Top 15 Ways to Get Unhealthy & Be in the Worst Shape of Your Life

Now that I've got your attention, you're probably thinking "Mary has lost it and gone to the dark side." Not quite. A colleague of mine sent me a link to the website Sports Fitness Solutions. (Thanks Margie!) Check out this website as it has great strength & conditioning programs for a number of sports. I found this list in their blog and thought it would be a fun change of pace to hear all the top things to do to get unhealthy and as he puts it become a "physical mess." I'm enclosing this list here, but check out their blog for more interesting articles on fitness & motivation.

Top 15 Ways to Become Unhealthy & in the Worst Shape of Your Life

1. Eat two meals a day and make sure you skip breakfast totally. If you MUST eat breakfast for whatever reason, make sure you eat a lot of high sugar and high fat foods, such as sticky buns, French Toast, and Pancakes with syrup.

2. Make sure the two meals you eat are full of mostly sugar, and processed ingredients. If you need some help with this, eat lots of high sugary carbs that are found in packages.

3. Do your best to be as inactive as possible each day. If you work at a desk job, stay there as much as possible. Get rides to and from your destination and make sure you get a parking spot as close to your door as possible.

4. Eat very late at night, and be sure to eat only fatty foods that are filled with high amounts of saturated fat, sugar, and white flour. Make sure you more than you should, especially before you go to bed.

5. Drink a lot of alcohol each night. Beer, mixed drinks, whatever, just make sure it’s more than you need. Don’t ever just have a “few”…drink to excess. Always follow your alcoholic binging with the suggestions from number 4, above.

6. Never lift weights, stretch, or in any way get your heart rate up. That means no running, walking more than necessary, and no working out at all. EVER.

7. Do not listen to your body, when your body hurts, pay no attention to the pain, just push through it, and try not to do anything to make it better. Do nothing to correct it.

8. Watch a lot of TV. In fact spend all of your spare time watching TV or surfing the net. ALWAYS have some kind of fatty, high calorie snack with you while you are watching or surfing. Some great choices are cookies, M & M’s, chips, wings, and ice cream.

9. Drink everything except water. Make sure that all of your liquid intake, other than alcohol, are liquids that are loaded with sugar. Sodas are your best choice here.

10. DO NOT eat VEGGIES or Fruit. If you must eat fruit, make sure it comes in a can and is packed in syrup. If you must eat fresh fruit, make sure to dip it in chocolate, honey or some other kind of high sugar, high fat food. If you are forced to eat veggies, spread a ton of butter or cheese over them.

11. Smoke everyday, and smoke a lot. Fill your lungs with thick smoke as much as possible. If you can do this WHILE you are drinking alcohol, even better.

12. Stay up very late eating, and watching TV; and wake up early each morning. Make sure you are always tired and never get enough sleep.

13. Eliminate all fiber from your diet. If you eat mostly fatty processed foods, you should be good here.

14. Never wash your hands throughout the day. This goes for after you go to the bathroom too.

15. No vitamin or mineral supplements whatsoever. Don’t supplement your already crappy diet with anything that might help your health.


I hope you enjoyed this light-hearted look at the habits that make us unhealthy. If a number of these ring true for you, try to work on one item at a time to turn it around. And as always, I'm here to help.

Eat to Win: Your Nutrition Game Plan for "Stop-and-Go" Team Sports

"Today's preparation determines tomorrow's achievement." ~ Unknown

What happens when you sprint repeatedly during a basketball game, soccer match, or game of ice hockey? According to a study presented by Stuart M. Phillips of McMaster University at the 2008 Sport Nutrition Conference, you turn into an "endurance athlete." In other words, by the time you complete your "nth" sprint, you're burning carbohydrates (carbs) the same way a long distance runner burns fuel.

So what does this mean in terms of practical application?

When you're sprinting all out to make a play in the game, being adequately hydrated and having fuel in the form of carbs is crucial.

