In reading through part 1, I realized that I glossed over an important part of the story.
Coming in at 30% body fat was no accident. Years of 60+ minute commutes, hurried work schedules, and a lack of nutrtitonal education resulted in a diet (if it can be called that) which was exceptionally unhealthy. Let’s start off with Coke. I loved Coke. My favorite meal, for a long time, was 12 Chicken McNuggets, a large order of fries, and a large Coke. We generally had several 2 liter bottles of Coke around the house and I typically had Coke (+ refills) with both lunch and dinner. I also hit the junk food hard, especially sugary carbs such as doughnuts and candy. Our town has (I’m going to use the present tense, although I haven’t visited it in years) the best doughnut shop ever. My go-to there – two filled chocolate eclairs. Even typing this brings back great memories.
As a side note, I think it is great that Crossfit Inc. has made a mission out of trying to destroy Coke. Years from now, people will wonder why we ever put this garbage into our body – like with cigarettes.
One of the first conversations I had with Paul Southern at Crossfit Pleasanton was in regards to diet. We did a complete reset on what I was eating. Soda out. Dead carbs out. Fast food out. Salads in. Vegetables in. Lean protein in. Over the first 4 months at CFP, I lost about 25 pounds – some of it due to 4x/week sessions, but mostly I think due to purging all of the garbage out of my diet. That 25 pounds was really a loss of 40 pounds of body fat and a gain of 15 pounds of lean muscle mass.
I didn’t keep a specific diet log but I generally keep track of calorie and protein intake. I dropped as low as 170 pounds, then over a period of 6 months got to about 175. Paul believed that I should weigh around 190. Given my history of knee problems – this was before the knee replacements – I felt comfortable and more “myself” at 175. It’s been 6 years and I’ve fluctuated between 172 and 180 (I’m 6’4″) – depending on activity level.
I’ve mostly followed the 90/10 rule – eat “properly” 90% of the time and allow 10% cheating. There have been times where 90/10 turned into 80/20 – but the plan has most held. Regardless of the ratios – no soda, no fast food, only reasonable carbs. I have a sweet tooth – dark chocolate or protein bars have taken the slack.
I still love popcorn and pizza in moderation. Because my entire family (wife, children, mother-in-law) have celiac disease, I’m on a gluten-limited diet – we don’t have gluten-based foods in our house.
I do take supplements – creatine. multivitamins, and glucosamine/chondroitin. I also order protein from TrueNutrition and make a protein shake mixed with coconut water for post-workout replenishment.
Here is a recommendation from US Soccer regarding nutrition – link
I can’t find much to argue with here.
Continued in part 3 …
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