I have to admit it is probably a long time coming. But what the heck – here we go.
I like to eat ‘dirty foods’. Most weeks. Some days. But yep I like to eat junk.
I suppose it all stems from when I was a kid and my mum ran the tuck shop. A recipe for disaster. But for whatever excuse, I still dive on it knowing full well the consequences of surrendering to my sweet tooth.
Or when I was about 50lbs overweight and loved nothing more than pints on a Saturday AND Weds washed down with the odd chicken tikka masala at 3am after a game of rugby.
What are we talking here? McDonalds followed by a trip to KFC? Not really. But for a health professional we aren’t exactly talking trappist monk standards here either.
I have a thing for Green and Blacks Dark Chocolate – any chocolate really but I would actually choose this.
I also like those rice cakes with chocolate on. They are my kryptonite.
I would love to crush a donut. But they really hurt my gut. So I don’t.
Some days I drive to the gym with the intention of smashing it up.
Then drive right past feeling tired and battling myself into something light like a run or a long walk instead.
I find it really hard to sit still and do nothing. But I try because I know it will be good for me to calm the hell down and do nothing every once in a while.
It may be after a training session that I would tuck away a kg of sweet potato and a whole rice pudding by myself made with full fat coconut milk.
So why have I have entered the box and poured my soul out? (I am Church of England by the way..)
I am not sure. Perhaps it is because I am real. Not some clean eating freak who winces at the sight of a cake entering my vision. Or can’t eat carbs or (insert food item) through fear of immediate self-destruction.
The truth is this. I have control and a level of consciousness of my food and drink choices.
There is no guilt when that bar of chocolate disappears as fast as it took to unwrap.
There is no guilt when I say no to wrecking my body even further through training and choose some form of active recovery.
There is certainly no guilt when I tuck into a juicy burger with all the trimmings, to be hit with a wave of belt tightening discomfort immediately afterwards. It goes, pretty quickly if you were to stop worrying about it.
The point is nutrition can be used in a positive and negative way. I never preach 100%.
Why? 100% is great for about 10 days for the average person, only to be followed by a binge of some sorts on X, Y, Z, 3 days to get over it and then to labour casually on with cries of ‘this doesn’t work’.
The only folks who actually need this are stepping on stage in a bikini for a contest.
Why not shoot for 80% every day, 7 days of the week for the whole year? I know in this case there will be less stress and a damn sight better result.
Nutrition can be used as a tool too. Carbohydrates in the form of things like rice and sweet potato and the odd treat can be superb after training. They effectively become scooped up by your muscles who are crying out for it to be replaced.
Your tank has been emptied, time to refuel depending on how long and how intensely you have been training. My sweet tooth remains quiet until I have earnt it.
You can make conscious and informed choices with your food – both good and bad. The bigger picture is that you choose. You can choose to feel great with foods and drinks that nourish you all the time with the odd treat and make this a sustainable pattern.
Or succumb to peer pressure, loose eating patterns, lazy habits and an over fanatical addiction to clean eating.
Set your rules. Then stick to them.
And If you are clean eater 100% of the time you are full of sh*t.
John Lark is owner of Sphere Fitness. Check out his website http://spherefitness.ie or on facebook/spherefitness
