The transition from chapter 2 to chapter 3 is in this line: “It is my fault.”
The key word here is fault. 

As a psychologist, I have come to dislike this word.  Too many people believe “fault” means “placing complete responsibility for my actions on the person who showed or taught me how to do this unproductive behavior.”  

Here’s an example of Jennifer’s (not her real name) mistaken, fault-finding thinking:  

1)          I just got really upset with my husband and ate a bag of potato chips.

2)          Whose fault is that?  Who taught me how to eat potato chips when upset?

3)          When I was a child, every time my mother was upset, she would eat potato chips.

4)          I learned how to eat when upset from my mother.** 

5)          Therefore, it is my mother’s fault that I eat potato chips when upset.  

Here’s the good news: the thinking above does reveal who contributed to Jennifer being in the hole. 

She is absolutely clear that her mother gave her misleading information, demonstrated unhealthy patterns, and told her lies about food, health, appearance, and the magnificence of her body.  

It may be your college cross-country coach, fitness magazines, or an ex-girlfriend: if you are serious about learning more about your relationship with food, it is wise to learn who and what shaped that relationship.  Knowing how you got into the hole helps you make sense of the past and wisely consider your options in the present.  

Here’s the bad news: Jennifer’s thinking hides an important truth about her present and future.  What’s the mistake?  

Jennifer assumes that the person who helped her get into the hole (her mother) is a necessary part of getting her out!  

No mater from whom you learned your unwanted, painful, unproductive habits, one thing remains true: if you are the one in pain who wishes things were different, that means YOU are the person who is in the hole.  That means YOU have the responsibility (that is, the ability to respond differently) to get out of the hole.  

This is true even if you are certain someone talked you into the hole. 

This is true even if you are certain someone pushed you into the hole. 

If I could restate Nelson’s poem, the line “It is my fault” would read “It is my responsibility.” 

Save yourself years of misery, resentment, and bitterness:  do not assume that the people and/or situations that contributed to you getting into the hole are necessary in order for you to get out.  

You can get out of the hole even if the other person is deceased, distracted, or out of your life.    

You can get out of the hole if the other person doesn’t believe s/he had anything to do with you being in the hole.

You can get out of the hole even if the other person doesn’t think you’re in a hole!  

I invite you to re-read Nelson’s poem (below), consider the difference between fault and responsibility, and explore the questions:  

Who and what contributed to me being in the hole? 

Whom have I been holding responsible for getting me out of the hole? 

 - Dr. Ndiya Nkongho

Dr. Ndiya Nkongho is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Atlanta, GA.  Her website is www.boldquestions.com.  She is an athlete who trains at BTB Fitness.  

**Notice that eating chips when you’re upset is just a pattern—it’s not inherently good or bad. A pattern only becomes a problem when you become dissatisfied with the results.  The moment you decide the pattern isn’t taking you to your desired destination, then the pattern has become a problem.  

 
Some great resources for holiday dishes:

Whole 30 Approved Thanksgiving Recipes
Bacon Butternut Squash Souffle
Carmelized Onion and Sausage Stuffing
10 Paleo Thanksgiving Sides from The Clothes Make the Girl

Post your favoriate paleo-friendly holiday recipe(s) below!

The transition from chapter 1 to chapter 2 is in this line: “I pretend I don’t see it.” 

The key word here is pretend. 

Pretending means that, on some level, you know the difference between the pretense and truth.  You may pretend you don’t see the “holes” (painful, repetitive situations) you get into around food.  Or you may be perfectly aware of the holes and yet pretend you don’t see how spending time in that hole impacts the rest of your life.

Awareness is the antidote to all forms of pretending.  As your awareness grows, pretending you don’t know anything about the hole gets harder and harder to do. 

Awareness with food is getting your body and your mind in the same place, at the same time, doing a single thing. 

These two tips may strengthen your awareness around food:

1. Establish physical clarity: when your body is eating, allow it to do nothing else.  If your body is cutting into a steak, spearing some broccoli onto the fork, and then raising the fork to your lips, then that is all your body should be doing.  Your body, when eating, should not drive, walk, text, watch TV, sort the mail, fold the laundry, read, conduct a conference call, or do anything else that is unrelated to eating.  

