6 Bad Eating Habits That Are Killing Your CrossFit Scores

Since starting CrossFit years ago, I know as a CrossFitter that I want two things. A good-looking body and better CrossFit scores. I also know this. It’s a lot easier to improve your fitness level than it is to improve your body fat percentage.

So, the question is how do we do both. How do we improve our body and improve our fitness level at the same time? Well, it starts in the kitchen.

You see, it’s a whole lot easier to get in the gym for 45 minutes to an hour a day than it is to remove yourself from bad eating habits. Bad eating habits are like any other bad habit. Smoking, for instance.

Though bad eating habits aren’t as disgusting as cigarettes, both can kill you. To figure out how to correct your bad eating indulgences it’s important to first know what those bad eating habits are. So, here goes.

6 Bad Eating Habits

Temptation All Around overweight-guy-at-fridge

I read about a study where office workers kept candy in an open bowl on their desks. These individuals helped themselves to candy 71% more often than those individuals who had the same candy in a closed container where the candy wasn’t visible.

What does this mean? It means temptation is cruel. Get around it by removing it. Bad foods in the house? Get rid of them. On the other end, stock up with healthier alternatives so you don’t put yourself in a bind. Prep your meals before hand, including snacks.

Spend some time on the weekend researching recipes and cranking up your crockpot instead of binge-watching Netflix. Cut up veggies for snacks and use fruit as an alternative to cure your sweet tooth.

 

Skipping Breakfast

This is the #1 eating habit I hear from people when asked what they eat throughout the day. You’d think by skipping a whole meal that you would actually cut calories and you’re doing yourself a favor. However, you’re wrong.

Why is that? People have different theories on it but common sense tells me that if I skip breakfast then it’s only going to make me more hungry later.

What happens when we’re really hungry?  We binge, which leads to this…

 

Overeating 

Whenever I am super hungry, it goes a little something like this inside my mind.  

“Oh my God, I’m so freakin’ hungry!  I can eat a horse.  No Joe, chill out…you’re overreacting.  Chew some gum to get you by.  No seriously, I’m about to tear some food up.”

So I do eat clean food but I end up eating a lot of it to where I am feeling completely full….and guilty.  I know better than anyone not to overeat.  But, it happens.  

But, why do we overeat?

 

Not Snacking 

You got that right.  I am telling you to eat!  We tend to overeat when we’re hungry.  We’re hungry because we don’t keep adequate snacks on hand.

Prep your snacks like you prep your meals and have them at the ready for when you are most hungry throughout the day.  For me that part of the day is mid-morning.  By this time, I’ve normally got my workout in and lunch-time can’t come soon enough.  

Prepare yourself and you’ll beat the fat!

 

Not Eating the Right Food

Food is fuel.  If you want to improve your fitness level, you’re going to have to think like an athlete and eat the right foods that will fuel your body.  If you’re not eating the right foods, this can slow you down tremendously.

For instance, greasy take-out food is one of the worst things you can put in your body before or after a workout.  How quick  do you think you will actually be by scarfing down Foosackly’s before a workout?  

But here’s the deal.  There are many fitness enthusiasts online that you watch scarf down this fast food junk, time and again.  Here’s what you don’t see.  How often they train and what they eat on a regular basis.  

For instance Brandon Carter and The Hodge Twins.  They have many videos of themselves scarfing down a ton of food while being in tremendous shape.   Before you go off and get high hopes after watching one of these fitness gurus, know the facts.  They’ll even tell you that they don’t eat garbage all the time.  It’s click bait.

If you’re in great shape and scarf down garbage food all the time, try this experiment.  Go a week and clean up your diet.  Then let me know how great of an impact it has on your performance!

 

Distracted Eating 

One of the worst eating habits you can have is distracted eating.  If you’re a part of our PN Coaching system at CrossFit Jacked, this deals directly with your healthy habit this week.  

For myself, I struggle with this bad habit on a daily basis.  I’m usually attempting to scarf down a meal at the beginning or the middle of the day so I can get back to doing the work I enjoy.  I may be sitting at my computer or I am in-between classes but I am none-the-less distracted with work rather than focusing with what is on my plate.

This leads to rushing through a meal and scarfing down a bunch of calories very quickly.  Have you ever quickly eaten a meal only to look down and ask yourself in wonder where all the food just went?  That’s distracted eating.

man-eating-popcorn

Distracted eating leads to consuming more calories as you’re still hungry because your body hasn’t had an opportunity to digest the food you just consumed.

How do you stop doing it?  Slow down for starters.  Chew a little slower.  Don’t distract yourself with Facebook or NetFlix while you eat.  Focus on your meal and then go about your business.  

I’m not saying it’s easy but you can correct it and you should.  This will be one of the best tools in your healthy choice arsenal that will help you succeed.

 

Until next time…Stay Jacked, Stay Strong!

 

 

 

 

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