Nutrition off the trail

I have briefly talked about what I use on the trail for nutrition to keep me going. But nutrition is so much more than just taking care of your body on the trail. It should be apart of every day life.

Why is proper nutrition important? Because your body cannot live off fried food, nothing, or only vegetables. I am a huge believer that dieting does not work. I will say that again. Dieting does not work! What do you accomplish by telling yourself, “No, you cannot have that donut because of the blah blah diet”? Simple, you accomplish depriving yourself, therefore making yourself want it more. So, then you create these “Cheat Days.” When you associate food with words like cheat it is not healthy, mentally. Your health should never be a punishment. If you want that donut, have the donut. Just do it in moderation. I say as I eat donuts from Hello Sugar! <<<if you are in Spokane and have not checked them out, you are doing life wrong.

Dieting does not work. Another way to look at it is, what happens when you stop cutting calories or stop the fad diet? After depriving your body, it does not know what to do with the increased calories, portions, or foods. So, it reverts to how we were back in the day, eons ago. It goes into a fat storing mode, it does not know when its next meal is coming.

Instead, what should you do? Eat proper portions. Eat balanced meals. Even when you want that burger, have the burger. Just do it in moderation. Do not have cheat days. Or splurge days. Eat what you want, when you want it. Just in moderation.

I notice whenever I uptick my workout regimen or when I am close to a race, I eat healthier than on a normal week. I notice my body craves healthier options. Unprocessed foods. And then after my marathon all I want is a crappy, unhealthy burger with gobs of cheese. What can I say? I am human!

I eat all day long. I have found what works for my body that keeps me feeling fueled. I eat a piece of fruit on my way to spin class or before yoga. Then I come home and eat a normal breakfast. But on a long race day, I make sure to have an egg, fruit, and some toast. I usually have a normal lunch. I have a mid-afternoon snack that is nuts and fruit or a protein shake if I am out and about. Then a normal dinner.

Why is it important to eat several meals a day? It helps your body maintain stable blood sugar levels. If you eat a larger meal in the morning it jump starts your system. Eating several small meals a day can help prevent overeating and binging. It keeps your metabolism going all day long.

Okay, now we have talked about why you should be eating healthy. But, what does that mean? How do you do that in today’s on-the-go society? There’s so many things you can do to make that easier on yourself. I was at Walmart the other day and saw to-go meal prep containers. It had the sections for each thing, if you are one of those that can’t have your food touching. Does not bother me. Mix it all together and create a new flavor. HA! In-case you have not figured out by now, I think I am hilarious.

Here is my go-to meal plan. Everything is portion controlled. No calorie counting. No cutting anything out. I put salmon on the meal plan, but I usually swap it out for Mahi Mahi or Swai. I’m not a huge salmon fan even though it is so good for you. I like it raw and in sushi. You could swap out any of the meals for that as well. Now, this meal plan is not gluten free or vegan/vegetarian – I am a meat eating, grain loving, dairy eater.

I try to do meals that do not take reheating for lunch. My husband is a contractor so we have found things that work. For the Hummus and Yogurt, they have containers already with the right amounts at the store.

WebMD has a wallet size portion control guide that makes it super easy. Link here: https://www.webmd.com/diet/printables/wallet-portion-control-size-guide If you are a sports fan, it really helps. They talk about 1 cup being about the size of a baseball. I am a very visual person, so having things I can relate a cup to really helps. And, lets be honest… I am terrible at math, so if I can say a TBSP is about the size of a Golf Ball – I know what that looks like!

Let’s talk about proteins. I talked about my love of gluten and meats, but here is why. About a decade ago I tried to go vegetarian (it was a bad idea, the man I was dating at the time was vegetarian, I hated it). The foods we ate were mostly soy-based protein. I got incredibly ill from it and have zero soy protein tolerance now. There is a small percentage of women that cannot handle soy protein. Unprocessed soy and soy sauce are fine. But the process of turning it into a protein is what causes the problems with our hormones.

Some of protein powders have soy protein. I am so anti soy protein. So, what kind of protein powders are good? There are so many options. I like whey proteins and plant-based ones. Some people cannot handle the whey, bloating. See if you can find sample packs and find one you like. Try to go no sugar or low sugar, you do not need it. Find flavors you like. We keep three different flavors on hand, depending on my mood.

Which brings me to the best part. Do you like chocolate peanut butter cups? I LOVE them. I found a recipe on Pinterest for chocolate peanut butter protein fudge. I swap out the creamy peanut butter with the PB Fit and add water (lower in fat). I also use a dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder and skip the maple syrup. https://www.pbfingers.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-protein-fudge/print/82752/ I keep them in the freezer and they are my sixth meal, or a sweet snack after a workout. (Picture is kind of old. I’ve since redone my counters, but haven’t taken a new photo of the yumminess)

I will leave you with this thought: With the new year rolling in, do not set resolutions. Think about what you want your mindset to be. Think about how you want to feel. Do you want to feel accomplished, healthy, or stronger? Set that as your resolution. “This year I want to know my worth.” That’s my resolution. Know my worth.

Give your body what it needs to succeed. Eat healthy and your body can do more for you. Give your body what it deserves. What is its worth?