Sunday Story…3 Strategies

The bottom line around the whole nutritional dilemma is answering these questions:

Are you under-muscled or adequately muscled?

Are you over or undernourished?

Are you metabolically healthy?

If you need more muscle, you will need to add more protein to your diet. If you are undernourished, you need more calories; if you are overnourished, you need less.

If we eliminate the “food” restrictions (things like Paleo, Keto, Vegan, vegetarian, etc.) because we are eating Real Food and making sure we are getting adequate protein and essential fatty acids there are only 3 dietary restrictions to discuss:

Time: Eating at certain times (and not at others) …intermittent fasting or even multi-day fasting

Calories: Eating less in terms of total calories but without regard to what or when it is being eaten.

Dietary: eating less of some element within the diet…such as meat, sugar, or fats

Each of these works but for pure efficiency caloric restriction is the hands-down winner. The problem is that you must track everything you eat exactly. It isn’t easy and it may not be sustainable.

Dietary restriction is simple…just eliminate 1 type of food. But this only works if the food you eliminate is plentiful and has significant calories to reduce overall calorie consumption. Going on a no-lettuce diet probably won’t work.

Time restriction may be the easiest. Restrict yourself to eating once a day. Unfortunately, if you eat a pint of ice cream and 3 pizzas you are still overeating!

Calories matter no matter how you answer the first 3 questions.

Next week: What to do?

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com 

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…What do I eat?

Someone asked me the other day…what do I eat every day? Honestly, I am loathe to answer this question. What I eat isn’t terribly helpful to you. Your diet and mine are highly individual pursuits. What works for me may not work for you at all and vice versa.

The most important part of any healthy eating plan is making sure you get enough protein (plus/minus 1 gram per pound of body weight). The second most important part is portion control. This means you must measure your food and accurately track your intake.

Here is my basic menu:

Breakfast…I usually wait at least 3 hours after rising to consume this. I use Cream of Buckwheat as I have found it to work best in my system. I add 1/2c egg whites, some raisins, and walnuts along with 1 tablespoon of nut butter.

I have 2 cups of coffee 90 minutes after rising and drink 16oz of water first thing in the morning.

1^st lunch…3 or 4 oz protein plus 4 oz of rice (carbs).

2^nd lunch…4-6 oz of protein plus 6 oz of potatoes (carbs).

Dinner…6 oz of protein plus 6-8 oz of carbs plus 2 cups of salad.

This is food prepared at home on Sunday. We get our beef from G-Bar Ranch by the quarter steer. Fish are always wild-caught. Chicken is organic. Free range(ish) eggs.

This is an approximate list. I have found over the years that this template works for me. Keep in mind that vegetables are free-range, in other words, eat them often and in quantity. Half your plate should be green and then 1/4 protein and 1/4 starch.

There you have it! I stay 80-90% compliant and if I venture off, I get back on as soon as possible. Remember don’t beat yourself up for eating something you really want. Enjoy every bite and then get back on the trail!

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com 

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Nutritional Biochemistry

Here is the bottom line on nutrition:

There is no one right, true way to fuel your body. Anyone who tries to tell you there is also trying to sell you something. There are healthy and fit people who are vegan, vegetarian, keto, paleo, pescatarian, carnivore, etc., etc., etc. It all depends on your personal biochemistry.

When we try to shoehorn everyone into one box, we start encountering problems. Maybe eating dairy makes you sick…don’t do it! But your diet guru says it’s part of the one, right, true way. Not for you it is not! Maybe rice makes you feel bloated…don’t eat it. Your body is yours and you are the one living in it.

The one caveat to this is processed food. No one should be eating a bunch of processed crap (Calorie Rich And Pathetic). It won’t get you anywhere near your health and fitness goals.

How do you know what your body really needs? How will you discover what the best diet is for you? Every one of us has an energy level where we feel our best. Every one of us has a vital energy within us that explodes when we are well-rested and well-fed.

To discover what this is you are going to have to pay attention to what you are eating and when and how you feel when you are done. You also might have to do some elimination work (the Whole 30 is a great template for this!) The other part to realize is your body changes over time. Here is an example, when I was a baby, I was allergic to cow’s milk. As a teenager, we drank whole milk from the dairy up the road. And now cow’s milk leaves me feeling bloated and tired. Interesting, yes?

We all need to fuel ourselves with the building blocks of proper nutrition…protein, carbohydrates, and fats. But exactly what do those look like? Up to you!

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com    

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…Nutrition

I approach this subject with some trepidation. Many of you have heard my advice on the subject plenty of times over the years. It is simple…Eat Real Food. This is simple advice, but it can be hard to follow. After all, what does that really mean?

Here is how I define it…Real food is food that comes without a label, the source of the food is easily identifiable and well known, and it can be consumed with a minimum of fuss and muss.

The hard part is this: Food carries a whole backpack of stuff with it. We all got different messages growing up. And we are still operating on the decisions that got made around those messages. This is why it is so hard for many people to make healthy decisions around food. Step one is to realize what that baggage is…self-awareness is paramount. Many of us were members of the “clean plate” club. Leaving food behind was considered a sin in many homes. And, honestly, it made sense when food was scarce. Food is not scarce anymore. There is no one reading this (I hope) who is worried about having enough to eat today. We have so many choices, both good and bad, that it can be overwhelming.

Look inside and see what messages you continue to operate under surrounding food. Knowing what your “triggers” are that cause you to sabotage your healthy eating habits will move you closer to healthy nutritional choices.

When you look at your plate try to identify where the food came from. Here is a hint…there are no Triscuit trees or Oreo bushes.

Next week…your personal nutritional biochemistry!

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412