Meal Prep

Rest day is the perfect time to prepare your meals ahead of time. Making the trip to the grocery store several times per week to buy whole foods will allow you to plan out your meals so you’re never left in a bind, forcing you to settle for fast food on your way home from work. Also, preparing your meals can be a great opportunity to spend time with your kids by getting them into the kitchen to help you cook- all while learning and developing healthy eating habits. Here are a couple of essential  items to buy for effective meal prep:

• Tupperware
• Cooler or Insulated Lunch Box
• Shaker Bottles

2015 Nutrition Challenge

Get ready for T-Town's first Nutrition Challenge of 2015! Beginning next Monday, Jan. 19, we will have a 6-week Paleo-ish challenge to help you reach your goals just in time for the Crossfit Open! Hurry up and register - there are only 20 spots available. The challenge is $125 per person. Contact Coach Paige at paigecftt@gmail.com for more information and to reserve your spot

Stay within The Zone

Nutrtion is probably the only difference in the top athletes. What about the Zone diet? I spent a 4 months weighing and measuring all of my meals. I learned a lot about portions and discipline with food during this time, but I no longer weigh and measure my food. I know what portions I need at each meal. I'll be honest with you. I still think that weighing and measuring my food would help my performance, but I don't do it anymore, because I feel it's very close. Are you eating in the zone?

 

The Zone diet is primarily concerned with controlling your hormones. Hormonal balance affects all important components of your wellness: body composition, energy utilization, blood chemistry, and much more. Food is a drug. This may seem shocking, but think about the definition of a drug. Loosely, ingesting drugs causes physiological changes in your body. Ingesting food has the same effect. It can bring about positive or negative changes in your body. Would you consume expired, low-quality medicine? Then why should we expect different results when our diet consists of low-quality processed garbage with no nutritional value? 

Want REAL Results???

There really is no secret to becoming FIT! Here are the things I do everyday of my life.

Weightlifting: Lift weights 3 times a week. Focus on then big lifts: Deadlift, Squat, Press, Cleans, Jerks, & Snatches. Focus on the functional and gymnastic accessories: pull-ups, dips, push-ups, muscle-ups, box-jumps, & kettlebell swings.
Conditioning: Sprint, carry, run long distance sometimes, row, swim, yoga, bike, & play sports.
Follow a program and listen to your body: Train it hard almost every time you step foot in the gym. Those with specific goals should follow a legitimate program focused on that specialty. A general Crossfit program can do wonders for 99% of you and also serve as GPP compliment to any sport-focused program.
Make sure you rest: Everyone should have at least one full rest day, some need more. For those that hate being inactive, you can spend time on active recovery: do some yoga, walk, hike, and do other outdoor low-intensity physical activity. Remember that you must take rest at some point.
Eat a clean diet: Lots of quality protein and fat. Tend to stay lower carb consisting of starchy veggies, some fruit, and sweet potatoes. Athletes can use higher carbs as activity level will demand.
Manage lifestyle factors: sleep, stress, & recovery

Eating for Health

I don’t care if you have amazing genetics and look ripped on a McDonald's diet, you will pay for your poor choices later. Sure, you hear stories of star athletes eating fried chicken all day and performing like machines; they are the exception, not the rule. And being jacked doesn’t mean one is healthy anyways. Your body is a machine that requires a certain level of maintenance, fuel, and loving care.

#1 Rule = Eat Real Food

• It shouldn’t include chemicals or synthetic alterations
• It shouldn’t last weeks, months, or years
• It should be prepared well
• It should have been alive recently
• It should be unprocessed
• It should go bad if it sits on the counter

Do You Want To Gain Muscle?



 For most people, gaining weight is not the problem, but losing it is. However, there are people who can eat large quantities of food and not gain an ounce. That sounds like a blessing, but those individuals who must go through life with little meat on their bones, and they usually eat all the wrong things. It's all about eating the right things and eating often. If you are trying to gain weight then you must eat every 2-3 hours. You need to consume more calories than your body burns throughout each day in order to gain weight. There are many ways to consume these calories, but you should focus on doing so by eating healthy foods. Make sure that you are also consuming enough protein, healthy carbohydrates, and fats. I have always operated best while eating in The Zone. You can get what your body needs by eating fish and lean meat and nuts. Eat plenty of vegetables to get the carbohydrates that your body requires. Some people are able to increase their muscle mass more quickly by consuming protein supplements. These supplements usually blend amino acids such as glutamine and creatine. Most people don’t realize just how good milk can be when trying to add a significant amount of size, especially for the hard gainer. I watched my son grow like a weed by just consuming milk. I also believe in oatmeal and eggs for breakfast to help put on size. Eating balanced meals that pays close attention to the macro and micro nutrient s of foods will be helpful in gaining quality muscle instead of fat to your body. There’s no substitute for real food if you’re looking to gain muscle.

You Are What You Eat

IF getting leaner is a concern for you, how many of these tips are you consistently undertaking?

