Ok, so you’ve started CrossFit to get some real results and because it’s way more fun than going to the regular fitness gym. But you just seem to not really get the results that you would like.
I’m going to share with you the secret to getting real results... well actually it’s not a secret and basically everybody already knows this, but hopefully you’ll get a thunder bolt striking down your brain and you’ll see 'the light' after reading this. Maybe you’ll realize that what you are doing at this moment isn’t supporting your seemingly 'healthy lifestyle’...
The secret to real results is not about lifting heavier or doing more workouts, no... it’s way more basic than you might think. Getting real results is all about how you are fueling your body to support excersize and not storing body fat.
It’s really that ‘simple’...
Well actually it isn’t and that’s because food is important in our culture, religion and daily routine. Since growing up as a child we’ve been fed and taught to eat in a certain way, which created a habit. These habits aren’t always nurturing or fueling our body, but often it’s about indulging on tasty food and beverages without limitations.
As a kid I was always told to eat good, which basically meant that I needed to eat more because more is good... right?
“The more the better, because you have to grow strong as a kid and eat well”
If we really want to see results doing CrossFit, we need to start at the foundation of movement and that’s starts with energy. Energy that we need and use to support any activity that we do. Our energy source comes from all our nutritional intake, so it matters what and how much we get in.
If you are a very active person you’ll need more energy compared to someone who isn’t. Simply put, if we eat more energy than we need, our body will store it into fat, so that we can use it when we need it.
Ideally we want to eat exactly the right amount of energy to support our activities. Because if we don’t we’ll save more body fat and all excess body fat is not supporting our performance. So in order to control our body composition we need to take a close look at our food intake, because you simply can not outtrain a bad diet.
"You can not outtrain a bad diet"
I know that it’s easier said than done, and most of the times we are already lost before we are even getting started to look at our food intake. So here are my top 3 tips to get you started:
1. Track your nutrition intake
Track everything that you eat or drink, every single day for at least 2 weeks, This will give you a good insight on wat your daily intake is (you can use the free version of Myfitnesspal for example).
2. Drink water
Drink only water, tea or regular coffee for at least 2 weeks. This will limit your caloric intake through your beverages.
3. Cook your own meals
And only use fresh whole food products. This will give you more insight on what you’re actually getting in. Plus it will mean no (or way less) highly processed foods which most of the times aren’t that healthy.
If you want to focus more on your nutrition intake but need help, than you could always get a Nutrition Coach who can help you gain control over your nutritional intake and habits.
Remember... Real athletes eat Real food.