Recipe and tip of the day

It's getting warm and a nice refreshing salad is always great for lunch or dinner.

Zesty Lemon-Lime Seafood Salad with Homemade Salsa

Serves 4: Salad Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound cooked lump crabmeat (or lobster meat)
• 1/2 pound cooked shrimp
• 1/2 pound cooked sea scallops
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Tabasco sauce, to taste
• Salt to taste
• 2 avocados
• Your favorite greens

Salsa Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped roasted tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt to taste
• To spice it up, add hot sauce or finely chopped jalapeno to taste

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine seafood, tarragon, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and Tabasco sauce and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Combine all the salsa ingredients. For a chunky salsa, stir the ingredients in a bowl. For a smooth salsa, blend in the blender. Letting the salsa sit for awhile helps the flavors blend.**The salsa can be made with raw tomatoes, but if you’d like to roast them for more flavor start by preheating the oven to 375-400 degrees. Slice each tomato in half and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for at least1 hour, until tomatoes are soft. Longer roasting evaporates some of the moisture and intensifies the flavor.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and gently scoop the meat out of the shells keeping the shape intact. Slice each avocado half into thin slices.Place your greens of choice in four bowls and top with 1/4 of the seafood mixture, 1/4 of the salsa and fan the avocado slices on top. Delicious!

*Recipe taken from Mark's daily apple*

Tip of the Day!!

4 Ways to get that new nutrition way of life going

Want a better beginning to your weight loss plan?

1. Know Your Weight Loss Goals

Consider how much you need to lose before you decide how to do it.

2. Understand Your Weight Loss Personality

Personality plays a role in our attitude towards food, know your tendencies and tailor your plan to conquer the unproductive inclinations.

Impulsive. "If you have a tendency to be impulsive, you might see a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer and go for it, Clearly you are a dieter who needs to remove those temptations.

Oblivious. If you tend to not pay attention when you eat -- maybe you're a TV snacker? -- you need to avoid such situations if you want to control portions.

Uptight. If you are highly anxious, you will probably have more difficulty, those who are anxious, nervous, and depressed might eat to feel better.

Tenacious. Certain personalities don't find it that difficult losing weight. If you are highly self-directed, cooperative, and have a lot of stick-to-it-ive-ness, you are going to have an easier time.

Sociable. You tend to monitor your food intake better than others.

3. Double Up: Diet & Exercise

It's a combination of diet and exercise that will lead to weight loss

4. Make a Firm Weight Loss Commitment

To be successful, it helps to understand why you want to lose weight. So before you begin a weight loss plan, ask yourself:

• Am I ready to do this?
• Is my motivation coming from within?
• Can I deal with occasional setbacks or lack of progress?
• Can I focus on weight loss fully? (If you're in the midst of a job change or other distractions, for example, it might be better to resolve those issues, and then focus on weight loss efforts.)

Day 1 of Canyon's Nutrition Challenge

Okay guys....I woke up this morning ready to go!!! After almost 2 months of eating pretty much whatever I want and drinking my favorite beers (people who know me, know I don't like to drink light beers either) I'm looking a little soft!! In any case, feel extremely privileged I'm posting these photos. Measurements: True waist 27 inches, waist at belly button 29.5 inches and hips 33 inches. Body fat 16.55% and weight 134lbs. Yikes!! 2 months ago my waist was 25.5 inches and I weighed 128lbs!! LET THE TRANSFORMATION BEGIN!

So I should preface I primarily follow the Primal way of life so I do have some dairy.

Meal #1 Breakfast: YUM!

