Nutrition and Rest

Every now and then I have a conversation with friends or students, and the subject of diet comes up. As an active person who considers himself in reasonably good shape, I occasionally get questions as to what my workout routine is, my diet, etc.

To be perfectly honest, for the bulk of my life I've been one of those people lucky enough to be able to eat pretty much whatever I want and not gain weight (you may now feel free to scowl or throw tomatoes at the computer screen). Granted, as I near the big 3-0 I have already noticed that this is becoming less and less the case, but losing weight has never been a concern of mine. I'm usually more concerned with maintaining or gaining enough weight given the amount of activity I get between teaching and training.

However, this does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that I do not take nutrition seriously. It's a subject I've been interested in for a long time, and, just like fitness, I'm constantly in a process of learning and re-learning what works in this area.

Also, like fitness, given that it's a subject that I'm so passionate about and immersed in all the time, it's easy for me to take for granted that many other folks may not be as well-informed. Also, the amount of so-called nutrition advice we get bombarded with on a daily basis from magazines, television, and the internet is certainly enough to make anyone's head spin in confusion.

The more I read, research, and learn about nutrition from the sources that I trust the most, the more I realize that successfully eating right, just like anything else, is about sticking to the timeless fundamentals. Sure, there are lots of different diets out there, many of which have proven very successful with regard to folks losing weight, and there are a lot of small tweaks that we could try to make to improve our diets. But I find it's mostly about the fundamentals, and many of these principles are nothing different than what Mom drilled into us as kids.

1. Always start the day with a hearty breakfast.
2. Eat your veggies.
3. When you're full, stop eating.
4. Stay away from junk food.

Nothing earth-shattering here. Ok, now let's add to this a few concepts that, while not as common as Mom's advice above, have proven consistently true.

1. Eat multiple (5 or more) smaller meals and/or snacks throughout the day, rather than three big meals.
2. Get a balance of protein, fruits/vegetables, and healthy fats at each meal or snack.
3. Try to get the bulk of your calories toward the beginning of the day, and taper off as you get closer to bedtime. The only exception is making sure to eat enough calories 2 hours or so before a workout/training session, and eating a post-workout meal or snack.
4. Limit consumption of high carbohydrate foods late in the day, unless it's right after your workout.
5. Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, and try to go to bed and wake up consistently around the same time. Generally, the earlier you get to bed the better (i.e. 11PM is better than Midnight, 10PM is MUCH better than Midnight).

Nowadays, especially in Western society, we've become obsessed with quick-fixes and new ideas. We want our abs in 8 minutes a day, we get our food in the amount of time it takes us to head through the drive through, we stay up way too late watching TV, and then we pound cup after cup of coffee to stay awake throughout the day, only to repeat the cycle day in and day out!

By sticking to the fundamentals and paying attention to such simple concepts as how much food you're eating, what kind of food you're eating, when you're eating it, and how much rest you're getting, the vast majority of us can achieve a healthy physique, more energy throughout the day, and avoid some of the major health problems that plague our nation (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.).

Here are a few resources that I've found helpful in keeping tabs on my nutrition and health.

www.johnberardi.com Website of Dr. John Berardi, creator of the Precision Nutrition program.
www.chekinstitute.com Website of Paul Chek, author of the books

Another Quick Announcement about Saturday Classes

OK, here's another update on Saturday classes.

Classes will resume starting Saturday, May 3rd. Since it's a new month, we'll be switching back to grappling for May. This month's topic will be the guard position.

We'll be focusing on basic attacks, as well as defending against the guard pass.

Those of you getting ready for NAGA, as well as anyone who wants to improve their guard game would benefit greatly from this topic!

On another note, given that summer is rapidly approaching (though the weather right now may not give any indication), I've been toying with the notion of moving up the Saturday class to 9:30 instead of 10:30. That way we're all out of there and ready to enjoy our summers a little earlier. Let me know if this is a time that works for you, and if we have enough agreement (as well as Sifu Marc's approval), we'll reschedule.

But for now, I'll see you at 10:30 sharp!