The Theory of the Sweet Science
The Theory of the Sweet Science
Tactics without strategy is like getting to the top of the ladder, tools in hand, only to find the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. - Sun Tzu
Make no mistake, the easiest run you'll ever do to move that extra flab from around your gut is the one that goes to the lean meat stand, to the low fat milk counter and where you sprint past the confectionary isle without looking sideways. It's a powerful strategy and it beats any amount of interval training, any day of the week. Because the easiest way to lose flab is don't put it on to begin with.
Out of this section of the site I want to emphasize clean healthy eating. Being in top physical shape is about coming to the realisation that the food created for and marketed to the masses is just not good enough and in fact will serve to nullify your efforts in training. I accentuate a natural diet without artificial ingredients such as preservatives, sugars, added salts and so forth. The closer to the source your food comes from the healthier you will be.
The basics of good nutrition are to have fresh unprocessed food that’s both high in nutrients and low in saturated fat. It’s not really that complicated when you cut down to the core of the subject.
The easiest way to think about it is to imagine the food you are eating in its purest form, then compare that against what it looks like when its been processed, packaged and marketed.
The days you are less active, eat less, the days you are active, make sure you eat well. And don't allow yourself to become catabolic otherwise you'll be taking 1 step forward and three backwards. If you feel the belly rumble, eat. If for some reason you find yourself in a position where it's not practical to eat (e.g. Busy work schedule), carry around a mix of nuts and dried fruit in your pocket, also known as a 'trail mix', or some other health bar or something healthy that has low or no sugar. You can make your own health bars, either search Google or Amazon.com for books and recipes.
I won’t fill the recipe section with a million recipes; rather I’ll try to give you a feel for what you should be doing. I provide a basic guide for those interested in growing their own food and in the book review section you can read about some of the recipe books I have recommended. In converse, your training will lay emphasis on variety whereas your diet will for the most part be fairly restricted to a base set of foods from which you can mix and match after some experience in the kitchen.
So to be more specific I'll run through the some of the major foods that I've had success with.
Eating healthy doesn't mean eating bland food. So you get taste into your food by adding things like;
Realise also what business you are in. Dairy farmers aren't really in the milk business, they're in the grass growing business, if you follow. Anytime you're dealing with sporting performance you're in the dietary business whether you know it or not, or whether you like it or not, so learn the basics and get interested in cooking and what you are putting in your mouth, otherwise you will suffer from immense frustration and setbacks, I guarantee you that.
If you eat mostly healthy, fresh food and you are highly motivated anyway, feel free to ignore this part
There are three main things manufacturers like to add to their food to satisfy the target market (you) and make profits, and they are;
So, while your taste buds are having a party your body is copping the hangover time after time, even your sense of taste becomes impervious to the assault. With constant strong taste sensations from FSS, when people do eventually get something healthy put in front of them, they generally won’t like it, it's not stimulating in the same way as the fat-sugar-salt bombs they’re used to eating. Personally, to some degree I think the stuff is addictive. To change to better healthier habits will take time, how much time will depend on your own levels of motivation to change it.
I advise to get one decent cook book to begin with and learn the basics. Pick an author/chef you like, Jamie's Ministry of Food is a good choice I think, but there's plenty on TV these days to learn from.
I like to rave on about paradoxes and the real irony here is that healthy foods actually taste better than the stuff with high salt, fat and sugar content anyway, you just don’t know it yet. And what’s more is you can eat more of it without having to worry about counting calories.
It's not so much about what you add into your diet but probably more about what you exclude. Like the sculptor working on the glass or clay, they take parts away to reveal the art.
The more you work at it, the more you will see.
Too many carbs throughout the day will nullify your efforts in the gym. If you know you are going to eat x amount of carbs and fat for lunch do you want to be doubling up on that at dinner time? Or can you afford to double up on that stuff at dinner time? Generally it'll be a no, so if you know what your next meal is going to be then adjust your eating now so your not getting double servings of carbs or fat. The key is to just get into the habit of thinking ahead, it'll save you a lot of trouble!
