It's a big question you ask. But yes, opening your diary is a good start.

I've tried eating clean, IIFYM, Ketobolic Cycling, Paleo, Seefood, and just about everything out there. I'm very sensitive when it comes to stomach issues. I've traced most of my issues to dairy. I respond best to hardly any dairy products.

Hi.

I think you may want to consider whatever it is that you are eating before your workout. Crossfit, no matter your size, whether you scale the weight, or your gender has one thing that is a constant, and that is heart rate. Crossfit tends to put you in a higher than normal zone like um, running for miles at a faster than normal pace, zumba, p90x, insanity and the list goes on. So, as your heart rate is getting jacked, you are burning calories relatively fast, so yes, proper hydration and fuel is key.

If I could give any suggestions it would be, eat a good amount of low GI carbs about an hour before your workout and drink plenty of water. During your session, it is great to have water and Gatorade close by. The Gatorade is great for replenishing your sodium, your electrolytes and give you more carbs for more energy. So diet is a major factor and you could be feeling the effects of either not enough carbs, or too dense of fuel as your body is trying to break it down.

as for what "diet fad" you are interested in, that is up to you. I am on a vegan diet. You may enjoy something different. But no matter what you chose, the most important thing is to stay away from as much processed foods until you jack up your metabolism. There are healthy meat eaters and unhealthy ones. There are healthy paleo and unhealthy just as there are unhealthy vegan eaters out there. Enjoy your food, just keep it in mind of what you put in your body. :drinker:

Could just be a new routine, but more water almost never hurts since very few people get enough. I try to drink 4 liters a day at least (approximately a gallon.)

Also keep in mind that you cannot out-train a bad diet, even doing something as intense as Crossfit. At some point you'll need to start cleaning things up a bit if you want your body to perform as well as it can.

I have to say, and I am being 100% honest. Before I did vegan, I can eat McDonald's followed by Burger King and drink iced tea, and eat a sleeve of oreo cookies with some whole milk all the time. I never ate healthy, I ate whatever I wanted. Sure, it may be genetics and that I am lucky, but I think if you put in 100% in the gym, give all you can, you can eat anything.

I just wish that was true! :laugh:

Take me and my boyfriend. We are living proof that it's neither all down to food or all down to exercise.

He's about 5'8", weighs less than I do (5'4") and has to eat until he's sick to keep weight on, has McD's and BK frequently, and still might lose weight. Mainly his diet is healthy but he has to eat a lot of it. He doesn't have to think twice about eating a chocolate bar, it does nothing to him. He goes to the gym once or twice a week and lifts some dumbbells. He might go on some resistance machines. The air force put him through an hours physical training a week which is mainly circuits. He is hardly burning mega calories but he's active.

I on the other hand, have too much body fat (in the 40% region) and have to be permanently hungry to lose any. I work my butt off in Crossfit 5x a week and no change in bodyweight. If anything I start getting heavier (possibly more muscle, same bf%). I start adding in long distance cardio (cycling to work, 15 miles one way). Twice a week, sometimes 3. Some days I'm cycling to the Crossfit box, doing the WOD, and then cycling to work - 40 miles covered in one day. On those days, my calorie burn is approx. 2500. No change on the scales. I can't eat more than 50% of my exercise calories back or I lose nothing. I think it's now *finally* starting to shift but I am not eating a lot of calories for my activity level.

If he's hungry, he eats some food. If I'm hungry, most of the time, I have to suck it up and live with it. Life is not fair! :laugh: For him, he can maintain a healthy looking body on any food really. I can't even think about it. Got to get the most of out every calorie.

