Testimonials

Quotes from CrossFit Testimonials

From Trevor: "My CrossFit journey started in February of 2012. I had moved to Germany in September of 2011 for work, and was having a tough time over there. I didn't know anyone in the small Bavarian town that was now "home", a situation made more difficult by the fact that I was having an impossible time learning the language. After about 4 or 5 months I still hadn't made any friends outside of work and really was not enjoying my time in Germany. Home sickness was becoming a constant feeling and I had fallen pretty far into depression. Searching for something to help me keep busy, I started to look into gyms I could join. In the past I had always struggled with the gym, as I was the guy who made excuses to not push myself all that hard, such as: "Oh that machine is busy" or "I'm just not feeling it today". Whatever the excuse, the gym had never been a place that motivated or inspired me, and the lack of results was the proof. I started to do some internet research on alternatives to the traditional gym and quickly found a lot of literature on CrossFit. It seemed intriguing, but what were the chances that this seemingly California style fitness phenomena would be present a world away in Bavaria? But to my surprise, after a brief Google and Facebook search, I found Reebok CrossFit Nürnberg ("RCFN"). I wrote a quick email to one of the owners and was quickly informed that not only did CrossFit exist in Bavaria, it was already operating in a temporary location in Reebok's offices not far away. So I thought, "what the hell…let's give this a shot!" My first WOD … I'm laughing to myself as I write this … was something they called death by burpees. 10 RFT of 10 burpees and 10 ring dips. What the hell is an 'RFT' and what the @#!$ is that thing they just demoed called a 'burpee'??!! I scaled that first WOD and did the dips between two boxes. But I finished. And despite the fact that I couldn't even raise my arms to type the next day, I was hooked. And so when Drake Sladky and Justin Sprague finally opened RCFN's new location I quickly became a regular. The coaching was amazing. Every WOD, every movement, every stretch was done under their watchful eyes. And they would not hesitate to correct you in whatever way they thought you needed to be corrected. Get your shoulders back; lock your core; or my favorite, Drake's "pick that @$%! up and keep moving Trevor". The mix of encouragement and competition was the kick in the ass I needed. I had finally found the motivation and inspiration to become fit. Words like WOD, AMRAP, SDHP, T2B and RFT all became part of my regular vocabulary. I started idealizing people like Froning and Spealler and had school boy crushes on girls like Camille and Perez. I was drinking the CrossFit cult Kool-Aid like no other. Paleo Kool-Aid of course. What really made this something worth buying into were the people at RCFN. The friends I made there changed my life. They not only became the close friends I didn't have yet in Germany, but they became an extended family. Drake and Justin are not only amazing coaches, but men among men. If a WOD would beat me up, they'd be the first to offer a beer as reward. Memories of the BBQs in RCFNs parking lot or at Basti's house are some of my fondest from my time in Germany. The only regret I have is that I didn't find RCFN earlier. Unfortunately, by the time I found RCFN I had already reached my tipping point, deciding it was time for me to head back to Canada. Perhaps if I had found the RCFN family on day one I would still be there.

When I eventually returned to Toronto I almost had a panic attack. Would I be able to find a Box like RCFN? I did a lot of research and dropped by a couple, but pretty quickly found a Box about 10 minutes from my office in Mississauga. Square One CrossFit ("S1CF") it was. This was the place that would be my new CrossFit family. From the first second I walked in the door I found amazing people and amazing coaches. It wasn't just a fluke over at RCFN. This was CrossFit. Amazing people exist in every Box, it just takes a little effort to find what works best for you. From day one at S1CF it was either Charly Sith going out of his way to motivate and coach on some of the Oly lifts I was struggling with, or it was a few of us wondering how such a short guy over on the other side of the Box could actually be a Cop. There were good people and great WODs at S1CF, but unfortunately the location just couldn't work for me. I live in downtown Toronto and the commute home at 7:00 every night after a WOD was killing me. I needed to find a place closer to my condo. But once again the CrossFit gods seemed to be looking out for me, sending me through the doors of Reebok CrossFit Liberty Village ("RCFLV"). From my first WOD I was impressed. I loved the way they ran their classes; the strength WODs every class before the main WOD was something I needed and clearly worked; and there are some beasts walking around that place, motivating me to keep pushing. Seeing how good so many of the members are at RCFLV has inspired me to not just treat CrossFit as a place to go and hammer out a WOD, but to actually put in time and start working on my Oly lifts. Charly, you'll be getting a message soon to book some quality one-on-one time; just you, me, and my snatch.

I'll likely never be the first to finish a WOD, and sometimes when the weight is heavy I'll be the slowest guy out there. But CrossFit has changed my life. I hope to still be well into old age, gasping for air; star fished on the ground post WOD. Good luck to all in the Open this year, and thank you to everyone that I've met through CrossFit for changing my life."  

