1) Introduce ourselves
a. We are Greg (greg@crossfitcc.com) and Meg (meg@crossfitcc.com) .We like to eat food
and talk about it.
b. However, we are not doctors or registered dieticians. We can only present the
information and guide you in your own self-experimentations. Our recommendations
are based on what’s worked for us and the people we’ve directly worked with. Consult
your physician before making any changes to your diet…but your physician might not
agree with some of what we say. It’s cool.
2) BCCC format
a. All listed on the CFCC blog – Click the Nutrition tab and click “What is the BCCC” for ALL
the dates and details. Measurements are the Monday – Wednesday, week of 9/23.
b. Why we do the BCCC
i. Self -experimentation – no one knows you better than you know yourself, and
we cannot/will not provide a blanket set of rules because every single person is
different. Use this time to find out what works – but be open to suggestions
about things that might work BETTER!
ii. Short focused efforts, not a crash diet – there’s never a good time to prioritize
good nutrition. Ever. There’s always happy hours, birthdays, special occasions,
holidays, etc etc. At some point you just have to decide that “to get what you’ve
never had, you must do what you’ve never done.” This doesn’t mean you have
to be super strict forever, it simply gives you a starting point.
iii. Not a weight loss challenge. Or necessarily a “leaning out” challenge. For some
people it may be a way to fix an AI problem that’s been lingering for years or
just come to a more healthful relationship with food.
c. Mention one on one options
i. $125 gives you the BCCC buy-in and four check in sessions with Meg or Greg to
review your food log, talk about how you’re feeling, general accountability.
Email to sign up, there are a few spots left!
3) The historical ideal vs. modern world (this is society as a whole)
a. Sleep
i. Historically: Restful sleep when it’s dark, waking when it’s light, maybe taking a
nap during the day if drowsy. Slept in dark, cool caves, no artificial light. Lots of
time spent outdoors during the day.
ii. Now: “reverse days” – stuck inside all day, blinded with blue light til all hours
(mimicking sunlight, why our bodies are confused). We pride ourselves on how
little sleep we need, we take sleeping pills to GO to sleep and need gallons of
coffee and sugary treats to make it through the day.
b. Activity
i. Historically: Lots of slow movement (hunting, gathering, tons of walking pre-car
and even more pre-horse). Occasional vigorous activity – lifting heavy things,
running from predators, chasing prey. Rarely sitting during the day and even the
regular “seated” position (in a chair) is relatively recent – think squatting as a
relaxed position.
ii. Modern: Laying in bed, sitting in a car, sitting at a desk, sitting on the couch,
back to bed. If you’re lucky you’re a weekend warrior who’s at the gym an hour
a day.
c. Stress
i. Historical: Acute occasional stressors – “something’s chasing me, run!” or “I
have to catch that!” would result in adrenaline rushes.
ii. Modern: Chronic, low level mental and physiological stress – not just being
“stressed out” in the commonly understood sense but walking around in a state
of being inflamed, under-moved, poorly nourished, under-slept, etc.
d. Food
i. Whole foods based – for much of our history we were hunter gatherers.
Agriculture was fairly recent, but even then we had to work MUCH harder for
the food we ate. Everything was made from scratch by hand, everything was
seasonal. Dense calorie treats were treats, not givens.
ii. Processed, chemical, convenience foods available in quantity and VERY cheaply,
to our detriment.
e. So, we compare the modern world to our historical ideal as a point of reflection, NOT
because we think our lives should be a historical reenactment. We can take the good
stuff from the past and apply it to today to improve our lifestyles, but we’re certainly
not calling for a return to caveman life. We’ll discuss later how modern technology can
be a good thing.
4) Pyramid of Greatness – Optimizing your health and wellness
a. BASE AND MOST IMPORTANT: Sleep, Digestion, Stress Management, Recovery. We
cannot emphasize enough how important these factors are – without them, everything
else you do is not being optimized. You CANNOT focus on any one of these factors at the
expense of others. They’re ALL related in ways we’re just barely beginning to
comprehend.
b. NEXT UP: Nutrition
c. THEN: Moving Around a Lot at a Slow Pace – Getting up from the chair. Walking as much
as possible during the day. Fidgeting.
d. TOP: Intense Activity: Crossfit/Traditional “Training” – this is merely the icing on your
proverbial cake. If you don’t have the rest of the pyramid in line, you’re not getting as
much as you can out of your training.
5) What is NOT food, get this out of the way quickly
a. We don’t think we really need to argue with you guys about this stuff. Chemical laden
processed foods, additives, unpronounceable ingredients, preservative-ridden
frankenfood that never rots. FAST FOOD. Think about how many potatoes with butter
you can eat vs. how many potato CHIPS you can eat.
b. Also soda. Meg will be mad at you if you drink soda (just kidding, but maybe not).
