(this was my post for yesterday’s blog at AlbanyCrossFit.com, highlighting a topic I thought to be very appropriate… especially following the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show. Ha!)
Fair and Balanced? OK, good—that got your attention.
But don’t worry; I’m not going on a political rampage regarding FOX News vs. MSNBC. Gross. I actually want to highlight something maybe a little more controversial and infinitely more important in the grand scheme of things. Things as in, oh I don’t know, your life, health and overall well-being. That sort of stuff.
So, what do I mean by “Fair and Balanced”?
I’m actually talking about nutrition (of course) and the average American’s view on “balancing” their fat and carbohydrate consumption. Or, rather…
Their imbalance.
Think back. Before you found CrossFit and talked to Caleb, Austin, Kevin, and Jason about diet, what were your thoughts on fat, carbohydrate, and overall food consumption? Did you believe that eating less fat would make you thinner and/or healthier (because we ALL KNOW that merely being skinny does not equate to health, right? ..RIGHT!?) Did you believe that eating bread, pasta, and whole grain were the better alternative to red meat because red meat causes heart disease? That eating food in general had the potential to make you larger than life and that you should control it at all costs?
It’s OK, you could admit it. I remember thinking it too.
But, things are different now, and I absolutely urge you to remember this.You’ve found, now, a beautifully intense and physically taxing workout regimen that needs to be fueled accordingly. Fats such as avocados, nuts, coconut/olive oils and certain seeds are necessary for nourishment and also utilized during your workouts. Not to mention they’re incredibly healthy. The same goes for carbohydrates (with the main source coming from fruits and vegetables, only). I’m not going to go into the science of nutrition because both myself and Austin have blogs dedicated to such—rather, I want you to understand that to grow in CrossFit, get stronger, be happier and ultimately healthier, your diet needs to be fair and balanced. You cannot starve yourself of necessary macronutrients (i.e., fats) because the media is ass-backwards. Eating less to be uneccesarily skinny is not healthy. Haven’t we’ve covered this already?
Strong is sexy, and again, we all have the potential to make it happen.
Don’t sell yourself short.
