Thursday, November 28, 2013

Sunday, November 24, 2013

What are you missing?

     Often, when it comes to workouts and performance, people flock to the supplements and protein powders as the best way to increase their performance.  If they look to nutrition the main focus is what types of food to eat and when.  One of the most overlooked and undervalued things you should be considering is much simpler than any of the above.

I'm talking about Water!

     The planet that we live on is made up of 70% water.  The human body is about 70% water.  This being said, water should be a big focus for anyone who is trying to change their body composition.

     Your body is a machine.  In order to work properly your body needs to be sufficiently hydrated.  Every day as you live you are losing water very quickly.  You lose water through breathing, perspiration, and elimination.  That water needs to be replaced.


                       Interesting Experiment:  To see how much water you lose through perspiration tie a plastic bag around your 
                                                               hand (don't go too tight here, we are not trying to cut off your hand, lol!)  Leave it on
                                                               there and in a matter of minutes you'll see the moisture begin to bead up on the bag. 
                                                               This is just a really interesting thing to try! 


     When your body loses water, it cannot perform bodily functions correctly.  This includes the regeneration of muscle fiber.  Adequate water will allow the proper elimination of toxins and promote healing, you MUST be completely hydrated.

     Years ago a theory was developed that when you feel thirsty, you need water.  The truth is that by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated.  If you rely on the thirst feeling you will alway be in need of water.  Believe it or not, as we age, our body gets worse at telling us we need water!

     In order to keep adequately hydrated you must force yourself to regularly drink water.  The easiest way is to make sure you always have a bottle on you that can be refilled.  In particular I like the Brita Bottle with a filter.  This way you can fill it when you need to and always have good water.

     Drinking water can go a long way, but another way to make sure you are hydrated is to incorporate foods that are mostly water into your diet.  In particular, fruits and vegetables.   These things are a great source of natural waters that will help to keep you properly hydrated.  The easiest thing you can do is add a salad to your lunches and dinners.

     If you want more information on how important water is check out F. Batmanghelidj's book Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're not sick, you're thirsty!  It is an interesting book that really highlights the benefits of keeping yourself hydrated.  I think some of the ideas are a stretch, but the value of the overall information is worth it. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Are You Listening To Your Body?


Especially if you are new to working out, it's important to make sure you are listening to your body.  At first there are so many changes going on in your system, you won't notice anything about the body's signals.  However, after you perform consistently for a period of time, you will begin to notice things. This is where your power of observation will be sharpened.

People who have spent the majority of their life overweight are not in the habit of listening to their body.  Over time many different signals have combined.  For the most part people who are habitually overweight have confused what these signals mean.  As you begin to exercise on a regular basis you will notice that the signals are not what you thought.

This is where you need to re-learn your body.  Take the time to experiment and begin to see how your body responds so that you can better work to increase your health.

For example, after working out for a while, you will likely experience the feelings of fatigue and tiredness.  Unfortunately, many people will stop working out and when they begin to feel better, they will stop working out because they like how they feel now.  This is a mis-reading of your body's signals!  What's happening is that your body is finally beginning to process everything as it should.  Because of this, your body is increasing the signals for what it needs.  You are just used to reading hunger, tiredness, and fatigue.  Your natural inclination would be to say, I'm tired so I'll sleep.

I suggest you begin to experiment with different things to figure out what your body is needing.  In our fatigue and tiredness example the body could be asking for several things.  First, it could need more water.  In order for the body's processes to work correctly and efficiently, you need to have a lot of water in your system.  If you get dehydrated, your body may signal that you need to slow down because the processes are getting slowed down and it responds as if you are over doing it.  Make sure you are drinking adequate water and avoiding excess salt and drinks that act as a diuretic.  If you are staying adequately hydrated and you are still experiencing the fatigue and tiredness, then you should look to your nutrition.  Are you eating right.  What is "right" anyway?  This is a very good question, and really beyond the scope of this blog, but in general make sure you are eating whole foods that are not just meat.  When in doubt, vegetables and fruits are a good place to be.  Concentrated foods like processed foods, meat, cheese, etc. are a drag on your system and can cause tiredness and fatigue as well.

Lastly, if these first two things are in place and you still are fatigued and tired, consider that you may actually need more sleep, or you may need to take a break.  It's perfectly normal for the body to need time to rest.  About every two months or so you should take a break for a few days, maybe a week.  If you haven't worked out a lot in the past you may need a break at the end of one month.  Try taking a day off of your normal schedule and then go back to your normal schedule.  If you are eating well and staying hydrated, you should have energy to spare.  If you are still dragging, your body is trying to tell you something.  Make sure to pay attention and make small adjustments that don't involve quitting exercising forever!