Chicken … Again … Really?

Yesterday, someone told me that a “weight loss guru” in St. Louis basically “instructs” his clients to pretty much just eat chicken and broccoli, “for like the rest of your life I think.” Now I’m not sure where my Father’s Day biscuits and gravy fit into the plan, though I do believe he recommends a cheat meal (and that is for another day.)

For now though, I just thought I’d throw up a quick post to comment on chicken. Gotta love chicken, right? And speaking of them “guru’s”, if you have ever journeyed into a weight loss program, you have heard about how “lean, healthy, and protein-packed” chicken is, and therefore you have come across more than one chicken recipe. Well, for starters, this is not another recycled fitness magazine “37 Ways to Grill Chicken this Summer to Fit Into Your Two Piece” article. You can find those elsewhere. 

What I do want to say instead is why I rarely get sick of chicken, and I think, there may just be a takeaway or two for you within. So check it out, this was today’s lunch:

I just finished this meal as I began typing this post, so let me give you some insight, or rather a few thoughts that go through my head and control my decisions (some sound a little cheezy, but I really do think these things):

“Let’s see … it’s 12:30 pm, I plan to go for a short run and do some core work around 3:30 pm, so I had better eat now, that is, about 3 hours beforehand so my food is fully digested.”

“During and after lunch, I plan to write a post, email a few clients, and work on some programming, therefore I want something lean, low sugar, and I may actually add some fat (in the form of a small handful of seeds) so that my energy levels are high and mind is clear. The seeds will help me feel satisfied for the next few hours as well.”

(Yes, I do kind of think out loud like this, Tara will look over her shoulder saying, “pardon me hun? Then she realizes I’m talking to myself … again.)

“Sunday brunch was loaded with salt and calories: biscuits and gravy, egg casserole, and wings, so aside from staying lower calorie and carbohydrate for a few days, I’ll make sure I have my water jug … so I get my H2O quota of half of my body weight in ounces in today. I view this as flushing out my system, keeping my metabolism buzzing along, and sometimes also squirt a little lime juice in there to aid in my digestion. My jug is 64 oz, (pictured, $6.99 at Target) and I aim for downing two of those a day. (The only other liquid calories I consume are V8, an ocassional glass of milk, and a very, very rare light beer.)

“I don’t need a new 11 ingredient recipe for chicken, just a good spice (I love McCormick’s Perfect Pinch Original Chicken pictured right), and either spaghetti sauce or some BBQ sauce. I do the spaghetti sauce to add flavor without corn syrup (Prego Spaghetti Sauce usually has no corn syrup), though today, it was a squeeze of Sweet Baby Ray’s Rasberry Sauce.”

OK, so there are a few thoughts that are typical with most meals in determining what and when I eat. OK, so the primary reason I don’t get sick of chicken, and why I chose to post this today, is because I don’t eat chicken because someone else told me to, not because I know I have to if I want to successfully manage my weight, or because I can’t eat a cheeseburger every day so what the heck, it might as well be another breast of el chickeno’.

I do so because that meal pictured above is nourishment for my body. If I want my mind and body to perform for me, whether on the basketball court, late at night when I’m up with the kids, teaching boot camp or sitting here typing this post, I want to fuel it with colorful vegetables with vitamins that extract the energy from my food, with protein that builds muscle after my core training today (that in turn increases my metabolism), and water that assists with my digestion and hydrates me for my run in the heat later this afternoon. While this meal is “healthy” by many standards, also note that it is something I have personally found to be satisfying for me and my goals. You may find similar results with something different, though higher protein, healthy fat, and colorful vegetables are usually somewhere in the mix.

So I’ll go ahead and stop there, and finish with this excerpt below … insert the word “Athlete”, “Fitness Buff”, “Healthy Person”, or whatever you identify with most below where is says “someone who is focused on performance and physique goals” and think about how your perspective compares.

A key to successfully managing your weight, and getting the most out of your body, is to view your food similar to this description. Open your mind to these ideas, and with the goal of expanding your nutrition and body awareness. Your body really will thank you by performing for you a little better each day if you are fueling it appropriately.

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In The Body Fat Solution, bodybuilder and author Tom Venuto notes that someone who is focused on performance and physique goals will view food in four completely utilitarian ways:

1. Food is building material. When an athlete drinks a protein shake before, during, and/or after a workout, he is thinking about that protein going directly to his muscles. Of course it doesn’t really work that way – a typical protein shake might have 40 grams of protein, but if an experienced lifter gains a few grams of actual muscle tissue a week, he’s doing extremely well. Still, thinking about food as something that becomes a permanent part of your body certainly helps you make better choices.
2. Food is fuel. Same thought, only this time your focus is on generating energy for your workouts, rather than making permanent additions to your physical being.

   

3. Food is nourishment. Aside from tissue-building and activity-fueling, most of us worry about whether we’re getting what we need for long-term health. If you think about how a doughnut or an order of French fries might affect your chance of getting heart disease or cancer, you don’t eat those foods. We understand that a few hundred calories of greasy guilt here and there, in the context of a lifetime that includes millions of total calories, will have little impact. But thinking about your future health does make that salad a lot more appetizing.
4. Food stokes the metabolic fire. … people who read fitness magazines and buy workout books probably understand that it takes calories to process calories. That’s why eating increases your metabolic rate. Those who think of food only in terms of storage –“this sandwich will go straight to my thighs” – will be afraid to eat. Those who see food as an important driver of their metabolism, which is key to getting and staying lean, will have a healthier attitude toward their meals.

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So there you go … and please don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love food. I’ve been known to tear up some pizza and Chinese buffet. (I promise I’ll cover cheat meals soon.) BUT, more importantly, I also love feeling great, thinking clear, and having the energy to be a fun dad, a husband, a fitness coach, a business owner, and an athlete. Those are things I will never get sick of, yet demand a lot of my mind and body. Therefore, I have found the foods that nourish and support me in all of those ways.

Please comment below and look out for my (Greek) Yogurt Taste Test and To Cheat or Not To Cheat posts coming soon. And now repeat to yourself 3 x, “I am what I eat. I am what I eat. I am what I eat.” Make it a great day!