Stop chasing...

           Cardio…….you can’t get

         anywhere chasing a bad diet.

There is one simple truth that I have learned about cardiovascular training. It is this; no matter how hard you run or bike or swim toward your goals, if you are chasing a bad diet at the same time the road will be slow and frustrating.

 I read an old saying this week that said “A man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”  Top performers in all sports spend just as much time, if not more on their nutrition training as their physical workouts. Weight loss clients consistently make the mistake of thinking that they can spend more time in the gym instead of tracking their food and controlling the impulse to eat without thought.  Diets high in calorically dense foods are not as healthy as diets high in nutritional density, knowing the difference can make or break a program and directly affect the results you get. Forty mile training rides will feel much different when they are preceded by good nutritional choices over fasting or junk food.

                How do you know if you have a bad diet? There are a few ways to tell. Does your diet cut out entire food groups? No fat and No Carb diets have become very popular lately. But there are important reasons that we need these types of calories. Carbohydrates are fuel for the brain, without then we become foggy, slow, and see loss on memory. Fats are directly linked to our hormones which control everything from reproduction to important brain and fat storage receptors (http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/why-science-matters/fats_effect_on_the_brain).

                Do you lose weigh on your plan? Even the smallest amount of weight a week can be encouraging, but if you are not seeing the scale move in a positive direction that can be a motivation killer and encourage more bad food habits if it feels hopeless.

                Is your Diet plan too easy? Does everything you eat come from a package? Some people can eat prepackaged foods and learn what a health portion looks like, while others can’t. When you eventually fall off the plan it can make it increasingly hard to want to start again when the food is uninteresting. Also, what do you do doing those inevitable life events like holidays and a friends birthday party? What have you learned about handling those high pressure moments?

                Does your diet allow you to share time with family and friends? A diet that your family cannot follow will make food preparation twice as tough. Many times in our life we eat because others are hungry. If your office goes to lunch because Sarah is hungry, often you will find yourself eating off your program. These moments with your family and friends are an important to our mental wellbeing and any program should allow for them and prepare you to stay on track while you participate.

                And finally, does your Diet leave you hungry, or grumpy? A nutritional program can be hard, especially if your goal is weight loss. But it should not be torturous. If you find your mood swinging from one extreme to another or just hanging out in the dumps you could be getting too few carbohydrates. You could be feeling denied too many joys. Nutrition experts suggest a small amount of dark chocolate daily as a treat. It will be much easier to fend off binges if you have a few go to treats that are allowed without guilt.  

                If you are not seeing the results your thing you should from the gym, maybe it is time to take a look at what you are putting in the gas tank. We cannot ask great things from our bodies without giving it the building blocks it needs to do the job. 

To find out how to develop a good nutritional plan that compliments your training plan the trainers here at Health and Fitness Academy are always available to help. Contact us at 208-557-2823 or email me at ghouston@mvhospital.net. Make it a great day.