TheBoltBlog

The BOLT Nutrition Challenge

Last years winner, David Harp, post and pre-crossfit

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30 day Nutrition Challenge. The challenge starts on Thursday, Jan 10th and goes through Friday, Feb 8th.
You’ll be measuring your success over the 30 days of the challenge using a system of points.
This will be a partner challenge, you can choose your own partner or I can choose one for you. The goal here is to have an accountability partner. You will earn nutrition points with your partner, and you’ll both complete all benchmarks but only the most improved score will go towards team total.
There are 2 ways your team can earn points for the challenge.
1. Daily points for eating Paleo, completing a food log, completing workouts and recording your results.
2. Performance improvement on benchmark workouts — 1 metcon, 1 strength, 1 endurance (best team member’s score will be used)
*A 3rd category is optional to participate in and will be scored separate
from the larger competition. Weight-loss/Body Measurements

Entry Fee – $25

Nutrition Scoring
• 15pts per day for nutrition journal. In your journal you will keep a daily log of your food intake. At the very least you must keep track of everything. IF YOU DO NOT SUBMIT A LOG ENTRY YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON 15 FREE POINTS!! You will be responsible for submitting your points but a coach must review your nutrition log weekly.
• Cheats constitute: (-5pts for any of the following)
• Dairy (Milk in coffee is only -1)
• Grains- Rice, bread, pasta, cake, cookies, cereal ect.
• Legumes- Peanuts, soy beans, lima beans, kidney beans, ect.
• Packaged/processed food
• Fast food
• Alcohol other than red wine, cider and tequila (2 serving allowance/day, no more than 6 per week) More than that -5
• Each day that you take 2g (2000mg) of fish oil (combined EPA/DHA) add 2 points
• Each day you drink half of your body wgt in ounces of water add 2 points
• You are not following the Paleo diet if you are not consuming any fruits or vegetables. Each day that you eat less than 3 servings of fruits and vegetables subtract 10 points.
• Each week you complete at least 3 CrossFit workouts and record all of your results you will receive 30 points for that week. These workouts do not all have to be at CrossFit BOLT, but they do need to be legit workouts (no Bench Press and 20min on the elliptical), you can go to http://blog.get-bolt.com/category/body-weight-wod/ for body weight WODs you can do with limited equipment. Your results must be recorded in manner that allows for a quick and easy way to look back/review and understand, i.e. you can use an app or digital notebook, but a picture of your time or weight on the board without the workout or how you scaled the work will not suffice.

Food List
All meats are recommended to be grass-feed and “all organic” but we understand that this is unrealistic for a lot of you. Avoid relying on deli meat as a primary protein source.
Be real careful when picking out mayonnaise and salad dressings. Soybean oil is the main ingredient in most, try to avoid products that are primarily made with soybean or vegetable oil and look for canola, olive, or flaxseed oil instead.
Paleo Foods/Highly Encouraged
Lean Meats:
• Lean beef (trimmed of visible fat)
• Beef Jerky (check label for added sugar)
• Flank steak
• Top sirloin steak
• Extra-lean hamburger
• Lean veal
• Lean pork (trimmed of visible fat)
• Pork loin
• Pork chops Lean poultry
• Chicken breast
• Turkey breast
Eggs
Fish:
• Bass
• Bluefish
• Cod
• Eel
• Grouper
• Haddock
• Halibut
• Herring
• Red snapper
• Salmon
• Scrod
• Shark
• Striped bass
• Tilapia
• Trout
• Tuna
Shellfish:
• Clams
• Crab
• Crayfish
• Lobster
• Mussels
• Oysters
• Scallops
• Shrimp

Fruit:
• Apple
• Apricot
• Avocado
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Cranberries
• Grapefruit
• Grapes
• Honeydew melon
• Kiwi
• Lemon
• Lime
• Nectarine
• Orange
• Passion fruit
• Peaches
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Pomegranate
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Star fruit
• Strawberries
• Tangerine
• Watermelon
Fruits in moderation (high in sugar):
• Mango
• Banana
• Fig
• Guava
• Papaya
Vegetables:
• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Collards
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Endive
• Green onion
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Mustard greens
• Onions
• Parsley
• Parsnip
• Peppers (all kinds)
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Squash (all kinds)
• Tomato (actually a fruit, but most people think of it as a vegetable)
• Turnip greens
Nuts and Seeds:
• Almonds
• Brazil nuts
• Cashews
• Chestnuts
• Hazelnuts (filberts)
• Macadamia nuts
• Pecans
• Pine nuts
• Pistachios (unsalted)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Walnuts
*A goal of no more than 4oz per day for those of you looking to lose weight
Oils:
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil

Whey Protein powder

Tofu
Seltzer water
Coconut water
Foods that should be eaten in moderation
(not cheats unless in excess)
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Chicken wings
• Ribs
• Canola oil
• Flaxseed oil
• Quinoa
• Deli meat
• Dried fruits – no more than 2 ounces a day, particularly if you are trying to lose weight.
• Dark Chocolate at least 60% cocoa – no more than 1 square/6g a day.
• Sweet Potato – 1 medium sweet potato in the meal immediately following your workout (if you don’t workout, no sweet potato for that day)
• Non-fat greek yogurt is one acceptable dairy product as long as this is plain/no-sugar added.

