FINISH OF CHALLENGE; START OF TRUE TEST

Congratulations — paleo is finally pau!

Or is it?

Instead of heading out to Casanova’s ladies night and binge drinking with Sara at midnight, we hope you take everything you’ve learned and put it to action for the remainder of the year. The best part about what 30-plus of you did was becoming your very own food detective. What’s that? It’s accomplished when you clean out your diet and slowly reintroduce foods to find how your body reacts.

At CFUM, we’re cautious about claiming that diet is one-size fits all. For our challenge, we hoped you would take steps to do better than you did before, just by eating clean.

For some of us, the paleo approach, also dubbed the caveman diet, can last year-round. Paleo, which comprises lean meats, vegetables, some fruits, little starch, nuts and seeds, helps the body become an efficient fat-burning machine. It also assists recovery time.

One option may be to incorporate ONE cheat day or ONE cheat meal per week, then remain strict paleo for the rest of the week.

For others, a modified paleo may work. People without dairy sensitivity and gluten intolerance may perform fine by slowly reincorporating dairy and/or grains.

Regardless of the path you take, find time to recognize your achievement, in that, you were able to kick-start better eating habits. We talked to many of you through the course of the month who didn’t realize certain foods were detrimental, or who found various substitutions for high sugar, dairy, gluten and processed carbs. That’s huge.

Were you just able to cut out alcohol or soda for a month? That’s big too.

Any progress is work worth celebrating. Whether a cheat a day or a Cheerio cheat the whole month — you got better than you were before you started. After all, isn’t that what this CrossFit journey is all about?

We want to hear your feedback on the inaugural CFUM Pre-Holiday Paleo Challenge. What worked? What was the hardest part? What will you bring back? What will you discard for good? What swear words did you use during the first couple of weeks when it was the hardest?

Overall, we’ve seen some amazing changes in many of you; and once again, we’re proud to be Upcountry.

Great work, paleo people!

PALEO WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT DETAILS:

  • What: CFUM paleo challenge winner annoucement
  • When: Halloween Day, 4:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31
  • How: We will award the male and female winners of the paleo challenge with a brief announcement before the 5 p.m. WOD. Prizes include: $150 cash per winner; Speck Apple products; and a Moana 2.0 gift certificate. Second and third place prizes may be awarded depending on results. Halloween costumes encouraged. Family and friends are welcome to stay and join the 5 p.m. workout.
  • Where: The box
  • Information for prize contestants: For those of you who stayed on task and think you’re eligible to win, please submit to crossfitupcountrymaui@gmail.com the following BY MIDNIGHT FRIDAY: Measurements; weight; photos; Helen before and after time. The judges will take all items submitted into consideration, with the most weight being on the visual changes seen in the photos. Please wear the clothes from the original picture and try to use good lighting. No Photoshopping allowed;) Good luck!