Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail!
This one statement sums up my dietary plan up until yesterday - and that is not a good thing.
My day begins around 5 am and usually ends around 5 pm - sometimes earlier (rare) and sometimes later but that is pretty typical. Travel, long work days and trying to train myself SHOULD mean that I have a solid dietary plan laid out and that I take the time to put the right pieces of the puzzle in easy reach so that I can recover well and make good progress.
Well - I had stopped doing that. Basically I got "bulazy".
Using my schedule as an excuse for not taking care of me - so I was (and still am) busy but used that as an excuse to be lazy.
Mistake:
Not ensuring a good supply of quality protein
Leaving meals to chance
Eating easy foods
Using my move up to the 198 lb weight class as an excuse
Not drinking enough water
Giving in to my sweet tooth - a lot
(and here I was wondering why I wasn't feeling recovered from my workouts!)
I was discussing this with Rif who - when I said my diet had been poor - came back to me with "I can only imagine what that means for you (meaning it was bad before so what would it take for me to say it was poor!)" Friends like Rif are people we all need in our lives.
A quick personal reality:
I am not an exact numbers guy.
This means that I am not going to count calories or be able to "know" that I am getting X grams of protein - my brain just doesn't work that way.
So I have to create and maintain an environment that allows me to be "bulazy" and still eat well.
Step #1 - Water all day (within reason)
Step #2 - Access to high quality protein powder
Step #3 - Control the sweet tooth
Step #4 - Emphasize veggies and fruit
So I headed to the local GNC yesterday and got some quality Whey and almonds and fruit to make sure my work day nutrition can be solid.
Applied knowledge is what matters - time to start doing that.
Sugar cravings are an indication of faulty carbohydrate metabolism. The change in diet might fix that. If you want a quick fix for your sweet tooth , Gymnemma, an herb is very effective for controlling it. I wouldn't go with a GNC brand though. I can vouch for the potency of Mediherb but don't know about others. It usually takes 10x the dose of most store brands to equal the potency of a single dose of Mediherb.
ReplyDeletePJ,
ReplyDeletethanks - I'll look into that and will be shooting you an email back this weekend.
great post and my pleasure to have helped point you back in the right direction :))
ReplyDeleteI find that keeping protein and fats high really helps with sugar cravings. the more carbs I eat the more carbs I want.
and the key is HAVING the right foods avalaible to be able to make the right choice.lots easier. I know you will fix it- you have set your mind on it and that's all it will take.
Until you know your basic metabolic type, it is hard to know where to go with your diet. Having a sweet tooth could mean that you are a proteine type and to many carbs will sure make you feel bad. My advice would be to take the basic MT test and take it from there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rif
ReplyDeleteRichard - send me the links and info and I will take the Metabolic typing test.
Should be interesting.
Thanks
my email: appliedstrength@gmail.com
I gotta agree with you Brett! I think nutrition for most athletes in the forgotten frontier! Most imgagine and believe that they eat well. But most do not!
ReplyDeleteI commend you for being BRUTALLY honest with yourself. It really is the step to recovery:
"Hello Everyone. My name is Brett....and I am BULAZY!"
"Hello Brett"...
Great info nice work stepping it up!
ReplyDeleteYep, I know for myself and others the first thing I recommend is to go to the store, buy some good food (some may need some more guidance there), and come home and PREPARE it that day. Having it all ready to go and pre-made is HUGE as you know and have taken steps to doing that-nice work!
I use JB's Precision Nutrition with myself and clients and love it.
Keep us updated on how it goes!
Rock on
Mike N
Thanks Franz and Mike,
ReplyDeleteAs you can see from the post above I have decided to try to accomplish my goals in a slightly different way.