Week 1 – Sugar
During the first week, we would like you to remove both natural and artificial sweeteners from your diet.This includes everything under the sun such as:
Sugar, Brown Sugar, Stevia, Splenda, Honey, Agave Nectar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sacchrin, sugary drinks such as fruit juices, soft drinks, Kool-aid, etc, Dextrose, Fructose, Sucrose, Galactose, any sugar-free/no added sugar processed foods, or any other artificial sweeteners that I may have forgotten.You will have to learn how to read food labels and are encouraged to do so. This is the first step in understanding the things you are putting into your body and whether they are healthy or not. Remember this; cancer’s food source is sugar and sugar only. No sugar means no food for cancer and ultimately leads to it’s demise.
The only thing allowed is fruit in moderate amounts.
Week 2 – Dairy
During the second week of changing your eating habits, continue to remain sugar free but now include dairy. Dairy contains lactose which is also a sugar and can be detrimental to health if consumed regularly. The US population, as a whole, is lactose intolerant with only a few not being allergic. The easiest way to test yourself is to remove it completely from the diet for an extended period of time and then add it back in. This will be the case for sugar, grains, legumes, and processed food as well.Items not allowed include:
Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, butter, half and half, heavy whipping cream, and/or anything containing these items.As a substitution, unsweetened coconut milk in a can is your best option. This is uncharacteristically good in coffee and/or tea. If any of the above forbidden are your go to food for snacking, try fruit, unsweetened jerky, and nuts.
Week 3 – Grains and Legumes
The third week is crucial in your transition to a healthy, natural diet. In addition to removing grains and legumes, continue to remain sugar and dairy free.The use of grains is widespread and one of the leading causes of disease and obesity. The over abundance of grains, gluten, and Omega-6 fatty acids are part of the reason the US is at an all time high for obese adults and quickly gaining ground, obese children. Many Americans are quickly finding out that they are allergic to gluten and finding that when removed, many ailments disappear. Gluten and Omega-6 fatty acids are found largely in grains and legumes. Grains also provide constantly elevated levels of insulin production which leads to hyperinsulinism and ton of other of today’s health problems. The use of grains in our food supply is so widespread that it is almost impossible to rid them from the diet entirely without a dedicated urgency and understanding of their detriment. It is in everything except vegetables and fruit, and naturally fed animals. That’s right, even our meats and farm-raised fish contain grain as this is what they are fed (corn mash) unless they are pastured animals or wild caught fish. Taking the chance on grain is taking a chance on your life.
Items not allowed:
Grains - Cereals, breads, pastries, wheat, flour, rolled oats, quinoa, corn, bulgur, semolina, spelt, durum, graham, couscous, hydrolyzed wheat protein, wheat germ, wheat starch, buckwheat, kamut, malt, barley, rye, cake flour, rice, maize, brown rice, pasta, popcorn, hominy, and any other grain variations. Yes, this includes the mythical whole grain foods, touted as healthy but so far from the truth it’s sickening.
Legumes – black beans, pinto beans, soy beans, lentils, peanuts (not a nut but actually a legume), black-eyed peas, chickpeas, edamame, kidney beans, navy beans, split peas, and a whole host of other beans.
As mentioned with dairy, rid these items from your diet as much as you can to notice their true negative effect on human health. The more they are removed, the more the impact they will have on you when re-introduced.
Week 4 – Processed Foods
Hopefully you are staying strong and progressing nicely. If you have any questions up to this point, please ask freely. I want nothing more than for you to succeed and it is greatly improved with support and education so fire away if you don’t understand something or you feel anything goes against popular belief.This final week is to jump start a routine of cooking at home and preparing foods for lunch. This is the week where you start to take control of what goes into your and your family’s bodies. Don’t be satisfied with thinking you know what is really in food (deli meat is a big one). By now, you may have started to see bodily changes both on the scale and in the mirror. If not, keep on trucking, they will slowly start to come and the changes will be highly noticeable to others. Your performance and the way you feel will hopefully be at an all time high or about to be at an all time high.
The last food source that I have not talked about yet is alcohol. What about alcohol. Can you not do without it? Do you make excuses? I’ve seen this before, it’s called an addiction. It’s funny how we can easily have an addiction to pills or even sweets but no one wants to claim an addiction to alcohol. “No, not me!” What’s the big deal then? Get rid of it.
Ain’t gonna happen? Well, if you are addicted and absolutely won’t do away with it, can I suggest that you keep it moderate? How about 1 to 2 drinks a night only? Red wines anyone? Tequila on the rocks? Beer is a grain so stay away from it. Ultimately, you have to lay out your goals and how you expect to reach them. We get a lot members who come to us with wanting to look good in the mirror and wanting weight loss and we show them the way but come sometime later and with no results and they blame it on faulty direction from us or an unsound nutritional approach but ultimately, it’s sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Sometimes, those two things alone can change a person’s life for the better. It’s worth a try, right? What do you have to lose? I’m guessing weight, sickness, lethargy, and poor performance?
Week 5 and Beyond
After your four week phased approach comes to a close, I hope you know a bit more about yourself and how you respond to eating differently. I also hope that you are intrigued by this way of eating and continue to research and learn everything you can about it. There are multiple resources at your disposal and I would be more than happy to point you in the right direction. You can start by visiting our nutrition website, www.cfomahanutrition.com. The gym also has other services available to you such as question and answer consultations, grocery list preparation, recipes, shopping partner, etc.We are here to help you reach a very high level of fitness at CrossFit Omaha that is devoid of injury and sickness. Our goal is to help you maintain an active, healthy life where you continue to do the things that you love to do, well into the latter stages of life. We are your support system and would love nothing more than to help you reach your goals. Whatever they may be.
