| Hiya, -
Summer may feel like it's whizzed by, eh? But not all of us are done with the season of adventures, races and competitions. No matter where you are on your personal calendar of athletic and sporty F-U-N, we still gotta give attention to how we nourish ourselves day-to-day.
I'm not talking about micromanaging every single morsel of food or beverage you consume. Rather, setting ourselves up for a successful food day or food week by developing and mastering our own routine to achieve success that aligns with our health goals.
This process will look different for each individual, but here are common themes I see in the folx who have the most sustainable success: - Thinking ahead and planning ahead. It is rare that I see anyone do super great with the "last-minute-what-the-heck-do-I-have-to-eat" approach. Most of us know our schedules for the next handful of days and while there's always the wild card of life stuff we can't predict or control, why not take the helm and treat your eating plan as an item you can better control? Those who make the time to proactively grocery shop, meal prep, and have foodstuffs ready to go tend to be more consistent with optimal nourishment.
- Learning and implementing what is better for you. While you may shout an out loud "DUH" to me right now, I'm [still] continually amazed (or is it sad?) by the number of athletes who keep pushing on and suffering in their sport while not truly feeling a #kickassery feeling. While there can be many reasons we aren't 100% each and every day, nutrition plays a biggie role in our ability to give our most to each training session, how well we adapt, and our level of performance. No matter whether we are recreational or elite in our particular sport. It's important to find out what you need to thrive... and unfortunately, the endless interweb searches and social media forums where everybody and their brother give you one million opinions isn't going to be helpful or efficient.
- Taking note of how you feel and pursuing periodic diagnostic testing. Once you have an established nourish plan, we gotta monitor and assess. Then, fine-tune and repeat. Life is moving along at nutzo speed and no one around here is getting any younger. Nor are we robots. Continual "systems checks", subjectively and objectively, are necessary so that we can stay on top of our ever-changing bodies and brains.
- Leaving morality out of it. Food is not punishment, nor is it good or bad. While many of us are quite privileged to have the food of our choosing, without socioeconomic constraints, we need to be mindful of our food relationships and food judgy-ness (for ourselves and how we view others). There is a whole lot to the mental and emotional side of eating, but finding our freedom with food while appreciating what it offers us for long-term health and vitality, let alone being able to achieve our desired physical feats, is critical.
What comes up for you as you think about your food and nourishment patterns? Perhaps it is something you are ready to explore more in depth as you step into the new season ahead, or as you are rounding out your year of major athletic events. No matter what, remember that it is never too late to give attention to this important aspect of your health. 🙌🏽 Nutrition matters. | 
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