Please comment on olive oil.

Thanks again Robb,
Jay M.

Jay!
Eggs got lumped into the “eggs & dairy” group of the old 4 Food Groups. Ironically, that was a much more balanced representation of food than the Food Pyramid Scam. So, yea, eggs are fine. Dairy is problematic from an insulin release perspective. I’d save it for PWO and if one has autoimmune issues I;d avoid it altogether.

Stay tuned.
Regards from hotter than hell Phoenix. Yup 113 degree today.
Brenda

Hey Girl!
You can do it and your performance will take off with the improved nutrition. Keep me posted on your progress!!
Robb

Your fine tuning of the zone diet is just what many of us needed to take that final step in regards to crossfit training. I want to provide access to your site through our site so our clients can get the best nutritional resources around. We want to provide our clients with the ability to take their training to the next level. Let me know if its cool and Ill create a link to your blog and resources, of course giving you all the credit. Thanks again.

Joe
Joe-
Sounds great and apologies for the tardy reply!
Robb

I just started your 30 day intro cycle. I am not a vegetarian but can you substitute soy milk for milk since dairy is not allowed? I’m mainly asking this b/c if not, how can i make a smoothie for the mornings? Water?

Thanks in advance,
Nathan

Nathan-
You can sub any of those smoothie ingredients but I prefer to see those used as emergency foods, not the daily fare.
Robb

Rebecca-
People are motivated by aesthetics…benefits (my ass looks great now!” not features “the Zone will make you healthy”. Keep in mind that you likely rate as a geek with regards to fitness and nutrition…what draws you to this stuff will likely be different than what motivates your clients. Keep enough science in it to keep it legit but think about what really motivates your peeps.
\Robb

I learned so much from your nutrition lecture yesterday. Thank you!! I am looking forward to more nutrition classes from you.

Carol-
It was a blast! I’m really looking forward to the upcoming nutrition seminars.
Robb

I’m going out to lunch today. This is a common thing in my industry. Is there any rough estimate on how much sushi fits into a block when you’re eating mostly rolls? If I go on my own I’ll be sticking with sashimi and a la carte items, which is easy. When we feed family style it’s hard to see what’s mixed into those fancy rolls. Thanks for all the help. I really enjoyed your talk at GSX in early March.

John-
It does not take much in the way of suchi to really wrack-up the carb blocks. I’d say just make that a fun meal and don’t worry too much about it, especially if this is a family outing.
Robb

Sorry, I couldn’t find a better place to post these questions. There a bit deep so I’m just hoping for any golden nuggets of wisdom.

Are Devany’s Evolutionary Fitness and Glassman’s CrossFit programming mutually exclusive because of the power law variation? People seem to be having great success doing both EF and CF (I’m a CrossFitter).

Also, do you ever incorporate EF principles into you or your client’s training?

Thanks in advance!

- Mikey

Thanks Angie! It was an awesome weekend. If you REALLY want a motivational coach I think Todd Widdman is the tops…I think I could run through a cinder-block wall if that guy told me to!
Keep in touch, keep kicking ass!
Robb

Jay-
My pleasure! It was awesome!
Robb

Do you have any suggestions for protein that does not require refrigeration? I run into this need in two different circumstances: when I’m out for multi-hour bike rides and when I’m trying to feed my kids on-the-go. In the past I typically packed things like Clif Bars and Gatorade for bike rides and carry Cheerios for the kids when I run errands. After a couple of Zone and semi-Paleo months, I’m not sure how to handle these situations since I can’t just stick a chicken breast in my pocket for a couple hours.

Thanks very much!

Will-
Everyone has a sweet spot with glycemic load and insulin response. Take in enough carbs to support activity, not so much that we pay for it.

On the go protein? We make our own jerky. Some folks use string cheese. That’s a toughy. Feed the kiddos up well and hope you can make it through the whole OP!
Robb

Carina-
sounds good!
Robb

Lack of sleep can REALLY kill things! Fat gain, muscle loss. The Base Zone IS calorie restricted…look on the crossfit message board under “athlete’s Zone”. You lean out, then increase fat blocks for your maintenance.
Robb

Carina-
The Zone is too many carbs too often for me. Most days Im more along 12-4 blocks of carbs instead of the recommended 17. I also put most of my carbs into the post workout period. Check out the piece i did for the Performance Menu “42 ways to skin the Zone”.
Robb

I have been planning my meals in a spreadsheet I built to calculate Zone blocks, but my bodyfat has remained at 14%. How long does it take for your clients to see changes?

