My goal at the onset of the Off The Carbs / Off The Couch challenge was to explore ways of introducing nutrition to our members as a component of our regular programming. This is tricky because I don’t want to use up whiteboard time during class when we only have an hour to workout. However nutrition is paramount to ANY health or fitness program, so we can’t just skip it.
Persistence – stick with it, even if you stray from the plan every now and then
Awareness – be aware of EVERYTHING you eat (and drink)
Clarity – we know what works and we can help you navigate the sea of things that don’t
I believe these three things are the key to success in nutrition at CrossFit Spur.
We aren’t just going to let nutrition fall by the wayside, taking a backseat to exercise. It will be brought up in class regularly, we will continue providing information and answering questions and the OTC Facebook group will continue to grow.
We’re also going to perform InBody check-ins quarterly (Januray / April / July / October). The point of an InBody scan is not to say “I did it!” after reaching a certain goal. Instead they confirm the small, sustainable changes you’ve made still have you pointed toward your goal.
If the scan shows your metrics trending in the right direction then keep going.
If they aren’t moving the right way then it’s time to make small adjustments, something we can help you with.
Minimum Effective Dose (MED)
This is where it gets a little grey and where I hope to be of most assistance.
MED is the line that separates sustainability from crash and burn, and it can be a very fine line. The “all in” mentality doesn’t work when it comes to exercise or nutrition. It’s also not fun. No one enjoys giving up the things they love, even though we know those things are bad for our health goals.
Many people were nervous about their check in scan because they had some “slip ups” along the way. Vacations, illness and life in general can make avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates difficult. These shouldn’t be thought of as “slip ups” but part of the plan.
Think of straying from your normal eating habits like going on vacation. We all love going on vacation, but if we skipped work every day to sit on the beach drinking margaritas it would likely end poorly. It’s the same with eating sugar and refined carbohydrates. It’s ok, even needed once in a while but we need to understand that it cant happen all the time.
This is where Minimum Effective Dose (MED) must be established. How much vacation can we take before we get fired or go broke?
MED For Nutrition Plan:
“Meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO SUGAR“
Until we can stick to this simple plan there is no comparable benefit to be found elsewhere. Macro counting, meal timing, supplements, etc. are all of little or no help unless sugar and refined carbohydrates are removed from your diet first. Ditch the sugar – then we’ll talk.
MED for Plan Adherence:
Stick to the game plan 75% of the time, or 5-6 days per week. Enjoy a night out to dinner or ice cream at the drive ins, but don’t make it part of your routine. You’re aware it’s not moving you toward your goals but that’s ok. As long as we stick with it the other 75% of the time we will make progress. Of course, the more strictly you adhere the more progress you will see but don’t push yourself to the point of breaking or giving up.
75 – 85% of the time we should be eating for health which will afford us 15 – 25% of the time when we can eat for enjoyment.
MED for Exercise:
3-5 days per week. And, not every day needs to be 100% effort. The more consistent we are the faster results will come. But, if we push too far and hit the breaking point we will no longer find enjoyment and crash. The time we do spend in the gym should be focused on intensity. Make sure you’re following the coaches prescription for scaling – heavier or harder doesn’t mean better. In fact, it often times leads to a WORSE workout. Hunching over and looking down at your dumbbell, staring up at the pull up bar, taking a knee halfway through your deadlifts or walking for half of your run are not intense. They’re actually the opposite. Scaling appropriately allows you to do more work, perform more reps in order to improve consistency and push a little harder which is where the progress is found.
Progress isn’t perfect. Don’t beat yourself up if you enjoy a milkshake on vacation. Instead, enjoy life and know that you’ll be right back at it.
Taking small steps toward you goal allows you to make the climb a little easier and continue for a very long time.
Trying to skip steps eventually results in a stumble and you’ll inevitably end up back where you started.
There are no quick fixes. Learn to find enjoyment in the process, take it slow and steady, keep climbing and we’ll see you at your next InBody scan!