Nutrition is at the forefront of success for ALL athletes. Whether you want to be the most shredded dude on a bodybuilding stage, the most explosive 100m sprinter, or the strongest competitor at a powerlifting or strongman event, the foods you put into your body will determine whether or not you reach your goals.
You can’t out-train a bad diet. Read that again…you can’t out-train a bad diet.
If you’re busting your ass in the gym, on the track or trails, doing all the work but not seeing the results, chances are…it’s your diet!
We’re going to fix that today! Eating right is a lifestyle choice. It is not something that happens buy accident. The healthy eaters of this world don’t just stumble onto a sprout salad with tofu (don’t eat soy…another rant for another day). NO, we make a choice to go the store and obtain the essential materials (read: groceries) because successful people understand that you can’t eat what you don’t have! This same principle can be applied to the foods which we should avoid…DON”T BUY THEM! You can’t eat what you don’t have!
With that in mind, I will share a philosophy that helped me transition from skinny-fat and pre-diabetic into the person I have become today. This method also helps many of my general population clients and young athletes who don’t like rigidity and monotony of eating the same You start with a list of ACCEPTABLE food choices. Next, you focus on eating those food as much as possible. This list becomes your grocery list. Buy as many of those foods as you have access to and don’t buy foods NOT on the list. This makes your fridge and pantry safe and ready for success. Then you plan your meals trying to incorporate as many of the acceptable foods as possible.
For the best list (in my opinion, at least) I turn to Johnny Bowden’s 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth. Very educational, informative, and actually entertaining to read. This has been my go-to-guide for years and has been with me from Clemson to New York and now Virginia!
Here is a list of the foods I ate yesterday that made the list in this book. This is not everything I ate yesterday – just the foods that made the top 150. ( I also ate rice which made honorable mention, egg whites, and spouted grain bread) So only 3 of my food choices yesterday were not among the 150 healthiest foods on earth!
- organic, free-range eggs (whole eggs)
- broccoli
- grass-fed butter
- sweet potato
- brussell sprouts
- extra virgin olive oil
- macadamia nut oil
- kale
- whey protein powder
- almond butter
- walnuts
- organic virgin (unrefined) coconut oil
- oats
- avocado
- wild-caught tuna
- pasture raised turkey
- pasture raised chicken
You don’t have to buy the book to make this change in your life. You can start as simply as keeping a food log for a week. Then identify the worst offender in your diet and start removing them. Replace them with something from list above.
For example, let say you eat a Bojangle’s Sausage biscuit for breakfast every day. Instead of taking a 5-10 minute detour on your morning commute, spend some time on the weekend at the grocery store and pick up some sprouted grain bread, pasture-raised meats, and eggs. You can make your own “Power Sandwich” like my lifting partner Cris The Insane does using sprouted grain bread, grass-fed cheese, pasture-raised ham (sliced thin for sandwiches) and 1-2 whole eggs. Healthy carbs, protein and fats for a much better start to your day!