Sunday Story…The Third Pillar

“No cure that fails to engage our spirit can make us well.”

---Viktor Frankl

I came across this quote the other day and I thought it particularly relevant to our discussions over the past few weeks about living longer better. This is the third pillar of increasing your “health span”.

First, we have exercise and fitness, then nutrition, then your emotional health. Failing to address all three pillars is like having a two-legged stool…you might be able to sit on it, but it is going to be very precarious.

You can be the fittest on the planet but if your emotional/mental/spiritual health is not right your fitness will suffer. We have seen many cases of prominent athletes needing to step away from their sports due to mental health issues. The same can be said of your nutrition…it can be dialed in tight but if that third pillar is crumbling, you may as well eat sawdust.

So, on my journey to the Centenarian Olympics, I am going to need to engage my spirit to fully realize all the benefits of increasing my health span. This means having healthy and varied relationships. Think of close relatives, friends, and acquaintances, as well as other human interactions. We humans are designed to be social. Another important tool for this pillar is the practice of gratitude. Another is finding joy in the mundane everyday practice of living. A connection with the divine will also put you in a place that is going to allow you to access all the benefits of the three pillars.

Our goal is to live life fully human utilizing all the benefits we can derive from outstanding fitness, close care of our nutritional biochemistry, and a functioning relationship with those people around us and the world we live in as well as the divine source.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…Holidays!

It’s that time. It’s easy to say I’ll get after it after the holidays. You could still hit your exercise regimen but it’s easy to just let it slip one or two days. After all, “IT’S THE HOLIDAYS!” And your nutrition plan? With all that rich endless food you love around? I mean who can resist?

I get it. But are you willing to give up 11 months of progress for two weeks of indulgence? And except for the growing bulge around your middle or on your hips, or other places you don’t want to see, what will you have to show for that indulgence.

A truly memorable indulgence might be worth the price. But honestly, there are so very few of those, they are almost unicorn-like. That plate of store-bought fudge? Really? Occasionally you will find a unicorn and you will always remember it. Let me ask you this…when was the last truly memorable food or beverage indulgence you had? Can you remember last holiday season that one thing you knew was worth every bite or sip you took? No? What makes you think this year is going to be any different?

The same thing goes for skipping your workouts. You know what the price is going to be when you return. Do you really want to pay for it? I know I don’t.

It is simple… show up, keep your intensity down, and get out the door. You got it done. You can worry about how well you did later. Showing up is more than half the battle.

The last thing anyone wants to have happen is to walk in the box after 2 or 3 weeks of self-indulgence and realize how much pain you are about to inflict on yourself.  

The answer is simple…get in here. Stay the course.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com 

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…Overfed and Undernourished

If we return to the 3 questions we ask in our search for the right “diet” most of us are overnourished, many of us are under-muscled, and some of us are metabolically challenged.

The fact of the matter is this:

Never in human history have we lived with so much food abundance. Throughout history, humans have had to store, preserve, hunt, and gather food. This often resulted in some very lean months; in some cultures, February is called the “hungry” month. All the stored food is gone and there is very little available to find. We went without. Hopefully, we gained a lot of fat during the good months and now we can use that stored body fat to survive.

Today there is no “hungry” month. I can run down to the neighborhood market and buy things from around the world. We have no need to get fat in the summer to survive the winter. Yet our evolution has not changed. We want to eat and store fat for the coming famine (that never arrives.)

So…maybe being overnourished isn’t as accurate as being overfed. Way too much of our nourishment comes in the form of highly processed crap food. So, we end up overfed and undernourished. This is the horn of our modern dilemma…food is everywhere and we keep getting sicker due to being overfed and undernourished.

The struggle is real. And when we add in the aging process, hormonal disruptions due to all kinds of different issues it seems almost insurmountable. So, we need to do a couple things: first, limit alcohol intake. Second, increase protein. And third, stay away from all forms of processed food. There are too many “disrupters” in today’s foods for any of it to be good for you but eating processed food in abundance is not going to lead to many good outcomes!

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com 

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412  

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