Tag: nutrition

Jocelyn Rylee and Stephane Rochet with text Anti-Dogma and the spirit of n=1 thumbnail

What You Have Wrong About CrossFit’s Recommendations

By

On January 5, 2026

In The CrossFit Podcast

CrossFit was born from curiosity, trial and error, and the willingness to test ideas in real time. In this conversation, host Jocelyn Rylee and senior content writer Stephane Rochet revisit the roots of that culture and explore why self-experimentation remains one of the most powerful tools for improving performance, health, and well-being.

They reflect on the early days of nutrition inside CrossFit, the experiments that shaped their own training, and why results-driven thinking cuts through dogma. From zone ratios to carb backloading, fasting, fruit fasts, and the realities of changing needs across life stages, this episode highlights how paying attention, tracking outcomes, and staying open-minded can reshape your relationship with food and training.

Topics Covered

  • The origins of self experimentation within CrossFit culture
  • How to define “what’s working” in training and nutrition
  • Lessons learned from decades of nutrition experiments
  • Adjusting habits across changing life stages
  • Building life skills around food, tracking, and personal agency

Resources Mentioned

Community Highlight
Amy and Jim Gay have been part of CrossFit Adaptation for over a decade. Last year, they became the gym’s new owners and quickly faced a challenge.

Located just outside D.C., many members were hit hard by recent federal job cuts. One by one, people were getting laid off and preparing to cancel their memberships.

Amy and Jim didn’t flinch. They told them, “Just keep coming in.”Then a coach had an idea: start a sponsorship program.

Now, members with the means can chip in — either once or monthly — to cover membership costs for others going through tough times. The response has been huge. When things got hard, the community didn’t shrink. It stepped up.

Amy and Jim’s advice to other affiliate owners? Don’t treat your gym like a normal business. The real magic is in the details — staying close, listening, and showing up.

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Jocelyn Rylee and Matteo Pozzati with Text Fitness is Health not a Luxury and the CrossFit Medical Society logo thumbnail

[CFMS SERIES] The Decline of Health in Italy and How to Stop It

By

On December 8, 2025

In The CrossFit Podcast

This marks the ninth episode of a special CrossFit Podcast collaboration with the CrossFit Medical Society. 

Italy once held one of the lowest obesity rates in the developed world, but that’s changing fast. CrossFit Country Manager and longtime affiliate owner Matteo Pozzati joins the show to talk about the cultural shift in Italy, the rise of chronic disease, and how CrossFit is stepping in to rebuild true health from the ground up.

Matteo shares his journey from coaching in Venice to teaching hospital workers how to move safely, leading Italy’s affiliate community, and fighting to preserve CrossFit’s identity amid the noise of mainstream fitness.

He and host Jocelyn Rylee discuss why elite coaching matters, how education is the bridge to better health, and what it’ll take to connect CrossFit affiliates and healthcare systems worldwide.

Topics Covered

  • The decline of the Mediterranean diet and rise of chronic disease in Italy
  • Bringing CrossFit methodology into hospitals and health care education
  • Building bridges between affiliates and medical professionals
  • Preserving CrossFit’s identity and elite coaching standards
  • Nutrition, culture, and the return to traditional food practices
  • The global challenge of connecting CrossFit to health systems

Community Highlight

For nearly two decades, Erin Richter has been fighting for health on the front lines — and refusing to give up.

She opened CrossFit Old School in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 2008, staying there, as she put it, “because this was the area that needed it the most.”

Today, her affiliate serves kids as young as 3 and adults in their 80s. She partners with addiction recovery centers, supports people with disabilities, and helps those told they’d never squat again find their strength.

She’s built nonprofits, raised thousands for local causes, and worked with the state to bring CrossFit into public schools.

Erin doesn’t chase PRs or the spotlight, just impact. In a city dubbed the “Obesity Capital of the U.S.,” she’s quietly changing lives every day.

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here.

Share Your Thoughts: Email us [podcasts@crossfit.com].

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Jocelyn Rylee and Maggie Mullen with text Fat Shaming or Body Positivity?! and the CrossFit Medical Society logo thumbnail

Rethinking Body Image and Nutrition in CrossFit

By

On December 1, 2025

In The CrossFit Podcast

This marks the eighth episode of a special CrossFit Podcast collaboration with the CrossFit Medical Society. 

