eating habits doing crossfit

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What and how much are you guys eating while doing crossfit? It takes a lot out of you! (I'm new to the crossfit game)

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  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
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    Yeaahhhh it does, but... I still managed to put weight ON in my first month of Crossfit.

    I need to get my body comp tested and I'm hoping that a lot of it is muscle but that might be wishful thinking. My bf% is still way too high. I have an endless appetite, and I don't seem to do well on large meals. I have started not having a 'breakfast' meal but just do my morning CF and then snack on fruit and nuts for a few hours after.

    I like the concepts behind paleo - no processed garbage - but I am not so keen on meat so I don't want to follow it too strictly. Plenty of protein (meat, shakes or low fat meat subs), veggies, fruit, nuts and minimal grains, dairy, wheat etc.

    I don't log exercise calories and my calorie target is TDEE -20% but it's not an exact science for me. I haven't long been eating this way and still need to adjust, get serious carb cravings at the moment so if I am feeling starving, I'd rather go a bit over cals eating some nuts and a banana for example than struggle through and end up blowing it all on a pizza.
  • lilmissmanx
    lilmissmanx Posts: 81 Member
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    I'm trying to eat around 1400 cal per day. As clean as possible. I have no idea how much I burn in a crossfit session, and the sessions vary so much from one day to the next. Its not a scientific approach. I know I lose weight on 1,200 but am always hungry, so i've upped the cals, but only to a sensible level. Hopefully it will pay off!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    ^I can't see that being enough if you are doing crossfit workouts, so keep an eye out on your energy levels or just general level of energy. Seems like you are playing it by ear now, which is good. Listen to your body. Always being hungry is not a successful diet.

    You lose weight on 1200 calories a day because you are starving yourself. You aren't losing the weight you want to lose. Trust me, I've been there.

    I'm 6'3 and about 285. Goal weight 245. I aim for about 2500 calories per day but it varies greatly. Less if dont' workout, sometimes more if I do.

    I also do measurements (neck, biceps, forearms, waist at belly button, hips, thighs, calves) once every few months. I'm far more concerned with those than I am with my weight.
  • pkiesch
    pkiesch Posts: 259 Member
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    I'm 6'0" & my TDEE - 20% is 2014 cals per day. I wear a HRM when I workout so I burn up to ~500 cals some days and eat back maybe 300 of em. I'm not really trying to lose weight, just add muscle. Been CFing for a month & while the scale hasn't moved, my measurements are smaller, which is what I'm looking for. I eat fairly Paleo, but do eat brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt. Seems to be working for me!
  • kimmae17
    kimmae17 Posts: 64 Member
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    I started out going to crossfit classes at 6am and then going home showering getting ready for work and eating breakfast (eggs/omlette) around 8:30. I recently started adding a protein shake with half a banana immediately upon returning home and have noticed but improvements in my recover time with not being sore anymore. I now WOD more days a week and feel stronger and more capable of working hard. I eat a mostly paleo diet (ice cream is my downfall) My weight has fluctuated only around 5 pounds. I went up at first (i think i put on a little muscle) then went down a few once I started eating better last month. I Definitely gained muscle because my legs are larger (and rock hard) and I have had chicken legs my hole life so I am actually thrilled with that. My stomach is also SLOWLY getting leaner so i have stopped watching the scale and just seeing how clothes fit.

    I eat the shake if I crossfit, then i have a small breakfast later on, lunch is usually leftovers (meatballs w zucchini noodles, turkey and veggies, sometimes i make wraps with the paleo wraps and lunch meat if i will be traveling for work) dinner is meat veggies sometimes a starch. I have been messing with my carb levels to see how that affects me. I eat around 1800 calories , i dont count that closely.
  • alysa521
    alysa521 Posts: 137 Member
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    I eat a lot, but I also work out a lot. I typically do 5 crossfit classes, 2 Olympic lifting classes, and 1-2 runs per week (3-5 miles). I have a desk job but probably walk anywhere from 1-3 miles per day because of being downtown for work and/or walking my dog.

    I don’t really count calories, my diary is a general template for most days but I add in snacks here and there that I forget to go back and add or forgot to include the coconut oil I added to my veggies or almond butter to my sweet potato. I would estimate most days I’m between 2200-2700 calories. I would say I eat 85% Paleo, the non-paleo things I include almost daily are creamer in coffee (non-negotiable and not giving this up :), gluten free steal cut oats, and peanut butter. I also probably have a small portion of chocolate most days. I avoid gluten and dairy for the most part as I definitely feel worse when I eat them and since I have cut them out the terrible migraines I used to get have also gone away. My weight has not changed but body fat has gone down, I do a bod pod test every three months. My current goal is to maintain in the 18-19% body fat range.

    Standard meals for me
    Breakfast- Paleo egg cups, and 3 oz chicken and green beans or option 2 is Paleo egg cups and sweet potato breakfast hash
    Lunch- Usually Paleo spaghetti (spaghetii squash instead of noodles) or some type of protein w/ broccoli or green beans
    Dinner- Usually chicken, ½ sweet potato w/ almond butter, green beans or broccoli
    Snacks- almonds, avocados, dark chocolate, whey protein (I used SFH or about time whey, both are fairly clean), if carb backloading at night its usually gluten free oats w/ PB
  • abbyrae1
    abbyrae1 Posts: 265 Member
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    Lately I have been lacking discipline, however I typically follow Eat to Perform, so I eat like an athlete would (healthy, high protein, good fat, carbs) and I eat about 1800 on rest days up to 2000-2300 on workout days. I tend to workout 5-6 days/week and at least 2 days a week I do 2 workouts.