2 cups of coffee with 3tbsp of heavy cream and stevia

1 vegetarian fed cage free omega 3 enriched egg

2 liquid organic pure egg whites

1 no nitrates no preservatives added chicken sausage link

green onions, mushrooms

sauteed with 1/2 tbsp of organic butter

Meal #2 Snack:

8 oz almond milk

1 scoop of protein powder

Meal #3 Lunch

4oz chicken grilled

A big bowl of steamed broccoli with

1 tbsp of almond butter and red pepper flakes melted to make a spicy thai peanut sauce poured over the broccoli

Meal #4 Dinner:

Grilled chicken Salad

huge bowl of mixed greens

grilled onions, red peppers, green peppers

1/4 mango chopped

1/2 avocado

2 tbsp mixed dressing of olive oil, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, pepper to taste

60 Day Nutrition Challenge 5/11-7/11

Canyon CrossFit's Nutrition Challenge

Our 60 day challenge is the true test of the Paleo/Primal diet. Regardless of your fitness or health goals, you WILL look, feel and perform your best on the Paleo/Primal diet. Give it a shot – you will not be disappointed!

Rule #1: Keep it simple – Paleo/Primal in a Nutshell

For the next 60 days you are free to consume all of the following foods:

- animal protein (“Eat meat that once had a face and a soul” -–
Robb Wolf… eat grassfed meat, cage-free poultry, and
wild-caught seefood when possible)
- eggs
- veggies (try to get the bulk from non-starchy vegetables seasonal veggies are best)
- fruit (seasonal and/or berries are best keep to a minimal)
- nuts (cashews and peanuts are NOT nuts)
- seeds
- spices & salt
- olive oil, coconut oil and organic butter for cooking

- Omega 3 Fish Oil – (we recommend Barlean's which can be purchased from us)

Rule #2: No naked carbs

To prevent your blood sugar from spiking, keep your meals balanced and do NOT eat fruit away from protein.

Rule #3: Post WOD meal

Try to eat protein and the bulk of your carbs within 30 minutes post workout.

Rule #4: You will team up with an accountability partner.

Everyday for 60 days (beginning Wednesday 5/11) you will keep a record of all your meals and snacks (don’t worry about writing down portions). At the end of every week you will check in with Melisa to view and analyze your nutrition so she can make some suggestions but you will also choose a partner or have one assigned so you can have some additional accountability (i.e., share, laugh and vent). Communication can be via email/phone/text with your partner and when you check in with Melisa it can be via email or in person on Friday's at anytime of the day.

Rule #5: No more than 3 alcoholic drinks per week.

All participants will be limited to 3 of the following alcoholic beverages per week:

1) Red wine (4oz serving)
2) “Nor Cal Margarita"

3) Light 12oz beer

Rule #6: There are NO true cheat days but they happen we have to live life right, but try not to. Duh.

The purpose of this challenge is to give your body and your gut some time to heal by removing potential irritants such as gluten and minimal dairy from your diet. Just one “cheat meal” can cause a flare-up that can set you back a week or more. If you DO cheat or “accidentally” eat a pizza, please write it on your nutrition log, and fess up to your accountability partner or one of the trainers.

Rule #7: You must take before/after pictures and have your body fat % taken with the caliper test.

These pictures are for your personal records and will only be shared with the judge if you are interested in winning the prize money.

We will need a total of 2 shots: a front view and side view. Take the picture in front of a white wall, wearing only shorts if you are a male, or shorts and a sports bra if you’re female. The photographer should stand close enough to fill the frame with you.

The first set of photos must be taken by the first day of the challenge, preferably a few days before. A second set of photos must be taken at the completion of the challenge.

Rule #8: If you have you have a serious medical condition, please contact us before you sign up so we can see if the Paleo/Primal Challenge is right for you.

Rule #9: So, how do I win?
1. 1 point awarded per day for logging meals and 1 point if you don't cheat (120pts)

2. 1 point awarded per day for logging WODs and working out (60pts) now I don't expect people to workout every day but just showing max points

3. Points for improvement on FGB (each rep increase will be awarded)
4. Points for improvement on before and after pictures

5. Caliper body fat test (1 point for every .50% dropped)

Cost & Signing Up:

The cost for the Nutrition Challenge is $30. Money will go towards prizes for 1st man and woman and to Melisa for putting it all together, the time for weekly meetings of nutrition journal, my blog updates, recipes etc.... Money will be collected/must be collected on the start of the challenge.

