In this special, divided into two parts, we are going to introduce CrossMag readers to the food pyramid designed by Andy Morgan for crossfitter. For those not familiar with it, Andy is a well-known nutritional coach, blogger ed author of numerous books on fitness. Key points of his vision are: the caloric balance, the intake of macronutrients and an adequate intake of fruit and vegetables. Andy is firmly convinced that adherence - by the athlete - to these nutritional principles can contribute to 90% of the results. Follow us in this article to find out more.
Index
The sustainability of our choices
Before following any nutritional path, the crossFitter must be convinced of its choices. The stimuli they are therefore very important, as it is fundamental that the decisions taken are, in fact, be sustainable for those who follow them. Andy parallels training. If we try to train like champions like Mat Fraser o Tia Clair-Toomey, after not even a few days our body will not be able to take it anymore, because it is reduced to disastrous conditions. Similarly, if we do not identify a nutritional path that we are able to pursue, it will soon become unsustainable and we will be forced to abandon it.
1 level: calories
Il caloric balance is at the base of the food pyramid. According to Andy this aspect is too often ignored by athletes. If we are training hard but the results are slow to arrive (eg mass and weight do not increase) the cause is to be found in an inadequate caloric intake.
The same is true in the case in which, even if we carefully select foods and consume only healthy foods, we cannot lose weight. Even here the problem is to be identified in a busted caloric balance.
determine the correct energy balance, Andy suggests doing a simple calculation. Assuming to be normal weighted, with a sedentary job and to train 3 times a week, we must multiply our body weight in pounds by 15. For example if we weigh 150 pounds (about 70 Kg) and we multiply x 15 we get 2250 calories. This represents, in broad terms, our daily energy requirement. Similarly, if we are trying to lose 1 pound of weight / week (around 0.5 kg), we simply have to subtract 500 calories from our daily goal.
Level 2: macronutrients
Protein, fats and carbohydrates represent the building blocks and fuel for our body.
Le protein favor the recovery la muscle growth and repair. They are also very useful for their high satiating power. According to Andy the protein intake needed for the crossFitter is up to 2gr / kg body weightand an other way to determine the daily requirement (indicated for particularly fat or thin subjects) is that of take protein based on height. For example, if we measure 170 cm, then we need 170 gr of protein / day.
Il grasso it is essential for the hormonal regulation. THE carbohydrates, although not essential, they are very useful after training, because contribute to protein synthesis.
For most people, it is recommended to consume about 20-30% of the caloric balance of fats, while the remainder is obtained through carbohydrates. Andy, as a rule, does not recommend ketogenic diets because, according to him, there is not enough evidence that these regimes bring particular benefits from the metabolic point of view. Moreover, being very restrictive diets, they are difficult to follow and with a very high dropout rate.
The article continues in second part