There is a thing I didn’t advertise when I started CrossFit and really began training hard in 2014.
All my friends saw was that I was working out twice per day, 6:30am and 6:30pm and that I was obsessed with exercise.
Well, I was!
But the thing I didn’t talk about enough, and I should have, is that I completely overhauled my diet at the time.
I went from eating whatever I felt like at the time – along with multiple 16oz coffees, diet cokes all day, and too much alcohol – to very, very clean eating.
Like, obsessively clean.
I did the Zone Diet for a while which helped me become conscious of how to put a meal together. Then I switched to macros.
Have I mentioned I also didn’t take a sip of alcohol for 18 months during this period?
Yeah. Obsessed I was.
Now, I’m not recommending anyone should go dry for 18 months if they’re trying to lose some pounds and get healthy (these craft beers are too damn good); what I’m poking at is that my fitness success and the evolution of my health these last six years have been riding on my nutrition.
Yep. Boring. But it’s true.
Along with snatching 225#, clean and jerking 280 and doing a bunch of crazy workouts that no one should ever try (please don’t – my hormones are still jacked), I learned how to eat.
I learned what foods to put in my mouth to create the body, the athlete, the human I wanted to be.
And along the way, I’ve gotten some nutrition certifications and gained enough knowledge to help others in that same way.
Now (how cool is this?) I have a NUTRITION COACH on my team that is helping people learn how/what/why to eat.
Brickhouse Nutrition is really just getting started. But it’s going to save lives, I’m sure of it.
Because food is medicine.
If you’ve read this far, thank you. The point of this story is this:
Exercise (CrossFit, weightlifting, OTF, Yoga, whatever we choose) without proper nutrition is not going to give optimal results for those looking for max performance, max aesthetics, and/or max health. It just won’t.
Make 2020 your best year. If you aren’t currently, focus on nutrition. Make it a priority.
A combination of appropriate exercise (preferably CrossFit methodology) plus a proper nutritional protocol is a ticket toward long-term and amazing fitness.
Want more info on nutrition, nutrition coaching, or our January Nutrition Challenge? Start here. You’ll also get a free copy of our Healthy Eating Guide!