CrossFit Podcast producer Maggie Mullen steps out from backstage for a raw, unfiltered conversation about body image, nutrition, and the culture of CrossFit. From her early days as a competitor and fueling to perform, to finding balance, Maggie opens up about food neurosis, body dysmorphia, and an alternative view of diet culture.

This episode digs into the tension between discipline and obsession, aesthetics and health, and what it really means to chase your best self inside the gym and out.

TOPICS INCLUDED

  • How CrossFit reshaped Maggie’s relationship with food and body image
  • Body positivity vs. fat shaming — and finding a “third way”
  • The role of CrossFit in building self-awareness and resilience
  • CrossFit as moving meditation and mental health therapy

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Community Highlight

Duncan Seawell is a clinical psychologist and the president of Forging Youth Resilience (FYR), a nonprofit helping gyms open their doors to kids who otherwise couldn’t access CrossFit.

He launched a Steve’s Club chapter in Denver in 2015 and helped shape FYR into what it is today: a network of 20 active clubs reaching thousands of youth, from foster care to incarceration to kids just trying to find their place.

FYR partners with schools, gyms, and foster homes to deliver trauma-informed CrossFit, covering coaching, transportation, and nutrition. But its heart is FYR Camp, a week-long mountain retreat where kids train, hike, and sit in nightly circles to share their stories.

“It’s sort of a group therapy light context,” Duncan says. “One kid says, ‘I’ve been through this,’ and another says, ‘Me too.’ The power of that connection is amazing.”

As Duncan puts it: “Kids are growing unhealthier in all kinds of ways — physical, mental, metabolic. The solution is prevention. Our job is to make sure no kid is kept out of a gym because of money.”

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here.

Share Your Thoughts: Email us [podcasts@crossfit.com].

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Thumbnail image stating Cutting through the Noise on Nutrition Live Podcast" featuring James Hobart in a white t shirt and a background image of healthy food on a cutting board

[LIVE] Cutting Through the Noise on Nutrition (EP. 037)

By

On September 19, 2025

In The CrossFit Podcast

Nutrition is one of the most debated topics in health and fitness — and it’s central to CrossFit’s methodology. 

In this livestream, host James Hobart sits down with Jocelyn Rylee, Joe Alexander, and Jenn Pishko to talk nutrition. The conversation tackles CrossFit’s nutrition principles, how they apply in real life, and what the science actually says.

With so many competing voices in the space, we cut through the noise to address strategies for everyday CrossFit athletes, elite athletes, and those battling chronic disease. Expect honest discussion on food quality vs. quantity, calories in vs. calories out, the 80/20 rule, food addiction, and more.

Let us know what you think –> podcasts@crossfit.com

Follow us on YouTube to join future livestreams.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Digging into the GLP-1 Trend Live CrossFit Podcast

[LIVE] CrossFit, GLP-1s, and the Serena Williams Ad (EP. 034)

By

On September 11, 2025

In The CrossFit Podcast

We’re sitting down to have an honest, nuanced conversation about Ozempic (semaglutide), other GLP-1 drugs, and their role in lifestyle intervention and health. We want to understand who benefits, who profits, and what the implications are for individuals, coaches, and the broader CrossFit community. 

The goal is not to provide all the answers or be the experts, but to create space for a thoughtful discussion around an important and highly visible issue, especially in light of GLP-1 provider Ro’s recent sponsored post featuring Serena Williams. 

Host Denise Thomas is joined by Dr. Tom McCoy, Jocelyn Rylee, and Joe Alexander. 

Let us know what you think –> podcasts@crossfit.com

Follow us on YouTube to join future livestreams.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Dr. Jason Fung

Fasting, Ozempic, and Food Addiction With Dr. Jason Fung (EP. 033)

By

On September 8, 2025

In The CrossFit Podcast

Jason Fung, MD, is a Canadian nephrologist and world-renowned expert in intermittent fasting and low-carb nutrition. He is the author of best-selling books including “The Obesity Code” and “The Diabetes Code,” and co-founder of The Fasting Method, where he helps people use evidence-based nutrition strategies to prevent and reverse chronic disease.

