Nutrition
And away we go! We had a huge crowd at last night’s meeting and we know quite a few of you were unable to make it. No worries! Tim has created a dedicated Facebook page for participants to keep us all connected during this 6 week adventure and we will be posting info on this site as well.
Remember, you have until Wed May 8 to complete the following:
1. Two “benchmark” workouts. They will be programmed for the gym on Friday and Monday to make it easier for you, but if you cannot make it on those days, let your trainer know that you need to do the Nutrition WOD instead of the regular Workout of the Day.
2. Select a partner or let us know that you would like us to pair you up with someone. Please do not partner up with someone who you live with or eat with on a regular basis. (The point of this experience is to facilitate change – mix it up!) If you have selected your own parter, please post who it is on the FB page or let Tim know so we can be sure you are all partnered up.
3. Weigh & Measure if that is applicable to you. This is not mandatory if it is not a critical part of achieving your Nutrition Goals. We have worksheets to help you calculate your Zone blocks if that is the path you are taking.
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For those of you who can’t make it tonight, or even if you can make it and you would like some more information, here are some resources for you:
E.C. Synkowski gives a beautiful and succinct summary of how to make good food choices which can be found on the CrossFit Journal as a free download. Check out the 5-Part series on Simple Nutrition.
You can find links to lots of great books and articles about food in CrossFit Journal #15.
If you are interest in Zone principles learn the basics about Macronutrient balance in CrossFit Journal #21.
For a list of common foods and their Zone block equivalents, you can print off this list of Zone Food Blocks.
Here is the updated Food Log for this Nutrition Challenge. We will have copies for you tonight so no need to download if you are planning on coming to the meeting. Hope to see you there!
If you plan to take part in the Nutrition Challenge, whether its Paleo, Zone, or just cutting out one thing (Gluten, Dairy, etc) please come to an informational meeting at 7pm on Wednesday, May 1. Tim will be laying out the plan for this years challenge and John will be giving a quick primer on basic Nutrition and some options for how you might try fine tuning (or maybe just start tuning) your food intake. If for some reason, you can’t make it Sunday night talk to Tim (tputnam@rvemontrose.com) and he will get you taken care of.
Recent snow activity aside, there is an unmistakable feel of Springtime in the air. The sun is still up during the 6pm class and the back door of the gym has been open quite a bit lately. Yesiree, the warm weather is coming and with it a growing awareness that some of us might have been taking a little too much comfort in comfort foods during the long cold winter.
We have been hearing a lot of side talk about the need to “get back on the wagon” lately so here we go. Its time for another Nutrition Challenge. Tim P has graciously agreed to head this project up and he has decided (and rightly so) that Prom Night is the perfect target. So if your feeling the need to get your food back on track or maybe you are just now ready to take the first step (those copies of “What if its All Been a Big Fat Lie” have been flying off the shelf) then here is your chance. We will start at the beginning of May and run until June 15 so you can break the fast with some fantastic Prom Night fun. Look for the sign up sheet on the bulletin board so we can get you paired up with a Food Log Buddy on or before Day 1. No fee to participate and no cash prize this time, just the incredible support of a group of people who are working hard to improve themselves. John and I signing up for sure. More details coming soon.
What??? How is this possible? I (Kelly) am generally in the camp of “some things just shouldn’t be messed with”, but….
We tried Jen Smith’s recipe for a grain-free pizza crust and our resident pizza snob (JB) and two (sometimes finicky-eater) kiddos loved it.
Crust:
1-1.5 lbs ground turkey
2 tbsp almond meal
1 egg
1 tsp basil
Mix and spread in a pan or skillet about 1/2 inch think (I am going to go a little thinner next time). Bake at 450 for 10 min.
Add your favorite toppings (yes we did keep the cheese on for this one – come on, its pizza!) and cook for another 12-15 min.
“The Case Against Gluten” by Andrew at evolvify.com
Intro by JB:
So it would appear that I have failed to educate myself (and therefor you) on the importance of keeping gluten out of your diet. Up to this point a lot of the evidence the I have given as a reason for this has been anecdotal or based on evolutionary science. It is pretty easy for me to fall back on the phrase: “your ancestors didn’t eat it and you shouldn’t either.” So now I have something a little more tangible that just my opinion, which while educated isn’t necessarily scientific and I have neither a white lab coat or a microscope. So with no further ado I present The Case Against Gluten. It turns out that the bad gut issues and obesity aren’t the worst things that can happen to you. As you will read in the meta-analysis, the bevy of neurological diseases that are now scientifically linked to gluten consumption. So, what does that mean to you? Pancake, slice of bread, bowl of oatmeal that you eat today may have some very serious long term affects to the tune of major brain and auto immune disfunction. So, happy reading and here’s to remembering everything that you can for as long as you can.
