Nutrition Foundations
What is your foundation?
There’s no argument that sport, weight lifting, throwing, gymnastics and conditioning have been around for centuries. Have you thought about nutrition on this timeline? It’s actually a pretty young field of study comparatively. While we have obviously been drinking and eating for millennia, vitamins were not discovered and defined until the 1920’s- about 100 years ago. When we think about working toward being a more fit version of ourselves, the newest piece of the puzzle is actually the foundation, or the underlying principle, NUTRITION. Long-term training depends upon a solid base of nutritional support.
In 2002 CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman, published a seminal article in the CrossFit Journal titled, “What is Fitness?” where he defined fitness and established nutrition as the foundation of any sound exercise program, be it CrossFit or any other. In large block lettering on the front wall of the gym, to the left of the whiteboard, you can read Glassman’s “Fitness in 100 Words”. It begins, “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar. Keep intake to levels that support exercise but not body fat.” How you eat influences how you perform. And as CrossFit would say, ‘there are no shortcuts and no gimmicks’.
Maybe you’re asking yourself, ‘What does this mean to me?’ or ‘How does this apply to me?’ Or perhaps you find yourself in the camp, ‘I like Crossfit, but I’m not that serious’. Nutrition is not only for the elite athletes. Let me ask you:
● Do you enjoy the benefits of exercise?
● Do you love the constantly varied programming of CrossFit?
● Do you want to be physically capable of being active long-term?
● Do you want to generally move and recover better?
Then, let’s look at your nutrition. How you eat influences how you move. Let’s put it into practice. Recall from earlier, nutrition is the foundation- so let’s start simple.
CrossFits nutrition prescription is not a do-or-die rule for nutrition, but a great starting point. Are you getting good whole-foods throughout your day? Are you eating a variety of foods to support complete nutrition? Do you realize the damage that sugar can do to your health and fitness when consumed chronically?
“Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.” This is the golden nugget. Your objective: to eat in a way that supports what your body needs and what your training demands. Also, be aware of the health benefits that you will reap when your body composition is prioritized.
Starting Your Nutrition Journey With Me
If you’ve never worked with a nutrition coach before, we start by jumping in feet-first with about a 45-60 minute talk. We will work together to set both long and short-term goals. Depending on your goals, we collect two methods of ‘measuring’ progress toward your goals (body composition scans, calipers, circumference measurements, photos, etc.). Lastly, we draw up a nutrition plan together. Everything is tailored to you. Interested in taking the next steps?
Contact me via email at mattocksnash@gmail.com
