The Paleo Diet for Crossfit Exercise

Crossfit exercises are part of an intense workout that focuses on increasing body strength. Most workouts that are considered heavy are used in crossfit routines, hence crossfit has become almost synonymous to ‘’hard’’ and ‘’demanding’’. For this very reason, crossfit exercises should be supplied with a lot of protein and energy.

The paleo diet is a complete dietary program that includes most plant and animal food products. It requires meals rich in animal protein and including a lot of other essential nutrients. Protein is so important in the caveman diet specifically because it is responsible for building muscle mass – and this is what crossfit exercise demands. This diet is usually prescribed for reducing excess fat and to achieve fitness and a better overall well-being. Hence crossfit exercises and the paleo diet are so closely related.

Restrictions in the Paleo Diet

The paleo diet has its share of restrictions in terms of food consumption. It avoids all whole grains and dairy products. Grains have been shown to effect damage to the immune system, the gut lining, and other aspects of the body’s functions, while the paleo diet aims for the individual to process food as people did before agriculture and modern food preparation methods. In other words, it strives for a more natural and healthy processing of food.

One benefit such a diet has is that it can reduce the intake of high-glycemic products. High-glycemic foods increase blood pressure, the levels of which have to be maintained at normal and safe levels consistently; otherwise, one’s circulatory system may fail during an intense workout. In addition, saturated fats are avoided in the paleo diet, since this is a requirement for a perfect crossfit workout. The ratio of calorie intake and calories burned has to be maintained at an equal degree, depending on the intensity of the workout. The more calories you take in, the more you have to burn.

Why the Paleo Diet Is Perfect for Crossfit Training?

The paleo diet is said to be the perfect match for crossfit routines, as it satisfies all the requirements of this intense activity in terms of body functions. Both depend on protein-rich foods such as turkey, lean meat, seafood, fresh green vegetables, and eggs. Furthermore, crossfit exercises aim at increasing strength and reducing fat, and for this reason they constitute the ideal training program for the obese. Being overweight is a serious issue that is affecting increasing numbers of people in modern society, and to eliminate this disorder the best possible dietary program is the paleo diet, as well as other plans such as the lemonade diet. However, these weight loss diets completely prohibit the intake of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are essential during intense workouts because they are instant energy sources and responsible for supplying enough instant energy for any heavy work.

How the Paleo Diet Helps to Burn Fat?

Carbohydrates can be easily burned to release energy. But if carbs are available in large amounts, this can prevent the burning of fat. The body learns to burn carbs instead of fat, which is its primary fuel, and instead stores fat ‘’for later use’’. Nowadays, however, we rarely need to rely on our extra fat stores, therefore all this extra fat leads to obesity and health issues. Excess fat that has settled in the liver, especially, has to be reduced before one’s metabolic rate can increase. An increase in the metabolic rate speeds up the burning process, and while this lasts, if there aren’t enough carbohydrates the body chooses to burn fat. This is the principal reason why carbs are restricted from weight loss diets.

Calorie count is another important factor on which the crossfit routine concentrates. Calories from animal protein and vegetables are all utilizable and so have to be burned, depending on the intensity of the workout.

A note to keep in mind is that the paleo diet is ideal for bodybuilding and, therefore, is also apt for crossfit exercises. The paleo diet for crossfit has one downside, however, which is that it might lead to lack of calcium. Avoiding milk and other dairy products can easily have the effect of reducing our calcium levels. For this reason, when following this diet one should always make sure to consume enough calcium sources before the problem even appears. Before moving to muscle strength, bone strength is essential, and so careful eating and consumption of all the necessary nutrients should be paid attention to when following a healthy diet for crossfit.