#42 - You are what you eat
I can’t help but laugh when I hear that statement, “you are what you eat.” Imagine if that were literally true—you’d bump into “Mountain Dewd” in the hall, hang out with your “home peperoni slice.” All joking aside, nutrition is a critical part of keeping your biggest asset in top working condition. Getting sick, having low energy, dealing with distractions like acne, or having energy crashes, all can be decreased by managing what you eat. I realize that for some people diet is not an issue—they’ve already got good habits going and eat well. When thinking about my own health, it helps to think about things with the following in mind:
1) Some behavior will affect me today, but
2) Some behavior may have no effect today, instead impacting me many years from now
I’ve found this framework really helpful for several health areas but it works great in nutrition also. For most people, #2 is the easier to understand, so we’ll begin there.
Some behavior may have no effect today, instead impacting me many years from now
Many dietary habits won’t necessarily effect you today; you might not feel like garbage, you won’t suddenly get fat, you won’t even get seriously sick overnight but many eating habits can cause all of these and more in a matter of months or years. One example of how poor dietary choices can have a serious impact many years later is diabetes in the United States. In 1988, fewer than 6% of Americans were diabetic. Since that time, the number has exploded in tandem with obesity rates—by 2050 more than one-third of Americans will be diabetic according to the CDC. Please understand that not all diabetes cases are the result of poor diet choices; it can be caused by genetics, other environmental factors, medications, etc. The point of this example is not to focus on diabetes in particular—I want you to realize that millions of Americans make choices every day that don’t have immediate affects but will someday lead to serious problems.
Some behavior will affect me today
In contrast, some dietary choices have an impact today. If I eat a pound of chocolate, I will feel absolutely terrible for the rest of the day. There are numerous examples of the choices we make today that have an immediate impact: sugar crashes, sluggish “food commas,” caffeine highs (and lows), etc.
I’m not advocating some strict calorie-counting diet for you—my goal is that you realize that just because your body can handle something doesn’t mean it’s good for it. What dietary choices can you make today that will help you reach your goals today (give you steady energy, not feel sluggish, don’t mess up your sleep schedule, etc.)? And what dietary habits can you start that may not affect you today but will be paying off for many years to come. Make the easy choice to give your body what it needs to perform today AND make the more difficult choice to protect your body for many years to come. The only reason the second part is more difficult, is because we don’t realize how valuable a functioning body is until it’s too late.
Remember my mono example. Failing to eat nutritious foods contributed to how bad I got sick. Months later I am still working hard in the gym trying to gain back the 15 pounds I lost.
I highly recommend reading some articles and/or books about nutrition. Ask your coaches or do a google search to find resources on diet specific to your sport. If you’d like to discuss more specifics on nutrition, please connect with me. I love to chat about this sort of thing!