Quotes from Nutrition Challenge Testimonials

From Irena (she did two annual Challenges with us, long-distance from Croatia): "Dear Ginger, Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the nutrition challenge again. I didn't give you a feedback last time so I'll write my experience for both challenges. First, I'd like to say that I heard about LCHF diet 8 years ago and was very sceptic. Than I read a book written by Anita Supe (trues and lies about food), leading Croatian LCHF/paleo protagonist. I decided to be open minded and try to see if her claims were true (also bought her LCHF cook book). Results were above my expectations. My cholesterol level became normal first time in my life, energy level was constant, my body reshaped with only 3 hours of workout per week (i never worked out less and looked/felt so good). At one point i transferred to Paleo and tend to follow rules 90% of the time (this 10% is connected to business travel, birthday dinners and PMS days). So even before the first challenge i wasn't eating grains (gluten or non-gluten), potatoes and sugar (occasionally i used xyilit, coconut flower suggar or honey) and i ate fruits very limited. First challenge was very difficult for me. Measurements before/ after: weight:69kg/66kg neck: 33cm/32cm waist:77cm/71cm hip:101cm/98cm Compared to my usual diet I was supposed to drink straight black coffee, give up cheese, kefir and occasional glas of vine and i thought it's gonna be a piece of cake. After 5 days...I started having those very realistic dreams about food, me eating food that was forbidden in the challenge. Those dreams were so real that few times i had bad conscience thinking i really cheated. i was even dreaming about food i don't like at all. That proved me what kind of influence the brain has on our eating habits and that often we think our body needs something but it has to do with the mind not our belly. When tiger blood period came i felt i could conquer the world, full of energy and felt excellent. In introduction phase, I decided not to introduce grains (i know i don't tolerate them) and went with legumes, dairy, peanut and corn (i adore nachos-that's my favorite pms junk food). Results were following: had reaction on legumes and corn (didn't surprise me) but i also had a reaction on peanuts which was a surprise as i was eating peanuts and peanut butter on a regular basis and never noticed any reaction before. Finally, I remained drinking straight black coffee in the morning (only one cup per day), eating chia puding with unsweetend almond milk instead of kefir and avoiding legumes and peanuts. Meaning that first challenge helped me with some positive changes in my eating habits.                    

Second challenge was easier due to the timing. Lots of seasonal veggies, berries and water melon on the local marketplace so i ate lots of salads with tuna, salmon, eggs or grilled meat and had less cooking than the first time. The difference was that i couldn't work out in the same path as the first time due to my rehab after the spine surgery. Challenge also helped me to focus on some other things beside pain I was feeling and physical therapy I was attending. Measurements: weight: 65kg/62kg Neck: 33cm/32cm Waist: 74cm/71cm hip: 98cm/96cm I had no keto flu, had no food dreams but my sleep improved. I started to wake up one hour later and was rested. Energy level was constant all the time, my digestion improved in term of regularity, my apetite decreased and my skin looks radiant. I missed cheese the most so that is the first thing I'll introduce and hopefully I'll have no reaction. Very important to mention for both challenges is that your support was crucial, your posts were very interesting, educational and I learn new things about myself."

From Edi: "Meine Bilanz nach strikten 30 Tagen Paleo Challenge: Körpergewicht runter, von 80,5 kg auf 77,9 kg Körperfettanteil runter, von 12,9% auf 12,3% Halsumfang runter, von 14,5 inches auf 14,25 inches Bauchumfang runter, von 35 inches auf 34 inches. Das für mich wohl wichtigste Ziel – Baseline Zeit verbessert, von 05:03 min auf 04:43 min

Die diesjährige Paleo Challenge war für mich die insgesamt dritte in den letzten vier Jahren. Die erste war natürlich erfahrungsgemäß die schwierigste, denn zum ersten mal habe ich mich mit meiner Ernährung auseinander setzen müssen, und auch die Chance genutzt, Paleo nicht als Diät sondern als Ernährungsumstellung zu sehen. Damals verlor ich ungefähr 10 kg doch meine sportliche Leistung hat sich nicht wirklich verbessert. Was ich erstmal auch nicht so schlimm fand. Ich habe meine Ernährung nach den strikten Tagen auf ein 80/20 Prinzip umgestellt und seitdem größtenteils bewusst auf meine Ernährung geachtet (80%). Die restlichen 20% nutzte ich dann um ebenfalls bewusst cheaten zu können. Die zweite Challenge 2014 habe ich leider mit Hochzeits- vorbereitungen und anderen Ausreden etwas schleifen lassen und so kann man diese Zeit gar nicht richtig mitzählen.