1) Eliminate processed ‘food’
2) Eat healthy fats(omega 3′s, mono-unsaturated ie. olive oil)
3) Eat high quality protein/low carb diet
4) Limit carbs to lots of vegetables, some fruits
5) Hydrate well but only water, tea, coffee, no sugar

Eat the RIGHT things

The most important and the initial step is to re-think your diet, if or not are you having the right food? Or is your food too unhealthy? Is it organic at all or just fattening? If no then you need to take serious action to change your lifestyle and diet routine! For that you can consult a nutritionist or maybe a coach, or find it yourself on the internet, it is full of free advices, tip and easy to follow up diet plans that can help you big time.

Are You In The Zone?

Nutrtion is probably the only difference in the top athletes. What about the Zone diet? I spent a year weighing and measuring all of my meals. I learned a lot about portions and discipline with food during this time, but I no longer weigh and measure my food. I know what portions I need at each meal. I'll be honest with you. I still think that weighing and measuring my food would help my performance, but I don't do it anymore, because I feel it's very close. Are you eating in the zone?

Eat Fresh

I eat “real” food – fresh, natural food like meat, fish, chicken, vegetables and nuts. I choose foods that are nutrient dense, with lots of naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals. Food quality is important! Should you shun all packaged foods in order to maintain health? NO. But packaged foods ought to be a small portion of your diet, not the majority of it. Why use frozen or canned vegetables when you can use fresh, organic vegetables?

Eat with consistency

If you are eating too complex, improvising every day and not keeping any kind of consistency…it can easily lead to excess calories and not even realizing it happens. When you eat the same meals day in and out, you have an idea of what your intake is. Then if things aren’t progressing you can troubleshoot much easier. So if you cut down on the number of variables you have to deal with, you give yourself a greater chance to be able to dial it in.

Are You Eating Good?

Try this out for a few months

Eat the following:
•Lean Meats
•Eggs
•Vegetables
•Nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia, almond.
•Low Glycemic Fruits (eg. Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.)

Do NOT eat the following:
•Processed Foods- including bread, pasta, noodles, anything in a can
•Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas
•Potatoes
•Dairy products
•Sugar
•Salt
•Fruit juice
•Sodas

Meal Portion and Timing:
•Balanced Meal: double Protein, 1/2 Carb and 3X the Fat
•Eat a balanced meal within an hour of waking up and every 3-4 hours after that without allowing 6 or more hours pass without eating.
•Remember Breakfast really is the MOST important meal of the day… do NOT skip it.

Real Food

1)Food grows and dies. It isn’t created.
2)Food rots, wilts, and becomes generally unappetizing, typically rather quickly.
3)Food doesn’t need an ingredient label (and probably isn’t in a package either).
4)Food doesn’t have celebrity endorsements.
5)Food doesn’t make health claims.
Don’t over-think things. You know what foods will make you healthier and what won’t.

Entering the Zone

You’re basically in the safe “Zone” if you stick to clean eating and measuring. That means going out to your local grocery store and buying whole foods like raw fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables, as well as lean meats like chicken, and fish – foods with zero preservatives, i.e. no bottled dressings or pre-seasoned meats. Anything with high amounts of trans-fats or saturated fats, sodium or sugar is not considered “clean.” The reason for this is simply that it’s not natural. And while you're out, buy a scale, some measuring cups, and spoons. A preservative known as sodium nitrite, which is found in many types of store-bought meats like cured ham, bacon, hot dogs, sausages, smoked and cured fish, has been known to cause cancer upon continuous consumption. The preservative itself has a purpose, which is to prevent botulism from occurring, but the mixture of the protein and the sodium nitrite in the stomach is where the problem erupts: cancer. This preservative is just one among many others found in foods. If you can avoid buying packaged meats, do it. Go to the meat counter at your grocery store and pick up some fresh cut meat/poultry/fish and you will notice a difference – both in taste and how you feel. It is most important with the Zone Diet that you weigh and measure. This is what makes the zone work. You only have to weigh and measure for the first two weeks. A lot of other diets heavily endorse eating less carbs or less fat, but the Zone focuses on wanting to balance insulin (carb) and glucagon (protein) levels, with fat helping to balance both. Weighing and measuring the foods you eat will allow you to achieve this healthy balance.

Paleo vs Zone

Paleo and Zone are very similar in respect to their contents. The main difference between the two is that Paleo doesn’t concern itself with weighing and measuring. It’s more of a hunter-gatherer-type way of eating: eat however much you feel that your body needs of lean meats, seafood, fruits, and vegetables. Paleo and Zone are both two highly recommended diets for CrossFit for a reason, because they work. I really like the Zone because I can do the block system and have a cup of milk with my protien at 5:00am everyday. Whichever one you choose to commit to, you will see results and you will feel great.

Sane nutrition for kids in 150 words

Our goal with kids isn't to get them on the zone, but to get them to think and make good choices about what they eat. Our goal is to teach them very basic concepts, sugar is bad, protein is good and you need to eat some in every meal. Nuts and seeds are good fats. Eat them, don't avoid them. Pasta, white bread, and white rice are not that good for you, stuff that's red, yellow, green and found in the fruit and vegetable aisle is good for you. Eat a lot of it.

