Whether you compete in a sport such as rugby or simply train crossfit, you should consider yourself a power athlete and fuel accordingly (the exception being crossfitters who are also endurance athletes). Power athletes have different needs than couch potatoes or endurance athletes, and we here at Kettlebell Kitchen want to fill you in on how to tweak paleo to your specific needs.
Whether you want to lean out, maintain your current muscle mass and strength, or add bulk will affect how you approach your meals.
For those cutting weight, Robb Wolf (author of The Paleo Solution) suggests that you eat per pound of bodyweight the following daily: 1.0-1.25g protein, 15-17 calories, 50-100g carbs, and the remainder in fat. So a 150-pound female would have a daily intake of 150-187 grams of protein, 2250-2550 calories, 50-100 grams of carbs, and remainder in fat (approximately 155-160 grams). In addition, he suggests training relatively low carb and eating your starchy carbs post-workout. If at all possible, training in a fasted state on approximately 10-20 grams of branched-chain amino acids (“BCAAs”) will further aid your fat loss.
If you are working to maintain your current strength and size, Wolf suggests that you eat 80-90% of calories from carbs in the post-workout period (liquid carbs optional). On a daily basis, eat per pound of bodyweight: 1.0-1.25g protein, 17-19 calories, carbs as tolerated.
If you're looking to build muscle, no matter how dialed in your nutrition may be, you still need to sleep more and train very hard. There's no denying that you're going to be eating a lot of food, so if you want added muscle to show up instead of added body fat, the training and recovery must be on point to create the right environment for hypertrophy. Wolf's suggestions include post-workout BCAAs of +10-20g, eating 80-90% of calories from carbs in post-workout period (liquid carbs optional). Further, your daily food intake, per pound of bodyweight, will be: 1.0-1.5g protein, 19-21 calories, 20-40% of calories from carbs as tolerated, remainder in fat.
These precise prescriptions shouldn't be difficult to follow while using Kettlebell Kitchen for your meals. All of our meals have exact nutrition information listings on our website, including calorie counts, macronutrient ratios (listed in grams), etc.
How to gain weight and build muscle
Robb Wolf's paleo meal plans for power athletes
Protein requirements for strength and power athletes
Muscle growth and post-workout nutrition
CrossFit Football's take on paleo nutrition for power athletes
Earn your carbs
Nate Miyaki on paleo for strength and power athletes
Kiefer and Carb Back Loading (Paleo Solution podcast)
Game day nutrition from John Welbourne of CrossFit Football
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