Healthy eating, Dieting and Eating on the go
Leeds Krav Maga coach and weight loss expert Mike writes about the complexities of eating well
As a Personal Trainer and Krav Maga coach, one of the most common complaints (read: excuses) I receive goes along the lines of:
Random Client: “I’ve done really well with my training this week”
Amazingly Handsome Coach: “Thats good! Well done. How’s the Nutrition side?”
Sheepish looking Client: “Erm, it’s been a little sloppy this week, you see I’ve been really busy”
Curiously Skeptical yet stunning Coach: “Ah ok, too busy to eat?”
Ready to flee Client: “Well, no.. I’ve just not had time to eat healthily….”
Lets start out by defining each element of the title as most people I encounter seem to confuse the first 2 for the same thing.
Healthy Eating – Eating to support and maintain optimal bodily function
Dieting – Tactical starvation to reduce body mass (Fat mostly)
Eating on the go – Eating Whilst “BUSY”
The most frequent thing I hear is that HEALTHY EATING is too expensive, as mentioned above the people who usually say this are actually talking about dieting and my response usually is something along the lines of “If you are dieting should you be buying enough food for it to be expensive?”. I am currently dieting, I shop for me, my wife and my sons and I personally eat 4 meals per day. Our weekly shopping bill? £40-50, and my sons also eat like demented half starved war pigs……..
My point here is that whilst all three of the above have different definitions, they are all tied together by the same things, routine and planning. I know what I am going to buy in the supermarket before I get there, I know what I’m going to eat for my tea next Wednesday evening and exactly what I need to buy to make it and because of this planning any extremely busy day I may encounter I know what time I can find a small break to eat and what to eat on that break!
See my family has a routine of what meals we are going to eat and when we are going to eat them, it takes about 10 minutes to sit down and figure out what you are going to eat this week, it is then just a matter of ensuring that you only buy the foods that you need to make your meals for the week (If you don’t buy the junk and you don’t have it at home, you can’t eat it!), you may think you have better things to do with your time, but I would strongly disagree, your body is the most important thing you will ever possess and if you can’t spare 10 minutes away from [insert generic reality based TV Programme here] to ensure that you are fuelling it with healthy nutritious food, then you have some serious issues regarding priorities.
The same goes for eating on the go, if you are out for a while and you know you may not be able to find the opportunity to eat, why on earth would you not take something healthy with you and instead stop at an off license for a snickers and a delicious can of sugar and chemicals.
The first question I always ask myself when I wake up every morning is “When am I going to eat today?” followed by “What am I going to eat today?” (Some of my oldest friends from my fat days will be extremely unsurprised to hear this I imagine…..). If you are caught completely off guard and have an unplanned period of time away from home, eating well for not too much is just as easy, Tescos express, Sainsburys locals, One Stop, Londis, these shops seem to be spreading like the Ebola virus and you can’t seem to drive 5 minutes without seeing one somewhere.
You may want to stop and buy a sandwich, a bottle of pepsi and a packet of crisps in some form of £2.50 meal deal, instead why not take a look in the refrigerated area, packets of ready to eat salad leaves can be bought for 50p-£1, Tins of tuna are in the same price bracket, you can get cooked chicken pieces for £1-2, tins of sardines 50p-£1, cottage cheese £1 or less! It is not hard to eat well and it not cost the earth!
Remember if in doubt use Jon Goodmans “Greenface”, if its not green (as in vegetable, not smarties or MnM’s) and it didn’t used to have a face (as in animal) – Don’t eat it!
Eating healthily is not hard! It’s simply a case of eating food in its natural unprocessed form! Combine a healthy eating routine with intense fitness training like Krav Maga and you won’t fail to shape up!
Keep it Simple
Mike
Leeds Krav Maga Head Instructor
