Emma Lisa at Fight Gone Bad
- There is NO AR and NO COMP CLASS today
Food Quality and Quantity: They both matter
By Chris Fox
We’re going to take a closer, non-dogmatic look at both the Paleo and Zone diets that the majority of CrossFitters have been exposed to. Last time we looked at the downfalls of both, and rightfully so. A low calorie, carefully weighed (I asked for 10 almonds, not 12!) Zone has it pitfalls as does a potentially restrictive, or overindulgent (paleo desserts and bacon always abound at parties) Paleo approach. Any neurotic approach to eating can not lead to a healthy relationship with food and in the end that’s what we’re after. So, what’s good about:
The Zone Diet
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It’s quantifiable and repeatable. It removes the question “how much should I eat?”. You have a “prescription” for your daily calories and macronutrients and can measure food to adhere to it. It makes it simple. If you lose too much weight you can tweak your “prescription” as needed.
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It balances macronutrient intake since in a Zone meal you eat measured amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats together. This creates healthier, more balanced (i.e. not solely carb based. Hello, bagel and coffee for breakfast guy) meals without having to think too much about it. Most unaware people tend toward a heavy carb bias, and furthermore toward processed carbs and sugars.
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It encourages you to eat vegetables. We can clearly see that 3 cups of broccoli or greens is going to make you feel fuller and more satisfied than 5 french fries. These both represent 1 carb block. (check out this blocks chart). The Zone Diet encourages you to take in the bulk of carbs from vegetables and fruits.
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For many people, it’s a boost in protein intake. This is good.
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It aims to balance hormone levels. Balanced hormonal levels in response to food is the crux of Dr. Sears’ work.
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It gives you an idea of what a portion looks like. This is the greatest value in a Zone approach in my opinion. It doesn’t seem like a whole lot of food, and that’s the point. If you’re overweight you eat too many calories, if you eat too many calories you’ll be overweight, plain and simple. We can’t ignore the most basic law of thermodynamics in the human body. If you take in more calories than you use for energy your body will store them, likely as fat since it’s the most efficient way to store excess calories in adult mammals.
The Paleo Diet
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It focuses on food quality. You start to become aware of the crap thats involved in commercially farmed animals and produce. You read labels and realize how much shit is in a package of (insert your favorite treat here).
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You look for locally produced, grass-fed/pastured/wild caught/organic foods. This is good for you, the purveyor, and the environment. You eat real food.
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Your omega-3 to omega-6 ratios improve since you’re eating naturally raised animals who ate their natural diet, too.
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It removes gluten from the diet. Most people will do better to remove this anti-nutrient from their diets, even if they aren’t intolerant to it.
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Inflammation levels in the body reduce in large part to removing gluten and balancing fatty acids. This starts to resolve some auto-immune issues for many people.
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It encourages vegetable consumption. You’ve ditched the grains and have to get carbs from somewhere.
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It encourages healthy fat intake. No need to fear saturated fat! (provided that the bulk of it comes from healthy animals) You’ve ditched the grains and have to get calories from somewhere.
So, how can we begin to take the good from both of these approaches and individualize our diet is the question. Here’s a quick start guide:
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Especially if you never have done this, weigh and measure and eat according to your Zone prescription for two to four weeks. It’s an experiment. Pay attention to what a serving of protein, fat, and carbohydrate looks like on your plate.
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When you’re out to eat do your best to stick to a Zone prescription. Don’t use every meal out as a cheat.
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Scale up, do a Paleo Zone. See if you can get 90% of your food to be grain-free and natural and adhering to Paleo guidelines, again it’s just for two to four weeks.
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Keep a journal during this experiment and take brief notes on how you feel a few times throughout the day, particularly when waking and around meal times.
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*Bonus experiment – Do a 24 hour fast (if you’re diabetic then skip this). Get in touch with true hunger. Most people don’t really know what hunger feels like. We know when we should eat, we know that we crave foods, but we may not really know the feeling of true hunger like your body (not your brain) telling you to eat. Try eating dinner, and then not eating any calories until dinner at around the same time the next day. You can still work out (you may feel a bit lower in intensity but you may not) and you won’t die. In fact, you may feel just fine after the first few hours. Drink plenty of water and herbal tea, and have a black coffee or two if you want. If you’re terrified of catabolizing muscle then down some BCAAs before and after a workout. Journal this experiment also and plan sensible meal to break the fast, not a victory dinner.
The goal here isn’t to turn you into someone who always has to weigh and measure meals and brings along a scale to restaurants (I’ve seen this), neither do I want you to feel that you must forever live a life absent of pizza and full of burgers sans bun with extra salad on the side. The goal is to become more aware of both quantity and quality and develop an honest dialogue with yourself about how food makes you feel, and how much you really need to feel full.
A few references:
CrossFit Journal Issue 21 – Meal Plans
Zone Block Calculator
Paleo and Auto-Immune Disease
Next time we’ll take a look at how nutrient timing matters, and how exercise, carbohydrate and fat are related.
