The Hard Routine 2010: Nutrition

One thing is certain in the field of health: what is common wisdom today can easily become "misapplied science" tomorrow. What's "in" this year may be "out" next year. Often it's hard to arrive at the right answer.

--Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple

For me, The Hard Routine is more about eating and fueling than it is about physical activity. I'm already doing damned near exactly what I want/need to regarding a fitness program. I follow a fitness model/philosophy that I believe to be "the best of the best." My activities change very little during these next two months of the campaign. My challenging adjustments come in the kitchen and the grocery store. That's where I push myself out of my comfort zone.

There are many current nutritional models gaining speed and popularity. Not as diets, but as lifestyles. Despite the word "diet" in their names, many of these are quite sustainable throughout life...at least that's what my friends say! While some plans have drastic or distinct differences, I believe they are more similar to each other than different. Here are some of them:

• Primal Blueprint (sister site of Mark's Daily Apple)
• Paleolithic Diet (also Paleo Diet)
• The Zone Diet
• "Shop the Perimeter" -- Google it yourself!
• Intermittent Fasting (Wiki link)

I only list a few sites above, on purpose. Flooding readers with information doesn't help. And I only want to share some of the plans that our friends are currently using as guidelines for their eating. They have and are seeing great results --- results seen in their mirror, in their waistline, in their gym and physical performances, in their sports, and in their overall daily feelings.

How can I summarize what "healthy eating" is for me?

• Limit: sugars, sweets, processed/canned/boxed foods, starches.
• Eat more: lean meats, leafy veggies.
• Grocery shopping: buy stuff that spoils, "shop the perimeter" of the store.

My Personal Commitment Contract specifies "sweets" and "potatoes" as Absolute Stop Consuming. While this might not be sustainable for my lifetime, it is certainly attainable for 60 days! So what do I substitute with those items?: healthier alternatives such as fruits/melon, and more vegetables. Life cannot be a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid. But for 6o days, you bet it can. I still have a lot of healthy habits that have stuck with me since The Hard Routine 2009. For example, I almost never go down the aisles of the grocery store. Almost ALL my shopping is in the perimeter of the store. I'm looking to jumpstart a few more healthy habits for the future using the campaign this year.

Lastly, for those of you CrossFit Journal subscribers, here is a quick link to all their articles on nutrition.

For your Personal Commitment Contract be sure to challenge yourself, but use nutritional challenges that are reasonable and sustainable for 60 days...if not longer!