Nutrition – Your Recovery fuel or your poision

At the risk of opening up ‘pandoras box’ here – we have decided to have this short section to acknowledge how important it is. However, it goes without saying there are already libraries full of resources on this – and no book will ever be long enough to discuss this in proper detail. So here we just want to cover what is most important – and the key basics – and if you do these basics right – you are at least 80% there (probably even 90%) in terms of nutrition optimum – the rest comes with little tweaks based on personal preferences and response, but most of the benefit is already there.

“Nutrition need not be complicated. In fact, lets toss out the word nutrition, and think in terms of fuel. We’re fuelling our bodies for high performance. We fuel our bodies to perform, fuel our bodies to recover, fuel our bodies to win.”

Mark Verstegen

I really like this point and it hits the nail on the head – in referring to what we put into our bodies as fuel, rather than thinking in terms of ‘nutrition.’ So what are you fuelling your body with?

There are an endless number of books available, as well as blogs that can be followed, all covering this topic. And remarkably there are so many variations or approaches to eat – not only for ideal body composition (which even though it isn’t the primary aim for an athlete – is still a vitally important accessory benefit to fuelling correctly), but also for various forms of performance (physical/body or mental/cognition.)

We aren’t going to add to this endless list of on-going information – much of it rehashed and re-packaged in various ways, but merely cover what is most important as well as practical to apply. Because the simple fact remains that there always will be different variations that can be applied – and every approach will always have a dedicated army of disciples following it. Low carb, paleo, vegan, ketogenic (fat adapted rather than carbohydrate – starting to be used more and more by pro-athletes as the high performance world thumbs its nose at the ‘health’ guidelines), raw foods, high carbohydrate/standard athlete/standard western diet (thankfully this is being fazed out by more and more people as more and more coaches and athletes have woken up to this high-carbohydrate fallacy – and slowly more and more grassroots athletes are starting to wake up too.)

There are however standards and broad general basics that apply, regardless of the specifics that you choose to apply in your own approach to fuelling. Because one important point that I will make here is that there certainly is no one ideal way to eat. Everyone has a unique genetic make up, that will respond differently to different nutritional profiles, and with differing optimal fuelling needs. We will provide more and more links and references that will point you in the right directions of where to research further on different topics. But the key point here is that at least 80% of the benefit to be gained from fuelling will be attained from the basics that we cover. They aren’t rocket science, and they aren’t particularly sexy either. But the bottom line is that until you are doing them, and doing them consistently, there is no point trying to get fancy with specific fuelling details (like ratio’s, or blood profiles, or exogenous compounds and supplements.) And similarly, there certainly is no point training the house down physically – and even with the best and most tailored program – if you aren’t getting the fuelling basics right. The truth is that you are kidding yourself if you expect changes and any real lasting benefit. So with this in mind, lets cover the basics.

How close to its natural state is your fuel?

This may initially seem like a broad question – and indeed there are so many packaged food items that label the contents as ‘natural’ – that the term natural is quite misleading. But what I mean here is – would this food item have been here 10,000 years ago – or even longer – and if so/or not, how close or far away is it from how it would have been then? Because what is important to realise is that your biology or makeup is essentially the same as that of your ancestors tens of thousands of years ago – hundreds of thousands of years ago. (We covered this general principle when we discussed sleep as well as the sympathetic nervous system and the stress response.) The only difference of course is that your makeup will be a greater mixture of the DNA pool and therefore more variety thanks to many generations of breeding and mixing.

You may be thinking ‘hang on this is starting to sound like a ‘paleo diet’ sort of discussion point here.’ And to an extent it is. But something that needs to be said here is that there is no 1 ‘paleo diet.’ There is no 1 ‘evolutionary diet.’ Media outlets, and media personalities as well as fitness personalities like to put labels on things and pigeon-hole things for both the sake of having simple sound bites, as well as in many cases to package and sell an approach. However the reality here is that this is just a little bit of common sense. There was no 1 way to eat thousands of years ago – the way you ate was dependent on what was available – and this varied from region to region and season to season. This is why even from an evolutionary – and therefor a biological – point of view, there is no 1 ideal way to fuel. The ideal way will be individual specific. BUT all of them will have one thing in common – they will be made up of foods that have been here for as long as we have – or very close to foods that have been here for as long as we have.

That is to say one vegan diet (for example) isn’t the same as another vegan diet – they aren’t universally as ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ as each other (depending on how you view them.) They will depend on your own genetic make-up and disposition, as well as the specific details of your vegan diet (a copious amount of vegetables and nuts and avocado, etc is vastly superior to a copious amount of bread and vegan pasta and crackers – both are vegan diets – but one will provide you with vastly more fuel and benefit to your system than the other.) It is always amusing listening to a vegan aggressively espouse the benefits of how healthy their vegan eating is – and then watch them shove all sorts of Frankenstein (man made) foods down their gullet.

