The point is that YOU feel YOUR foods, feel YOUR body, and find out what is right for YOU.
Frustrated? Do you just want a clear cut map that details what you should eat when to find the hidden treasure of energy that you know lies deep within? I understand. But, I can’t write the map for your body – only you know exactly what will lead you there. Sure, there different laboratory tests that can help elucidate what is holding you back or steering you in the wrong direction towards that cave with the scary looking skull and cross, but really only you know. You are the only one existing in your very unique and special body. You are not the average 70kg person that medical personnel learn to diagnose and treat in text books because sadly, that person does not exist. You didn’t read the text books, right? And even if you did, you would find discrepancies exist between you and described diseases and norms. It’s hard being green, but you are.
My food fuels MY body, mind and soul to accomplish physical feats with ease and laughter. I am no longer eating for one activity, such as I did in high school training for the AIDSRide, sailing competitively in college, and in med school going to the gym to sweat out the stress for an hour or two. In all those endeavors, I was able to succeed at a high level, but with limited durations, fatigue, bonking, and a lot of negative motivation and attitude. Even at my “peak” as a college athlete exercising 3-4 hours, 7 days a week, I could barely make it through a 5k run.
Now, I eat for life and for happiness, and while I have always been athletic, I can truly call myself an athlete. Be it going from sea level to running a half marathon between 8-10,000ft, finishing a cycling century only to want to do it in reverse the following day, paddle boarding 6 miles in choppy open water followed by a 90 minute yoga class, running a 17 mile trail race for fun, or just creating a movement continuum on a daily basis of going from work to a swim or bike, to a run, to a yoga class, the key is that you feel like you can conquer the world and here’s the amazing part—YOU CAN! With minimal recovery time and laughing all the way. The laughter is key (we will touch on this later).
But, that’s because I’ve found out how to eat for ME. What is right for me, really might not work for you at all. I have athlete friends who need a lot of animal protein, others who swear by carbohydrate snacking and loading, some who rarely need food in the morning before they exercise and others who love a huge dinner. Those dietary plans fail miserably for me, and I know because I have experimented with them all over the years.
If you are looking for an exact list on what you should or should not eat, I challenge you: look within, dig deep, take the challenge, make it your own, and find out what is on YOUR list. This way is more time consuming and perhaps painful, but the rewards of health and learning to learn from and nourish your body are priceless.
Recent Comments