Healthy “Rules” for Grownups

Even us health and fitness professionals and professional athletes get in some bad habits every now and then and have to make efforts to get back into the healthy swing of things. I seem to have been reminded of this quite a lot lately…

Usually after a fight a give myself one week to do whatever I like (I call this my week of sloth) and then I get back to the grind of healthy eating and regular workouts. But… sometimes I get a little of track. These past few weeks I have been sidelined with post fight sloth (but really that’s not excuse cause my fight was over a month ago), a trip to Vegas (which is not an excuse either, just a mini vacation where I accepted the consequences of my destination) and then a massive head cold which I blame on the Vegas smoke and a/c… Anyway, regardless of the cause let’s just say I have been eating too much ice cream and chips & salsa and skipping too many workouts for my standards. 

So to help me get back on track I am asking that anyone who is interested join me in instating a set of healthy rules for grown ups.

I’m calling these the “SCHOOL NIGHTS RULES”. Remember when you were in school and your parents made up rules like “no staying up past 10pm” on school nights, or “no TV” on school nights, or “no candy” on school nights. Regardless of how strict your parents where they probably had at least one rule for you on nights you had to be up the next day to focus on learning. Well how is your work any different or less important now? If anything I would think you would want to be more even functional now when your focus at work determines the success of you career and feeding your family.

There is no question that what we put in our bodies affects our brains. Having stable blood sugar and proper nutrients to fuel our minds is of optimum importance. However I realize that for many people rigidly strict food guidelines are not realistic. (If they are and you are not going insane, my hat goes off to you and you can pat yourself on the back for your extreme willpower and focus). For the rest of you here is an easy way to stay on track:

I ask you all to join me for the duration of this month, and hopefully the rest of your life in this simple (yet not easy) endeavor:

SCHOOL DAYS RULES FOR GROWNUPS:

(School Days are defined as any day you work, if you work less that 5 days a week, pick 5 days you consider productive days, if you work more than 5 days a week, pick 5 that you consider your most busy days).

1. No Sugar on School Nights/Days - This means any added cane sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, sugar alcohols, etc - you may however have a small treat with 5 grams or less of sugar, for example a small serving of dark chocolate). I would also include processed grains like white flour and white rice in here, but I don’t eat them, so if you do it’s advisable you stay clear of them for best results.

2. No Alcohol on School Nights (and days too, but that goes without saying) - This needs no definition, everything counts… yes red wine counts too.

3. Eat as healthy as you can all 5 school days/nights. For me that means eating 3 balanced meals and 2 snacks that are in accordance with my metabolic type diet.* But if you aren’t a nutritional client of mine, this can mean just eat good, fresh, whole foods and trying to cook at home most days (and passing on the desserts and sweets).

4. Develop a plan for your workouts and stick to it the best you can. Not everyday is a prefect day in the gym and sometime I fall short of my plans, but I always HAVE a plan and have a workout scheduled in my calendar.

5. Don’t go insane on the weekends. Have a couple treats, maybe splurge on those nachos and have a couple margaritas with friends. Treat yourself to a sundae etc… but keep it simple, don’t undo all your progress of the week.

That’s it… Really. Join me on this challenge and keep me posted on you results. We will motivate each other in health.

*If you are interested in learning more about your metabolic type and what foods and food ratios are best for you by doing some nutrition consults with me please email me. I am currently accepting all distance clients anywhere in the world! I look forward to working with you:)

P.S. Extra credit if you are in bed by 10pm, which is the optimal time to get to sleep by.

7 September 2010 ·