CrossFit Dietary Prescription:

2008-11-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Food is both fuel for your athletic performance and life and a drug that elicits numerous biochemical reactions upon consumption. For your health and your performance, it is critical that you understand this and adjust your nutrition to optimize both of them.

Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.

Carbohydrates should be predominantly 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 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, and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.

Protein: Eggs, Meat - fish, pork, chicken, beef, bison, etc. Try to get grass fed beef and organic meat and eggs, free of hormones or antibiotics.
Carbs: Vegetables and Fruits (fruits are nature's candy and should be consumed in moderation)
Fat: Nuts, Seeds, Avocados, Olives and Oils (but never vegetable oils)

The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition
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. Search "Google" for Paleolithic nutrition, or diet. The return is extensive, compelling, and fascinating. 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 glycemic carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, sodas, 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.

Anything that doesn't exist in nature, or has been processed. All grains (corn, rice, bread pasta oats, cereal), candy, white potatoes, sweets, sodas, and all 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-Glycemic 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. Research "hyperinsulinism" on the Internet. There's a gold mine of information pertinent to your health available there. The CrossFit prescription is a low-glycemic diet and consequently 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 another fruitful area for Internet search. The CrossFit prescription is consistent with this research. The CrossFit prescription allows a reduced caloric intake and yet still provides ample nutrition for rigorous activity.

Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Silent Inflammation and Fish Oil
Although you can not feel Silent Inflammation, your body mounts a hormonal response in an attempt to dampen its affect at the molecular level. If not contained, you now rapidly accumulate additional body fat. When inflamed fat cells go bad, Silent Inflammation exits the cell, enters the plasma and becomes systemic increasing numerous health risks related to heart, brain and immune function. Silent Inflammation not only makes you fat and keeps you fat, but erodes your wellness.

Controlling and minimizing Silent Inflammation is the desired hormonal foundation for successful weight loss and optimal heart, brain and immune function. You will not only affect your quality of life today, but many years in the future.

Efficient reduction of silent inflammation requires using high dose ultra refined fish oil. These fatty acids aid in thinning the blood, which helps reduce inflammation factors in joints and blood vessels. This allows for better circulation in the heart and brain as well as reducing aches and pains. Omega-3 has also been shown to increase HDL "good cholesterol" levels. This may explain why populations that consume the most fish have the lowest rates of autoimmune disorders in the world.

You should aim for .5 grams of EPA + DHA for every 10 lbs of body weight. For example, I weigh 170 lbs, so I should be taking 8.5 grams daily (170 lbs/10 = 17, 17 x .5 = 8.5 grams).

You can use this site to calculate your fish oil needs: http://whole9life.com/fish-oil/

Vitamin D
The sun is as vital to your health and well-being as food, shelter, water and oxygen. Most of us no longer get the requisite amount of sunshine and the result is most of us are vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D made in the skin lasts at least twice as long in the blood as vitamin D ingested from the diet. When you are exposed to sunlight, you make not only vitamin D but also at least five and up to ten additional photoproducts that you would never get from dietary sources or from a supplement. This lack of vitamin D has adverse affects on our health in numerous ways including weaker bones, immune issues, type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and Rheumatoid arthritis.

Paleo "YES" foods...
Thank you to Creighton University for providing this list.

Lean Meats
Lean beef
Flank steak
Top sirloin steak
Extra-lean hamburger (no more than 7% fat, extra fat drained off)
London broil
Chuck steak
Lean veal
Any other lean cut
Lean pork
Pork loin
Pork chops
Any other lean cut

Lean poultry (skin removed)
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Game hen breasts

Eggs
Chicken (go for the enriched omega 3 variety)
Duck
Goose

Other meats
Rabbit meat (any cut)
Goat meat (any cut)

Organ meats
Beef, lamb, pork, and chicken livers
Beef, pork, and lamb tongues
Beef, lamb, and pork marrow
Beef, lamb, and pork “sweetbreads”

Game meat
Alligator
Bear
Bison (buffalo)
Caribou
Elk
Emu
Goose
Kangaroo
Muscovy duck
New Zealand cervena deer
Ostrich
Pheasant
Quail
Rattlesnake
Reindeer
Squab
Turtle
Venison
Wild boar
Wild turkey

Fish
Bass
Bluefish
Cod
Drum
Eel
Flatfish
Grouper
Haddock
Halibut
Herring
Mackerel
Monkfish
Mullet
Northern pike
Orange roughy
Perch
Red snapper
Rockfish
Salmon
Scrod
Shark
Striped bass
Sunfish
Tilapia
Trout
Tuna
Turbot
Walleye
Any other commercially available fish

Shellfish
Abalone
Clams
Crab
Crayfish
Lobster
Mussels
Oysters
Scallops
Shrimp

Fruit
Apple
Apricot
Avocado
Banana
Blackberries
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Cantaloupe
Carambola
Cassava melon
Cherimoya
Cherries
Cranberries
Figs
Gooseberries
Grapefruit
Grapes
Guava
Honeydew melon
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Lychee
Mango
Nectarine
Orange
Papaya
Passion fruit
Peaches
Pears
Persimmon
Pineapple
Plums
Pomegranate
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Star fruit
Strawberries
Tangerine
Watermelon
All other fruits

Vegetables
Artichoke
Asparagus
Beet greens
Beets
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collards
Cucumber
Dandelion
Eggplant
Endive
Green onions
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Mustard greens
Onions
Parsley
Parsnip
Peppers (all kinds)
Pumpkin
Purslane
Radish
Rutabaga
Seaweed
Spinach
Squash (all kinds)
Swiss chard
Tomatillos
Tomato
Turnip greens
Turnips
Watercress

Nuts and Seeds (avoid salted nuts/seeds)
Almonds
Brazil nuts
Cashews
Chestnuts
Hazelnuts (filberts)
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Pine nuts
Pistachios (unsalted)
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts

Paleo "NO" Foods...

