After my session with Pavel Tsatsouline in late December, I followed his advice and got off the Warrior Diet and allowed myself to splurge on carbs. I knew I was going to be in for a treat when visiting my family in France!

QUICK SET-UP/RECAP:
My energy, my strength and stamina have been amazing while implementing the Warrior Diet. However, I felt my muscles were “overhard”, not tight (I had full range of motion), and Pavel showed me how to stretch deeper allowed me to tap into my own needs better and break a standardized myth about stretching and how long to hold a stretch. My fitness, business and sleep dynamics ended up being a bit too taxing on my Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). My parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest”) was beat-up, mostly from the lack of “rest” part (digestion was awesome though, but you need both to be complete). My sympathetic system (“fight or flight”) was tapped into so much, I was pure testosterone and hardness, but that doesn’t bode well for social interaction, especially when dealing with drone-like corporate monkeys who think they are my superiors in one steroid-laden facility I happen to train some clients at (see what I mean, some remnants are still there…)

So, I’m not at war. I’m chill. Chilly too (cuz it’s way colder in France)! So, comfort foods galore. Croissants, my mother’s cakes, potato pancakes (or latkes for my friends of the Jewish persuasion who also appreciate Polish foods), wine, more wine and lots of sweets. I sprinkled some mobility and maintenance drills with my TRX, a great exercise traveling tool.

I have not gained one pound. My muscles look full and soft (as they should be at rest). My mind is clear and my business psyche is in gear, in D(rive) as a matter of fact (European readers, that’s automatic transmission lingo for you). I am still 185lb, my rest is still on and off (the baby is responding to different stimuli and his nights are off).

MORAL OF THE STORY:
go to France, eat quality foods, binge intelligently, let go of everything because if you’ve done your homework all year long, even if you eat sweeter, estrogenic richer foods, chances are, you’ll balance everything out and will be ready for action in no time. If you gained some weight, it’s only temporary, lest you give up altogether (but then, you’re probably not reading this anyway and focusing on the latest Kardashian drama or whatever’s on E!).