The Label Says Paleo » Athlete Profiles

Veronica Pike

Lyssa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:12:33 +0000

Eat clean. Eat whole. Eat lots of veggies. Eat fish and meat (with a focus on wild and free-range if able). Skip the grains. Limit the dairy to the raw stuff. Make fruit and nuts your dessert. Eat local and in season. Variety is key.

This is my philosophy on food.

You are what you eat.

Athlete Profile: Lisa O'Dea

Lyssa — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:17:23 +0000

Introducing you to your fearless Paleo Challengers, meet …

Lisa O’Dea

I’m an elementary school teacher who found CrossFit in February 2009. At the time, I was almost vegetarian- I ate eggs and occasionally fish, but my diet consisted of mostly grains. I originally gave up meat as a bit of an experiment, but I stuck with it because I felt that it was a healthier option. After reading Fast Food Nation and Skinny Bitch, I was even more determined not to eat meat.

When I took on the Spartan Challenge with Crossfit Central last May, I attended a nutrition meeting. I began to take a look at my diet, and realized that I was not getting nearly enough protein. After some careful research, I decided to add meat to my diet. I made it a high priority to buy grass-fed, free-range, locally raised meat, as this is the healthiest and most ethically responsible option. At the same time, I experimented with eliminating grains from my diet.

I ate “paleo” before I ever really knew what that was. It was a series of tweaks and gradual changes for me, not really an overnight change. During the 6 weeks of the Spartan Challenge, I dropped 5% body fat. I also noticed a big difference in how I felt. I used to always feel tired after eating, especially lunch. When I ate a paleo-style diet, this went away. My energy level stayed consistent throughout the day, and I noticed continued improvements in strength and speed in my workouts.

I am still constantly tweaking my diet. I spend way too much time reading paleo/primal blogs, listening to Robb Wolf podcasts, and coming up with new ways to combine meat and vegetables in the kitchen. This blog is a place for me to share what I’ve learned, and to continue learning from like-minded friends. I also hope that we can bring this style of eating to a larger community. There is a lot of misinformation about nutrition, and I think it is time that we start advocating for real food.

Athlete Profile: Arun Dev

Lyssa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:38:14 +0000

Introducing you to your fearless Paleo Challengers, meet …

Athlete Profile: Arun

Age: 33
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 145

Date of Birth: 1976
Place of Birth: India
Started CrossFit: Dabbled in Nov 2008 – Started Jan 2009

Cindy: 14 1/2
Helen: 11:09
Grace: 6:54
Fight Gone Bad: 173 (2 Rounds Rx)

Deadlift: 355 (Nov 2009)
Press: 105 (April 2009)
Back Squat: 205 (April 2009)
Max Pull-ups: 21 (May 2009)

Favorite WOD: 5k for time or anything with a run in it
Favorite Lift: Deadlift
Least Favorite WOD: Eva
Least Favorite Lift: Snatch and OHS

Why do the Paleo Challenge?

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.

When I look back at my last three decades, I remember Robert Frost’s words on taking the road less traveled that has made all the difference in my life. Taking the road less traveled can account for me being an Engineer, how I ended up in Austin, discovering Crossfit and the Paleo/Primal lifestyle.

In the Fall of 2008, I was a struggling endurance athlete. I was past 30, my times were getting slower, my training regimen included loads of LSD (Long Slow Distance), a diet that was primarily carbohydrates, minimal protein and no fat. I was constantly hurt, falling sick and had no energy most days after long workouts. I kept telling myself I was fit and strong as I could run 15 miles, ride 30 miles and spend an hour in the gym lifting weights. One of my friends and fellow TLSP’er Eric introduced me to Crossfit and the world I know came crashing down. I barely survived my first Crossfit workout which was all of 12 minutes long. It included swinging a kettlebell, followed by dead lifts and burpees. At the end of the workout, I ended up on the pavement outside the gym light-headed, out of breadth and ready to pass out. When describing this scene to friends later, the only constant seemed to be I needed to quit. However I was hooked and over the following months, I immersed myself into Crossfit despite all the doubters. The more I got into Crossfit, the greater the changes I started see in my body and training methods. My diet was no longer able to sustain my workouts and recovery on empty carbs. My coaches at Crossfit Central started encouraging me to play with diets starting with the basic Zone and slowly moving towards un-weighed un-measured paleo/primal food. The list of doubters in my life doubled when I start playing with Paleo and I was (I still am) constantly attacked on my food choices. I’ve tuned out the negative nay sayers out of my inner circle of friends and replaced them with this amazing group of people on this blog (affectionately known as TLSP’ers). Their support, encouragement and camaraderie is what kept me going through the transition to a Paleo/Primal lifestyle. I offer doubters my results as proof for what a paleo/primal lifestyle can do for someone.

