The Healthy Living Challenge starts this week. Alison has prepared notebooks for everyone and we have a Google doc (actually Google Sheets – but what evs). We will use the docs to track our food intake and other aspects of the HLC, like working out, hydration, mobility and more.
I’ll share a bit of my healthy eating experience. I started CrossFit in 2006 and I was heading to overweight. I was basically eating and drinking lots of carbs. I started the Zone in about late 2006 and stayed with the program until 2010. I lost weight, became lean, and saw my performance go from very good to elite. From 2010 to about 2012, I went between an athletes Zone (more fat) and Paleo. During this time, I was heavy into competitive CrossFit. I didn’t drink a beer or eat a piece of birthday cake for 6 years. I’m not kidding. If I did have “cheat meal” it was always followed by eating healthy again.
By 2013, I was still competing in CrossFit, but the demands had become so great, it was nearly impossible to get the calories you needed and compete multiple workouts a day. I started eating more junk just to fuel performance, and it kind of worked. I would eat clean most of the time, but from Saturday night through Sunday, I would eat everything. This worked for a bit, but I knew I was chasing insulin spikes, trying to time my food intake with workouts.
In all honesty, I knew I wasn’t going to make the Games. I was happy to qualify for Regionals and do the best I could. I think deep down I knew that I could torture myself over nutrition and finish maybe, at best, top 25 in the Regional. Instead, my last 2 years, I basically ate whatever I wanted and finished 35th.
In 2015, as the eye of the needle for the CrossFit Games got narrower, I basically said fuck it. I’m going to eat and enjoy myself. I only workout once a day, 5 times a week, and now I eat sugar. And I’m addicted. I don’t lie and hide my intake. I openly eat candy at work, and the insulin spike causes ups and downs. I know this. I know that if I stop eating 7 skittles at a time, and actually stop, my cravings will go away. So, I’m taking advantage of the challenge to clean up my nutrition, and get off the sugar wagon.
Workout of the Day
Strength/Skill
Front Squat, Week 6 of 6
5 sets of 3, 90%
Conditioning
OTM 15
3 Power Cleans, 1 Overhead Squat