low carb, crossfit, new here!

sugarpusher

hey there! i'm a 42 year old woman and have been low carb for only a week now...not paleo, cheese is my second best friend :-) i started crossfit a week ago, too. i noticed that there is no "crossfit" for the exercise portion of the exercise log. i'm trying to lose about 30 pounds. i'm currently hovering at 160, my highest weight ever after years of starting up my own business and not even thinking about my health :-( i'm given 1200 calories a day...i've been able to stay low carb and under 1200, but with crossfit i just feel like i may need more calories? anybody here have any insight for me?! thanks!

sammyliftsandeats

If you are hungry after crossfit, you can go over your calorie amount. You need to fuel your body. Crossfit can get intense. It generally evens out on your non hungry days.

As for logging in the exercise, I have seen people on the main forums log it in as circuit training in the cardio section. I don't know how accurate that is though, since I have never done it myself. MFP overestimates the burn for exercise so if you are being calorie conscious, maybe only eat half back of what it gives you.

baconslave

You can log crossfit as circuit training. They have no HIIT or tabatas either, but I think it's close enough. I wouldn't trust any MFP exercise entry for accuracy. But then again, I don't bother logging exercise calories. I never eat them back. I find a keto calc (not keto any more but it still works for low-carb) and use whatever cal level they say for lightly active and roll with it. I still brag about my workouts. I'm doing them for strength, fitness, and muscle gain anyway.

Crossfit is intense.
It's hard to advise on cals when we don't know your height.
I'm 5'10" so my cal needs are going to be different than someone 10 inches shorter. KWIM?

kirkor

Weighing 160 and doing CrossFit I would absolutely eat more than 1200 calories or you're going to crash and burn.

sugarpusher

thanks for the replies!! i'm only 5'5" @baconslave :-) i've logged my crossfit as circuit training this week (it's giving me a burn of about 270 calories)...which i have definitely been eating! i've got three kids and a business to run - crashing is not an option @kirkor !! week one of low carb really wasn't that tough because i planned meals well...i just hope i don't get lazy about the food part. that's all on me. i chose crossfit for the accountability portion and the fact that i can go any hour on the hour with my crazy schedule.

sugarpusher

oh...and because most other workouts have bored me too quickly. i'm a work hard play hard kind of girl. captain of my soccer team in HS and played in college (until i got pregnant, lol). BUT, that was 20 years ago!! anyway, thanks!

moe0303

I made a calculator using the compendium of physical activities and added 2 entries for CrossFit based on intensity levels. Here is a link to that thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/638677/exercise-calculator-calories-burned#latest.

I will say this about crossfit. I love it, but it is not necessarily the best option for pure weight loss. This causes a lot of people to lose heart when they are not losing as fast as they were when they were spending an hour on the elliptical. The workouts while intense are short and this leads to less caloric burn than other forms of exercise. That being said, the goal of crossfit is to prepare you for the trails of life, and I think it is one of, if not the best, programs for doing that.

sugarpusher

thank you for the link @moe0303 ! well, my husband and i have been working our *kitten* off on building our business(s) and will be finishing up three more projects this year. we finally have some great employees and are planning on traveling N & S america in a mobile home in another 1-2 years (hoping one...but projects..). so, my goals are two-fold. #1, i need to be STRONG...i'm am NOT going to miss climbing Mt. Hood, or canoeing for days at a time, etc... #2, i got a lil chubby hanging out around doughnuts all day, lol... i've tried a few workouts and crossfit 'speaks to me' ..it's fast and varying and i like the wide open space :-)

moe0303

I agree with you there. I think it's the best fitness regimen on the planet. One of the reasons for this is that I can work out alongside great athletes and we're doing the same basic workout. I've Never walked out of he box without a bad feeling.

sugarpusher

thanks @moe0303 ...in one week i've come across a bunch of negative nancies who don't crossfit...but the folks i've met are great and encouraging! i talked my husband into coming for partner workout tomorrow!! i hope he loves it, too :-)

sugarpusher

oh, and we are both floridians @moe0303 ...i'm in sarasota!

moe0303

sugarpusher wrote: »

thanks @moe0303 ...in one week i've come across a bunch of negative nancies who don't crossfit...but the folks i've met are great and encouraging! i talked my husband into coming for partner workout tomorrow!! i hope he loves it, too :-)

That has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of crossfitters tend to evangelize for crossfit. It is a counter culture, much like LCHF. People take a chance, go against the grain, and feel great when it turns out to work for them. So they like to tell others about it. If people feel like you are implying that your way is better than theirs, they will start to resent you (and your cause). I think that is why there is a lot of conflict for both crossfit and low carb diets.

The culture developed in the classes also tends to come off as clickish to non-crossfitters. I know I felt that way. I am introverted, so when I see a group of people that identify as something together, my first inclination is to identify myself as an outsider to them. As such, I see them in an adversarial sense. I was challenged to do crossfit on a dare. I remember thinking how stupid it was as I bottomed out on squats while concentrating on keeping my heels on the ground. Honestly, I don't know why I went back a second time, but by the third time, I was part of the group. If I had to guess I would say it was the atmosphere of inclusion. For example, in a typical gym, there are usually groups or single athletes that perform at a level so much higher than everyone else that they can only work by themelves or with a select few. In crossfit, not only is everyone doing the same workout, but they are also generally giving the same level of effort. Now the results might be different, but it is seldom that someone is just taking it easy on a WOD.

The atmosphere of inclusion for me was created in one of those first few classes I was in: I found myself finishing last, really just wanting to quit, but everyone in the class, from the guy that finished just before me to the first ones to finish were circled around me with genuine interest in my success. Cheers and crowds don't motivate me usually, but it certainly made me feel like I was part of something. I have been a member of 4 different affiliates and have had the same experience in all of them.

Well that got a little long...lol.

sugarpusher

i love this!! thanks for sharing it... i already knew a few people from this particular box because we keep our cold brew on tap there. however, going from being the coffee girl to the girl writhing and dying on the floor has been a challenge, lol. i'm not an introvert per se, but i always feel like people have expectation of me that i am not going to meet. i hate disappointing other people...and myself! so, we'll see how hard i can push it! thanks again and i'm glad you went back the second and third time! headed out for my husbands first class with me at 11am...partner workouts on saturdays.