I'm looking to get back into shape after a couple month lay off due to travel/other obligations, and ended up looking at the Crossfit website. It's something very different than what I've done before, and looks like a lot of fun (pain).
The nutrition recommendations seem really sparing though. They suggest a 40C/30/30 split, with no high GI carbs, and cals figured from a total 0.7g of protein per pound of lean body mass for a moderately active fella such as myself. Given my stats, 6'2", 195 at what I would guess is 15% bodyfat, they have me eating 1500 kcals a day.
While my goal is fat loss at first, and while this would be really easy on my budget, it's way lower than any other calorie calculator I've used before. I'm willing to give it a try for a couple months, since that's what they recommend, but it seems awfully low.
At your weight and BF level yes, that is far to low.
Their macro nutrient recommendations are fine but I would gauge your caloric needs, well really gauge them by results but to get a start off estimate I would try this calculator. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-ca...dict-equation/
I would also think about not cutting at all and instead doing a nice slow bulk and just putting on a little lean mass. Of course this is all dependent on your goals and what style of body you want. And of course how low of body fat you want to get.
Unless you are are trying to get competetion cut, there is really never a need for someone your size to go below 2000 and even then you wouldn't be doing that yet at your current stats.
My stomach would suck in and wrap around my spine if I ate 1500 calories. I think I managed to choke down more than that when I had mono a few weeks ago. You need more food.
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The reason I asked the questions is because I am extremely skeptical of their suggestion. The website states explicitly though, that I should take in 0.7g of protein per pound of lbm and that the protein will constitute 30% of my caloric intake.
I was mostly just curious to see if anyone else here knew why they made such a low recommendation. They say some other things on the site about caloric restriction diets as well. I know we have a few crossfiters here.
Quote:
The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:
Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load.
Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Calories should be set at between .7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass depending on your activity level. The .7 figure is for moderate daily workout loads and the 1.0 figure is for the hardcore athlete.
The reason I asked the questions is because I am extremely skeptical of their suggestion. The website states explicitly though, that I should take in 0.7g of protein per pound of lbm and that the protein will constitute 30% of my caloric intake.
I was mostly just curious to see if anyone else here knew why they made such a low recommendation. They say some other things on the site about caloric restriction diets as well. I know we have a few crossfiters here.
With a calorie restriction, it is easier to stay leaner. However, I completely disagree with the recommendation of protein (in my opinion should be 1-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight). Then again, I dislike Crossfit and their idealogies altogether, seeing as I'm an aspiring bodybuilder.
I have never read much of their nutrition stuff, and don't know where your direct quote came from, but I know they are(at least have been) big fans of Barry Sears's Zone diet - and recomend his books, specifically Mastering the Zone, for nutrition info.
7.3 My Zone calculations seem awfully low in calories; is this enough food to maintain or gain mass?
There are more calories than you see; when counting Zone blocks, you only consider the primary nutrient type (e.g., treat fruits, vegetables, and any grains as a carb source alone. Eat lean protein and don't count its fat content towards your 1.5g of fat per block. Eat healthy fats and ignore any non fat macronutrients they have. Don't count the protein in tortilla, banana, or pecans, etc. Consider them carbs or fat. Treat peanut butter as a fat. You wouldn't apply the protein and carb totals in peanut butter towards your block count.
I don't know how that fits in with their dietary prescription you quoted, but I would probably tend to more calories than 1500 - like 1000 more to start a baseline at.
Not too be too much of an arse, but on their message board I suggested to a member, who was asking about other diets or nutritional tips, to check out Dr Berardi's free offerings (articles and writings) as a minimal guideline.
I hope we are on an understanding that Dr Berardi's stuff is good. His guidelines with the details of the Adam Diet helped me in my initial phase of weight loss, fat loss, and controlling my blood glucose/sugars.
A typical reaction I have gotten and have read when mentioning something different from what they suggest their followers to do (which means just about anything they don't endorse) is get belittled (am I using the right word here) and practically scolded and told that the Zone is the more preferred way to go. I don't totally agree and I got banned for stating so. Yeah, the reaction about Dr Berardi's work was quite interesting.
To summarize all reactions "Doesn't he write for a bodybuilding site? His nutrition is not for CrossFit."
So what to do? Take their workouts, do it hard and smart, find more open minded guidelines elsewhere. Get mixed up in their political banter and you forget you're at a fitness website. Doesn't really matter which side you lean on, left or right or middle.
I am wondering how you came up with 1500kcals. Did you just go by the protein intake requirement and add from there? Perhaps not always good to go by. I think even going by the caloric intake equations you'll come out to a better number. Just wondering, how many kcals would you be taking in if taking in 1g of protein per lb bodyweight or lean body mass?
