Sports Speed Training

I am a big fan of eating healthy. Sometimes I have to laugh and scratch my head when my philosophy of eating healthy is the minority thought process. Even my kids get picked on sometimes at school because they bring their healthy lunch to school. It is almost as if we are all expected to eat unhealthy and live less of a quality life than expected. You really have to wonder sometimes.

Well, I am not going to go off on a rant about how poorly our country eats and how our children are being set up to fail in life due to poor nutrition and health habits, but I am going to share some healthy tips that I live by.

Tip #1 Eat whole foods as much as possible

Everyone likes to have the snacks, the pizza, and treats, but it should be kept to a minimum for many reasons. Your body isn’t meant to eat that way and if you keep forcing it to deal with it eventually it will give in and stop fighting for you. So, the largest portion of your daily eating should come from whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, and various grains and beans. Foods like these are packed with important nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Now, some of you may not like to eat meat. No problem. I personally limit the amount of meat I consume and feel great because of it. Others feel meat is important for them. It is a choice and as long as it is good natural meat and not highly process, chemical-laced, and hormone-induced, you can enjoy it.

Tip #2 Shake it up

What I mean is make good healthy shakes. I am going to come out with a new program soon on how to use the blender to eat healthier. Each day I make a healthy shake that gives me energy and keeps me focused for hours. I use a green leafy vegetable (big handful), water, 1-2 bananas, 2 strawberries, and sometimes add a natural protein mix, and blend it up. It is so creamy and good. It gives me great nutrients and allows me to work on tasks for a couple hours without feeling overly hungry. This shake is a great post workout shake because it replaces sodium and potassium naturally unlike some of the sports drinks full of dyes, chemicals, and processed sugars.

Tip #3 Be like Elaine

That’s right, be like Elaine on Seinfeld. She always wanted the BIG SALAD! I try to have a big salad everyday. I mean big. I have lots of greens, and add little bits of other veggies as well. I use carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli, but not too much and not too many other veggies. The reason is I want the main food to be the green leafy vegetable to be my main source. Sometimes I will add natural organic black beans or chic peas for protein, but only a little. By eating a nice big salad everyday you are setting your body up for good health and energy.

Tip #4 Snack The Right Way

When you are hungry in between meals, eat a snack to keep you energy and focus up. The snack should be fruits/veggies, nuts, or small shakes. I am a big fruit eater so when I need a pick me up snack I usually eat apples, bananas, grapes, grapefruit, or some other kind. I also love walnuts, almonds, and various nuts. But I have to admit I am a big shake fan. I will make a smaller shake at times by blending various fruits and sometimes adding almond milk and maybe a little peanut butter to give a rich taste. I know mixing too much isn’t always the best but I try to stick with healthy foods to mix together.

Tip #5 Drink lots of H2O

I start every single morning regardless if I am traveling or at home with at least 16-20 ounces of water. I use a special green mix I put in my water (you don’t have to do this) but it makes me feel good right off in the morning. Especially when you consider you have gone all night without hydrating at all. Unfortunately, I don’t mean the water in coffee. Drinking water starts your digestive system working cleanly; it hydrates your cells and gets your brain feeling good. I have been taking the green mix I put in my drink for 10 years. It is a natural blend of grasses and it has done well for me for all those years.Well there you go. These are 5 easy to implement tips that will help you be healthier each day and hopefully make you feel much better. To your health!

Yours in Speed,

Lee

Do you remember the experiment that Pavlov did with his dogs? He wanted to see if he could change their response by ringing a bell to signify it was “food time” when in fact he didn’t share food all the time- just rang the bell. The dogs salivated every time the bell rang.

Let’s consider what marketers have done to us. When they show a rich desert or sinful snack on television, we respond by licking our chops and wanting that desert or snack- even though we know it is bad for us.

What if we, just like Pavlov, programmed ourselves to look at most deserts, snacks, and fast foods, for what they really are. Harmful toxic processed foods that are bad for our bodies. What if every time we saw these deserts we visualized a huge clogged up sewer system full of waste and smelly gases? It would hopefully change how you view foods that are unhealthy. I have personally done this too my brain. I have wired my brain so that when I think of fast foods, junk foods, and high processed foods I get an ugly picture of living an unhealthy life as well as a feeling of a stomach ache and sickness.

There is no replacing natural whole foods raised in nature, but there are times when many of us may have to find healthy supplements to add to our nutrition. I personally eat so many fruits and vegetable in a day that I probably get more than enough nutrients. But as a rule, I do like to take a few added supplements to increase my intake of quality nutrients. There are a ton of supplement companies out there. Some are good and some are not so good. One that I have personally followed for many years and have used their supplements is Energy First. It is a company that I have found to offer quality natural supplements. I use their protein powder to add to the fruit and vegetable smoothies I make daily. I also use their green drink. They have many other top quality supplements, and I would not hesitate to use them as well.

It is important to understand that supplements do not in any way replace a good diet. As a matter of fact I would probably advise not taking any supplements if your diet is really poor simply because you body won’t know how to use the supplement. Get your whole food diet in place then you can supplement with Energy First supplements.

You can use what ever company works for you, but I encourage you to check out Sunwarrior at www.sunwarrior.com and view their quality products and information.

Yours in Speed,

Lee – Athletes Speed Training Drills