The "Challenge" will start on January 2nd and run for 9 weeks.

Participation in the Challenge requires a $50 buy-in. How you perform during the Challenge dictates how much of this money you will get back.  More on this below.

Base lining - On January 2nd, everyone who wants to participate in the Challenge will do the following:

Body Weight
Body Fat Percentage (using the handheld BF calculator in the office)
Measurements - Thigh, hip, chest, waist, and bicep
Lean Body Mass (Body Weight - (BF% * Body Weight) = LBM)
Fight Gone Bad - This will be the WOD for 1/2/12
Picture - 1 from the front, and 1 profile
All of this information will be captured on a form that I will have in the office on Monday. We will attach the photos to each athletes form.
Goal- Setting
- once the base lining has been done, each participating athlete will set a goal for the 9 weeks (e.g., "I want to lose 10% body fat", etc.). Each goal will need to be documented on the form and agreed upon by a Trainer (the idea here is to make sure each athlete is setting specific, realistic, and attainable goals that aren't too easy).
Tracking progress
- we will do ad-hoc measurements and benchmarking throughout the challenge for anyone that would like them. At about the half-way point, we will have some sort of organized check-in for people to check their progress. It will likely just be body weight and body fat percentage at that point.
Completing the Challenge
- at the end of the 9 weeks, we will re-do all of the base lining, including FGB. We will then compare the results against everyone's goals. This will determine how much of each athlete's money gets returned to them. This will all be based upon their success against their goal. So, for the example above where the athlete's goal was to lose 10% body fat, if they only lost 8% bf, then they would get 80% of their money back. If they exceed their goal, then Lee has offered to give them a free t-shirt. Any money that is not "won back" by the participating athletes will be donated to the Sheep Dog Foundation and not Lee's new shoe fund.
Periodic Recipes and Nutrition recommendations
- the goal is to post recipes and nutrition related information either on Facebook or on the website every so often throughout the challenge. Look for updates as we are not sure as to the frequency of posts at this time.

GOOD LUCK!!

DIET

The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:
Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load.
Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Calories should be set at between .7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass depending on your activity level. The .7 figure is for moderate daily workout loads and the 1.0 figure is for the hardcore athlete.

What Should I Eat?
In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.

The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition
Modern diets are ill suited for our genetic composition. Evolution has not kept pace with advances in agriculture and food processing resulting in a plague of health problems for modern man. Coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological dysfunction have all been scientifically linked to a diet too high in refined or processed carbohydrate. Search "Google" for Paleolithic nutrition, or diet. The return is extensive, compelling, and fascinating. The Caveman model is perfectly consistent with the CrossFit prescription.

What Foods Should I Avoid?
Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the primary culprit in nutritionally caused health problems. High glycemic carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, sodas, and most processed carbohydrates. Processing can include bleaching, baking, grinding, and refining. Processing of carbohydrates greatly increases their glycemic index, a measure of their propensity to elevate blood sugar.

What is the Problem with High-Glycemic Carbohydrates?
The problem with high-glycemic carbohydrates is that they give an inordinate insulin response. Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been positively linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a Pandora's box of disease and disability. Research "hyperinsulinism" on the Internet. There's a gold mine of information pertinent to your health available there. The CrossFit prescription is a low-glycemic diet and consequently severely blunts the insulin response.

Caloric Restriction and Longevity
Current research strongly supports the link between caloric restriction and an increased life expectancy. The incidence of cancers and heart disease sharply decline with a diet that is carefully limited in controlling caloric intake. “Caloric Restriction” is another fruitful area for Internet search. The CrossFit prescription is consistent with this research.
The CrossFit prescription allows a reduced caloric intake and yet still provides ample nutrition for rigorous activity.

Resources:

Journal 21 Download Cfjissue21_May04 (The block bible)

Robb Wolf's shopping guide Download Shopping-food

CF Journal 15 Metabolic Derangement Download 15_03_Nutrition_Full_Issue

Link to the Performance Menu Cookbook Volume 1

Link to the Performance Menu Cookbook Volume 2

Free Recipes from Performance Menu

The Paleo Diet