Hint: Breakfast may not be the most important meal of the day for fat loss, and all grains may not be the devil…
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Plate Organization with Dr. Kauflin Practice CrossFit
CrossFit – A Competitor’s Zone Prescription: Part 1
CF MNL OG
Hang Snatch > Snatch
95×1 115×1 135×1
Hang snatch
145×1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
Concentrated on getting under quickly and holding for a 2 count in the hole, I found it hard to not bounce right out of the bottom, but noticed that I didn't go onto my toes standing it up as much if I nailed the pause down there.
Front squat
45×5 95×4 145×3 195×2 240×1 250×1(PR) 255×1(PR)
Last one was especially tough because I had an audience.
Press
45×5 75×4 100×3 120×2 140xf 135×1 145xf
Probably not the best idea after all those overhead holds, couldn't match previous PR here.
Then a short/heavy conditioning piece:
3RFT (5:05)
5 135# Squat Clean and Jerk
10 T2B
This was a grind from the second rep.
The electrical wire set up in the Matt Chan video freaks me out.
Nice write-up, Fox.
Copy editor note: I believe your title should read: "Food Quality and Quantity" as opposed to "Quality and Quality".
Looking forward to a delicious turkey day and packing in 60 or so blocks…
6am with Lady Fox and McD
Wednesday's Lady Rx'd in 11:37. Thanks to Manly Fox for some much needed tips on the second movement which were at singles pretty much from the start.
Quote from the Weather Channel this morning. "It will be virtually impossible to get on a flight from New York City tomorrow morning." Here's hoping they are wrong. If not, I may be hitting the rest of crush week after all.
6am with McDowell and Jess. 9 rounds even on yesterdays WOD. I was very happy that the limiting factor was HSPU, and not double unders. I have never been able to string these together consistently in a WOD, but today they actually felt easy. 6 of the 9 rounds were unbroken, and tripped up only once on each of the others (once at 29 – arghhh!). Took the burpees real slow.
Tomorrow's WOD looks fun.
6am with Jess and McDowell. Cleans: 135, 185, 205, 225, 235, 245, 250, 256 (PR!). Legs felt stronger than last week. 256 is only a 1# PR, but I've only hit 255 once (months ago) and missed 259 twice last week. Jess pointed out I didn't release my hook grip on the rep at 256 which is unusual for me. WOD Rx in 10:31. The extra bit of movement to claim the Rx lit up my low back like a Christmas tree. First time tackling this workout, so I get to claim another PR for the day.
6am with Jess and McDowell. Another PR #10 over my old number for Cleans. It was ugly but I got it up. Nice to meet you 93#. Oof. Yet again I thank Chuck Taylor for the support. GET IT?!?! Please note that these are so magical that others are PRing right along with me. I was asked when I would be back again, wearing them. This pleases me.
Anyway, 8:08 on tomorrow with the pushups. Wowzers.. I'm smoked.
There's nothing worse than slowly piecing together what the Wednesday workout will be from the Tuesday commenters and realizing what a beast it's going to be….
I'm waiting for you, Ryan…
Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!
Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!
Thanks, Reshef!
Tomorrow's work was not as awful as I'd expected it to be despite not feeling like I really wanted to train. Tuesday is usually a much needed rest day for me.
Clean – worked up to 231. A few pounds off my PR but an easy make. Twp half assed pulls at 242.
WOD – Rx'd in 9:37. I feel OK, just reaallly tired. We'll see how I feel after driving for 10-12 hours tomorrow.
Had a little trouble with early pulling on tomorrow's clean work
132×3, 176×2, 198×1, 220×1, 231(f), 231
Got 239 from the hang last week, but just kept pulling the bar out in front. Was able to stand it up at 231 so I feel like I really own that weight (unless my pull is really off).
Did the non-lower-back-and-quad-killing version of the metcon. 4:46 – ~2:45 better than the last time I did this version of it
6am with Jess and McDowell. Struggled a bit with doing the cleans from the floor. Hit 105# and attempted 115#, but it was ugly. The lack of quality sleep the past few days took its toll. Wod in 8:13, although I went too light at 65# and meant to do 75# but realized my error too late.
@mgmnt
Maybe I missed this announcement but what's the dealio for the holiday schedule?
JK just read it….duh
Clean and Jerk Doubles
264
275x(1+1)x3 These were REALLY hard.
Clean Pulls
374x3x4
Snatch Grip Press
135x5x4
The Next two days are a much needed rest. The last 3 days of training has been brutal.
argh! another day of doing a workout that reflected the intended workout not at all. my cleans, which were fine-ish during the strength session, turned into some other exercise that i made up, with my hips and arms going the wrong way and everything just a mess.
on the other hand, and i know this is just a small victory, but something really clicked last time we did that girl… i dont remember which… the one with push ups, pull ups, and air squats? maybe barbara? anyway, that was the first time in my life i did a push up (from the knees) where my elbows didnt thrust all the way out. it felt like a breakthrough and i was happy to be able to maintain that today too.
