Your body has undergone millennia of evolution and development to achieve it’s highly tuned state of an anatomically modern human,
H .s. sapiens. And as an athlete (professional or not) in training, you’re also trying to better your mind and body even further, right?
So why then go and fill it full of junk? Why ‘feed’ your body unwholesome, highly processed, noxious ‘food’?
Instead, you should be filling up on nutrition that your body wants, needs and enjoys. But you know that right?
In this day and age, it’s hard not to be exposed to the world of health, even indirectly. And as an athlete in the making you have no doubt been told, nae! preached unto, time and time again that getting the right nourishment is important.
Well, here some simple tips to help you achieve this with minimal fuss, and don’t worry; I won’t even mention tofu or kale!
KISS
Keep it simple, stupid!
Why fuss over gourmet health meals,
when all you need is food in its (almost) natural state? Your body doesn’t care
whether your veg has been sautéed, steamed, stir-fried, baked, boiled…
whatever. It cares about the nutrition it can provide, and what better
nutrition than food in its natural state?
We have the simple, good-to-the-core, tasty availability of numerous
vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, lean meats, fish and fat-free dairy all at
our fingertips in stores today. So keeping it easy and simple is a walk in
the park when it comes to all of your main meals.
Have A Plan = Have Some go-to’s!
In the morning, try some simple oats, some peanut butter (the no
added sugar or salt variety, of course) and some honey – all natural sources of
energy for your tough day of living! You can add in a scoop of your favourite
protein too, for added oomph!
Snacks include the aforementioned
nuts, seeds and fruit – or why not throw in some satiating vegetables like
celery, carrot, cucumber sticks? One of my favourites is single celery sticks
with a peanut butter layer (go easy here with the peanut butter, mind) on top,
dotted with berries or pistachio kernels. All super portable, various, cheap
and damn tasty!
Lunch is where most
people crack and go for the ‘easy’ options like fast food. Well, this is where
your planning comes in most useful!
Try taking a sandwich (with wholesome
insides of course), or buy a low-fat-ingredient salad with plenty of raw
vegetables and salad leaves, or if you have access to a microwave oven, try
bringing a small sweet potato (or yam, to all you ‘mercans!) and give it 4-5 minutess in there, topped with
tuna/mackerel/chicken and your salad for a more filling lunch
Dinner, easy! Simply
grilled/baked chicken breast with a large helping of veg and greens! Give
google its name sake and peruse all of the healthy dinners available for us
lazy/tired/broke/can’tcookwon’tcook young and fit folk.
All easy, all simple, all tasty and all nutritious!
HALT
This tip stems
from another of my abbreviations – HALT. It’s simple really, before sauntering
over to the fridge, stop and think:
H – Hunger. Is it true
hunger, or are you just bored? Or…
A – Anxious. Are you
feeling anxious, nervous, depressed about something? It’s called ‘comfort
food’ for a reason. Or are you…
L – Lonely. When we are
alone, we feel no pressure to eat what we want, food is our company. Are you
just lonely? Go out and socialize or recognise that it isn’t right to eat for
amusement alone. Or maybe you’re just…
T – Tired. We all need
energy, and when we are tired, we often look to calorie-dense foods that seem
more appealing at the time than looking to wholesome foods.
So the next time
you find yourself standing in the glorious luminescence that is your fridge
light, HALT.
Substitute
for Sustenance
Some easy substitutions
can make the difference between a s**t body and a fit body.
It’s easy, just look at some of the more calorie laden things that you eat,
like sugar, chips, fries, chocolate, soft drinks, full fat milk, among others,
and you’ll soon see how easily they are snuck in to your diet without thinking.
·
Unsweetened tea/coffee/cocoa – if you must have
sweetener, use a stevia based one, it’s all natural with no harmful chemicals.
·
Skim milk, or 1% milk – good for your oats in
the morning or in your tea, coffee or cocoa etc.
David note: I have substituted my dairy milk for almond milk, which tastes awesome and almost none of the fat.
·
Wholemeal carbohydrates – complex carbohydrates
provide longer lasting energy and are ultimately less likely to be stored at
fat after metabolizing. So brown pasta, brown bread, brown rice…you get the
idea.
·
What
about mustard instead of mayo on your sammich?
·
Buy, or make, your own vegetable chips, or have
sweet potato fries instead of the fat laden originals.
·
If you can’t resist chocolate, try swapping milk
chocolate with a high cocoa content dark chocolate, and limit the amount you
eat to 30 grams – about the size of your thumb!
So, you get the idea. Stop and think, “Is
there any way I can substitute something here with another, more healthy
option?”
Often, portion size control is to blame
when it comes to overeating. Here is a trick that utilizes your humble hand as
a visual aid in determining portion sizes:
One Cup = Your Fist – a portion the
size of your fist is roughly one cup portion of food.
Use for: Vegetables, fruit, salads, drinks, soups etc.
Half Cup = Cupped Hand – a cupped hand of food is roughly half a
cup.
Use for: Pasta, rice, cooked vegetables, beans etc.
3 Ounces = Flat Hand – roughly the size (thickness, width and
length) of a 3oz steak of meat/fish.
Use for: steak, chicken, pork, fish.
One Tablespoon = Thumb – thumb sized portion of food is a
tablespoon of food.
Use for: peanut butter, dark chocolate, salad dressings etc.
One Teaspoon – Thumb tip – similarly, the tip of your thumb is
roughly the size of one teaspoon of food.
Use for: oils, sweetener, chia seeds etc.
Use these tips and try find some
more to pave your path to success in your track fitness goals!
Good luck!
Dom
The problems before was that training on your own sucks, I didn't have a plan on races or training, and I didn't compete enough. Fix these motivation killers. I also didn't do enough tempo and speed workouts. I mean how do I expect to run fast in a race when I've never done it in practice. Not since the old Glendale days was I consistently training fast.
