One Bite At A Time
Roger and I talk about nutrition all the time. And for good reason! What you eat directly affects what you can do, how well you recover and how well your body makes gains. It’s also the hardest part of fitness. Let me say that again, it’s the hardest part of fitness.
In CrossFit, we pride ourselves on the idea of universal scalability. Our coaches know how to scale and modify any movement to the needs of each person. If you can’t do pull-ups, we show you jumping pull-ups. If you can’t do jumping pull-ups, we show you body rows. Etc. Proper scaling helps build the strength/coordination/flexibility/whatever to eventually perform the full movement. And like any movement that we scale in the gym, there are ways to scale nutrition to help you develop the knowledge/will power/habits to reach your dietary goals.
Positive changes to your diet come one bite at a time. You don’t have to stress over it and you don’t have to rush into making huge changes all at once, just like you don’t have to stress out over movements that you don’t know or weights that you can’t yet lift. Start small. Eliminate one or two things per week that you know you shouldn’t be eating and replace them with something better. Give up soda and drink water instead. After two weeks, cut out candy or cookies and have an apple. One step at a time and don’t forget to cheat a little. If there’s something that you just can’t live without, reduce your intake of it a little and try to eliminate something else.
I’ve also heard people say that they don’t change their diet because there is so much conflicting research about nutrition. “What should I do,” they say, “Paleo or Zone? Supplements or vitamins?” This is a silly case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. You know what’s bad for you– sugar, fast food, junk food. And you know what’s good for you– lean meat, vegetables, nuts & seeds, fruit. All you have to do is eat less of what’s bad for you and more of what’s good for you. Once you get a handle on that, you can start figuring out specifics and dial in your diet to the level that is optimal for you.
Finally, don’t think you’re alone out there. If you have any specific questions or want to get a little more advanced, talk to your trainer or start a post on the forum. Just remember, one bite at a time.
