In Teams of 3,
AMRAP 20 Minutes:
200ft Parner Carry
Max Reps Power Snatch
Rest while you get carried
To Lance Paulsen, it's no cliche to say that CF has changed his life. He has been working hard for years to stay healthy and fight against his own failing health. All the exercise and so called healthy eating just wasn't getting the job done. When things took a turn for the worse, Lance read Robb Wolf's book, The Paleo Solution. After implementing a truly Paleo diet, things are finally starting to look up. The following is Lance's story in his own words.
This letter is a thank you to CrossFit East Sacramento for adding years to my life. So, thank you to Justin, Travis, Chris, Aaron, Blake, Brooke and to Robb Wolf. My name is Lance and I have Celiac Disease, Hashimoto's and Auto Immune Hepatitis all of which are Auto Immune Diseases. Don't worry, none are contagious. Auto immune issues are very hard to notice when they start and are not curable. The only way I found how to control mine is through living the Paleo lifestyle.
It all started back in 1993 when a random blood test revealed elevated liver enzymes both AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT). After many blood tests to check for Hepatitis A, B, and C and a host of other disorders, all tests came back negative. Next was a liver biopsy to check for liver cancer and cirrhosis. The biopsy showed a little scaring (cirrhosis) and no cancer. During the next 13 years I started to notice a loss of strength, muscle mass, as well as an increase in muscle injuries. I started to gain weight especially in my stomach and face. I wasn't fat but I was puffy and bloated and weighed around 180 lbs. I started to get warts on my hands and under my finger nails, and eczema on my knuckles. I moved to Sacramento in 2004 and in 2006 my Gastroenterologist, Dr. Goldstein, introduced me to Dr. Gish a world renowned liver specialist.
In 2006 Dr. Gish ordered a liver biopsy and met with me soon after. During my meeting with him, he suspected Spruce, also known as Celiac disease. A blood test and a small intestine biopsy later confirmed I had Celiac disease. Immediately I was on a gluten free diet and lost 30 lbs in about 30 days. The bloating went away almost overnight. My weight dropped down to 150 lbs. and I was looking healthy again. All the warts and eczema disappeared. Unfortunately my liver enzymes were still high. I joined a gym and was not showing any results. In 2009 a fellow co-worker told me about CrossFit, I immediately looked one up, and CrossFit East Sacramento was right in my neighborhood. I joined the next day.
After joining CrossFit East Sacramento and talking about my autoimmune issues with former CFES trainer Brooke Bergeson, she told me to read "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf. Brooke said, "the book is about you." I read the book and I could not believe what I was reading. I immediately followed Robb Wolf's instructions. I selected to have some blood work done so that I could have a baseline, speciffically my liver enzyme, and my thyroid, TSH. My AST (SGOT) came in at 270 IU/L, with the normal range being 0 – 40. ALT (SGPT) was 171 IU/L, with the normal range being 0 – 55. My thyroid (TSH) came in at 4.9 uIU/mL the normal range is 0.450 – 4.5. That opened up a can of worms. I then was checked for Hashimoto's, which was confirmed with more blood work. Now I was pissed. This autoimmune stuff had declared war on my own body and it was my turn to fight back.
On February 1st of 2012, the war started. The plan was simple, to eat Paleo with the autoimmune caveat and no foods that disrupt my thyroid. I ate grass fed meats, organic fruits and vegetables. I also avoided soy and cruciferous vegetables. My menu consisted of variations of buffalo meat, cow meat, pastured chicken and turkey. On the fruit side was raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, oranges, persimmons, apples and kiwi. The vegetables and root vegetables were, baby arugula, asparagus, cucumbers, carrots, beets, celery, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, artichoke hearts, onions, and garlic. For my fats I ate avacados, olives and drank coconut milk. I cooked with olive oil and coconut oil only. I changed my pots and pans to stainless steel and cast iron pans, bought wood and stainless steel cooking utensils, replaced my tupperware with glasslock tupperware. I stopped taking a multi-vitamin and added only fish oil, Vitamin D, Vitamin B complex, vegetarian pro-biotic, and coenzyme Q10. Towards the end of the 30 days I lost around 5 lbs, kept my strength and was feeling great. I scheduled my blood test to recheck my levels on March 3rd.
My GI doctor, Dr. Glodstein called me on March 6 and gave my the great news. DR. Golstein said "Your AST is down to 103 (from 270) and your ALT is down to 123 (from 171)." It worked! My liver enzyme was not in the limits but it was at its lowest in 20 years. My thyroid is back in limits and it came back down to 3.750 and I am not feeling the negative affects of Hashimoto's disease. Paleo is working for me. I owe a huge thank you to many people, so here it goes: Thank you CFES especially Brooke, Justin, Travis, Chris, Aaron and Blake, Dr. Glodstein, Dr. Gish, Dr. Belli, Bowen therapy and of course Robb Wolf and the Paleo Solution. And a special thank you to Brooke, thanks for being a concerned trainer and friend. Words cannot express my gratitude to the above mentioned, I owe those people years of my life. The Paleo Solution has added time to my liver and life, whether its one day or years. It just gives me that much longer to love my beautiful wife and daughter, family, friends, and that much longer to enjoy CFES. Its really simple, eat Paleo, join CrossFit and become faster, stronger, leaner.