6) Macros
a. PROTEIN
i. Sources: Beef, Chicken, Fish, Eggs (best) / Cheese, Legumes, Dairy, Nuts [less
good]
ii. Purpose: Muscle Building, Satiety
iii. GOAL: Vary your protein sources, as high quality as you can afford (don’t stress
about this unless it’s very important to you)
iv. Optimal Amounts: Aim for 2/3 bodyweight in grams [visual: 1-2 palm size
portions per meal]
b. CARBS
i. Sources: Vegetables, Fruit, Potatoes and tubers, Rice [best] / Added Sugars,
Pasta, Bread, Legumes, Sodas [way less good], fat free dairy (don’t do it)
ii. Purpose: support metabolism, support any activity beyond merely existing (aka
CROSSFIT), support your brain.
iii. How They Work: When carbs are consumed, your body turns them into glucose
during digestion. Your pancreas makes insulin in response to the amount of
glucose it senses in your body. Insulin sends that glucose to your muscle cells to
be used during activity (this is why athletic people need MORE carbohydrates)
When carbohydrates are consumed from nutrient dense sources (NOT sugary,
empty calories) in the amount appropriate to your activity level, they are
necessary and crucial for thriving as an athlete. When excess carbs are
consumed (just like any macro) they are stored as bodyfat.
iv. GOAL: Consume your carbs from less inflammatory, more nutrient dense
sources (be open-minded about what this means for you, individually, and be
willing to experiment). Ideally, you do not want insulin levels to be ELEVATED
throughout the day. Eat carbs to support your activity level.
v. Optimal amount: At minimum, ½ bodyweight in grams on rest days, and 2/3
bodyweight in grams on training days. Eat a variety of vegetables every day.
c. FAT
i. Sources: Coconut oil, canola oil, olive oil, butter, avocado, animal fats, nut
butters, full fat dairy
ii. Purpose: Satiety, Slowing Absorption, Vitamin/Mineral Absorption from foods,
Support Healthy Hormone Levels
iii. Goal: Avoid man-made fats (canola oil, vegetable oil, soy oil, margarine)
entirely. Use quality saturated fats (solid at room temp, from natural sources)
for high heat cooking - they’re more chemically stable than monounsaturated
fats, which will oxidize at high temperatures and lead to inflammation in your
body. Reserve monounsaturated for low-heat applications like dressings and
flavorings after cooking is done. Overall, vary your fat sources.
iv. Optimal Amount: Minimum half your bodyweight in grams per day to support
healthy hormones.
d. ALCOHOL – a brief word on this since it’s technically a macronutrient but has little to no
real value to you beyond social value. Saying you’re drinking alcohol for healthful
properties is a no-go, there’s nothing in booze that you can’t get from better sources.
That said, it’s delicious and it’s a big part of being social humans. SO – be mindful of this.
It’s dense calorically and when you drink, your body diverts ALL resources to
metabolizing the alcohol since TECHNICALLY it is poisonous – so anything else you’re
consuming at the same time, like cheese fries, will get stored as body fat until the
alcohol is processed. Drink like an adult, and drink good stuff, please.
7) MICRONUTRIENTS
a. Why can’t we just eat the perfect soylent green formula made of the ideal ratio of
protein, carbs and fat? Because food is more than the sum of its parts. This is why we
stress a varied, whole foods based diet vs eating processed foods that are stripped of all
that is good and refortified with the “nutrient of the week” that scientists have decided
is good.
b. Common micronutrient deficiencies – Vitamin D, Choline, Selenium, Magnesium, Zinc,
Iodine.
i. We’re chronically deficient in these for a bunch of reasons – Vitamin D because
we collectively avoid the sun and the nutrient dense foods that contain it. Iodine
and zinc because we don’t eat sea vegetables and creatures that much.
Magnesium/seleneium because our soil is depleted due to unsustainable
farming practices, which means even if you’re eating tons of vegetables, which
most people are NOT, you’re still not getting the minerals that used to be in said
vegetables a hundred years ago. Choline because we are terrified of egg yolks.
c. Our favorite foods that you should add to your diet as much as possible: blueberries,
dark leafy greens (kale, chard, etc), coconut, grassfed/pastured meats, organ meats,
turmeric, cinnamon, sweet potato, oysters, pastured egg yolks, sea vegetables, brazil
nuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, oily fish, fermented foods
8) Hormones
a. Substance that regulates cell action in your body. There are hundreds of hormones,
we’re going to touch on just a few big ones. The main takeaway (and this is brief and
highly oversimplified) is that your hormones are very delicately balanced and when they
go out of whack, bad things happen. Also, your body is designed to function best with
occasional SPIKES of hormone levels, not chronically elevated or chronically depressed
levels. Chronically restricting any of the three macronutrients will screw with your
hormones.
i. Thyroid – regulates metabolism.
