Before my husband and I were even married, there was one characteristic (of many, of course) that particularly attracted me to my then boyfriend. He was physically fit, cared about what he ate, although not in an obsessive, crazy sort of way, and had long been a proponent of both. I loved to run, bike, and do aerobics, and although I wasn’t a dietitian then, I did value the importance of a healthy diet. Sort of a match made in heaven, right?
Fast forward through what in October 2010 will be 20 years of married life, and he maintains the status quo. Although I would say he’s taken it up a notch. Before we were married, and during the early years of our married life he ran, biked, and worked out at the health club – like lots of people. But this Saturday he will compete in his 8th triathalon, the Evergreen Lake Triathlon in Normal, IL; which is not like lots of people!
Although I’m a personal trainer and run my own private personal training and fitness studio, I don’t train my husband; but I am in charge of feeding him – my other professional specialty! How do I keep him fueled, healthy, and ready to compete? Two words; real food. And plenty of it.
With the exception of the GU and electrolyte drink he uses on the bike, I don’t feed him special supplemental foods, protein drinks, or gimmicky sport specific items. I cook and we eat foods that most everyone has in their pantry. The exception that I take with our food is that I go for “nutrient-density” for the calorie buck. In other words, empty calorie foods don’t really make either one of us feel very good (and who needs that?), but it’s not to say we’re living on sprouts and water, for heaven’s sake.
I prepare whole wheat pasta, a variety of rices, from brown to jasmine to basmati to wild, high fiber, low sugar cereals – with a strong leaning toward oatmeal (not flavored and not in a packet), high fiber, whole wheat breads, English muffins and pita, heart healthy spreads and oils, organic non-fat milk, yogurt, and kefir, dried beans of all sorts, from black to garbanzo to butter, and lentils of red and brown, salmon, shrimp, and scallops, tofu, tempeh, and eggs, a wide variety of nuts, and a steady intake of 70% dark chocolate. Not to mention that there is near panic when our enormous fresh fruit bowl is close to empty and the veggie bins in the fridge are looking lonely – there’s fruit and/or a vegetable at every meal.
I love to bake, and my repertoire consists of whole grain fruit and nut cookies and fruit-based desserts like crumbles, crisps and cobblers. See, that doesn’t sound like punishment does it?
One final note; no one eats a perfect diet, not even in the home of a dietitian! But making healthy, nutritious food a priority, eating to fuel your life and your sport, and home-cooked vs. restaurant food helps balance out those occasional trips for a summer after-dinner ice cream. . .DQ anyone?