Dairy Foods
All processed foods made with any dairy products
Butter (some butter is ok and is way better than margerine)
Cheese (hard unprocessed cheese is ok in moderation)
Cream
Dairy spreads
Frozen yogurt
Ice cream (opt for coconut ice cream)
Ice milk
Low-fat milk
Nonfat dairy creamer
Powdered milk
Skim milk
Whole milk
Yogurt

Cereal Grains
Barley (barley soup, barley bread, and all processed foods made with barley)
Corn (corn on the cob, corn tortillas, corn chips, corn starch, corn syrup)
Millet
Oats (steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and all processed foods made with oats)
Rice (brown rice, white rice, top ramen, rice noodles, bas mati rice, rice cakes, Rice flour (all processed foods made with rice)
Rye (rye bread, rye crackers, and all processed foods made with rye)
Sorghum
Wheat (bread, rolls, muffins, noodles, crackers, cookies, cake, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, wheat tortillas, pizza, pita bread, flat bread, and all processed foods made with wheat or wheat flour)
Wild rice

Cereal Grainlike Seeds
Amaranth
Buckwheat
Quinoa

Legumes
All beans (adzuki beans, black beans, broad beans, fava beans, field beans, garbanzo beans, horse beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, pinto beans, red beans, string beans, white beans)
Black-eyed peas
Chickpeas
Lentils
Peas
Miso
Peanut butter
Peanuts
Snowpeas
Sugar snap peas
Soybeans and all soybean products, including tofu

Starchy Vegetables
Starchy tubers
Cassava root
Manioc

Potatoes and all potato products (French fries, potato chips, etc.)
Tapioca pudding

Salt-Containing Foods
Almost all commercial salad dressings and condiments
Bacon (look for unsalted bacon free of nitrites)
Cheese
Deli meats
Frankfurters
Ham
Hot dogs
Ketchup
Pickled foods
Pork rinds

Processed meats
Salami
Sausages
Smoked, dried, and salted fish and meat
Virtually all canned meats and fish (unless they are unsalted or unless you soak and drain them)

Soft Drinks and Fruit Juices
All sugary soft drinks
Canned, bottled, and freshly squeezed fruit drinks (which lack the fiber of fresh fruit and have a much higher glvcemic index)

Sweets
Candy
Processed Honey
Sugars

Stone Age Substitutions from The Paleo Diet
Salt: Powdered garlic, powdered onion, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon crystals, lemon pepper free of salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, commercially available salt-free spice mixes, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, ground cloves, oregano, ground allspice, celery seeds, coriander seeds, ground cardamom seeds, or any spice or combination of spices can be used to replace salt. I do not recommend using any of the so-called "lite" salts or potassium chloride salts because chloride, like sodium, is undesirable when it comes to your health.

Vinegar: Substitute small amounts of vinegar with lemon or lime juice (fresh or reconstituted from fresh).

Butter/Fat: Replace butter, margarine, shortening, lard etc. with olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Olive oil has a wonderful flavor and is high in the health promoting monounsaturated fats but generally has a poor omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio (~13). The same situation exists for avocado oil, and these two oils should be frequently complemented by or blended together with other oils containing better (lower) omega-6 to omega-3 ratios such as flaxseed (0.24), canola (2.0) or walnut (5.1) oils.

Sugars: Concentrated sugars of any kind even natural sugars (honey, maple sugar, date sugar), really were not a staple component in most pre-agricultural diets. Sugars should be obtained primarily from fruits and vegetables and not from concentrated sources. That being said, fruit purees, flavored with lemon juice and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, mint leaves, ginger, vanilla, and other spices), can be used in recipes to add sweetness to sauces, condiments, and desserts.

Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages were clearly not a component of true Stone Age diets, and should be limited to moderate consumption. An occasional glass of wine, beer or spirits will not harm you and has been shown to have health benefits. Wine, as long as it does not contain salt (as most cooking wines do), can be used to marinate meats and add flavor to many cooked dishes. When wine is used in this context, the amount of added alcohol and sugar is negligible – furthermore, wine contains a number of health promoting phytochemicals and antioxidants.

Post Work Out
Post workout is the one time it's ok for a slight deviation from Paleo. If you are unable to stomach solid foods after training a protein drink is a great alternative. For fast and complete recovery we suggest a post workout protein shake and some sweet potatoes. You should mix the protein with water (aim for 20-30 grams), and eat 3-9 ounces of sweet potatoes. If your primary goal is to decrease body fat and get leaner skip the potatoes. If you just finished Murph, Eva, Badger or other 30+ minute intense workout, go higher on the starches to replace glycogen. Your performance the next day is dependent on it.

CrossFit Fort Hood Nutrition

CrossFit Dietary Prescription: