Think you can get very far in CrossFit or any other sport by just doing the training and ignoring your diet? Think again! To get a look at what an elite CrossFit athlete puts in her body we sat down with CrossFit Athlete and TheAthleticBuild contributor Danielle Sidell to get the scoop on her diet and nutrition.
How would you describe your diet?
I would describe it as simple, I don’t do anything special. I don’t avoid a whole lot of foods, I don’t stress over weighing out my food. I really just focus on taking in quality food sources, plenty of calories and stabilizing blood sugar. I want to maximize my workouts by getting the best recovery possible. I already have a very good idea of how much Macro’s are in most foods from changing up my diet so much in the past. So when I say 6 or 8 oz. of meat of sweet potatoes, I am not actually measuring it, but I would say its pretty accurate.
How important is your diet in terms of your crossfit performance?
My diet is very important in my performance. We make adjustments daily depending on on what my workout is going to be, how I did, and how I feel afterwards. Not only are the nutrients very important but so is hormone balances, which are directly effected by the nutrients you but into your body.
Would you say your diet is a typical crossfit diet?
I wouldn’t say that my diet is a typical crossfit diet because of some of my food choices, but I think the logic behind the diet I follow and a paleo or zone are similar. I don’t really think that one diet is better than the other, everyone should find what works for themselves. I don’t think any one diet can be applied to a group of athletes. There are too many factors in a diet that will determine if it will be the most effective diet for the individual. For example; energy system efficiency, hormone levels and metabolism (age, gender, body fat, etc all play roles), and food allergies, etc. will play a huge role in the ratio of macros that a person should take in to perform there best.
How often do you cheat on your diet if ever?
I cheat on my diet more often then people would think. I don’t really call it cheating though, as I mentioned earlier, my diet may change day to day depending on my workouts and how well I am recovering. I will throw in a pasta meal or extra fruits and sweet potatoes pretty regularly as needed. As far as pizza, ice cream and candy it is less often, maybe once or twice a month at most.
What do you typically do for pre and post workout meals?
My pre workout meals really depends on the time of day I am working out. Typically I will eat 45g carbs from oatmeal with 30g protein from a white fish 1 hour before my workout. Post workout I use a 1:1 ratio of simple carbs with NutriWhey Protein immediately (within 10 min) following my workout, 1 hour later I will eat 1-2 pears and 30g protein from white fish again.
Top 10 foods we would find in your kitchen:
Eggs
Steak
Ground beef
Fish
Chicken
Rice
Oats
Pears
Bananas
Natural Peanut Butter
Danielle Sidell’s Diet for 1 Week
Day 1
7am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein
8am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats
9am- AM Workout Session
11am- 1 Can TUNA and 2/3 cup oats
2pm- 4 egg whites and 2/3 cup oats
4:30pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 banana
5:30pm- PM Workout Session
6:30pm- 40g Nutri Whey Protein and 40g Dextrose
8pm- 7oz steak
9:30pm- 1 cup cottage cheese
Day 2
7am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein
8am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats
9am- AM Workout Session
11am- 1 Can TUNA and 2/3 cup oats, 1 scoop of natural pb, and 1 pickle
2pm- 4 whole eggs and 2/3 cup oats
4:30pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 banana
5:30pm- PM Workout Session
6:30pm- 40g Nutri Whey Protein and 40g Dextrose
8pm- 7oz steak and 1 banana
9:30pm- 1 cup cottage cheese with granola
Day 3
7am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein
8am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats
9am- AM Workout Session
11am- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 scoop of natural pb
2pm- 6oz Chicken and 2/3 cup oats
4:30pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 scoop of natural pb
5:30pm- PM Workout Session
6:30pm- 40g Nutri Whey Protein and 40g Dextrose
8pm- 6oz chicken and 1 banana
9:30pm- 1 cup cottage cheese with small scoop of PB
Day 4
7am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein
8am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats
11am- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 scoop of natural pb
2pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats
4:30pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 scoop of natural pb
6:30pm- 40g Nutri Whey Protein and 40g Dextrose
8pm- 6oz chicken and 1 banana
9:30pm- 1 cup cottage cheese with small scoop of PB SO GOOD!
Day 5
7am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein
8am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats
9am- AM Workout Session
11am- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats, 1 scoop of natural pb
2pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats
4:30pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats
5:30pm- PM Workout Session
6:30pm- 40g Nutri Whey Protein and 40g Dextrose
8pm- 6oz Steak, 1 cup rice and guacamole
9:30pm- 1 cup cottage cheese
Day 6
7am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein
8am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats, 1 cup spinach
9am- AM Workout Session
11am- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats
2pm- 6oz Ground Beef and 2/3 cup oats
4:30pm- 6oz Fish and 2/3 cup oats
5:30pm- PM Workout Session
6:30pm- 40g Nutri Whey Protein and 40g Dextrose
8pm- 6oz Steak and 1 banana
9:30pm- 4 whole eggs
Day 7
7:30am- 1 scoop NurtiWhey Protein 8:45am- 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 2/3 cup oats 10am- Bike/Swim 1pm- 6oz Ground Beef and 2/3 cup oats 3pm- 6oz Fish and 1 cup rice 6:30pm- 1 can tuna fish and 1 cup oats 7pm- 6oz Steak and 1 cup strawberries 9:15pm- 5 whole eggs
