CrossFit Fully Involved Nutrition Page

The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:

Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total calories.

Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total
calories.
Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total calories.

Calories should be set at between 0.7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass
depending on your activity level. The 0.7 figure is for moderate daily workout loads and the 1.0 figure is
for the hardcore athlete.

What Should I Eat?
In plain language, base your diet on lean meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch
and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get. 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. Anything
with a long shelf life is suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can
be achieved through nutrition.

The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition
Modern diets are ill-suited for our genetic composition. Evolution 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. Search "Google" for
Paleolithic nutrition, or diet. The return is extensive, compelling, and fascinating. The Caveman model is
perfectly consistent with the CrossFit prescription.

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 is 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 the Internet. 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.

Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.