That brings me to the key principles of sports nutrition or what I call the "3 Fs":

• Fuel - before, during and after exercise
• Fluid - to stay hydrated and prevent a decrease in performance (See my blog entry on Fuel Like an Olympian for more info on hydration)
• Follow-up - what you're doing every day with your nutrition to maintain your competitive advantage

So let's take these "3 Fs" and break it down to see how they apply before, during, and after exercise to "stop-and-go" team sports such as basketball, soccer, or ice hockey.

Before Exercise

• Stay hydrated by drinking 2-3 cups of water or a sports drink 2-3 hours before practice or competition.
• Drink another cup (or about 8 gulps) during warm-up.
• Eat a high carb meal with some protein and a little bit of fat 2-4 hours before exercise so you're not going into exercise with the feeling of a heavy stomach. An example meal might be a grilled chicken breast (protein), large baked potato topped with broccoli (carb) and drizzled with olive oil (healthy fat), and fruit or low-fat frozen yogurt for dessert (carb).
• Top off your fuel stores 30-60 minutes before game time with another high carb snack such as a sports drink, sports or granola bar, crackers, bread or roll, fresh fruit or fruit juice, or cereal. Just keep in mind that you need to choose what works for you. While one player may be able to eat something solid, another player may only be able to tolerate liquids this close to the game.

During Exercise

• To stay in your "hydration zone," aim to drink at least 2-3 cups of water or a sports drink each hour.
• Taking in easily digestible carbs (about 30-60 grams per hour) during this time will also help delay fatigue. Examples include 3 cups of a sports drink, 2 sport gels or a sports bar. Again, choose what you enjoy and what your system tolerates. Practicing with difference choices during your training will help you figure out what works best for you.
• Aim to take in a liquid or solid high carb snack between periods or at halftime.
• It's also important to consume sports drinks or other products with sodium when exercising for more than 1 hour, especially when it is hot and humid.

After Exercise: Rehydrate, Refuel, and Recover

• Drink 2-3 cups of a sports drink or water for every pound you lost.
• Continue drinking until your urine looks like light lemonade instead of dark apple juice.
• Eat as soon as possible (ideally within 15-30 minutes). Aim for a high carb snack with a little protein such as chocolate milk and pretzels, cheese and crackers, sports bars, trail mix, cereal and milk, or a turkey sandwich. Eat and repeat every hour until your next meal.

Daily Follow-up: Set a Solid Foundation

• Stay hydrated by drinking fluids throughout the day. Get in the habit of drinking water as soon as you wake up in the morning.
• Keep your energy levels up by eating meals and snacks consistently throughout the day. Ideally you should be eating every 3-4 hours.
• Get a balance of nutrients. Focus on lean proteins (ex. chic, turkey, fish, beans, tofu), whole grain carbs (ex. Whole grain bread, pasta, cereal, brown rice), healthy fats (ex. olive oil, nuts & seeds, avocado), and fruits and veggies.

As addressed in the video from my post yesterday, the margin of victory gets smaller and smaller as you reach an elite level. Nutrition is a crucial tool that can help you compete at your best so you can make the winning shot.

Motivation Monday - Let's Turn Up the Heat!

I'm feeling like a Monday, but someday I'll be Saturday night.
-Bon Jovi

It's Monday afternoon, and you're back to the grind. You're sitting at your desk, maybe tied to your computer, as the afternoon slump hits. You want to put your head down and close your eyes - just for a minute. You start to contemplate getting a caffeine or sugar hit to get you through the rest of your day. You may be thinking about skipping your workout tonight. You're tired, it's chilly outside, and with the time change, it will be dark by 5:00 pm. You go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. You suddenly realize you have become the equivalent of a human mushroom, never seeing the sun. Your family room couch is calling your name and telling you: "You work too hard. Come home, relax and eat something tasty."

In the words of Cher in the movie Moonstruck: "Snap out of it."

Every day we have many choices to make - whether we exercise or not, what we decide to eat, and how we take care of ourselves. So here is a short motivational video titled "212 The Extra Degree" to help keep you going, serving as a reminder that it's your life and you are responsible for the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDgKdjf7M4I

Are you feeling pumped up now? Are you ready to attack your workout? Are you ready to release the hard core beast from within? Monday afternoon has got nothing on you.

Ah - now don't you feel better? Let me know what you think.