Food Management, Food as Fuel

When we think about food in relation to health and exercise, one word comes to mind that often has a negative connotation to it...dieting!  When we think of food as an uncomfortable, frustrating subject, the scope of our understanding has become too narrow.  We should think of food in terms of fuel for our body.  In order for our bodies to do what we want them to do, they need the right kind of food to get a positive response. 

If you had a car that takes gasoline only, you wouldn't fill it with diesel right?  Of course not, you'd have all sorts of problems with your engine that would cost extra money to fix.  You could have avoided this if you'd just put gasoline in your car in the first place.  While most of us [I hope] look at this example, chuckle, and say, "Well of course I wouldn't put diesel in my gas fueled car!" we unfortunately do something similar to our bodies on a daily basis.  We put bad fuel in our bodies and get frustrated when they do not perform the way we want them to in daily activities; we end up feeling tired all the time, and don't even dream of working out because we're so tired.

Unfortunately, while many people don't realize that some of what they use as body "fuel" is not healthy, a large portion of us do know we are doing the wrong thing and continue to put "diesel" into a "gas" fueled vehicle.  This happens for different reasons; we may have an emotional connection to eating, we say we lack time to prepare quality meals and it's too expensive to eat healthy, or maybe age and genetics are still working on our side and we haven't seen the consequences to eating unhealthy, so we think we may have escaped them.  If you are in this situation, whatever your reason is, I hope you are willing to change...not just a small change, like a temporary diet, but a wholesale-I'm-never-going-back-to-the-way-I-used-to-eat change.

Any dietitian or nutritionist who is worth their salt will tell you to eat "right", meaning, eat your fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and whole grains on a daily basis in the correct portion size to achieve optimum health.  There is no magical diet that will help you put the optimum fuel in your body for daily activities like eating right will.  Why?  A diet is a temporary fix to a permanent problem; when you stop eating according to the diet, the weight comes back on, especially if it is a fad diet.  More on that later!  The following web page of the myplate.gov website is a great resource - http://www.choosemyplate.gov/index.html.  They have officially changed the food pyramid to the food plate, which I personally like better - it gives a good idea of what your plate should look like at every  meal.  I encourage you to do three things with myplate.gov:

1. Look through the website: Note number of portions recommended, understand what you should be eating, and what you should avoid
2. Understand where you are deficient: Note where you are not eating what you should be; if you are like most of America, you will be highly deficient in the fruits and veggies category
3. Create an action plan: Don't stay discouraged about how you have not done well, create a menu for the week, create a new and improved grocery list, and go for it; no time like the present to start fresh!

We can come up with all sorts of reasons why we do not eat the way we ought, but when we are truly honest with ourselves, we do make time for what is important no matter what we have scheduled in our day, or what it may cost!  Don't be content to make excuses and continue living a sub-par, unhealthy life using bad fuel to feel better about it.  The truth is, you can change, we all can.  The question is do you want to change badly enough?  Nothing will motivate you to eat any differently unless you desire it to the point that you are willing to drastically revamp your eating behavior, and never go back to the way you used to eat. 

Remember in the example about cars, how fueling a gas run car with diesel can cause problems and extra expenses with the engine?  Putting poor fuel in your body will do the same thing; when you don't eat  the things you should be eating, it causes more medical expenses down the road as you get older.  Don't buy in to the lie that just because you are young, you can eat whatever you want without consequence.  Children are taking blood pressure and cholesterol medication at an alarming rate, just like adults.  Health problems as an adult don't just magically appear at a certain age, they are a result of bad eating habits over time, since childhood.  Think about your future!

Here are some thoughts in parting about fad diets by author and nutritionist Leslie Bonci that definitely bear repeating!

1. High protein, low carbohydrate - will cause weight loss, most often dehydrates the body, does not provide enough calories or carbohydrates to meet demands of exercise, often leaves people feeling tired and sluggish
2. High carbohydrate, low fat - may lead to weight gain, often causes digestive stress, just because something is low fat doesn't mean it is actually a healthier food item, fat-free DOES NOT equal calorie-free, may not supply enough fat to fuel exercise, low protein intake can have a negative effect on the immune system
3. Zone diet - weight loss due to the low calorie level, often too high in protein and too low in carbohydrates to provide energy for exercise
4. Weight Watchers - promotes weight loss, not terribly restrictive, often doesn't provide enough calories for exercise, but if foods to fuel exercise are added on exercise days this plan could be effective
5. Bizarre and untrue diets - Subway, Eat Right 4 Your Type, Slim Fast, LA Weight Loss - too low in calories to fuel most daily activities, let alone exercise, and who really wants to be on a liquid diet??
6. Diet pills - merely act as a stimulant so the consumer feels more energized, acts as a laxative or diuretic which promotes water loss, overall useless products for real, meaningful weight loss

More to come next week on combining healthy eating and exercise for weight loss!  Remember, you can do this!

Resources for this post: Sport Nutrition for Coaches by Lesli Bonci