Das Jahr 2015 war für mich mit der Geburt meines Sohnes, einem Hauskauf und anschließender Renovierung ein ereignisreiches Jahr. An eine gesunde Ernährung war aus zeitlichen und organisatorischen Gründen einfach nicht zu denken. Dann kam natürlich noch abschließend Weihnachten hinzu und so fiel die Entscheidung für eine erneute Teilnahme an einer strikten Paleo Nutrition Challenge 2016 nicht schwer. Doch diesmal sollte für mich eher meine sportliche Leistungssteigerung bei gleichbleibenden Körpergewicht im Vordergrund stehen.

Was meiner Frau und mir diesmal und zum ersten mal richtig geholfen hat, waren unsere wöchentlichen Ernährungspläne. Nach diesen Plänen haben wir eingekauft, keine Lebensmittel mehr verderben lassen und zum ersten mal auch erfolgreich größere Portionen für den nächsten Tag vorkochen können. Erst bei dieser dritten Challenge konnte ich ausreichend Nahrung zu mir nehmen, (fast) immer satt sein und daher den Heißhunger erfolgreich unterbinden.Ich kann jedem Menschen, egal mit welchen Ausgangsgewicht, sportlicher Verfassung oder Statur diese Form der Ernährung nur ans Herz legen. Vor allem aber die ersten strikten 30 Tage. Sind wir mal ehrlich, wer es nicht selbst probiert hat (ja, es sind nur 30 Tage, stell dich nicht so an!) kann auch und sollte auch absolut nicht mitreden. Die Vorteile während und am Ende der 30 Tage überwiegen jegliche Nachteile, Vorurteile, Gewohnheiten die man glaubt zu kennen.

Ich kann aus eigener Erfahrung versichern: absolut jeder Mensch wird bei dieser Ernährungs- umstellung (nein, keine Diät mit JoJo Effekt) etwas positives für sich gewinnen. Also, warum es nicht einfach mal probieren und neugierig sein?

Mein Dank geht an Daniel für die Organisation und an Ginger, mit ihrer unermüdlichen Art, jeder noch so kleinen Unklarheit immer Rede und Antwort zu stehen. Noch in der ersten Challenge hat Sie uns eine Präsentation und Einführung zum Thema Paleo gegeben und dabei ist mir ein Zitat im Kopf hängen geblieben, welches sich nun für mich bewahrheitet hat:

"If you are training [CrossFit], you've only got one oar
in the water if you aren't talking about nutrition."" 
– Greg Glassman, 2010

From Renata: "Dear RCFN Family, Thank you for all the info, help, stimuli and encouragement to make me go through the RCFN-30 days- Nutrition Challenge! Special thanks to Ginger for posts, recipes and extra articles and reading material! I wasn´t following paleo properly for a long time, and felt the difference in my weight and energy. I am happy to say that I adapted very well to the challenge. I also lost a couple of kilos. I must add: I was never a bread, pasta, milk or potato person, which probably made the transition easier. I got surprised on how sugar is EVERYWHERE. I somehow forgot this information and was probably on high insulin levels non-stop because of this and probably NOT because of my small daily bites of dark chocolate! I was shocked when I found out that there is sugar inside vinegar, sausages and even in some tee! Crazy!

The best example that I have about gut symptoms and how we simply ignore it due to our daily routine is with cheese. I love the taste of cheese, and it goes very nicely with the red wine that I also love… but, I know my gut doesn´t enjoy it as I do. To be honest: my gut does not tolerate it. After repeatedly eating cheese and having intestinal problems (to put it in pretty words), I guess my gut simply gave up. After a long time I was able to eat it again without any intestinal problems, but a little bug was always on the back of my head reminding me: your body actually doesn´t tolerate cheese, but you forced it on it. Paleo brought some sense back to me and my gut said thanks.

...I always kept in mind that as long as I follow it most of the time and have some patience with my own slips, I´ll be fine. I think it is great that I am back in the kitchen after a long time of lazy, unhealthy canteen eating. I love cooking and discovering new recipes and testing it has been a pleasure. The daily picture posts of meals and the content articles kept me going. It was all very inspiring. Hated the amount of dishes to wash on Sunday, after preparing my meals for the week, but loved how the fridge was packed with healthy meals! I discovered again the taste and pleasure of having loads of fresh veggies. I also reduced the amount of coffee I drank dramatically! I had 3-4 big cups a day and replaced it for tee and water. My kidneys are surely happier with the change.

I will still continue to do paleo – with some wine and beer and dark chocolate. I still have some kilos left that I want to get rid of, but I feel my body stronger and healthier. Cheese will still be out of my diet. Thanks RCFN!"

