Are You Dialed In?

The other day while looking for something totally unrelated, I found some of my old diet and workout journals. As I was flipping through the pages I noticed just how bad my diet was and how hard I made my workouts to be. I was severely malnourished. I was eating the typical "healthy diet" that included breads (whole grain of course), milk, not to many vegetables, lots of protein (mostly in the form of shakes), and stayed as far away from fat as possible.

Even though it looked like I was making good progress with my fitness there was something missing and I still had not met my personal goals with body composition, I wasn't sleeping well, my recovery was not the best it could have been and more days than not, I felt sluggish. I also noticed that I missed several workouts because I was sick or too sore. I thought that exercise was supposed to keep you healthy and strong.

When I moved to Tucson, I met Jen and was introduced to crossfit. I was hooked from the start. Coming from the belief that to be strong and healthy you had to spend hours working at it, I'm so happy to know that I can get a better workout in 20min or less than I ever did spending 2 hours in a gym. Constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements sure beat the hell out of the long boring routines that I was used to. Jen also introduced me to the Paleo diet which I have to admit was a little hard at first (what??? give up bread and peanut butter?), but now I can't even imagine another way of eating. I dialed in my diet and exercise routine which was now much more simple than before.

As I kept reading through my journals I noticed something.... as my diet changed, so did my performance. I was feeling better, lifting more and had better recovery. I also noticed that I was not missing workouts because I was sick. This was not a coincidence. Good nutrition is the foundation of health and wellness. Since I changed my way of eating I have achieved my goal and feel great.

Whatever your goals are... whether it is to hit a new PR, lose that extra weight, just be healthy and fit etc... take an honest look at your nutrition. Are you dialed in? Are you doing everything that you can to achieve your goals?

Do what I did. Start asking yourself before you eat that "cheat" meal or wash it down with the soda or tequila (my personal favorite)...." is this going to get me closer to my goal?" Your desire to get to your goals has to be stronger than the excuses you use.

Use the resources that you have at the gym. Look for the upcoming seminar on Paleo eating that Jen is giving. A great start to better nutrition.