Know yourself

These two words are loaded with history and meaning, but to keep this reading short I won’t get into any of that. To start a training program or even to develop a new eating habit (dieting is restriction not habit), you must Know Yourself. Of course, you need to know your height, current weight, and the desired outcome of this new venture of movement, rest, and eating. But you also need to know so much more. How does your body react to certain chemicals and nutrients? Just knowing what food to eat can twist your mind in all different ways. 

Reading casual articles on diet can really get you confused, like the whole “eggs are bad for you...wait now they are good!!!! Fats are bad, do low fat….wait, fats are good, now carbs are the enemy.” I know from studying a little of this phenomenon that certain chemicals in food can cause different reactions in different people. One thing in eggs and red meat for example, Arachidonic acid, can help reduce inflammation in a bodybuilder or cause more inflammation in someone who has an inflammatory disease. 

So, my point isn’t to say eggs are good, or bad, or even what to avoid, or put in your body. What I am trying to do is send you on that age old quest to question yourself and how your body, mind and soul, react and engage with its surroundings. 

Stress, environment, and food all play a part in how you respond to life. There is no one size fits all approach, as everyone is so unique. There are some objective truths to our subjectivity. That’s where coaches, guides and doctors can help us. But still, they can only help you know parts about yourself, and they can’t tell you who you are.  So, if I were to help you on that path, as far as nutrition and exercise goes, I would say to start observing what you put into your body. No judgment, just tracking. 

I use an app called MyFitnessPal. Just see what type of foods you eat, how many calories you normally eat, and what your ratio of carbs, fats and proteins are. Then you have information that you can use to start to change your habits.