From Loni: "Ziele: gesunde Gewichtsreduktion trotz Stillzeit, weniger Stimmungsschwankungen und reinere Haut

Grundsätzlich muss ich sagen, dass ich mich seit Ende 2012 Paleo ernähre -mit strengen und weniger strengen Phasen. Von daher war die Challenge im Januar 2016 nicht meine erste, jedoch meine HÄRTESTE!

Speziell ist an dieser Challenge sicher meine Ausgangssituation: nach meiner Hochzeit, während meinen Flitterwochen, in meiner Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit habe ich mich immer häufiger der "80-20-Regel" bedient. Diese "Ausnahmen" habe ich in der letzten Challenge sehr stark zu spüren bekommen.

Ich bin zum ersten mal Mama geworden und hatte nicht nur mit Schwangerschaftsdiabetis zu kämpfen, sondern musste nach der Geburt mit starkem Haarausfall, Akne und überflüssiges Babyspeck leben, gepaart mit sehr wenig Schlaf, überfordernden Mami-Momenten und "Comfort Food" ist das eine extrem ungünstige Mischung. Hinzu kommt, dass ich seid Tag 1 voll stille; man stolpert während Recherche zum Thema "Abnehmen in der Stillzeit" immer wieder über die Aussage, dass Diät während der Stillzeit schlecht für Mutter und Kind sind, und daher stark davon abgeraten wird.

Warum auch eine gewöhnliche Diät machen, wenn ich die Vorzüge von Paleo schon erlebt habe und die positiven Effekte kannte!?

Daher war klar, dass er nur eine Lösung für mich gab, mein Weg "back to the roots", ich musste wieder Paleo essen, mich, meinen Darm und meine Einstellung zurücksetzen, weshalb mir die Challenge im Januar sehr(!) gelegen kam. Wieso ich überhaupt mit Paleo gebrochen habe ist mir unklar. Hätte ich doch wissen müssen, welchen Effekt eine "gewöhnliche" Ernährung mit Milchprodukten, Brot, Nudeln und Zucker auf mich hat.

Wenn ich vorher eine Challenge gemacht hatte, waren die ersten Tage aufregend. Ich habe jeden Tag auf den ominösen Zuckerentzug gewartet, gedacht dass es mich wie einen Hammer trifft und ich die Symptome kaum ertragen könnte. Ich muss zugeben, dass es in dieser Challenge so schlimm war wie noch nie. Die ersten sieben Tage waren extrem hart für mich. Ich hatte den(!) Zuckerentzug, vor dem ich mich die letzten Male immer gefürchtet habe. Kopfschmerzen, Heißhunger, Müdigkeit und dennoch Schlaflosigkeit, innerer Unruhe und Stimmungsschwankungen, vielleicht sogar Depression -kann man das so sagen!?- waren an der Tagesordnung. Ich musste mich wirklich zusammen reißen, mich meiner Herausforderung zu stellen und nicht schon in den ersten Tagen abzubrechen. Erschwerend kam mein Alltag als Mama mit Säugling hinzu. In den ersten Tagen zählte für mich nicht "das große Ganze", sondern lediglich der Kampf von Mahlzeit zu Mahlzeit.

Mein Erfolgsrezept für diese Challenge: Wochenplan, Wocheneinkauf und Vorkochen!

Jede Woche haben mein Mann und ich einen Wochenplan für unsere Familie erstellt. So waren unsere Gerichte für Frühstück, Mittag- und Abendessen koordiniert und man musste bei großem Hunger nicht erst "kreativ werden". Die an den Abenden gekochten Gerichte gab es aufgewärmt am nächsten Mittag. Zeitmanagement ist mit Kind sowieso das A und O.

Ich hatte zwischenzeitlich wieder Tiefs in der Challenge mit schlechter Laune und Überdruss. Wäre ich keine Mama würde ich sagen: schlaf einfach mal ne runde länger, das hebt die Laune ;)
Das kann man allerdings mit Bewegung an der Luft und wechselnden Rezepten ebenfalls gut überwinden. Sport stand für mich bei dieser Challenge nicht im Fokus. Mir ging es darum, mich buchstäblich wieder gut in meiner Haut zu fühlen, schade dass ich keine Bilder von meiner Haut gemacht habe. Dort war der vorher-nachher Vergleich wirklich enorm, was einen großen Einfluss auf mein Selbstbewusstsein hat. Darüber hinaus gab es weitere positive Effekte: Gewichtsreduktion, verbesserter Darmhaushalt und gute Laune. Der Grundstein für einen bewussteren Lifestyle ist gelegt und den letzten Pfunden der Kampf angesagt. Letztlich fühle ich mich nach der Challenge physisch als auch mental besser. Ich würde sogar sagen, dass ich glücklicher bin.

