Rest & Recovery 2/5: Nutrition (Eating)

What is Optimal Nutrition?

In simple terms, it’s eating in a way that is inline with our goals…

Those goals may be: greater muscle mass… More energy to perform better… Weight loss… Health and longevity… Supporting the planet… Or many other things

The thing to realise is that how YOU eat should line up with what YOUR goals are. This may also change over time

Supplements, Nutrient Timing and Other 5%’ers

We believe that quality food is the first, and vastly most important thing to worry about here. The specific supplements you use, when you time your nutrient (ie. avoiding carbs at night etc), if you fast for 8 hours or 16 hours and so on – these things don’t really mean shit, if you’re not eating quality food regularly. That said, these are all good things to consider ONCE you have your regular diet on track

We’re not refuting the efficacy of any such nutritional strategies, but to use a common analogy – ‘you have to walk before you can run’

What are common nutrition FAILS?

Being unprepared
Lack of interest in food/cooking
Under-eating
Staying attached to ideals
Lack of education around food
You believe everything you read/see on the internet
Poor time management

Now take a look at the list above and consider for only a few minutes if any of these apply to you… You may come up with some that aren’t on the list. You should write them down, and then think more deeply about them over the coming days

I personally had an attachment to the idea of eating Paleo for a few years… I fell in love with the idea of ‘the Paleo diet’, and adapted my eating accordingly. I shunned carbs and grains, focussed on protein, fat and very few carb sources. It was cool for a while, and in that time I learned a lot. However, looking back I was most definitely under-eating for a long time, and this had an effect on my training, my energy levels, and my ability to recover

*I’ve since embraced carbs in a big way, and let me tell you, it’s nice to be back : )

Good? Bad? Depends on your goals. I guess

Some Ways To Improve Your Nutrition

Make cooking a part of your life
Decide what your goals are and plan your nutrition around that
Pay an expert to help you (ie Nutritionist, PT)
Conduct a research experiment on yourself! (ie. “I’m gonna ditch pasta for a month and see how it affects me”)
Use a food-prep service
Join a food club
Set a weekly limit on how many times you’re allowed to eat out
Talk with your partner about your goals and get on the same page
Make a weekly veggie box on a Sunday and use it daily to increase veggie intake

TASK FOR YOU

What are 2-3 things you can take action on NOW to improve your nutrition?

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*write these down on a sheet of paper and stick that puppy up on your fridge

NOTHING CHANGES IF YOU DON’T TAKE ACTION!

In Part 3 of the series we discuss ‘Sleeping’, and how you can optimise that most essential (and indeed, enjoyable) part of your life

Joey

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