After our Welcome to CrossFit seminar this past weekend, the emails, DMs, and members’ group chats lit up with further discussions on training, rest, and recovery. One hot topic: Dieting and nutrition.
At CrossFit DireWolf, we’re preparing to kick off our “30 Day Challenge” alongside our official partners, pH Nutrition.
Participants of DIREWOLF30 will attend an initial group meeting with pH to discuss food related goals, and then work to one of two pathways to realise those goals. Broadly speaking, these may be geared toward weight loss and dropping body fat, or performance-focused for energised training.
“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.”
“Keep intake to levels that will support
exercise but not body fat.”
CrossFit’s nutrition guidelines and dietary recommendations are based on The Zone Diet. Controlling blood sugar, and reducing inflammation, it’s “block” design aims to fuel recovery and reduce the risk of chronic disease with lean protein sources and low-GI carbs.
While The Zone Diet focuses on portion size and the quantity of food, another popular diet amongst athletes, Paleo, focuses on quality. The diet incorporates non-processed foods, such as those our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have dined on. That means meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruits (sound familiar?), but processed grains, and most starches and sugars are a no-no.
“Do the powers that be in CrossFit have an opinion on dairy?”
We had a member ask this question after the seminar. Followers of Paleo will avoid dairy due to it falling in the processed food category. But, so long as they stick to their “blocks”, processed foods such as dairy, sweets, and grains are very much on the menu for Zone Dieters… in moderation.
Although they have their differences at their core, both Paleo and The Zone Diet promote healthy eating. They encourage education around food, and an awareness of the importance of how we fuel our bodies.
And that’s the aim of this intake of DIREWOLF30.
Whether vegetarian or vegan, Paleo or Keto, and from The Zone Diet to Intermittent Fasting, and even those faddy diets like Atkins, Dukan, HCG, and Lo-Carb, CrossFit DireWolf and pH Nutrition will teach “good nutrition” and help people find a maintainable, effective diet that keeps people healthy while bolstering their athletic performance.