What CrossFit Taught Me About Thinking

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been enthralled with videos about the “sugar diet”. Mark Bell and others have been discussing the benefits of a diet that incorporates days where consumption is limited to fruit, fruit juice, honey, syrup, and even some candy. No protein (other than the small amount in the fruit sources), no fat.

Proponents of this protocol describe it as a very effective way to lose body fat. Of course, as with most nutrition topics circulating on the internet, especially those promoting the use of one macronutrient over others, such as the keto or carnivore diets, the sugar diet has sparked controversy on Instagram and YouTube. Some claim this diet is the most effective, most sustainable way to lose weight and keep it off, while others attack it as a dangerous fad on which you’ll lose muscle and rot your teeth. 

At first glance, I must admit that my initial reaction was that the sugar diet contradicted every nutritional belief I hold. Not “enough” protein, not “enough” fat, “too much” sugar can’t actually lead to improved health, can it? This diet seems crazy. However, Mark Bell is not one to promote a training or nutrition tactic without thorough thought, extensive research, and experimentation. He has also been encouraging people to keep an open mind, saying just because something is different, it’s not necessarily wrong. If it were, CrossFit would have never survived its early days.

I hate to disappoint anyone, but that last sentiment is what this article is about — not how to implement the sugar diet. Of all people, CrossFit athletes should understand the importance of having an open mind and a willingness to explore and test ideas that seem outlandish. Every day, we put up with groundless criticisms of our program that obscure the true value of the results we produce: 

• The individual who decides to do 10,000 burpees and ends up in the hospital with rhabdomyolysis is held up as proof that CrossFit is dangerous. 
• A video of a less-than-perfect clean is used to prove the argument that regular people can’t do Olympic lifts. 
• Social media accounts clamoring for views proclaim that CrossFit is dangerous, you can’t get strong doing CrossFit, and our dietary practices are too strict or just flat out wrong. 

We are well aware that these clickbait sound-bite snippets are in no way representative of what we do and who we are. In turn, we must recognize that criticisms of other effective programs, workouts, or diets are also likely to be nonsense. 

Is the sugar diet a gimmick, a dangerous fad, or complete lunacy like some of its critics proclaim? 

I don’t know, but despite my initial reaction, I’m willing to hear people like Mark Bell out on this and maybe try it out before I come to my own conclusion on whether or not this might be a tool I can use for myself or clients. (And no, I will not be eating candy!)

Once we get past the noisy commentary about a novel fitness or nutrition approach, we still have to put aside our own biases so we can learn how this new method might work for us. If I absolutely know for a fact that eating a high-sugar diet will cause inflammation and joint pain, I know right away the sugar diet won’t work for me. 

If I am certain a low-protein and low-fat diet is unhealthy and will lead to muscle loss, there’s no way I’m trying the sugar diet. 

With that mindset, however, I might never have tried CrossFit. I mean, everybody knows combining cardio and weightlifting doesn’t work. And kipping pull-ups are cheating. Pressing overhead is bad for the shoulders. And these workouts are so uncomfortable, so pushing this hard couldn’t possibly be safe. 

There were a thousand reasons and excuses not to try CrossFit. All of them were bogus; so, when I hear people I trust discussing something that contradicts my current views, I try very hard not to be swayed by superficial chatter and dismiss the concept without further investigation. This doesn’t mean I buy into everything. It just means I try to give everything a fair shake. That’s all we want from people who are thinking about doing CrossFit. We want them to walk into a gym, try it out, and then make an informed decision for themselves. 

The devil is always in the details. Once someone enters a CrossFit affiliate, they’ll discover their experience is nothing like what the naysayers described. I imagine it’s the same with the sugar diet. While critics are excoriating a diet that allows you to eat as much candy as you want, I have a feeling the actual application is somewhat different. The sugar diet may not end up being a nutrition tool I ever use. It has, however, reminded me of the importance of thinking for myself, ignoring critics with agendas, and conducting my own research and n=1 experiments so I control my own health and fitness outcomes, rather than outsourcing them to some anonymous keyboard warrior.

About the Author

Stephane Rochet is a Senior Content Writer for CrossFit. He has worked as a Flowmaster on the CrossFit Seminar Staff and has over 15 years of experience as a collegiate/tactical strength and conditioning coach. He is a Certified CrossFit Trainer (CF-L3) and enjoys training athletes in his garage gym.