Does nutrition really make that big of an impact on how you feel and how you perform? This seems to be an easy question to answer, of course it does. However, there are times throughout life and training that this concept needs to be revisited. 8 weeks out from Regionals Courtney and I decided to follow a strict Paleo/Zone eating regiment that allowed us to have sushi(removing most of the rice) and one tall latte or mocha(1 pump, no whip) from Starbucks once a week as our cheat meals. Honesty this decision wasn’t extremely drastic for both of us considering we both normally follow a similar nutritional plan, just not as strict. We took out our regular Saturday ice cream cheat meal, and Court took out her 1-2 glasses of wine. As the weeks progressed these small changes became big reminders that even the small things can make all the difference.
Sunday night of Regionals, after the last event we decided to “Reward” ourselves with a full on “cheat meal.” We went out to the Cheesecake Factory downtown. I’m sure most would look at what we ordered and wouldn’t consider it a full blown cheat meal. Court had one glass of wine, and ordered a hawaiian pizza which she processed to just eat the topping off of. I had a beer and a Kobe beef burger with bacon, in addition I had a hand full of sweet potato fries. We both decided to have a piece of cheese cake, which neither one of us finished. Within 5-10 minutes of eating this meal we both felt horrible. We decided to go for a walk along 16th street mall in hopes of subsiding the misery we both were feeling. We made it about 5 blocks before we had to make a pit stop in a stores bathroom, because Courts system decided to couldn’t hold down the food she just ate. I have to admit I was close to losing my dinner as well.
In the last couple of weeks, my own nutritional habits haven’t been a regimented as they normally are. I’m still eating clean, howeve,r my meals are not timed as they should and the quantity isn’t as much as well. We always preach the importance of quality nutrition, but apparently I needed a reminder of its importance. I took a week off from training, and tried to start back on Monday. After a week off from training, it does seem a bit hard to get back on track. This entire week has been a challenge not only to get back into the gym but also get my nutritional habits in order as well. Leading up to Regional’s I was hitting PR’s and doing things I had never been able to do before. After a week of not training and not eating right, I almost feel like I’m starting over. I know this isn’t true, but it just goes to show you how fast things can change when you’re not doing all the things that will benefit your body and performance.
If anything this is a great reminder, how even the little changing in what and how you eat can make all difference between accomplishing your goals and not.