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Got a good question from Hatch today, so I thought I'd toss it out here so everyone could read it.

So where can I find some nutrition info to be healthy and GAIN weight? I'm 29
yrs old, 5'11", and weigh 145. I'm not looking to loose weight but gain lean
mass. I'm looking for what to eat and how many calories! Any ideas?

Hatch 

EAT!!!  Quality of food is still important, so I would still recommend paleo-esque.  Here's the contradiction though; paleo leans people out, and we don't want that in your case, but we DO want the quality of food paleo offers.

Here is what I would suggest.  Eat all the time.  Guys that have been in a similar boat as you say it's not fun, but works.  5-6 good balanced meals.  If you are looking forward to eating, or get the least bit hungry you are not eating enough.  I would also say add raw milk. The milk is where we fall off the strick paleo wagon.  We talked about your dairy consumption, and you said it doesn't bother you.  Raw milk is the best way to go (cow or goat) if this isn't realistic then whole milk will work.  

People have done up to a gallon/day (a lot of freaking milk!) and as little as a quart and been successful.  I would start small and build up to tolerance.  Ideally consume at least a quart Post Work Out.  You could add some protein powder to it also.

I'm not a big protein shake guy, but to get the caloric intake you need you might do a couple a day. (made with the milk)  Eat 5-6 meals/day and stuff it down!

Also would recommend adding some extra strength training into your training.  Discuss with Jason the logistics of this at CFOKC.  You don't want to do a lot of longer CrossFit wods as this would be counter productive for your particular goal.  3-4 days/week should be sufficient. 

Day 1: 5x5 day of a squat, press and pull (deadlift or weighted pull ups)

Day 2: Olympic Day (10x2 power cleans, or C&J, or snatch)  Then add a short 10min or less EXPLOSIVE wod. An example would be: 5 Tall box jumps, 5 kipping pull ups, 5 clapping push ups.  as many rounds in 10 min.

Day 3: Shorter CrossFit wod.  Something like Helen, Grace, or a Heavy Fran etc.  You could sub sprints 100m - 400m with good recovery between on this day, or save them for day 4 if you feel up to a day 4.

Let me know how it goes, and Good Luck!

hp

P.S. Fish oil too, because it's good for everything and we all need it!

This is an email that was sent by a client of another crossfit coach who forwarded it to me for some responses.  It has a slew of topics, most hover around nutrition and it touches on several topics that I am asked about quite often.  My response follows the original email(which is in italics.)

-Side note I didn't realize i used so many !!! in my response.  I need to cut that out..

I wanted to ask you this earlier and I forgot.

First, do you take any supplements?  The trainer at Aspen mentioned
 that as one of the 5 components of fitness they recommend.  I take a
 daily vitamin, but haven't done anything else.  I had a lady tell me
 (she is a trainer and does Jazzersize) that she takes Whey Protein (I
 think that is what she said), puts it in her cereal or yogurt and it
 has made the difference for her in her last few pounds of weight loss
 and sculpting.  She said it helps to widdle down the excess fat, etc
 to get sculpted arms, etc.  What do you know/recommend for that?  The
 trainer at Aspen was trying to sell me on this Appex ( I think is the
 brand) Lean stuff - the one being a stimulant - makes the difference
 in the last 10 pounds.
 
 Also, what exercise do you recommend for the love handles or muffin
 top area?  I do side bends, but it seems like they hang around.  They
 weren't there when I did Pilates - so I may try and get back into that
 more, but wondered if you had anything to try?

Ok, so here is my more involved answer.  Like I said you were really pretty spot on.  See below..

Whey protein:  I don't have a big opinion either way.  If anyone does use it, I recommend they use it post work out.  Best results are often found when it's used as a recovery meal Why should you care? Simple, the body is highly sensitive to insulin after exercise and shuttles carbohydrates and proteins into muscle cells instead of fat cells. This sensitivity declines post-workout until ~2 hours at which point it reaches baseline. Furthermore, the anabolic effects of insulin are synergistic with amino acids.11 Given the rapid absorption of whey, it is the ideal choice for post-workout to take advantage of the insulin-amino acid synergistic effect. This means that whey protein is going to rebuild the damage and replenish the muscle that your body has been using up as you constantly CRUSH yourself with daily WODS. Basically reversing the catabolic state that your body is in after a tough workout, meaning that you start to make the necessary adaptations to the overload that you submit your body to in your quest to become fit. (and loose body fat)
I would recommend not using the brand the Aspen Trainer recommended.  More than likely the trainer is "selling" the product and it's probably over priced.  Sam's carries EAS and sell's 5 lb bags very reasonably.  Also Gold Standard (can be found at GNC) is a good option and has good flavors.
Like you though, I have found that I don't need supplements and a good dialed in diet solves most everything.  FISH OIL IS A MUST!!

Muffin Tops:  Common problem.  NO GRAINS!!!  I know this sounds hard to most, but it is the easiest way to loose that excess body fat, especially for fit people.  Fish Oil will help this issue as well ONLY if the diet is dialed in.  The last bit of body fat is the hardest to loose.  I would recommend cutting out dairy during this process too. Most people don't lean out as much as they would like if they are consuming dairy.  Dairy can be added back in once you reach your goal, but watch to see if your leanness diminishes.  If it does kick the dairy!
Another key to this topic is YOU HAVE TO EAT ENOUGH LEAN PROTEIN AND GOOD FATS.  Your body can't distinguish between body fat and fat you consume.  If you change your fuel source from carbs to fat, your body will be constantly burning fat.
I would probably recommend cutting the Zone carb blocks in half and adding 3 blks of Fat for each Carb left out.  I prescribed this to Shanna, and she loves it.  Already has taken a notch out of her belt and it's only been 1.5 weeks!!!
Example:
if she is on 12 blks a day.  She needs to consume 12 blks of Protein, 6 blks of Carbs and 30 blks of Fat.  Sounds crazy, but it's not.  If she is hesitant, I can send the scientific info to support this, and a slew of success story's from this diet. 

Running:  You are SPOT ON with this.  Oxidative training makes us "skinny fat".  Sprint work will do more for her endurance training than Long, Slow distances.  Not to mention it will promote leanness.  4x400m with 2 min rest not deviating more than 3 seconds between attempts.  When this starts to happen 5k, 10k, and even marathon times will get significantly faster!  And we are building lean muscle mass and decreased body fat.  It's a Win on all fronts!!

Yogurt:  Same applies as the dairy I mentioned earlier. You are right about using plain yogurt.  Sugar is SO high in the "fat free" and most other kinds.  Honey is a good sweetener if needed.  So are berries.  Highland has a Plain "sweetened" yogurt.  12g of sugar/serving.  Not great on the sugar front but better than most.  It's not as bitter as true plain yogurt.  If you can handle true plain, it's the way to go if you have to eat yogurt.

To wrap it up, it's the same thing that you and everyone else has heard me say.  No grains, no sugar, constantly varied, high intensity workouts, and Paleo with zone portions is the healthiest, fastest way to lean out.  If you need more info let me know.  Also have your friend track her progress.  I love to hear back if it works.  A food journal is a good thing to do, that way we can look back over a week or two and know exactly what has been consumed and tweak things If we need to.

Sorry for the length of this!
Hans