Paleo Lifestyle Challenge

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I thought it would be appropriate to post about the upcoming Paleo Lifestyle Challenge since this will be a first-time experience for many gym members. Please don’t be intimidated by the challenge. This is purely a chance for you to improve yourself. I guarantee that if you take advantage of this opportunity you will see positive changes in how you look, feel, and perform. 



Remember that Paleo is not a diet in the way we have been conditioned to think of the word “diet”. Paleo is a way of life that aligns us more with the way we are genetically programmed to be. When we remove foods from our diet that are known to cause inflammation, stomach discomfort, and other undesirable effects we see how much better we can feel and perform. An added bonus is that we usually end up looking better, too. When we learn to go to bed when our bodies ask us to and sleep in pitch black rooms, and try to limit the stress we feel from daily life, we will begin to value our health a little bit more. 


I have been “eating paleo” for over two years now. Believe me, my choices and habits are  not spotless. Each time a challenge comes along I use it as exactly that – A CHALLENGE! During the last challenge my goal was to eliminate chocolate. Another time I did a month of no alcohol at all. Both were difficult, but I made it happen, and saw awesome changes. I also learned that the world wouldn’t end if I didn’t have my chocolate or my wine. The feeling of accomplishment was great.


Some things I hear a lot around challenge time…

  • I already eat Paleo, so why should I do the challenge?

With nutrition, like CrossFit, there is always room for improvement. Our clean eating habits are continually evolving. Take a minute to remember the basic tenets of paleo eating and ask yourself if there is anywhere you could make improvements. I would be willing to bet you could find something if you tried. Maybe it’s eliminating milk or sweetener from your coffee and learning to enjoy it black; cutting back on the paleo treats; perhaps making more informed choices when it comes to produce or protein? Do you really know where your beef comes from; are you sure that fish is wild caught? Hmmmm…I have you thinking, right?

  • I’m new to this Paleo “thing”, so I’m not sure I can do it.

This is the best time for a challenge. Kyle and I are here to help you along the way. If you have questions you can call, email, or text us and we’ll get back to you. Or ask us at the gym. This is also an opportunity to talk with other Fort Monsters about their experiences; share recipes; fight cravings together; talk about “cheating”; whatever. Learning about clean eating and trying new things takes practice, like anything else. Why not try it while it’s on everyone else’s minds too? We won’t let you fall. Plus, you have a chance to win some great prizes. Newbies always have amazing results.  

  • I’m going on vacation, so I definitely can’t do it.

First of all, you should know that can’t is a four-letter word. I realize that vacation can be challenging and create a real barrier to clean eating. I get it, I’ve been on vacation. You’re not going on vacation for the whole month though, are you? If you are then that’s awesome, I hope you’re going to one of my dream locations (Fiji? Italy?). No, you say? Well then, a long weekend or a week away should not derail you for an entire month of eating. Kyle and I have set up a point system that allows you to earn a substantial amount of bonus points. You can even have one drink (red wine or tequila) each day with no negative consequence if you’d like! It’s all about choices here. It’s my experience that if I make better choices while on vacation I feel better in general and enjoy the vacation more. Especially if I’m going to be in a bathing suit the whole time. But that’s just me…

  • My weekends are tied up with my kids’ activities and I am always on the run.

This one is similar to the vacation thing above. When I was in grad school I spent pretty much every weekend in the library. Oregon State has a very nice library and even a food/cafe area. I bought A LOT of espresso there, but not a lot of food. It would have been much easier to not lug a cooler bag of healthy food from my apartment to campus, but I would have felt like crap eating bagels and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the library cafe. Not to mention I would have spent a lot more money. I would cook in bulk so I would have leftovers for those times I had to bring my food with me. If I find myself in a situation where I haven’t planned and brought my owns meals/snacks, I make the best choices I can or I don’t eat at all. A little intermittent fasting never hurts. 


This post is not meant to guilt-trip anyone into participating in the challenge, it’s totally up to you. But one month of your life is a very small amount of time in the grand scheme of it all. As your trainer I love nothing more than to see you succeed, particularly when it’s with something you didn’t think you could do. I literally get choked up when I see that look of pride and grit and hard work on your faces. You CAN do this. I’ll be here to cheer you on. I’ll be participating in the challenge also. I’m tightening up on my portions, focusing on getting a lot of protein, and not eating dark chocolate or paleo treats. The booze is a gray area at the moment, but chances are I’ll get strict about that too.


One month! I am pumped! Cheers to getting back to our caveman roots.


Here is a great example of things to pack on a road trip. ALL PALEO-FRIENDLY!
ideas for traveling and packing on the paleo diet


PS…Our friends over at CrossFit New England are also embarking on a spring Paleo Challenge. Read these great words of wisdom from one of their members. Good stuff.

