“Help me, help me please, I’m in a food coma”, are the words that I muttered as my body went into toxic shock after the last time I had impaired judgment and made that turned into the drive thru lane for some fast food. Whatever your fast food weakness is; tacos, burgers, french fries, chicken nuggets just don’t do it, because you are going to hate yourself in about 10 minutes. Since I’ve started training more I’ve been fast food free for quite some time and now that processed high fat pure taste bud pleasure will now just destroy me both physically and mentally. I’ve never been really good about my diet thought out my life, in fact I would say that I dabbled in fruits & vegetables, my mom & wife would tell you that dabbling would be a very generous term. As a youth I just really never looked at food as nutrition. I know in school we were taught about nutrition but why did the school promote selling fries, ice cream, candy and other junk food at lunch? I guess it was just food right, if your hungry just eat something, anything. As I grew up I never thought about reading a label, heck they didn’t even publish nutrition content on most things and eating out was way of life, a time saver. High fat, calories, super size it whatever; just satisfy that beast called hunger. I guess that’s what got me in trouble when I got older and on that faithful day when my doctor said, “Wow!,” ok…I knew I put a few pounds but hearing those words from and outsider rather than my wife was definitely a shocker, something had to be done.
I didn’t read any books or follow any nutrition plans it was really easy to figure out for myself. Just cut down on the soda, fried foods, red meat, pre-packed food, stop eating fast food, don’t eat out so much and take the lower fat & lower calorie options when you do, toss in some fresh fruits and vegetables and exercise more. I know this is not as easy for some people but for me it was easier than I thought to do, I just need to change my life style and undo all those bad habits…gulp! Trust me I didn’t stop eating or live the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, no crazy cleansing or crash diets, I simply just started to eat better things, got hooked on running and learned to eat everything in moderation. There where up’s and downs at time but my experience with that food comma was eye opening.
Now since I’ve been training more a healthy diet plays a huge role in how I feel before, during and after a work out session or event. I didn’t give up everything fun in life, remember balance, I still have a weakness for pizza, wings & beer and I still love Mike & Ikes but for me now it’s simple, moderation. I also learned a few trick’s to combat hunger; load up on fruit, salad or raw veggies during the day, cook smaller portions, drink lots of water, read label’s (it’s horrifying what you’ll find) and I trained myself to just push back and walk away. In the event that I’m expecting to indulge a little as a treat, I exercise harder the day before a few more laps in the pool, a little longer ride or run works great for me with lots and lots of water during the day.
Hold on I’m not totally crazy, I will never give up my special treat after a race day however after months of training a bacon cheese burger is totally deserved and I finally get to eat some fries. But after my treat, the next meal it’s back to the plan and 6 months later when I saw my doctor she said, “Wow, how did you do it?” Exercise and moderation! I’m definitely not a nutritionist so what works for me may not work for you, definitely talk to your doctor before you attempt any dieting and exercise then set a plan and believe in yourself!
The Purposeful Hiker 