CrossFit Nutrition

By Nichole Bentz
 

You work hard in the gym not only for fun, but for your health. The other side of that is what you eat. We all know that we can NOT out exercise bad eating habits. No amount of burpees, pullups, or deadlifts will make you as healthy as a good diet will. If you aren't seeing the results and improvements that you wanted from the gym, but you have been working hard, the only other place to look is diet. When we talk about diet we aren’t talking about “dieting” to reach some sort of weight goal or swimsuit bod goal. We are talking about eating a sustainable healthy diet that will not only fuel your performance in the gym but help your overall heath. Nutrition is about the food you eat for your everyday performance and long-term health…not an extreme crash diet.

Where to start? If you have been in the bathroom that is close to the gym office I am sure you have read The opening lines to World-class Fitness in 100 words: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat."

This is CrossFit's official prescription for diet, a simple whole food approach to eating. Staying away from sugars is one of the most important steps for a healthy diet. Limiting donuts (my weakness), sodas, candies, cake, ect. to only once or two times a week. That way you can still enjoy some of your favorite desserts, but not every single day. How do you start a newer diet? The first thing to do is to evaluate your current diet. What are you eating? How often are you eating? How do you feel after eating certain foods (i.e. wheat makes your stomach hurt, foods that make you feel sluggish.) You can start playing with your diet and seeing what makes you feel full, but not weighed down. Try getting all your carbs from veggies instead of grains, eat more lean protein, cut out sugary foods. To help along with your journey here are a few different sites to check out:

Try just tracking all your food in myfitnesspal.com this is what I use to track my macros and see what is in my food. You can also track your fitness in there as well if you want. This one is FREE!!

A lot of members in Train are currently using “Renaissance Periodization” or “RP” which you can buy templates to track your food. This one has great results! They will walk you through the process on the site and help you figure out a goal that you would want. https://renaissanceperiodization.com/

Another one that is great to use and that I am currently using is “M2 Performance Nutrition.” https://m2performancenutrition.com/ It is easy and simple to use. I combine what they have told me with My Fitness Pal and it has been awesome!

The important part of a diet when doing Crossfit is to make sure you are eating enough. This isn’t about limiting your food intake, but about eating the right food. You will notice that you will need to eat a LOT of healthy whole food to fuel your active lifestyle. When evaluating what you are eating you might notice that you will be adding good whole carbs to what you eat. This is GREAT. Eat all the carbs! They are your building blocks along with proteins and fats. We aren’t talking about cutting down on your food intake, but just eating the foods that will fuel your workouts, hikes, work days, and anything else awesome! For more great info on nutrition check out Julie Foucher who was a Crossfit Games athlete and is now a doctor. She has a podcast that is always full of great info about journeys to a healthy lifestyle. http://juliefoucher.com/

Then check out the good ol’ Crossfit Journal for nutrition tips: http://journal.crossfit.com/nutrition/

This is a journey, not a destination, so make sure to enjoy it! Have fun and just learn all you can about the foods that will fuel you!

WOD:   7/19/18
 

Every 2 Minutes on the Minute x 20
Clean + 2 Front Squat + Jerk

 
21-15-9 reps for time:
Single Dumbbell Hang Clean and Jerks, Right Arm, 50/35-lbs.
Single Dumbbell Hang Clean and Jerks, Left Arm, 50/35-lbs.
Burpees over the Dumbbell