Ya Gotta Eat!

CrossFit North Atlanta Virtual Cookbook

At the CrossFit Nutrition cert that Tony and I attended a few weeks ago Robb Wolf mentioned that he would often track a client's nutrition progress by having them email him a picture of their meals. This tip came with little discussion as we moved on to the next topic...  but it got my wheels spinning. 

Seeing has most every cell phones can snap a pic... I can't think of a smarter or more efficient way to track your eating. I think we could take it one step further and post em to the blog as a great way to share and kick around good food ideas. 

Recipes are cool... but I need some pictures to get me cookin'. I don't think I'm alone on this so let's give it a shot.

We'll call it the CFNA Virtual Cookbook and here is how we'll do it: 

1) Snap a pic of your plate before you eat it. 

2) Email it to us here with a basic description. 

3) We'll post it here

Don't be judicious. Send em on. You never know - we might make participation on this worth some extra credit LOCKDOWN points. 

Do I Really Have To Eat?

Yes, dammit, Ya Gotta Eat! This may sound simple and obvious but there are an awful lot of people out there who genuinely believe that if they work diligently enough, concentrate hard enough they'll eventually be able to simply avoid food altogether. A little or a lot overweight, maybe just "out of shape" it doesn't matter, our hero knows he doesn't eat right and knows that food is "the problem." This can take many forms but goes basically something like this:

CrossFit's Journal Issue #21

 This CrossFit Journal Issue #21 has an easy to understand explanation of the zone. Also providing a block chart for the most popular foods, which i have personally found extremely helpful.

Eating meals when busy is hard, but it's something you need to get used too if you want results. MRP shakes, or bars are an idea. You can get Zone bars which have a 40/30/30 split, so just down one of them when you can. You can also get bars from other sources which do the same macronutrient split. Otherwise, make your meals in advance, so you don't need to cook all the time.

Issue #21 is available online for $5 from CrossFit.com.

The CrossFit dietary prescription

Incase any had not read CrossFit's general dietary prescription. 

(Taken directly from CrossFit.com.)

The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:

• 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.