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Once you've got a handle on Real Food quality, keep track of what you eat to make sure you're getting enough of the right stuff!

For the Real Food Challenge,  we'll all be using posterous.com to record meals, post pictures, share recipes, and provide support and encouragement. With your very own easy-to-use blog, you can post however and whatever you like, and get all your friends and family to check it out, too. We'll post a page with everybody's blog to keep the community connected. This will keep you on track, and give quality data about your food. Remember - results must be measurable, observable, and repeatable to be worthwhile - and, in this case, to win!

In terms of food quantity, it's easy to guesstimate portion sizes once you've taken the time to measure and record for a couple of weeks. There are many great free programs out there to help you. I prefer FitDay.com, or for those iPhone/iPad folks, TheDailyPlate.com has a great app. 

First, determine your lean body mass. There are many online calculators available, such as this one by Livestrong. Find your body fat and subtract from your weight to get your lean mass - muscle, bones, organs, etc. This is what you need to feed. 

The Daily Plate has a free calorie calculator - simply enter your weight, height, whether your goal is to gain or lose weight, and your activity level 

If you're not training at the moment, you'll be good with 0.5 - 0.7 grams protein per pound of lean body mass. A female with a LBM of 100# needs 50 - 70 grams of protein per day. However, if you're training 3-5x per week, lifting weights, running, CrossFit, etc., you'll need 0.7 - 1 gram per pound to maintain your muscle mass. If you've plateaued for your current weights and want to get stronger, you'll need about 1g per pound of total body weight. A 130# girl needs 130g protein. This is integral to ensure that your body doesn't destroy existing muscle mass for its needs.

These are just guidelines, but keep them in mind as you plan and track your meals. For girls, 20-30 grams of protein per meal, 3-5 times per day. If you're a guy, double it. Conveniently, this is about the size of your palm!

A great baseline to start at for carbohydrate portions is balancing your protein and carbs.  That palm-sized serving of protein needs no more than a palm-sized serving of carbs, with the exception of non-starchy vegetables (i.e. lots of colourful veggies, green stuff, cauliflower, etc.)  Any serving of whole grains or potato should not exceed the size of your palm. This will make sure your insulin and blood sugar levels stay balanced.

Finally, fat. Aim to get 30-60% of your calories from good fats. Fat from grass-fed meats and dairy are nutritious, fat from conventionally-raised animals and dairy should be avoided. Fats from olives, coconut, and whole nuts are nutritious, fat from grain and vegetable oils should be avoided. Add some form of good fat to every meal - coconut, avocado, olive oil, butter, or cream to keep you full and satisfied. 

When you plug your food into FitDay.com, it provides lots of options at first but keeps track of your most recent foods so they're easy to find and reuse. Do your best to  accurately calculate your serving size and stick with it. FitDay gives you the calorie, protein, carb, and fat breakdown of each food, and your total day. The handy pie chart at the bottom should be pretty evenly balanced. If your protein is too high, you're probably hungry. If your carbs are too high, you're probably feeling highs and lows. Fat should be about half the pie. 

The Daily Plate doesn't provide this breakdown but it does give good food serving sizes, and calorie counts for each meal. Make sure you've got protein, carbs and fat at each meal and hit your calorie goal for the day.

The Zone Diet is also a handy way to track portion sizes. ZoneDiet.com provides a block calculator if you sign up for a free account. By building meals based on blocks of protein, carbs and fat you'll be sure to hit the right macronutrient ratio each day. CrossFit Journal 21 is the best place to start, then ask your coach or email rachael@elementcrossfit.com to help with your ideal Zone Block prescription. Standard protein, half carbs, 3x fat works well for most people to start.

We're not saying to count out 3 almonds per meal, but you do need to account for macronutrient balance. Unweighed, unmeasured Paleo quality has its own benefits as well, so long as you don't overindulge on the nuts and Paleo Desserts while neglecting essential protein. Strive for balance and simplicity for your lifestyle. 