Get familiar with the Paleo/Primal way of life before we embark on this new nutrition challenge by reviewing the links below:

http://robbwolf.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/thePaleoSolution_QuickStart.pdf

http://whole9life.com/2010/12/whole30-2011/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-to-the-primal-eating-plan/

As for me, your coach, I will post my before and after pictures. I will post what I eat daily, recipes and other helpful links every day! If you have any questions please email me.

Weightloss VS. Fatloss

Over the weekend I had a few conversations with friends and family primarily talking about different diets and the desire to lose weight. Over the past couple of months I've received compliments on how I've slimmed down and it's been great. But, I realized that many people have this misconception over weightloss and fatloss and the difference between being thin or skinny versus toned.

If you're a person who doesn't have the desire to workout then all you'd have to do to lose weight would be to decrease your calories. There is NO gimmick behind it at all. No fitness guru, nutritionist, or dietitian can argue that. It is simply that simple cut your calories, burn more then you eat and you will lose weight. But if you want to lose actual fat, it's going to take some work. You see some of the conversations I encountered over the weekend was that I was slim and toned because I worked out so much. No this is not entirely the case. Yes working out does help but that's not the primary reason why I am slim and toned. It's because my nutrition plan it geared toward fatloss and NOT weightloss. Yes, I'm at the gym often and I tend to workout 4-5x a week but I don't run countless hours on a treadmill, in fact I don't run at all really. Most of you reading this know I'm a CrossFit trainer and so you also know most of my workouts are done within 30 minutes or so. So to answer some of my family and friends NO I'm not slim because I workout a lot.

Most of you know people who start some crazy diet plan that guarantees weightloss and they stick to it for a while and then a few months later they can't keep up with it and gain all the weight back. Nothing new I'm saying here and basically it's because they severely cut calories in some way and it's nothing someone can sustain for a long time. That's why people who even workout and follow plans like this or just eat whatever they want never see any drastic changes in their bodies. There is nothing sexy about a skinny fat person but to each his own.

So how have I slimmed down and look more toned these days? I don't follow some fad diet. I don't count calories. I don't put some crazy ass HCG hormone drops in my food that promise me that I'll loose 21 lbs in 21 days (who wants to do something that drastic anyways!) I follow a nutrition plan that doesn't promise anything except a healthier life and a natural way to lose FAT. Understanding what makes you retain fat and what prevents you from looking slim and toned helps tremendously. I follow a Paleo or Primal way of life. I look slim because of this way of life, not because I workout so much. I have muscle definition and look toned from working out. Working out can be viewed as more of a bonus :-) It helps but its not the foundation, the foundation is what I eat.

I'm sure we could sit here and debate over how many hours we should workout etc and we can debate how much genetics play a role in your physique. Yes your genetics play a role. If you're a woman who is more top heavy versus bottom heavy it will take you twice as long to get a 6 pack versus your friend who is more bottom heavy. That's life! But in the end, your nutrition is the primary role in how you look. You truly are what you eat!

45 Day Nutrition and Goal Challenge

Hello Everyone!

Starting Monday 1/10/2011 Canyon is beginning a new nutritional challenge! It will be 45 days long and this time it's real important for you to try and be as compliant as possible! Monday we will be doing a benchmark WOD, taking your weight, a couple of measurements and go over the basic nutritional foundations of Paleo, Primal and Zone. I will have print-outs for you to take home and use as a guideline on each. If you're a person who needs or likes structure, likes to weigh your food and pack your lunch etc, I urge you to review the Zone diet prior to Monday and I will help you come up with your blocks. Some books you may want to look to purchase are: A week in the Zone, Primal Blueprint Cookbook, Zone Meals in minutes, and The Paleo Diet Cookbook. You can find these on Amazon and at your local bookstore. Prior to us meeting on Monday, please have 1 fat loss goal and 1 crossfit goal. We'll review them together. I look forward to everyone looking to take their health and fitness to the next level. You'll be amazed by how much nutrition can impact your abilities to perform during your WOD's. See you Monday! I will be at Canyon all day so come in when you can. In order to participate and potentially win our Nutritional Challenge you must do the benchmark WOD! Also if you don't have our new Canyon WOD book already, this would be a GREAT time to purchase one for $5 to keep track of your successes!

