Don't Let Nutrition Punch You in the Face

“Everyone has a plan: until they get punched in the face.”- Mike Tyson

So, you’ve started on your nutrition journey. You’ve made a commitment to yourself to feed your body differently than you have in the past because you want different results. You have a feeding plan to fuel your body to obtain your goal. Awesome. Now what?

Maybe ­you have the tactics (the stuff to do) to help you accomplish your goal. But what is your strategy? How are you going to use the tactics i.e., “stuff” to get you where you want to be? Because on its face, it’s simple right? Eat your bodyweight in protein each day. Eat some carbs and fats to keep your energy tank full but not too full. Then drink ½ your body weight in water (liquids)and then drink 8 oz of additional water for each 15 minutes you sweat. Boom! Problem solved. Or is it?

What is your plan for when you are stressed out? When you get injured? When you are overwhelmed with joy? When you go out to dinner? Or get invited to a get-together with family or friends? What happens when your mind tells you it hates change and wants to go back to comfort?

That’s where strategy comes in. Strategy is having a plan. It’s knowing strengths and weakness and using them to your advantage. It’s being honest about your capabilities and what areas you need to work on. It’s the 10,000-foot view from above.

Too obtuse? Here’s an example. I track my calories and macro nutrients. My calculator and my body, for that matter, tell me I tend to underfeed during the day. I’m busy coaching, wifing, mothering, friending, etc. No matter the excuse or reason, by the time I get to dinner, I am about 800-1000 calories short of my daily goal and I am STARVING. When I get to that point, I don’t really care what I put in my body. I am just looking for something to satisfy my low energy level. This leads me to over-nourish. Meaning, I am so busy putting food in my body, that I by the time my stomach has time to catch up and send a full signal to my brain, on average, I am about 400 calories over my nutritional need.  400 calories by itself is no big deal. But, if I were to do this for a little more than a week, there’s a good chance I am going to gain a pound of unneeded weight.

So, what’s my strategy? I already have the tactics. I know exactly how much protein, carbs, fats, and calories I need to fuel my body, but how do I tackle this problem? It’s by identifying my weakness, which is not eating enough during the day. Not paying enough attention to my food intake during 6am-4pm. But now that I know where my pitfalls lie, I can develop a strategy to address it.

Bottomline is this, there are going to be bumps in the road. There are going to be obstacles. That’s just life. And life is meant to be lived, but not at the expense of health. So have a strategy. Have some tactics. Don’t let yourself get punched in the face by life and not have a plan on how to respond.

Stay Healthy Friends,

Coach Lisa

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