When emailing for Real Food Challenge support, please provide the following information:

Body weight, body fat, height, age. Approx. how often and hard you train, 3 day's worth of your typical diet, and any other special considerations. Be sure to get your details in early so you can start ramping up!

Whether your goal is to gain lean mass or lose fat, eating Real Food will get you there. The improved nutrition your body receives from quality whole foods will get your body working for you.

When you eat junk food, your body might not recognize the messed-up version of an original product or vitamin, or it might cause a reaction that interferes with your digestion. You'll end up having these nutrients just pass right through you, not usable by your body for growth or repair. Remove these negative substances from your food and feed your body and muscles what they really need.

Don't forget: Water and Fish Oil. Drink lots of water, with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice for fun. Use a 1L glass jar for green tea and sip throughout the day. Have a glass of water first thing in the morning before you do anything else. Take fish oil every day, too. 

Eating for: Increased Mass

Just because you're trying to put on weight for strength doesn't give you free reign at the buffet or bulk candy bins. You still need to pay attention to what you eat and when.

1. More protein. Preferably from animals fed their natural diet, and you'll likely need added protein from whey protein powders and dairy for convenience.

2. Don't eat junk before you train. It turns off the good metabolic pathways that you need for optimal physical and mental performance.  A well-balanced meal, coffee if you like, or hearty protein shake will do nicely.

3. Sneak In calories #1 - Dairy. Dairy products are a great source of extra calories, either from fat (heavy whipping cream,  butter) or protein and carbs in a naturally ideal ratio for muscle growth (milk, yogurt). Quality is still important, though, especially if consuming large quantities. 

4. Sneak In Calories #2 - Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil. Add these powerful fuels to every meal, shake, or just have a tablespoonful!

5. Eat like it's your job. Its hard work to eat more than enough. Harder than squatting, some might say. But you have to do it every day, even if it feels like it sucks sometimes. 

Eating for: Fat Loss

You're probably not eating enough of the good stuff. Might sound strange to think about eating more to lose weight, but trust me. You probably need more good quality protein, fruits and veggies, and good fats on a daily basis. As flawed as I believe some aspects of the grain-dominated, saturated fat-hating Government Food Guide to be, I'd be willing to bet 90% of us aren't eating the  recommended 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Just like those trying to gain lean mass, you'll have to put in the work to get your body dropping fat. These tips will help.

1. More protein.  Preferably from animals fed their natural diet, but whey protein is a good source for a morning smoothie or post-workout shake. Just don't make it (or dairy products) your main source of protein. If you're vegetarian, some ideas are listed here, but you'll have to make sure your supplement somehow, including fatty acids, or your strength gains with stagnate quickly. 

2. More veggies. Like way more. They're super nutrient-dense and will keep you full for a long time. Steam the super fibrous ones such as broccoli and leafy greens to make it easier to get more in. A whole bunch of spinach goes down a lot easier sauteed in butter than as a salad! Pre-chop peppers, cucumbers, carrots, celery and add a handful to every meal. 

3. Sneak Out Calories #1: Bang for your Bite. By favouring foods that give you the most nutrients for the fewest calories, you'll be able to eat lots more of the good stuff. Grains are not nutrient dense.

4. Sneak Out Calories #2:  Satiety. Fat fills you up. Adding fat to your meal will stabilize blood sugar and provide long-lasting energy so you won't be thinking about food for the next couple of hours. Use nuts, avocado, olive oil, butter, or cream to add that deliciously satisfying full feeling to each meal.

5. Make a plan and stick with it. Get into a routine of food prep, making breakfast, cooking extra for leftovers, etc. Set a goal of 80:20 consistency and stay in those guidelines.