Watch out for the Kool-Aide there, just mind the workouts. You may also find that some days you'll need to do some extra strength work to build weaknesses.
A typical reaction I have gotten and have read when mentioning something different from what they suggest their followers to do (which means just about anything they don't endorse) is get belittled (am I using the right word here) and practically scolded and told that the Zone is the more preferred way to go. I don't totally agree and I got banned for stating so. Yeah, the reaction about Dr Berardi's work was quite interesting.
That's a shame getting banned for disagreeing with a diet that is centered around natural anti-inflammatory effects (the "Zone" is the the time when carbohydrates release eicosanoids and cause some fancy "hormone balance"). I guess those at Crossfit ran out of aspirin...
I've done CF on and off for a couple years now, but I've never worried about their nutrition guidelines. Their workouts are great because they're scalable (of course, if athleticism is your goal), but diet is too personal to buy into a cookie-cutter program (I guess the same can be said for training programs) Nothing wrong with experimenting with and tweaking different diets, but in the end, it has to meet your body composition goals (for example, my body responds well to keto, but that keeps me from distance running, so it's a matter of priority). I agree with others in thinking that CF's protein recommendations are too low--I try to stick to ~1.2g/lb bodyweight.
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Thanks for all the replies, guys. I will give the workouts a try for a while, and use a diet plan more in line with Berardi, etc.
Buk: I got the quote from the "Start Here/What About Nutrition?" page. I will check out the Zone diet to see what it says. Thanks.
tavita: I got to 1500 kcals by doing the following math:
My LBM = weight - bodyfat = 195 lbs - (195 * 0.15) = 165 lbs.
Protein (in grams) = LBM * 0.7 = 165 * 0.7 = 115g
kcals from protein = 115 * 4 = 460
Total cals = (460 * 100) / 30% = 1500
At 1g per pound I get 2,200, which seems like a slightly more reasonable place to start.
I would have asked at their messageboard, but you have to have your account request reviewed by a moderator before you can post. It's been almost two days now .
I haven't checked out any nutrition info on the CF website for awhile, but I remember reading some advocacy for calorie restriction there - adapting your body permanently to a reduced calorie diet, which some people believe can promote longevity.
Whatever the case, you certainly don't have to follow CF's nutrition or calorie intake guidelines to do their workouts.
I haven't checked out any nutrition info on the CF website for awhile, but I remember reading some advocacy for calorie restriction there - adapting your body permanently to a reduced calorie diet, which some people believe can promote longevity.
Which I believe is a crock-restricting your calories somewhat is essential for fat loss, but it sounds like they take it too seriously. Whatever the case, I hope they enjoy their catabolism.
Understand that they consider powerlifters, bodybuilders, as well as marathoners and Ironman-type triathletes to be equally "extreme."
Yeah, whatever! The holier-than-thou pissing matches between people who prefer particular types of exercise drive me crazy. Who cares what other people do??? If you don't want to run marathons, don't do it. If you don't want to do CrossFit, then don't. If you don't want to bodybuild, do something else!
Their FAQ calls out The Zone, while the CFJ mentions the higher fat Athlete's Zone. They also have a number of people who espouse the paleo diet.
Understand that they consider powerlifters, bodybuilders, as well as marathoners and Ironman-type triathletes to be equally "extreme."
Just a guess here–tell me if I'm wrong: Bodybuilder Fulmen's dietary needs are quite a bit different from those of Gymnast Roger Harrel.
cdkrug, I think you're missing the point here. The appearance of CF's nutritional guidelines probably weren't too flexible to evancj's eyes.
Doing CF WODs alone does not always provide enough daily output to lose lots of fat or excess weight without a calorie restrictive diet such as the Zone. I personally do not agree with very low-calorie and low-protein diets for a long period of time. There are times for every approach, unless you are medically unable to do so. Even in sport performance, there needs to be specialized work in order to win. That is unless your sport is CF. It's always funny to read CF's Grand Puba call out other training groups saying his CF specialized girls can beat everyone not CF in...guess what? CrossFit workouts. Just fluff, just fluff.
About what CF considers extreme or whatever the point you were trying to make about the powerlifters, BBers, etc...CF has made a lot of bold, emotional, under educated statements. Don't get caught up in that bunk. Speaking only about the main CF site, it's their way or the highway. Luckily the affiliates have a better understanding on life and its flexibility.
Crossfit nutrition rec's
Nothing wrong with experimenting with and tweaking different diets, but in the end, it has to meet your body composition goals (for example, my body responds well to keto, but that keeps me from distance running, so it's a matter of priority). I agree with others in thinking that CF's protein recommendations are too low--I try to stick to ~1.2g/lb bodyweight.
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