On December 13 I started an experiment; to eat like what I would call “a typical North American”.  I would not be eating my normal Paleo diet/lifestyle, I would not be eating clean and I would be eating all kinds of process foods along with some take-out, while mixing in the occasional healthy meal here and there. Why would I do this?  I wanted to prove that you can’t out train a bad diet! Over the span of three weeks I ate some McDonald’s, some “healthy” Subway, some Domino’s Pizza (thin crust), some Holiday treats, cooked some healthy meals at home occasionally, I had Christmas Dinner and drinks and probably anything else you ate over the Holidays as well. My snacks mostly consisted of fruit, nuts, chocolate, chips, dips, hummus, cheese and crackers or some other type of processed foods.  Though this is how I was eating, all the while I was keeping my training in the gym consistent and the same as I would normally be training. The result?  I put on 16 lbs and gained 3.75” around my belly at my belly button, which is what I call my “love handles”. Now not all of that weight gain was fat, I did build some muscle mass, however, 3.75” around my abdomen is FOOLISH!!  A lot of that was bloat from the wheat and dairy and some of it would be water retention, however there were other “side affects” to this experiment besides weight gain and the bloated stomach.  I had way less energy than usual, I was quite lethargic and tired, I did not sleep as well, and something that I hadn’t felt in over 6 months was extremely sore joints for no reason at all.  Even worse, my WOD times were a good minute or two slower than normal! After a long three weeks, it’s a new year and I’m 100% back on the Paleo Diet and feeling amazing! After just 36 hours of being back on Paleo, I was down 6 lbs and 0.5″ around my stomach.  That’s pretty incredible! My energy levels are coming back, I’m sleeping better and I’m just all around happier! The point of this whole experiment isn’t to try and convince everyone that you should be doing the Paleo Lifestyle, it was to show you that even though I was still killing in the gym every day, I put on weight and I actually wasn’t able to kill it as hard as I normally do. This just goes to show what I’ve been saying all along, you can’t out train a bad diet! The proof is in the pudding… Mmmmm… Pudding…...