Super Charge Your Fitness Journey

A lot goes into the fitness lifestyle. The beginners experience the shock from days of soreness, and the importance of program designing, et cetera. For the well-rehearsed community, creative ways to continue to make gains. Ironically, most fitness junkies like myself know many details about health and fitness and still fail at one beneficial detail (nutrition). We all know someone, if not ourselves, who attempted the diet fab. You heard it right, fab and some of us have gotten results even though those results are short-lived. Though many try to play devil’s advocate, most would admit health through nutrition is vital.

Mayo Clinic Proceedings published a study stating less than 3% of Americans met the baseline criteria for a “healthy lifestyle”. They based (a healthy lifestyle) on one meeting the following: moderate to heavy exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, a diet score in the top 40% on the (Healthy Eating Index), a body fat percentage under 20% for males and under 30% for females and nonsmoking.

The (Healthy Eating Index) is a fairly complex system that measures diet quality, independent of quantity, which can be used at various levels of the food stream. Including but not limited to; the national food supply, the community food environment, and food intake among the population ( source: Elsevier at sciencedaily.com). Before doing my research for this post, I never heard of the healthy eating index. Though that is not the purpose of this post, merely to highlight, the percentage of Americans even within the fitness world that do not give nutrition its respect.

You’ve guessed it, the simplest way to supercharge your fitness journey is through food, which could equal a lifestyle change. I’m not a fan of diet fabs or substituting food for supplements. Don’t get me wrong some supplements are beneficial, especially protein shakes when life is on the go. I recommend speaking with a certified nutritionist to understand what’s best for your body type and lifestyle.

We know there are many diet options out there whether for fitness or other reasons. Keep in mind, that some of the diets can put you at risk of being deficient in certain vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. The point is not to praise any diet over the other, but to prevent injuries and promote a healthy lifestyle!

Live life free and stay fit!

J’Nathan Bullock CSCS