Dr. Jason Fung joins host Jocelyn Rylee on the CrossFit Podcast to unpack the myths and realities of fasting, obesity, and the role of hormones in nutrition. He explains why “starvation mode” is misunderstood, why calories alone don’t tell the full story, and how hunger — not willpower — is at the center of sustainable weightloss.

The conversation covers fasting as a therapeutic tool, the risks and uses of drugs like Ozempic, the dangers of ultra-processed foods, and the influence of our environment on health. Fung also shares insights from his upcoming book, “The Hunger Code,” which explores the three types of hunger — homeostatic, hedonic, and conditioned — and how to address each.

Topics Covered

  • Myth-busting “starvation mode” and fasting
  • Calories vs. hormones
  • Insulin, GLP-1, cortisol, and the hormonal drivers of fat storage
  • Ozempic, risks, misuse, and ethical prescribing
  • Ultra-processed foods and the rise of food addiction
  • The role of environment and social influence in obesity
  • Practical strategies: satiety, whole foods, fasting, and community

Resources Mentioned

Community Highlight

In 2023, Megan Mulvey walked into CrossFit PTC looking for a challenge. She had no idea she was preparing for the fight of her life.

Just months later, she was diagnosed with leukemia. After 51 rounds of chemo, a bone-marrow transplant, and months in and out of the hospital, her doctors told her, “You were preparing your body, and you didn’t even know it.” As she put it, “CrossFit didn’t just change my life; it saved it.”

When she returned to the gym, she’d lost her muscle — but not her spirit. Her community rallied with fundraisers, rides to treatment, and daily check-ins.

Now, Megan’s paying it forward. She launched Box of Hope, a nonprofit supporting CrossFit athletes and families facing cancer. Their first effort helped a local family cover their mortgage and car payment while their daughter battles terminal brain cancer.

“If I had to go through the worst,” Megan says, “I’ll make sure others don’t go through it alone.”

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here. 

Share Your Thoughts: Email us [podcasts@crossfit.com] or complete our survey here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

CrossFit Podcast with EC Synkowski and Denise Thomas, Episode 026

CrossFit and Food Neurosis: ‘There is a Point in Nutrition at Which You Can Be Done’ (EP. 026)

By

On August 5, 2025

In The CrossFit Podcast

EC Synkowski joins Denise Thomas to talk about CrossFit, food, and how to cut through the confusion. EC is the founder of OptimizeMe Nutrition and the creator of the 800g Challenge, but her insights go way beyond a single method. They cover why some of us slide into food neurosis, how to know when your diet is actually “done,” and the biggest mistakes people make when chasing health. 

EC also discusses the role of processed foods, challenges common rhetoric about carbs and seed oils, and breaks down her 10 principles of nutrition, which serve as the backbone of her Three Pillars Method. This is an episode about simplifying nutrition, ditching dogma, and learning to trust what works.

Episode Topics

  • Food neurosis and how to bounce back
  • How to know when your nutrition is “done”
  • The role of processed foods in modern health problems
  • The power of simplicity and sustainability in diet design
  • EC’s Three Pillars Method and how it builds on CrossFit’s foundation
  • The 10 principles of nutrition 

Resources Mentioned

Community Highlight

Aaron Hoff is using CrossFit to change more than lives — he’s changing an entire island.

Born and raised on Kauaʻi, Aaron knows the grip of addiction firsthand. By his early 20s, he was in active addiction and suicidal. But one Christmas Eve, he hit a turning point. He’s now 27 years sober.

In 2013, he opened his first CrossFit gym. Today, through the Keala Foundation, he runs two affiliates focused on keeping kids out of the cycle he escaped.

The gyms are free for youth. Each class starts and ends with a “word of the day” — like honesty or integrity — and a coach-led reflection. “Words are the tools that help you process trauma,” Aaron says. “If you don’t understand the language, you’re lost.”

He reaches over 500 kids a year. Some stay for years. Some become coaches.

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here.

Share Your Thoughts: Let us know what you think about the podcast and how we can improve here or email us at podcasts@crossfit.com.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén