In this blog post I wanted to get more in depth about the later half of the second skill of the Body Invincible Plan, which is ‘recovery’. Recovery is one of the key pillars here at Fitness and Fuel and is very important. Fuel is anything that provides your body with the nutrients it needs to recover properly. This could include things like a protein shake, rehydrating with electrolytes, or even super greens powder!
The first thing we will address when it comes to recovery or ‘fueling’ your body is understanding your overall diet. We want everything that we consume to be completely balanced with the correct amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates. One easy way is to do this is by using Precision Nutrition’s Hand Rule.Their guide explains each meal should contain palm size amount of protein, a fist sized amount of fruits or vegetables, a cupped hand amount of any grain, and finished off by a thumb size amount of fats. If we are able to focus on this alone we can make awesome progress and feel satisfied too! For a detailed version of their guide check it out:
The second thing we like to focus on here is a concept called ‘eating the rainbow!’ We absorb amazing vitamins, minerals phytonutrients when we consume fruits and vegetables of different colors and textures. The easiest way to do this is to eat seasonally when possible! Produce that is fresh is not only going to taste better, but will also keep your mind open to new trying flavors and dishes. Do you still struggle to buy the same things each time? Trying a crop share will allow you to receive different fruits and vegetables weekly. This can not only expand your health, but your palate at the same time. If you’re looking to save some money on produce check out Misfits Market.
The third thing that is HUGELY important is hydration!!! I cannot express this enough. Why is this important? Your body is made up of 60% water, which means we need to take in a minimum of half our body weight in ounces per day to maintain life functions. Here are a few thoughts for you….
You would like to improve your flexibility, but because your body is constantly slightly dehydrated your muscles are starting to turn in beef jerky. Sadly beef jerky does not stretch. You want to increase your energy, but in a state of slight dehydration your blood gets thicker and moves slower, which slows down all other body processes.
You are experiencing hot weather, but you’re still working out as hard as you can and really challenging your body. At this point your body is just trying to survive, so all of your fitness aspirations that you put all that hard work into is basically wasted due to dehydration. The body’s number one objective is to stay alive and be comfortable, so if you can give it what it needs to do that then the flexibility, energy, fat loss and strength will come much faster. Bottom line, drink your water. Is water boring for you? Here is how we spice it up: https://www.everydayhealth.com/water-health/drinking-water-taste.aspx
The fourth thing to consider are supplements. They come last because they are simply what they are, supplements. If you are eating a balanced diet like getting in your fruits/veggies and drinking plenty of water, you may not need any! This is a total bonus. Sometimes this is not the case though for reasons we cannot control, but that’s ok we have you covered.
Here at Fitness and Fuel we have a variety of different supplements to help you meet the requirements of your goals, and your body’s needs. On top of that we will soon be providing prepared healthy meals and smoothies!
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