“July is hot afternoons and sultry nights and mornings when its joy just to be alive. July is a picnic and a red canoe and a sunburned neck and a softball game and ice tinkling in a tall glass. July is a blind date with summer.”
~ Hal Borland~
Summer shred continues in July! Awesome work everyone on shedding those pounds in June. We’re not done yet though. Hopefully June was a helpful few weeks to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. The best fitness and weight plan is the one that works for you. Bodies are not one size fits all, therefore, neither are our dietary needs. If you are not satisfied with your goals thus far, let’s talk! There are so many options to choose from and one that is bound to fit your lifestyle and needs.
“My daughter recently asked me for assistance with her fitness and diet plan. She’s a sophomore in college and trying to learn how to care for her diet and body. Here’s the catch – she has PKU, a metabolic disorder that prevents her body from processing phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an amino acid in protein and quite literally in everything! She is not on a zone diet because it won’t work for her body. We focus on calorie deficits and keeping our macros at 50% carbs, 30% fats, and 20% (medically modified) proteins. She’s successfully managing weight loss and strength building. We’ve created realistic goals and designed a manageable plan. ~Coach Deb
What works for others may not work for you. Let’s revisit some of the basics of nutrition and weight loss: you will be hard pressed to lose weight if you are not in a calorie deficit. We must ensure that our “calories out” are greater than our “calories in”. If our goals are to reconstitute the weight we have then more focus must be placed on what we eat and not necessarily how much we are eating. We still want to balance our calories in with out, but proportions are essential. CrossFit endorses the Zone Diet as conducive for achieving one’s goals across the board.
The Zone Diet is one of many ways to fuel one’s CrossFit activities (it is not the ONLY way). We focus on this particular method since it is officially endorsed by CrossFit. The diet is governed by these parameters:
- Meats & Vegetables
- Nuts & Seeds
- Some Fruit
- Little Starch
- No Sugar
Macros refer to the percentages of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The Zone Diet encourages 40% of calories from carbohydrates, 30% of calories from protein, and 30% of calories from fats. As a general rule, focus on the perimeter of the grocery store when fulfilling your shopping needs. Strict adherence will get best results, but even small minor changes make a huge difference. For the month of June, we focused our CrossFit goals on weight loss as a gym with a total goal of 500 lbs. to include points for fat% loss, clothing sizes, and PR’s. This is what we mean by “CrossFit Goals”. It’s not enough to lose weight if you can’t increase in strength or endurance. We still need enough fuel to accomplish our goals. It’s not about pounds and aesthetics; it’s about functionality. Everything else is just a perk of good health.
Our challenge continues into the month of July as we begin our 2-month long Wendler Cycle. Wendler refers to a method of strength building used in CrossFit and Weightlifting. We’ll be focusing on deadlifts, back squats, and shoulder presses. Trust the process and get ready for some PRs!