*Note from Sarah: Jason Seib is back with another awesome post!!!
Ashley is a dream client. We have the perfect coach/client relationship. My trainers and I lay down the guidelines, she follows them. Her life is far busier than most and she could be making plenty of excuses that would all sound quite legit, but she chooses to get results instead. Wonderfully awesome person that she is, she kept a photo diary of a recent 30 days of paleo and she has agreed to share it all with you. She prepared every single meal herself, she did not eat out once, and she only missed two photos (the missing meals are listed with the photos). Before we dive into the pics, let’s take a look at what she is up against in her day to day life.
I asked Ashley to break down her schedule for me. “For the month I was doing this I was doing 16hrs of internship per week and 12 credit hours (full-time) on school. For the sake of avoiding putting my 15 month old in formal childcare I did this all in two days (and took one class online). Tuesdays and Wednesdays I did 12-13 hours days (often after a 6am workout and making breakfast, packing lunches and dinners) and the rest of the week I did the stay-at-home mom thing, except with coursework hanging over my head. I have a now a 16-month old daughter (I started paleo when she was almost 5 months) and a 4.5 year old daughter. I go to 6am workouts almost exclusively because that is my only opportunity, on the days I’m at home my husband typically is gone from 8am until 5 or 6pm and then it’s the dinner, bedtime rush so night workouts have never been a possibility. My youngest also does not regularly sleep through the night and I am typically up with her at least once. The last thing that makes things difficult is that my husband and older daughter are SAD (Standard American Diet) all the way, despite me being strict paleo for almost a year. There’s always candy and ice cream and chips etc. in my house. This doesn’t help changing ones habits but reaching the point where you literally don’t even notice these things (or acknowledge them as food) speaks to the fulfillment of eating/living this way. It can be done, with or without cleaning out your cupboards.”
Those are some serious hurdles, and yet she never once mentioned any of this to me, except that she was in school, until I asked. Many people would be advertising these difficulties to anyone who would listen so that nobody would be shocked when they struggled with their nutrition or fitness. Not Ashley. She put her nose to the grindstone and got down to business.
Here are Ashley’s 30 days of paleo.
Day 1
Day 2
Day3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day13
Day 14
Day 15 (The missing meal was leftover chicken soup.)
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22 (The missing meal was leftovers from breakfast and an egg “muffin”)
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Day 29
Day 30
Ashley didn’t take before and after pics of this particular 30 days, and we don’t want anyone to get the impression that 30 days of paleo will get you 100% of the results you seek, but her results have been quite impressive overall. She joined my gym in April of 2011. When she came to us she looked like this.
This picture was taken last week.
Here are her results in her first 90 days of paleo.
She also got a 40 lb deadlift PR (personal record) this week and took her 1 rep max to 215 lbs. Serious business!
So this is the part where you must ask yourself, “How bad do I want this?” Some of you may actually have obstacles in your life that are more insurmountable than Ashley’s, and you may have a legitimate need to sort those things out before you can make this paleo lifestyle thing work, but many of you are allowing your obstacles to beat you down when you could be succeeding in getting fit and healthy. Why not go hard for at least 3 weeks, nailing your nutrition and exercising responsibly, and see where you end up? The odds are pretty good that you will look/feel/perform a little better and you will have found the motivation you need to stay the course. If you are lost and don’t know where to begin with proper diet and exercise, the exact methodology that Ashley uses can be found at Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness. Our 21 Jump Start plan and beginner modules will walk you through all the basics. If you already know what you are doing and don’t need EPLifeFit, maybe it’s just time to get serious. Hunker down and make your goals a reality.
For those of you who want more details about Ashley’s life, she writes a blog detailing her journey.
Go forth and be awesome.
Print 
PDF
About Jason
Ashley seemed to be pretty closed off at first, but she is a pleasure to pick on and I smile when she walks through the door. It was awesome witnessing her PR this week. Great work!
Jeromie, I am a pretty classic introvert…sloooow to warm up
Omg, great post ! Very inspiring
Thanks
Ashley is such a great inspiration. I’ve known her for years, and seen her success with Paleo and a crossfit-like program inspired me to get on board.
Woot! It’s great to be kicking ass at life, right Hailey?