If/when this seems both really dumb and impossibly difficult, get curious!

How did you decide that eating was so ________ (Trivial? Dangerous? Boring?) that it needed a side activity to make it tolerable? 

2. Get your mind to the meal: when your body is eating, invite your mind to be present for the occasion.  If your body is seated at a table eating, why not invite your mind to be there as well?  Instead of dreaming about your next vacation, reminding yourself to pick up the dry cleaning, worrying about the overdue TPS report, or wondering when your brother is going to get his life together, gently bring your mind back to what your body is doing: eating. 

If/when this seems both really dumb and impossibly difficult, get curious! 

When your mind notices the temperature, texture, and taste of your food and pays attention to how your body feels as you eat, what changes about the experience of eating?  What do you like/dislike about having your mind show up for the meal?

I invite you to re-read Nelson’s poem, consider the tips on awareness above, and explore the questions:  

What have I pretended I didn’t know about food?
What do I gain, and what do I lose, when I admit I see the “hole” before I fall in? 

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in.
I am lost…I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again.   I can’t believe I am in the same place. But, it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in…it’s a habit.  My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

*********************************************************************************

What and how you eat changes and is changed by your physical health and appearance, your emotional experiences, your financial situation, your work habits, your spiritual beliefs, and your relationships with others. What you do with food is a part of, not separate from, the rest of your life.

Any intimate, honest conversation about food is eventually going to touch upon how you live the rest of your life, and this is an unavoidable, sometimes challenging, potentially enlightening truth.**

In this series, I am using Nelson’s poem to explore the chapters we experience in our relationship with food. Moving from one chapter to another requires us to develop a particular character trait that will show up and shift the ways we think, feel, and act around food.

Moving from chapter one to two, we develop awareness.

Moving from chapter two to three, we develop responsibility.

Moving from chapter three to four, we develop foresight.

Moving from chapter four to five, we develop courage.

Moving from chapter five to one (what, you thought the new street wouldn’t have holes?), we develop willingness.

Let’s begin the conversation…are you in?

**Instead of an intimate, honest conversation about food, you may choose a superficial one instead. You may also decide to avoid this conversation altogether. Your call.

Lets talk about the back this time.    This is an area of the body that a lot of people have a irrational fear about, and I would like to alleviate that right now.  There is only one type of tissue that is in the spine that is not in any other orthopedic area of the body and that is the disk.  Otherwise, just like the ankle, you have the same type of muscular structure, tendons, ligaments, bone, cartilage, and nerves.  You can strain, sprain, and break these structures just like an ankle, and just like an ankle, it will heal with time.   However, the disk is a little different. 

I always explain the disc with the same analogy… its like a jelly doughnut. 

There is a disk between every vertebrae of the spine except for the top two.  For simplicity purposes we will talk only about the lower back region.  The inside of the disc is a viscoelastic substance (one that has both principles of liquids and solids) called nucleus pulposis.  Think about it as having the consistency of half dried toothpaste.   It is surrounded by a significant amount of annular rings.  They are similar in structure to ligaments and an intact disk looks like the picture in the upper right hand corner, this being a view from the top.

So now that you have this image of the jelly doughnut in your spine, think about someone taking his or her hand and gently pressing on one end of it.   Where does the jelly go?  It goes to the other end, right?  The disk is no different.  If you sit down, bend forward, deadlift 250lb, etc… the bones on each side of the disk tilt and push together on the front of the disc, pushing the disk material backwards toward your spinal nerves.  This is where those annular rings around the disk material come in.  They prevent the movement backwards, just like the bread in a jelly doughnut.   Unfortunately, if you do this constantly with no rest eventually these rings start to fail.  And we all do it constantly.   Remember, that sitting is the same strain, and society has most of us sitting for hours at a time.   This is why disk bulges are mainly a white-collar job issue.  Nothing is worse for this problem than sitting in front of a computer 10 hours day.  Now take that same guy who has been sitting at a computer all day drive him to the gym and have him do 50 deadlifts the last 20 with bad form because he is tired.   I’m sure you can see where this is going. 