-typically immediately unless sleep deprivation is an issue…

I plugged in your 16 block meals and my spreadsheet shows these meals as higher than 16 protein and fat, but lower than 16 carbs. This implies to me that my spreadsheet needs more work and that the meals I’m planning for myself are too high in carbs and too low in protein and fat, so (like Margie above) I’m curious how you calculate your blocks and look forward to your post on that.

-those meals are approximate and you will see a little slop one side or the other. I also lean towards the lower carb side unless the person is at a screaming level of work output. The point of the Zone is to introduce far more accuracy and precision than what folks had previously. Then we can adjust things from there.

Replacing bread and pasta with fruit and vegetables has left my stomach feeling watery / empty / gurgly / gassy. I’m not sure how best to describe it. Does this sound familiar? Is it just part of adjusting? Anything help?

-You may not tolerate fruit that well. I’m in the same boat. Just tinker witht he options and see what feels best.

One last question: I get bored drinking plain water all the time so have been drinking decaf green tea and decaf diet soda, but your comments on artificial sweeteners rule out the soda. Any recommendations for drinks that have flavor but are cold?

-we go through TOW CASES of San Peligrino water each week. It’s almost insane but we really enjoy the flavor and it gets us to drink more than normal. Run with what works!

I have been doing the CrossFit WOD since September and thought I was eating well by eating small, frequent meals until I read the OmegaRX Zone in late December. Since then I have listened to the archive of your interview on CrossfitLive.com and been reading through your blog. Thank you very much for all the great info!

-My Pleasure!

Sue-
I’m going to tackle this in another post.
Robb

Ron-
I do not see a need for a loading phase. 5g/day (1 tsp.) should do the trick! There are some studies pointing towards enhanced hGH release when the creatine is taken prior to bed…
Robb

Nick-
the smoothie is provided as a last ditch, no other option sorta thing. I really prefer folks get real food even if it’s a chicken apple sausage, handfull of nuts and a piece of fruit. That’s a long winded way of saying there really is not a good dairy free smoothie unless one goes with something like rice protein powder…and what’s the point? let me know if this helps.
Robb

Thank you for this amazing post! I love your approcach to coaching and training.

Thanks!

Murp

Thanks Murph, I just yell at people!
Robb

Ron-
Please do and thank you!
Robb

Anthony has an wicked sense of humor!

Leo-
Thanks! Anthony is also a monster athlete!
Robb

I have a couple of questions. I have been training with Kelly and Adrian at CrossfitSF for the last few months. In the last month I have tweaked my diet to follow the majority of your recommendations (the only one I am not following is that I am still eating some dairy and Peanut butter). I have been looking into the zone, have performance menu 2+3, as well as your other article, and CFJ 21. I am waiting for my zone books from amazon, but am curious how many blocks I need daily. I currently am 6′ tall weigh 187 lbs (have lost 15 since crossfit) and have about 20%BF. I currently crossfit 5 days a week. The Dr. Sears website says 17, but I wasn’t exactly sure what the activity level recommendation was for crossfit, and I wanted to get your opinion.

Thanks,

Nick

Nick-
That sounds about right. Base CrossFit is about a .7-.75 multiplier. You need some other sportive activity on top of CrossFit to bring you up to the .8 multiplier. keep in mind this is a calorie restricted diet that will see the fat increase 2-5x once y9ou are below 10% body fat.
Robb

On the cover of your tough love journal you can use this pic
http://www.funnyandjokes.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/exercise-or-die.gif

MOD-
I love it!
Robb

Sarena-
Today is your B-day? Mine too! Kick your heels up, have fun!
Robb

Thanks for the informative site.