So in a nutshell – eggs, fish, vegetables, meat, nuts and some fruits - or closely related in some way to these categories are what we can all safely assume are ‘natural’ at least in the regard that they were here thousands of years ago alongside of us to consume. So this is the starting point in terms of thinking. Then once you have identified the fuel source in question – ask yourself, ‘how much processing or altering has this fuel source had?’ For example lets take a chicken thigh – and for a true optimal situation lets say that it is a biodynamic, pasture raised/meat-fed, free range chook. What do you think is a better state for this fuel to be consumed – grilling it with some lemon and herbs and chucking it in with or next to a green leafy salad mixture (with some high quality extra virgin olive oil), or crumbing it and deep-frying, and having that with the green salad? One is certainly much closer to its natural state. I’m sure you know the answer to the question – however on paper they are both organic chicken with salad, and a similar calorie make up.

So the first key principle – natural foods – here 10,000 years ago.

The 2^nd and related principle – close to its natural state – or with minimal processing.

Common Frankenstein foods that certainly were not here very long ago that make up a large part of the everyday fuelling plan for most people – local sports people included – are breakfast cereal, fruit juices, various forms of pasta, bread (white, whole grain, rye – it makes NO DIFFERENCE to this particular discussion point – they are man made), baked goods and anything with flour, and virtually everything in a packet (often marketed and positioned as a healthy choice – or ‘nutrient packed.’) And this list is just the ‘food’ that is generally considered healthy by people – and parents alike. This doesn’t even include all the garbage that everyone knows is garbage (like packets of chips, and soft drink, fast foods and sugary items.) These are the things that the less you are consuming, the better off you are. Yeh they are cheap (for a reason), and quick and easy to prepare. But these are the only benefits to be gained from consuming them. In other words, there is no benefit to be derived from them as far as your body is consumed. In fact, you will actively withdraw nutrients (from bones, muscle, connective tissue, etc) from your body to help it in digesting these franken-foods. This is because over 70% of the nutrients you take in in any given meal, are used up in the digestive process. This is ok if you are taking in a high-nutrient fuel source. But if you are consuming a bowl of pasta – which nutritionally speaking is giving you ‘3/5^th’s of f***-all’, you will actually have a net loss of nutrients within your body, simply to digest and eliminate the rubbish. That is before we even consider the negative hormonal response that this will result in (which we covered when looking at sleep.)

“Low quality carbohydrates are a drain on your nutrient reserves. Zinc, manganese, magnesium, thiamine are a few of the nutrients that take a beating from poor quality carbohydrate sources.”

Charles Poliquin

So these are the 2 primary categories when considering things for your own individual specific approach. The good stuff, and the garbage. Then there a 3^rd category of fuel-stuffs that are somewhere in the middle – and are part of this specific approach for you personally in terms of individualising. And that is dairy. There is a large number of the population that is dairy intolerant (most don’t even realise it.) This is particularly worrying given that the majority of protein shakes being consumed by guys out there come in the form of a pasteurized, highly processed and dried dairy product (whey.) But this topic of individual dairy intolerances is beyond the scope of this discussion. This is one area that is very individual-specific, and is therefore impossible to go into any more detail, as there are strong arguments on both sides. Just be aware of it, do your research, play around with and adjust your own approach, and listen to your body – take notice of what is and isn’t working here.

“You need to earn your carbs.”

Charles Poliquin

My take on Carbs

“Some people get lean on donuts and chocolate milk, true. They have skinfolds as thin as cellophane paper. However when you look at their blood work (blood profile) you wont be impressed.”

Charles Poliquin

Certified organic/free range/biodynamic

This is still a controversial topic amongst some people – debating the extra benefit of organic produce, free range animals that have been fed their natural diets and lived natural(ish) and free(ish) existences until their unfortunate end for our benefit, with no use of drugs and chemicals and sprays and other negative approaches to modern agriculture. It shouldn’t be controversial – the benefit is crystal clear! Not only to us, but to the environment and its inhabitants as a whole! Also when you read or listen to the thoughts of world leaders in the athletic conditioning field, whether it be Charles Poliquin, Paul Chek, Darren Burgess, whoever - it doesn’t take too long before you identify this as a common thread amongst them ALL! We aren’t going to cover this in any more detail, but have included some great links here, for anyone interested in reading more.

In a nutshell, where possible (location, affordability, season/time of the year) consume organically farmed (or wild) products, that have been raised humanely – in fields eating their natural diet, with no sprays or chemicals, no drugs or antibiotics, and that have been certified by an appropriate body (just because something says it is organic, doesn’t mean that it is!) That goes for meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts – the whole lot.

Hydration & Water

I wont bore you with this, as again this has been done to death – and everyone knows this common sense. Staying hydrated is vital. BUT a few key points;

• Only water counts (juice, powerade, iced tea…..NO!!! WATER!!! Only water contributes to the hydration requirement.)

• You don’t need to feel thirsty to be dehydrated. By the time you feel thirst, you are at a later stage of dehydration within your cells – the dehydration started long before the thirst kicked in – so stay on top of it.