Another problem with this particular issue is that the inner 2/3rds of the annular rings that are supposed to protect us from this problem don’t have a nerve supply, so you wont even know you have a problem until the last one breaks.  This is how people “throw out their back.”    It was not picking the sock or a bar off the ground that did it.  It was the 1000 things you did leading up to that one event.   And at that point it is too late, I would highly suggest going to see somebody for this, because if you let this cascade you could meet a surgeon eventually. A good Physical Therapist (we aren’t all good, like not all chiropractors are bad) can easily fix it, but it may take up to 6 months if it is bad enough.  Think of it like a cut on the knuckle (tired of analogies yet?), if you keep bending it the cut never heals, same thing with disk bulges, if you don’t stop putting pressure on the front of the disk, the annular rings will never repair themselves. 

So on to prevention.   The prevention of these is simple and quick. 

Rule 1: avoid flexion of the lumbar spine as much as possible in all that you do.   Bending forward is not a bad thing, it is just that we do it so much and without a counter balance of extension shortly after.  So if you actively try to avoid it, such as air squatting to pick something up instead of bending at your back, you may save yourself trouble later

Rule 2:  bend backwards, bend backwards, bend backwards.  Very simple concept here, extension of the lumbar spine takes pressure off the annular fibers in the back and reverses a disc bulge.  Such as these exercises:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNvcGehL0v8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpNP93-lFIk

or something as simple as working on the computer while laying on your stomach at home.

A couple of nice random facts about back pain because my main goal in all of this is for you guys to understand how not to hurt yourselves and a large part of doing that is responding to inevitable injury correctly.  These are common misconceptions my patients have so I wanted to throw them out there: 

- MRIs do not detect pain.   A study gave radiologist 350 MRIs and asked a yes or no question  “does this person have pain?”  it was 49% accurate on a 50/50 question which means you might as well flip a coin.   The point here is back pain treatment is based on symptoms and not images, but images can be used to confirm a diagnosis. 

- which brings us to fact 2.  According to literature there is no one type of treatment for back pain.   Don’t go up to someone with back pain and say oh my back hurt once and I did A, B, and C and it went away, because A, B, and C may be extremely dangerous for that person.  Take chiropractic manipulations for example.   They are great for conditions like SI joint dysfunctions (and I will do them for that and a couple of other things), but if you manipulate a bulging disk, you could cause that person immediate and permanent harm.  This is an extreme example but you get the idea.

- and lastly, do not push through pain with any injury, it will more than likely not end well.  Especially if it is back pain that started going down the leg.  Seek advice.

As always, I am more than happy to answer questions posted on the blog. 

Thanks,

Jonathan

That’s why, for our first injury prevention blog, we will be talking about control.  And for our talk about control, we will use the part of the body that the trainers have indicated suffers the most injuries in crossfitters, as well as the one with the least amount of passive support………the shoulder. 

The bony structure of the shoulder is comprised of three bones.  The clavical (collar bone) which connects the whole shoulder to the body and acts as a guide wire for the rest of the shoulder and arm to move around.  The scapular (shoulder blade) which transmits force from the rest of the body through 10 different muscular attachments to the arm.  And the humorous (arm)which has 9 different muscles attaching it to the clavical, body, and scapula.   Now on top of this the shoulder blade can move in 8 different ways, the clavical moves in 6 different ways, and the humerous upwards to 9 different ways.  Are you starting to get the picture of how complicated this system is?  The shoulder is the most mobile and allows for the most amount of control of any joint in the body, however, with all these options, comes a great deal of opportunity for error.  This is why, when we are passing a large amount of power through this joint( such as in a muscle up, or a overhead press, or even a burpie)  it is important to control that power, or things can go wrong quickly. 

So obviously we cant come close to covering every injury situation in one sitting, and I will attempt to do a couple of common injuries later, but for now we will cover the most basic and important structure in the shoulder, the rotator cuff.

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. 

