Nutrition

You can’t out exercise bad nutrition.  At CrossFit Exchange we will discuss your relationship with food.  This is a “make-it or break-it” area for many.  If you fail to recognize the role that food plays in your health and fitness profile you won’t keep up.  Embrace it and combine it with our methods and you will reach new levels of physical and mental performance.

Eat real food.  Our belief is that a good nutritional program should be centered on eating real food.  We know that fad diets, crash diets, miracle pills and “meal replacements” are not part of a balanced, sustainable path towards improved health and fitness.   Instead, we encourage you to eat high quality meat, fish and eggs, plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, and healthy sources of dietary fats – it’s that simple.  Just eat good food, put your meals together in a way that is simple, balanced, and most importantly, sustainable, and experience all of the tangible benefits that come from a nutritional plan designed to optimize your metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation and have you looking, feeling and performing your best.

What should I eat?  Base your diet on a large variety of vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That’s about as simple as we can get.  Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable.  The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect.  If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.  Click here for a list of foods do’s and don’ts.

 What foods should I avoid? Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the primary culprit in nutritionally caused health problems.  High glycemic carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly.  They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, sodas, and most processed carbohydrates.  Processing can include bleaching, baking, grinding, and refining.  Processing of carbohydrates greatly increases their glycemic index, a measure of their propensity to elevate blood sugar.

 What is the problem with high-glycemic carbohydrates?  They cause an excessive insulin response in the body.  Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been positively linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a host of other diseases and disability.  Research “hyperinsulinism” on the Internet. There’s a gold mine of information pertinent to your health available there.

 Calorie restriction and longevity.  Current research strongly supports the link between caloric restriction and an increased life expectancy.  The incidence of cancers and heart disease sharply decline with a diet that is carefully limited in controlling caloric intake.  “Caloric Restriction” is another fruitful area for Internet search.  The CrossFit prescription is consistent with this research.  The CrossFit prescription allows a reduced caloric intake and yet still provides ample nutrition for rigorous activity.

 “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…….”    Coach Greg Glassman, CrossFit Founder

Just a few great websites for you to reference:

Robb Wolf                  

Whole 9                      

Mark Sisson                

Dr. Loren Cordain       

Dr. Barry Sears           

Gary Taubes                

General

Paleo

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