The desire to lose weight and lead healthy lifestyles has created an array of diets. Some you have never heard of; others you have probably tried but never got the results you hoped for. Ever heard of the crossfit diet? What about its variation in crossfit block diet or crossfit zone diet? You need not to worry if this is your first time you are reading about this subject. On top of exploring this diet, this article will also touch on crossfit diet plan and crossfit diet recipes. Keep reading for you never know what this may turn out to be: a turnaround to your failed weight loss endeavors, who knows?
Diet for crossfit
What exactly is diet for crossfit? Well, there is no straight answer for this question. It depends on your healthy goals. Some want to lose weight while others want to have balanced diet as they keep on with their working out. The diet for crossfit is generally aimed at losing weight and maintaining your body shape. But first you need to know how much you weigh so as to be able to match up that one with your daily calorie intake.
To drop and tailor your calorie intake around your crossfit workouts it is imperative that you watch what you are eating before and after. Normally you will be taking lots of carbs during your 3 main meals of the day i.e. breakfast, lunch and supper. For the crossfit diet it would be helpful if you had a swap of your meals. For instance, you could swap your post-crossfit meal with what you usually take for lunch. Of course you will have to leave your veggies in your usual lunch hour. The reasoning behind this is that you will be giving your body a supply of proteins and adequate carb supply when it needs it most. In the long term you will be cutting down your calorie intake and that would qualify for the eating pattern for a crossfit dieting.
It is also advisable that you change what you eat from time to time depending on what you will be doing for your exercise. For the recovery phase you will need high supply of energy foods and that is where sweet potatoes should find an important spot on your meal table.
Here is a sample guide of what should be in your diet for crossfit (you can work around it and bring your favorite foods as long as they stick to the preconditions of the crossfit diet);
Before workout meal: this comes 1-2 hours before you hit the gym. You will need a solid meal bolstered with proteins and carbohydrates. Your protein and carb intake should be matched to your body weight. A healthy recommendation is that you should have 0.44g of both carbs and proteins for each kilogram you weigh. Hypothetically let’s assume that you are 65kg in weight. You will need 26-33g from protein and carbohydrate food groups.
After workout meal: it comes 1 hour after your workout. Just like the pre-meal, this one will require you to go for solid supply of carbs and proteins. You will be taking 0.44g of each of the two kinds in relation to what you weigh.
Take note: for your crossfit diet you will have to make some inclusion of fat. It is an optional addition but you will from time to time have to include it. The frequency and how much fat you will add to your meals will depend on the amount of healthy calories you can take in a single day.
Crossfit zone diet
The crossfit zone diet also known as the crossfit block diet is the brainchild of Dr Barry Sears who had a vision of creating a hormonal balance with what people eat. The hormones he targeted with his zone dieting were eicosansiods, insulin and glucagon. His objective was to keep the hormones at the appropriate zone, which is neither too low nor too high. Controlling the balance of hormones in your body has an overall effect of instilling a balanced system that will overcome any unhealthy conditions such as weight gain, lifestyle diseases and many more.
In a nutshell, crossfit zone diet has no interest with either low-carb or low-protein dieting. It is simply a balanced way of eating for optimum health. It is constructed around 3 food pillars which are proteins especially the lean kind and mostly natural sources; fat for a complete body insulation and a perfect source of extra energy; and carbohydrates from the low glycemic kinds accompanied with veggies and fruits.
The modality of the crossfit zone diet
Depending on your healthy needs, the crossfit zone diet has a set of food blocks from which you can choose from. For a 1 block meal you are supposed to choose 1 choice from proteins, another one from carbohydrate and the other from fats. For a 2 block meal you will pick 2 choices from proteins, 2 from carbs and 2 from fats. For any number of blocks you just have to pick choices according to that number.
Here is a simple table for crossfit zone diet that you can easily follow for better results;
For breakfast (around 7:30): eat a 2 block meal
For 10 am snack go for 1 block type
For lunch: you will need a lot of the nutrients so you should take a 3 block meal
For 4 pm snack 1 block kind once more
For supper: just like lunch you will need 3 block meal
Before bed snack go for 1 block as usual
In total you are taking 11 blocks. According to health charts, 10 blocks would be perfect for a small woman who is not involved in a lot of physical activities. The number of blocks you take will depend on your level of physical activity. The maximum number of blocks one can take would be 25 and that one is for someone who is a professional athlete with well formed muscles and does intensive training.
Crossfit diet plan
A lot of diets, whether for weight loss or just healthy eating will require some planning. If you are ready to walk the path of the crossfit diet, here is a 1-week crossfit diet plan cum crossfit diet recipes (for one person) that may come in handy (you can play with the quantities as you wish as long as you stay within the limitations);
Day 1
For your various meals make your choices from the following: smashed potatoes (4 medium sized pieces would be good for you). You will need boiled eggs as source of your fats and proteins. Depending on the number of blocks you will have in each meal and snack you can arrive at the accurate figure. You can also have your eggs prepared as omelets.
Day 2
Breakfast: berries half cup, avocado half piece and not more than 2 egg omelets
Snack 1: you will need not more 30oz of nuts. You can pick your choices from walnuts, macadamia, almond and pecans. Do not touch on peanuts or soy nuts.
Lunch: shrimp salad
Snack 2: small size apple and some almond butter
Supper: coconut pumpkin soup, sweet potatoes and a generous piece of chicken.
Day 3
Breakfast: 2 teaspoons of almond butter, small sized apple and 2 muffin egg omelet
Snack 1: some nuts not more than 10, chicken rotisserie not more than 30oz
Lunch: shrimp salad (better if you had yesterday’s leftovers)
Snack 2: 1 egg and not more than 4 strawberries
Supper: 2 medium size sweet potatoes, a chink of lean meat, vegetables
Day 4
Breakfast: omelet muffins and half piece of avocado
Snack 1: 6 nuts and 4 strawberries
Lunch: freshly prepared shrimp salad
Snack 2: 30 ounces of lean beef and small apple
Supper: 2 cups of coconut pumpkin soup
Day 5
Breakfast: half avocado, boiled egg (2)
Snack 1: generous serving of berries that are in season
Lunch: vegetables, a piece of lean meat, half piece of boiled sweet potato
Snack 2: small size apple (sliced and smeared with almond butter)
Supper: spinach, tomatoes, grounded beef
Day 6
Breakfast: 2 eggs, berries and nuts (not more than 10 pieces for both)
Snack 1: your choice of fat-filled snack
Lunch: 2 cups of coconut pumpkin soup
Snack 2: jerky beef 30oz, a small apple with almond butter
Supper: chicken, roasted sweet potato, vegetables and a fruit of your choice
Day 7
Breakfast: banana + almond pancakes
Snack 1: a fatty choice to keep you full
Lunch: chopped spinach, beef cooked in lots of onions
Snack 2: a small piece of jerky beef, a few pieces of nuts berries
Supper: meatballs in your favorite serve of sauce. You can accompany that with spiced spaghetti squash.
Final word
You may have heard of the crossfit diet for the first time. But you are now full of information that would be helpful in making your eating choices especially if you want to keep fit and at the same time lose weight. By far, the crossfit diet and crossfit diet plan take care of your healthy needs and you do not have to punish your body to lose weight or achieve whatever healthy goals you may have. Crossfit zone diet and the crossfit diet recipes are all easy for you. You can make your start today and say goodbye to other diets you have tried with no desirable results.