This post is simply me (Chris) talking…I have not conducted a strenuous amount of research or education in this. Instead, I am taking a realistic and common sense approach to this. Common sense seems to come easy to me…like if it hurts, don’t do it. If it makes you sick, don’t eat it. If it quacks like a duck…it’s probably a duck! I am going to break this down into four (4) stages/steps. These all need to be done together, like a puzzle, they need to be intact to be complete. They are not in any order of priority, as I personally believe they are equally important.
Making good choices. What is a good choice when it comes to nutrition? Is it a fad diet or is it something that is realistic? Well…for me, it is realistic. Contrary to what the daytime talk show hosts say, there is no magic pill that will make you more fit, healthier, or lose weight. Don’t believe the hype that is being sold all over TV, social media, supplement shops, magazines, or the interwebs! The people marketing this crap have one thing in mind…and believe it or not, it is NOT your well being…it is MONEY and GREED! They want you to be sick, they want you to be unhealthy…think about it, it makes them more money! Sure, there are some products that will shock your system and make it lose some weight…but then when your body realizes what is happening it gets pissed off and retaliates with weight gain, illness, or gawd forbid disease.
Puzzle piece 1: You have to eat real food and the right amount of it. You have to be reasonable in your choices for a nutrition plan and ensure whatever you do, that it is sustainable for the long haul. Here’s what really worked for me. I started to track my food. I quickly realized that I was NOT eating enough and the food I was eating was crap. So I cleaned up my food intake and started to log what I was eating…and guess what, it was much easier than I thought it would be and it worked! In order for your body to function the way it is designed to function, you need to feed it. If you do not consume enough quality calories, your body goes into protection mode and starts storing food as fat.
Puzzle piece 2: You have to work your ass off…literally! Now that you have the food thing under control, or as you are working on it, you need to get into a fitness regimen. Most of you reading this are probably already members of Big Muddy CrossFit and have already made this commitment…I tip my hat to you! I am not going to get too involved in this topic, because most of you are already at this stage. However, I will express the most important part of this stage…NEVER, EVER eat your burned calories! Example, if you are on a 2500 cal/day nutrition plan and you burn 500 calories, you cannot consume 3000 calories for that day. Please refer back to You Cannot Out Train a Bad Diet.
Puzzle piece 3: Hydration is so very crucial in this process as well. Hydration from water…no soda…that shit is like poison and should come with the international poison symbol on it! Seriously! “Oh, it’s ok, I drink diet cola!” Congrats, you are now no longer drinking sugar water, now you are drinking a chemistry project!
Ok, I know what you are thinking…but Chris, you drink coffee and beer! Yes, I do. Remember the previous post about moderation? Also, black coffee is ok. Adding real cream or milk is ok too…those are good fats when done with moderation. Beer, wine, liquors they are ok too…remember moderation! Beer has many benefits to it. It is a great source of carbs and is an excellent recovery drink.
Puzzle piece 4: Portions and moderation again. 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. Stuff that’s red, yellow, green and found in the fruit and vegetable aisle is good for you. Eat a lot of it. Ideally, 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, and don’t eat more.
Realistically, do the above but in smaller portions throughout the day. This will fuel you throughout the day, keep your body working hard, and help maximize your performance.
Our goal is to have parents and their children make the best food choices they can. Our hope is that real, whole foods will replace processed food items. We set the example for our children, friends, co-workers, and community. Let’s be smart, realistic, and use some common sense when we are selecting the foods we eat.
As always, if you have something you’d like to share, please email us at bigmuddycrossfit@gmail.com
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