Oooooh I just did something bad. I ate a croissant. YES, A CROISSANT. But hey, when you’re flying high at 35,000 feet and someone plunks it down in front of you on a fancy tray with a cloth napkin and real silverware… you may as well indulge. Faileo!

Life hack: Find a job that pays you to get on airplanes on a fairly frequent basis. Pick an airline and stick with it. Accumulate miles and status. Then, enjoy life when the stars align and you’ve got enough status to find yourself blogging from the first class cabin when you’re taking a personal vacation. Hence, the aforementioned croissant. In my defense, I refused the corn flakes and asked for fresh fruit only. However, I think the flight attendant thought my fancy tray looked too lonely with just fruit on it so it came with fluffy buttery carbs and a yogurt too. Still can’t bring myself to do yogurt. Ick.

So, the 2013 LuRong Living Paleo Challenge is starting up on September 16th. Shortly after beginning CrossFit last year, I signed up for the 2012 challenge and soon thereafter a string of silly youtube videos and this blog came about. So, how can I NOT participate this year? I’m so much more prepared than I was last year, it’s ridiculous. I’m also interested to see if eating super strict paleo will actually have a positive effect on my performance in the gym. Having only been into CF for a month when last year’s challenge began, I was naturally going to PR things left and right, so I’m not sure how much of my success could solely be attributed to my food intake.

Having been through this once before, I’m no expert but do feel like there are a few gems of advice I could pass along to those who find themselves participating in something like this year’s challenge for the first time. I came up with a bunch of stuff that’s far too wordy for a single post, so I’m turning it into a multi-part series.

THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE THE PALEO CHALLENGE – Part 1

DON’T BE AFRAID TO GET A HEAD START.
This is something I did the wrong way last time around. Don’t go nuts on all the forbidden foods in the 2 weeks before the challenge starts because you won’t be able to eat them for the next 60 days. All you’re going to do is put on weight and feel like crap. Plus, your body will become even more conditioned to living off of those items and be even more angry at you when you suddenly go from your daily sandwiches and oatmeal to omelets and salads.

About a month prior to the challenge, start thinking about what you won’t be eating in a matter of weeks, and don’t replenish your supply. Once you’re out of cheese and crackers, you are DONE with cheese and crackers, I don’t care if you still have 8 days to go. Just stop. Take a few baby steps towards eating Paleo beforehand, so you don’t feel so overwhelmed by Day 1. It’s a lot less stressful to think about cooking a strict paleo dinner if you’re already conditioned to eat a totally compliant salad for lunch. Start putting less cream and/or sugar in your coffee, so an Americano with cinnamon sprinkled in actually sounds GOOD to you.

Put the pizza down, odds are overwhelmingly in your favor that this is NOT the last chance you’re ever going to have to eat some. Practice walking away now, so it will be easier when it counts.

Stay tuned for the remaining 9 topics that I’ll elaborate on in the coming weeks:

• BE OPEN TO NEW FOODS
• EMBRACE SOCIAL MEDIA, BLOGS IN PARTICULAR
• YOUR NON-PALEO FRIENDS WILL QUESTION YOUR SANITY
• IT’S QUITE POSSIBLE YOU WON’T LOSE ANY WEIGHT
• SHOP THE PERIMETER, ACCEPT YOU’LL HAVE TO SPEND MORE TO EAT WELL
• STEP AWAY FROM THE QUINOA
• READ LABELS
• THE MAJORITY OF YOU WILL TRIP UP
• RESULTS DON’T COME IMMEDIATELY, BUT THE CARB FLU DOES