Mangia! Eat. Just eat.

Today's post:  the letter "E", is a simple manifesto on Eating.

I receive about one text per day from a client asking "Should I give up X (type-of-food)?"  When that food is deep-fried oreos, I usually say yes...otherwise, this is what I tell them:

Don’t starve.  Don’t skip.  Eat…but eat the right foods, (in the appropriate portion sizes), eat the ones that will keep you full, eat the ones that balance your hormones, eat the ones that fuel your muscle, eat the ones that keep you lean. 

Eat real food – meat, poultry, eggs, fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, fruit, healthy oils, and organic dairy.  Eat foods with very few ingredients, grown on a tree, or in the ground.  (Eat organic when possible).  Eat whole grains like quinoa or brown rice on days after a tough workout.

Stay away from sugar, fake foods, engineered foods, and foods with ingredients that you cannot pronounce or that have to be produced in a lab.

It is that easy.  Just eat food, real food and tutto finisce a tarallucci e vino... Everything ends with biscuits and wine, which translates to, roughly, everything will be just fine.

Kale salad courtesy of Blue Door Farmstand on Armitage

Kale salad courtesy of Blue Door Farmstand on Armitage

Make it Dynamic

D is for Dynamic Flexibility

Dynamic stretching is the preferred way to warm up your muscles, and prepare the body for the demands of your workout, or sport.  It will improve your range of motion, improve your body awareness and a dynamic warm up has even been found to increase performance and decrease injury.

Here are a few movements to warm up all the major muscle groups:

Frankenstein monster toe touches-kick your leg straight in front of you, touch your toe

Knee Hugs-bring your leg up in front of you with a bent knee, hug your knee to your chest

Side to side lunges-start with your feet together and lunge side to side

Step front lunge with upper spine reach-step to the front and reach your arms overhead and arch your sternum up and back

Arm swings front and back-swing your arms in front of your chest, palms down, then swing back, palms up

Arm swings with torso rotation-let your arms hang at your side and rotate your shoulders side to side

Prone scorpion with toe touches- lie face down with arms out like a “T”, rotate hips and try to touch one toe to the opposite side

Note:  Always stay within your comfortable range of motion.

After your dynamic warm up...you can do anything!

After your dynamic warm up...you can do anything!

Recent studies have shown that static stretching (holding a stretch for an extended period of time) actually decreases strength and performance…so save those for the end of your workout!

BRILLIANT.  EASY.  BESPOKE.