An dieser Stelle möchte ich mich ganz HERZLICH bei Ginger für ihren täglichen Support bedanken. Es ist viel einfacher eine solche Herausforderung durchzustehen, wenn man einen solchen Mentor an seiner Seite weiß! Danke. 

Results: (Gewicht Po Oberarm Hals Handgelenk) vorher 59,5 kg 38,5 inches 9,75 inches 13 inches 6 inches; nachher 56,0 kg 37,75 inches 9,75 inches 13 inches 6 inches 

From Heike: "My Nutritional Challenge: I have done Paleo before – on and off. Sometimes strictly, sometimes not so much. I always knew that I felt much better and lost weight quicker and more effortlessly when refraining from eating bad carbs. However, I can honestly say, it was never as easy as it was this time!

To do it together with a whole bunch of people, all like-minded, to share recipes, get inspired, to eat together…..that made all the difference. Before people around me made me feel rather like the odd crazy person who decided to not eat bread and pasta anymore….and to eat avocado, nuts, eggs, steak and fat instead, and disregard calorie counting to boot!! Especially that last bit always seemed to annoy people enormously…"you can't just eat fat and expect to lose weight…."

Yes, I can and I do! And now I am part of this great community and they are all just as loony as I am ☺ So thank you RCFN, thank you Ginger, for providing us with this opportunity, that vast amount of information and the necessary support! For me the challenge is not over, I will just keep on going. Maybe not call it challenge anymore but my way of life, the best nutrition there is, my energy booster… ☺

I may allow some honey, I may not ask for all the ingredients to a dish in restaurants but I will certainly go on checking labels when I do buy the odd package of food (bacon etc.). And buy grass-fed beef. And not eat any processed food. Someday maybe I will find that irresistible piece of cheese or cake or that glass of wine in front of me and I will eat/drink it with gusto. And go right back to MY way of eating. At least that is the plan.

Alright, enough gushing…

How did I even get into Paleo before RCFN? A few years ago I had some bloodwork done, more extensively than usual. Some values were a bit off and then I suddenly found myself on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism (Hashimoto), which still annoys me to no small degree. I certainly never felt bad before, except for this stupid difficulty to keep off weight, nevermind losing it.

So I started researching – about the thyroid and diet, autoimmune diseases, is it possible to reverse them….? And came across Paleo and all those good people advocating it.

My doctor keeps predicting I will have to increase my dosis but that has not happened so far. Instead I even got to decrease it after my last episode of eating "Paleoish" back in the summer of 2014. Somehow I lost my way after that, went back to eating bread, croissants, chips, to drinking wine and my single malts….

Oh well, at least I know what is good for me and what is not. And that even if I do go overboard once in a while, I know a way to go healthy again. When I see what other people put into their shopping carts and what most of the food available on the street consists of (i.e. bakeries, fast food, pizza…) I cringe and do not wonder about the whys and wherefores of the diabesity epidemic anymore. What still amazes me though is how people refuse to even listen to the possibility of an alternative way. When you try to talk about Paleo and its effects, people call it "…just another study – tomorrow they will say the opposite again…" and go on believing their doctor's advice to avoid eggs and red meats due to their heart and cholesterol history.

But still – I promise to go on trying to inform others. At Christmas my parents were amazed to get their first taste of kale chips and sweet potatoe fries, and I keep trying to convince my mom that eating bread is not helping her get rid of her osteoarthritis. My partner - thank God - is happy I cook tasty meals for him and respects my wishes when he cooks for me. My colleagues keep hearing about this "crazy diet" of mine and so on.

I think a good way to promote Paleo is to focus on the good stuff – everything we do eat and not the stuff that isn´t allowed. How we lean out and have much more energy than before. Better sleep, no more migraines, a dreamy LDL/HDL quotient of 1.0….and very simply: how absolutely amazingly good it feels to eat healthy food ☺ "

From Babs: In 2014 we moved to Nürnberg - and had a first trial training at RCFN and I must admit I was happily surprised :-) :-) Not only that I immediately recognized the similarity in style - what Dmitry did in Moscow - and what Drake and Daniel and you Ginger are doing here at RCFN - I felt challenged and at home at the same time - I liked that.

The Nutrition Challenge 2016: My motivation behind the challenge actually was to prove my study materials and my lecturers at the IST Institut wrong AND of course Back YOU UP in the same cause! So I took measurements - of blood pressure, resting heart rate and weight every day (see enclosed in my file at the box). Unsurprisingly I feel fitter and healthier than before - and I can happily say - you guys have earned my biggest smile :-) Thank you for your work and dedication!

