Eat Well. Be Good.

Below is a correspondence from my email. I responded and thought it would make a good blog. Many of you have extremely hectic schedules and need help! Hopefully these are some good suggestions, and please feel free to comment and/or email or call me with any specific questions you may have, and I'm happy to help!

Thank you Mike. I appreciate the email. I am just getting going with insanity, and I am very impressed. I played D1 soccer, and have always been very active. I really like the intensity of insanity, and think working hard and smart gets the best results. However, eating right can play a very important role, and with my travel schedule, it can be a challenge to stay on track. Any pointers you have are much appreciated. Thank you. 

XXXXX,

Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you sooner. Anyway, you’re exactly right and in fact, nutrition is essential not only to supplement and fuel your fitness but for overall health and longevity as well. Here are some “on the go” tips I can give you:

1.       Plan and Schedule – Just like you plan consultations with clients, you should plan and schedule your meals and snacks appropriately for a balanced diet and to keep your metabolism and mental focus up during your busy day. A great thing to do is to use outlook (or whatever scheduling system you use) to not only schedule your travel and client times, but also pencil in your meals. This will help you greatly.

2.       Tracking – …that said about scheduling, it’s not a bad idea to use an online resource to track your eating so that you can be better informed about your calories, set goals, and even see your macronutrient breakdown. Check out www.dailyburn.com and set up a free profile. I use others as well such as livestrong.com/myplate but I like Daily Burn. There’s also a free iphone app for on-the-go tracking and it has many features. You can use the online in conjunction with the app.

3.       Make Time – One comment that is common is people say, “I didn’t leave my desk for 10 hours,” or “I didn’t eat all day—I had no time.” May sound familiar? Here’s my rebuttal: do what you have to do and you’ll perform and feel better in whatever you are doing. Think about this – you don’t pee in your pants, do you? Keep healthy, portable, and non-perishable snacks such as protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, natural jerky, etc. so when you need a bathroom break you can slam a quick, healthy 2-300 calories. Try to eat something every 3 hours or so, balancing out your fat, carbs, and protein. (You will learn more when you track)

4.       Be Good - When eating out during your business week, avoid alcohol and just make better choices. Think about your profession – you work hard to make solid, optimal decisions, don’t you? Treat your nutrition the same way and be about your business. Tell them to hold the bread and make substitutions like a garden salad for French fries or opt for the chicken breast or salmon filet over steak or a burger. Lean and clean.

Those are just a few, and if there is anything in particular you are having trouble with, please let me know, and I’m happy to help if I can. Best of luck…Dig Deep!

Mike