Melisa

90 Day Nutritional Challenge follow up!

Hello Everyone!

So we're coming to the end of our 90 Day Challenge. Starting next Monday evening 12/27, I'll be at the gym by 5pm to take measurements and do the last weigh in. If you can't come by on Monday no worries I'll be there every day after 5pm so I can do it then. I'd appreciate every one's feedback and how they're feeling. I'll input all of the stats and announce the winner by next Friday 12/31. Not to worry for anyone who missed out this time or would like to participate again we'll be setting up a new 45 day challenge starting Monday 1/10/10. I encourage everyone to participate! More details to follow regarding the new challenge as we get closer! I am very proud of everyone and their accomplishments this year! Next year is going to be great and it's time to set some new goals! What do you want to accomplish at Canyon this coming year?

Best wishes!

Melisa

Allergic to Wheat?

A few of us have been wondering... Do we have certain aliments or issues because of wheat?

Some of you may have read the article post by Andrew last week in which a girl had many problems and the doctor's couldn't even figure out what was wrong with her. Come to find out she was allergic to wheat.

One of your new Canyon members has shared that she has taken wheat out of her diet and many of her previous health problems are gone. So I decided to do a little investigation. I found an insightful website and thought I'd share some of the highlights with you.

Now if you follow Paleo or Primal, you're already beginning to eliminate wheat. So for those of you, I want to ask have you noticed a change in any thing besides your fat loss? For example, did you suffer from headaches before and now have them less or not at all. Did you have any other problems that you've noticed are not as bothersome?

Wheat allergy or wheat intolerance? What are your symptoms?

• Headache?
• Bloated stomach?
• Diarrhea?
• Tired?
• Skin rash?

Just a few of the symptoms that you might suspect are caused by a food allergy or intolerance, and in your case possibly wheat.

Below is a list of the wide range of symptoms that are associated with wheat allergy or intolerance. Not everyone suffers from them, and certainly not all of them at the same time.

Symptoms of a wheat allergy or wheat intolerance (and several others)

• Arthritis
• Bloated stomach
• Chest pains
• Depression or mood swings
• Diarrhea
• Eczema
• Feeling dizzy or faint
• Joint and muscle aches and pains
• Nausea or vomiting
• Palpitations
• Psoriasis
• Skin rashes
• Sneezing
• Suspected irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)/similar effects
• Swollen throat or tongue
• Tiredness and lethargy
• Unexplained cough
• Unexplained runny nose
• Watery or itchy eyes

These symptoms can also be indicative of many other medical conditions, and therefore professional medical advice should always be sought when trying to determine a cause.

So another question. How many of the symptoms listed above do you suffer from?

One, three or four, more?

Wheat is a major diet constituent for much of the world. It is an ingredient for a wide range of foods. Using wheat in food manufacture has advantages that make its continued mass growth vital to manufacturers. It's a cheap bulking agent that often takes the place of better quality ingredients in a product.

So if wheat is considered one of the most wholesome, nutritious foods, then why is wheat one of the most common foods that people become allergic to? Wheat is now listed in the top 8 food allergens along with peanuts, tree nuts, milk, fish, shellfish, eggs and soy.

Most people eat wheat so often their bodies adapt and cope and so they experience mild forms of the symptoms (known as wheat intolerance) without ever really being aware of where the problem lies. Withdrawing wheat from the diet and therefore ridding the body of wheat can lead to immense improvements in health and well being.

But, and it's a big but, once wheat is eliminated from the diet it can very rarely be reintroduced. A wheat intolerance may, after a substantial wheat free period, allow a very minor reintroduction of wheat into the diet. A genuine wheat allergy has no route back to eating wheat.

Visit www.wheat-free.org for more information