Sites I LOVE

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I am constantly online, searching the Paleo-sphere and CrossFit community for articles, blogs, and websites to expand my knowledge, answer questions, look for tasty recipes, and find solutions to issues. I want to share some of my favorites with you. 

First of all, let’s talk about food. If I could pick a blog to be in love with it would be PaleOMG because when I visit it I laugh, I salivate just looking at the food, and I can definitely relate to many of Juli’s thoughts and feelings about food, CrossFit, and life. She creates absolutely amazing recipes, particularly the SWEET ones. Elana’s Pantry is also a place to find really nice, simple recipes for treats. Elana has many years experience with grain-free baking and cooking and the Paleo Diet, so this website is a must-see. She has stolen my heart with her chocolate chips cookies and banana bread. I have tried many recipes for both of these, and hers are the best by far. 
Another food blog I love is Paleo Table. This woman knows her stuff, is a CrossFitter and even goes so far as to create Meal Plans complete with shopping lists! How great is that?! Another spot for quality recipes is Paleo Mama’s Cave Chick Cuisine. Check out the Infamous Chili and the Cottage Pie. They are BOMB!
I get asked about supplements a lot. There are only a few supplements that I take and my opinion is that supplement overkill is unnecessary in most cases. On a daily basis I take one gram of high-quality fish oil and 2,000 units of vitamin D3. I also take 1/4 cup of egg white protein mixed with almond milk post-WOD. Occasionally, I will use Natural Calm if I am having trouble sleeping or I am experiencing a lot of stress. I took this while I was in grad school and it was amazing. I buy all of these supplements online at iHerb. I find their prices to be very reasonable, they have super-fast shipping time, and they always send extra little goodies in the box. Also, orders over $40 ship for free and you get discounts of 5% off your order when you order over $60. You can set up an account at the site so you don’t need to type in your shipping/billing information every time you order. iHerb is a great resource for natural products of all kinds, including household items and beauty and hygiene products. Let me know if you’re going to order from iHerb and I will give you a coupon code for $5 off your first purchase! 

At one time or another every CrossFitter needs words of inspiration and motivation. I regularly read Lisbeth Darsh’s WODs (WORDS of the day) at CrossFit Lisbeth. She writes brief, to-the-point posts that will get you thinking about your CrossFit life and life in general. I find that her writing puts things into perspective very quickly. I also enjoy reading posts by Lauren Plumey at Shorline CrossFit. Lauren, a CF Games competitor, knows what she’s talking about, especially when it comes to competition and the sport of fitness, so heed her advice. 
For gear, like shoes, I head on over to The Shoe Mart or Zappos. Again Faster is where Kyle purchases all the gear for the gym and they also sell shoes, jump ropes, and some apparel. Their website just got an overhaul and it is badass. It’s not only a great place for gear, but also written pieces from some great CrossFit minds, tips for nutrition, and the Mic’d Instructor Series which are some of the best tutorial videos you will come across. There are some quality people over at AF, so use them as much as possible.  
If you want to get all sciency about Paleo and need answers to your “Why?” questions, my suggestions are RobbWolf.com and Mark’s Daily Apple. Robb Wolf is a genius, he tells it like it is, and has an awesome podcast that is funny and informative. Mark Sisson, who is more “primal” than paleo, also knows his stuff and has an amazing website full of interesting information about food, exercise, and life in general. Loren Cordain, the God Father of the Paleo Diet movement also has a website. The FAQ section is great. 
Lastly, but in no way least, there is movement. Like I mentioned previously, the Mic’d Instructor Series from Again Faster is amazing. Then there is the Mainsite, CrossFit.com. The Exercises & Demos tab is great for looking up movements. If you haven’t visited MobilityWOD with Kelly Starrett there is something wrong. Please go there NOW! KStar is a physical therapist/CrossFit Coach/pro athlete/genius who is unmatched (in my opinion) when it comes to looking at human movement, analyzing it, and helping us make it better. Like Kelly always say, “All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves”. I couldn’t agree more. Stop moving in bad positions!
I hope I didn’t leave out any of my favorites, but if I did I’m sure I will mention them somewhere along the way. Please do not hesitate to post questions in the comments section or to email me directly (ashley.rochefort@gmail.com). I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather and are able to get outside for some vitamin D! 
I got some sunshine at the beach the other day with two of my favorite ladies.

