By George, He Did It!

I would like all of the Paleo Doubters out there to meet George.  I asked George if I could share his story, because he is a remarkable example of what a clean, healthy diet plus hard work does for a person.  Everyone loves Before and After stories, and our one gym alone produces a bunch of them.

This is George at Christmas 2011.  32 years old, 325 lbs with high blood pressure.

 

George came to Crossfit Frederick 4 1/2 months ago in the end of January. Before that, he had been doing Crossfit-type (yeah, whatever) workouts for 6 months.  I still remember his first week.  Starting Crossfit and coming to the noon class may put you smack in the middle of The Chris and Angela Show, which on many days is loud, annoying and shocking but just might possibly be entertaining.  There are few boundaries to our competition, and if one of our classmates chooses to get in the middle of it, they become fair game in the competition as well.  But George was quiet, observant, and persistant.  We all gave him the high-five welcomes and chitchats that are normal for the Box.  If there's a new person, they are definitely not ignored.  He smiled, and quietly kept working. 

Those first couple of weeks, George finished behind everyone, but he always completed the WOD.  "Did Not Finish" is clearly not in his vocabulary or character.  Gradually, I could see his confidence building.  He was getting stronger and more proficient at the workouts.  And then the Paleo Zone 10 week Challenge began, and he signed up to participate. 

The 10 Week Challenge is a tough one.  The requirements sound simple, but the challenge requires unending discipline and hard work.  Many members took on the challenge.  Some dropped out after a few weeks when they recognized and felt the discomfort.  Others persisted, and their very hard work paid off in inches, lbs and body fat flushed down the drain.  How did they do it? They measured their food, every time.  They ate 4-6 small meals per day, equally balanced in protein, carbs, and fat.  They ate REAL FOOD only.  Nothing processed, no additives, only the seasoning they used with their home cooked meals.  They abandoned sugar and alcohol - (alcohol was the bitch factor many used over and over again in the gym.) They journaled and submitted their meals for evaluation, every week.  They waterboarded themselves with water intake.  And they hit the gym, often.  George worked out hard 58 out of 70 days.  That's pretty much 1 rest day per week, with only 2 extra days off (I know, don't hate on my math skills - you can just refer to me as a Beautiful Mind...).  Like Jessica, Megan, Dan, Rudy, Julia, Jenn and Bob, George persisted, sucked it up, and kept at it. 

Stretching is our social hour, okay, our social 10 minutes.  During this time, we all talk about parties, trips, social events, food, or whatever.  George and the others would eat their measured-out post-workout snacks, and listen to how we Dietary Heathens were misbehaving while they kept their focus.  There was a period of about 2-3 weeks when I didn't see George.  Oh, he was there, notching away his 58 days, we just went to different classes.  When I saw him again, I did the cartoon double-take.  I couldn't believe how much he had changed.  In such a short time, he was transforming himself into a smaller, leaner, stronger, healthier version of his old self.  He was becoming a Paleo Poster Child.

Meet ROCKSTAR George! This is what losing 15 inches, 10.3% body fat, and 97 lbs looks like!!

In the end, we celebrated the awesome results of several members.  If people ask you about "That Crazy Diet," send them to this link, where they can see the Before and Afters -  Challenge Winners/Results.  Eliminating the garbage from your diet gives results.  Amanda and Dave always say, "The Numbers Don't Lie," and they are right.  If you take in the right amounts of good food, and burn off what you can, the numbers follow.  And, after the 10 weeks, they embraced their new lifestyle.  It's not a way of eating that's easy to abandon.  Processed foods taste different when you try them again.  Dairy and Wheat wreak havoc on your gut.  And sugar, sugar... the teaniest bit of sugar tastes like a cup of it, almost too sweet to tolerate.  I took a bite of a Zone Bar yesterday, and promptly spit it out because of the sweetness overload. 

So, take a good look at George.  Let him serve as a reminder that good health hopefully gives us all the chance to be around a lot longer, to give us more, better days ahead.