• A good little trick is to add a pinch of celtic sea salt or Himalayan rock salt to every bottle of water you drink. Not only will this aid in your electrolyte replacement, but it will also lead to a greater absorption of the water into your cells in your body. Don’t believe me – try it for a few weeks, take notice of your trips to the toilet. Then stop doing it – and see how much extra you have to run to the toilet!

• Once again – stick to water if hydration is your aim. Don’t drink pointless calories in the form of glorified sugar water (powerade, Gatorade, fruit juice.)

If you are interested in learning some more on hydration, the politics associated with the marketing of sports drinks (and how ludicrously pointless they are), as well as a fascinating topic on the risks of over-hydration, look up a guy by the name of Tim Noakes. He is also a great name to look up for information on fat adaption in athletes (rather than carbohydrates) and the politics of the food guidelines that we are still ‘fed.’ If reading isn’t your thing, look up both videos on Youtube, as well as interviews and podcasts on your mobile device – there are plenty of high-quality ones with Tim.

Alcohol

I wont dwell on this – as it is probably a little irrelevant what I say here in regards to alcohol, some players will choose to listen and others wont. Suffice to say that it inhibits performance and recovery – and every little bit has an impact. The approach here is as simple as - limit it to as little as possible – and the more you drink and the more often you drink, the worse off you are physically with your athletic development and performance. It is a pretty linear association. Enough said.

“Alcohol increases the conversion of testosterone into estrogen and perhaps this is why many guys get overly emotional after several drinks. Even worse is beer which is loaded with hops which is highly estrogenic. Maybe this is why so many beer drinkers have bitch tits and look six months pregnant.”

Charles Poliquin
8 Highly Effective Testosterone Boosting Tips

Pre & Post-Training Fueling

Pre-Training

In terms of pre-training fuelling it really comes down to personal preference. Some people prefer eating within an hour of training, others prefer starting training having not eaten for a few. The most important thing however is that the rest of the eating around the session is good. In other words, provided your intake throughout the rest of the day (if you train in the evening) is quality and consistent, then there are no specific guidelines you need to follow. It is just a case of what works best for you. If you train first thing in the morning, again it is up to you if you prefer to get in some nuts and eggs prior to training, or if you choose to do it without eating, then it will become even more essential to consume a post-training shake, closely followed by some real food (again those eggs and nuts.) Additionally, if you are training early morning, and haven’t eaten since the evening before, this is one situation where a during-workout supplement may prove beneficial, but provided you are eating correctly immediately post-training – and then throughout the rest of the day, this isn’t absolutely essential.

Post-Training

Post-training is more important – and we will cover the post-workout supplement in a later article – probably the next one. But in terms of eating – it is important to get a steady flow of easily absorbable protein and fat not only after training followed by more of the high quality food you are already eating – eggs, fish, avocado, nuts, chicken, etc. In other words, this isn’t just a case of eating a certain way post training, but rather maintaining the same habits over the course of the whole day – and just continuing them after training. There is a common pattern here. The only specific adaption or change is the post-training supplement.

Many guys out there have this mistaken belief that in the post training window, you can eat whatever you want – as its in that window where more insulin sensitive, and ‘it will all help get nutrients to the muscle.’ However this is a fallacy – one that persists due to the enjoyment of what this fallacy allows you to do. This is almost the young male equivalent of the middle-aged woman looking to lose weight and ‘rewarding’ herself for her one workout for the month with some chocolate. Again, this is often the approach for someone who is training purely for muscle gain and size, with scant regard for both health and high athletic performance. But if these last 2 are more the focus (as I am guessing they are if you are reading this) the quality of the post training carbohydrate is still important (but yes this immediate post-training window is slightly more lenient in this regard – provided the fat intake and protein intake is of a high quality.)

Review

There will likely be some people who read this expecting specific ‘eating plans’ and specific direction with grams of this and that, or macro-nutrient ratio’s and the like – but like we have said, there are a couple reasons why this isn’t the case in this discussion;

1. Such an approach would be impossible, at it is beyond the scope of this article – or any truthful discussion on the topic - due to the differences in make up.
2. Also the fact that this overcomplicates something that need not be complicated. And isn’t complicated with a common sense, no nonsense look at the issue.

The specifics and tweaks will change from person to person – but the basic principles that you should be looking at (and that we covered) will not. Follow this, natural, minimally processed, organic if possible, maintaining hydration and minimizing alcohol, and you are already 80% there MINIMUM – provided done correctly and consistently. The icing on the cake with tweaks and adjustments here and there, as well as supplements, can then be put on top after this.

For some, dropping or minimizing bread and pasta and burgers and chips etc will already be a big jump. (And please remember, its irrelevant if it is in ‘the post training window.’) But as with the discussion we had on sleep, and the changes that can be implemented to improve, it is simply a case of 1 step at a time, or 1 thing/1 change at a time (pick 1 new thing every week and focus on maintaining that).

Another potential mine-field will be covered next as we have a look at supplements.

Stay tuned.