  These four muscles wrap around the ball of the shoulder and serve the purpose of actively keeping the shoulder in the socket.  A basic example of this is when you lift your shoulder in a summo lift; your deltoid pulls up on your shoulder, while your rotator cuff pulls in and down causing a spinning action.   If the deltoid muscle overpowers the rotator cuff then this happens:

Basically, the humeral head shifts up into the acromion and pinches the bursa and one of the rotator cuff tendons.  Unfortunately, this now becomes a self feeding problem if not treated correctly because your rotator cuff gets damaged and weakens leading to more impingement incidences.  Now this can have multiple causes ranging from tightness, weakness, poor mechanics, etc…  and if you have this problem, and it does not go away with rest, consult a physician.  However, here are three great exercises to strengthen your cuff that may help prevent this from happening. 

Using the body wt assist bands works well.

 
Scaption:  with your thumbs up and arms oriented 45 degrees from straight in front of you, lift to 90 degrees and slowly back down.

That’s it for this time.  If anybody has topics they would like to know more about, feel free to ask!

Jonathan Shaw- CrossFitter, DPT, OCS

Please join me in congratulating ALL of the finalists for continuing on for the 75 days. They are:
Anne Smith
Gwen Cook
Heather Bondar
Lindsay Doyle
Megan Ramsey
Sharee Clarke
Alex Cook
Austin McRoberts
Bernie Colligan
Bill Madson
David Feldman
Kyle McGowan
Logan Mauldin
Ryan James

These 14 people lost a total of 127 inches in 75 days.
Let me say that again for emphasis: THESE 14 PEOPLE LOST A TOTAL OF 127 INCHES IN 75 DAYS!!

This competition was tight. An independent panel of 8 judges spanning all 4 BTB gym locations cast their votes on the winners. While there are certain measures that are objective, some things become subjective at the end (for example, someone’s before and after pictures and the differences seen there are open to the judges’ assessment). The crazy thing about this time? Pretty much every single one of the finalists had a vote cast for them as one of the finalists. In recognition of all the remaining BTB75 finalists, the powers-that-be at all BTB locations have decided to give ALL runners-up of the 75 a month of free training.  

That said, in the end, we do have the BIG GRAND PRIZE FINAL 75 WINNERS! What did they win? $1000 cold hard cash. Each. We told you it would be a bigger and better prize than the 45!

For the women, our winner is:

GWEN COOK!

Gwen was also our BTB45 ladies' winner, and continued her winning streak for the BTB75. Gwen lost a total of 10 inches, 9 pounds, PRed on Elizabeth, survived eating paleo while on the road and as a teacher, and even when moving in with her in-laws! Gwen and Alex were the only married couple in the contest, and in Alex’s words, having your spouse on board with you eating this way makes a huge difference!

For the men or winner is:

RYAN JAMES!

Ryan was one of our finalists last year when we did the BTB45 (we knew him as “red shorts guy.”).  Ryan dropped 15 pounds, a total of 15.75 inches (along with adding ½ inch to both his arms), and had a real change in perspective on eating paleo since his initial experience last year. In his own words, “Something seems to have just "clicked" this time around.  Maybe it's because I'm so close to achieving goals I've set for myself.  Maybe it's just because I feel better than I ever have before.  Regardless, this way of life ain’t goin’ nowhere.” 

Congratulations to Gwen and Ryan!

But wait, there's more. The coolest thing in observing folks who gave this paleo thing a shot? Their individual realizations as to what works for them in their lives. I’d venture a guess that most of the BTB45/75 competitors have decided to stick with paleo, at least in an 80-20% notion – which is awesome.

If the above isn’t impressive to you, perhaps some observations straight from the finalists – their proud moments, or epiphanies through the contest - might be of interest.

“Despite my worries, apparently I am losing SIZE... not just weight, but actual inches. We tried Paleo last year and while my wife was strict-ish with it, I was about 65-70% for most of 2011.  While I was getting into better shape, I didn't start seeing WOD results that actually surprised me until I went 90-95% strict paleo.  The old saying of "you can't outwork a crappy diet" is 100% truth.”

