Food, Nutrition and Diet

It’s spring time, which means that summer is right around the corner. And summer is bathing suit season. Let’s do some spring cleaning, and spring leaning. Are you ready?

We’ve come up with a 6 week challenge designed to support each of you in developing healthier habits for a higher quality of life. The bonus is that increased health has the side-effect of a better looking body!

What better way to get your body ready for your new beach gear then with a big group of people and some friendly competition?

We invite everyone to join us & GET YOUR PRIMAL ON!

The components of this 6 week challenge are:

• Nutrition
• Mobility work
• Sleep
• Rest and recovery
• Supplemental nutrition
• That daily habit you’ve been trying to commit to

The ‘Get Your Primal On’ Challenge has a $50 buy-in. There will be prizes. There will be competition. And there will be fun!

You will create healthy new habits, feel amazing along the way, and be part of a group of people all working toward common goals and achieving success together. There is a saying that two people are stronger than one at implementing change, because if either one falls down, one can help the other up. The way this challenge is set up makes it perfect for all members, both new and old, and the more the merrier!

Prizes will be awarded for both individual and team efforts.  We’ll have a kick-off event that includes a workout for everyone to participate in. There will also be a Whole30 approved Paleo Potluck midway through the challenge to bring everyone together to share their favorite new recipe and hopefully get to know each other as our community has grown.

Save the date for the kickoff event: April 20^th from 12-2 pm. The event includes a workout and “before” assessments (photos and body composition numbers). The Finale is June 1^st.

Are you in? Register here, and Get Your Primal On!

Drinking.  We all have our must-have drink. Admit it.  For some it’s coffee. For others it’s beer. No matter what our daily beverage, all of us need more water.

Dehydration is a serious and disruptive problem to our bodies.  It may start with dry and chapped lips, but constant dehydration can get more serious and cause fatigue, something coffee won’t aid no matter how many cups you drink to try to give you a boost throughout the day.  In the chronic dehydration stages, you can even battle with severe constipation, raise blood pressure levels and experience achy joints.  So I’m here to tell you – start drinking!

There are hundreds of articles about proper hydration, over hydration, and lack of hydration.  There are hundreds of articles on types of water, and water temperature, electrolyte water.  All of this information can get overwhelming and unnecessary.  The basic rule I live by is – If I’m thirsty I drink more water.  Its simple makes a lot of sense.  But for some of us, we need a little more of a measurement.  If that’s you, I suggest you start with Max Wunderle’s advice in his CrossFit Endurance video.  He says, “Everyone should be drinking half his or her body weight in ounces regardless of fitness training.”  So, for a 180-pound man, he should be drinking at least 90 ounces of water.  There are 8 ounces of water in a cup, so that’s more than 11 cups of water before working out.  You then add another 16-20 ounces of water when training.

So why is staying hydrated important?  Again, when we keep it simple, we know that hydration is good for our health.  Overall, it enhances our skin and inhibits wrinkling, aides in proper digestion, ups our energy levels and helps combat depression. A Livestrong article mentions, “Water circulates oxygen and nutrients, makes vitamins and minerals accessible to your cells, [and] carries wastes and toxins out of your body.”  So if you’re working hard on following the Whole 30 Challenge or eating Paleo, you’re body is not soaking up all those nutrients if you aren’t staying hydrated (and if your meals are loaded with salt).  Listen to me when I tell you to drink, drink, drink.

Proper hydration also helps in your performance.  Wunderle says, “If you don’t have enough hydration in your muscles it’s just not going to work right.”  Think it’s not a big deal?  He then shares,  “A 1% state of dehydration will negatively impact your performance by as much as 10%.”  Your motivation for drinking more water might be performance, it might be shinier skin – whatever it is, it’s time to keep that water bottle close by at all times.  Even if drinking more water causes you to make a few more runs to the bathroom throughout the day, you’ll find it’s worth it.  So raise a glass of water and let’s toast to more drinking!

Additional Links:

Specifics of Race Day Fueling – Crossfit Journal

Four-minute lecture by Max Wunderle of Crossfit Endurance

Hydration for Performance – Crossfit Invictus

Proper Hydration – Crossfit Maximus