Bill Nelson

The Right Food

Wednesday 9th May 2012

A long story short.

Saturday morning and at the last minute, Joanne and I decide to take a relatively short drive up the Hunter Valley to go mountain bike riding. We didn't have a lot of time as I needed to be back that afternoon to be at a Rugby Union game for one of the sporting clubs I work with.

I started loading everything in the car, Joanne gets everything else organised so we can get on the road.

We got away in good time but soon realised that we are going to be on the bikes for a few hours riding on an empty stomach, which wasn't the smartest thing to do. Problem is, it's early and there won't be a lot of choices for a healthy hearty breakfast enroute to where we are headed. As well as, the fact that timing of when you eat becomes a major consideration in when and where we stop to get breakfast.

Last resort (and probably opportunity) we have/need to pull into McDonalds. Next problem, no muffins, and I am not going the egg and bacon mcMuffin regardless of how hungry I am, so we grab a slice or two of banana bread.

We arrive at our destination and hurriedly make our way out onto the track for a few hours of a technical, challenging in parts, but none the less enjoyable trail. It is always fantastic being in the bush and the views on parts of this particular track were amazing. By the time we finished, there wasn't a lot of time before we needed to get back on the road, so we can be home in time for the afternoons Rugby match.

For me though, I always make sure if I visit a town and use their facilities, I attempt in some small way to put some money back into the town and today that would be done by us purchasing our lunch. Unfortunately though, we didn't have time to sit at a cafe, we needed something quick as time was working against us.

The plan soon emerged as a visit to the local bakery. Problem was it was early Saturday afternoon, and in a small country town there was not a lot of variety in what was left for our consumption. So we just simply grabbed what we could and got back on the road.

An hour or so later we arrive back at home. Clear out car, clean bikes, clean self, head to Rugby Match.
We arrive just in time for main game. I did not want to avail myself of more fast food, so I just drank a few bottles of water.

Game over, head home.

Dinner choices were abundant as it had been a long day and I didn't feel it was right to have Joanne cooking, so we look around for what we can get take home style. Problem solved...Chinese beef and rice.

Went down a treat until I realised through how I was feeling the food had been prepared using MSG. For a lot of people this isn't a problem, but for the reasons they describe in Wikipedia for me it was:

Food Standards Australia New Zealand[23] (FSANZ) cites "overwhelming evidence from a large number of scientific studies" to explicitly deny any link between MSG and "serious adverse reactions" or "long-lasting effects", declaring MSG "safe for the general population". It does, however, describe that in less than 1% of the population, sensitive individuals may experience "transient" side effects such as "headache, numbness/tingling, flushing, muscle tightness, and generalised weakness" to a large amount of MSG taken in a single meal.

That 1% would be me. So I lie in bed on Saturday night and through to the early hours of Sunday morning just cursing myself for not being better organised with my food throughout the day.

It wasn't McDonalds' fault, it wasn't up to the bakery to have exactly what I wanted. The Chinese restaurant were not to blame. Where I was and what had taken place throughout the day was my fault and mine alone.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I am no athlete, yeah not even close. This is a body that has consumed enough unhealthy food over the years to feed a small (some would say moderately sized) country. But over the last few months I have been very careful in what I eat, when I eat, and how much I eat.

Now I don't want to sound like a born again foodie or nutritional evangelist.

However the things I know from my days coaching elite level athletes and the things I am witnessing first hand right now, continue to highlight the fact that if you want your mind and body to function at full capacity, then you need to fuel it in a certain way.

There will be times when you can take a short cut here or there, but if you push the boundaries too far or too often, the body will eventually say 'enough is enough'. You will, through your food intake, not allow the body or the mind to function the way it is capable of.

Give the body and mind the fuel it needs. Eat the right thing, in the right amount and at the right time and watch as...

The Journey Continues!

This is a timely reminder for me as one of our upcoming shows on The Success Sessions on Webtalkradio.net is... What role does food and nutrition play in your success.

High performance engine requires high performance fuel. Keep your eyes and ears open for this upcoming episode.