CrossFit Athletic Group

I am going to start doing these every so often to cover some of the individual nutrition talks I've had with people during the week. And I will continue biting off the MGoBlog UFR format by enlisting the help of Dean to make the writing structure go more smoothly.

Hello Chris, I haven't heard from you since the Summer attendance.

Yes, well, quite a lot of nothing has happened since then my kind apparition.

Excellent. Now, do you have anything you'd like to lead off with to start? Maybe a general theme for the week.

I do. And it is this... we don't get to have an opinion on nutrition.

Isn't that an opinion?

Did you evesdrop on the conversation I had with Jay last night?

You banished me from the gym when you threw away the CD player and chair, remember?

True, but, I mean, that's real though. The more I study nutrition from a decently wide range of people, the more it seems that there are two categories: 1) stuff our bodies need, 2) everything else.

So what's your point?

Well, when I hear a question like, "What's your take on butter?" or a comment like, "This dude I listened to thinks..." I immediately turn off. We need to be searching for what our bodies need, regardless what we think or someone else thinks.

What do you think our bodies need?

It's pretty simpl... wait, you bastard! I see what you did there! Try again.

Good catch. What do our bodies need?

Food.

How much?

Until we feel full.

Hmmm... so it's almost like nature gives us both answers.

Yup. Food comes from the wild, knowing how much is enough comes from our bodies.

So then why is it so freaking complicated?

Probably because everyone I know (including myself) is so far out of tune with this natural process. Like, Mrs. Gloria was born with the ability to climb a tree. And as a youth she did. But somewhere along the line she stopped pulling and pushing and squatting and lunging and sit-uping, and now we have to build progressions to get her back there.

And this, to me, is where opinions do come into play. Where do we start Loop with his nutrition journey? What's the next step with Mrs. Tara? What habits would be the most realistic for Mr. Ron? What angle do we go with Aaron or Cecilia to help them find a reason to make it their priority? What are the best 5 things for Dillon, Coach Casey, and Mr. Malak to keep track of every day that will set them up for success down the line? Those are all opinions, and that's where you'll find different methods like Zone, Keto, counting macros, fasting, Atkins, etc. But the direction they all lead to is not up for opinion.

What kind of progressions have you been working through this week?

Honestly, protein seems to be one of the main ones; both what exactly constitutes a protein and how much of it to have. The tricky thing about protein is that protein that comes from animals is not the same as protein that comes from plants or laboratories.

Then why is it still called protein?

I don't know, to tell you the truth. There are probably chemists or biologists among us who can answer that better than I can. But the cool thing about real science is you can usually feel it or demonstrate it. So try eating all your protein from animals for a day and then try eating it from everything but animals for a day, and see what the difference is.

If you are keeping track of protein, your end state would be to only count the ones that come from animals.

How much do we need?

Again, our bodies will tell us. Eat until we're full.

I'm a freaking ghost and I could eat chicken wings until I die again.

Ah, you could eat "chicken wings" until you die again, but take off the seasoning and the fried part and you will likely eat until you feel full, then move onto something else. Look out for a post called The Dog Test coming soon. Basically, you would be eating past the point where you are full because you want the taste.

Now, if you're looking for general guidelines, anything over 35-40 grams of protein (from animals) in a single meal is about that limit; you'll need special conditions/activity level for it not to be too much, and those exceptions probably aren't sustainable in the longterm. But, again, if you're not sure, take away any seasoning/taste-enhancing for a meal or two and you'll have a good idea.

And... conclusion

No!...No! No! No! I am here to make sure you don't resort to such an abrupt end to your posts.

We're 700 words in. More next time.

Can you at least give them something actionable they can take after you just vomited 700 words into a post?

Good idea. This weekend, have an animal with every meal or snack. That's the standard. Report your batting average on Monday.