Just as CrossFit based training requires a balance of technique and intensity, I believe that CrossFit based nutrition often requires a balance of strictness and functionality. I am sure most athletes know that their performance would increase if they ate only Paleo based quality foods with the precision of modified Zone blocks to meet their needs. However, most athletes do not eat this way and many have never even tried this approach for a consistent amount of time. The most common reason that many athletes do not embrace this approach is because it is not perceived to be functional for them. In other words, it does not fit into their lifestyle and/or the benefits from implementing this are not perceived to outweigh the sacrifices it takes to carry it out.
What Are You Willing to Do?
I see so many athletes who are willing to go through two or even three grueling workouts a day, and who will spend $300 to $500 per month on the best perceived supplementation. However, they are unwilling to go to sleep one hour earlier or spend three to four hours per week on meal preparation. I truly believe that the majority of your progress will be made outside the gym with proper nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle.
I find that it is also important that you like what you are eating and that your diet, within reason, is geared more towards foods that you enjoy. So many people think that eating well means only plain and boring foods. One of the largest benefits that I offer to my clients is simply showing them new creative meals that are healthy, easy, and taste great. There is a fine line between forcing someone to go strict Paleo and still allowing some dairy, oatmeal, occasional gluten free grains, and natural peanut butter. I would rather transition them to an overall healthier diet and allow these foods initially to help with compliance and increase the likelihood of long-term success. However, I continue to see the best long-term results with strict Paleo compliance and the goal is to move toward this as fast as possible.
I personally eat a strict Paleo diet with the occasional exception of consuming natural peanut butter and raw milk. A large part of my advice is based around what is functional and what people will stick to. My recommendations for the CrossFit Games athlete must be functional for other reasons as well. The majority of athletes were staying in hotels without a kitchen and limited, if any, refrigerator space. They were also forced to spend a large part of their day at the venue, so meals and snacks must be portable and able to be kept in a cooler. With these circumstances in mind, my recommendations in this article would alter slightly if an athlete had access to a full kitchen on a daily basis.
Food Quality
An important topic that is often overlooked in all of our talks and debates on nutrition is food quality. One thing to keep in mind is that organic or natural foods do not mean that they are necessarily healthy. The best example of this is grass fed beef. Even if you buy high end organic beef from Whole Foods, the animal was not healthy if it was not grass fed. Cows were not meant to eat grains, and even if the grains are organic, they will still be sick. If the cows are sick, the fat in the meat you are consuming will carry many of the toxins from this animal. I believe that this subject is often overlooked and we need to educate ourselves on the importance of food quality. In many nutritional circles food quality takes a back seat to quantity and ratios. In my opinion this is a huge mistake and contributes to many of the long term health issues that so many of us are faced with. It can hinder elite athletes or average dieters just trying to lose some weight.
My Specific Meals:
These meals are not all strict Paleo, but they are functional, taste good, and have worked very well for my clients. These meals were some of the best options under the circumstances. As previously mentioned, all of the meals needed to be easily transferred, last for 3-4 days in a cooler, and be fairly easy to eat on the go. Due to the fact that you do not know exactly when your heat is going to compete, it is extremely important to have multiple options for each meal. You also are unaware of the timing for the next event and even how many events there will be in a single day. This format changed my recommended approach in several ways, and made things especially difficult for post workout nutrition.
In general post workout is the time to replenish glycogen storage and bring in a larger amount of carbohydrates. However, in my opinion things change when you have another workout to compete in within hours. Glycogen loading will generally help with recovery, but will also hault your body’s natural growth hormone output, and cause more rapid changes in blood sugar. These blood sugar changes will affect energy, focus, mood, and performance. This factor makes it even more important to stabilize blood sugar and depend more on fat stores for energy. This is a process that must start weeks or even months before the competition. Fat has always been the most efficient source of energy and you must alter your diet to train your body to use fat as the primary energy source.
Here is a look at the specific meals that I used with Tommy Hackenbrook at the 2010 CrossFit Games:
Blueberry Walnut Oatmeal Pancakes- This recipe is very easy for breakfast and you can eat them cold or warmed up. Each serving contained approximately 40 grams of protein, 30 grams of fat, and 30 grams of carbohydrate split between blueberries and oatmeal.
Homemade Protein Bars/Muffins- My homemade protein bars were an ideal snack in between meals and workouts. They have more substance and real food than protein drinks and allow for a large amount of fat from coconut products and eggs. Each bar has approximately 15 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein, and 6 grams of carbohydrates. This was an ideal way for Tommy to keep his fat stores up throughout the weekend using a snack that is more easily digested than red meat and a better nutrition source than just supplement drinks.
Tuna Cups- This is a very functional meal used post workout of the final workout of the day. It was a relatively easy way to keep some variety, bring in fat, protein, and a larger amount of carbohydrates.
Grass Fed Beef Patties, Mixed Vegetables and Yams- This was the typical dinner consumed in the evening after all workouts were completed. Through the course of the weekend this was usually the largest meal and was consumed to satiety. In general this portion size would have been too large, but it was allowed for the weekend to fuel the grueling course of events.
Coconut Milk, Coconut Oil, Hard Boiled Eggs, Mixed Nuts, and Almond Butter- These snacks were used throughout the weekend to keep fat stores up and consume enough calories. Coconut milk and coconut oil were consumed daily in between and before workouts to help maintain blood sugar and offer quick accessible fuel without consuming additional sugars.
Recovery Drinks, Mixed Berries, Banana, and Protein Powder- These meals or snacks were primarily used to make recovery drinks following the last workout of the day, post workout when the next workout was a minimum of three hours away, or as a snack before bed.
*See the recipe section on my blog for recipe details. The meals above were modified from the original recipes for increased fat and protein intake.
Tommy’s Take on the Weekend
In discussing the weekend with Tommy Hackenbruck, he was very pleased with his performance and overall preparation. With the 2010 CrossFit Games having a larger emphasis on skills and gymnastics, Tommy was very happy with his Top 10 finish. As Sunday came around many of the athletes were extremely exhausted and absolutely drained. Due to Tommy’s overall preparation, training, and nutrition he felt very good on Sunday and was actually hoping for one more event, while many of the athletes had nothing left in their tank.
Overall, several of these small changes allowed Tommy to perform at an optimal level and increase his ability to perform at a high level as the weekend went on. In Tommy’s opinion, the following nutritional changes were key to his overall level of preparedness for the 2010 CrossFit Games:
Just getting enough fuel- He had access to a variety of snacks constantly without having to even think about meal preparation or leaving the venue to get food.
Increasing fat intake- The increased fat intake led to better energy, more consistent blood sugars, and increased overall performance over the course of nine events. Through training and the weekend, the sources of fat were also altered. Tommy increased his consumption of red meat from grass fed beef, added coconut milk and coconut oil, ate more avocados, and lowered his intake of nuts.
Controlling cravings- This was done by way of increasing fat intake, lowering sugar and fruit intake, and changing the source of fat at meals.
Eliminate Dairy- The final step was to eliminate dairy completely and lower grains to only occasional oatmeal.
Mark’s Daily Apple on Zone:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/whats-wrong-zone-diet/
