Diet Challenge – February 4th – April 5th 2013

We are running our 2013 diet challenge a little different than we did last year.  Last year we held a paleo diet challenge that was judged on a point system.  We understand that not everyone wants to follow a strict paleo program so we are going to run a clean eating performance based challenge.  Simply put, if you eat healthy and continue to follow our program you will see improvements.  You will be judged on 3 different events that we will begin testing on February 3 and continue thru February 5th.  All three events will be completed in the same 1 hour class time.  We will then complete these again at the end of the challenge.  Since we are not using a point system this gives you more flexibility, but it will also test your dedication to the program more since you are not counting points.

We will still be providing paleo information for those that are looking to follow that diet program.  A clean eating diet is rather simple to follow.  If you do the majority of your grocery shopping around the perimeter of the store you will typically be safe.  Try to limit your choices from the center isles, as they are usually processed foods. Eat lots of meats, chicken, fish, veggies, nuts, seeds, and some fruits.  Limit your sugar intake as much as possible.  Avoid anything that contains gluten.

We hope you can follow this program using as little outside supplementation as possible.  We want you to try to get all the necessary nutrients from your food intake.  We understand how supplements can be beneficial to a training routine, however we also know that sometimes they can be depended on too much.   Many health issues originate in the gut and are a direct result of improper diet.  This leads to inflammation and a laundry list of issues.  If we can get the body use to running on a clean diet the way it was designed – our training results will be that much better.

It will be a great idea to create a daily food log.  In this log you should also record your sleep hours and quality, how you felt during the day, and how your workout felt.  This will give you a great idea of how your diet will directly affect your training.  You will be able to see exactly what you did on days that you felt good and bad, allowing you to make necessary adjustments.

As part of the competition we are going to ask that each participant provide a recipe or two that they really enjoy.  We would like you to post the recipe to the “diet and nutrition” blog for the CFU website (located under the blog header).  We understand that not everyone uses Facebook so please post to the website.  This post will automatically be uploaded to Facebook as well.   We highly encourage everyone to communicate via this forum and talk about what is working and not working for you.  Once we know all that are participating we will set up a schedule for the recipe posting.

Good Luck!!!!!!

 

•