so what to eat… and then repeat?

So here we are! Off to the races. It is my first blog post, and I am PUMPED. Not necessarily because loads of people are going to read this one. In fact, not many people will, but there is something so liberating about just the IDEA of someone reading my thoughts.

My first post is going to be diet centered because that is the thing I have had the most people ask me to write about. My goal is to give some nutrition, recipe, product, or supplement advice with every post, So here goes nothing…

Let’s first talk clean eating and the CrossFit prescription. Since starting CrossFit, my food world has changed drastically. I was a 109 lb. endurance running vegetarian, with extremely high cholesterol, triglycerides through the roof, low bone density, mood swings, and anemia. All the while, though, I thought I was being “healthy.” I was constantly injured and run down, I took out the fact that I was hungry all the time on the people who mean the most to me, and I was always tired.

So what changed? I switched from eating vegetarian (think bagels, granola, peanut butter, spinach, and lots of beans and tofu), to this:

Meat

Vegetables

Nuts/Seeds

Some Fruit

Little Starch

NO Sugar

*NOTE (added 5 months after this initial post): I am looking back on this now and smiling about how much my thoughts in regards to nutrition have changed. It goes SO FAR beyond just M, V, N/S, SF, LS, NS, but this is a GREAT place to start. Remember it’s about nutrient density not just a set of rules and limitation. I recommend you continue through posts to see how my thoughts and education and passion for nutrition develop. It’s fun. That is all… continue reading now!

Some of you might have heard this before. It is the CrossFit diet prescription, and it SAVED my life. Case and point: food is the strongest medicine there is. With this prescription, incorporating grass fed, free range, organic meats, WAY more veggies, healthy fats, and a lot more food in general, I put on 20 pounds of muscle, cut my triglycerides in half, got rid of that pesky anemia, and just generally feel 800x better.  My loved ones (especially my husband) are as happy as I am about the change. I have NEVER felt better, and my focus on health has changed entirely, as well.

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Fitness no longer has anything to do with the number on the scale, but everything to do with the number on the barbell, and I have never been so in tune with how my body feels and performs.

So why this story? One of my goals in writing this blog is to share my experience and lessons to help others. If this helps even just one person make a change to improve his or her quality of life, then I have succeeded.

So how is this done? Well, slowly at first. I didn’t make the switch all at once. I traded gluten for eggs and fish. Then, I slowly added free range chicken and then grass fed beef, and I will never forget the first night I had steak…. I slept better than I had in over 7 years.

I am going to try to keep this relatively short in hopes that I don’t lose your attention with my first post. I also want to make sure every post leaves you with tools to go out and make a change or take action yourself, so I am going to show you what I ate for breakfast today when I was short on time and very hungry:

Image

  1. Heat 2 pans with a spoon full of coconut oil in each
  2. Grate 2/3 medium sweet potato with a cheese grater and throw it in a pan with some sea salt
  3. I had some leftover grass fed steak in the fridge (3 oz), which I cut into little pieces
  4. Throw the steak in the second pan
  5. Scramble up 2 cage free organic eggs with some coconut milk (the full fat kind from the BPA-free can)
  6. Pour the eggs on top of the steak, let cook, then fold over (like an omelet)
  7. Put it all on a plate and enjoy with 1/3 Forager Project Greens A

This is not only delicious and so easy, but it also is a balanced meal… we’ll talk more about macronutrient balance and ZONING next post. For now, enjoy this one! And remember, always feel free to shoot me an email with questions, blog post ideas, or thoughts!

Happy Tuesday….

By | 2015-03-31T13:43:01-08:00 February 26th, 2014|Health|5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. nainasingh2014md February 26, 2014 at 3:35 am - Reply

    That looks amazing! I’ll have to try it 🙂

  2. Michelle February 26, 2014 at 4:20 am - Reply

    This is wonderful Laura! You write beautifully and everything is so interesting that I cant wait for the next posting!

  3. Marni February 26, 2014 at 11:34 am - Reply

    Looking forward to learning a lot from you!!

  4. […] You use measuring cups for your carbs, a scale for your proteins, and your eyeballs mostly for the fat. You should have a good understanding of what makes up each of those categories from my last nutrition post! If not, take a look here. […]

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