Here is a list of some of the things I learned doing the zone. I hope that this information can make your time in the "Zone" a little easier.
1)Planning Makes Perfect. Pretty much having a plan and a journal are crucial. The plan helped keep me from being overwhelmed in the beginning and as time went on I needed it less and less. -Use the journal to write down not only what you ate but how hungry you were leading up to the meal and how you felt after. This can help you spot problems in your "nutritional programming" such as meal timing and food type (usual signals are hunger and/or energy levels). - Having a rough schedule of eating times helps keep you in the Zone and not crashing.
2) Real Food is your friend!! Eating boxed foods or processed foods leaves you hungry. It can help in a pinch but a Bar is not going to fill you up as much as veggie's will. I find that this is way too much food to eat and it leaves me a block to mess around with, which I happily fill with fruit.
3) Know your chart. I mostly used a chart from Crossfit Journal #21 (its a free download) to build my meals. The chart has a list of good and bad foods (bad usually means less food and a high glycemic index/load). - It is nice to use a nice recipe here and there but it can get time consuming. If you don't want to cook all the time make extra. Personally it is easier for me to think about meals in "lego blocks" instead of trying to divide a recipe into servings (Micro to Macro instead of Macro to Micro). Depends on the individual.
4) The Quick Draw: Trouble comes when you are short on time and big on hunger. Don't wait until you are hungry to start cooking, it can seriously affect your choices in food and your mood (I get really grumpy). - Know what foods you like that are quick and filling. For me a couple quick good ones are: Protein - Jerky, Cold Cuts, Frozen Bags of shrimp (cooked type), low fat cheese Carbs - Beans (not for the paleo folk), Steamed veggies like asparagus and packaged squash (to me seem to be the tastiest to microwave), fruits and natural applesauce. Fat - This one is usually easy, nuts and drinking olive oil.
*These foods seem to travel well too.
5) On the Go. If you know you might be going a while without a meal bring a snack just in case. Otherwise, you may fall victim to CMS (Cookie Monster Syndrome ) and make poor food choices. - A cooler can be your friend, I took one everywhere.
> Random tips: - Eggplant seems to be a very filling vegetable. - Post workout Nutrition is big, eat shortly after the WOD. - Go to the local market for cheap produce, believe me you go through a lot of it. - Black coffee is much easier to drink chilled. - Sweeteners such as Splenda, Equal, Sweet n Low have a high glycemic index. I use Stevia.
I will continue to update this as I remember more. If you have any questions let me know.
-- Edited by Tello on Wednesday 8th of July 2009 09:37:00 PM
Eating boxed foods or processed foods leaves you hungry. It can help in a pinch but a Bar is not going to fill you up as much as veggie's will. I find that this is way too much food to eat and it leaves me a block to mess around with, which I happily fill with fruit.
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