♦Tom Montemayor February 6, 2011 Final Check in

[Tom M]

One day, the summer before last, I was stretching on the red mats
after a WOD while Morgan told the group about some crossfit training
that he was providing for a local high school football team. Just out
of curiosity I asked Morgan whether there were any standout athletes
among the kids that really impressed him. His answer? No, not really.
Oh sure, a couple were quite strong, and others pretty fast, but none
of them really demonstrated good body awareness. Huh? Body awareness?
Of all the things to be impressed by, Morgan was looking for body
awareness? I didn't quite get it then, but I do now. Feats of speed,
power, strength, work capacity, etc. are impressive, but to do these
aforementioned things with grace and precision (i.e., body awareness)
is transcendent.

What does this have to do with paleo and/or the clean eating
challenge? Everything, I think. This is my take away lesson from the
whole experience. Of course, in a practical sense, paleo/clean eating
is about getting healthier, losing fat, gaining muscle, improving
performance, etc., but in a more abstract sense it is about achieving
nutritional body awareness. What does my body want? What does it need?
How much? How often? What are the consequences (good or bad) of eating
this particular food at this particular time? I am not going to eat
perfectly clean all the time, not by a long shot, but I am going to
continue to strive for nutritional body awareness.

I was fairly paleo prior to the challenge. By that I really mean I had
completely cut out all grains and most sugar, but I still consumed a
lot of dairy (milk!) and legumes (peanut butter!). Cutting out the
grains and sugar a year and a half ago provided fairly dramatic and
positive body comp and energy level changes. I was hopeful that going
the extra step with this challenge would do something magical and turn
me into the stud I've always longed to be. Well, it didn't quite do
that. Any additional changes I've experienced with this challenge have
been subtle. Noticeable and worthwhile, but subtle.

The most amazing thing I've gotten out of this challenge is a wife
with a whole new world view. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing
wrong with her attitude before, but it has just become so bright and
positive over the course of the past month. It is infectious. I love
the way she embraced the whole thing from day one. She really immersed
herself in the community. She helped me stick to the challenge too,
and her paleo cooking has been great. While she has certainly
experienced some positive physical changes (like her extra-awesome
ass!), the change in her outlook has been nothing short of
phenomenal.

This challenge has been fun. It was a great kickoff to the new year. I
hope everyone keeps setting goals and reaching them!

[Emily Silgard]

I really like your analogy to body awareness Tom. I totally agree;
one of the greatest things that you can take away from a CEC is being
able to feel and understand what's going on with your body at any
given moment and how you can affect it (for better or worse). And
you're right about Stacy too, her transformation and outlook/
determination have been really impressive.

[Rachel O]

Tom - I couldn't agree more with you about Stacy! She is a changed
woman and her determination and drive during this challenge has beeen
infectious. She is very lucky to have such a great partner during all
this! I know she has helped me a lot during these past 30 days as
well. Great job!