“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger!” Right!?!

I hope so! Today I am starting a Paleo Challenge at my CrossFit gym and I’m really hoping it doesn’t kill me!

Of course, day one is easy. It’s day 5, and then day 12 and so on — that’s really when it will get tough.

Did I mention it was a 45 day challenge? It’s a bit long for my taste, but I’m going to do it. It’s actually great because it’ll get me ready just in time for the 2016 CrossFit Open.

Why am I doing a Paleo challenge? These challenge thingies can be painful, but they can also be effective! Here are a few reasons why:

Motivation

Doing something with a group of people is always easier than doing something by yourself. I could start some diet by myself any day of the week. And I’d probably last…uh, like three days.

But doing it as part of a “challenge” with a group from the gym will help keep me motivated and accountable. If someone else, and especially everyone else, can do it…so can I!

Well, at least for the most part. I’m still not sure if giving up a spot of half and half in my coffee is doable. At least not yet. Maybe after 45 days, I’ll be a lean, mean, black coffee drinking machine.

And, let’s be real, I honestly I need to get a lot leaner to improve my CrossFit Open scores. But more on weight loss later.

Simple Rules

One thing I like about our challenge is that it’s simple and has simple guidelines — eat real whole foods and avoid processed junk foods. Get plenty of sleep each night and do a WOD on most days. And remember you need some recovery yo!

These constraints make it simple to follow. Not easy, but simple.

Simple Meals

So this is a Paleo Challenge, which means following a Paleo diet. To make this more achievable, my gym is using a Challenge App that we developed right here at FitnessHQ. It includes a simple meal plan to follow each week.

On the app, the meals range from simple grab and go lunches to more savory dinners like green chicken served over spaghetti squash (reminder to self: post this recipe for everyone to enjoy later!) Having these meal plans help take the guess work out of what to eat and make grocery shopping a breeze.

My Personal Challenge Stats

In the spirit of openness and transparency, I am going to post updates on my journey through this challenge as much as possible. My goal is to hopefully give you daily updates on what’s going on –maybe I should make that part of the challenge rules.

First things first….

The Ugly

My weight. I am going to do it. I am going to post it, here for all the world to see. Ready?

When I stepped on the scale this morning I was a whopping 191 pounds.

Yikes…I think that has me at around 20 percent body fat. Ideally, I’d like to be around 175, but I’ll settle for getting in the 170s, meaning I’d like to shed around 12 pounds during the challenge. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

My Meals

This morning, I started posting some of my meals our Instagram page using the hashtag #harrispaleochallenge. I’d also like to share as many as I can here.

So far today it’s been two eggs scrambled in ghee and some roasted asparagus for asparagus. Simple, but delicious!

For lunch, I kept things equally simple with two soft boiled eggs, a green apple and about an ounce of raw almonds.

The presentation of that lunch is special I know — how’d you like that paper towel plate?

Honestly, these simple meals have been delicious! Hopefully, I’ll still be this excited three weeks into the challenge.

Ideally, dinner will be just as simple and nutritious as my first couple meals. However, we’re supposed to go out to eat tonight, so things could get interesting. Hopefully I have the will power to keep the wheels on the wagon — it is only day 1, after all.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey. If you’d like to receive updates via email, sign up for our email newsletter here.

Also, if your gym isn’t doing a challenge, we’d like to invite you to join our Fitness HQ Paleo Challenge starting Feb. 1.

Day #2 of the Paleo Challenge Journey can be found here.