“THE END.... And what a great journey it has been!  It really blows my mind how far I have come and still take a second look when passing by a mirror.  Who is this skinny guy?  I haven't seen him since high school.  What's been most encouraging is exercising my will power.  Having gone through such a challenge with great success has me thinking what else I can do or improve.”

“I went from 80% paleo to 100% and that last commitment made all the difference in the world.  Body changes that would have taken a year or so with regular diet and exercise, were expedited and accomplished in a couple months.”

“I learned soo much on this journey and I am feeling very good about myself and what I accomplished. I will not be logging my meals anymore, but I will be continuing the paleo program. But I don't see myself going back to eating grains or dairy outside of maybe an occasional greek or frozen yogurt. I think I have inspired no fewer than 10 other people to come on board to the paleo philosophy as they have observed my results and enthusiasm for the program.”  

“The thing that really struck a chord with me is the eating of fat to curb my hunger.  That really made huge difference for me in terms of not "junk eating."  Although, I still have the sweet cravings from time to time. I am going to work in at least 1 serving of fruit a day.”

“I have noticed how much sweeter fruit is now.  My God!  That was a huge shock to me. Another shock was how much I have become alcohol intolerant.  Holy crap!  I had two tequila and sodas the other night, and I was way buzzed.  Between taking 30 days with zero alcohol and getting older, I have become a complete lightweight.  That should save me some $$$.  The greatest thing for me is that I have discovered a healthy way of eating where ... I REALLY LIKE THE FOOD.  How many times have I tried to diet, but I really hated the actual food?  Or, the process of keeping up with it was too hard?  I cannot count the number of times that I have tried a diet and the food was too boring or hard to keep up with.  This was very very easy.  I think this is something that I can do. “

“Actually, I am doing quite well.  I have been surprised at how well this does for me.  My clothes fit better, and I feel good.  Since about the middle of January, I have not had any heartburn.  That was a frequent experience for me.”

“Am I going to stick with it?  Yes, this has been really easy for me and I feel good.  I am going to go back to the RSB meals and re-up my strict program until June.  I need to drop about 4 more inches in the waist to be satisfied.  Now, I am sure that I can do it. “

“I feel like I have learned a way of healthy eating that I can take with me and use long-term.  I am still excited about it.”

“Paleo breakfasts and lunches are so easy!  I will certainly be continuing those easy meals.  I will definitely continue to cook Jules' cauliflower mash, stuffed peppers, paleo pizza, and Brussels sprouts... And spaghetti squash - those were some of my favorites!!”

“My proudest moment: Actually realizing I lasted 75 days.  I figured I would have fallen off the wagon along time ago but I'm really planning on keeping this up.  Amazing that at the end of my 75 days I went to the grocery store and without even thinking twice bought all Paleo groceries and proceeded to make myself dinner without even a thought of going crazy and eating everything I dropped from my diet the last 75 days!”

“There are a few things that I will carry on from this 75 day Paleo challenge. First is the knowledge I have gained about nutrition and what the body truly needs and what the body does not need. Second is the frustration that wonders where I would be today if I would have done this 15 years ago.  How much healthier I would be and how much better my athletic performance would be.  I am not one to live in the past so I am very excited of what the future holds and I know now that I am in control."

“My proudest moment in this journey:  sticking with it for 75 days and zipping zippers and buttoning buttons that haven't zipped or buttoned in months.  I wish I could say it was a PR, a muscle up, or an incredible decrease in time on my benchmark WOD, but it's not.  Maybe 75 more days from now it will be!  Hope springs eternal.”

The awesome news for anyone reading this who wasn’t part of the BTB45/75 is that you’re only a meal away from starting your paleo journey. There are a ton of resources here on the BTB site, and out there on the big old internet machine. BTB will do another 45 challenge in the future, but until then, why wait to start your own personal healthy eating? If you might ditch the heartburn, drop some inches, clear your skin, feel good throughout the day, and start seeing some PRs, don’t you think it might be worth you giving this a shot?

