THE CHALLENGE

We’re trying an approach that’s different than the last nutrition challenge, where we focused on quality and quantity. This Challenge is about quality. Why the change up? When it comes to nutrition, every athlete is different. We want to expose you to a variety of options, so you can choose what works for YOU!

Many of you thrived on weighing and measuring your food with a few cheats sprinkled into your week. But for others it was overwhelming. For this challenge, no scales and no measuring cups, just quality foods, but no cheats are factored into the equation. It’s for you all-or-nothing folks. It’s just 30 days to see if the pure quality approach works for you.

And this time, you don’t have to go through this alone! You can sign up with a partner, or sign up alone and we’ll assign one to you. Why partners? Accountability! This works wonders when it comes to working out and nutrition. You choose your partner and keep each other honest and healthy and if you cheat, you both pay the penalty (more on this later)!

RULES

What you can eat:

  • Vegetables — you know veggies (but no legumes), potatoes and sweet potatoes are okay too
  • Proteins — chicken, turkey, fish, grass-fed beef/steak, eggs, buffalo, venison, etc.
  • Fats — avocado, coconut, oils (no canola or hydrogenated oils), nuts (no peanuts or peanut butter), seeds, butter (grassfed only e.g. Kerry Gold, Kate’s, etc)
  • Fruits — you know fruits (no dried fruit)

What you can’t eat:

  • Sugar — honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, coconut crystals, artificial sweeteners of any kind (stevia, equal, etc.)
  • Processed Foods — items you cannot make in your kitchen, items with ingredients you cannot find in your kitchen
  • Grains — cereal grains, wheat, barley, oats, rye or rice
  • Dairy — milk, creamers, cheese, ice cream
  • Legumes — beans (black, kidney, refried), peanuts
  • Soy — soy milk, soy beans (edamame), soy sauce
  • Quest Bars

Exceptions: Pre/Post Workout (within an hour before or after WOD):

  • Fuel for Fire
  • Progenex
  • Paleo Natural Bars

SCORING

1) BODY MEASUREMENTS

They will include; weight, waist, arm, hip and chest (women), leg and neck (men)

2) DAILY SCORE

If you eat within the parameters of the challenge (veggies, proteins, fats, fruits and limited starch), you get a YES for the day. If you don’t, you get a NO. Each partner will record their own daily scores to the Goal whiteboard at the back of the gym.

Burpee Penalty: For each “NO” you post on the Goal board, you and your partner must do 50 burpees each the very same day that it is posted. So if partner 1 is a “YES” and partner 2 is a “NO”, you both still do 50 burpees. (And you’re lucky, even 2 “NO”s are still only 50 burpees each). You can thank Rap, Bill and Scott for starting the burpee penalty during their experiment with it the month before. And by the way, it worked. =)

3) BONUS SCORES

Each week you will have the opportunity to add to your daily score. 1 extra point is available each day of the first week, 2 for each day of the second week, 3 the third week and 4 the fourth. Each partner will keep track of their own bonus points, but at the end, your score will be a team score.

  • Week 1 Bonus: Drink 1 extra shaker bottle (32oz) worth of water per day = +1 point.
  • Week 2 Bonus: Go to bed 15 minutes earlier than normal = +1 point. For example, if you typically go to bed at 10p, you now go to bed at 9:45p each night. This week you have the potential of +2 points if you’re still drinking extra water
  • Week 3 Bonus: Eat breakfast within 2 hours of rising = +1 point with potential of +3/day if you’re drinking water and still going to bed early.
  • Week 4 Bonus: Stop eating after 7:30pm = +1 point with the potential of +4/day

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

  1. Sign up with a partner — Go to the back pull up rig and sign up on the “Goals” whiteboard. If you don’t have a partner, we’ll pair you up with one.
  2. Get your measurements taken — See a coach before or after class.
  3. Begin logging your daily scores — Starting Wednesday, June 4th, log your scores to the back whiteboard. You will log a YES or NO and your bonus points.
  4. Pay your burpees — If you score a NO, be ready to pay up!

WINNERS

The #PursueBetter Nutrition Challenge ends on July 3rd! At that time, we will tally up the points based on a combination of team scores, bonus points, measurements and benchmark WOD improvements. We will soon announce the prizes for the winners! (They’re awesome.)

HELPFUL RESOURCES

QUESTIONS

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