So you are saying WTF is CrossFit? or Hashing? or Paleo? or Zone? Read on!
CrossFit
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology that emphasizes constantly varied high intensity functional movements. The main website is CrossFit.com. The affiliated (not franchised) locations are referred to as "boxes" and are usually very basic and industrial looking. CrossFit posts a Workout of the Day (WOD) which is unpredictable, except by The-Powers-That-Be. My Sweetheart started Crossfit about 6 months before me. His proven success convinced me to fork over the dollars. While it is not cheap inexpensive, if you consider that it is a combination of personal training with a gym, it is actually quite reasonable compared to regular personal training rates. I'm a cheerleader. I've seen the results and it works.
Hashing
Hashing can be loosely defined as "a drinking club with a running problem." We run for beer. No, it's not a drug reference. The name of it is a historical reference to the location where it got started way back in 1938 in Malaysia. Someone who is designated the "hare" lays a trail of flour & toilet paper and the rest of us "hounds" try to follow the hare's trick trail which leads the way to beer and socializing.
Paleo
Paleo, shorthand for Paleolithic Diet, is basically a modern attempt to eat as it is suspected that Cavemen ate. It is, essentially, meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and sugar. Some Crossfitters advocate this way of eating instead of the Standard American Diet (often referred to as SAD). I am playing around with eating Paleo, but haven't committed 100%. It is important that my way of eating (not just a diet) is sustainable long-term for me.
Zone
Zone, is shorthand for the Zone Diet, first published by Dr. Barry Sears. It is the other diet (way of eating) that many Crossfitters adhere to. The Zone Diet advocates that every meal is balanced between 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat. Eating a Zone-proportioned diet which mostly consisted of Paleo foods is how I lost 25 lbs (along with Crossfitting).
which brings us back to Do, Do, Do, Do, Doe a deer, a female deer... er, I mean...
Paleo/Zone
Paleo/Zone is a way of eating that combines the two concepts. Essentially you eat Paleo foods in Zone proportions. One baby step at a time... since I haven't mastered Paleo, I sure as heck haven't nailed Paleo/Zone.
Gluten-Free
Gluten-Free diets are those that are free of gluten, which is contained in wheat, barley, and rye. Those who suffer from Celiacs Disease are unable to digest gluten. I do not have Celiac's Disease (that I know of), but Paleo food is appropriate for Gluten-Free diets, so recipes end up crossing paths. Unfortunately, not everything that is Gluten-Free is appropriate for Paleo, because common substitutes for wheat products are corn, potatoes, rice, and tapioca (none of which are Paleo foods).
Tags: crossit, gluten free, hashing, paleo, zone