Just in case you ladies aren't motivated by Greg Amundson (I know, highly unlikely), here is an article written by Nicole Carroll. She was a trainer at CrossFit HQ when it was still around and is currently the Director of Training for HQ. In the article, she describes how hard it initially was to change her eating habits.
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Alright fellas. I know the new dietary prescription is rough. It has a tendency to kick one's ass early on. That is exactly why you may already be questioning the legitimacy of it. For most of you, this is much less food, especially protein, than you are used to. I have been continually reassuring all of you that you won't waste away on such 'little' protein, but I understand that my words can only do so much. That is why I have decided to give some living proof instead.

Meet Greg Amundson (6' - 205#):

GI Jane
Grace Off
Jackie

As you can see, with your own two eyes, Greg is a beast! Believe it or not, he has been on a very strict Zone Diet for the past 7 years now. I don't have any of you "Zoning" per se, but the protein allotments are definitely in the same ballpark.

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Chad from Ultimate Test Lab will be coming to the Fort on Saturday, May 2nd to do some testing. The 3 tests beings offered that day are:

1. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) - This test lets you know how many calories you would burn in a day if you did nothing other than sitting still in a chair. Makes calorie counting much more meaningful. Cost = $50
2. Hydrostatic Body Composition - This is an underwater test to accurately determine your body fat percentage. This test can be truly humbling to some. Cost = $40
3. VO2 Max - This will determine your aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. Cost = $60

Sign-up for all 3 tests and the cost will be reduced to $135.

The costs listed above are direct for Ultimate Test Lab. We will not be making any money off of this. We want to make it as accessible to all of you as possible. We must have a minimum of 12 tests though to make it worth Chad's time.

Contact Bill for more information or if you are interested in signing up for any of the tests.

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As most of you know, I have been fighting a virus the last several days. I started playing with some numbers yesterday though and will see how far I can get today. Hopefully, I will have everyone emailed by tomorrow at the latest. I appologize for the delay.

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Food

• Slankers This is where we buy the bulk of our meat.
• U.S. Wellness Meats Another place we have used for single pieces of meat.
• Grass-Fed Ghee This is the only place I have found for grass-fed ghee.
• Coconut Oil 1 or Coconut Oil 2
• Eggs - We currently buy our eggs from Ania's Polish Deli in Lake Zurich. They are jumbo free range eggs from an Amish farm in Wisconsin. At $2.99 per dozen, these are an absolute steal!
• Raw Dairy (cream, butter, cheese, milk) - See me for more info.
• For everything else, we shop at Trader Joe's or Meijer

Supplements

• Vitamin D3 I would be willing to bet that we are all lacking in our Vitamin D intake. Here is a current study that everyone can participate in: Vitamin D Study.
• Fish Oil If I were going to take some fish or cod liver oil, this would be the one.
• ZMA Most of us are deficient in both Zinc and Magnesium and the workouts we participate in will only further deplete our stores. If eating a solid diet, I don't think ZMA is essential, but I still take 3 pills a few times a week.
• Liver Tabs Certainly not required, but these are a cheap way to make me feel better for not eating liver on a regular basis.

Reading Material

• The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates
  
• The Brain Trust Program by Larry McCleary, M.D.
  
• The Cholesterol Myths by Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD
• Death By Prescription by Ray D. Strand, M.D.
• The Dietary Cure For Acne by Loren Cordain, PhD
• Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution by Richard K. Bernstein, MD
  
• The End of Food by Thomas F. Pawlick
• Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
  
• The Great Starvation Experiment by Todd Tucker
• In Defense Of Food by Michael Pollan
  
• Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by T.S. Wiley
• Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Rob Faigin
• The Old Way by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
  
• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
  
• The Paleo Diet  by Loren Cordain, PhD
  
• The Paleo Diet For Athletes by Loren Cordain, PhD and Joe Friel, MS
  
• The Protein Power Lifeplan by Michael R. Eades, M.D. and Mary Dan Eades, M.D.

Food Tracking

• Livestrong.com Register here and join the group CrossFit Fire.
• Digital Food Scale You will need one of these if you are going to be accurate with your intake.

