How to eat to survive and to thrive

How to eat to survive and to thrive

Vicky Mirceta of Titan Coaching in the gym

 

Food IS your Foundation
Read on to find out more from our guest author Vicky Mirceta of Titan Coaching

So we all know that food is needed to survive right? But what about how what we eat affects OTHER human requirements… ? Humans don’t want to just ‘survive’ - We want to LIVE, have fun, do things that spark our interests.


But in the same regard, we need to sustain a ‘healthy’ lifestyle in order TO survive… So you see how the aspects are linked?

As part of a healthy lifestyle comes exercise. Yes that’s right. We always hear doctors, nurses and the media tout the importance of “daily exercise,” hence why, even in the COVID lockdown 1st, 2nd (and 73rd 🤣) we were all still allowed to go outside and have a walk ‘for exercise.’

SO – how does nutrition play a part in making sure we have a healthy intake in order to maximise our survival rates, as well as feel good, perform well in the gym (daily exercise is demanding) aaaaand... look good naked? ... Come on – you’re all thinking it ! 🤣 Sometimes we can’t be bothered worrying about performing well or increasing our vertical jump etc – but we ARE however always thinking about achieving muscle gains, visible abs and ultimately improving our appeal to the opposite sex – that in itself is the ultimate factor in the survival of the human population ! 😉

Putting it in easy-to-follow guidelines – Food can be fuel... It is the source of your energy:

• No food, no energy
• No energy, no exercise
• No exercise, increased likelihood of not looking good naked
• Increased likelihood of not looking good naked leads to having a ‘sad’
• Having a ‘sad’ leads to cookies, ice cream and comfort food
• Leads to poor mental health and self-loathing
• Leads to restriction and food abstinence because of the guilt from the ice cream and the 4 packs of Mars-stuffed cookies

Does this big circle sound familiar? It happens to all of us.

So to stop the circle from going around and around…. And around…..again…. START with actually looking at the food that you are consuming. SEE and LEARN what it comprises and how your body responds to it.

The easiest thing to start off with is your protein intake – the majority of people these days have WAY too little protein, yet it’s the MOST satiating macronutrient out there due to a higher thermogenic effect (Science here ???????!!!!!!)

Examples of proteins:

• Chicken
• Beef
• Salmon
• White fish
• Whole eggs and egg whites
• Pork
• Protein powder (whey)
• Dairy
• Tofu
• Seitan
• To name but a few…..

NEXT! The power house of energy and what makes all meals complete – Carbohydrates…. You want to look good naked? Starts with protein – Now add in some carbs:

• Potato
• Rice
• Quinoa
• Couscous
• Cereals
• Pasta
• Breads (bagels are life)
**** Yes bread is not the devil
• Fruits! Jams! Honey! (to ladle on non-evil bread!!)

And finally the hormone drive of peace…. FATS !

Add some butter to your taytoes, fry up your eggies in coconut oil, put cheese on the pasta and feta on your salmon….

Of course as we are busy – food prep can be hard work and time-consuming – Precision Prep has come to the rescue! ALL these macronutrients are in perfect balance and derive plentiful amounts of energy in order to coincide with your goals, whether you want to achieve muscle gain, strength improvement, fat loss, power development or again; just looking good naked…



Personal Fave to improve my own athletic endeavours is the Smokey Chipotle Chicken:

• The charred corn and paprika sweet potatoes set off the protein perfectly in a delectable combination to refuel my glycogen stores post-training and tantilise the taste buds of a budding athlete ! 😉


See Vicky's favourite here

 

I hope this gave you a solid overview of the components needed to achieve your goals.

My next article will give you more IN DEPTH knowledge bombs on nutritional choice; how your intake matches your performance.

Until next time! Much loves,

Vicky Mirceta, RGN
Sports Performance Nutritionist
Titan Coaching/