The athletes at The Olympic Body Shop base their diet on vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, essential fats, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar, [go "clean" with no grains, no bread, no dairy, and no refined/processed food]. 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 and train like a freak--making every meter and every rep mean something--you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.
Paleo: The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition
The Community at The Olympic Body Shop are "religious" about Paleo. Modern diets are ill suited for our genetic composition. The human body's adaptation has not kept pace with advances in agriculture and food processing resulting in a plague of health problems for modern man. Coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological dysfunction have all been scientifically linked to a diet too high in refined or processed carbohydrate (NOT saturated fats, cholesterol, or meat). Google search for Paleolithic nutrition, or diet. The return is extensive, compelling, and fascinating. The Caveman model is perfectly consistent with the CrossFit prescription.
The CrossFit Dietary Prescription
PROTEIN should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
CARBOHYDRATES should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load.
FAT should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
CALORIES should be set at between .7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of LEAN BODY MASS (deduct your body fat from your weight) depending on your activity level. The .7 figure is for moderate daily workout loads and the 1.0 figure is for the hardcore athlete.
CALCULATION. You should first determine your daily protein requirement, and then calculate all caloric values/macronutrient daily requirements based off of this number. Hypothetically, if you're a 100 pound (#) elite CrossFit female athlete at 10% body fat, then your lean body mass is 90# (10% of 100# = 10# | 100 - 10 = 90). Because of your elite status, you'd be on the upper limits of protein at 1.0g per pound of lean body mass, so 90g of protein daily. The caloric value (kcal) of 90g of protein is 360 kcal (1g of protein = 4 kcal, so 90 x 4 = 360). You'd then use this caloric value of your daily protein requirement to figure out what your daily caloric intake should be. If protein is 30% of daily caloric intake (about a third), then you'd calculate 360 x 3.33 = 1199 kcal TOTAL/daily. Using this number you can calculate your daily calories from the other macronutrients (Carbs & Fat).
Carbohydrates would calculate 1199 x .4 = 480 kcal daily from CARBS
Fat would calculate 1199 x .3 = 360 kcal daily from FAT (same as PROTEIN)
You can use kcals/gram of Carb or Fat to determine what that looks like in GRAMS, which is much easier to keep track of (instead of counting calories).
That last paragraph might seem a bit daunting with all the calculation explanations, so a really simplified approach to eating the proper quantity of these Paleo foods is to adopt The ZONE DIET. The Paleo Diet gives you the highest QUALITY of foods to eat, and The ZONE DIET gives you exact QUANTITIES of those foods to consume. When you combine the two diets you "unleash the beast" to elite fitness and exponentially accelerate metabolic functions, advancing you forward; allowing you to reach your goals much faster.
So 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's the Problem with High-Glycemic Carbohydrates?
The problem with high-glycemic carbohydrates is that they give an inordinate insulin response. 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, blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a Pandora's box of disease and disability. Research "hyperinsulinism" on Google. There's a gold mine of information pertinent to your health available there. The CrossFit prescription is a low-glycemic diet and consequently severely blunts the insulin response.
Caloric 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.
More Resources
Robb Wolf, Paleo Expert; Hugely Respected in CrossFit World
Robb Wolf's Paleo Quick Start Guide (PDF)
Published Research for the Paleo Diet/Life-style
Paleo Plan, FREE Resources & CHEAP Meal Planning
Paleo Blocks, consistently updated blog; includes recipes!
Paleolithic Diet Nutrition Page, Unlimited Resources!
Mark Sisson's Daily Apple, Author of The Primal Blueprint
Mark Sisson's View on The Zone Prescription vs. Paleo & Together
