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I’m pretty confident that I’ve heard 90% of our members say something to the effect of “I kind of aimlessly wandered around the gym (or paid for a membership and didn’t attend) before I came to CrossFit, mostly feeling kind of awkward and not knowing what to do.” One of the reasons I fell in LOVE with being in a group CrossFit class, and am still to this day a raving follower: A solid CrossFit program (like ours!) takes away the guesswork. (Disclaimer: I’m not just a raving fan; I’m also a gym co-owner!) It’s not overnight, but usually within a few months (sometimes weeks) of consistently hitting the gym, people see results.
Why, then, should nutrition be any different? How many of you successfully feed your bodies well when you take the same approach as the above-mentioned gym-wandered? In other words, having no plan, no preparation, no guidance? Not many, I’d guess.
As in the case of the avid gymgoer but reluctant food prepper, you’re going to find a crossroads at some point: Either you’re working out really hard and not eating enough/the right portions/right foods, and your workouts don’t feel great, or maybe you’ve seen a ton of results and they suddenly seem to stall. Any guesses what the problem is? GENIUSES, you are! (It’s nutrition.) As your body, fitness level, and goals change, your nutritional needs also need tweaking (or, in some cases, a step-by-step overhaul).
You’ve probably heard alllllllll about meal prepping, either from me, a fitness site, Pinterest, etc., and you probably want to roll your eyes. BUT did you know that simply tackling ONE part of your food-day (if you’re like me, there are approximately 9 parts of your food-day) can give you quick results? I’m even going to say it – nearly INSTANT!? (Gasp!) The only reason I’ll claim “nearly instant” is that getting (even slightly better than terrible) balanced blood sugar doesn’t take too long, and you’ll pretty quickly feel better – NO MORE HANGRINESS!!! This is good news for everyone.
So what are a few ways to walk away enlightened and ready to take action? 1) Get rid of the “all or nothing” mindset. There is no perfect. There is only life, and the even the “best lives” involve some chaos and unplanned events from time to time. (Ask mike and I about our last two kids. HA!) 2) Work with what you’ve got, and not ALL of what you’ve got. Just a portion. If you’re suffering from the mid-day grumps or sleeps, let’s look at what you’re eating for lunch! One small change doesn’t take much, and honestly, it’s better to do this one step at a time. 3) Meal prepping more specifically (in steps, yay!) will be discussed soon; for now, cut up some strawberries and wash some blueberries on Sunday night (or tonight, or any night), and grab a small container of those and some Greek yogurt for your work fridge on Monday morning. 2pm: Hello, snacky-snack! Do this for a few weeks, and suddenly, it’s a habit – one you don’t even have to think about! It’s just like when people start CrossFit: the habit of making it to the gym seems far off – they’re just amazed when they get in there 3 times a week. A few weeks of this, and suddenly a 4th day happens. Pretty soon, they can’t imagine not spending 5 hours a week to be the fittest they’ve ever been. It’s a habit.
In our customized nutrition counseling, one of the first things I do is look at your current habits and start with a “baseline” of where you are, today. It’s all uphill from there! Getting face to face with it is the first step; then, making one small change a week, having the accountability of knowing someone is going to check in with you (and look at your DIARY! On myfitnesspal ☺) can make a few pounds a week difference. Let me know if you’d like to hear more about our nutrition counseling by scheduling a free, 15-minute No-Sweat intro at the link below, or at least get a friend or coworker on board and have a 5-minute accountability meeting each week about one small change you can make to start feeling better and chasing after Your Best Life! You deserve it.
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