Event 1a - Skill Set - 10 minutes for completion

• 20 Pistols (10 each leg)/45 Squats in 60 seconds
• 10 Consecutive Muscle Ups/5 Consecutive Muscle Ups
• 25 Consecutive C-2-B Pullups/COVP Pullups
• Ring L-Sit hold 30 seconds

Info:
All Team Members
This is for completion and can be completed in any order You will have 60 seconds to perform each attempt
Each team has only one attempt per skill
Scoring: # of items completed

Event 1b - Thrusters & Burpees - AMRAP 10 minutes
Thrusters 145#/95#/65#
Burpees
Info:
Four Team Members
One bar, two members can work at a time
Teams are responsible for changing their own weights from male to female.
Each team member must complete a minimum of 10 Thrusters.
Scoring: Total Poundage Lifted x Burpees

Event 2 - Super Top Secret Event at a Super Top Secret Location - 20 minute cap
Info:
Four Team Members
Teams must complete the assigned work as quickly as possible
Event 2 is outdoors and will be running rain or shine, please come prepared accordingly
Scoring: Fastest time wins.

Event 3 - Deadlift & 1 Mile Run - 15 minute cap
Max Reps Deadlift
225#/135#/95#
then
1 mile Run
Info:
Four Team Members
Two bars, two team members can be working at a time
Teams can accumulate as many reps as they like and are responsible for deciding when to stop lifting and begin the run
Failure to complete the run before the cap expires will result in a DNF for the event
You cannot return to deadlifting after the run
Scoring: Total reps.

Event 4 - "The Championship" - To Be Announced on the day of. Info:
Four Team Members
Only the top 6 teams after 3 events will be competing in event 4.
Scoring: To Be Announced on the day of

Notes:

• Alternate weights or exercises are denoted by a '/'
• When there are two alternates the meaning is Rx'd/Scaled
• When there are three alternates the meaning is Male Rx'd/Female Rx'd+Male Scaled/Female Scaled
• Rx'd and Scaled divisons may perform the workouts in different orders.

Eating and training with a purpose is tough. Conventional people will tell you not to do it. Conventional people are also often skinny-fat or obese. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you're serious about getting lean or about seriously bulking up you need to nail down your diet and your training. If you've gotten out of the globo-gym and started CrossFitting I'll assume that your training is more or less on the right track and have been exposed to 'normal CF' vs 'Strength Biased CF' vs 'Strength Programs' like Starting Strength. If you haven't been down the rabbit hole and you still think 3 sets of 12 on the tricep extension machine is the path to true fitness you've got a lot of work ahead of you.

If you're looking to improve your body composition, a strength biased CrossFit program will yeild awesome results when coupled with a solid diet.

If you're looking to add some mass, good old Starting Strength is a fantastic place to start. 

Despite what people think there is no right or wrong answer to the 'should I lean out' or 'should I get big' question. It's all a matter of personal preference - but if you're interested in competitive CrossFit, your strength to weight ratio is something you should seriously keep in mind.

Most times everyone I talk to has no problem committing to a diet at the beginning of a program, but eventually the same thing happens. It gets hard. That's when the excuses start. 

"It's too hard to squat 3 times a week, I'm sore all the time" I've been told from people trying to gain mass on Starting Strength.

"I don't like met-cons with weight, I want to do all bodyweight met-cons," say the people trying to improve their body composition. 

 The excuses I hear most often, aren't always about training. Often they're diet related. 

"I don't have time to eat well, I'm a busy person always on the go!"

"I have a birthday party every weekend this month, there's no way I can stick to this diet right now, I'll just stick to it from Monday to Wednesday and then wing the rest of the week".

I'm telling you right now, all these excuses right here are the reasons you're not reaching your goals. All these excuses are the reasons  there aren't more lean people in the world walking around with flat stomachs. All these excuses are the reasons there aren't more guys walking around north of 200lbs squatting 400lbs for reps. 

People look at those who have accomplished their goals, and think that they had some sort of special help or extra motivation to get there. When the reality is it sucked just as much for them as it would for anyone else. 

Sure stick with what you're doing now. Cherry-pick your workouts to target your strengths, take time off for whatever reason. Change your program every other week. Let 'life get in the way' of your progress.  You can stay exactly the same as you are right now.  Everything else is too hard anyways, right?

Real Food is about making good food choices for your lifestyle.  It's not a diet, it's a way of life. It's about embracing natural healthy foods, which in turn will make you look, feel, and perform better - in the gym and in life. Use this 6-week challenge to kick-start your Real Food lifestyle and build a healthy foundation of eating habits.