With the move to the Paleo/Primal diet and Crossfit style training, I’m no longer tired, my energy levels are constant during the week, I’ve not been sick in a long time and my quality of life is much better. My performance has improved and I’ve dropped over 3 minutes off 5K times, 6 minutes of my 10K. I wasn’t slow by any means before but I’m competitive again in my age group – not bad for someone who took up running for the first time in my early 20’s. I can lift heavier than I have my entire life from the dead lift to heavy front squats.

They say the proof is in the numbers. To verify what I was feeling and seeing with my body, I had blood work done recently to compare with my pre-crossfit/paleo/primal days. When the doctor’s nurse called to discuss my results, she wanted to know what I was doing. The changes were dramatic across the board compared to my old lifestyle – lower resting heart rate, lower BP, doubled HDL’s, huge drop in LDL’s, Triglycerides and blood sugar levels at an all time low, body fat down 13% to single digits and the list goes on …..

The food we put in our bodies strongly dictates how we feel and perform. If we can use this blog to influence one person to change their eating habits, we would consider that a step forward in the right direction. Going Paleo or Primal is not easy at times and the road is filled with challenges and doubters. Using a support group and being creative with food choices is one of the key to successes. We hope this blog helps you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Athlete Profile: Eric Wood

Lyssa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:31:36 +0000

Introducing you to your fearless Paleo Challengers, meet …

Athlete Profile: Eric Wood

Age: 30
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 175

Date of Birth: March 15, 1979
Place of Birth: San Jose, CA
Started CrossFit: April 2008

Fran: 4:51
Cindy: 17 2/3 rounds
Helen: 9:28

Deadlift: 385
Press: 145
Back Squat: 265
Snatch: 115
Max Pull-ups: never tried …

Favorite WOD: Jackie
Favorite Lift: Front squat
Least Favorite WOD: Kelly
Least Favorite Lift: Snatch

Why do the Paleo Challenge?
It gives me an opportunity to get back to something I know makes me feel good, perform well, and look good. It also gives me a chance to try to “stop the madness” and get back to a routine that brings me to the grocery store regularly and keeps me away from the bars a bit more.

Athlete Profile: Georgia Nixon

Lyssa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:30:06 +0000

Introducing you to your fearless Paleo Challengers, meet …

Athlete Profile: Georgia Nixon

Age: 29
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 138

Date of Birth: 10/09/80
Place of Birth: San Antonio, TX
Started CrossFit: November 7, 2007
Fran: 4:45
Helen: 10:05
Grace: 4:53
Fight Gone Bad: 221

Deadlift: 245
Press: 85
Back Squat: 145
Max Pull-ups: 30

Favorite WOD: Mary
Favorite Lift: Snatch
Least Favorite WOD: Anything that involves any running
Least Favorite Lift: Deadlift

Why do the Paleo Challenge?

Two reasons for joining in the Paleo Challenge:

1) Because my weekend fun is polluting the rest of my week. There’s so much stuff I want to do but I can’t get it all done (weekend or weekday) with the way I’m spending my weekends now. It’s time to settle it down a bit, refocus, and attack those goals!

2) Because I’m vain. Plain and simple.

Athlete Profile: Lyssa Myska Allen

Lyssa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:28:09 +0000

Introducing you to your fearless Paleo Challengers, meet …

Athlete Profile: Lyssa Myska Allen

Age: 25
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 163

Date of Birth: 9/1/84
Place of Birth: Sugar Land, TX
Started CrossFit: February 2009

Linda: 29:58
Fight Gone Bad: 333
Filthy Fifty: DNF–but close!

Deadlift: 285
Press: 90
Back Squat: 230
Clean and jerk: 125
Max Pull-ups: 15? 20?

Favorite WOD: anything with handstand pushups
Favorite Lift: power clean
Least Favorite WOD: burpees. in anything.
Least Favorite Lift: back squats

Honors: Austin FGB female elite winner

Why do the Paleo Challenge?

I’m competitive–I’m sure as hell not gonna let my friends take on a challenge without me! Oh, and I want to look hot. By losing some love handles. It might make my pullups easier too?