Recipe: EPIC Mealtime

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Let me introduce you to one of my favorite go-to recipes, as Kyle and I dubbed it, “Epic Mealtime”. It needed a name that accurately captured its amazing flavor and level of satisfaction I would feel after eating it. Hence, EPIC! It is ground pork, bacon, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt & pepper. It’s amazing and versatile; you can add raisins, walnuts, sweet potato; you can omit the bacon; whatever – go crazy! Any way you make it, it’s so yummy for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 pounds of quality ground pork
1 package of quality bacon
1 apple for each pound of meat
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper
Optional: sweet potato, raisins, walnuts
Instructions:
1. Heat large skillet and add coconut oil.***
2. Dice 1 apple per pound of meat.
3. Add apple to hot skillet, sprinkle with cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, and pinch of salt. Mix.
4. Remove apple from the skillet when it begins to soften. Use personal preference on how long to cook the apples. The longer they cook, the sweeter they’ll be.
5. Add ground pork to skillet and let it brown. Break it up into small pieces and season the meat with cinnamon, salt and pepper.
6. When the pork is just about cooked all the way through, add apples, bacon, raisins, and other optional ingredients. Mix well. Let the flavors meld as the meat cooks all the way through.
7. Serve and enjoy.
***If adding bacon: cut bacon into small pieces and cook it until crispy in the skillet BEFORE cooking anything else. Let bacon drain on a paper towel. Pour excess bacon grease from skillet, leaving some in the pan to saute the apples and pork.

If the CrossFit Journal interviewed me…

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…this is what I would say.

I first heard about CrossFit from from guys I was hanging out with in college.
My first CrossFit workout was “Seagram’s 7” AMRAP 7 of 7xmedball clean, 7xpushups. I got something like 6 rounds and spent the entire car ride home trying not to lose my breakfast.
If I could force one person to do Heavy Fran it would be that person who claims they “do CrossFit” at their globo gym.
My favorite workout is Nancy.
The person I would most like to WOD with is Blair Morrison. Outside, of course.
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a doctor.
When I grow up, I want to be a paleo pastry chef, haha.
The most rewarding thing about training people is seeing them successfully perform movements they never thought they would be able to do.
My favorite movie character is Tyler Durden.
The greatest challenge in coaching is remembering what it feels like to be a newbie!
The movement I find hardest to coach is clean and jerk.
The thing that makes a successful coach is an ability to connect with athletes.
My secret identity is I’m really good baker.
The thing I value most is my family.
My motto is “If it’s meant to be it will be”.
The most outrageous thing I’ve seen someone do during a WOD is nearly crush another person after dropping a loaded barbell. I also saw a guy fall backwards onto pavement from the top of 3 huge tires. Scary stuff.
The place I’d most like to visit is Italy and Bora Bora.
The CrossFit trainer/coach I most admire is my brother, Kyle.
The non-CrossFit person I most admire is actually, people I most admire; my friends who aren’t CFers (yet!)
The thing I have the most patience for is teaching CrossFit to new people.
The thing I have the least patience for is whining and/or not listening.
More than anything, I fear snakes.
My most guilty pleasure is reality TV.
A dream location for a CrossFit box would be on the Lake. Swimming WODs!
My favorite coaching cue is knees out, chest up!
I’m really looking forward to the continuing growth of The Fort.

Welcome to my blog

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Glad you’re here! I’ve tossed around the idea of writing a blog for some time now. Well, today is the day, I’m willing to share my thoughts with those who care to read them. I think this will be a great place to write about life, CrossFit, and food.

This photo was taken in June 2011 in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. I call it “crossing over” as I jumped from my life as a graduate student in Oregon, to a woman embarking on her next journey. It seems like life happens pretty quickly these days. I’m hoping this blog will give me the chance to slow down a little bit and reflect on things. Excited to share with you…

find YOUR balance

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I have always, always been intrigued by the concept of balance; this notion that everything in my life can perfectly teeter on a little fulcrum. Maybe this has something to do with being a Libra? (You know, the scales). I believe balance is different for everyone. And I think for a while I was confusing balance and moderation. I believe everyone needs balance, but the same may not be true for moderation. I have struggled with this forever. For example, you’ve all heard the saying, “Everything in moderation”. Well, just like you, I’d been trying to follow this mantra for years; trying to do it all and do it well; trying to justify problematic eating habits and behavior; trying to reconcile my inability to “control myself”. Everything in moderation, right? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this saying was not a good one for me to be following. I was not meant to balance everything out evenly. For example, I am not a person who can eat one cookie and save the others for another day and I totally envy people who can do this. I guess I am a carb (sugar) addict; “cake is the new crack” according to this article posted on Robb Wolf’s site. I know that I am happier, I feel more grounded, and more in control when I don’t think in terms of moderation. So, not having too much moderation is my balance. The point is, stop and take a moment to think about all these little mantras that we follow in life because we’re told they’re “right” or we think it’s what we “should” be doing. Figure out what works for you and do that. Find your balance.
Phew! That was kind of serious. Here, let me introduce you to my favorite cookie. My strategy for enjoying “treats” like this is to make them exactly that, TREATS! I typically will bake on a weekend when I know other people will be around to share the goodness. I try to enjoy the process of making the cookies, and savor each bite when I eat a few. Enjoy!
gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies