Nutrition Part 1

First Up we will be holding the work out in Exeter tomorrow with CrossFit Visalia. We will meet up at the same place as last time, and then head out to the actual work out location. Come Prepared to work hard and throw down. Directions are still on the right side of the blog------------------> >>>>>>>>

Now on to the real topic of this blog post Nutrition 

 

As the head coach in a gym I get asked on a daily basis questions about nutrition. I deal with each of these questions on a person by person basis, because well… everyone is different. Surprise, what works for you may not work for another. Now do not misunderstand me the best diet is fairly similar no matter who you are, however the best diet for you is not the one that science has proven to be perfect ( does such a thing exist?). Instead it is one that moves you towards your  goals and that you can stick to for the rest of your life. It has been said so many times by so many people that it is nearly meaningless for me to say this at this point, but … It is not a diet it is a lifestyle. Seriously you do not get to starve yourself to lose 10 pounds and then go back to eating the way you did before. We have all tried and it does not work.  This is why I deal with nutrition on a per case basis, some of you are ready to jump in right away, others of you will fight tooth and nail before you start to limit your intake of grains. Every person is different in their commitment, discipline, and life circumstance. Does every one benefit from reducing or eliminating grains? Yes. Gluten?  Sugar? Get rid of it and you will feel 10x better (after the withdrawals anyway) However sometimes people are not willing to give up something right away. It is my job to work with them, and figure out a way to move them towards their goals so they continue to improve. With that being said there are some guiding principles that I use to help everyone. So to keep it simple and easy here is what guides my recommendations for nutrition

                Basic guiding Principles of CrossFit Tulare’s nutrition recommendations.

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. –Gregg Glassman in fitness in 100 words or less

or put even simpler

 Eat Real food, not too much, spread evenly throughout the day.

If you can do this, then your health and fitness levels will be through the roof in no time. You will have more energy, shed body fat, and build muscle. Sounds great right? Well then go do it.  How you ask. I refer you to the lines above. Just do that. This is as simple as it gets, and everyone says they want simple...

 We do not want simple though, do we? We want easy, we want someone to do it for us. Or a magic pill that makes it ok to eat whatever we want and still be able to back squat 1000 pounds and run a 4 minute mile. I hate to disappoint you (actually no I don’t)  but it doesn’t work that way. You have to do the work. Coming in to CrossFit every day and going home and eating pizza at night will not do a whole lot for you. Yes you will get stronger and faster ( and probably bigger ) for a while, but pretty soon you will stop getting better ( the getting bigger will keep going though) trust me when I first found CrossFit this was how I did it. Eventually to continue improving performance you will have to start to get your nutrition under control. 

It is easy for me to tell who has taken the steps to improve their nutrition, and those who have not. The ones who are proud to show off their results in the gym and to their friends; they are committed to nutrition. the ones who ask me why “that person” or “So and So’ are seeing results and they are not, are not committed. If you are  asking that question, either out loud or to yourself  then you need to re-evaluate your commitment to nutrition. Yes it is hard. It is very hard to change the way we eat, many times comfort foods get thrown out the window, old family recipes get put away not to be seen again for a long, long time. You can, however, do this; and I am here to help.

I want you all to succeed in the gym and in life, but I do not get to spoon feed you the food you should eat. So in an effort to continue your education I will, over the next few weeks break down in more detail what you should be eating, when you should be eating it, and even throw in a recipe or two for you to try out. In the end however YOU have to put in the work. YOU have to buy the food, YOU have make the time to cook it. YOU have to say no to the cookies and the cakes and whatever else you are offered.  YOU are responsible for your own Improvement and Performance. I can only show you the way.

Fox and Nick
Two members of the gym who are committed to improving
performance through nutrition. 

So here is step 1. If it comes in a box, or bag, if it fizzes when you open it then you do not need to eat or drink it. Seriously go throw it away right now. You may have to go to the grocery store right after this but that is ok just don'y buy anything like what you tossed. This first step is a big one and can be hard, but just do it. Do not bother to stop and think just go do it.

 Next time we will get a little more specific about what I mean by Real Food and you will get you first awesome recipe.