start big...but small
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 1:11PM Today we are going to talk about nutrition. This is only "my" take on the subject. There are far more talented and educated people out there that know and understand more than I ever will. With that said, I need you to ask yourself two simple questions. First, what am I trying to accomplish? Second, how much effort am I willing to it in?
Let's take a look at the first question. What is your end goal? Weight loss? Fat loss? (yes they are different) Maybe it's to gain weight? Put on some muscle? How about this one?....ever thought about just feeling better? That's my favorite answer because if you would eat the foods that work with your body and make yourself "feel" better what do you think happens next? All of a sudden you're waking up more rested. You've got more energy through your day. You're more productive. You surely aren't going to find many excuses to not get in a WOD! When you eat the right foods everything else will fall into place.
Next question. How much effort are you willing to put in? I am not talking about starving yourself people! I'm talking about trial and error. You see, nutrition is a very personal topic. After all it's what you put in your body. Different people are going to eat different things. It's based on largely varying reasons as well. Habitat, religious beliefs, culture and even how much money you make all have an impact on your nutrition. THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT WAY, THERE IS NO PERFECT DIET. Did you get that? I 100% back that statement and will argue it with anyone. (my number is on my website).
A few years back it was fat. Low fat this and no fat that! BS. You need fat. A good amount of it. Oh and by the way what do you think those companies that are slapping those labels on their products replaced the fat with? I'll give you a hint...sugar. Quick fact. There are groups of people living in the world, places like Greenland who are consuming large amounts of fat. Up to 75% of total intake. Guess what?...no heart disease and no type 2 diabetes. Hmm.
Then it was the carb craze. These people are complete whack jobs. Yeah I said it! Complete looney tunes they are! Things that grow are carbohydrates. Fact. So these nut jobs who claim they don't eat any carbs have zero clue. Fact. Ok so maybe I'm being a little tough on people, but, if they stopped and thought for themselves instead of whatever they read in some fact biasing fiction magazine they'd soon realize that they were in fact crazy.
I like to keep it simple. Back to basics people! Quiz hot shot...when you eat something that you know isn't the best choice you’ve ever made, how do you feel? Sluggish? Tired? Sick? Well then why do you continue to make those choices? Someone just a few minutes ago said to me "I ate a half of a bag of Hershey's kisses and my stomach is a mess.". REALLY?! Why are you surprised? Before a WOD no less.
I don't like to focus on the little things before we nail down the big things. I hear a lot of chatter about "portions". First of all STOP reading a box and thinking that there's a magical person out there that decided that a 1/2cup of whatever your eating is the best "portion". It's based on average calories. Yuck! Another Todd dislike. Why would you bother counting calories? 300 calories is 300 calories right? NOPE! Wrong. Unless you're telling me that garbage is ok as long as it's the correct amount of calories. Processed foods are ok as long as your portions are correct? Is that what we are saying? I disagree.
ow about we try this, eat food. Yes you read that correctly. Here it is again. Eat food. Still don't get it? Stop getting your food from a box or a can. I understand you are busy, join the club. You are not any different than the next person. You are not special in that aspect. We are all busy, take some accountability and prepare. Eating fresh, healthy, clean food will translate into feeling the same way. Until you get that down in my opinion you are completely wasting your time counting calories, measuring portions and stressing over complex math equations to figure out something so simple.
If you take a look at our approach to quality nutrition it's simple. "Eat meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.". (Thanks CrossFit) Period. Until you can get that down stop fussing with everything else. I mean how simple is that? Oh, and I don't want to here "Well Todd! How much of this do I eat?" try over eating veggies! No seriously! Try it out. It's so difficult to get the amount that you probably need, that I dare you to over eat. Have you ever heard of anyone who "over did it" on the cauliflower?
One more time for fun. Keep it simple. Work on the biggest issue which is what you're eating. The little stuff will tend to fall into place. Promise.
“Keep it clean, keep it fresh and keep it real.” -Todd
Reader Comments (2)
Here is my question tho...If someone comes to you who is looking to lose weight. They are new, inexperience and have no idea what the nutritial value difference is between a carrot and a cupcake....How are you going to tell them to drop everything they are currently eating (processesed foods, ect) and have them just eat "food." Its silly to think that a person just starting out or a person who really has no idea, is going to drastically change their eating habits from processed crap to 100% green and healthy food. Its setting them up to fail.
I agree that once establised your goal should be to EAT FOOD. Stay away from processed food and refined sugar its #1 step I give when people ask how I lost weight. But I think that people need to be reassured that they don't have to change everything they are eating in order to reach their goal. Weighing and measuring are good first steps I think..... I think that if a person learns to choose the box of Kashi over a box of frosted flakes and to measure out the cup of it rather than just pour a bowl its a good learning procsses.
I know in my experience. Cutting out what I wanted the most, was setting me up to fail. I had to tell myself that its ok to once and while have the crap that I wanted in order to satifify that craving. Have 1 hersey kiss to crush the sweet tooth, have pretzles to shake the salty craving....But if someone told me 100lbs ago that the way to do is to eat vegetables and cut the crap...I would have paniced...
Like you said...just MY take :) I'm no nutritionist i totally get what your saying!
hmmm...maybe Angela. First of all everyone is going to be different. Not everyone is going to have that drive that you do. Not everyone is going to be able have 1 hersheys kiss. Sugar is addictive, so I advise people to steer clear! Especially in the beginning, get that garbage out of your system. Those craving WILL go away. It's like people trying to recreate processed food from coconut flour. Sure it's fun to have pancakes but, cut them out and train your body to not want them. Recreating junk is in my opinion a waste of time. It can be done without garbage food.
I like your point about the carrot and the cupcake...but I haven't met anyone who may be confused as to which one is the better choice. When I first meet with someone and the goal is fat loss we set up a plan. It's baby steps from there. If their diet is a total mess it may be week one: cut out soda, week two: learn how to shop. Something like that.
Get me?
PS I'm pretty sure I found the person who is always going to be challenging me...I love it