I love fitness.
This should be obvious at this point. But while I enjoy finding new ways to move my body and do cool sh*t, the harder thing is the most important thing: NUTRITION.
For months, I’ve been avoiding “counting calories,” hoping that all of my other hacks would make up for my avoidance. Intermittent fasting, intuitive eating, eliminating dairy…these habits were enough. Right?
Wrong.
While in South Africa, my body underwent a change for the better; leaner, more athletic, tan, I was in the best shape of my life. Now that I’m back in America, the environment has almost crushed those changes. Thankfully, I still workout — in fact, I’m in a gym for the first time in half a year — and I make sure to get veggies in every day.
I know it isn’t enough, but hey, it’s the holidays.
Beginning January 1st, changes will be made.
And no, I’m not talking about dumb resolutions. The only difference New Year’s goals bring about is the gyms become overly crowded for the next six weeks. #NewYearNewMe .…Yeah, right.
No, instead I’ll be creating a habit. (For more on why habits are better than goals, you should definitely check out this Jeff Goins podcast episode.) One at a time, my first habit for nutrition this year is going to be this:
For my two meals in the day — and my one snack — I’ll measure my food and macros in a CrossFit way.
So, what the hell do I mean by this?
I recently discovered a way to calculate how much you’re eating and what foods you’re consuming. I found it in a CrossFit PDF guide — you can check it out here, pages 63–76. Essentially, it gives you an easy, straightforward approach to find out how much you should be eating without calculators or MyFitnessPal or painstakingly inputting every scrap of food you consume.
Now, this is just a template. In order to get the full benefits, you have to tie your personal intentions to this.
For example, my protocol is this: Fast until the early afternoon, eat between 1 PM and 7 PM, with two large meals and a small snack, no dairy, minimal animal protein and byproducts, mostly veggies, fruits, complex carbs, water, and coffee.
With my tendencies in place, I use this PDF as a tool. According to their chart, I’m a “medium male” on the brink of an “athletic, well-muscled male.” (Call me a self-aware narcissist.) That means three 5-block meals and two 1-block snacks.
But I fast. The meals turn into two 7- or 8-block meals, with a small block snack. This is how I like to structure my eating, so I took the value from the PDF and catered it to my personal needs.
Another difference is the types of foods. The PDF lists a bunch of meat and dairy products, foods I won’t touch or use sparingly. Rather, I focus on the plant-based items they list. For their meal suggestions, I’ll swap the dairy or animal product for something close in both glycemic index placement and macros.
See? Simple.
All this to say, I’m being conscious about what I feed my body.
In South Africa, I discovered how sensitive I am to certain foods. Dairy leads to a dull, painful throb in my head. Simple carbs drain my energy. Legumes and vegetables give me a jolt and help me feel alive.
Isn’t that what Hippocrates meant? “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”
Using my knowledge about my own body, and making my environment a catalyst for feeling lean and powerful and alive, I am building a nutrition habit.
What are you building for 2018?
J. D. Lyda is the most passionate health and fitness writer in the world. Check out his site to see how he creates engaging articles and kickass social media. Feel free to contact J. D. Lyda to see if he can rep out consistent, quality content for you. Follow him on Instagram for his personal fitness and nutrition.
