We live by 3 words when we talk about nutrition and diets and food…Eat Real Food. That’s it…Eat Real Food.

I often get questions about supplements and pills and powders and shakes. I will ask you to first refer to the 3 words above. If you are eating real food and eating enough of it to support your activity level but not store fat then we can discuss the other stuff. The facts, in general, are simple…Eat Real food…meat, vegetables, seeds and nuts, a little fruit, some starchy vegetables, healthy fats, avoid sugars and consume in quantities to support activity.

There is no magic pill or potion that is going to fix a poor diet. You can’t out exercise a poor diet. No amount of burpees or road work or miles or spin classes, or yoga, or boot camp or CrossFit is going to fix eating crap (Calorie Rich And Pathetic). Maybe you can get away with it for a bit, especially if you are young but the bottom line is eating crap and drinking a boatload of booze is going to mess up your fitness journey.

Not only do you need to Eat Real Food but you need to eat Enough Real Food. That’s right; you may not be eating enough food! If you don’t put fuel in the tank the car won’t run. If you only put a little fuel in it will sputter and stop. Or if you put just enough in it will only run a little while and then stop. You need to fuel your body like the high performance vehicle it is unless you are not taking it out of the garage (lying on the couch much!) in which case it probably isn’t going to matter too much anyway.

How much is enough? It is more than you think especially if you are using the prescription above. I recently brought my calories up to almost 4000 a day based on a nutritionists recommendations. It is a lot of food. But I can tell you my energy levels are up. I don’t crash as hard in the afternoons and I don’t feel as beat up by my workouts. And it is all real food except for 1 scoop of a high quality protein powder.

You can do this…eat well, be satisfied, get lean, get strong. But it isn’t going to be easy…it takes discipline and preparation. Yes, you can cheat once in a while. Yes, you can relax and have a glass of spirits occasionally. But those things are not the habit. The habit is to Eat Real Food.

Let’s talk food again…soon!

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com