This list should help everyone get off to a good start and keep you all busy for quite some time.

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Garth posted a comment earlier today, asking for some reading material to further explain the health benefits of cholesterol and the potential cancerous effects of polyunsaturated fats.

First, find a copy of The Cholesterol Myths by Uffe Ravnskov and give it a good read. Not only does it cover the topic of cholesterol, but it also gives one a better understanding of polyunsaturated fats. I'm flipping through my copy while typing this and chapters 6 and 7 both thoroughly cover the cancerous polyunsaturated fat.

In addition to that book, here are a few links to get you started:
Dr. Groves
Ray Peat
More Ray Peat

Finally, if you want to try your hand at digging up the studies themselves, head on over to: pubmed.

To summarize, cholesterol is required of all cells in your body. Cholesterol gives cells their rigidity. Without any cholesterol, you would be a big pile of goop on the floor. On the contrary, polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and weaken the integrity of our cells, thus suppressing our immune system's ability to protect us against the daily attack that we are under.

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The loveable, huggable Zach recently sent me this email:

Did you read the recent blogs on Whole Health Source about the affects of the GI?  I am curious about your thoughts.

After giving it some thought, I sent him this reply:

I agree, the spikes aren't the problem, it is the constant elevation that is the problem. This is why we pay little attention to blood glucose levels and oral glucose tests. Instead, we monitor the HbA1c level to determine if we are insulin resistant and in danger of becoming ill.
His argument is rubbish though. He uses the Kitavans as an example, knowing full well that people will misinterpret that. Someone will see what he is saying about high-GI foods, 70% of calories from carbs, and automatically assume that a high carb diet is healthy.
Go ahead, consume our Westernized food in a similar macro nutrient ratio and see how you fare. The thing with the Kitavans is that they get ALL of their carbs from sweet potatoes, yams, and some fruit. Fruit that hasn't been genetically bred to be sweeter than mother nature intended. They round the rest of their diet out with coconut products and fish. This results in significant doses of saturated fats and omega-3s. Another thing it also results in though is elevated triglyceride levels as well as an elevated total cholesterol. Once again, this supports the argument that cholesterol is actually a good thing when metabolic syndrome is not present.
It gets better though. The Kitavans live near the equator and don't wear much in the way of clothing. Do a google image search to see what I mean This ensures that they get plenty of sunlight which in turn produce ample supplies of vitamin D. There is current research out there pointing to high vitamin D levels being a preventer of almost any illness you can think of. This is why I started taking a vitamin D3 supplement every single day.
Let's take their location a step further. They don't just live near the equator, but rather on an island near the equator. Living on a non-Westernized island means that the locals must always live within the food production capacity of their island. At times, there will be excess and at other times, there will be hunger. This results in a naturally calorie restricted diet when averaged out. Talk to Jennie about calorie restriction or go to this link to read about it for yourself (http://nymag.com/news/features/23169/index1.html).
Simply put, calorie restriction, coupled with intermittent fasting, limits the development of insulin resistance, pretty much independent of macro nutrient ratios. A calorie restricted diet is very hard to maintain though. Carbs are a very cheap fuel source and cause cravings, plain and simple. People have reported of dreaming of food on a regular basis when doing the CR diet.
Living in a constant abundance of food like we do makes it all that much harder to make calorie restriction a lifelong thing. You will cave to those cravings more times than not. I suggest moving to non-Westernized island if you want to give calorie restriction a shot.
There's another solution though! Introduce yourself to a ketogenic diet instead. That is, reduce the carb intake to a low enough level and your body will be forced to produce ketone bodies for fuel. Studies have found ketogenic diets to have similar effects on insulin resistance to severe calorie restriction.
I have always supported the idea that different people can thrive on different things. There is no singular route to health and longevity. When given the choice between a high-fat, ketogenic diet or a "balanced", calorie restricted diet, I will choose to "dump the carbs and pile on the lard" every single time. I don't have any interest in living life on the brink of starvation. "

In a nutshell, there is no singular way to achieve anything. Find what works best for you in achieving your goals and roll with it.

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