Creating a Personalized Nutrition & Hydration Plan for Optimum Speed & Endurance

Whether you completed my 14 Day Clean Eating Challenge to drop some body fat or to improve your strength to weight ratios as a racer, as you can see (and feel), the influence of food on your body is absolutely incredible!  [Note: if you would like a FREE copy of my 14 Day Clean Eating Challenge, please email me directly.

The key to eliminating negative symptoms (low energy, slow lap times and late moto fatigue) in the future is being aware of what you are consuming (solid foods and liquids), how much you are consuming, when you are consuming them and how your body responds to the food & liquid 15-20 minutes after eating.

Here is where I will inform you of the highly technical component of what you did to your body over the 14 day clean eating challenge: you have stabilized your blood sugar levels.  Think about it, you have consumed foods and fluids that don’t increase your blood sugar levels quickly (along with a burst of insulin) and as a result your body has become less dependent on simple sugars (this is also known as a low glycemic meal strategy).  It is that simple!

Notice that there wasn’t anything to purchase (unless you found that you weren’t consuming enough high quality fish or protein); instead the food recommendations were based on raw fruits & vegetables and clean sources of protein – real food that you can easily find at your local grocery store or farmers market.

To help you keep your momentum going, I want you to complete the following steps:

Step 1: Re-take your Symptom Survey & Create Your Customized Eating Plan
Compare your results between your two surveys, has any of your negative symptoms improved?  If so, you now realize that you have created an eating plan (NOT A DIET) that will directly reduce and eventually eliminate your frustrations or discomforts associated with food.  Compare your results of retaking your Symptom Survey and see which category you fall into:

Result #1: Your symptoms have decreased by 70% or Less

In this situation, you know that the food selection & quality is correct, you just need to continue with your current way of eating.

Keep in mind that your symptoms are a residual result of your eating & exercise habits over many years; though it will not require the same amount of time, you will need to stay consistent (with selection, consistency, quantity and quality) to replenish and rebalance your body with essential vitamins, minerals and protein to eliminate any deficiencies.

Solution #1: Don’t add any new foods to your meal plans other than what you have been eating over the last 14 days and complete the 14 day Clean Eating Challenge again.  If you are feeling “hungry” at any time, continue to add more volume when you snack or eat a complete meal along with food items that satisfy appetite effectively (avocadoes, lean protein sources, extra virgin olive oil)

Result #2: Your symptoms have decreased by 80-90%
In this situation, you have provided your body the calories (carbohydrates, protein & fat), along with vitamins & minerals it needed to address & eliminate your symptoms.

Solution #2: Take the food items & quantity that you have been consuming and continue to consume them like you were during the 14 day challenge.  If you want to add a new item, only add one (1) item per week and run it through your mental clarity & energy level assessment:

If your mental clarity & energy levels are good – keep the item in your weekly meals & snacks
If your mental clarity & energy are not good – drop the item from your weekly meals & snacks

Continue this process indefinitely until you are satisfied with the amount of items you have verified interacts with your body in a healthy and positive way.  Ironically, you may find that you have certain sensitivities that are outside the mainstream categories such as: carbohydrate intolerant, lactose intolerant, etc.

It has been my experience with clients over the years that the combinations of certain food items create negative symptoms, not a single item.  It is for this reason that you will want to add only one item at a time to your existing list of food items that you have verified don’t create the negative effects on your mental clarity and energy levels.  This is the foundation to your customized nutrition & hydration program!

Step #2: Re-Capture your Body Measurements
In my world, I live in a world of zero and ones – you are either making progress towards your goals or you are not.  If you are on track, we want to know what is contributing to this success: exercise, food, etc.  However, if you are not achieving your goals, we want to know what is causing the goals to not be achieved.  Notice that I don’t mention the word fail – you are not failing, you are simply not achieving your goals and we will determine what the cause is.  Your body measurements will help you see how your body is dropping body fat (adipose tissue) and building lean muscle by body part.  This information is invaluable because it provides you immediate feedback into how your body is adapting to both food (quality and quantity) & exercise (intensity, duration and frequency).  Set your calendar up to re-capture your body measurements every six (6) weeks so that you don’t let too much time get past you to determine if your nutrition and exercise efforts are producing the results you desire.

Step #3: Make clean shopping a priority
The same way that you initially went through and “purged your cabinets and refrigerator”, it is time to set your weekly personal calendar up so that you are going shopping for real food every three days.  It has been my experience with clients that the lack of time to purchase, clean, prep and pack fresh fruits, vegetables and lean protein sources is the number one reason why people default back to fast food, canned and packaged food items (all of which are loaded in sugar, salt and numerous unhealthy ingredients).  By shopping every third day, you will eliminate throwing away spoiled fruits; vegetables and protein along with ensure that you have plenty of high quality food readily available.

Step #4: Consume Real Food Smoothies
Throughout the 14 Day Clean Eating Challenge, one of the immediate sensations you will feel is that you are eating frequently (every 2 hours), but yet you are still hungry.  The reason for this is associated with the fact that fruits and vegetables contain very little (to no) protein and fat.  Ironically, protein and fat are the only two elements that satisfy your hunger levels.  To help satisfy & manage your appetite on a daily basis, mix up a simple smoothie recipe in the morning and make enough to fill up two to three more glasses so that you can consume them as your mid morning and mid afternoon snacks.  When you consume your calories in a liquid format, your body absorbs the vitamins, minerals and calories much quicker; because of this, you will notice an improvement in both your energy levels and mental clarity throughout your day.  Mix up and enjoy!

If you have any questions or need anything clarified, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email.

-Coach Robb