First and foremost, I want to say that if you do Crossfit, that’s cool and I have nothing but respect for you! I respect the program for its ability to motivate, push, and allow people to set and reach goals they thought they could never reach. It’s a great extreme fitness program! But… it’s not a weight loss program. Most of you Crossfit people know that, but sadly, there are a lot who don’t. They think it will somehow make them lose weight while allowing them to keep eating the food they ate prior to taking on Crossfit.
Crossfit will not transform you magically. It will not make you thin, skinny, or otherwise lean. Exercise will make you stronger, and cardio exercise will improve your heart health, but it will not make you lose weight unless you CHANGE YOUR DIET AND EAT HEALTHIER FOOD WITH FEWER NET CALORIES AND LESS SUGAR.
In case that wasn’t clear enough, instead of me restating it, go back and read that last part in all caps and bold again. Is it confusing? Read it again. Repeat as much as necessary until you get it.
If I had a dollar for every friend on Facebook who is doing Crossfit to lose weight and not losing weight, then I could buy a new car. It’s really making me sad and upset. Sad for them that they’ve bought into Crossfit as a way to lose weight, and upset that Crossfit takes advantage of these people and giving them hope that “If you work hard enough, you will use more calories than you eat and you’ll lose weight.” Sure. First law of thermodynamics. Physics. Sounds solid, right? Well, the problem is that the QUALITY of the food you eat is nearly as important as the quantity. 100 calories of sugar is not nearly as good for you as 100 calories of chicken or pork. The way they affect your body is completely different, too.
Please, for the love of anything you hold dear, stop eating high-carb foods. Stop eating cake, cookies, brownies, protein shakes, rice and beans, oatmeal, pasta, pizza, bread, and anything else with lots of sugar or easily soluble carbs in it. Try meat and vegetables. Stop eating as many fruits as you want (because it’s natural, right?). Too much fruit is the same as eating candy. Just because it comes off a tree or vine doesn’t make the sugar less harmful in large amounts.
Crossfit is great to make you stronger and to strengthen your heart. You will gain a lot of muscle and endurance, but you won’t necessarily lose weight unless you change your diet and lifestyle. You will end up wasting a lot of time and money trying to reach a goal you just won’t get to.
Paleo Marine 
As a former Cross-fitter turned Power-lifter (my first comp is weeks away), I will completely agree with you AND will add that we actually had coaches that preached about nutrition as much as the physical effort. We had many nutritional programs available and they preached it was 80% about what you put in your body and not the effort you put forth in the box. And now that I’ve moved on to the Power Lifting side, it’s no different. My coach’s wife logs everything she eat and is very strict to stick to her macros (keto). It’s a lot more work than Paleo and takes a LOT of discipline so it isn’t for everyone…but just goes to show that working out alone won’t do it for you if you’re trying to drop LBs!
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I know a few fitness instructors, and they shake their heads at the futility of trying to get it through to some people that they need to change their nutrition AS WELL AS do exercise to be healthy and if they do it right, they’ll lose weight. I can imagine how frustrating it is to have clients come to you for weight loss thinking they can burn it all off and still eating a Big Mac on their way into the gym (true story!). I’d cry on a daily basis.
Good luck in your first competition!!!
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