From Vanessa: My paleo journey started in November 2014. I had started CrossFit in October and I was looking for a way to optimize my performance along with my body composition (of course, that's what got me started with CrossFit in the first place). I started to read more about this paleo thing everyone was fuzzing about and from time to time I heard fellow CrossFitters talk about how changes in their nutrition changed their entire lives.

Well...I was pretty skeptical to be honest. I was completely indoctrinated by the food industry. I believed that fat was bad and light products were the solution to everything. I actually believed that eating less and less would make me more and more happy. I knew (and still do!) the calories for every food. I lived and breathed brigitte diets, low-fat-high-carb-diets, not-eating-anything-at-all-diets, I once even ate only (of course light!) yoghurt for two weeks (round about 400 kcal a day) believing it was a good idea – until my mum forced me to give up on that one. I'm afraid I might have been on the brink of an eating disorder. I suppose now you get how desperate I was to shed a few pounds. The number on the scale was everything to me. Every gram was important.

Then I heard about this eating-philosophy, telling its followers to eat more fat. MORE FAT! I thought it was one of the most ridiculous things ever. Everyone knows that fat has tons of calories and that fat makes you fat. It's what you can see on the television every day. You can read it in every magazine and every doctor will tell you to stop eating butter and eggs if you got problems with cholesterol. It just seemed so logical. Fat in – fat on your ass. Calories in – calories out. It seemed just so simple. I don't know what made me try my first 30-day-challenge after all. But it was the best decision I have ever made.

It was the beginning of the rest of my life. It would be a lie if I told you that it was easy for me, that I just breezed through it. I have to admit that it was fucking hard! I had always hated those people who wouldn't eat everything. Those picky people who always needed some extra shit. And suddenly I was one of them. My entire family made fun of me, my colleagues asked me whether I was going out to hunt myself some mammoths for lunch and others tried to convince me that eating raw vegetables and nuts for lunch was unhealthy and that bread would be so much better. I also decided to give up coffee, which transformed me into a real bitch for the first two weeks. The guy sharing the office with me made a point of drinking a coffee every hour or so – that didn't help at all. But I pulled through, just sat there drinking some tea (and quietly cursed him, hoping his nose would fall off or something) because I wanted to prove to everyone that I could do it

At that point I still didn't really believe that paleo could change my health. But I was curious and that curiosity kept me going. So about 20 days into the challenge I began to notice some changes about the way my body was feeling. Since I was two years old I had suffered from a severe case of constipation. Sometimes I would get stomachaches strong enough to keep me from standing up. No matter what I ate or what I did, it wouldn't get better. I went to several doctors but none of them found out what was wrong with me. They gave me prescriptions (and I had to take lots and lots of those to actually do anything against my condition – I always had a 3 month supply at home) and I figured I would just have to live with the pain or stuff my face with pills. During the challenge I had stopped taking the medicine and I was convinced the aches would be back. But they stayed gone. I was actually pain-free without taking anything! I would never have to worry about bringing enough pills when travelling. It was the first time in my life I realized, that prescriptions weren't always the best solution. And today I'm convinced that the right food is the medication of the future! When this realization hit me, I knew that I would never give up on paleo again. I told my mum about it and she (finally!) started to support my paleo craziness. On the 25th day of my challenge I injured myself and ended up in the hospital for about five days. It would have been easy to just let go and start eating what they served up (which actually looked really good to me!). But I had finally found a way to keep the pain away! A way to live without prescriptions! I couldn't bear the thought of those 25 days having been for nothing. So I asked my mum to bring me a supply of cooked eggs, dried fruit, nuts, avocados and small tomatoes to get me through those days. I terrorized the hospitals catering-people (I'm absolutely positive that they had a party after I was gone...) and had them bring me the meal plan for the week and told them what components of those meals I couldn't (well...wouldn't ;)) eat. To make sure, they didn't just tell me the food was free of milk, gluten and the like, I just told them I was allergic. That did the trick (can only recommend that one)!

After this first challenge I decided to stay paleo but reintroduced milk and dairy in general. I noticed that it didn't hurt me and that I tolerated it really well. Since I just looove latte macchiato it was out of the question to completely abandon dairy products forever.

