Five, count ’em, five glorious weeks!

The challenge starts on Wednesday, January 10th through Tuesday, February 13th.

You have a little work to do before the challenge starts on Wednesday… read below to learn more.

Nutrition, it’s the foundation of your fitness journey. Whether you’re seeking to increase energy, decrease bodyweight or body fat, improve sleep, decrease digestive issues, decrease allergies or asthma, or a combination of it all… NUTRITION (when coupled with a good dose of CrossFit) can certainly help.

Greg Glassman (founder of CrossFit) succinctly summarized fitness in a single sentence – that you’ll also see adorned on our lounge banner: “Eat lean meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Some fruit, little starch and no sugar. And keep intake to support exercise and not body fat.” Simply, eat quality foods in the right quantity. You’re built on what you put in your body and it’s the foundation of how your body operates and functions.

While not everyone will respond in the same way to every diet, there IS a way to eat well no matter what your budget, lifestyle or family/work demands.

So, where do you start?

QUALITY (Valid all weeks of the challenge)

Whole Foods – found on the perimeter of grocery store in fridges, non-processed, very few ingredients (or those that can be pronounced and are recognizable as food), no label at all, looks like it did in nature.

Easiest way to make sure you’re buying Whole Foods?

• Start in produce –> Go to meats/seafoods –> Go to eggs –> Get Out!
• Limit your time in the aisles where you’ll find canned, processed, shelf-stable goods… but don’t forget your coffee

Processing – what’s the big deal?

• Nutrients are removed then synthetically added again
• May be the cause of auto-immune disorders, allergies, rashes, asthma, etc

THE BASICS: What should we eat?

• Carbohydrates
  • PRIMARILY VEGETABLES! – All types of leafy greens (romaine, kale, spinach, bok choy, swiss chard, etc) peppers, snap peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, brussel sprouts, carrots, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, onions, etc.
  • Starches – Squash (buttuernut, spaghetti, acorn, turnip), Potatoes (red, sweet, white, yellow, purple, etc)
  • Fruit – Minimize dried fruit., especially with added sugar
  • Non-gluten containing grains – rice and oats
• Proteins
  • Eggs and egg whites – cage free, organic. Local (farmer’s market)
  • Beef and steak – grass-fed, local (Walden meats)
  • Pork – local, organic
  • Chicken, turkey, duck – free range, organic (Backyard Birds)
  • Fish – tuna, salmon, haddock, cod, snapper, swordfish (Captain Mardens or Quarterdeck) – wild caught
  • Shellfish – shrimp, lobster, scallops, crab
• Fats
  • Oils – coconut, olive, avocado, – no canola
  • Avocado
  • Coconut and coconut butter
  • Nuts and Seeds and their butters

So what’s next?

QUANTITY (added for weeks 2-5)

• Balance ratios of carbs, protein and fat throughout the day. Every meal should have ALL three macronutrients
• Eat 3-4 meals a day. NOT including Post WOD nutrition. Three meals for anyone under 155 pounds and 4 meals for anyone over 155 pounds.
• What about snacks?
  • Try not to snack because it often becomes a hard habit to break and creates false sensation of being full.
  • You are better to eat more at meal times and drink plenty of water to satiate in-between hunger.
• The chart below is an easy way to “eyeball” portions:

SLEEP & RECOVERY DAYS (added for weeks 3-5)

Rest, recovery and sleep, are more important than nutrition. It’s how your body repairs for the next day/week/month’s stressors. Little to no sleep results in fitness decreases and sickness. Not taking a rest day results in constant sore muscles and no repair or fitness gains.

HYDRATION (added for weeks 4-5)

Sixty percent of your body is water. Drinking water helps fight fatigue and aids in digestion. Being hydrated also improves clarity and mood.

You will make FOUR (4) changes to your current nutrition habits. Each week you will introduce a new change while maintaining the prior week’s change(s). You will earn points each day for adherence to your changes. Each participant will record a score through their Triib (membership) account. The 2018 Nutrition Challenge page is located HERE or click the button below. You must register to be eligible for prizes. If you have trouble logging in, please see your membership manual or email us at [email protected].

Winners will be determined by a combination of daily nutrition challenge points and percent change in key measurements (right arm, chest, waist, hips and right leg). Before the challenge begins on Wednesday 1/10, have a coach take your measurements. Please come 15-20 minutes prior to class. We will not measure sweaty bodies. You will then need to record your measurements on the same Nutrition Challenge page above.

WEEK 1: FOOD QUALITY
Scoring: Maximum of 1 point each day – 1 for quality
Eat whole foods such as veggies, lean meats, nuts and seeds, and little starch. No sugar. No gluten containing grains. No alcohol Sun-Fri. To make this a more balanced challenge, we are allowing 2 drinks or 1 treat meal on Saturday, if needed.

WEEK 2: FOOD QUANTITY
Scoring: Maximum of 2 points each day – 1 for quality and 1 for quantity
Eat your specified number (3-4) of meals per day and eyeball portions according to guide above.

Week 3: SLEEP & RECOVERY
Scoring: Maximum of 3 points each day – 1 for quality, 1 for quantity and 1 for sleep/recovery
Get at least 7 hours/night and take 1 low intensity day and 1 complete rest day

Week 4: HYDRATION
Scoring: Maximum of 4 points each day – 1 for quality, 1 for quantity, 1 for sleep/recovery and 1 for hydration
Drink at least ½ bodyweight in ounces of water per day, which should include 20 oz of water first thing in the morning.

Week 5: ALL NUTRITION CHANGES!
Scoring: Same as week 4 – Maximum of 4 points each day – 1 for quality, 1 for quantity, 1 for sleep/recovery and 1 for hydration

Online Recipes
www.PaleOMG.com
www.runonveg.com – Vegetarian
www.nomnompaleo.com
www.balancedbites.com – (don’t agree with their food pyramid. Veggies should be base)
www.wellfed.com

Books
Against All Grain
It Starts With Food
Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook
The Paleo Kitchen
In Defense of Food

Other Resources
http://whole30.com/blog/ – shopping lists, eyeball portion chart, recipes
www.thepaleodiet.com – everything you need to know about paleo
www.paleoleap.com – brief overview of paleo/healthy eating including recipes
http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf – Quantity Meal Plans
www.journal.crossfit.com – Categories: Nutrition
In Defense of Food – iTunes PBS documentary