Stay tuned for follow-up stories from our 75 finalists. Until then, please congratulate all those whose names you see above for giving this paleo thing a shot for 75 days, and ask them for some tips and tricks – they’re full of knowledge, and pretty darn awesome paleo examples!

I compiled a team of judges from all BTB locations who cast their votes based on the 4 categories: Compliance, Performance, Total Inches, Before/After Photos. It was fascinating to see the judges votes cast, as everyone had a slightly different take on things, and indeed the competition was TIGHT! The overall winners barely edged out the 2nd and 3rd place finishers.

Before we bore you with a series of amazing pictures and stories of transformations, there are a few other superlatives I’d like to dole out:

Restaurants most likely eaten at by BTB45 participants:

1.)  Chick-Fil-A. Seriously. I’ve never seen so many grilled chicken nuggets consumed before – that and grilled chicken salads.
2.)  Chipotle. Double meat, add the guac, no rice no beans, and you’re all good. Plus their commercial always makes me tear up. (go watch it if you have not already).
3.)  Homegrown. I’ve still yet to go to this place, but I see it frequently pictured, and talked about…pancakes and all (but no pancakes during the 45 that I saw!).

Beverages (alcoholic or not) most likely consumed by BTB45 participants:

1.)  Coffee. Enough said.
2.)  La Croix sparkling water and unsweetened teas seemed to be tied for second.
3.)  Third was a tie between wine which had stiff competition from (insert name of alcohol here) and soda with lime. Tequila, vodka, gin, saw all of these at some point after the first strict 30.

Now, don’t forget: we do have folks who have been competing for the EVEN BIGGER BTB75 challenge. That’s right, some folks were crazy enough to take those pics of their food and keep doing this paleo thing for a full 75 days. And you know what? It was worth it. You’ll see!

Without further ado, here are the winners:

WOMEN

3^rd place (winning a free month of training): tie - Megan Ramsey & Anne Smith
1st runner up (winning 2 free months of training): Heather Digby
And the ladies winner (who will be taking home ½ of the BTB45 kitty ($500): Gwen Cook!

MEN:

3^rd place (winning a free month of training): tie - Ryan James and Bernie Colligan
1st runner up (winning 2 free months of training): Joshua Sledge
1^st place (who will be taking home the other ½ of the BTB45 kitty ($500): Austin McRoberts

Let’s talk about our winners, shall we?

Gwen stayed the straight and narrow for the first 30 days, kept her splurges to alcohol/dark chocolate after that point, darkened the room, went through having her blood tested (though Gwen HATES needles), stayed on her training, and did awesome.  She PRed her Elizabeth time by over 4 minutes, dropped 6 pounds along with 2 inches off her waist.

Austin had an impressive transformation too. Not only did he shave a minute off Helen, but he dropped 16 pounds + 10 inches (but gained muscle size in his arms), did the dark room, blood, all of that.

As an aside: I purposefully did not tell the judges who all was continuing for the 75, and they have not seen the BTB75 after data or photos. Interestingly enough, many of the finalists continued on for the full 75 days.

I’ll be doing more of a write up – complete with more pictures – of not just the finalists but also our honorable mentions who realized some impressive changes.

Please take a moment to congratulate ALL the BTB45 participants, and stay tuned for more about the 75!



Now onto a recipe:

Vegetables. I used to be that kid who only liked peas and corn. Salads were grotesque to me (still are if they're coated in ranch or bleu cheese dressing - blech!), Brussels sprouts were nasty, and you could not pay me to touch broccoli, cabbage, or any other vegetable. That whole rainbow of veggies on my plate? Not so much. So pretty it's hard not to love all of them now!

What changed? I suppose taste buds, or a willingness to try, or the realization that these things not only taste delicious when prepared properly, but that it's all so good for you  (vs. all that whole grain pasta I used to think was so good for me). 

Enter kale. Kale and I did not start out on the right foot. Mostly because I always associated it with being decorative stuff that the chefs would place all around the buffet at Druid Hills Golf Club when I was a server there, and it would end up being coated in all sorts of drippings from food that missed the journey from chafing dish to plate. 

