Announcing Daybreak’s very own NUTRITION CHALLENGE! What better way than a little friendly competition to introduce healthy eating habits into the Daybreak community. The goal of this challenge is to help you get into a routine of eating well with a balanced approach that you can maintain long after the challenge is over. This isn’t meant to be a one-off diet or quick-purge program. The premise is simple: We will award points for eating quality foods consumed in the correct quantity to optimize performance and overall health.

LOGISTICS

QUESTIONS: Post any and all questions to comments on this blog post or see one of the coaches at the box.
WHO: All Daybreak members (punch cards included).
WHEN: Contest starts this coming Monday, January 13th and runs for 4 weeks until Sunday, February 9th 
SIGN UP: Simply post to comments on THIS POST that “YOU’RE IN!”, then see a coach to take your measurements by the end of the week.
COST: Nothing! Free for all Daybreak members.
TRACKING: We will use the comments for each day’s WOD (workout of the day) to post your WOD score AND your Nutrition Score. If you worked out somewhere else, post your workout, score and nutrition score! Scores must be posted by midnight of that day. We will tally the results and post the DCF Nutrition Leaderboard at the end of each week.
PRIZES:

  • 1st: Free month’s membership
  • 2nd: 60 minute massage
  • 3rd: 1 Hour Personal Training with Mel
  • 4th: 1/2 Hour Personal Training with Mel
  • 5th: Again Faster Gift Card

 

BENCHMARKS & MEASUREMENTS

Athletes will be weighed, measured and photographed (optional) by Mel or Rap before and after the challenge. Plus we will conduct benchmark workouts to measure performance gains. The workouts will include a 1 rep max clean and jerk and “Jackie” (For time: 1000m row, 50 thrusters at 45#, 30 pull ups). If you’ve already done Jackie a few weeks ago, that will be your benchmark. We will award points for daily nutrition scores, % performance gains, % weight lost, and % inches lost.

NUTRITION SCORING

Each day you will have the potential to earn 3 points:

1 Point: For Eating Whole Foods (QUALITY)

  • Meats/Proteins (eggs, beef, steak, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, lamb, ham, etc.)
  • Veggies/Carbohydrates (lettuce, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, peppers, onions, mushrooms, kale, spinach, carrots, cucumber, snow peas, zucchini, bok choy, asparagus, etc.)
  • Nuts and Seeds aka Fats (avocado, coconut, coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, almond butter, olives)
  • Some Fruit – SOME as in 1-2 pieces per day (apples, berries, melons, citrus, grapes, bananas, papaya, etc.)
  • Little Starch – LITTLE meaning 1-2 servings per day (sweet potato, spaghetti squash, rice, quinoa, beets, potatoes, butternut or acorn squash, etc.)
  • NO Sugar – Such as refined processed foods but also no maple syrup, honey, stevia or artificial sweeteners.
  • NO Alcohol

1 Point: For Eating Correct Portions (QUANTITY)

We will use the Zone methodologies to optimize our performance but also as a good starting place for proper macronutrient intake. The Zone utilizes the “block” system (servings) to fuel your lean muscle tissue and to eliminate excess fat. In simple terms… The Zone has you eat equal amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrate at every meal.
To determine how many “blocks” or servings is right for you, look at the tag of your shirt. What does it say… Small, medium or large? Use this measurement as a starting point for your  daily “block” allotment. This is a starting place and can be raised or lowered depending on performance.

 

Female Male
Small = 10 Blocks Small = 16 Blocks
Medium = 11 Blocks Medium = 17 Blocks
Large = 13 Blocks Large = 19 Blocks
  Extra Large = 20 Blocks  

 

What’s a block?
1 block is equal to 1 serving of protein, fat and carbohydrate.
  • 1 serving of protein = 7 grams
  • 1 serving of carbohydrate = 9 grams
  • 1 serving of fat = 1.5 grams

CLICK HERE for more ideas on what constitutes 1 serving or CLICK HERE for a more comprehensive block chart. Print outs of both available at front desk. Tape them to the inside of a cabinet or the outside of the refrigerator for easy access.

Example Day for a Medium Male (17 Blocks)

Breakfast – 5 blocks (5 blocks of protein, 5 of fat, 5 of carbs)
5 eggs (1 egg = 1 blocks)
15 almonds (3 almonds = 1 blocks)
2.5 apples (0.5 apples = 1 block)

Lunch – 6 blocks (6 blocks or protein, 6 of fat, 6 of carbs)
6 oz of chicken (1oz = 1 block)
6 T of avocado (1 T = 1 block)
6 T of rice (3T = 1 blocks) – This is only 2 blocks of carb
Salad w/ 1 head of lettuce, 1 cucumber, 3/4 c of snow peas, 1 c strawberries ( Each of these is equal to 1 block of carb) – This HUGE salad is 4 blocks of carb

Dinner – 6 blocks (6 blocks or protein, 6 of fat, 6 of carbs)
9 oz burger (1.5 oz of ground meat = 1 block)
1 sweet potato made into fries w/ 1 tsp coconut oil (1/3 sweet potato = 1 block. 1/3 tsp coconut oil = 1 block) – This is 3 blocks of carb and 3 blocks of fat
2 cups of brussel sprouts made with 1 tsp coconut oil (1.25 c brussels = 1 block carb. 1/3 tsp coconut oil = 1 block fat) – This is 3 blocks of carb and 3 blocks of fat.

1 Point: For Doing CrossFit (EXERCISE)

Ideally you would WOD at Daybreak, but home WODs count if you can’t make it in, as will hotel WODs and drop-ins at other boxes if you’re traveling.

HOW DAYBREAK’S CHALLENGE IS DIFFERENT

 Our goal is to help you maintain these healthy eating habits long after the challenge is over. To do this, we will include cheat days(!) in our challenge. Yes, that’s right, cheat days! Here’s how it will work:

Tuesday OR Wednesday

Have a cheat FOOD. Not a meal but a serving of food that is under the quality perimeters we’ve established above. If you want a glass of wine or have been craving a cookie, Tues OR Wed is the day to have it. A serving of ice cream, chocolate, pizza, etc. You WILL get the point for eating quality foods, but you have to zone the cheat food into one of your meals for that day to control portion size.

Then, let your body reset.

Saturday OR Sunday

Have a cheat MEAL. Yes, an entire meal. Pizza and a beer, pasta and wine, burger with a bun plus ice cream  for dessert. Whatever you’ve been craving throughout the week, have it. Or, if you’re going out for the night and want to indulge do it. Again, you WILL get the point for eating quality foods, but you have to zone the cheat meal into your day (again to control portion size).