Food As Fuel

Spence Smith — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Here’s a subject that has a wide variety of opinions. Mine of course, is just
that…an opinion. I know that I don’t always eat the best, but about 90% of the time I eat great.

I’ve read a lot on the subject and have come to this conclusion. If
you are looking to get into better shape whether it’s for something athletic like running or triathlons or if you are just wanting to loose
some pounds to look better, the simple fact is this…it’s a neat little formula that has worked for centuries on end! Ready?

EAT LESS…MOVE MORE.

We live in a society, especially in the US, where more is more…not less is more. Big portions, big drinks, big everything.

We have become so accustomed to eating for eating-sake, but did you know
that your body will tell you what it needs and when? This takes a little bit of discipline and practice to figure out. But not a lot. You probably already know when you eat something bad and it doesn’t settle well within you.

I have had to train my brain to think about food as fuel, not food as a hobby or a past time or a way to medicate a problem…or just because it’s sitting in front of me.

This is what I do…

Everyday I know if I’m going to work out or not. I also know what kind of work out it will be. Running, swimming, cycling, or weights…no matter what, I know what I need to do to get ready for the workout. All of my workouts are in the morning except for swimming and what I have come to see is that what I eat the day before a workout (and sometimes two days before a really long workout, like a long run or bike ride) has everything to do with how my body performs and reacts to the training involved.

The meal the night before a work out has to be lean and light enough for me not to have a bad night of sleep, but to give me enough energy to make it through the next morning. When I get up in the morning, I usually eat some lite like oatmeal or toast with peanut butter. I wash it down with some water and off I go. It usually takes me right to the end of the workout, unless it’s a long work out then I consume gels for extra energy and calories to get me through the training.

After the workout it’s time for good protein and carbs. One of the things I did to change my eating habits is to make breakfast my biggest meal of the day.

Once I have worked out, it’s time for breakfast. This big meal replenishes my body and gets me started for the day.

The fuel is now ready to get you through the end of the day. Generally, people are more active in the first part of the day and need more energy. Lunch is a little liter that breakfast and dinner is usually the smallest meal of the day. The major problem with eating a big dinner is that after dinner it’s usually bed time. So if you eat food for fuel, then what benefit is there to fueling sleep?

Remember…eat less, move more.

Dinner for me can be a good piece of fish or chicken, veggies, a little pasta and
I’m done. I’m a sucker for dessert and great wine, so I have to be a bit more disciplined here.

When it comes to eating out or traveling, I decide before I even walk into a restaurant, what I’m generally going to order. This sets me up to not feel the pressure of eating the bad stuff when I open up the menu.

In my head I can say, “tonight I’m having fish”. So when I get to the restaurant, I order whatever fish they have on the menu.

Again, there are so many theories on what is the right thing to eat. I like to read Runner’s World magazine and what they have to say about nutrition is usually right on the money for me. You can also read them online at runnersworld.com.

Overall, here’s what I know for the big picture. Your body was designed for protein AND carbs. These need to be good lean proteins and healthy carbs…and…all in moderation of course. The biggest benefit your body sees is when you eat fruits and veggies.

I hope I have made sense. As you know… I’m not a professional athlete, trainer or nutritionist… this is just what I have learned works for me over the years.

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

Spence Smith — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:53:39 +0000

I got rocked in swim practice this morning. I mean..besides the fact that practice is at 5am on Friday’s is enough to do me in, much less not paying attention to how I was performing in practice. Today’s practice though brought me back to this thought. Pacing yourself is very important…

When swimming, you should pace yourself because if you don’t…you will crash and burnout for the rest of practice.

Here’s why…this morning we were doing drills based on our stroke count. Your stroke count is the number of strokes it takes you to get to the other side of the pool. In a 25 yard pool, when give it all I got, I can do this in 10 strokes, but on average it sits more in the 13 to 15 count area. If you can swim fast and strong with a low stroke count, you will get through the water faster and smoother.

Basically what happens is when our coach says. This next drill will be based on x number of strokes plus x seconds it takes you to swim 50 yards. It’s called a unit drill and since the water is a little chilly at times i was already thinking about the shrinkage. Anyway…then she tells us, for the next 5 times we do this you have to decrease this unit so start out conservative or else you will be dying for the rest of the drill.

So…what did I do? I thought I was swimming conservative. Little do I realize how much a breathing break on the wall does for my energy level. My unit number was 65 for the first try. Which broke down to 39seconds swimming 50 yards with a stroke count of 13 per 25 yards giving me a 26 count for the 50 yards which all equals 65 (26 strokes plus 39 seconds=65) Over the next 5 times I eventually got it down to 57 which had me at 20 strokes per 50 yards.

This my friends…killed me. I exhausted every ounce of energy I could muster. For the rest of practice I was done, spent, tired, finished…I had nothing left.

This brings me to a point in which I’m reminded of when doing business. Sometimes people make business decisions that are to big. They have bitten off more than they can chew and they got in over their heads and the decision is seen as a failure. Sometimes when this happens and you are working with others, the chances of you making another big decision might be very slim because no one else will believe that you can do it or that the idea can be done. Why? it failed the first time, why should it work the next time.

This sounds like small minded thinking and most times it can be. But the way to win is to start small enough to make an impact and to watch your decision be a winning decision. When you start small and think conservatively, you can give yourself a little room for error and growth. Then when you are ready to go big, you can take that risk with confidence and with a better plan of attack. If the big decision is a winner then great! But if it fails then at least you know you tried everything and you can now move on knowing you too can make sound decisions (even if you failed) and that you are willing to take a few calculated risks. Learning from your mistakes can lead to success as long as you keep trying.

If I had thought a little more about slowing down my swim and working my stroke count a little better, i would have made it to the end without killing myself. I also would have made it through practice a lot stronger.

The next time you go big…think it through first…oh, and if you need help working through it, shoot me an email. I’ve failed enough times to know how to win.

Spence Smith » swimming

Food As Fuel

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew