The “OPEN” Performance Challenge has begun…. Now what?
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With last week marking the beginning of the “OPEN” Performance Challenge and the teams being released, we want to make sure that we arm you with as much information as possible to set you up for success. Hopefully you have been following along with our e-mails and blog posts and saw our post highlighting some of the different information, diets, and options for you to make the most out of this challenge. Be sure to check it out here. (needs hyperlink) If you are still feeling overwhelmed or confused by macro counting, Whole 30, The Zone Diet, Paleo, clean eating, or the multitude of other options-this information is meant to further guide you in the right direction.
One of the most important things for you to understand about the human body is that each one is unique. The technical name for this is bio-individuality and it is a critical factor to remember in deciding what nutritional plan best suites you. Each of you are unique and have unique nutritional requirements. The diet or style of eating that works best for you may or may not be the one that works best for someone else. The key here becomes listening to the needs of your own body and incorporating principles that you know you will be able to follow.
During the 2 months of The “OPEN” Performance Challenge you need to make decisions that will benefit both your physical and training goals. You also want to ensure that the nutritional path you embark on is sustainable once the challenge is over. Whether you are choosing to dive into the Whole 30, count your macros, embark on the Zone Diet or just clean up your eating habits there are a few fundamental principles that everyone should be employing throughout this challenge not only to see the best physical results but also to reduce your risk for disease and be emotionally and mentally healthy.
1. Nutrient dense foods should ALWAYS be prioritized
No one principle is more likely to support healthy eating than the principle of nutrient density. The nutrient density of food is the amount of nutrients you get for the amount of calories. You want to look for foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. Regardless of the diet you are choosing, nutrient dense foods will ensure that you pack in the most nutrition while staying within your calorie limits. By consuming nutrient dense foods your body will receive concentrated amounts of valuable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fibers, proteins, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients.
The nutrient density of food varies and you can find plenty of complex lists and information online. But simply what you need to do is prioritizing eating nutrient dense foods by consuming more fruits and vegetables-especially leafy greens, whole grains-if they fit into your diet, and getting your protein from clean sources such as meats, eggs and seafood.
2. Say no to sugar and processed foods as often as possible
Processed foods are readily available and easy to grab and go, but at what cost? These foods do not contain valuable nutrients or fibers and they are often packed with added sugars, refined carbohydrates, trans fats and processed vegetable oils. While it is true that some processed foods may be better than others, it is best to avoid them altogether. Your body will absorb and make use of the vitamins and minerals from natural sources better than they will from processed.
Refined sugars are calories with no essential nutrients, proteins, healthy fats or enzymes that have a negative head to toe impact on the human body. There is no one person who wouldn’t benefit from drastically reducing or eliminating added sugar from their diet. They put stress on the liver, increase bad cholesterol and triglycerides, create an addictive sugar response in the brain and can contribute to leptin resistance (which then causes weight gain, cravings, sleep trouble, etc.). Cutting out refined sugar completely can be very difficult and in a later post we will go into this a bit further. If you are consuming a lot of refined sugar and aren’t ready to do a complete detox from it try to use honey and maple syrup in its place whenever possible.
3. Avoid all artificial Trans Fats
If you are already avoiding processed foods this one will be pretty easy. If you are struggling to avoid processed foods, be sure to pay attention. The process that makes partially hydrogenated oils creates trans fats that aren't found in nature. You will find these oils in a wide variety of food from cookies, cakes, donuts and frozen pizzas to salad dressings and even foods disguised as healthier boxed options. There are companies that have phased them out but you can still find them hiding in many food options-especially things like protein bars. These fats greatly increase your risk of heart disease and raise your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and lowers your HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
Again, the best way to avoid trans fats is to eat only whole, real food but if you are grabbing something on the go be sure to check nutritional label and go straight to ingredients and look for the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated”. There is a usually a trans fat marking on the top but companies are allowed to still have a certain amount of trans fat and mark it at 0 so always check the ingredients just to be safe.
4. Fruits and Vegetables should always make up half of your plate/meal
This one is pretty straightforward. Fruits and vegetables are full of important nutrients like vitamins A and C, folate and minerals like potassium and magnesium as well as fibers. These nutrient packed foods keep you healthier, your digestive system regular and your bones strong. When you are planning out your meals be sure that you are stacking half of your plate or half of your meal up with them. If you feel like you are struggling with less sugar, fruits are the perfect way to get in that dose of sweet.
Here are a couple of things you should ask yourself before choosing a nutritional plan:
1. How much time are you willing to put into calculating what you are eating?
The Zone Diet and counting your macros can be very effective but they are not the only way to revamp your eating habits. Make sure you are willing to commit the time to tracking and weighing your food. For some who are busy, you may find this difficult and again the key here is to find something that is sustainable for your lifestyle not something that you stop doing after a week or two. If you feel like that applies to you you could choose to kick off this challenge by eating only clean, unprocessed foods or moving into a Paleo diet. Remember, you are doing this challenge to increase your athletic performance and your quality of life, not to cause yourself unnecessary stress. The best diet you can go on is the one you think you can stick to.
2. Do you suffer from any food allergies/intolerances, struggle with autoimmune disease or chronic illness or suffer from serious fatigue issues?
If the answer is yes, make sure you take this into consideration when choosing a diet. If you are looking for something to truly help heal your body and are up for the commitment to yourself, The Whole 30 is likely the best option for you as it can be tailored to help with many different conditions. If you are looking for something more intense than Whole 30 you would want to look into Autoimmune Protocol or a GAPS diet.
A Few General Tips:
- If you are choosing to count your Macros you should be aware that on its own this is not a diet. If you want to see the most success with it, you should couple it with another specific way of eating such as eating clean or The Whole 30. Be careful not to use this method as an excuse to allow just any food into your diet. This may still sway the scale a bit but your athletic performance and general health will plateau much sooner and since this is a performance challenge and not a weight loss challenge we want to see your body improve as a whole.
While changing your eating patterns could result in feeling a bit hungrier than usual, you should never feel ravenous. When you are hungry, your body doesn’t necessarily want food, it wants nutrition. As discussed, if you feed it foods that are nutrient-poor, your brain and body will never really feel totally satisfied. The key is to feed yourself real and fresh foods that are high in nutrients that will satiate your hunger. If you are finding that any one of these nutritional plans is leaving you starving be sure to consider what you are eating and ensure that you are consuming enough.
While some supplements can prove useful, they are certainly not necessary. However, focusing on having a healthy gut is essential. Eating all this healthy food is great but having a healthy gut is imperative to your bodies ability to digest and absorb this food. Your gut is where nutrients are absorbed, assimilated, and incorporated into the body and the health of it dictates every other process, system, organ, and cell within you! Basically, all of your bodily systems revolve around your gut. So be sure to make the most of all the hard work you are doing in the kitchen and get yourself on a high quality probiotic. Some brands to consider are Klaire Labs, Garden of Life and Active Balance.
Remember, this is a community challenge and we have an awesome community. Be sure to lean on the members of your team and the gym to support you and share tips and tricks while learning from each other along the way! Stay tuned throughout the coming weeks while we cover in detail different topics including eating for energy and increased athletic performance, how to get the most out of counting your macros, what sugar is really doing to your body and much more.