A few years back, I decided to give kale a try. Why? the health benefits get touted all the time - this stuff is so freaking good for you! I sauteed up some garlic and onions in olive oil, added the kale, some smoked paprika, and balsamic vinegar. I thought the kale tasted like dirt. I tried cooking it up in bacon. I still thought it tasted like dirt. What's a girl to do? 

Well, enter my sister-in-law, and her fabulous kale salad that is in our cookbook and a staple in our house. This changed my impression of kale so much that now we even grow it in our garden, and I order it at restaurants, but I was still skeptical of braised kale, thinking it might still taste like dirt. 

Recently I decided to overcome my braised kale fears. When having lunch at JCT Kitchen with our friends Dallas & Melissa Hartwig of Whole9 fame, I opted for the "butter braised kale" as my side dish. And was it ever delicious! No dirt taste! Butter! Delicious kale! So last night, I attempted to recreate this deliciousness at home, and I wasn't disappointned! Here's my recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
2 bunches of kale, stems removed, washed and torn into small pieces
1 large yellow or white onion, sliced into slivers
3 Tablespoons of grassfed, clarified butter (we like making our own with Kerrygold) - aka ghee (note: if you are cool with dairy in your life, you can use regular butter)
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large dutch oven (or other large pot with a lid), melt half the butter over medium heat.  
2. Add in the onion, and saute until translucent.
3. Stir in the kale and the remaining butter, stirring all to completely coat the kale with the butter.
4. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering until kale is nicely wilted and cooked to your desired tenderness.
5. Season with salt and pepper, and stir it up!

Have you found some veggies that you used to hate as a kid and have since grown on you? Any new fun veggie recipes you particularly like?  

As we're still in the process of tabulating and judging, here are some comments from participants we'd like to share. Big congrats to ALL the BTB45 participants, and please continue to cheer on those folks continuing for the full 75 days!

“To put it simply, I feel great.  I'm sleeping better (although, I have always been a pretty good sleeper), have more energy throughout the day and find myself really looking at processed foods in a different light. I'm trying to make an honest effort at continuing this paleo journey for as long as possible, though (somewhere, a chicken farmer is thanking me) and am trying to ingrain in myself a long-term approach to eating and fitness (because, you know, I'd like to live as long as possible).  My hope is that these methods will make it stick this time.”

“This week has been weird.  All 3 WODs have been "benchmarks" for me.  Not bench mark in the BTB/Crossfit sense, but an absolute measure of "how shit should have been all along."  I have used RX weights as much as possible and kept up with the crowd (most of whom were NOT using RX weights).  I have caused trainers to remark about my improvements in running and pullups. I used a green band for pullups instead of my beloved tan band and got nearly identical results.  My running felt like it was work, but I was laying down times that were silly…It must be a combo of the diet finally working and consistently showing up for a WOD 3 times a week since January.  I feel like I am finally making progress.  Muscle is starting to appear in places where i have NEVER had muscle (according to my wife) and despite my claims that "it's just lumps of ghee floating around under my skin" I am starting to believe that it's actually working.

“I feel a lot better and cannot believe it has been almost 45 days   The hardest thing for me has been that I eat out so much for work. I have tried to stay as close as possible but I know bringing my lunch is better. I have also not been as strict with wine. I definitely had less than normal which is progress. Have lost some weight. About 10 lbs and I am excited about taking my measurements. Clothes fitting better. Looking forward to the next 30…”

“So the biggest surprises that I have had so far are: 1) This is not as hard as I thought it would be.  With some advance planning, I am able to prepare for my weekly business travel by making breakfasts to take with me and planning which restaurants I will go to for dinner where paleo options are available. 2) How much I am starting to crave good, real food.  I actually get excited about broccoli, spinach and brussel sprouts!  I am also rediscovered cooking for myself. I feel so much better, especially in my gut, much less bloating and IBS symptoms.”

“I find myself evangelizing paleo every chance I get.  I am so glad when my friends ask me questions and I am surprised at how thirsty I am to seek out additional nutritional knowledge. I find myself making lots of special requests at restaurants to switch out starches for additional vegetables, modify some of the dishes, etc.  People seem very willing to accommodate, many times the wait staff is familiar with paleo and more than willing to help.”

