“Nourishing Your Body”

While I would not expect that many followers of my posts actually suffer from eating disorders, it is still likely that a number of you may engage in “interesting” dietary choices from time to time . . . choices that may include restrictions, excesses, obsessions, poor discipline, or simple time management issues.

I do not claim to be a dietitian, or to have nutritional expertise, so this won’t be a post about what you should eat. Rather, I’m suggesting that some people may benefit from simply changing the priority with which they manage their dietary intake. (As a long-term vegetarian, with chronic blood-sugar issues, and no thyroid gland, I know what it can be like.)

With all the latest food ideas going around . . . super-foods, paleo foods, organics, raw foods, coconut-infused . . . and the huge range of nutritional supplements (aka “ergogenic aids”) available . . . it can be easy to lose track of the simple notion that what most athletes (and most people) need is . . . regular, healthy, well-balanced meals, consisting of real FOOD.

If you are an athlete, and most of your food (on a workout day) comes out of a shiny wrapper, or a sachet, or a squeeze-tube . . . or if you find that it takes more time to count the calories and prepare the special foods than it takes to eat them . . . or if your thoughts and actions (and choice of cafes) are governed by obsessive rules and measures . . . you may have a bit of a “problem”.

Whether every exercise session is dictated by “When/where can I stop for food?”, or whether you regularly “forget” to eat at all for an entire day (and happily shed some unwanted kilos), you would do well to examine your habits, your motivations, their origins, and the long-term effects on your well-being and performance . . . and to perhaps enlist some assistance in ensuring you’re on the optimal path.

Happy eating!