ii. Cortisol – stress response hormone
iii. Insulin –processes sugars, aids muscle growth
iv. Sex hormones – testosterone/estrogen. We all have both and need both.
v. Growth hormone – makes humans grow
9) Digestion – very important, give it credit, because if you’re not properly digesting your food,
paying a ton of attention to what you’re putting in your mouth is being wasted!
a. Ideally: You sit down to a meal, chew your food, swallow it, your body processes it and
extracts what it needs, and what it doesn’t need is compacted and comes out the other
end in a reasonable amount of time. PS: Get comfortable thinking about your pooping
habits. It tells you a lot about what’s going on in the rest of your body – and don’t be
afraid to talk to us about it! We (Meg) do not think it’s gross, or even if it IS gross, we’ve
heard it before.
b. WHAT CAN GO WRONG:
i. Multitasking/Not Focusing – your brain views this as being in a fight or flight
state, which means it’s not able to divert its resources to managing things.
ii. Eating too quickly/not chewing your food/drinking your food – partly has to do
with focusing, being mindful, but also has to do with taking in calories too
quickly for your body to process (essentially, predigesting your food throws
things out of whack). Good for people that want to get big though!
iii. Insufficient stomach acid – means that food isn’t getting digested properly,
leading to pressure buildup, leading to acid getting pushed back into the
esophagus, leading to HEARTBURN (funny, that’s the opposite of what the
heartburn med commercials say!) If you are prone to heartburn, consider
supplementing with digestive enzymes.
iv. Overconsumption of sugars for activity level
v. Overexposure to toxins means the liver can’t do its job properly (remember the
alcohol thing?)
vi. Leaky Gut – certain foods are problematic for some people to digest (legumes,
gluten being the biggest offenders) These foods enter the gut (the small
intestine) and are mistaken as invaders, meaning the body attacks them with
the immune system. Also attacks other bodily cells at the same time – which
manifests itself as any one of a host of autoimmune conditions. If you suffer
from one of these (acne, eczema, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and more)
consider a specific gut healing protocol to address it. We’ve definitely seen
people with these issues have success in improving them!
vii. Improper hydration – enough water helps things move through your system.
Too much water dilutes your stomach acid and messes with your electrolyte
levels. Don’t feel like you have to drink ten gallons of water per day, and if you
have digestive issues avoid chugging water at mealtime. Your pee should be a
healthy yellow. If you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, salting your food,
drinking a few glasses of water per day and aren’t thirsty, you’re fine. Adjust
accordingly for long strenuous training sessions or when it’s particularly hot
outside.
viii. Imbalance in gut bacteria – due to lots of things (overuse of antibiotics,
sterilizing everything, stress, etc) our guts can get unbalanced. We are always
going to have a TON of bacteria in our bodies (in fact we’re really more hosts
than we are human. Dun dun dunnnnn.) The key is to have more of the good
guys than the bad, because then the good guys win the fights. This is a call for a
change in our attitudes about sterilization (obviously there’s a time and a place,
like the operating room, but we can probably all be better served by chilling out
a bit about the rest of it. And letting our kids eat some dirt). Practical
applications – supplement with some probiotics via capsules or probiotic
containing foods as often as possible. Try to avoid chronic antibiotic use but if
you have an infection or an acute need, make sure you re-inoculate with the
good stuff.
10) Ancestral Foods – this is the part where we talk about the stuff from our past that’s been lost
for the most part in our modern world, but is really quite good for us, and we should consider
bringing back into our diets
a. Fermented foods (kombucha, kefir, real yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc) – fermented
foods are full of good bacteria and are a throwback to the days before refrigeration.
Almost every culture has a traditional fermented food. They may be an acquired taste
for some of us that are less used to strong flavors, but we really encourage you to try to
incorporate these as much as possible. No need to chug gallons here, just start small.
b. Whole Animal Eating – aka “nose to tail”. Good for a variety of reasons, one of which is
that it’s much more sustainable. There’s no reason we should throw out everything but
the chicken breast, no traditional culture would EVER have done that. In fact, the organs
were often the most prized parts of the animal as they are EXTREMELY nutrient dense.
Broth made from connective tissue is INCREDIBLY good for recovery from exercise,
overall healing, and gut health (hence why chicken soup is good for colds!) We realize
this is new territory for many of you but encourage you to consider trying to get some
offal in your diet as often as you are able. It’s money saving and honestly, much more
respectful of the whole animal and supportive of sustainable farming practices.
c. Seasonal Intake/Varied Diet/Sustainable Farming – another thing that supports
sustainable food production. Think about eating with the seasons when you plan your
intake. Enjoy good food when it’s meant to be enjoyed – think about delicious ripe
Jersey tomatoes in summer vs. the watery disgusting ones in December. Thinking
seasonally/shopping your farmers’ market supports local growers and discourages
monocultures and subsidizing of unsustainable crops year round. Eat a varied diet to get
those micronutrients. To the extent that you can afford it (prioritize your spending!),
choose grassfed/pastured meats and organic produce.