But hey, look on the bright side. I'm the one who'll survive post-apocalypse, he's going to be screwed! :drinker:

haha... one up on him.. hehe...

sounds like his body style is like mine. There are three classes, Endomorph, Ectomorph and Mesomorph

He and I are Ectomorphs meaning, we have the highest metabolism burning engines than the Endos and the Mesos. He would have to eat a large amount of food to just keep up with his TDE. I feel his pain...
You sound like you are one or the other in regards to Endo or Meso. If you google body types compared to actresses, you can get a better idea of which class you are.

as for food, instead of skipping meals, try to incorporate more veggies in your diet. If you are eating a lot of veggies. Drink more water throughout the day so you can fill up that void. Of course this is just a thought. But no matter what, to keep your metabolism burning or kicked into a burning gear, you need to always eat. :drinker:

Thank you everyone for the info. I WANTto have a better diet, it's just difficult for me becuase I don't like to cook, because I don't cook very well, and I can't find any recipies that I enjoy consistently. I like lots of differet kinds of fruits and veggies and salads and chicken and fish, I just get bored with the same ol' stuff and don't have the creativity to change it up.

I am trying to eat more chicken breast, fish, lean meats, fruits, and veggies, it's just hard because I don't like to cook. When I do grocery shopping I attempt to stay on the "outside" of the aisles to purchase "better for me" foods, but then I'll eat out because I don't feel like taking time to cook. I have some really bad habits.

I understand diet is a HUGE part of getting healthy, it's just difficult for me because I ALWAYS tend to revert back to my bad habits quickly. Like I said, I've only been doing CrossFit for about a week. I hope I stick to it.

I guess I need to find more simple yet healthy recipies to keep me on track. Thanks again!

The key to cooking (especially just doing it for yourself) is to find a way to cook as many meals as possible at once. I might cook 4-5 chicken breasts at once and season each one a bit differently (one cajun, one Italian, etc) so I never really know what I'm going to get when I pull it out and add it to my salad for lunch.

I'll also say that I felt like I finally got control over my diet when I started eating the same meals over and over again. Yes, it's boring, but my main goal with eating is to start getting control of my weight. If it's a bit boring I can live with that for now, but usually I don't get bored.

So my standard eating day is:

Breakfast: either eggs (4 whites, two whole) guacamole and a link or two of chicken sausage or a shake (banana, mixed berries, water, 50g protein, chia seeds/flax seeds) Each one is about 500-700 calories and provides roughtly the same macronutrients

Lunch: baby spinach salad with grilled chicken or a serving of chili or beef stew that I made in a gigantic crockpot I have and got 10-12 servings out of. Roughly the same calories, different macro breakdown

Snack: 2oz mixed nuts (I buy a gigantic jug from BJs and measure them out with a scale into little snack baggies.

Dinner: Protein of some kind with vegetables (usually from a bag of frozen veggies that I heat up on the stovetop and hit with srirachi sauce)

Maybe a shake after dinner.

The less this changes, the better off I am.

Also, be willing to make substitutions if you go out to eat. My wife wanted to go to a burger place (Wild Willys) last night. I was going to get a burger salad mix but asked if htey had gluten free buns. They did, so I got a double burger with bacon (grass fed beef....mmmmm)

And a steak salad (double the order of steak tips, please) is another standby.

See if you can commit yourself to trying to eat better for two weeks. It might require some planning, but I think you'll be amazed at the difference it makes in your overall energy level and in your CF performance.

haha... one up on him.. hehe...

sounds like his body style is like mine. There are three classes, Endomorph, Ectomorph and Mesomorph

He and I are Ectomorphs meaning, we have the highest metabolism burning engines than the Endos and the Mesos. He would have to eat a large amount of food to just keep up with his TDE. I feel his pain...
You sound like you are one or the other in regards to Endo or Meso. If you google body types compared to actresses, you can get a better idea of which class you are.

as for food, instead of skipping meals, try to incorporate more veggies in your diet. If you are eating a lot of veggies. Drink more water throughout the day so you can fill up that void. Of course this is just a thought. But no matter what, to keep your metabolism burning or kicked into a burning gear, you need to always eat. :drinker:

I'm an ecto, my two brothers are mesos. No problem maintaining weight or gaining it if they want. My middle brother is still the exact same size he was as an all state soccer player in high school (he is now 42.) Youngest brother will fluctuate but if he gets a belly he just ramps up the exercise and cuts back a bit on food for a month and it's gone. I hate them both