"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"- Greg Glassman
Strong nutrition is the foundation of health and performance because food is fuel for everything we do. CrossFit has its own simplified concept of Nutrition that you may be familiar with from Greg Glassman's famous "Fitness in 100 Words" quote. Most people think that you must completely overhaul your nutrition to improve- the all or nothing mindset. This approach is not ideal for most people as if can feel extremely overwhelming leading to failure to maintain the ALL the changes. In reality, to set yourself up for success small, incremental changes are best. Even a small change in breakfast choices- opting for eggs, fruit, and avocado over cereal- can produce noticeable health and performance improvements.
Quality Food:
Sound nutrition comes down to eating a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods while minimizing sugar. High-quality food comprises unprocessed or minimally processed options that:
- Do not compromise our insulin response.
- Retain their nutrient value without degradation.
- Exclude foreign ingredients like sugars, industrial seed oils, preservatives, artificial colorings, or other additives.
Preparation methods such as cooking, chopping, heating, blending, preserving, or fermenting are all okay and do not alter food negatively.
Meat
There are tons of protein sources to incorporate into your diet, including animal proteins like beef, poultry, pork, and seafood, as well as non-animal alternative such as tofu, tempeh, legumes, and eggs. Aside from meeting your essential protein needs, you will get a variety of essential vitamins and minerals from meat.
Vegetables
Veggies are excellent sources of fiber, essential vitamins, minerals, and occasionally protein. There are a variety of plant options like leafy greens, carrots, peppers, and more. Technically, vegetables fall under the carbohydrate category, but their digestible carbohydrate content is relatively low compared to other starchier carbs.
Nuts and Seeds
These serve as the main source of healthy fats which are essential to a healthy diet as they provide a range of vital nutrients. Some common sources include almonds, walnuts, coconuts, avocados, and oils like olive oil and avocado oil.
Some Fruit
Fruit should be consumed in moderation based on your overall carbohydrate intake. Think about eating fruits like apples, berries, bananas, and melons that have a moderate carb content. Aside from sugars like Glucose and Fructose, fruits provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Little Starch
Starches refers to carbohydrates with high digestibility, which are found in grains like wheat, rice, potatoes, and legumes. These foods contain moderate levels of vitamins, minerals, and limited protein at a lower density than other food categories. There is an emphasis on "little" start meaning we must eat these in moderation.
No Sugar
We already know the negative effects of sugar on our blood sugar and the "hidden" sugars in both sweet and starchy foods. CrossFit recommends excluding all added sugars including natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. Naturally occurring sugars are okay, but added sugars are where the problems lie. Adhering to this promotes optimal gut health and hormonal balance which is key to overall health.
Measuring Intake
Aside from food quality, quantity is the other piece of the puzzle. CrossFit recommends maintaining intake at levels that support exercise and not body fat, and emphasizes the importance of measuring our food intake to meet the energy requirements of our daily lives, workouts, and recovery. Consuming more can lead to unwanted fat, while under eating can result in health issues like nutritional deficiencies, muscle loss, slowed metabolism, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, weakened immunity, cognitive impairments, reduced bone density, and long-term sustainability concerns.
There are a number of ways to measure your food intake and it's important to find the method that works best for YOU! CrossFit is known for utilizing a block-based system known as the Zone Diet, featuring a 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat ratio. Today, there are a bunch of apps you can download to track food through the macro-counting approach. Regardless of tracking method, quantity of food will depend on each individual’s lifestyle, phase of life, and activity levels. When quantifying food intake, CrossFit recommends eating three to five meals within a 12-hour window. That means if you wake up at 6 a.m. and start eating at 7 a.m., you would consume all your food before 7 p.m. that same day. This approach ensures a steady caloric intake throughout the day, which plays a crucial role in maintaining consistent energy levels
Lasting changes are best made in gradual adjustments instead of the all or nothing approach. Whether you're successful at overhauling your nutrition or not is largely due to how sustainable your habits are each day. Creating small changes can increase motivation and the ability to develop new behaviors. Over time, these changes add up and make a BIG difference. Take the same approach to measuring your food intake too. Start small- instead of weighing and measuring ALL of the food you consume, think about just one meal per day. Focus on this one meal first before extending your efforts to two meals or more.
What small change can you make to your nutrition for the remainder of September?
