Crossfit and icthyo-vegetarian, can it work?
super_soprano13
Posts: 7
Hey, so I've been looking everywhere for something workout wise that will challenge me, get me "hooked" and keep me interested. I'm pretty...inexperienced fitness wise so I've been wary of just...doing stuff on my own because I'm afraid of hurting myself. I've had a couple of friends who have done crossfit but they were both really fit people so I thought "oh this is just for fit people to get more fit". Then driving home the other day, I saw the bumper sticker for our local box. it was like, lift, pullup, run, train, puke, repeat, with a picture of this huge dude in a spandex onesie (like wrestling uniform) puking. I was on the phone with my brother and could not stop laughing. Well, today I decided to look them up. And then I looked up the crossfit subreddit (reddit is what showed me this place, it's really given me lots of things to check out and it had plenty of threads that were like "you can do it no matter your fitness level") so I contacted the box to get more info. It's not going to be cheap, but I'm going to make it work. I figure for my health, it's better to put the money forth now than to be paying for crap health down the line. I'm turning 24 at the end of the month, and I don't want to turn 25 still overweight and unhappy with that part of me. Anyway, that was a lot more background than y'all probably needed.
From what I read on their website and really in general, our box here uses the zone diet or paleo, both of which are notoriously difficult to do as an icthyo-vegetarian (pescatarian, or vegetarian+fish). I know this is something that will come up later, but is it possible? I can keep a pretty balanced diet (I think) with this but I can't change back to eating meat because it's a health reasons thing, not a moral reasons thing (although, being the hippy I am, I enjoy the moral benefits, not gonna lie). Over a year ago I had what may have been a seizure (I still have to get the tilt table test, they think it might have been something else. we're hoping so) but they put me on this medication that deals with that and migraines (weeee no migraines!) which I didn't have until after this happen (no surprise I whacked my head). for the first month, I ate everything I had. meals that contained meat made me physically ill. After consulting my doctor, we figured trying icthyo was best. I already didn't eat poultry (working at chickfila=I pretty much never wanted chicken or any form of poultry outside of work). I discovered that it worked and I could actually eat (yay!) this was after losing about 40 pounds by not being able to eat. Anyways, I can't add meat back to my diet without the potential of these issues coming back. So, for those who have done this, can it work?
From what I read on their website and really in general, our box here uses the zone diet or paleo, both of which are notoriously difficult to do as an icthyo-vegetarian (pescatarian, or vegetarian+fish). I know this is something that will come up later, but is it possible? I can keep a pretty balanced diet (I think) with this but I can't change back to eating meat because it's a health reasons thing, not a moral reasons thing (although, being the hippy I am, I enjoy the moral benefits, not gonna lie). Over a year ago I had what may have been a seizure (I still have to get the tilt table test, they think it might have been something else. we're hoping so) but they put me on this medication that deals with that and migraines (weeee no migraines!) which I didn't have until after this happen (no surprise I whacked my head). for the first month, I ate everything I had. meals that contained meat made me physically ill. After consulting my doctor, we figured trying icthyo was best. I already didn't eat poultry (working at chickfila=I pretty much never wanted chicken or any form of poultry outside of work). I discovered that it worked and I could actually eat (yay!) this was after losing about 40 pounds by not being able to eat. Anyways, I can't add meat back to my diet without the potential of these issues coming back. So, for those who have done this, can it work?
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My Crossfit promotes a Paleo diet as well, but it is not a requirement and I would be wary of any box that did have that reqirement. It sounds as though you have some food adversions that make compliance difficult. That said, I suspect that you will be told that if weight loss is a goal, that adherence to the Paleo lifestyle will help facilitate that loss and improve athletic performance.
I don't happen to believe that to be 100% accurate - weight loss is really about creating a calorie deficit and it is easier to create that deficit if you are eating nutrient rich foods that are filling and satisfying like lean meats, fish, veggies and fruit than it is when you fill up on bread, starchy noodles, fried food and fatty dairy products.
This probably makes me a bad Crossfitter, but I just can't go all in on the Paleo thing. Any diet that is restrictive like that is not sustainable for me. I completely get that it works better for some people, but I know my limits...0 -
I been vegan for half a year (170 days today to be exact) and I started crossfit in April. I think any diet will work as long as you hit your essentials. In May we did Helen, I got 8:19, today is our retesting and I got it done in 7:55. So as far as strength and endurance, you can see, I am not plateauing.
How is your diet? (Yeah, you...)0 -
The owner of my box follows a Paleo diet. There is one poster on the wall with a Paleo food pyramid (but even that has a section that includes "occasional" foods that would not be considered Paleo. Once in awhile they do a paleo challenge for those who are interested. A simple group email is sent out advising those who might be interested. It is handled away from the rest of the members.
It is not something that is pushed or enforced at all. The only time I have heard conversations about it was when people who were doing it on their own had questions. I have never ever felt pushed to even try it.
Eat your diet. Do their workout. If someone suggests their diet, say thanks but no thanks. If you really want to you could add "I have issues that don't allow me to follow that type of diet plan".0 -
I am vegetarian and I don't eat fish, I have been doing CrossFit since February, you will be fine - I do bend the rules a little as my choice is not moral so I still have cheese with animal rennet and take fish oil capsules. At my box in the UK Paleo/Zone/Clean etc... is not pushed at all, it is just suggested as a good accompaniment.
I also agree with kimfield99 I don't think any diet that is restrictive will work long term, continue to eat what you eat, the only thing I did was become more aware of protein in my diet - mostly because I found I was exhausted after my morning session.0 -
I am vegetarian and I don't eat fish, I have been doing CrossFit since February, you will be fine - I do bend the rules a little as my choice is not moral so I still have cheese with animal rennet and take fish oil capsules. At my box in the UK Paleo/Zone/Clean etc... is not pushed at all, it is just suggested as a good accompaniment.
I also agree with kimfield99 I don't think any diet that is restrictive will work long term, continue to eat what you eat, the only thing I did was become more aware of protein in my diet - mostly because I found I was exhausted after my morning session.
I think this the key. Eat what you feel comfortable eating and listen to your body and make adjustments. You should be building muscle as you do Crossfit, so you probalby need more protein than you think.
I'm a meat eater try to eat 1 gram of protein per lb of my target bodyweight, which is about 225g/day. I don't always make it but don't beat myself up when I don't as long as I'm in the ballpark.0
