Do you ever find yourself hungry, looking for food in the refrigerator or pantry but don’t have any luck?
Or do you find something to eat but it just doesn’t sound satisfying?
Food for a lot of us is therapeutic. Both in a mental sense but also in a physical sense.
Food is fuel…plain and simple, but what type of food you consume has a major effect on your health. In other words it is medicine!
Now don’t get me wrong, I have said it in the past and I will say it again today, I love junk food. Brownies and chocolate chip cookies are a major weakness of mine but the key is moderation.
Actually this is probably the reason I ride and workout so much (to not feel so guilty about eating junk food) but the truth is you can’t out ride/run a bad diet (food choices).
Years ago when I was racing my bike I had a coach. He would guide me and design my training plans. I was doing really well with the training portion but I was failing with the “diet”.
Actually I didn’t have an eating plan. I would simply go ride my bike. Burn 2000+ calories and then come home and eat anything I could get my sweaty hands on.
Midway through the season as I was getting ready for a major race with a lot of climbing I was talking with my coach. He asked me what my weight was. As we started to look at some numbers we determined that if I dropped 5 pounds my power to weight ratio would really improve, which is very important in cycling especially when you have to go uphill.
It was at this point that we designed a “eating plan” to make sure I was getting the fuel I needed and to avoid some of the junk food I really enjoyed.
As a result, I won the first day’s hill climb challenge and took second overall in the race. I believe if I hadn’t dropped the weight I definitely would not have won the hill climb or done as well in the overall.
This was also a turning point where I started to view food more as fuel than anything else. The book I read at the time was Chris Carmichaels Food For Fitness. In a recent podcast I heard the terms “go fast” or “go slow” foods.
Regardless of the name, healthy, natural unprocessed foods are better for you vs. heavily processed foods high in sugar and salt.
If you really want to see which foods work better for you simply journal what you eat and how you feel. Over time you will start to see a pattern in what you eat and how you feel/perform.
Do you feel energetic or sluggish? What about nasal congestion, headaches or a heavy feeling in your stomach? How do you sleep after a heavy meal close to bedtime vs a lighter meal 2-3 hours before bed?
So how does this pertain to you? It all depends on what you are looking to achieve but here are some tips I developed over the years.
- You need to have a plan. Benjamin Franklin said “If you fail to plan then plan to fail”. Setting goals is important. A simple goal setting formula is X to Y by when.
- Example. I am going to drop my weight from 180 pounds to 175 pound by 3/31/2021.
Now wishful thinking is not going to get you there but by focusing on what you eat and your exercise or daily activity you can get there.
- Plan out your meals for the week. If you do this you can Win In The Grocery Store. Having your meal plan and grocery list helps you stay focused and hopefully only buy the items you need.
- Prep your food. Pick a day to do your meal prep. This could theoretically be after you do your shopping. You can wash your fruit, cut up your veggies, season your meat. This way all you have to do is cook it up.
This does take some time and effort. However this can be a great opportunity to spend time with your family or listen to some music.
One problem we frequently hear is that standing for a long time is painful either in their back or knees and that holding a knife to chop bothers their hands or shoulders.
Most people are amazed at how physically demanding working in the kitchen can be. Your entire body is used for normal daily tasks including cooking, washing dishes and food prep.
If you are struggling with some of these issues then you can find out more by requesting one of my free reports. Click Here
If you or someone you know is experiencing knee pain while standing in the kitchen or other daily task then you should register for our upcoming In Office Knee Pain workshop on September 25th at 10AM.
You can register HERE:
FREE In Office Knee Pain Workshop
“Learn How To Stop Chronic, Daily Annoying Knee Pain WITHOUT Injections, Dangerous Painkillers and AVOID Surgery”
Saturday September 25th 2021 at 10AM
Remember the KEY is to start so small that it is impossible to fail.
Have a great week and let me know what strategies you use for making healthy choices in the kitchen.
To Your Health,
Robert
