sleep, Sleep, SLEEP! We all need it. We all know we need it. So why do we get it?

Work, family, kids, homework, friends, social life, T.V, internet, etc…All the stresses of LIFE!

For most of us CrossFitters we have or are putting our Health way up high on our priority list.

Now within the health list of priorities SLEEP is at the TOP! Yep, the TOP!

“Sleep deprivation mimics many elements of the aging process. One could make the argument that how you feel when you are sleep deprived is likely how you will feel if you are both diabetic and old (sleep deprivation dramatically impacts insulin sensitivity). Improved sleep time and quality will help you: Lean out, avoid depression, autoimmunity, heart disease…it might even help you be a better athlete. This is a very interesting article for me in that coaches simply tried a schedule more conducive to better sleep and they saw immediate performance improvements in their players. They also dumped the AM shootaround session and saw improvements. More down time, less junk “mileage”.” Taken from Robb Wolf site.

Sleep is an integral part of living a healthy life and I am going to recommit myself to this task! I’ve read a bunch of sleep advice and the common threads are as follows:

1.Make a regular sleep schedule, including weekends.
2.Use your bed for sleep and sex only, use your laptop, watch tv and do your homework someplace else.
3.Avoid eating large meals, caffeine and alcohol at least 3 hours before bedtime. Alcohol may make you sleepy at first but it fragments your sleeping stages and a small snack is ok if you have an empty stomach.
4.Create a bedtime ritual, reading a book or taking a hot bath are both good recommendations. The bath will raise your body temperature and as you cool down your body will fall into a sleep state more naturally.
5.Make sure your sleep environment is dark, quiet and cool. Make sure you have good blankets though!
6.Exercise regularly. This is best performed during the daytime or no more than 3 hours before bedtime.
7.Go to sleep when you’re tired. Sounds obvious, but if you are in bed with the lights out for more than 15-20 minutes, get up and do something else until you get tired.

This List is taken from:
http://paradisocrossfit.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=250&cntnt01returnid=15

So hit the sack! And take the same responsible approach you do about your job/career and get some zzz’s

Did you know that adding butter to a serving of vegatables will increase the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients by as much as 80% ?

Did you know that short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids, like butterfat from cows have antimicrobial properties that protect us from viruses and harmful bacteria in our gut?

Or that butter is immediately absorbed by the body and used for quick energy making it a great food source for athletes?

Read the Full Blog Post by CrossFit Oakland HERE

CPete must of had his whey...not wheaties this morning

As we go through the Paleo Challenge we get all sorts of questions regarding supplements. I have been looking a lot at other affiliates during there own Paleo Challenges. I found this blog post about Whey Protein…submitted by Jason from CrossFit Balboa at http://www.socalsc.com/

Whey Protein is a by-product of cheese manufactured from cow’s milk.It has the highest biological value of any protein. Meaning that it crosses the stomach quickly and is rapidly absorbed by the intestines. For years it has been the staple of many athletes/bodybuilders supplement program.

Why is this particular type of protein important?

Well the protein fraction in whey (approximately 10% of the total dry solids within whey) comprises four major protein fractions and six minor protein fractions. The major protein fractions in whey are beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, bovine serum albumin and immunoglobulins. Each of these components has important body strengthening effects thanks to:

• A high protein efficiency ratio
o One study showed that milk protein elicits greater increase in branched chain amino acid concentrations in peripheral tissues as compared to soy.

• Lactose (found in whey but not whey concentrate) which is broken down into galacto-oligosaccharides that are used by intestinal bacteria leading to better functioning of the digestive tract.

• Calcium (a minimal component of whey protein) decreases accumulation of body fat and accelerates weight and fat loss. The proposed mechanism is thought to be that parathyroid hormone and 1,25-(OH)2-D respond to low calcium diets and promote fat storage. High calcium diets inhibit these hormones and thus inhibit fat storage and promote increased fat breakdown and energy partitioning from fat to lean.

• Cystine: a conditionally essential amino acid, which is the rate-limiting factor for the body’s production of glutathione an important antioxidant.

• An excellent source of branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine)
o Leucine is a both a key signal molecule for initiation and an important substrate for new protein synthesis.

• It’s usage as a source of glutamine

• In one study it was found that whey supplements may prevent blood sugar spikes after high-carbohydrate meals.

Why should you care? Simple, the body is highly sensitive to insulin after exercise and shuttles carbohydrates and proteins into muscle cells instead of fat cells. This sensitivity declines post-workout until ~2 hours at which point it reaches baseline. Furthermore, the anabolic effects of insulin are synergistic with amino acids.11 Given the rapid absorption of whey, it is the ideal choice for post-workout to take advantage of the insulin-amino acid synergistic effect. This means that whey protein is going to rebuild the damage and replenish the muscle that your body has been using up as you constantly CRUSH yourself with daily WODS. Basically reversing the catabolic state that your body is in after a tough workout, meaning that you start to make the necessary adaptations to the overload that you submit your body to in your quest to become fit (and look better naked).

Here’s an article worth a read by Mark Hyman, MD. It goes pretty in-depth about the effects that gluten has on your body, so you might have to sift through a little lingo, but you’ll get the point.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/gluten-what-you-dont-know_b_379089.html

Look at that intensity

With the Paleo diet less than 24 hours away, CrossFit Sioux Falls challenges you to replace ONE food that you eat regularly that was not so good for you with ONE food that is good for you… for an entire week, month, or, better yet, year… what would those two foods be?

You can get some ideas from this NY Times article The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating:

Also you go can go to:
http://paleofood.com/
For some yummy Paleo recipes……

I know we all feel the need to indulge a little more around the holiday season, but then after the indulgence is over we feel unhappy and unhealthy! Here are a few recipes to substitute some of the Christmas traditions we love!

#1 Apple Based Mulled Cider
Paleolithic Recipe
Ingredients:
2 quarts apple cider or juice
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 Tbsp maple syrup or raw honey
4 sticks cinnamon
6 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

#2 Here is the link to yummy apple pie:
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/paleo/paleo59.html

#3 Sausage and apple stuffing:
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/paleo/paleo26.html

#4 Easy Corn Chowder Soup:
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/paleo/paleo56.html

# 5 Gluten Free Nutty Bread – Tina G
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¾ cup arrowroot powder
¼ cup flax seed meal
½ tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
4 eggs
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ cup each walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios coarsely chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds

In a bowel combine almond flour, arrowroot, flax meal, salt and baking soda
In a larger bowel blend eggs 3-5 mins until frothy
Stir agave and vinegar into eggs
Mix dry ingredients into the wet and then add nuts and seeds
Pour batter into a greased medium sized loaf pan
Bake at 350 for 30-35 mins

And Last but not least Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 – 1/1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 -1/12 teaspoons of onion powder
1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning
bake your sweet potatoes or yams at 450 degrees for 1 hour. Peel the skin off the mashed potato and mash them into a bowl.
add olive oil, garlic, onion, and cajun and mix.

Now Christmas can be enjoyable and healthy!
written by: Annie Mello