We logged your scores and calculated the results based on placement in the top 5 for each category of measure: Weight change, Sum measurement change, and % improvement on each of the 4 Benchmark WODS. We will be giving each of you a printout of your “before” and “after” numbers for each category, but those will probably not be ready until next week. So without further ado…
Ladies:
1st Place: Becky Meinhold
2nd Place (tie): Zoila Mendoza & Kate Jaeger
3rd Place: Tegan Aymond
Gentlemen:
1st Place: Maple Taylor
2nd Place: Tim Putnam
3rd Place: Steve Hilton
Congratulations all! We will get your prize money to you next week.
There were some other stellar performances that should be noted:
Marni, Iraida, Time, Carmen and Nicole all took more than 5 minutes off their 5K time. Marni subtracted 10:55!
Zoila, Tegan Joe, Abby Tim, Iraida, and Gio all added more than 30 points to their Fight Gone Bad score. Zoila added 54 points!
Garth, Maple, Joe, Derek, Steve, Emily, and Abby all added more than 20 pounds to their CrossFit Total. Garth added 68 pounds!
Tegan, Zoila, and Tim took more than 4 minutes off their Fran Time. Tim took 7:12 off his initial time!
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Saturday, September 11, 2010:
Its the Final day of the Nutrition Challenge!
Come finish the final Benchmark WOD (“Fran”), with the support of the whole group. We will cheer each other on to victory! We will also be retaking your weight and measures, so please try to be there.
Also, we will be breaking the fast tonight at Horsefly (new location!) so come on out and celebrate!
September 1, 2010:
The big Finale is a week from Saturday and you know what that means. Benchmarks!!!! We will be re-doing all the the Benchmarks this coming week. In case you have blocked it out, thats Fran, Fight Gone Bad, CrossFit Total and the 5k run. We will be doing one of these WODs as a group on Saturday morning, along with repeating the weight and measures. Plan to be there. Let us know if you can’t so we will be sure to get you squared away beforehand.
This six weeks has gone by really fast for us and we hope you have gotten a lot out of it. We are looking forward to hearing all of your feedback and seeing your results… this is going to be FUN!
We will be having another Potluck Dinner next Friday, August 27th following the 6pm class. Please bring something to grill and a dish to share with the group.
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Resources
The Skinny on Nutrition
In CrossFit we talk about the Theoretical Hierarchy of Development of an athlete. In other words, what are the fundamental components of the development of athletic performance and what is their relative influence. If you click on the link above (scroll to the bottom of page 8) you will see a pyramid diagram with Nutrition as its base. What we eat from day to day has a profound impact on the hormonal balance in our body. And since pretty much everything our body does is under hormonal control, you have the power to influence your ability to perform at work, at school, at the gym, and on the field, simply by making the right choices about the food you eat.
What is the Paleo Diet?
The Paleo Diet was developed by Loren Cordain, PHD, a professor of Health & Exercise Science at CSU. The concept (briefly) was to tailor our diets to the food sources that were available during Paleolithic times (think Hunter/Gatherer). In the CrossFit community, this make sense. Our fitness program is based on the kind of movements humans needed for survival from the dawn of man until technology basically eliminated our requirement to move. If we are going to exercise like Neanderthals, maybe we should be eating like them too (table manners aside, of course). To do this we need to remove all processed foods, including grains, as well as dairy and beans. Sugar is also off the table. There is extensive literature on why these foods are not good for us. We will include resources below.
What is the Zone diet?
The Zone was developed by Dr. Barry Sears in an attempt to stave off a familial predisposition to heart disease. To date it has worked. The concept of the Zone is to monitor and rigidly balance the macronutrient (protein, carbohydrate, & fat) content in our diet to keep the hormonal influences of these substances in check. Based on gender, body composition, and activity level, a specific “block” formula is derived for each individual to simplify the task of balancing macronutrients on a meal by meal basis.
Which one is right for me?
Ideally, both. To utilize the Paleo prescription within the Zone parameters would give you the best of both worlds. But quality of life, amount of free time, and degree of investment in total health and fitness will determine how far towards “ideal nutrition” each person is willing to go. Any of these options is better than the standard American diet and that is a great place to start. Come and talk to us and we will help you find that path that is right for you.
Online Resources
Simple Nutrition
The Paleo Diet
Zone Diet
CrossFit Journal #15
CrossFit Journal #21
Zone Food Blocks