by STEFAN, BAppSci, IBLS-AIS, CSCS

There are a lot of uncertainties out there when it comes to fitness or at least that's what we've been told. One thing that is certain is that without the right diet your efforts will be shortchanged. How can you accomplish your goals in the gym when you haven't the energy to get up in the morning? How can you find the energy to train and train progressively when your squandering all you have to stay awake at work or in class? It's obviously a tough affair.
We've been told in physics class that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. What does this mean and how do we apply this information so that we too have boundless energy?

What some of us fail to realize is that the energy required for us to go for a run or even build muscle for that matter, doesn't come out of thin air. It comes from within. It comes from the food we eat in combination with water and air. While water and air do not give us energy directly, they are very much involved in the production of energy.

As we know or should know, food was not created equal. The type of food eaten has a direct affect on our energy levels, our body shape and even our self perceptions. The best and cleanest of all food sources is undoubtedly fruits and vegetables. And by cleanest I don't mean free of dirt, I mean free of toxic by products that other foods contain such as deadly nitrates, sodium and saturated fats.

Do you know that the end product of carbohydrate breakdown is? It's carbon dioxide and water. Ask the pro-protein people what the end product of protein metabolism is and most likely they won't know or won't tell you. I think they believe what you don't know won't hurt you. How ironic because that's exactly what too much protein will do: hurt you.

Keep in mind folks, grains, fruits and vegetables are not at the top of the food pyramid by chance. Years of research and analysis and millions of dollars have been spent to reach this conclusion so please take advantage of it. That's because grains, fruits and vegetables are made up of the body's most preferred food called carbohydrate and anyone preaching otherwise won't live long enough to see how wrong they really were.

Not only are they made up of our body's favorite energy source, they're also jam packed with essential nutrients. In fact contrary to popular belief, by diversifying your choices of fruits and vegetables you can get most, if not all your nutrients. You'll be surprised at the amino acid similarity of beef and spinach. So Popeye was right after all.

And if that's not enough reasons to eat more fruits and vegetables, I'll give you another. They provide you with life giving water. Something that we hear an awful lot about yet many do nothing about it. Water aids the body in burning fat, helps our energy levels, improves immunity and numerous other benefits. But nothing will happen until you knowing put a plan in action to support your lifestyle.

But excuses aside, it's your nutrition that has to improve before you do. Your body is built for performance much like a formula one car. Some of you might say, "Hold on Stefan, look at me. My body wasn't built for performance. I'll be lucky to get into a kart, let alone race one."

While it's very fashionable to play the genetics and metabolism cards, I believe that everyone came into this world as equals with potential to become champions. (A champion is someone that does the fundamentals many times over and commits to better himself in the process.) According to doctors, the number of people suffering from endocrine and glandular disorders is roughly one in a thousand. Yet the excuse 'my metabolism is slow' is most always heard. What happened in the following years, has nothing to do with your metabolism but everything to do with your choices in nutrition and level of activity. And your level of activity as we've just learnt is also dependent on nutrition.

So you see how important proper nutrition really is? Without a few key nutrients, your body has a hard time functioning properly. For example, a deficiency in B vitamins almost always leads to energy decreases simply because these vitamins are essential for the metabolism (breakdown) of carbohydrates. An iron deficiency usually leads to low energy levels because of its importance in carrying oxygen to cells. And for all you muscle-guys out there, a deficiency in zinc hinders the production of testosterone. In fact recent studies have shown that supplementing with zinc, magnesium and B6 vitamin has been shown to increase strength and muscle gain even in highly trained people. So before surrendering your personal power or authentic power and reach for supplementing with steroids, look for other alternatives. Make sure your diet is right first and aim to improve it, it's really not that hard.

Getting back to the race car analogy, if you put unleaded petrol in it the car will run but hardly at it's best. Substituting unleaded petrol with aviation fuel or high octane will make a hell of a difference. Same thing with you and your body. What you put in is what you'll most definitely get out. Put fat in and fat will come out. Just as in formula one, controlled scientific experiments have been performed on humans to see which fuel allows for best performance. This always comes out to be carbohydrate.
Sure it's not cool enough but hei ,...It works!
So when exercising, don't forget to exercise your right to obtaining high performance fuel for your body so that you not only look forward to your workout but POWER through it.

steFUN
editor healthfitness.com.au