Home Workout Challenge

A week or so ago I was contacted by Elisa from Home Workout Challenge.  She asked if I would like to participate in a 30-day workout challenge based on Crossfit-style bodyweight exercises along with a tailored nutrition program.

I figured I would seize the opportunity and after talking with my dad, we agreed to do the 30 day challenge together.  I would love to gain back some muscle mass that I lost during pregnancy and my dad is always up for a new workout program so I'm excited to see how this goes!

The best part?  All the exercises are performed using just your body and a stopwatch and take less than half an hour each day.  For someone who doesn't have easy access to a gym or a long period of time to work out, this program suits me well.

The not-so-good part? The nutrition program for the first week is ridiculously strict.  It's based on a Paleo diet which is basically meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, veggies, oils and water.  No coffee or tea unless absolutely necessary.  New motherhood with no caffeine??  Shoot me.

Here is the list of foods:

Lean meat

• Lean beef
• Flank steak
• Sirloin steak
• Chuck steak
• Lean veal
• Lean pork
• Pork loin
• Pork chops
• Lamb chops
• Game meat
• Minced meat/Ground meat

Fish and sea food

• Cod
• Haddock
• Herring
• Mackerel
• Mullet
• Pike
• Perch
• Salmon
• Trout
• Tuna
• Crab
• Crayfish
• Shrimp

Poultry

• Chicken
• Turkey
• (Eggs)

Vegetables

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Beets
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrot
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Parsley
• Radish
• Seaweed
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Zucchini

Oils, nuts, and seeds

• Coconut oil
• Fish oil
• Flaxseed oil
• Olive oil
• Cashew nuts
• Pistachio nuts
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Sun flower seeds
• Sesame seeds

Notice there is no dairy, sugar, grains or fruits.  This is basically because the above foods put your body into a fat burning mode (according to these folks) and any carbohydrates will slow the fat burn. 

At this point postpartum, I am only 1.5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight so I'm not looking to lose fat.  In fact, as a nursing mother, I NEED fat stores to keep up my milk supply so I'm not going to mess with that right now.

Calcium is a very important nutrient for breastfeeding so I will need to keep the dairy in my diet.  I'm also not going to completely cut out grains but I will stick to whole minimally processed grains only.  Sugar is something that I definitely eat too much of and I will commit to going without sweets and desserts for the duration of this program.  Fruit is probably going to be the hardest food to give up, and I'm still not certain that I will. I just can't see how something that grows from the earth and naturally has one ingredient should be avoided.

So what WILL I be eating this week?  I plan to amp up my protein, avoid added sugars and refined carbohydrates and increase my vegetable intake.  My dad is going to be a little more strict about his diet so I will make sure to talk about his experience as well as my own.

My breakfast today - three eggs with half an avocado.  Water to drink.  All "approved" except for the butter I cooked the eggs in.

Anyway, another good thing is that this program allows a "free" day once a week to eat whatever you have been craving in order to boost your metabolism.  (Obviously my "free" day this week is going to be Thanksgiving!)

I may not be able to post each day about my foods and exercise but I will do updates as often as possible.  I'm really excited to get back into shape beginning today with this fit test:

FIT TEST

1 round

• 1 min. squats
• 1 min. rest
• 1 min. sit-ups
• 1 min. rest
• 1 min. push-ups
• 1 min rest
• 1 min burpees

Wish me luck!  I'm sure I'll be a sweaty mess afterward so maybe Lyric will let me join her during bathtime?