So you’ve been working your butt off in the gym… and you want to take this full circle. You’ve asked about diets and you hear the same things over and over again, but what are they? Why are half of the crossfit posts you see about Paleo? Why is an ’80s fad diet in THE ZONE coming back? What are these Intermittent Fasting and Juicing Fasts?
Everyone is different. Some things work for certain people while having minimal effects on others. We as a gym do have Paleo/Clean diet challenges from time to time, as do most Crossfit gyms. So does that mean it’s the best thing?
Eating “Paleo” or similar to the manner that we think Paleolithic era man ate is probably one of the easiest ways to clean up our daily diet. Easy, of course, because it’s easy to identify– Not so easy due to the way most food is prepared in the modern age. It boils down to removal of any cultivated/processed food sources from our diets- mainly grains, sugars, and legumes.
Barry Sear’s The Zone utilizes exact ratios of proteins, fats, and clean carbohydrates. Somewhat difficult to manage while eating out at a restaurant, the Zone diet is probably the most scientific manner of adjusting our diets to our specific needs. The results of isolating minor changes are facilitated by the constant measuring of ratios and amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Fasts are simply periods of not consuming. Juice Fasts generally replace solid food with freshly juiced fruits and vegetables, for some, to all, of your daily caloric intake.
Intermittent Fasting is simply maintaining a period of zero caloric intake, followed by a period of consumption. The most popular versions being a 16hr fast each day, or eating sensibly every other day.
There have been so many amazing results with various different programs, but it may be a trial and error process to find what works best for you. If all of these seem too much to jump into, use common sense when choosing your daily meals. Eat real food.
Here are a few sources with further information:
The Beginner’s Guide to Juice Fasting
(and check out here for articles on Coach Heavey’s first hand experience with intermittent fasting)
~Coach Paul
WOD: DL / Wall Climbs ; Run / CTB Pullups / DL