Nutrition
The Paleo Diet
CrossFit and The Zone diet
A finely tuned but simple wholesome diet will not only increase your energy output and well-being but it will also make you a fat burning/muscle making machine. Nutrition is critical to optimise human function and is the very foundation of CrossFit. Clinical experience has lead CrossFit to believe that Barry Sear’s Zone diet closely models optimal nutrition. For further information google Zone Diet.
CrossFitter’s best performers are Zone eaters as it seems the Zone diet accelerates and amplifies the effects of the CrossFit regimen.
Diet
The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:
Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Carbohydrates should be predominately low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load.
Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Calories should be set at between .7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass depending on your activity level. The .7 figure is for moderate daily workout activity loads and the 1.0 figure is for the hardcore athlete.
What should I eat?
In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, some fruit and no sugar. That’s about as simple as it gets. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the super market while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all circumspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.
The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition.
‘If your ancestors didn’t eat it 10,000 years ago you don’t need it now’!!!
Modern diets are ill suited for our genetic composition. Evolution has not kept pace with advances in agriculture and food processing resulting in a plague of health problems for modern man. Coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological dysfunction have all been scientifically linked to a diet too high in refined or processed carbohydrate. Google Paleolithic nutrition or diet for further information. The Caveman model is perfectly consistent with the CrossFit prescription.
What Foods should I avoid?
Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the primary culprit in nutritionally caused health problems. High GI carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, soft drink and most processed carbohydrates. Processing can include bleaching, baking, grinding and refining. Processing of carbohydrates greatly increases their glycemic index, a measure of their propensity to elevate blood sugar.
What is the Problem with High GI Carbohydrates?
The problem with high-glycemic carbohydrates is that they give an inordinate insulin response. Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been positively linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a Pandora’s box of disease and disability. Google ‘hyperinsulinism’ for further information. The CrossFit prescription is a low GI diet which severely blunts the insulin response.
Caloric Restriction and Longevity
Current research strongly supports the link between caloric restriction and an increased life expectancy. The incidence of cancers and heart disease sharply decline with a diet that is carefully limited in controlling caloric intake. ‘Caloric Restriction’ is a another fruitful area for Internet research.
The CrossFit prescription allows a reduced caloric intake and yet still provides ample nutrition for rigorous activity.
The heirarchy of athletic development. Nature dictates that if there is a deficiency at any level of the pyramid the components above will suffer.
