This article mainly focuses on the suggested diet for someone who actively does CrossFit, but not exclusively, as this kind of diet can be beneficial for everybody. What many people forget is that being healthy and losing weight is mainly based on the diet and not (only) the fact that how many times a week you do some sports.

 “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.” As you probably heard quite some times before if you are familiar with CrossFit. This is the basic idea of a healthy diet, but let’s get into some more details.

 One of the most popular diets amongst CrossFitters is called the Zone Diet. Its main idea is pretty simple: keep a specific ratio of your meals as 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. (Note that these carbs should have a low glycaemic index).

The aim of the diet is basically to reduce general inflammation of the body as it also reduces the risk of chronic diseases, slows down aging, fastens fat loss and improves performance.

 How to measure the meal? Use your hands:

• Protein: should be the size and thickness of your palm. (E.g.: 1 piece of grilled chicken breast)
• Carbs: the size of your fist or a handful. (E.g.: 1 handful of chopped tomatoes + 1 handful of cooked lentils)
• Fat: the size of your thumb. (E.g.: 1 tablespoon of avocado)

But how many times a day should you eat? Also pretty simple:

• Aim to eat 2-3 meals if you are in a fat-loss phase,
• 3-4 meals if you are in a muscle gain phase,
• If you’re just sustaining your weight, 2-4 will do.

OK, but when should you have these meals? You should basically align them to your trainings, rather than a specific hour of the day.

• Try to eat within two hours after finishing your training.
• Try not to train completely fasted (have a whey shake for example).
• Try not to spend 5 hours without having a meal during the day.

Zone Diet also has a suggestion about what should be avoided in general. There’s no banned food or drink on this diet, but the followings are not preferred:

• High-sugar fruits: Such as bananas, grapes, raisins, dried fruits and mangoes.
• High-sugar or starchy vegetables: Like peas, corn, carrots and potatoes.
• Refined and processed carbs: Bread, bagels, pasta, noodles and other white-flour products.
• Other processed foods: Including breakfast cereals and muffins.
• Foods with added sugar: Such as candy, cakes and cookies.
• Soft drinks: Neither sugar-sweetened nor sugar-free drinks are recommended.
• Coffee and tea: Keep these to a minimum, since water is the beverage of choice.

Now the real question is: then what to eat?

 If you need some inspiration regarding recipes, visit the following page:

https://zonediet.com/recipes/

 We hope you find this summary somewhat helpful and that it encourages you to eat a bit healthier. 🙂

Judit Hornyák
The CFD Crew