CrossFit South Bend

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][container][text_output]When I was a kid I went the process of testing for allergies where they prick your forearms in long rows with various allergens and measure the swelling to determine how allergic you are to the different substances. I had to do it three or four times because I was so allergic to some of the things that the swelling of some of the points obscured all the ones around them. The doctor’s quip was that it looked like I was allergic to everything under the sun, including the sun. I’ve been on allergy medication since then, that is, for at least twenty years. And it’s not just the seasonal allergies that many get when plants bloom in the spring. I’m allergic to dogs, cats, fuzzy animals generally, cigarette smoke, pollen of all kinds, and worst of all, dust. Not being able to breathe through my nose is normal. I can’t spend more than 15 minutes at the house of anyone who has a pet. Cleaning (particularly dusting and vacuuming) knock me out for the rest of the day.

Except that I spent Easter with someone who has a cat. All afternoon. For hours. In a house with a cat. And was completely fine. And extraordinarily, over the past two months, this has become the new normal. I stopped taking my allergy medication sometime in February, and I still can breathe. I’ve become a better singer, because I have more space in my sinuses. I can be around people who have pets without crying, itchy eyes and a stuffy nose.

I was not the most obedient or systematic Whole-30-er, but I have been relatively consistent and when I go off plan, I feel it in my head. A lot of people have stories involving drastic weight loss or increased performance or muscle gain – none of that really changed drastically for me. The difference hasn’t been how my body looks from the outside, but how it functions on the inside. And not having to have emergency benedryl on hand at all times is a pretty big game-changer. At least for me.[/text_output][/container][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][share title=”Share this Post” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” email=”true”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][text_output]In more than one way this has been a life changing experience. Even though I had started eating mostly paleo a few months in advance, going through first through the whole30 was a challenge that gave me a better understanding of how my body works and how much of its daily functioning depends on the “fuel” I give to it. Along these lines, the most interesting fact for me was to realize that what I discarded most of the time as regular nuisances (lack of energy, sleepiness, a bothered stomach) where in reality the consequences of my meals. Together with this recognition, the experience was a great way to build a daily routine that made me avoid missing meals and having enough nutrients in each of them in order to function.

Before doing the Whole90 I had an idea of what kind of food was better for me, and I was already trying to avoid things that were not that good. But while I understood this in principle, I did not have the experience of seeing exactly how my body could work with a more regulated, free of all “bad foods” diet. While the first thirty days were difficult because of things that I was holding on to like peanut butter, beer, honey, beans, etc., they gave me the opportunity to not only see how I could feel without them, but also to discover other ways in which a completely paleo diet—and even a whole30 diet—could be multifarious and exciting.

After the first 30 days, it was almost all smooth sailing for me. Granted I still missed things like beer, or the occasional piece of bread or cheese, but being able to have a glass of tequila for example, or a “cheat day” a month was enough. I think that, like with other things like stopping smoking, the most difficult thing is always to break the habits, the conducts and “traditions,” and not the actual separation from the substance or food. Thus, once I have gotten used to not eating my food always with bread, or not going out for beers, I did not miss the thing unless I got myself in the same context again (i.e. conferences, birthday parties, etc.). In this way, the whole90 and paleo appeared clearly as what they are, not diets but ways of life or styles of living. At the end, it became clear how it was a choice of how I wanted to live my life from now on, and not just a small project of “trying to get in shape” or “to lose a few pounds.”

Finally, I think one of the most important aspects of the experience is that it allows people to stop and reflect for a second on the food culture we have in the US. I am a foodie, I believe that if you have the time you should make the best out of each meal. But this does not only mean to find the best recipe or to make the most complicated sauce, it also means to realize what exactly are you giving to your body, and how it is going to help or damage it next day or in the long run.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row]