CrossFit South Bend

Everyone's got an opinion on kale. Some people love it. Some people love to hate it because it's been the new "it" vegetable for the past few years. And Jim Gaffigan says kale tastes like feet. The main point of this video is not just to show you a kale recipe that you may like. But also to show you that trying the same food in a different way might change a food you don't like into a food you like. Raw, boiled or steamed kale, in my opinion tastes pretty gross. So, on that, I agree with the kale detractors. However if you saute that same kale with ghee, garlic, and salt it ends up tasting really good (or at least in my opinion). It's also a super quick side dish that takes less than 10mins from start to finish. Give it a try and see what you think. Everyone's taste is different so you may not like it. But then again, you might be able to add a new vegetable to your repertoire.

In this testimonial video Heather tells us her story. Heather had a lot of benefits from the 90-day nutrition coaching program like fewer cravings, more energy, better recovery from workouts, etc. But one of her most amazing accomplishments came from a race she recently did. I'll let her tell you how it went in her own words. "So I've been an endurance athlete for 15+ years and have followed the same principles / guidelines as most (i.e. carbs, Gatorade, gels granola bars) before and during most events. Rinse /Repeat. Always feeling like I had to have that cup of gatorade or gel shot to achieve peak performance and avoid hitting the dreaded "wall". I always go out too fast and then hang on for dear life at the end of most events. Yesterday I completed my first "primal" half marathon and I have never felt more amazing before, during or after. First time in my entire life that I had ever had a negative split for an endurance event and my last mile was almost a minute faster than my first. I only had water during and then a banana immediately following. Wow. I'm sold ..Primal endurance works." So, for those of you who don't know what a negative split time it means it means that Heather ran the second half of the race FASTER than the first half, which is a really amazing accomplishment. For all the endurance athletes out there who think Gatorades and goos are the only way to go you should know that there's a different way that can give you more energy, better performance, and better recovery. Heather, we're so proud of you and all of your progress! We can't wait to see how you do in the Boston Marathon in just a few weeks!

This week's Wellness Wednesday serves a double purpose:

1. We give a quick and simple answer to the question: can you have carbs on the Paleo diet?
2. We give you a quick preview of our upcoming public Paleo grocery store tour on March 7th at 6:30pm at Fresh Thyme Market in Mishawaka? (This video was from a prior Fresh Thyme tour in January)

Here are some things I’ll be talking about at the tour: -Which types of fruits and vegetables are the best to buy organic? -How to get the best quality seafood -Is it necessary to buy grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork, eggs, and chicken? -Which fats are the healthier and which are the least healthy? -Quick and easy Paleo meals -Which dairy products are the healthier and which are the least healthy? -If you’re going to have chocolate as a treat which type is the best to buy? -Which drinks you can have besides water on the Paleo diet? -And much more I hope to see you guys at Fresh Thyme on March 7th at 6:30pm!!  

In just a few months the South Bend/Granger area will be home to one of the first Primal Kitchen restaurants not just in the country, but in the world. The Primal Kitchen restaurant will be a series of primally minded restaurants throughout the country that focus on making delicious, nutritious, real whole food meals that are convenient and affordable. In the video I sit down to chat with Tara Olson (co-owner of the Primal Kitchen restaurant with her husband Tom Olson) and Anthony Fulton, who will be the General Manager of the Primal Kitchen restaurant in Granger. In this video, which is part 1 of a three part series, Tara and Anthony discuss the philosophy behind the Primal Kitchen restaurants and what got them interested in being involved in the project. In part 2, which will come out in few weeks Tara and Anthony will give you guys an exclusive preview of certain menu options that will be available (spoiler: they sound delicious!) In part 3, Tara and Anthony will be taking us through the Primal Kitchen restaurant itself once it's fully open. You guys can follow the Primal Kitchen South Bend on Facebook and Instagram. And, if you're interested in more details about the Primal Kitchen restaurant chain you can check them out here. http://www.primalkitchenrestaurants.com Tara, Tom, and Anthony we just want to say thanks so much for bringing this great restaurant to our area! We can't wait for it to open.

In the first video in this series "What causes irritable bowel syndrome" we talked what IBS is and how small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is typically the main cause of irritable bowel syndrome. If you haven't checked that out yet here's the link: What causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome? In this second part of the series, we talk about natural solutions for irritable bowel syndrome. We talk about ways to get address the root cause of irritable bowel syndrome with your doctor or another qualified health practitioner. But we also talk about natural ways to temporarily alleviate symptoms if you're not currently able  to address the root cause of your irritable bowel syndrome. Disclaimer: Any advice received in this video is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice and treatment from your personal physician. We recommend that you consult your own doctor or other qualified health professional regarding the treatment of any medical condition and that you speak with your doctor before taking action on any nutritional or health recommendations we provide. The information we provide is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. It is offered for educational purposes only, and statements we make have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration.

