Well, this was an interesting read one of my students gave me: “In Defence of Food” by Michael Pollan. Food and I are good friends. This book really helped to reduce neurosis on the plate. Basic point is: How is a country (US, whom else?) obsessed with health is one of the least healthy countries in the world? Read the book for the full answer, it will make you feel good. Or not, if you eat processed pseudo-food a lot. He really does offer solutions, not just whining about how horrible everything is. In general: “we eat too much corn”, “if it can’t rot, don’t eat it” and “throw whatever the current nutrient fashion is out the window”. So the alternative is: Give your local farms/CSA a chance, learn to cook for the workweek, and understand that food science can be sponsored by the food industry and every time a new nutrient is “in fashion”, a ton of money moves around. The book has a few good laughs too. Let no one forget that Ketchup was classified as a vegetable once. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though, that colorful bag of processed tasty might not look so good next time.
So what does this have to do with fencing? Well, any athlete should watch the diet. The challenges with that can be both logistical and physiological. How do you find the time to prepare food with the crazy schedule? If you get fast “health” food, how do you deal with the expenses? Some methods of eating healthy leave you with a low energy level, so how do you deal with that without resorting to stimulants? (Coffee, tea and pain for example, get your mind out of the DEA…) Well, this book offers simple and realistic solutions for these and other issues.
With a little improvisation (Amazon.Com for lentils and other legumes for example…) the Pollan’ation can be very compatible with the Tim Ferriss body fat reduction method I link at the lower right. This approach allows me, a person pre-disposed to high body fat and a big fan of craft beer to stay in shape. It’s pretty healthy in general and I rarely feel a lack of energy.