Ari-
We did a supplement review for the Performance Menu about two years ago. i think the highlights were fish oil(good for everything), alpha lipoic acid(improves insulin sensitivity) and creatine(it works, its cheap and it improves blood lipids). there are a load of nutriceuticals that have almost medicinal impact but they need to be used wisely. There are also a load of products that do nothing…buyer beware! If there is interest in this I can do something int he future but not many folks have asked about it.
Robb

Aaron

Aaron-
At that level I guess it’s not that big a deal one way or another. Splenda might be better for your teeth!
Robb

Thanks Ron!
Robb

Steve-
We had an epiphany that holding people accountable was critical to their success and progress…it’s a tough love thing.
Robb

Craig-
Most folks are in such a hurry in the morning it’s tough to get much in. That said 1/2 bag of frozen spinach is quick and easy to put together.
Robb

Second, I’m a bit of a weekling when it comes to avoiding sweetener. I put in as little as possible in my tea and coffee (why not regular coffee by the way) but still use it. Are your reasons for eliminating those sweetners just because they are unnatural and don’t fit your over-all evolutionary nutritional model? I mean, unless you tell me I’m going drop dead from them, I’ll likely keep using them, but I’m still curious. Are they worse than sugar?

Aaron

Hey Aaron-
The Cashews tend to be carbier than other nuts so I recommend limiting those until one has reached a desired level of leanness.

Artificial sweeteners tend to elicit the same insulin response as sugar. It can stall fat loss and exacerbate hyperinsulinemic situations.

Anthony-
Absolutely! We are working on a pdf. that looks nice. I’ll post that once we finish it.
Robb

Jake-
That’s awesome! Keep in mind the weighing and measuring need not be a forever thing. it will help you dial in your eyeball method to a wicked degree. Then you might just revert to weighing and measuring once in a while to dial things back in. If uber-performance is your goal you will stay on that weighed/measured plan.
Keep me updated on your progress!

Good stuff…I like the ‘tude also about do the work or you won’t waste time on them…the feel good generation of cookies/pasta/bread/muffin eaters are only getting fatter…and they wonder why…Hmmmmmm….

MOD-
I have to say this is one aspect of training I like in that MOST people who come through our door have made some kind of a decision to make things better. Much better scenario than what most doctors face!
Robb

jay-
Thanks!
Robb

I’ve been reading your blog for a little while now, have been crossfitting pretty religiously for three months, and am really digging into fine tuning the Zone approach, moving towards paleo-ish intake and eventually tinkering with IF. I’m fascinated by this stuff and have been for years, so this is a really helpful post and a good entre point for a few burning questions, if you don’t mind my asking.

Here’s what I’m wondering: On your 10 block example, it seems like there’re really 11.5 blocks of protein in the day. Am I counting wrong? Also, I’m unclear about when you add fat to the protein and when you don’t. I see that avocado and oil accompanies three eggs, which would make the total fat intake for that meal around 22 grams, whereas lunch of 3oz chicken breast and 1 tspn oil ends up being closer to 8. I know we’re not supposed to count the fat in protein sources, but not all protein sources have the same amount of fat. So, what’s your take on this? Always add fat to protein, no matter the fat of the protein OR look at total macronutrient breakout for each meal and balance accordingly? OR think about macronutrient intake for the entire day, and don’t worry so damned much about the individual meal?

Sorry for the long long post! Thanks so much.
Margie
NYC/South Brooklyn

Margie-
This is a great question and I’m going to answer it in another blog post so other folks will see it.
Robb

Jeff-
Thanks Amigo!
Robb

Hey, I loved the ‘shopping-food.doc.’ It reminded me of Larry Winget’s new book, “You’re Broke Because You Want To Be.” I’m not broke, by any means, but the book is wonderful from a “tough love” standpoint and I recommend reading it just to get a bead on the extent people will go to make excuses.

Lots and lots of application to dieting and exercise.

Richard-
it’s really true…that whole personal accountability thing is really the key to a life lived well vs. being a spectator who is subject to the whims of life. I started cataloging our clients excuses and systematically created things like the Eat Time DVD to paint them into a corner. Once the excuses are dealt with it’s simply a matter of “are you going to do what you know you should, or not?”

Robb

EC-
THAT is why you are SO HAWT!!
Robb

Thanks again for this past weekend.

Gio

Gio-
That shows the high integrity you have as a coach…none of us have all the answers (what fun would that be anyway?) we just need to know who in this community DOES have a better perspective to help direct our training and nutrition. You kicked-ass this weekend my friend…people need to know the road you have traveled the the success you have achieved. it is a testimonial of what hard work, smart programming and belief in yourself can do. You are doing fantastic work!
Robb

Sarena-
I have a book in the works…trying to modify the schedule to accommodate more writing.
Robb

chris-
My pleasure!
Robb