CrossFitters know that you only get out of your body what you put into it – and diet is a BIG part of their approach to getting people fit and healthy and transforming their bodies. Rob Forte, Australia’s fittest CrossFitter, explains how to eat like a champion ...

New-Crossfit-body-image Australia's top CrossFitters, Kara Webb and Rob Forte, fuel-up the right way.

FREQUENT FOOD

“People say different things about how often you should eat and what size portions, but we encourage our members to eat five times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner with a couple of snacks in between. For me it’s a little bit different – I have my breakfast, I have my lunch, I’ll train, and then have a post-workout meal, and then dinner after that. So I only have four meals in a day, but that’s what works for me.

“For my post workout meal I have protein and carbohydrates – something like a protein shake and a banana.”

EATING OUT

“If I eat out I’m not too fussy, but I’ll try to get a side of extra carbs. Most restaurant meals lack in that carbohydrate area – though they have heaps of protein. So for me with my training volume, I look for that straight away. A lot of restaurants these days have some sort of sweet potato option, so I go for that every time. If there’s not sweet potato I’ll go for white potato. You’re not supposed to have white potato in paleo, but it’s another good carbohydrate source for me. It’s going to be more beneficial than not having it. I’ll even order chips if there is no other option for carbohydrates because I need that energy.

“I eat pretty well, but I don’t go for the parma and chips – I’ll go for the lamb or chicken or steak and veges. Breakfast is usually eggs with veges – usually sweet potato, again. Definitely no toast. I don’t eat bread at all. No pasta. No grains – which means no rice either. Grains are a pro inflammatory – which will hinder my recovery.  So I steer well away from them.”

(Photo Credit: Reebok) (Photo Credit: Reebok)

HYDRATION

“I’ve got a 1.5 litre water bottle that I go through about twice a day. So that’s around three litres a day. It’s just water – sometimes I’ll have a coconut water. No sports drinks. I don’t have any fruit juices, either. I try to stay hydrated all the time – I don’t have any problems with cramping or anything. I sometimes take an electrolyte supplement if I’ve been sweating a real lot.”

COMP DAY

“I’ll have the same diet during competition as on any other day, though I might vary my intake depending on what time of day we’re competing. And it’s usually smaller meals, eating a little bit more frequently. The foods that I get in are the same because I don’t want to upset my stomach or anything on game day.”