee (regular or decaff), or hot tea. It might sound silly, but added accountability can help! (Takeaway for you: get other people involved. It’s just too easy to “slip” if you don’t let other people know what you’re doing.)

MEAL 2: Package of pre-portioned Almonds from Trader Joes. (very hungry before workout)

Then there was the 12 noon workout, which totaled 9K on a bike, 1.5 mile run, with 110 pull-ups in between. I have post-exercise nutrition down to a science. I always use my post-exercise recovery, and I add green powder and powdered L-glutamine. Well, one of the rules I implemented during the 30-day “Eat like a Cave Wo(man) Challenge”, is NO protein powders. Only because this is supposed to be a “eat real food” challenge.

So now I’m feeling a little discombobulated.

L-glutamine is approved (and encouraged) during the next 30 days as it should have a profound effect on your (and mine) sugar cravings, muscle recovery after workouts, and help heal your gut and digestive system. Also, green powder is extremely important as it helps alkalize your body, thus blunting the effects of cortisol after a workout. So, here’s my post-workout solution: MEAL 3:

1. 1 scoop of Amazing Grass Green Powder

2. 1 scoop of powdered L-glutamine (for me this is about 5-7 grams)

3. 1 cup of coconut water (only one cup! If you need more liquid, fill it up with water!)

This gets the greens and glutamine in the system fast. But please note: The only thing I will change back on day 31 is the addition of my favorite Post-Exercise Recovery back into the mix. So for now, my “real food” solution is to consume a 1/4 cup sweet potato and 2-4oz grilled chicken breast about 10-20 minutes after my workout. (this of course did not happen today as I had to go to the store, buy the sweet potatoes, and they are still in the oven cooking!)

MEAL 4: I was walking around Whole Foods S.T.A.R.V.I.N.G. after my workout (again, unprepared). So I somehow managed to get this into my basket and put it into my tummy. I actually am writing this blog after this meal, which really did the trick to making me feel normal again!

Okay. So that’s how I’ve done so far. I don’t have any headaches yet, but considering the amount of sugar I’ve been consuming lately, I’m guessing they’ll hit tomorrow.

A word about caffeine:

IT. IS. NOT. THE. END. OF. THE. WORLD. TO. HAVE. BLACK. COFFEE. FOR. 30. DAYS. You WILL survive.

Battling Cancer is hard. Dealing with sick family members is hard. 100 Burpees is hard. Spending 30 days to CLEAN UP YOUR FOOD and drink a little black coffee IS. NOT. HARD.

This is yours (and my) OPPORTUNITY to SHOW UP fully for our life. There is no way in Gods Green Earth that you are showing up as energetically and vibrantly as you should when you’re too strung out on sugar, can’t digest your food appropriately from overeating processed foods, and riding a blood sugar roller coaster every day.

Trust me. If I can do this…. SO CAN YOU. I’m the girl who lets 3pm emotional triggers and exhaustion lead me into a starbucks for a caffeine and sugar fix mixed with dairy and wheat. If you are sick of doing this (or just sick of being sick in general)… then get on board and DO THIS!

The hardest part of the next 30-days will have absolutely nothing to do with your food. The hardest part of the next 30-days will be the undeniable Paradigm shifts that you will have to undertake. It will be the managing all the thoughts going on between your ears.

And THAT’S when real change will happen.

Get ready for the RIDE OF YOUR HEALTHY LIFE!!! I’m glad to be along for the ride. : )