Look at your plate, make a fist, eat that much meat every meal; turn your hand over and fill it with nuts and seeds, eat that much good fat, fill the rest of your plate with stuff you found in the fruit and vegetable aisle. Fill your plate this way at every meal, don't eat more.
Courtesy of CrossFit Kids

Enter The Zone Lifestyle

So I posted this same post back on June 4th, but it's so good that I needed to re post with updated information. Diet is not a dirty word. It comes from the Greek root meaning "way of life". This is what the Zone Diet is. It's a way of life to help control our eating habits. The Zone Diet gives you the power to turn some genes on and turn other genes off. As a result, you feel your energy soar, watch your waistline shrink, and say goodbye to hunger. In the Zone you are now taking wellness into your own hands. The only diet that can maintain hormonal balance for a lifetime must use the word moderate to describe it. That's what the Zone Diet is. Everything in moderation is the key word here. It's moderate in:
• Low-fat protein (chicken, beef, fish, eggs, and cheese)
• Low glycemic-load carbs(mostly fruits and vegetables)
• Heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (avocados, cashews, and olive oil)
The Zone Diet is about balancing your hormones within a specific range to control hunger on fewer calories while still getting the proper nutrients your body needs for long-term health. The Zone Diet can best be described as a moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, moderate fat diet(1-1-1). Basically 9 grams of carbs, 7 grams of protien, and 1.5 grams of fat all equal 1 block. I would recommend in general that women consume 10-12 blocks a day and men 14-16 blocks a day. Add or subtract blocks depending on how you feel. I have been weighing my food for the last 9 months and have seen a dramatic change in my body and training. I always feel balanced, and have tons of energy. I eat like an elite athlete which is about 20-25 blocks everyday. This requires me to eat at 5 am and then every three hours throughout the whole day until I go to bed. I write down every meal that I eat and what's in it. I usually make Zone meals ahead of time and divide them up so I can reheat a balanced meal in the microwave for lunch. I can only explain so much without having to actually show you what to buy at the grocery store. I buy the Zone cook books and just start trying recipes. Check out the CrossFit Journal #21 and that really helps to break down the zone.(click on link) I just feel like if you are working out, then nutrition should be number one in your life. Spend the time measuring and making all your food and watch the transformation. Food is like a drug and we put it in our bodies 6-8 times a day. Don't you think it's time to start caring that YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT?http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf

POSE Running

Turkey Trail Run yesterday with Kiah 32:21 Using the POSE technique
I'm going to spend my weekend getting my Level 1 CrossFit certification in Allen, TX
This will be my third certification and should be a fun weekend. This weekend they will break down all the CrossFit basics and teach you to become a better coach. My first cert was the Running & Endurance cert. Since I have learned the POSE technique and my running has become so much stronger. I have applied the skills I have learned and it now has paid off with injury free running. My second cert was Olympic Weightlifting. I learned all about the Clean & Snatch. Since I have applied the skills I learned there and have become more efficient with better technique. The number one thing that I learned was if you are working out, you should eat right. Nutrition is number one above all else. If you are what you eat and eat like crap? Make smart food choices, eliminate bad foods forever and make it a lifestyle not a diet. E-mail me with any questions on Entering The Zone

Nutrition and recovery

1. Get 8-10 hours of sleep per night
Your major growth hormones are released for recovery during this time.

2. Eat breakfast
Your body is in starvation mode, since you have not eaten since supper, and needs nutrients right away. Breakfast is your most important meal of the day.

3. Post workout stretch/massage
This helps the body return to normal quicker and speeds up the recovery process.
Stretching and massage on off days, or later in the day after training, also help speed recovery.

4. Eliminate alcohol and caffeine consumption
Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics – they suck the water out of your cells which leads to dehydration.
Alcohol increases fat deposition, decreases testosterone, and decreases protein synthesis (the protein that you take in for repair of muscle tissue, caused by training, is not being utilized fully for recovery).
Caffeine disturbs your sleep cycles.

5. Eat five fruits and vegetables per day
These provide your vitamins and minerals needed each day for various functions of the body.
Eat the rainbow: make sure you get a variety of colors – each kind contains a different vitamin/mineral.

6. Drink one gallon of water per day
If your body is even 5 percent dehydrated then you will have a significant effect on your performance.
The best way to track your hydration is to check your urine – if it is clear you are hydrated if not you are dehydrated.

7. Consume 4-6 balanced meals/day
Each meal should contain a protein source (meat, fish, or dairy), a carbohydrate source (fruit, vegetable, etc) and a fat(avacado or oil).

8. Take one day completely off per week for mental and physical well being
With all the physical activity you are putting yourself through it is important to take one day completely off. Try to just kick back and relax – nothing too intense. Make sure you are not trying to add more training in on your scheduled days off or you will overtrain. Sometimes it is better to work smarter and not harder.

9. Consume a post workout meal or shake
Your second most important meal of the day and it should be taken within 30 minutes after your training has ended.

10. Have fun
Make sure you are training because you enjoy doing it.
Do things that you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.