Nutrition for Real

I was having a nice conversation with an old friend of mine who is a nutritionist.  She has worked with people for years who desperately need to alter their nutritional intake.  Or should I just say they should start to eat well.  Or, said even another way, they need to cut out the junk food.  Those empty nutritionally void foods with lots of preservatives, additives, high sodium, high fat foods.

One small comment that she made really had a big impact on me.  Her comment was "... when you are up against the big food companies your going to loose...."  She was talking about her frustration with getting people to eat a well balanced nutritionally sound diet.  It's so easy to succumb to the temptation of buy one get one free ice cream or super convenient foods ready to go easy to eat.

Getting people to eat whole foods instead of highly processed foods is a tough go.  So many things that are on the shelves of the grocery store are to put it bluntly garbage.  (That is my opinion.) Food companies package their garbage food very nicely and market it heavily to unknowing people who allow themselves to take for granted the fact that they see a food sold in a store so it must be ok.  

We spoke further and she commented to me that many people I work with who are athletes are motivated to eat right.  I agreed but then thought about a different industry and that is the "nutritional supplement" industry.  This is a huge multi-million or maybe billion dollar industry.  I'm not against convenience in replenishing lost carbs and protein after a hard workout, but I see some athletes fall prey to the marketing of these products.  I will say now that there is absolutely no magic food.  No on food or supplement is going to make anyone have a superstar performance.  Sorry, that is the truth.  The good news is that it's all you if you do have a great performance.

So rather than just ranting about all this, I will just say what I believe.  Any time someone asks me about nutrition, I first recommend they talk to a registered dietician or a good nutritionist.  Then I tell them about a true eating formula that can do them wonders.  Here goes...  

Drink water and stay hydrated, eat foods in their, or close to their natural form instead of in a highly processed state.  Eat vegetables and fruits.  Eat lean meats if you eat meat.  Give yourself a day each week to eat anything within reason.  Eat something simple, carbs and protein within 20 minutes of finishing your hard workouts.  Go for a variety of natural foods in your dietary intake.

Keep it simple and keep it real!  Coach Dave