My dad once told me a story about a road trip he once took with his best friend from college in a Porsche 924. While gassing up my dad wondered if they shouldn't have gone to a Sunoco station and put in at least 94 octane. In a round about way he mentioned this to his friend who was minding the pump. Without saying a work the guy reached his thumb up to the pump selector and tapped near the octane rating: it was 100- racing fuel.
As you work out I'd just remind you to pay attention to your diet and how it affects your performance. Experiment with different foods from the P90X planner or your favorite workout menu and record ( did I say record?) how you felt, how much energy you had, and how productive you were. I am sure you will be surprised at the results. While you are engaging in a strenuous workout program, your body's needs change dramatically and require much more care regarding the kinds of foods you eat, when you eat them and especially as relates to which types of workouts you will do that day.
Once again each person is different, but a couple of scoops of protein powder in your morning cereal or oatmeal, a piece of sweet potato added to your lunch menu, an egg-white muffin sandwich, and a high quality protein bar can dramatically improve your stamina and strength and also your attitude believe it or not.
So when it's time to fuel up consider carefully the "octane" you are putting into your finely tuned machine- YOU!
...and Bring it!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
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It is so interesting at how much food plays a role in how your body feels. While I'm not knocking the good stuff we like to indulge in every so often (pizza, ice cream, hearty pasta dishes, Chinese) it's amazing at how eating these types a food really affects not only your workouts, but your daily performance in life. I have to admit that in October (lovely, the start of the holiday season) my work just launched a new company wide system that we have been running parallel with since. How stressful!! So much time, long hours, very draining, and of course my company treating us for our hard work because we rarely left our desks, bought us lunch almost every day. Pizza, pasta, deli sandwich platters, let's just say not the BEST choice of food. In addition, the kitchen was stocked FULL of "treats": mini Halloween candy, cookies, cupcakes etc. And I have to admit during this time I fell subject to the junk food rut. I have always been a good eater (thank god for growing up in an Italian family with fresh food and ingredients ALL the time!), so I never really thought how much this junk would take a toll on me. I was so irritable, tired, and stressed out which just made me want to eat more and indulge. My workouts were not up to my normal hardcore performance and it was so hard to get up in the morning. Then the holidays roll around and of course what is everyone's mentality, "Ohh it's the holidays, you're supposed to eat this stuff!" Long story short, I'm not saying that I blew up and couldn't fit into my clothes, but even this short little time frame made me realize how much food really does affect everything about your body: energy, mood, physique. It also made me realize how much I love eating the good foods and giving my body the proper nutrition to fuel my everyday life and workouts.
ReplyDeleteIn my group exercise classes that I take at the gym, there are a lot of older women in their 40s and 50s. Many of these women have the mentality that they can eat whatever they want as long as they workout, yet they continue to be frustrated as to why they don't see results. And really a majority of this issue boils down to their diet. It amazes me at how they can handle the intense classes we take with not eating properly because now once I eat something that my body knows is not nutritionally sound, I feel it right away and my workouts are less than stellar..lol.
I remember in college one of my coaches told me a simple rule that I keep in the back of my mind whenever I'm tempted to maybe indulge more than I should, "Think of your body as a glass jar, and only fill it with what you would want people to see." In short, if you want people to see cheesy cheese and fat, go ahead and eat it. BUT if you want people to see nice lean powerful sleek muscles, fill it with just that!
However, I do believe in "everything in moderation". I would be joking to say I don't LOVE my chocolate, a good NYC pizza, a hearty fettuccine alfredo, or a delectable cupcake from Magnolias Bakery in the city. It's all part of the balance of life and knowing that you have the power and can commit to get back on the right track again with the right fuel for your body!