The diet is the basic building block of every sport, and you should not underestimate or exclude a healthy diet from your daily routine, even if you are not doing any physical activities.
With regard to the nutritional regimen of CrossFit, this emerging activity still needs several nutritional recommendations by specialists, because it is a high-intensity activity and leads to great metabolic stress, which is why specialists need to develop a plan for a healthy diet appropriate for this activity.
In this article, we will explain the importance of the CrossFit diet and how it helps protect against muscle damage and fatigue and its benefits as well.
Let’s find out together.
Why is the CrossFit diet important?
CrossFit activities depend on following a correct training program and a balanced diet, and what makes the diet necessary is its effectiveness in improving performance, providing the body with energy during exercise and helping to build strong muscles.
And according to several recommendations made by some associations, such as (ISSN), they emphasize athletes to follow a strict diet that contains all the healthy nutritional elements, and CrossFit coaches also advise that.
Why is it important to consume a healthy meal before CrossFit?
You must eat an important amount of carbohydrates and proteins before each training session in order to ensure that the body remains full throughout the exercise.
And you also need to consume some protein immediately after the training ends in order for the muscles to regain their strength and make good use of the protein.
If you don’t rely on a healthy meal
You will not have enough energy to perform the exercises, and you will feel tired quickly, and if you continue to do this for a long time, the muscles may lose mass as well.
What are the basic elements that the CrossFit diet should contain?
According to the NCBI website, CrossFit athletes need to stick to three healthy nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats.
The diet of CrossFit athletes should contain 30% of the energy intake, i.e. proteins, then healthy fats should cover 30% of the daily energy requirement (monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats), and carbohydrates should cover 40% of the daily energy requirement.
The most popular diet followed by CrossFit athletes
The trainers find it difficult to find the appropriate diet for CrossFit activities, but according to their experience they discovered that the Zone and Paleo diets are the most effective diets with CrossFit activities, and they are most of the diets recommended by CrossFit trainers.
Why are Zone Diet and Paleo Diet suitable for CrossFit?
According to NCBI, the Paleo and Zone diets contain important portions of macro nutrients, unlike most other diets, and this is what makes them necessary for losing weight and gaining muscle while exercising.
But that’s work only if it meets the recommendations of the sports and nutrition associations.
How many calories do CrossFit athletes consume?
Some CrossFit athletes consume more than 4000 calories per day, because this depends on the duration and type of exercise and intensity, as well as the weight and height of the athletes.
So if you want to know how many calories you should be consuming in a day, there is a simple process that you should do.
If you weigh 180 pounds, multiply it by 15 and the result will be the number of calories you need.
(15 x 180 = 2700 Calories ) calories intake you will need in a moderate training session.
How much do CrossFit Athletes eat
Also, the amount of food that CrossFit athletes consume from each food component, varies from one athlete to another, so we will give an example of the amount consumed by an adult athlete weighing 180 pounds.
A day of eating for the CrossFit athlete.
7 am. before strength training:
Fasting: Have a cup of coffee mixed with protein powder, then go to exercise.
12 pm. after training:
- Target protein: 50 g
- Target fat: 10 g
- Target carbs: 110 g
02:00 pm. before training:
- Target protein: 45 g
- Target fat: 10 g
- Target carbs: 105g
05:00 pm after training / last meal:
- Target protein: 50 g
- Target fat: 10 g
- Target carbs: 110 g
This was an example of a day of eating for a seasoned CrossFit athlete, so this diet may not apply to everyone, this is just an example of how much a CrossFit coach is eating.
Know more about what CrossFit athletes Eat
What are the benefits of following a CrossFit friendly diet?
- The first thing to benefit from the CrossFit diet, such as the Zone or Paleo diet, is to maintain a healthy body.
- Improve performance during training and reduce fatigue.
- Muscles benefit from nutrients, and help muscles grow quickly.
- The diet controls the number of calories you consume during the day.
- The diet helps to lose weight, and maintain lean muscle mass (with the help of exercises).
- Achieve fitness goals.
What happens if you don’t stick to a healthy diet?
Your CrossFit exercise program may not be complete without a diet. We have already mentioned that the diet or dietary regimen that you follow is the main pillar or base of the CrossFit pyramid.
You may not get satisfactory results if your diet is unsuccessful, and many beginners who practice CrossFit for a while and did not get results and got frustrated had a problem with feeding.
It may happen to you in the long run if you do not stick to a diet with CrossFit activities:
- According to NCBI, insufficient supply of energy and nutrients can reduce the body’s adaptation to physical activity.
- A strict exercise regime such as CrossFit, with insufficient energy, can lead to a decrease in lean body mass.
- A failed diet can also affect muscle strength and endurance.
- You may also suffer from low immunity, and the risk of health complications may increase.
Summary
CrossFit is a rigorous training regimen, and the diet that accompanies it is also rigorous and very nutritious.
CrossFit athletes are keen not to miss meals, and to consume enough macronutrients (protein, fats, carbohydrates).
The athletes are keen to adhere to one of the diets such as Paleo or Zone, and there are those who customize their own diets that meet their needs with their own training regime.
Despite all the efforts made by CrossFit trainers to develop the best nutritional regimens, many studies have found that many CrossFit pioneers suffer from malnutrition, and this may pose a danger to them in the long run.
Do not forget to share the post with your interested friends, and you may also want to join us in our mailing list.
