We all love the details and the rocket science but let’s be honest. We cannot build a house without solid foundations.
These foundations are basic but essential concepts.
Sometimes, its is powerful to put things into perspective by addressing the importance of basics, basics and more basics.
As a practitioner, basics are the most valuable skills in my toolbox. Macronutrient splits and beta alanine dosage are awesome when working with athletes who lie in the 1% of population. At the elite level, complex periodisation in nutrition and training may be the difference between a gold medal and bronze medal.
Still, for the majority of people, consistency in basics can go a long way toward achieving success.
The Importance of food!
Food has been part of human culture and tradition for way to long for us to be rewriting the laws of human nutrition. Our hunter gatherer ancestors, alongside our most recent empires all had food central to their beliefs and lifestyle.
There was love, community and family engagement with food all the way from farming through production up until the final platter on the table. This approach is rare in modern western culture.
What happened to the cyclical passage of food education from grandmother to mother to daughter?
We are now surrounded by supermarkets who promote beautifully packaged artificial poison, and unfortunately, millions of children growing up overweight and physically in tatters from overeating, lack of activity and poor food education from their environment.
Malnourished youths are fed nutrient sparse but energy (calorie) dense food that has left society on the edge of a killer epidemic.
You only have to look at recent news regarding type 2 diabetes in the UK and how treatment of this disease is going to bankrupt the NHS. More can be found on this here.
Open your mind!
My goal is to educate you, your family, kids and spread the simple information that can save lives.
Education begins with an open minded willingness to learn.
If you are not open to learning new things then you are in the wrong place.
Mother nature has blessed us with phenomenal variety of sustenance, yet we have diverged far, far away from our ancestral predecessors who were healthy and far from malnourished.
Unfortunately, todays calorie counting generation requires more conditioning when it comes to food education.
My responsibility as a practitioner is to educate innovative and creative ways of engaging individuals with nourishing cuisine. I believe that breeding an interesting in food education, preparation and presentation is a key step toward offsetting the imminent obesogenic climate.
I am not exagerrating. We really are living on borrowed time here unless we start to correct bad habits now.
Without doubt, food is a medicine for those who know how to use it correctly. This concept is not new.
I believe that nutrition is one of many context dependent tools that should be embedded within a lifestyle.
When balanced alongside other requirements of living, it can lead us all to physical and psychological vitality. For this to occur, education is vital.
In health and fitness, the word lifestyle has recently began to overtake the dieting principle.
Yes diets don’t work, period!
Diets promote extremes and applies short term measures. Extremes are a no go for an average person who wants to be healthy and look good naked.
If you’re an athlete however, whos nutritional needs are predetermined by training and competition requirements, then strict protocols may be necessary to achieve optimum results.
‘The Alchemist‘ by Paulo Coelho emphasises that knowledge gained on the journey is more important than arriving at the destination.
Knowledge begins with education. Education cannot happen without open mindedness. Open your mind and you will be amazed at the results you will receive.
The Secret
Todays culture of ultimate performance and physique perfection has left many inexperienced individuals lost in a whirlwind of various dieting fads, quick fix plans, ”super efficient” anabolic stimulants and ”quick slimming” weight loss products.
We are all looking for the secret. That magic thing that is going to turn us from fat to fit overnight.
I have a secret for you.
The secret is that there is NO secret!
The Basics
So, you must be wondering what my thoughts are on achieving the best possible naked physique.
In no particular order here goes.
Food is certainly not the full story…..
- Whole food:
Approximately 80% of the food you eat should come from fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, meat. Meat eaters should consume high quality, lean protein sources with complete amino acid profiles (Fish, chicken, turkey, etc).
Even though non meat eaters can achieve high protein levels from a whole food diet, plant based protein supplements may be important in the athletic subgroup.
I believe that a mixed meal of carbohydrates, fats and high quality protein is more powerful than a post workout whey/carbohydrate shake. Certainly, convenience matters and the shake may prove handy in some instances.
Essentially, you must prioritise a single ingredient and micronutrient rich feeding behaviour and make supplementation Plan Z!
- Gastrointestinal (GI) Health:
Food consumed doesn’t equate to food absorbed.
You may be eating 200g of protein per day, but how much of it is utilised in our beloved protein synthetic pathways?
Through the consumption of prebiotic and probiotic rich foods, you can slowly rebuild your gut health and general immunity. (Fermented foods such as tempeh, natural yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut are just a few examples.
Known as lacto-fermentation, this ingenious process breeds cultures of good bacteria that will out colonise the bad ones and the good news is, it is so easy to prepare at home.
Many fruits and vegetables are naturally prebiotic including raw chicory root, garlics, leeks and onions, so think twice before you ingest a pill and capsule.
- Activity:
Resistance exercise builds muscle and endurance will ruin those gains, right?
Wrong!
Let the elite bodybuilders argue over the crossover principles, and just focus on regularly stimulating your cells. For most of us. this does not have a huge effect.
- Sleep:
Focus on getting good quality sleep. You’ve heard it many times but believe me, it is critical for all things involving physical and psychological recovery.
- Hydration:
Maintain solid hydration levels through the day. Im not just talking bottled water. Fruits and vegetables will contribute hugely to those daily goals. Dehydration by as little as 2% of body weight can cause a huge loss in energy levels and the ability to function at your best.
- Extremes:
Avoid extreme dieting techniques, e.g., very low carb or very high fat, liquid dieting, prolonged fasting etc.
- Stress:
Stress kills. Try allocate good quality down time alone and with loved ones. Family is everything! Please spend less time worrying about rep ranges, intra workout BCAA’s and which brand of whey protein is the best….…
Read the brilliant book ‘Why Zebra’s don’t get ulcers’ by Dr Robert Sapolski if you are interested in stress.
To Conclude
My conclusion comes back to how I started.
Basics!
I hope I put some things into perspective and hope to have clarified that in the context of life peformance, food is exteremely powerful but not everything.
Food is art.
I want to encourage you to transform your kitchen into a thriving lab of flavours, smells and ingredients. This way I can guarantee you will laugh and love your way into good health, and your dream physique will ultimately follow.
Your Homework
Start incorporating more real, whole foods into your meals. Get creative in the kitchen and begin to tackle your nutrition from a healthy, sustainable standpoint.
Be off with you now……..You have lots of homework to be getting on with.
See you all soon!