“Here are some key achievements so far:

-Eliminated soda. I don't even desire it anymore which is amazing to me b/c I loved diet coke

-Eliminated bread. I was never huge bread lover but sandwiches had become a regular part of my diet ( mostly out of convenience. I've switched the sandwiches with salad and add vegetable as much as possible

-Increased awareness into processed crap sneaks into our daily and how messed the US food system really. I am trying to aggressively eliminate processed stuff but it seems to everywhere. This is still something I need to work and continue to become more vigilant and knowledge about processed foods and how to avoid.”

“This morning I had the tell tale sign that this thing is working.  My pants are noticeably looser.  Nuff said.

I am in a good rhythm with both nutrition and WODs.  So far, so good on achieving the overall goal of momentum. WODs are more consistent, and I am performing better.  I am increasing work capacity but not feeling whooped, gassed, etc. before the end of them.”

“I'm starting to like paleo. I just feel better. I'm sticking with it this time... I swear.”

“As this challenge is coming to an end, I am feeling that I am really glad I did it.  I have been a skeptic for a long time.  I have learned a few things. 

 a.  I have a little bit of gluten intolerance. 

 b.  I have gotten used to foods with less sugar.  For instance, I think I will start making my own mayo all the time.  The homemade stuff at first tasted weird, but I am used to it now and prefer it actually.  Ketchup too.  I feel a lot of condiments in the grocery store are too sweet.  With that said, I still have a sweet tooth.  I really like having a small piece of chocolate after dinner.  The  really dark kind though, and I don't need that much.”

The best thing about this challenge has been:

“Seeing the struggles everyone else has in eating right and not falling off the wagon.  Being able to read everyone else's journal has been helpful to keep perspective.”

“seeing and feeling actual results, as well as showing myself I can stick with it (aside from a couple of small cheats).”

“getting new recipe ideas”

“that it has really helped me to get my cravings in check.  I don't have the intense cravings for junk like I used to and am finding it easier to say no to food I don't really need.”

“Feeling GOOD.”

“Learning about the Paleo Diet.  Since starting this challenge I have read “The Paleolithic Solution” by Robb Wolf and have listened to many POD casts.  Just about everything I find out make since and I cant wait to implement into daily life.”

“Becoming more conscious about what I feed my body.  I spend a lot of time working out to maintain my healthy lifestyle.  I did think about what i was eating before but this challenge has increased my appreciation for cooking meals as opposed to eating out and also it has increased my awareness of what I cook - my priority was always working out before nutrition and sleep.  So, I would say that getting a handle on both I feel healthier.”

“Proving to myself that I can go 30 plus days paleo and not die”

“I've started cooking again and enjoying food.  During my pregnancy, I rarely cooked and was a picky eater because my taste buds were all over the place.”

“accountability and eating clean feels so good. Also have to say the dark room is revolutionary.”

“Realizing that I have control over what I put in my mouth, and that good food makes me feel better.”

“I've explore new foods I normally avoid or have never tried. I'm a little picky, you can't force feed me. I won't eat everything, but I'm better now. It's coming with age.”

“eating well with my wife and daughter doing the same program.”

The best result I've noticed so far is:

“clothes getting back to fitting.”

“looking and feeling fitter, quicker and healthier-and getting noticed for it”

“less swelling in my face and stomach”

“My belly seems less prominant and I feel less bloaty.”

“There are several, but overall I'd have to say the best is that my stress level has plummeted.”

“Being able to do a Muscle Up.  6 weeks ago I could not.”

“not in pounds or the scale but in leaning out.  it's been slow.  i saw it first in my arms and back... my stomach is coming along...”

“My abs starting to show and feeling better”

“slimming down!”

“not feeling sore after workouts to the same degree as before. Also just all around feeling good.”

“My pants fit better -- Less Muffin top from pregnancy!!”

“feeling and looking more fit.”

Lots of great things from lots of great folks. Way to go!