CHEATS (-5/Serving)
Dairy Foods:
• All processed foods made with any dairy products
• Butter
• Cheese
• Cream
• Dairy spreads
• Frozen yogurt
• Ice cream
• Milk
• Nonfat dairy creamer
• Yogurt
***Non-fat greek yogurt is one acceptable dairy product as long as this is plain/no-sugar added. ***
Cereal Grains:
• Barley (barley soup, barley bread, and all processed foods made with barley)
• Corn (corn on the cob, corn tortillas, corn chips, corn starch, corn syrup)
• Millet
• Oats (steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and all processed foods made with oats) ***Subtract 3 instead of 5 points for plain oatmeal.
• Rice (brown rice, white rice, top ramen, rice noodles, bas mati rice, rice cakes, Ricebas mati rice, rice cakes, Rice flour (all processed foods made with rice)
• Rye (rye bread, rye crackers, and all processed foods made with rye)
• Wheat (bread, rolls, muffins, noodles, crackers, cookies, cake, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, pasta, spaghetti,lasagna, wheat tortillas, pizza, pita bread, flat bread, and all processed foods made with wheat or wheat flour)
• Wild rice
Cereal Grainlike Seeds:
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
Legumes:
• All beans (adzuki beans, black beans, broad beans, fava beans, field beans, garbanzo beans, horse beans, kidneybeans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, pinto beans, red beans, string beans, white beans)
• Black-eyed peas
• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Peas
• Miso
• Peanut butter
• Peanuts
• Snowpeas
• Sugar snap peas
• Soybeans and all soybean products
Soft Drinks and Fruit Juices:
• All sugary soft drinks and diet beverages
• Gatorade
• Vitamin water
• Coke
• Diet Coke
• Canned, bottled, and freshly squeezed fruit drinks (which lack the fiber of fresh fruit and have a much higherglvcemic index)

Alcohol:
• White wine
• Vodka
• Gin
• Rum
• Beer

Artificial Sweeteners:
• Sweet and Low
• Splenda
• Equal
***Subtract 2 points per packet when using***
Condiments:
• Processed salad dressings
• BBQ sauce
• Ketchup
• Mustard (unless just mustard seeds and vinegar; check the label)
• Miracle Whip
• Anything made with soybean oil
• Anything made with high frutose corn syrup
• Anything with added sugar

Fish Oil
The two key components in fish oil are the omega-3s called EPA and DHA. A simplified way to think of them is EPA benefits your body, and DHA benefits your mind.
DOSAGE
As a low “maintenance dose”, you can start 1000mg of combined EPA & DHA for every hundred pounds of bodyweight. Recommendations vary because every person is different and everyone’s conditions are different.
***** It is important that you look at the EPA/DHA on the back label of your fish oil. This is a different amount than the total amount of fish oil labeled on the front. For example a standard 1200mg fish oil capsule, usually only has around 350mg of EPA/DHA. Look for a more concentrated source and you won’t have to take 6 capsules per day.
Check out Whole9’s fish oil faq http://whole9life.com/fish-oil-faq/

Performance Improvement Winner

David Harp – BS increased by 8.5% and decreased metcon time by 27.5%

Nutrition Points Winner

A three way tie for first, all three of these individuals scored perfectly for 30+1 days of the challenge!

Jamie Wuistinger

Ashley Minton

Karen Lever

Body Composition Winner

Sandra Norton

Overall Winners

It was a tight competition, 1st and 2nd place were actually tied after initial scoring.  I reviewed the scoring and compared the significant difference in scores to break the tie.

1st Place – David Harp

2nd Place – Karen Lever

3rd Place – Clarissa Green

All winners of the individual categories win a Rev1 Speed Rope. 3rd place overall wins back their entry fee of $25 and 1st and 2nd place will split the remainder of the pot 65%/35% respectively.

Proud of all your hard work and discipline while completing the challenge.   I hope you learned about yourself and that a healthy diet is not only a worthwhile investment, but manageable lifestyle choice.  And although it can sometimes be a challenge, the habits best for us often are.

Updates

Here is a google doc to track your points.  Save to your computer and input your name if necessary.  Send your numbers to getbolt@gmail.com each Friday by 5pm.  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ar6jFhM0iF6OdHhwSWZEWUFxTEFpeEZ6RVZ5YmM0b3c

Updated - Here is a daily food log to use if you like https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B76jFhM0iF6OZDc5MzA2MzItNDQ5Yy00MzRjLTg5ZDItZjhiNmJkNGYxZGZk

The BOLT Nutrition Challenge

To get everybody motivated to give the Paleo diet a try, we’re going to do a 30 day Nutrition Challenge. The challenge starts on Monday, Jan 30th and ends on Wednesday, Feb 29th.
You’ll be measuring your success over the 30 days of the challenge using a system of points. And no, these aren’t the Weight Watchers kind of ‘points’.
There are 4 ways that you’ll be able to earn points for the challenge.

