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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Thursday WOD - Eating for Performance and Health

WOD
3 rounds for time of:
Walking lunge, 100 ft or about 35 Lunges
50 Squats
25 Back extensions



Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, once said "There's not alot more than pullups that you can do to get more pullups." He was talking about eating smart. Nutrition is at least 50% of the performance game, so neglecting nutrition is the equivalent of learning only how to multiply, but not divide in a math class. Getting your diet in order is ESSENTIAL if you want to make decent progress in ANY fitness program. Here is a basic rundown of how to do it:



EAT (in order of magnitude):




  • Meat and vegetables
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Some fruit
  • Little starch (sweet potatoes and yams, skip the white potatoes)
  • NO SUGAR (This means no added sugar whatsoever, no honey, no agave nectar, no artificial sweeteners, no stevia, etc. You’re body often reacts to non-caloric sweeteners by releasing insulin, which we want to minimize)
Eat till satisfied, but know the difference between a mouth and a vacuum. Even with good foods, it’s possible to gain weight by eating too much, but this should rarely be a problem. It’s actually often difficult to eat enough, once you get adjusted.


AVOID (in order of importance)



  • All grains and grain products (wheat, barley, sorghum, bread, cereal, flour, etc)
  • Any gluten containing items (gluten comes from grains)
  • Legumes (includes beans of all kinds, peas, and peanuts)
  • Dairy*(milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc)
  • Processed oils and salad dressings (canola oil, peanut oil, soybean oil)
  • Limit fruit juice consumption (high amounts of sugar)
  • Limit processed meats (deli meats, pepperoni, etc)


* Butter is okay; heavy cream is alright, just don’t overdo it.


If you’re going to be eating from the salad bar, here are a few tips:



  • Fill up at least 1/3 of your plate/bowl with a quality protein (meat, eggs, fish, etc)
  • Fill up the rest with veggies and SOME fruit (a handful or less)
  • Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
  • Feel free to add some vinegar, but stay away from the prepared salad dressings.
  • Feel free to sprinkle some nuts or seeds on top
  • Salt and pepper is fine (spices are good), just moderate the salt.


For home, stock up on some good foods, so it’s easier to make the right choice when temptation strikes:



  • Eggs are a good, easy source of quality protein.
  • Chicken breast is pretty versatile, it can be baked, stir-fried, broiled, etc
  • Salmon - just delicious
  • Steak/hamburger (try to go for lean cuts unless it's grassfed)
  • Carrots and celery are a great choice when you need something crunchy to snack on.


One supplement I would HIGHLY recommend is fish oil for omega-3 fatty acids. Take about 5g EPA/DHA per day. (Here’s a calculator - http://whole9life.com/fish-oil/)


Get plenty of good quality sleep (8-9 hours), sleep affects a ton of things, including insulin sensitivity, stress hormone levels, and hunger, which are all interrelated. Also get plenty of sunshine, or supplement with 2000 IU of Vitamin D per day.


The first 2 to 3 weeks are going to suck. You may feel tired, with little energy. Keep working out, and stay with it. There’s no way around this adaptation period, stay strict for the first 4 weeks, make a date on the calendar, hold yourself to it. 




For lacto-vegetarians (vegetarian w/dairy): 
Replace the recommendations for meat with high quality protein-rich dairy foods(preferably fermented) like: full fat cottage cheese, hard cheeses, whey protein shakes, whole milk, and full fat yogurt(no sugar added).
You can still see good performance gains with dairy as the main source of protein, but may find it more difficult to get lean than with full Paleo. Stick with the rest of the recommendations on everything else.


Also, Paul Zavaglia(BW= about 200lbs) was the first one at Eastlake CrossFit to complete "King Kong," which consists of
3 rounds for time of:
1 455lb Deadlift
2 Muscleups
3 250lb Cleans
4 Handstand Pushups


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