Awesome work!
As I told you before, a few weeks into your challenge I could tell something was different because your performance went through the roof!
It is my pleasure to train you in the mornings. Keep it up!
Aw, thanks Jordan. I don’t think I was aware that anything was different until you started pointing it out…I didn’t truly notice how great I felt until after it was over :/
Leaves no excuses for the rest of us. Even if we are working, in school and doing a million other things.
Awesome work Ashley! Thanks for bringing this to the blog Jason!
Thank you Brenden! I may not have excuses but I do have some great support in my life that helps make the craziness possible.
Use your support before an excuse!
AWESOME, Ashley!!! You just proved that when you REALLY want something NOTHING will stand in your way!!!
Well, I’m not superwoman of anything. It’s just about doing the best with what you’ve got and plugging away, ya know? Nobody is going to be perfect but regular 80-90% effort (and don’t confuse that with promotion of 80/20 paleo of anything) can get you SO far.
“You literally don’t even notice these things (or acknowledge them as food) speaks to the fulfillment of eating/living this way. It can be done, with or without cleaning out your cupboards.”
I totally agree. I have got to this point, sometimes a little wistful I will admit, and it’s such a great feeling!
Thank you Alison
I have recently fallen off the paleo wagon and needed this inspiration to get back on track. Thank you!
You can do it! Just decide today is that day. Or the day after Easter, whatever
But don’t go crazy until then!
This spoke volumes to me!! Thank you!
Wow! So inspirational! I started eating Paleo back in January and have lost 16 pounds, but have been seriously struggling the past month (eating more 60/40, than 80/20- and feeling it for sure!!). I breezed through the first 30 days with hardly any issues, but with a husband at home eating SAD, and being a nanny for 2 kids on a SAD it is definitely challenging being faced with foods you used to love eating. This totally re-inspired me! Thanks Ashley for giving me a boost to grab back on to the Paleo wagon with a tighter grip!
It is not easy. Sometimes it’s those slip-ups that keep you on track and give you a not-so-pleasant reminder of why you’ve chosen this past. Feeling crappy sucks and leads to more crappy choices. You’re better than that, you can do it!
I completely understand the challenges you face everyday with a family who is not on the same diet. It can be so frustrating to have to make separate meals for everyone. Sometimes you just want to give in! Great job staying on track.
I don’t mean to shamelessly plug my own blog, http://threedietsonedinner.blogspot.com/ but you and those who are in a similar situation might want to check out my system for making one dinner for three different diets. It has kept me sane and PALEO for almost a year!
Sarah, I love everydaypaleo and am really missing the podcast!
Great idea, Brittanie. Though I have to admit I’m kinda bad about preparing the SAD meals. Oops, if you want something delicious, guess you gotta eat what I’ve got here
How often did Ashley work out during her 30 days of Paleo?
Sherry,
Three times a week for about 45 minutes. NO cardio!
nice post. now I don’t feel so bad about all the avocados I eat LOL
I loved seeing all the variety in your meals:) The hardest part for me is keeping it from being boring and eating the same things all the time; mostly from time restraints. Did you use any particular cooking methods to prepare meals quicker? Any suggestions for meal planning for someone who is on a tight schedule like yourself?? Enjoyed reading it!!
I tried to somewhat depict exactly what was in each picture and to some degree how I prepared it on my blog (example here:http://www.robustorbust.com/2012/03/17/whole-30-days-25-30/). One of my favorite methods for a quick side of greens with leftovers or to throw in a soup of anything else is a bowlful of spinach with a teaspoon or so of coconut oil for a minute. Even better with butter and works for kale too.
Thanks for the great idea of taking pix of the 30 day’s…I often go strong for maybe 10 days and then fall off. I thought the picture documentation of food intake was a lightbulb idea to help me see my way through. I started taking Pix today and feel like its a fun “show off” project that also helps me keep it real. Picture Perfect idea!
The picture this was surprisingly affirming. It made something that tends to be kind of abstract and easily goes unnoticed very tangible and easy to share in a way that really allows people to conceptualize what Paleo means. It also made going the extra mile preparing a meal seem more purposeful. I think that would be a great tool for accountability, what a great idea.