Food for Thought
Before getting into any discussion about physical fitness, I want to address the most important aspect of maintaining an active lifestyle, which is the topic of nutrition. You cannot fuel a single workout effectively without eating well. Our bodies need carbs, unsaturated fats and protein to power us through our grueling days.
Eating well does not mean cycling through the trendy diets we’ve likely heard about ad nauseam. It is about ensuring the proper consumption of foods and beverages that our body needs to function at the highest level. Remember those food pyramids we were taught in school? Well they are still around, but depending on when you graduated, you will notice they have gone through some changes based on advances in public health and nutrition research. One example is the Harvard School of Public Health’s Healthy Eating Pyramid. It is worth noting that Harvard’s food pyramid depicts other elements of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, such as exercise and getting the proper daily regimen of vitamins, many of which can be obtained from eating well.
I mentioned in my first post that I had developed an eating disorder towards the end of high school and throughout the first few semesters of college. That was largely due to anxiety, but it gave me a lot of insight into how food is the catalyst for feeling good.
Nowadays, I would declare myself a foodie. I live to eat and eat to live. However, years of anxiety ultimately contributed to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which means that I have to be careful with what I eat so that I don’t get any nasty flare ups. So on top of following the fundamentals of a healthy eating habit, I focus on low acidic foods to help keep the GERD in check. I need to remember to approach this setback as a blessing in disguise, because it forces me to make critical nutritional decisions. I have cut out problematic foods that are triggering to my GERD, while also largely eliminating processed foods, which are known to agitate acid reflux. Maintaining a low acid intake and focusing on a high protein diet has been super beneficial for powering my workouts, helping me concentrate and increasing my mood.
In the beginning of my acid watching days, I kept a food log of what I ate on a daily basis so I would know the effects of what I was eating with regards to how it impacts my GERD symptoms. It was incredibly helpful. Now that I am doing intense training sessions on a regular schedule, I have returned to the process of logging meals with an added focus on ensuring that I am consuming ample amounts of protein, carbs and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. I also take daily vitamin supplements in the form of B12, D3 and Zinc carnosine. It is important to get regular blood work that shows whether you are vitamin sufficient. Please note that any advice or information I provide here and in other posts is not intended as personal medical advice. You should always seek the advice of a health provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.
I am concluding this post with an example of an ideal day of eating, featuring some of the meals I enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as some protein packed snacks.
Breakfast:
My go-to meal for breakfast is non-fat plain Greek yogurt with organic granola (I love the organic hemp and flaxseed granola from nuts.com), sliced mango and banana. I also enjoy high protein pancakes and two egg omelettes with yellow squash and salmon. Although coffee can be triggering to my GERD, I find that darker roasts tend to be less acidic and therefore, generally OK. I also like a nice refreshing cup of watermelon juice, which is quite easy to make and is full of electrolytes to jump start my morning.
Lunch:
I generally workout thirty minutes after lunch, so I make sure that I have a very balanced meal of protein, carbs and unsaturated fats. If I have not had any eggs for breakfast, lunch might consist of a veggie omelette. I am also very fond of a simple turkey sandwich with fresh mixed greens on organic oat bread. If I am in the mood to do some extensive cooking, I like a quinoa bowl with roasted root vegetables like carrots, beets and sweet potatoes.
Dinner:
My dinnertime protein consists of either chicken, fish or center-cut pork chops. I also always have a vegetable and carb on the side. My go-to fish are the ones highest in omega-3s, B12 and protein, which include trout, salmon, snapper and cod. I buy my fish each Sunday from the fishmonger at the farmer’s market.
Snacks:
Nuts! I am crazy for nuts, and will eat handfuls of them throughout the day. Peanuts, almonds and cashews are my favorites. I only eat raw nuts, no salt and not roasted. If I am feeling adventurous, I will make a little trail mix by combining the nuts with some dried cranberries, currants, dates and/or raisins.
Another snack I eat practically everyday is organic popcorn. I get the kernels from nuts.com and pop them over the stove using a little bit of avocado or olive oil. I season my popcorn with a pinch of salt, paprika, dried oregano and thyme.
I also have a sweet tooth and as an extra treat, I am sharing the recipe I use to make protein packed peanut butter cookies. These cookies are so good and easy to indulge in! Doing so will actually boost your protein intake, and they’re also lower in calories than most cookies.
Ingredients:
PB2 Peanut Butter Powder. I like the kind from nuts.com (ahem, nuts.com, please sponsor this Substack!). You will need to measure out separate 2/3 and 1/2 cups.
1/3 cup water.
1 egg or flax seed egg alternative.
1/2 cup of organic baking sweetener. You can use the sweetener of your choice, or whatever you have in your pantry already. I prefer sugar free monkfruit baking sweetener.
2 mashed bananas (optional).
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, combine 2/3 cup of PB2 with 1/3 cup of water and mix it so that it resembles a thick paste. Be sure to get all the lumps out.
Add your sweetener and mix the batter until it becomes smooth, thick and glossy.
Mix in the egg and the remaining 1/2 cup of peanut butter powder and mix well to avoid lumps. The batter should look like it did prior to the egg being added.
Spoon a circle of batter on the (a little less thick than a finger) parchment paper lined baking tray and bake for 12 - 15 minutes.
Let cool on a baking rack for 5 minutes. The cookies will appear a bit rubbery and soft, but they will eventually harden up, especially if/when placed in the refrigerator for about a half hour.