Gawd, normally I'm way better about posting earlier in the day.
The probably-not-secret-by-now girl in 8:40, with 83# and pushups. I think I should have tried Rx weight. Pushups suuuuuucked after yesterday's burpee/HSPUfest.
I want a massage so bad.
Tomorrow's not-so-secret WOD at 6:30 with Jess Fox.
Backslid a bit on my cleans… had been hoping to match my hang clean PR from a week ago, but it was not to be. Worked up to 143#, but failed several times at 153#. The bar was coming up plenty high, but I was not committed to dropping under it. Going to spend my Thanksgiving visualizing a fast drop.
Since today was the only crush week workout I could make it in for, I decided to do it as painfully as possible with squat cleans at 95#. I realized that this was perhaps an overly aggressive decision about 8 reps in, but I was stubborn and didn't change course. 12:51 with push-ups. Actually thought I was going to die afterwards.
i'm still really frustrated. we just spent six weeks working on the cleans. WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.
laura mc you did great. glad you didnt die.
fox, love the write up. i'm kind of obsessed with the best time to eat what macronutrients so looking forward to that one too.
Thanks Fox. I'm really enjoying your nutrition series. I've been curious about the zone diet and this synthesis is helpful.
Wasn't feeling great today (multiple slight cold symptoms) but gave it a whirl. Hitting a 138# squat clean was pretty exciting and gave me a little adrenaline to coast on during the work-out. Thanks Jeremy for getting me to throw on an extra 5#. I was going to call it quits at 133#, oh and thanks to Ruth who got me to stand both of those up. If you didn't tell me to I probably wouldn't have done it 🙂
11:36(?) on the work-out. Started out doing squat cleans at 95# but switched to power cleans and finally got into a groove midway through the first round. Used a red band on the other movement. Maybe Rx next time if I can get kipping down, but that's still a lot of 95# front squats to contend with… impressive Laura Mc!
@ariel c – I felt really wonky when I started doing the cleans as well.. maybe it was thinking about having so many ahead of us in this work-out and switching over from the 1RM? Anyway, it's just the kind of thing where every day is different. So, next time you'll have a good day!
Monday's WOD:
Finished 7 rounds and 1 HSPU in the 20:00 cap.
-HSPU's with 2 abmats and a small kip. Tried to make them super slow, controlled on the way down, small controlled kip and then tight up. They felt good and consistent and doable throughout… probably b/c I wasn't moving super fast on everything else.
-Burpees, all round split 6-4. Took lots of breathing time here to shake out my wrist and pay attention to form. Right wrist feels a bit tender with push-ups/burpees so I was in no rush to plow through.
-DU's weren't flowing so well today. First round and one other later round were unbroken, but all the others were in 2-4 or even 5 sets. Just tripped up a bunch and got frustrated. The green rope is feeling so slow these days… think I need to learn how to use a speed rope.
Pec/Trap mobilization cash out was awesome. Needed that.
Make-up post from yesterday's 8:30 with DO.
Finished 8 rounds and 13 reps before the 20-minute cap.
>HSPUs were all kipping and unbroken. I felt very controlled and stable against the wall today, which is a huge improvement over the last time I was inverted (for Diane).
>Slogged through the burpees, but it was nice to have DH3 and Lauren as rabbits.
>DUs have been out of practice lately, though today was better than my last few goes at them. No unbroken sets; my best string was about 25 at a time. Most rounds were 3 sets of about 10.
Today was Jess' 6:30. Some early birthday presents in the form of a clean PR and a milestone for the other workout.
Squat cleans: 95×3, 115, 135, 155, 175, 185, 195 (PR from deck), 207.5 (PR), 215 (PR)
Gotta keep pace with Todd on these!
205 has been the sticking point from the hang, so I skipped it altogether today. I saw a lot of improvement this cycle in getting under the bar quickly and using more hips. My best squat clean improved by 60(!) pounds. If I had a few more minutes I'd have been interested to see if 220 would've gone up.
Metcon at 135, without the squat. I won't call it Rx'ed as I scaled the second movement in round two out of fear for the time cap, but made up the reps in round three when I had some extra time. First attempt at full volume and Rx'ed weight for me.
Fox: Thank you so much for this food series. Can't wait for the next installment.
And, to DO – a belated hats off on your second ITA post on Coach Comp. That you cover 100% of health insurance for staff is just amazing. And, starting 401(K) matches.
Did Monday's WOD 6 am with McD and Jess – I never post my workouts, but hit a mini-goal today of finally really hitting DU's. The first round was a throwaway – literally, as my rope felt short and I finally had to change it out. Amazingly, subsequent rounds became more efficient – I was able to get at least 20 unbroken consistently, and then 25+ on my last two rounds. Completed 7 rounds with piked HSPUs and shockingly slow burpees, but I was pleased with the DU progress. It has taken a year to get them. And, thank you, Steph, for the mini-cheer in the midst of your WOD. It helped!