Where do we go from here...Zoning

So the challenge is officially over and what do I do now. Well I have said I am going to do a whole 30 to lean out even more, but I am also looking to maximize my fitness through CrossFit. I am looking for shorter recovery times, more energy during workouts and hopefully building my fitness faster. In my opinion nutrition plays a HUGE part in athletic conditioning. You have to fuel your body right. I have yet to do a hard CrossFit workout where I wasn't a meat maniac after. My body begs for protein, which makes sense because I am breaking down tissue which gets it's building blocks from protein. Muscles also feed off of glycogen which is why I avoid starches and fruits post WOD in maximize fat burn. While I don't want to be in an endless state of ketosis, a ketogenic state for a week or 2 tops will help me lean out more.

So at the end of the challenge I had lost 4 lbs but gained 2% body fat. This was a bit disheartening but not an end all. First off I know I lost fat, I have hip bones where there was just a shelf of fat, but something didn't go right. I blame this on 2 factors, first and foremost...me, and secondly I think the amount of starch and fruit I allowed myself to eat. I also paid with points for treats I typically don't ingest...see me.

I spent the weekend researching the best option to lean out, enhance my performance and recovery, while also trying to put together a manageable plan for me and my friend. I ended up coming up with a Zone Paleo plan. Essentially following the Zone diet using paleo foods (with the exception of some cheese and cream...so well Primal). Zone is based on blocks of protein, carbs and fats. It is a weights & measures plan but the more I read and watched the more I realize I just need to suck it up and be disciplined. So here are some details about the plan.

Zoning

My zone will be based on an 11 block day. I obtained this by calculating 10% of my lean muscle mass. I was able to do this since I just had my body fat tested. You can do this by finding out your body fat % in pounds, subtracting that from your total weight and then take 10%. My days will look like this.

No WOD days
Meal 1- 3 blocks
Meal 2 - 3 blocks
Snack 1 - 1 block
Meal 3 - 3 blocks
Optional Snack 2 - 1 block

WOD days
Meal 1 (pre) - 3 blocks
Snack 1 (post) - 1 block
Meal 2 - 3 blocks
Snack 2 - 1 block
Meal 3 - 3 blocks

The way this works is I get 3 blocks of each group (protein, carbs, fat) at each meal and 1 block of each at snack time. So say 1 ounce is a block of chicken I would eat a 3 oz chicken breast, if 1 cup of lettuce was a carb group I would eat 3 cups, if 3 almonds is 1 fat I would get 9 almonds.

I have decided to alter my snacks on no wod days. I am just not as hungry when I don't workout, however I am going to be evaluating how this makes me feel in regards to energy and recovery, also if I am hungry I will eat the other snack. There is no telling how I will feel, one video said that if you are doing this right to lose fat you will feel hungry for a bit. So here are some more deets.

1. Follow plan based on 11 blocks
2. Measure portions for at least one week (or more) to learn to gauge correct portions
3. After first week evaluate blocks for adjustment (see below)
4. Drink 3-4 liters of water
5. Eat only Paleo/primal foods from list
6. 3 grams of Omega 3 supplement per day
7. Avoid all added sugar, I get one break with one treat on Thanksgiving...one paleo treat ;)

After my first week I am going to take a look at things, see if I am losing, how my recovery feels and if I notice any leaning out. I read a lot of carb sensitive people who half their carb blocks replacing them with double fat to lean out. I debated starting this way because I do really well on low carb, this will probably be what I do in the end, but since this is new I don't want to be miserable. Start as prescribed then tweak it. I know I do really well on paleo low carb, but I have hit a plateau. The answer is portions so this Zone is perfect.

Here is what my day looked like

Meal 1 - 3 blocks
2 german sausages
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 cup home made sauerkraut
2 mandarin oranges
Coffee with cream

Meal 2 - 3 blocks
chicken tortilla soup with 1 ounce of shredded cheese
1 small avocado
water

Snack 1 - 1 block
1 ounce of cheese
2 small cucumbers
3 walnuts

Meal 3 - 3 blocks
3 onces ground beef
1 cup salsa, peppers, tomatoes
1 cucumber
9 almonds

Today wasn't planned well so I was kind of grabbing to fill in. I found out my meat portions are much bigger than I thought and that I am not eating the fat I thought I was. This should be a good learning experience.

I also learned a lot of other tid bits during my research so look for some great posts coming your way. They may be a bit sparse for a while, my laptop took a bad dive and it crashed my hard drive. After the files are all retrieved then I will be back to having a new one. But look for some good stuff on sugar (fructose vs glucose), recovery nutrition and evaluating your nutrition through performance.