As with anything F3, if there is no Backblast, it didn’t happen, so I present to you the 2016 The Fort Fuel Challenge Backblast. Before I go further, a disclaimer is warranted:

I am not a professional… I don’t do nutrition for a living, but I do like to eat and try to eat healthy. Also, the title “Omnivore’s Dilemma” is from an excellent book by Michael Pollan. Like most things F3, we don’t create, we simply take what works, modify as needed, and throw away what doesn’t.

Omnivore’s Dilemma

Now that we have that out of the way, what is the Omnivore’s Dilemma? Let’s take it in reverse with an illustration. A Koala bear’s diet decisions are easy… He lives and breathes eucalyptus leaves. He knows his mission in life is to find a nice Koala babe and a lush field of eucalyptus trees to be set up for retirement. A Koala doesn’t have to make decisions on his diet, either the current tree has leaves or he moves on to the next.

Now, we humans are omnivores and we get to enjoy amazing variety of food. This is a great benefit to us, but at the same time a huge problem. What is good for you to eat? What will give you the fuel to make it throughout the day but not have adverse side effects?

What to eat? What is ok? What is not?

I personally believe that the base program is reasonably solid. No Fast Foods, No Fried Food, No Processed Snacks, No Dessert, No Soda/Sweet Tea, No Cheese (i actually have a problem with this one), and No Cream Based Dressings. All of these with the exception of the cheese, have at least one thing in common: Junk Calories. Cutting the junk means you have more room for the good. But the biggest problem people seem to have is with the “Definition of Processed Foods”. My initial response is “If it has ingredients you cannot confidently pronounce, then it is probable processed”. Someone else had an even better approach that was discussed over the span of the challenge: “Stay on the walls of the grocery store”. Meats, Veggies, Perishables. All these are typically on the outside wall of the Grocery Store…. sounds like a good habit to continue.

Sustainability

Buzz-word alert… but I think it is applicable here. Here is a quote from High Life:

“I admit to slacking every couple of days on the challenge (in small doses), but it’s part of my strategy to make this a sustainable change long-term. I was starting to feel too restricted on a day-to-day basis, so I allowed myself small amounts of banned substances. This has given me the ability to manage without feeling like I am going insane.”

I will second this, by even going so far as to feeling extremely guilty when I had a cheat (yes it did happen), to the point where I started to wonder if this is what people with Eating Disorders feel like.

This type of program is “fine” for 6 weeks but is not sustainable. It may be obvious, but I feel I still need to say it: “This is not a long term diet”. Professional Athletes and Actors going through grueling training to get a certain body type may be able to stick to this sort of diet, but they have incentive (7 figure salary?) that we don’t have and even for them it has to end at some point (the movie is over, or the offseason, etc).

The main point here is that you set yourself up for failure if you think this is a standard that can be kept in perpetuity. Again, read the disclaimer above.

I will comment that personally for me the last two weeks were the hardest. Not because of the things that were removed, but just that I could hardly force myself to eat more chicken. While I realize it is a “First world problem”, variety is necessary.

On the same note of sustainabily, there were a few bonus challenges that I threw out there that I know some of the PAX participated in. I will leave with one statement: Intermittent Fasting seems to make a difference, but it sure is hard.

NMM

So, I definitely feel there was impact, which I personally felt in two ways.

First, I did feel stronger and healthier. I could tell that my energy level increased. My mental clarity improved. Others reported similar findings and I think most everyone would agree that cutting out the junk is going to make a difference (again, read the disclaimer).  This is the “Queen” to the “King” S3T2.

Second, the last two weeks were incredibly tough. Personally I think the primary reason is that there was less chatter about the challenge, which made it a personal struggle instead of a group struggle. I supposed I could have marketed more, but I can only yell Food Challenge into the Twitter void with no answer so many times before I become a Fuel Nazi. Bottom line, this, like many things in life, is not easy when you do it alone.

Lastly, I want to thank all the PAX who showed up with Family for the last minute planned 2ndF at my place. It was a most excellent time and I hope we can have another one soon #glue.

If/When we do this again, I think we will overhaul the whole thing… but I am not ready for that yet.

Honor to serve.