    My suggestion would be to make sure you are eating when you are hungry and eat whole foods. Your appetite will likely increase from your workouts and thats ok, feed your body just don't feed it garbage.
  • jordymils
    jordymils Posts: 230 Member
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    I also follow Eat To Perform, which focuses on eating to fuel your training, rather than eating to lose weight. Fuelling training will mean more improvements in the gym, stronger lifts, moving faster, building muscle etc and all of those things will lead to fat loss and body recomp over time. And eating less at rest which allows the body to burn some fat.
    I train 8-9 times a week, with one of those being an oly lifting session and the rest standard crossfit, so I eat a lot. On days I train twice I eat close to 2500, days I train once it's around 2100 and rest days around 1800. I focus more on my macros than calories though, focusing carbs around training and fats at rest with protein being the common factor always :)
  • nicki_lynne
    nicki_lynne Posts: 55 Member
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    I haven't started my CF yet but when I enter exercise Cardiovascular - bodyweight training or strength training, It estimates about 400-500 cals lost per hour. I'm 128 lbs. I'd be eating at least 400 extra calories on CF days. 1200 is way too low.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    I follow Eat to Perform and my TDEE is 2500-2600 calories per day. I WOD 3-4 x per week and power lift in the gym or do oly about 4x per week and run/swim 2x per week plus usually 3 yoga classes with the occasional hiking thrown in. I also have an active job.

    I typically eat 1800-2100 calories on my recovery days and 2400-2600 on my heavy workout days. I am 5'5", 172ish, and 28% bodyfat, working on getting down to 20% bf (which will put me at about 155 eventually). I have been losing about 1-2% bf per month and little scale weight. I have been PR'ing like crazy since I started ETP.

    So, I eat 170ish grams of protein per day, 200+grams of carbs per day, and the rest fat. I try to eat 50 g ish of starchy carbs before workouts and 50 g of carbs after. My mix is really a classic 40/30/30 ratio. Optimally, I would eat less carbs on recovery days, but I don't always do too well at that.

    Mostly I just avoid sweets and flour and I don't eat a lot of other grains except for in the form of protein bars or sometimes oatmeal before my workouts. Usually I eat oatmeal and/or a spotted banana with protein powder mixed with almond/coconut milk before my workouts.
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
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    What and how much are you guys eating while doing crossfit? It takes a lot out of you! (I'm new to the crossfit game)

    While I don't have any technical advice to offer (what works for me may not work for you blah blah blah) I do want to encourage you to listen to your body and make sure you are eating enough so that you get the most out of your workouts. If you are not eating enough then your workouts will suck and you'll end up just wasting your time.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    I haven't started my CF yet but when I enter exercise Cardiovascular - bodyweight training or strength training, It estimates about 400-500 cals lost per hour. I'm 128 lbs. I'd be eating at least 400 extra calories on CF days. 1200 is way too low.

    I wouldn't trust that count. I'm 5'5, 136 and it takes a killer WOD with a lot of cardio to get me to 400. I wear an HRM. Average about 375.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    What and how much are you guys eating while doing crossfit? It takes a lot out of you! (I'm new to the crossfit game)

    I've been shooting for macros of 40% protein, 30% carb, 30% fat. Since I've been eating/drinking more protein, I've seen a huge difference in my workouts and my PRs. My base calorie intake is 1410. I eat back about half of the calories I burn, which usually totals between 300-400 calories burned, 150-200 extra calories eaten.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    A bunch of us at the gym are jumping back to pretty strict Paleo to get ourselves back on track. I won't be quite as strict as when we do our challenges (I will use vinegar, eat some dairy but not much, etc)

    Need to get my weight loss back on track.
  • notyouraveragetalia
    notyouraveragetalia Posts: 223 Member
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    I'm starting to be interested in following a paleo ish diet. Interesting so many responses regarding oats--as that's one thing that's really difficult for me to part with and I was having a hard time swallowing that. I've never heard of GF oats, but will look into it!
  • alysa521
    alysa521 Posts: 137 Member
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    Bob's redmill makes gluten free steal cut oats. Yes, they take awhile to cook on the stovetop but so worth it. I buy them in bulk on Amazon :)
  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
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    I keep trying to see how long I can do strict paleo for and I keep falling over the biscuit tin at work.
  • maryrunslikeafox
    maryrunslikeafox Posts: 136 Member
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    I was eating 1400 a day and was constantly tired and still hungry. I decided to up my cals to 1800 and just log workouts as 1 calorie burned. Since I've done that I've felt along stronger and more fueled for workouts. I actually lost a little weight too. I don't reallyweigh myself often but I did it for "****s and giggles".... I've also gone down a size since upping cals. Crossfit is no joke, you need to eat if you want results! I eat clean about 90% of the time. I allow for a few beers or some cheese here and there, but I definitely stay away from grains as I have an issue with them. I also like to eat sweet potatoes as a clean carb source.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    I haven't started my CF yet but when I enter exercise Cardiovascular - bodyweight training or strength training, It estimates about 400-500 cals lost per hour. I'm 128 lbs. I'd be eating at least 400 extra calories on CF days. 1200 is way too low.

    I wouldn't trust that count. I'm 5'5, 136 and it takes a killer WOD with a lot of cardio to get me to 400. I wear an HRM. Average about 375.

    It seems to me many of the CF workouts would have a lot of after burn though.