In this video, I sit down with Kate to talk about her health journey. Kate was actually my very first one-on-one nutrition coaching client, and we started working together a few years ago. When Kate and I first worked together she definitely made some progress by changing her nutrition, but there were some lingering issues that still weren't fixed. I suspected that these underlying issues were present when we started working together, but at the time we weren't able to investigate them any further. When I got my Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® certification about a year ago, Kate was the first to hop on board. The FDN program is perfect for someone like Kate whose diet, exercise, and sleep were on point, but she still felt like something wasn't right. With FDN we investigate underlying hidden causes of health issues like hormone balance, nutrient deficiencies, digestive issues, blood sugar imbalances, etc. Sometimes even a perfect diet isn't enough to fix these things and that's where FDN comes in. In Kate's case, there was an underlying digestive imbalance that was leading to a number of her main complaints. After trying everything else here's what happened when Kate did the protocol to restore digestive balance: -She lost 18lbs -Her digestion was the best it's ever been in her life -Her sleep was dramatically better -No energy crash at 2-3pm -She didn't need to take a nap in the middle of the day for the first time in 2 years Kate we're so proud of you and all your success! Keep up the great work! Interested in getting to the root cause of your health issues? Sign up for a No Sweat Intro here: http://crossfitsouthbend.com/start-here/ Disclaimer: Any advice received in this video is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice and treatment from your personal physician. We recommend that you consult your own doctor or other qualified health professional regarding the treatment of any medical condition and that you speak with your doctor before taking action on any nutritional or health recommendations we provide. The information we provide is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. It is offered for educational purposes only, and statements we make have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration.

A lot of people have IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but most people don't realize that there is some underlying cause that is leading to those symptoms of IBS. The #1 cause of IBS is something called SIBO, which stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. SIBO occurs when too much bacteria, which should normally stay in the large intestine, starts to inhabit the small intestine, which shouldn't have quite as much bacteria. This can happen for any one of a number of reasons including excess sugar consumption, antibiotic overuse, slow motility (constipation), etc. Unfortunately, SIBO is rarely tested for in the conventional medical world, and as a result most people have to take a supplement or prescription for the rest of their life to deal with the symptoms of SIBO. In this first video, we talk about what SIBO is and how to find out if you have it. In the second video we'll talk about ways you can work with a qualified health practitioner to recover from SIBO. As always guys, but especially with this video, nothing said in the video should be taken as medical advice or as a substitute for medical advice. It's not meant to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or cure. Always talk with your doctor or other qualified medical practitioner before pursuing any new health protocol.

Wellness Wednesday is officially back for 2017!! We took a little hiatus there for the holidays to highlight the Whole90 challenge and some of our great success stories from 2016. But we're officially back, and we've got a whole bunch of fresh new content for you. We've got new science videos, new Amy's Treat Corner videos, new cooking demos, new testimonials, and a very special Paleo restaurant feature coming up soon! Also, in an effort to make the videos more manageable to watch I'll be making most of the science videos going forward a decent amount shorter. I still have a couple long ones in the cue (like today's) that will be showing up. So, going forward I'll be making the science videos in particular shorter for you guys so they're more accessible for everyone. With all that being said let's get to the new video for the week on elimination diets! Elimination diets are all the rage these days whether it's a gluten-free diet, a FODMAP-free diet, nightshade-free diet, 21 day sugar detox, etc. There are many different types of elimination diets, but what they all have in common is eliminating some food group or groups from your diet for a period of time. In this video we explain what an elimination diet is and how certain types of elimination diets can be helpful for you depending on your health goals. There are certain types of elimination diets that we think can be very beneficial, like a Whole30, and there are others that can be useful but may be more trouble than they're worth. One of the main points made in the video though is that most elimination diets are merely symptom control for a particular health issue and aren't always getting to the root cause of the issue. It's always important to look for that deeper root cause of a health issue that may be causing you to feel better on an elimination diet. Otherwise you might be stuck doing an elimination diet for the rest of your life, which is no fun and is missing the point because most of these elimination diets are only meant to be done for a short period of time before getting back to a slightly more relaxed form of eating.

Megan's Story-Healthy for Life In this week's video I sit down with Megan who did our 2016 Whole90 last January. Megan was already eating fairly healthy to begin with when she started the Whole90, but even with that she noticed some definite improvements in her overall health by doing the Whole90. -She noticed quite a bit more energy, less fatigue -Better mental clarity -Felt better about what she ate -By creating a healthy relationship with food she didn't have as much guilt surrounding food and eating. Even more importantly, here we are, exactly a year later and she's kept up these excellent nutrition habits, which is the real goal. Anyone can do a 30 day detox or a cleanse. However, it's much more impressive and significant to keep up those habits for a year and eventually for life. Megan, you did a fantastic job with the Whole90, and we're all so proud of you! :) For those of you on the fence about the 2017 Whole90, there are only 4 days left to sign up! It's over 50% off our normal one-on-one nutrition coaching prices and we won't be doing it again until January 2018. Click here for details.