In the 3rd part of this blog series (read part 1 & part 2 if you missed them), I’m going to have a look at nutrition to help us Maximize Your Results in the gym.
Nutrition is extremely simple but it’s also very difficult. Social media and the internet will give you a thousand different options and they will all claim to be the BEST.
Everyone has friends who tried Keto or Paleo or even went Vegan and lost a lot of weight, felt great and they try to convince you that you have to do it that way in order to do it properly.
I have my own ideas about the best approach to nutrition but I’m not going to preach those to you as those are MY ideas based on what I’ve tried and tested over the years.
I believe my approach to nutrition would probably solve obesity and many other medical problems that many people struggle with.
I’m also aware that a lot of people would struggle to eat the way I like to eat.
Eating is social and can be very emotional for many people. For me it is not, food is fuel. A bit of sea salt will make most things taste good and that works for me.
In order to Maximize Your Results in the gym you have to look at your nutrition. It’s even more important to look at it if you want to be healthy.
The biggest flaw in the human body is that it is so adaptable. We can beat it up pretty bad with poor nutrition, too much drinking, little movement and even smoking. There’s no real immediate breakdown or consequence. Even when there is (hangover etc), it’s not bad enough to stop people from repeating it.
We can abuse the body for many years before we take on serious problems. This is a huge problem when we are guided by instant gratification.
I’m not here to preach any particular protocol when it comes to your nutrition but there are a few principles to follow to help you in the gym and also improve your health:
- Drink water – this is such a simple thing to do that people brush over its importance. Also, tap water and bottled water may not be good choices. Do your research and invest in a filtration system
- Less labels – foods that have labels aren’t really foods. If you don’t know what something is on the label, it’s likely been made by humans and is full of chemicals
- Educate yourself on cooking oils – there are lots of widely used cooking oils that are really not good for humans. Vegetable and seed oils can be particularly disruptive
- Eat Protein – this is needed to build muscle and should be a staple in every meal
- Sugars, alcohol and anything processed – consume knowing they aren’t the best choices. There are pleasures in life you don’t have to eliminate but it’s important to know they may not support some of your goals.
- Carbs and fat aren’t bad – these are macronutrients that we need. The processed versions aren’t great but the natural versions are.
- Shop around the perimeter – at the grocery store, all the better choices are around the perimeter of the store. The isles contain a lot more processed foods.
My philosophy is to eat real foods. I like to look back at what humans would’ve done before modern foods and farming was available. There would have been times of feast and times of famine. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner was invented around the time of the industrial revolution. Workers ate before work, on their breaks and when they got home.
The idea of fasting is probably more in line with how we naturally evolved when we didn’t have food for a few days. My research leads me to believe we may do better not always having to digest food all the time.
There’s no perfect way. I do think it’s important to understand what we eat. We pay little attention to this when it is the most important thing when it comes to health. Find what works for you, supports your goals and allows you to live the way you would like to.
Stay tuned for Part 4.