A nerds time to reflect

Congrats to everyone who stuck with this for the 6 weeks. Everyone did very well and lost body fat %. Alright, so I don't remember the correct numbers, but I went down from 17.3 to 14.4, and I gained 6 pounds of lean body mas while losing 8 or 9 pounds of body fat. When my sister and I previously measured our body fat before and after a previous paleo challenge I believe I lost 4%, but I lost lean body mass. I am pumped that I gained lean body mass while still remaining to be an adult mail. **Adult male > 200 pounds**.

I remained silent because I was trying new things during this paleo challenge. I am no stranger to paleo, but this is the first time I remained strict. Other times I would still drink and eat pizza once a week. This time, money talked and bullshit walked. I was stricter than comrade Stalin and his daily vodka regiment. I did not partake in booze accept during the pumpkin carving party at Moe and Drew's and one beer and tequila after Colorado USAW/XFIT event.

So what are my sweeping changes?

1. I cut out the booze. This is a no brainier. Sorry Yaz, you can't dance with the buffalo stance. I have used that song lyric twice in a day! I know what you are thinking, I cannot give up my booze. Why not? You can enjoy booze every now and then, but do not drink booze daily.
   
2. I ate real food. I did not use protein powders or any other synthetic foods.
   
3. I always ate a big breakfast. For those who don't like Breakfast, get over it and eat a large meal every morning.
   
4. I did not count calories or worry about my protein intake. I made sure I ate satisfying meal with protein as the center piece of the meal.
   
5. I left intermittent fasting alone. I had issues with this in the past and do not want to revisit.
   
6. I did not snack. I left the fruit and nuts at home. I ate three meals a day. This was very important as snacking can get out of hand. I would recommend increasing the amount of food eating for every meal.
   
7. I did not eat many fruits or nuts. Both are calorically dense. I would recommend picking up Robb Wolf's paleo solution. It has great chapters on how the body handles different sugars and fats.
8. I did not supplement my meals with paleo treats such as paleo muffins, paleo cakes, paleo pudding, etc. Only one weekend did I enjoy paleo crackers and a paleo pizza, but I would recommend staying away from consuming paleo substitutes to real food sparingly. And when I mean sparingly I don't mean Tiger Woods sparingly. I mean once in a blue moon.
   
9. I worked very hard on sleeping 7 to 9 hours every night. This ties back to the no drinking. Alcohol impedes sleep. On the weekends I would try to sleep in and shoot for 10 hours.
   
10. I worked hard on minimizing stress. I always see this guy on Cuyler Avenue around 8 or 9 pm in a business suit, smoking cigarettes, and looking haggard. He looks like a prime candidate for an early heart attack. While I enjoy my job, I am learning how to say no, and I prioritize my life accordingly.

Every small change I made was not that difficult, sure it took commitment and sacrifice. But, I feel it is important that everyone answer this one question. Why did you join the paleo challenge? My answer is simple. I want to live a healthy and independent life.

My goal is to get to 10% by July 2011. I will post a follow up on my new plan of attack. I am going to make some small tweaks during the next month and track my progress.