But all the health benefits aside. I hadn't lost a single pound. By that time the number on the scale didn't matter that much anymore. But when Ginger brought another 30-day-challenge up, I wanted to give this fat-loss thing another go. And only a few days into this challenge I noticed that I had made some mistakes on the fat-loss-front the first time around. I used to eat lots of "paleo baked goods" to replace bread and lots of fruit like bananas as well as more than a hand full of nuts (cashews!!!) a day. I really enjoyed the support Ginger's daily posts offered me. I started to eat a lot more veggies and reduced my meat consumption a bit (to make space for some rucola on my plate!). I loved that all the other "fellow-paleo-rcfn-members" shared pictures of their breakfast, lunch and dinner. It really helped me reform my way of thinking about food in general and I became a lot more creative with my meals in the past month. I even started to cook 3-course-menus for my friends and I really enjoyed planning those dinners and convincing my friends that paleo could be delicious! And they had to admit that they didn't even miss bread, pasta or flavor-enhancers. One of them was surprised that paleo food could be "so filling" and couldn't believe that there was nothing more in my ice-cream than frozen raspberries, a banana, ground vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I realized that it's not about how many ingredients you put into a dish. I'd rather cook with very few, high quality ingredients and make those count. No more replacing bread or sweets with paleofied versions. And that realization was followed by fat loss. Of course I still can't stuff my face with tons of meat, avocado and fruit. But the numbers on the scale are going down slowly. Considering the positive effects this challenge's had on the way my body feels, my sleep quality and my way of thinking about food (it is hard to believe how good and intense the simplest things can taste!) I don't even care about that anymore. Paleo has changed my life. It's as simple as that. And that is everything that counts. Now I know how good my body is designed to feel and I can't believe that there are people out there not even willing to try this way of life for 30 days! I mean what are 30 days compared to the rest of your life, right? I wish I had found this way of life a lot earlier. I am so grateful to you Ginger and to the whole RCFN-family for their support and I have to admit I really miss those daily posts! So, what are you waiting for?"

From R.G.: 16.02.2016 The Struggle against the Muffin Top – One Year and One Challenge in Retrospective

I would like to write about the 30 day challenge by putting it into perspective. In my case, it wasn't an isolated project but ties in with an ongoing process to change my way of living from scratch. The challenge meant more to me than just losing a couple of pounds and reducing body fat. It's the contribution to my happiness and health that I was interested in.

One year ago I was unhappy with my body. I openly admit that that was the reason why I started Crossfit. Having worked out at the gym for quite some time, I couldn't see any changes in fitness or looks. It's not that I was executing movements wrong or anything. It was just frustrating after a while and it was no fun feeling like a hamster, being on silly machines that count calories right in front of your eyes, while you have to watch fashion shows on like 15 screens around you (what a cruel idea). An hour can feel like a lifetime on those things. After I had registered with Reebok Crossfit Nürnberg it didn't take more than 2-3 months to lose the first 3 kilos. That was without changing anything about my diet. If anything I did eat more than before. Around June last year I decided to try paleo and lost another couple of kilos during the rest of the year. The thing is, I had only stopped eating bread and pasta and rice and anything that contains gluten or wheat at first. I knew that eventually I was going to have to take on the war on sugar too, but for starters I decided to fight the first war against gluten and carbs. In October I successfully quitted smoking. The challenge was my chance to get some support to take another step and get rid of milk and sugar.

It worked. I did beat the blerch. I don't want to only asses the 30 days in terms of how many kilos did I lose? It weren't many. The challenge got me into a rhythm of eating. That's something I take from the challenge. To me it was 30 days to set the model for the time after the challenge. I went through all the stages: I was tired at first; I had headaches; I was angry, cause everybody else was losing weight but me; I was tired again; I was constipated; I was asking myself why I am doing this. That's when I actually realized why I was doing this (week three or so): I didn't even want to lose weight, because I had already lost enough pounds before the challenge. I wanted to feel better. I want- ed to feel balanced in order to perform better in wods. However, during a long time of these 30 days, say until last week sometime, so one week before the end, I couldn't see that happening. My body felt wrong. I didn't feel comfortable. The feeling being inside the healthily eating body had nothing to do with the romantic eat-clean-feel-nice idea. That was the point where I thought: F*** this sh**, I'm going back to the milky life, where food is sweet and hips are hips. My boring story could end right here. Unlucky you. You gonna have to read a little more. I didn't give in to my anger and frustration. When I had the thoughts of giving up I started reading. I tried to find an explanation for why I felt this way or where my cravings came from and my brain needed to seriously explain that to my guts. The Facebook group and all the scientific reading material that was provided to us were so helpful to gain insight into what all of us were going through struggling with the need for sugar. After the hardest couple of days last week I am so glad I didn't drop out. Since then I'm over it. My body feels better than ever and I am not feeling any of the symptoms that can be connected to unhappy guts. I can happily state that I have never felt so in balance with my guts ever. TMI? Sorry. The 30 days challenge was a lot like my last year of Crossfit. I came in to change my body and ended up throwing that over- board and pick a new goal which is more fun. When I started Crossfit my goals quickly changed from wanting to lose weight to wanting to be able to lift or move more weight, to perform better (and..., and,..., and...). I forgot what I actually came for. And that is good. Because to hell with visual obsession. I got rid of the media gaze on women. Same with the challenge. I came to optimize my diet for a while and planned to go back to my eating routine after that. I'm leaving with the goal to change my diet for good. On a side note, since the challenge my knee has been recovering well, but it would be hard to scientifically proof causality I guess. I would like to mention it though, because I just like to think that it is possible those positive effects are somewhat results of the change in nutrition. Further- more, my lower back issues have improved. I recover faster. The sore muscles in my lower back don't cause the usual tension anymore. They seem to be able to relax and recover, even after workouts where it usually takes weeks for my back to let go of that tension and to recover. I also accomplished the first toes-to-bar last week, and I had a near-strict-pullup experience right before the wod gave me my near-death experience this morning. Seems to go hand in hand. These improvements: Coincidence? Maybe. I am purposely writing this before I do baseline again, also before the measuring. I want to report the feeling at the end of the challenge without relating it to numbers. I know I will do that as soon as the measuring and baseline will be done.

