start big...but small
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 1:11PM Today we are going to talk about nutrition. This is only "my" take on the subject. There are far more talented and educated people out there that know and understand more than I ever will. With that said, I need you to ask yourself two simple questions. First, what am I trying to accomplish? Second, how much effort am I willing to it in?
Let's take a look at the first question. What is your end goal? Weight loss? Fat loss? (yes they are different) Maybe it's to gain weight? Put on some muscle? How about this one?....ever thought about just feeling better? That's my favorite answer because if you would eat the foods that work with your body and make yourself "feel" better what do you think happens next? All of a sudden you're waking up more rested. You've got more energy through your day. You're more productive. You surely aren't going to find many excuses to not get in a WOD! When you eat the right foods everything else will fall into place.
Next question. How much effort are you willing to put in? I am not talking about starving yourself people! I'm talking about trial and error. You see, nutrition is a very personal topic. After all it's what you put in your body. Different people are going to eat different things. It's based on largely varying reasons as well. Habitat, religious beliefs, culture and even how much money you make all have an impact on your nutrition. THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT WAY, THERE IS NO PERFECT DIET. Did you get that? I 100% back that statement and will argue it with anyone. (my number is on my website).
A few years back it was fat. Low fat this and no fat that! BS. You need fat. A good amount of it. Oh and by the way what do you think those companies that are slapping those labels on their products replaced the fat with? I'll give you a hint...sugar. Quick fact. There are groups of people living in the world, places like Greenland who are consuming large amounts of fat. Up to 75% of total intake. Guess what?...no heart disease and no type 2 diabetes. Hmm.
Then it was the carb craze. These people are complete whack jobs. Yeah I said it! Complete looney tunes they are! Things that grow are carbohydrates. Fact. So these nut jobs who claim they don't eat any carbs have zero clue. Fact. Ok so maybe I'm being a little tough on people, but, if they stopped and thought for themselves instead of whatever they read in some fact biasing fiction magazine they'd soon realize that they were in fact crazy.
I like to keep it simple. Back to basics people! Quiz hot shot...when you eat something that you know isn't the best choice you’ve ever made, how do you feel? Sluggish? Tired? Sick? Well then why do you continue to make those choices? Someone just a few minutes ago said to me "I ate a half of a bag of Hershey's kisses and my stomach is a mess.". REALLY?! Why are you surprised? Before a WOD no less.
I don't like to focus on the little things before we nail down the big things. I hear a lot of chatter about "portions". First of all STOP reading a box and thinking that there's a magical person out there that decided that a 1/2cup of whatever your eating is the best "portion". It's based on average calories. Yuck! Another Todd dislike. Why would you bother counting calories? 300 calories is 300 calories right? NOPE! Wrong. Unless you're telling me that garbage is ok as long as it's the correct amount of calories. Processed foods are ok as long as your portions are correct? Is that what we are saying? I disagree.
ow about we try this, eat food. Yes you read that correctly. Here it is again. Eat food. Still don't get it? Stop getting your food from a box or a can. I understand you are busy, join the club. You are not any different than the next person. You are not special in that aspect. We are all busy, take some accountability and prepare. Eating fresh, healthy, clean food will translate into feeling the same way. Until you get that down in my opinion you are completely wasting your time counting calories, measuring portions and stressing over complex math equations to figure out something so simple.
If you take a look at our approach to quality nutrition it's simple. "Eat meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.". (Thanks CrossFit) Period. Until you can get that down stop fussing with everything else. I mean how simple is that? Oh, and I don't want to here "Well Todd! How much of this do I eat?" try over eating veggies! No seriously! Try it out. It's so difficult to get the amount that you probably need, that I dare you to over eat. Have you ever heard of anyone who "over did it" on the cauliflower?
One more time for fun. Keep it simple. Work on the biggest issue which is what you're eating. The little stuff will tend to fall into place. Promise.
“Keep it clean, keep it fresh and keep it real.” -Todd