How to eat yourself fit

Eating well can mean the difference between building fitness and just plain exercising. Photo by Pte Shannon Joyce, Army newspaper

Getting fit takes more than just exercise, but it isn’t rocket science. Josh Dickinson explains how food and fitness work together.

Today’s Defence members need to be both physically and mentally ready for active service, but many simply leave themselves vulnerable with an ineffective approach to personal fitness and wellbeing.

At the gym, I see all types embarking on the fitness lifestyle, but they can basically be broken down to two groups – those who are there because they want to be, and those who are there because they have to be. But no matter what your reason for being there, you can get more out of your effort if you know how.

Nutrition is the key

When it comes to fitness, it doesn’t matter how hard you work or what you accomplish in a given session, if you don’t follow up that effort with a sound nutritional approach. Otherwise you’re short-changing yourself on meaningful results.

Current lifestyle habits dictate three square meals a day, plus the occasional snack. But the only thing this type of eating will achieve is obesity and poor fitness.

It is now commonly accepted in the sports science and medical fields that people involved in regular physical activity need to eat more often to capitalise on increases in muscle mass, increases in physical fitness and reductions in body fat.

How important is nutrition?

Think about this – you turn up to PT at 7am, the PTIs hammer you with a gruelling session and it’s all over by 8am. Now what? If you wait until mornos for cakes and sandwiches, you’ve gone two hours with no nutrition.
Food is what gives us the energy for play and the building blocks for recovery. If you’re not eating right, you can almost guarantee that the effort you exert during PT will be in vain. How can you expect to get fitter, stronger and to be healthier if you’re not feeding your body when it needs food the most?

What food?

There are typically four macronutrients that provide our bodies with energy. They are protein, carbohydrates, fats and alcohol. Each is different in its role and the amount of energy it offers.

Now, I could bore you with all the details on the different macronutrients and their roles within the body, but instead, I’ll just give you the “quick fix” method to fast-track results from all the effort you put in during PT.

Sports nutrition

Recent advancements in sports nutrition have been phenomenal. You can get high-performance sports food products that actually taste great, are convenient and work. Some varieties come in individual serves for added convenience.
Eat a well-balanced meal or drink a high-performance meal replacement as soon as you have finished that tough PT session and you have instantly satisfied your body’s need for nutrients. You have now provided your body with all the building blocks for recovery and growth, replenished depleted energy stores and provided essential nutrients specifically used for recovery. You can now kick back, knowing that the most important meal of the day has just been consumed.

Keep it up

Your efforts over time, combined with good eating, will ensure the achievement of your health and fitness goals.
As a fitness professional and former soldier, it disappoints me to see so many people struggle through PT, not because they are not trying enough, but simply because they are failing to follow it up with a good nutritional program.
Just as it is important to have a good fitness training program, place more emphasis on a good nutritional plan and you will be fighting fit in no time.