Beyond Calories

At the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar, they introduce the concept of a “Wellness Continuum”, a curve that spans from “Sickness” to “Fitness” and the factors affecting an individual’s position along the spectrum. Part of our mission at Bell City is to help people move along this continuum from Sickness to Fitness by not only introducing a sustainable and fun fitness program, but also by providing education about how we fuel our bodies through Nutrition Coaching and specifically by applying the Zone diet.

Michael Giardina is a CrossFit L4 Coach and has been on CrossFit’s Seminar Staff for 10 years. He holds a Master’s Degree in applied exercise and health science, and is currently working on a master’s degree in public health (epidemiology and biostatistics). In this CrossFit Journal article, entitled, “Beyond Calories” he explains how the oversimplified “Calories in / Calories out” methodology fails to explain obesity and chronic disease epidemic plaguing many developed nations.

https://journal.crossfit.com/article/calories-giardina-2

Delving deeper into this topic, he examines the history of our brain’s development from “hunter / gatherer” times and the impact of a reward hierarchy originally developed as a survival mechanism. He discusses the impact of this hierarchy on our present day eating habits and how this combined with the endless availability of highly palatable, high sugar, low protein and fiber processed food creates a cascading negative effect on our health and wellness, contributing to chronic disease.

The bottom line?

“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.”

Make an effort to cook more using whole foods and shop around the perimeter of the Grocery Store, instead of down the isles of packaged, processed foods your brain has been programmed to crave.

As he summarizes astutely at the end of his article,

“essentially, eat quality foods and only eat enough to support your activity.”

Interested in learning more about how you can feel better, look better and ward off chronic disease? Schedule a No-Sweat Intro with one of our expert Coaches on our website or by using the links in our social profiles to learn more about how the process works. We offer Total Wellness Packages that include a combination of Personal Training, Group Class and Nutrition Coaching all while holding you accountable for results and guiding you along the way.