 The Challenge:

Use the general principles and habits that you learn to build a healthy eating lifestyle, not just a "diet".

Keep the following in mind as general guidelines:

• Eat 3-5x per day.
• Eat real cuts of meat, including whole eggs 
• Eat real fruits and vegetables. 
• Eat good quality fat for energy. Nuts, seeds, coconut (meat, oil, milk), avocado, olives and extra virgin olive oil. Also includes organic butter and cream.
• Get the lion's share of your calories and vitamins from things you must chew, not drink.
• Take fish oil daily (0.5g per 10lb body mass)

Your meals should include a variety of meat, veggies, nuts, seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar. Nothing artificial, nothing you can't pronounce.

Ideally, eat protein (the size of your palm) at every meal, at least one vegetable or fruit, and a handful of nuts or other healthy fat with every meal. Eat food in its most natural state.

Improve your physical and mental health and your fitness. We will be taking measurements and using benchmark workouts to measure results for those interested. We will post recipes and provide ongoing support via this comments section and in person. Please feel free to share your successes, setbacks, and recipes!

The Rules:

Monday September 20th - Friday October 29th.

6 weeks. $40 to officially participate.

You must create a posterous account at posterous.com and update it daily with your meals, regardless of adherence. We'll put them together for everyone to share so you can check out each others' blogs.  You must post all your meals every day to be eligible to win. We encourage you to take pictures of your meals, post recipes you've experimented with, etc. The more sharing the better! Check out an example here.

You can follow whatever diet you choose: Zone Diet, Paleo, anywhere from 50% to 100% Real Food, Weight Watchers, etc. You do not have to be a member of Element CrossFit to participate. 

A portion of your buy-in goes to the pot for the male and female with greatest improvement -   photographs for weight loss and increased lean body mass for mass gainers.

For additional support on the Real Food principles, you will receive unlimited email support. 

Expect weekly blog posts about issues directly relating to the challenge and healthy recipes and tips. Expect your fellow challengers to keep you motivated and accountable with consistent interaction!

Real Food Guidelines: 

Return on investment is proportional to the level of effort you put in. Simply eating "clean" 80% of the time is easy and will bring improved weight loss and reduced inflammation from the Standard American Diet. Strict dieting is not sustainable but will bring dramatic results over 6 weeks. 

Lifestyle Changes - Order of importance: 

1. Protein with every meal
2. Fish oil daily
3. Limit/eliminate refined sugar and flour
4. Limit whole grains to steel cut oats and quinoa
5. Use animal fats, coconut, avocado, organic cream and butter to replace calories from carbohydrate
6. Favour protein from animals, particularly those raised on their natural diets
7. Limit carbohydrate intake to fruits and vegetables
8. Eliminate all wheat/gluten and Legumes*
9. Eliminate Dairy*

*Strict Paleo, not necessarily the ultimate end point for everybody

The Fall 2010 Ontario Real Food challenge is perfectly timed to overlap with Farmers Market season, so we'll still have easy access to tons of local fruits and vegetables! Many Farmers Market's also have vendors with eggs, wild boar, and other meats!

 Resources:

Plan Ahead with Simple Meal Ideas
Fish Oil
Real Food Tips - Bulk Chicken Prep
Get Your Breakfast On!
Dairy IS Real Food!
Real Food Wrap-Up
How much are you eating?

Check back for  more ideas each week and specifics closer to the start date. Got a question or suggestion? Post to comments or email.

Recipes and tips:

• Don't get too caught up in planning meals or perfecting recipes.Grill/sautee meat + grill/sautee vegetables + seasoning of choice = Meal. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
• Roast a chicken, make a batch of burgers or chili, and chop a bunch of veggies on Sunday night to take you through the week.
• Have leftover dinner for breakfast. Make an omelet with veggies and a bit of meat.
• More recipes here.

Email me at rachael@elementcrossfit.com for support or more information.