1. Daily points for eating Paleo, and completing a food log.
2. Drink half your body weight in water per day {ounces}
3. Benchmark workouts — 1 metcon and 1 strength
4. Body Composition

Eat real food. Meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, oils (like EVOO or coconut). Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients or no ingredients listed.

*Take it easy on the nuts!  A goal of no more than 4oz a day particularly if you trying to lose weight.

Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, cheese, yogurt and milk (including cream in your coffee).

Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn, oatmeal, and also any gluten-free pseudo-grains (quinoa, etc).

Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter!

Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Truvia, Stevia, etc.

*No fruit juice

Supplements. Fish oil, Vitamin D and Post Workout recovery/Whey Protein shakes are allowed and encouraged. No fake candy bars – Protein Bars

Alcohol. All participants are limited to 3 alcoholic beverages per week. Your choices are 1) Red Wine, 4 oz 2) “NorCal” Margarita

Paleo/Not-so Paleo allowed treats. Dried fruits – no more than 2 ounces a day, particularly if you are trying to lose weight. Dark Chocolate at least 60% cocoa – no more than 1 square/6g a day.  Sweet Potato – 1 medium sweet potato in the meal immediately following your workout (if you don’t workout, no sweet potato for that day)

Additional Rules
1. No Cheat Meals.

2. You must take before and after photos. Your photos are for your own personal record. However, you must submit them to the judge to be eligible for the prize. Men in shorts, no shirt. Ladies sports bra or appropriate top and shorts. 1 photo from the front, 1 from your left profile view, 1 from your right profile view and 1 from the back

3. No naked carbs – Keep your meals balanced, this includes snacks. No carbs/fruit without protein

4. Faleo – If you DQ one of the requirements you have the option to buy back into the challenge.  The cost is $10 and completion of a randomly selected WOD, “Insulin Insolence” or “Burpees for Bread”.  You will only have 2 opportunities to buy back into the challenge, third strike and you are out.

Scoring
Nutrition/Food log

2+ points per day for eating exactly according to guidelines
1+ points per day if you have one serving of any food not on the guidelines
0 points per day if you have more than one serving

*more than one day a week with 0 points for nutrition and you are disqualified from the challenge……this is a nutrition challenge!!

Water

1+ point per day for drinking have your body weight in ounces of water

Metcon

% decrease in time of the Metcon

Strength

% increase in weight lifted

Body Composition

Photos will be judged and ranked in order of most significant change to least significant.

Entry Fee – $25
Prizes

Categories

Nutrition/Water/Food Log Pts
Metcon/Strength Improvement
Body Composition

1st place for each category will receive a fitness related prize. Overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive cash prizes based upon the number of people who enter the challenge. Approximately 80% of the proceeds will be split between the three winners, the remainder of the proceeds will cover the costs of the challenge

This chopped broccoli salad was awesome! Fresh greens, bacon, dried fruit, nuts/seeds, and did I mention bacon….simple and delicious. I got the recipe from Health-Bent.com (check them out in the resources tab at the top of the page), and made just a few tweaks.

Feel free to mix or match your favorite dried fruit and nuts to the recipe. I used golden raisins and would like to try dried cherries or cranberries next time. I also added sunflower seeds in addition to the chopped almonds. I prefer cooking bacon on the stovetop, so I ignored baking the bacon. Give it a shot and post a comment on how it turned out!

http://www.health-bent.com/salads/paleo-broccoli-salad

Ingredients
1 lb broccoli
3/4 c slivered or chopped almonds
1/2 c raisins
6 slices bacon
1/2 c rendered bacon fat (drippings) or olive oil
1/4 c red wine or apple cider vinegar
s&p

Method
Set your oven to 375ºF. Place the bacon slices on a baking sheet and bake until they’re brown and crispy, about 25 minutes.

While the bacon is cooking, get out a large bowl. For the broccoli, use your hands to remove the leaves on the base of the broccoli. With a knife, trim off the tough outside of the broccoli stem, so you’re left with the tender, pale green center. It shouldn’t be more than a couple millimeters thick–so don’t hack! Chop up the stem into tiny, bite-size pieces and do the same with the florets. Complete broccoli utilization–woohoo!

Add the broccoli to the bowl, along with the vinegar, almonds, raisins and salt & pepper.

Once the bacon is done, remove from the oven and let it cool. Once cooled, chop or use your hands to crumble up the bacon and add it to the bowl. Pour 1/2 c of the rendered fat (drippings) from the bacon directly into the bowl.

Toss everything to combine. Serve immediately, or wait until it’s cold. It’s good either way.

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