11) Modern Technology – how it can help/hurt you
a. Fish oil – not necessary to chug gallons of it, and you’re probably fine if you just eat high
quality seafood a few times per week and minimize your consumption of inflammatory
foods like seed oils, crappy dairy and excess processed sugar. I (Meg) keep a bottle of
Carlson’s in the fridge and take a swig if I’m feeling a little inflamed, otherwise I keep my
diet varied. Fermented cod liver oil is gross, but a really good option for gut health.
b. Protein Supplements – not really necessary unless you need to grow, shouldn’t really
ever be a meal replacement. Greg takes whey hydrolysate around his workouts. Meg
takes BCAAs only.
c. BCAAs – branched chain amino acids. Not animal derived so good for
vegans/vegetarians. Essentially predigested so can go right to the muscles rather than
having to go through digestive process. Will help with energy and prevention of
soreness – we really recommend these to everyone, both pre and post-workout. Can be
found at Vitamin Shoppe or truenutrition.com. Go for unflavored to avoid artificial
sweeteners, yes they’re nasty, you get used to it. 
d. Ibuprofen/NSAIDs – like everything else we’ve talked about…okay to use occasionally,
not good to use constantly as they inhibit the healing process when they stop
inflammation and they’re not that good for gut health. If you can’t sleep from pain, take
one, but don’t pop them before every WOD! If you’re that sore, we need to address
your training, not put a bandaid on it.
e. Caffeine – Very individual, some are more sensitive than others. You shouldn’t need 12
cups of coffee to get through the day, but a cup or two in the morning is probably okay.
A mocha frappucino is not coffee – seek out higher quality coffee and learn to enjoy the
taste with minimal additions. If you have trouble sleeping at all, this is the first thing that
should go.
12) Suggestions for baseline habits – in life, or if you’re not sure where to begin for the BCCC
a. Eat food in its most natural form. If you could visualize yourself picking it from the
ground, growing it yourself, then it’s probably good. Minimize packaged foods and
eliminate excessively processed foods. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store.
i. Meat, vegetables, fat, some fruit, starches to support your activity level
ii. Minimize dairy consumption unless you know you tolerate it well, and stick to
full fat high quality dairy
iii. *If vegetarian – minimize consumption of vegetarian convenience foods,
emphasize protein from whole food sources, check consumption of processed
soy
iv. Limit/Eliminate: Sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages/juice, dense
sources of empty calories
b. Don’t eat foods that make you sick
i. Test/learn more about potentially problematic foods like gluten, dairy, legumes
by temporary elimination
ii. Experiment to figure out what foods make you feel best at different
times/under different circumstances
c. Cook as much of your own food as possible
i. Allows you to control ingredients/quality/sourcing
ii. Forces planning and mindfulness (digestion begins with the brain)
iii. Saves money!
d. Be honest with yourself (mindfulness) – what foods are trigger foods/foods with no
brakes?
e. Minimize alcohol consumption/drink responsibly
f. Keep a record of what you eat. Not meant to be stressful, but allows you to connect the
dots about how food makes you feel physically and mentally, how it affects your
training, sleep, recovery, etc.
g. Eat like a human adult – celebrate food with the respect it deserves. Eat in a way that
makes you proud
GOAL SETTING:
Use this sheet to record your thoughts about what you want to focus on during the BCCC.
SMART Goals
Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Relevant
Time bound
Good – Performance Goal:
GET FASTER.
How is this specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time bound?
Better:
DO MORE BURPEES IN 3 MINUTES.
Specific: A burpee is a movement with a defined standard.
Measurable: Test before the BCCC and test again after the BCCC – you’ll have actual data to look at.
Attainable: Yep, especially with 30 days of focused attention to nutrition and recovery.
Relevant: Your ability to improve in burpee speed is directly related to achieving a more efficient body
composition (ie: not carrying excess body fat for your height/weight).
Time Bound: 30 DAYS
Good – Body Composition Goal:
LEAN OUT/LOSE BODY FAT.
Better:
LOSE AT LEAST ONE INCH AROUND MY WAIST.
S – Numerically defined.
M – We take measurements before and after the BCCC. Numbers don’t lie!
A – Yes (see results from past BCCCs)
R – Reduction in waist measurement is a reflection of reduction in systemic inflammation, better digestion, and
a loss of overall body fat.
T – 30 DAYS
Good – Habit Change Goal:
EAT HEALTHIER.
Better (a not-exhaustive list):
Only eat food I cook during the BCCC, or….
Eliminate gluten/added sugar during the BCCC, or…
Only consume alcohol one night per week during the BCCC, or…
Eat green vegetables at every meal during the BCCC.