Sports Nutrition and Normal Eating...Are both possible?

Throughout my journey of becoming a “normal” eater, one big hang up seemed to come up often. As a crossfitter, I struggled with finding the line between normal and obsessive eating behaviors when it came to fitness. I used CrossFit as an excuse to restrict or not eat what I wanted. My food had to be Paleo, but not for reasons you might think.

In the beginning of my normal eating journey I tricked myself into thinking that I felt my “best” when I was eating only healthy Paleo foods all the time. After all, how could I ever CrossFit the following day after eating dessert.  I truly believed that it wasn’t that I was actually afraid of the food; I just wanted to be the best athlete I could be. I was lying to myself and not knowing it.

When I started to become really proactive on my normal eating journey, I decided to take a break from CrossFit. I told everyone I was “burnt out” from CrossFit but the reality of it was I was “burnt out” from dieting. I got myself a coach, and started to work with Isabel Foxen Duke on finally feeling normal around my food. I didn’t want to be using fitness as my excuse to eat “healthy” or just not eat any more.

During my mini break from CrossFit I learned a lot about food and my body. I noticed that I felt absolutely fine when I ate foods like cottage cheese and brown rice. Both were perfectly healthy options, once deemed “off limits” because of Paleo. I learned that I could eat a piece of chocolate and not wake up bloated, lethargic, or 10lbs heavier.

I also realized something colossal to my normal eating journey. I finally figured out that my excuse of not eating something because it would affect my performance at CrossFit was bull. It was actually a fear of wearing a fitted tank top after eating chocolate that I was hung up on. My “problems” with food were not problems with food at all. They all came down to body image problems.

Before going back to CrossFit I got really clear on why I missed it. It had noting to do with how I looked. CrossFit wasn’t making me skinny, leaner, or more muscular but I still missed it. I missed the feeling of accomplishment after a workout. The pride in what my body was capable of. The awesome community of friends I had there.

Going back to CrossFit I started from scratch. No crazy food rules. No body image fears. Now things feel different. If I want protein oatmeal I have it but not because it will make me “thinner”. I have it because I crave it. If I want something not Paleo, it doesn’t matter, because I no longer hold rules around what I can and cant’ eat. I am also perfectly fine with having a piece of chocolate at night without the imminent fear that I will either a. look fat in the morning or b. be the slowest one in class tomorrow.

There are also moments when I make decisions based on fitness and my background in sports nutrition and that’s okay too. I will say this though. There is a clear difference between having protein after a workout because that’s what CrossFitters do and I want to look like a perfect CrossFitter and having protein after a workout because it will recover and repair my muscles so that I can back squat more weight the following week.

In the past I did it to be skinny, now I do it to be smarter and stronger. Which reason are you going by?