Crangry. Any CrossFit athlete has probably experienced this feeling to some degree. The time when we CrossFit to a point that it becomes a vital part of us--a sport we love, breathe, and live. When CrossFit is then absent from our typical routine for a day, a few days, or even a week due to the constant varying work schedules, daily stressors, or even unplanned events that life throws at us, it triggers the feeling of “off-ness,” irritation, or even anger. Why does this happen? Because we didn’t consume something our body needed—the energy, the support, the push, the grind to brace us through what life has in store for us that day or stabilize us after a long day. This feeling is crangry: the absence of CrossFit that triggers the “angry side” because our disciplined routine has become disrupted.
Much like nutrition, when you have regimented your eating habits, this naturally becomes a lifestyle. On the other hand, if you have perhaps developed poor eating habits over a long period of time, it’s very challenging to transform what has become your “norm.” However, working one day at a time to intentionally improve your nutrition creates healthy habits. These habits become easier and more natural to apply, because similar to CrossFit when we work out consistently, our bodies will begin to crave the good that results from healthy habits, ultimately leading to an optimal lifestyle.
While proper nutrition has many benefits such as lowering risk in chronic diseases and increasing longevity, the reality in upkeep of a clean diet can be daunting. We may not hit that PR on a day because we weren't "feeling it" or it just wasn't a "PR" kind of day. We may work hard at a skill that we desperately want to master; yet, when the skill gets too hard or life gets in the way and pushes us back a day or two behind our goals, we begin to lost motivation to even try anymore. How about this: you try again. Did you fail another day? Try again. Did you fail the day after that? Try again. Make it work. Instead of crafting good reasons why you can't accomplish what you one day wished you would just conquer already, create a max effort opportunity in your day to make it work. This extra effort to find ways to make nutrition your priority leads to disciplining your body to eventually creating a feeling of nutrangry (lack of nutrition + anger). Your body will crave the nutrition of which you have created a habit, and those once cravings for unhealthy snacks become less desirable over time. Likewise, prioritizing nutrition becomes easier over time. Doesn't going to the gym? If you spend the extra time in the beginning to intentionally create a habit, the habit becomes a lifestyle that you now live and breathe, because without it we will experience feelings of "off-ness" or irritation just like you do when you miss one day at the gym.
So, it’s that easy right? Depends on your mindset. If you create a goal and work diligently to achieve it, over time you will make progress. Every day is a choice. You make the choice what to eat every day. Sure, life gets busy, but isn’t that part of the challenge? To see what you can accomplish in your nutrition when it gets tough? Have you ever looked on Wodify and discovered a potentially difficult WOD that looked both terrifying and overwhelming—yet, you showed up? You knew it was going to be grueling, but you didn’t let that stop you from going. Oh, and I bet you never regretted going that day. Now, how about PRing that nutrition?