I related the whole challenge to the framework of Crossfit because there wouldn't be a challenge for me if it wasn't for the bigger Crossfit picture. The workout every morning has become a crucial motor in my life. I could easily write an essay about that. I will spare you another couple of pages though. Instead I would like to thank you, Ginger Sladky, for doing this in your free time. The spirit you brought to this project is one of a kind. I can see the many hours it takes and many thoughts that go into trying to change the way people think about something. I would like you to read my story about my personal struggle against the muffin top (so funny that you used that word btw) as your succeeding to change the way I think about food. I hope that it motivates you that there are a lot of ears which aren't deaf. Since I said a lot about my last year with Crossfit I would like to close my report of the challenge with some words about our box. Thank you Drake Sladky and Daniel Voros and of course all the other coaches for the way you shape Crossfit, for the way you convey your expertise and for the constant and consistent challenging of each and every one of us. It's a beautiful place you people have created. To all the other challenge fighters: Thanks for all the recipes and inspiration.

PS.: Challenge confession: Sometimes I had more than a handful of cashews. And sometimes I am sure that the mountain of nuts on my hand couldn't have passed as a handful of nuts. But the mountains got smaller during the course of the challenge. I am not a nut junkie anymore.
PPS: 23.02.2015: I improved my Baseline time from 5:42 to 5:05. So numbers fit my feeling"

From Bianca: "Erfahrungsbericht nutrition challenge 2018. Nachdem ich in diesem Jahr die 5. Runde mit Ginger Sladky absolvierte, hatte ich aus den letzten Jahren einiges gelernt. Diese Erfahrungen veranlassten mich sehr genau an die diesjährigen Regeln zu halten und weitere hinzuzufügen. Ich verzichtete zusätzlich auf Eier, Nachtschattengewächse und Ghee/Butter.

Anfangs wusste ich nicht ob ich ohne Reis und Kartoffeln durchkommen werde, doch meine Sorgen waren völlig unbegründet. Ich nutzte andere stärkehaltige Gemüsesorten und mehr gute Fette und fühlte mich schon nach ein paar Tagen nach dem Start sehr gut. Ich hatte absolut keine Probleme zu verzichten. Nach der zweiten Woche merkte ich dann, dass stressige Situationen Zucker verlangten oder bestimmte Emotionen eine Flucht in Essen verlangten. Das war einerseits schwierig zu überstehen, andererseits eine wichtige Erfahrung für mich. Im Laufe der 30 Tage fühlte ich mich generell leichter und meine Gedanken wurden ruhiger und ich wurde entspannter. Ich startete ja mit Schulterschmerzen und hoffte, das die Schmerzen sofort verschwinden würden, was natürlich nicht zutraf. Dennoch bemerkte ich eine deutliche Verbesserung. Dies und eine verbesserte Verdauung zum Ende der Challenge ließen mich entscheiden noch 15 Tage länger durchzuhalten. Nach nun 45 Tagen fühle ich mich rundum gut und gesund. Ich habe mich am Ende nicht gewogen weil das für mich nicht wichtig war, sondern dieses ruhige gesunde Gefühl geniesse. Die Wiedereinführung der Nahrungsmittelgruppen war spannend für mich und brachte weitere neue Erkenntnisse. Das wichtigste waren die täglichen Informationen, die mein Wissen zu einem gesunden Lebensstil erweiterten. Ich freue mich schon auf die nächste Runde. DANKE Ginger Sladky & RCFN."