Following good nutrition to ensure results fast: an ...



Following good nutrition to ensure results fast: An overview of proper nutrition

By Mandi Frattalone

Diet. It’s word that can scare you and put you into an automatic defensive mode and give you thoughts of being able to eat nothing but celery. I’m here to tell you that that’s not what the word means at all. Diet simply means ‘what you eat.’ It refers to the food you are consuming, not just the limitations of being ‘on a diet.’ I also don’t believe in referring to foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Do I have your attention now? Good.

The first thing we are NOT going to do is put you ‘on a diet,’ but I will teach you the things you need to know in order to get the full benefit of working out the CrossFit way. The cleaner your diet is, the quicker you will get results, and the better they will be. I will give you guidelines that are not just to be used in conjunction with CrossFit, but ones in which you can benefit from for the rest of your life.

Why follow good nutrition?

Your diet contributes to your overall fitness because food is fuel! How you feel the next few hours after you eat is dependent on the foods that made up your meal. A meal composed of mostly carbohydrates and little protein could leave some feeling tired and others energetic, or vice versa. Experiment with your meals to find which amounts of carbs, protein, and fat have you feeling at your best.

What do carbs, protein, and fat do in your body?

When broken down, carbohydrates provide us with glucose, which is our body’s primary choice for energy. Glucose elicits the hormonal response of insulin which scavenges the blood stream for glucose and uses it for energy. When protein is broken down, it provides us with amino acids, which our body can then use to make any kind of protein it may need. It is the body’s second choice to use for energy. It only does this when there is no glucose present; it is not an ideal situation for the body. More on that later… Lastly, fat provides us with fatty acids which elicit neutral hormonal responses for regulatory functions.

What constitutes a carb, protein, and fat?

Carbohydrates are breads, cereals, pasta, rice, grains, vegetables, and fruit and anything made of these things. Some are better than others… and they also provide us with fiber. Here is a list of carbohydrates, arranged from best to worst choices:

• vegetables

• fruit

• whole grains (brown rice, oatmeal, i.e. the grain in its purest form)

• dairy products

• pasta, cereal and breads

• baked goods and processed grains

A protein is any kind of meat… basically anything with eyes: fish, beef, poultry, eggs, pork, whether it’s white meat or dark meat. Experiment to see what makes you feel your best. Other protein foods include dairy products and nuts and seeds. However, only when there is no meat present in the diet do nuts and seeds count as a protein source… otherwise, they are mostly a fat source.

Fat sources are oils, nuts and seeds, and high fat dairy products. Again, some people do well with plenty of fat in their diet and others do better with smaller amounts. Experiment to see if your energy levels are higher with smaller or larger amounts.

The Guidelines

• Drink water, water and then some more water! The human body functions at its best when it’s adequately hydrated. Period. Maintaining hydration in your body can also prevent fatigue. You must also increase your water intake on the days of physical activity. The amount of water that should be consumed daily is half of your body weight in ounces. For example, a 130lb woman should drink 130lb/2= 65oz of water each day. If you prefer to keep track of liters, 65oz x 29.57mL= 1922mL, which is 1.9 liters.

• Find your perfect ratio of protein, carbs, and fat. An easy way to do this is keep a food journal. I know it sounds taxing, but it is the BEST way. Keep track of the food, the amount (estimation is fine), the time, and then how you felt shortly after, as well as a few hours later. This will help you understand the amount of protein, carbs and fat that is ideal for you.

• If it spoils, eat it. This guideline is meant to help you make high quality choices. Think of food that spoils quickly, roughly a week after purchase: meats, vegetables, fruit, dairy, some grains. For example, if a loaf of bread is made in the home, it’s made of flour, yeast, water, some type of oil and egg. A loaf of bread made commercially will have the following ingredients:

Whole wheat flour, water, wheat gluten, high fructose corn syrup, contains 2% or less of: soybean oil, salt, molasses, yeast, mono and diglycerides, exthoxylated mono and diglycerides, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium iodate, calcium dioxide), datem, calcium sulfate, vinegar, yeast nutrient (ammonium sulfate), extracts of malted barley and corn, dicalcium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, calcium proprionate.

This loaf of bread will last for months before growing mold, but it will also be quite taxing on your liver to filter out all of those extra ingredients. If your body needed those things, it would be found in nature like vitamins and minerals are. It has been said that it is okay to have these things in moderation. But if it’s in almost everything you’re eating is that really moderation? So the take home message is to buy things with a short list of ingredients that are as close to nature as possible.

• Eat organic. There are many studies that have evidential data that organically grown fruits and vegetables have exponentially more nutrients than conventionally grown produce. As farming has changed over the years with the addition of pesticides and fertilizers, it has decreased the nutrient value of the soil, leaving the crops also nutrient depleted. Take the ultimate taste test. Eat an organic apple and a conventional apple. I promise, you will be able to taste the difference right away and realize how amazing an organic apple tastes compared to a conventional apple. The same goes with meat. Buy organic meat that does not contain hormones and antibiotics. They would still be present in the meat at consumption and your body is better without them.

If making these changes all at once becomes too overwhelming, make one change at a time. Eventually, it will become habitual to you. Eating organic, natural ingredients, and in the right amount for your body will eventually become your diet.

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