A buddy told me I was fat over this weekend (you know who you are!), so
I figured I'd post about my nutrition. I was grocery shopping
over my lunch break today and the cashier at the checkout register said
to me, "You always buy such healthy things, other people don't buy this
stuff." I was shopping for my lunches this week; I need food that
is convenient and healthy so here is what I bought:
- Several packets of whole grain brown rice (Uncle Ben's Ready Rice is so convenient, but I rely on some soy sauce for flavoring)
- Granola (Bear Naked banana nut is the best, but a bit pricey so I sometimes go with lesser brands)
- Bananas
- Water (the drinking water at work is a bit suspect, old plumbing or something)
- Orange Juice (great source of potassium and other vitamins)
- Cottage Cheese (good compact protein source -- best when mixed with black pepper and tobasco)
- A couple of organic Amy's Pot Pies
While this list is fairly healthy, it doesn't occur to me that others
don't shop for these kinds of things; this isn't "eating healthy" to me
so much as it is just "eating." I guess I've just internalized a
nutritious diet and it's second nature for me now. I attribute it
to all the youth sports I played and the emphasis one coach made on
avoiding sugary sodas and such; I remember him explaining how "just
because it tastes good, doesn't mean it's good for you or your
performance." By absorbing this lesson early on in my life, I
think it's been much easier for me to focus my diet on healthier foods.
Now, don't get the wrong idea or anything . . . I grabbed a scoop of
chocolate chip ice cream while on the way back from the store (as I was
pondering the remark from the grocery cashier); ice cream, that divine
frozen goodness, is my achilles heal. I find that if I don't
indulge in occasional less-than-nutritious foods I end up falling off
the wagon in a
major way. The one big
rule
I've learned about nutrition is that each individual is different and
will respond differently so there is no magic one-size-fits-all
plan. Learn what works for you and build on it.
To that end, we at
HRAdventure
are working
with a professional trainer to put together a basic AR training plan
that will include nutrition as a major component. This will just
be some guidelines for racers to consider, not hard and fast rules or
prescriptive meals. We're going to
add it to the website to give novices a basic framework with which to
plan their training. I'm excited to see how it turns out and, I'm
sure, I'll continue to learn about my own response to nutrition in the
process.