MNMR MONDAY- NUTRITION
MNMR Monday- Nutrition
Now, before I start let me just say I am obviously no nutritionist or dietician, so don't hold your breathe for anything astounding in terms of hidden gems. A lot of my thoughts on nutrition are pretty simple and basic in nature. However, most of us don't even have the basics down, so I think it is worthwhile to spend some time speaking on the importance of the simple things.
While we could jump right in and talk about food intake, I'd like to spend time on something even easier. Hydration. A piece of nutrition that often goes overlooked but has huge implications on our daily performance. If we become dehydrated, our performance decreases, our reaction time slows, and risk of heat illnesses increases. Also, this adversely effects our brains. In a study done by Streightburger D-P et al. 2012, the researchers looked at the affects of hyperhydration vs dehydration in participants in regards to volume and activity of the brain. What they found was dehydration leads to less brain activity and less brain volume- similar to Alzheimer’s patients. So hydration is good for the body and brain.
For myself to improve my hydration habits, upon waking up I would drink a whole blender bottle worth of water (20 fl oz) to start my day. This was such an easy was to improve my performance and start my day off by being able to check something off my list.
I was constantly dehydrated going into workouts or feeling run down by midday. Looking back- while my eating could have also been better, I was taking in maybe 75 fl oz of water a day (daily we should be getting about .5 to 1.0 x's our bw in lbs per day) meaning I was WELL short of optimal hydration, hindering my daily performance goals. While I could have chosen to adjust my macros, add 1-2 more meals a day, etc., a much simpler and quicker habit I could change was my water intake.
Practical Application:
Hydrate with at least .5-1 fl oz/ lb of body weight each day (ex. 200 lb athlete needs 100-200 fl oz water or unsweetened tea per day)
Start each day by taking in a big serving of water; instantly increasing your hydration after not drinking all night, and by helping you achieve momentum in beginning your day of performance goals
According to Swanka et al. 2007- preexercise 17-20 oz fluids, immediatly before and during 7-10 fl oz, and after 20 fl oz for every lb lost
